Lily Joins The Lims
The following Saturday was filled with friends, family and new challenges. Late in the afternoon we got a call that we could pick up the Pygmies (we thought it was all three, but only one was available). When we got to the Suburban Neighbourhood with the "park" in the middle ... the gentleman goat owner told us to drive all the way to the bottom of the property. Mama was happy cause she didn't want to walk that hill again. We (Akita, Malika & Mama) drove down a meandering switchback to a lovely flower garden with the goat pasture on the other side. We waited there as we watched the "goat man - Ron" pick up a screaming little goat. He carried her down the hill and put her in the extra large dog carrier that we had brought to carry the three goats. He told us that he had gone out to Aldergrove to pick up the bucklings, but no one was around and he was unable to corral them on his own. He also told us a funny tale about earlier that year ... apparently the fat miniature horse likes to give piggy back rides to the little pygmies. Or they like to stand on her back and she doesn't mind ... one of the two. He said people slow their cars and almost have accidents when they drive by and see what appear to be "floating goats" cause the hill blocks the mini horse from view. He promises to deliver the bucklings the next day when his daughter can help him "corral them". Okay we admit it ... the red light should have gone on ... these two were supposed to be the "tame - petting zoo" goats. We deliver the goat man back up the hill after he cuts a few fresh flowers and gives them to Mama. We bring this squealing little goat home and deliver her to the barn ... in the chicken coop area cause of course we have not yet fixed the fences. Wow for a little goat Lily (a red and white pygmy) was loud "Maaaaaa Maaaaa " ... all Mama could say was "now I have another animal calling my name". We hoped we would soon have some friends for her. We were looking forward to picking up the two Boer Doe sisters the next day (DY who wants nothing to do with the goats .... ha ha .. had already named them Julie and Juliet). Later that afternoon we got a confused return call from the nice "goat lady - Diane" ... apparently because we did not call her on Thursday ... our bad ... she sold one of the sisters to someone else. Oh well ... we say we can pick up the remaining sister anytime and book a time for the afternoon on Sunday.
Mira and Delilah Come Home
Sunday being the next day, Akita and Mama make an executive decision and decide to pick up two goats instead of one from the Cashmere goat herd. We call up Cashmere goat herder - Michael and tell him we would like to take the Black Cashmere doeling, and the white pygmy-cross doe. He agrees ... we haggle a bit on the price and then off we go to Sumas Mountain. DY, Akita and Mama go off to do some "goat herding". When we get to the property ... we drive down onto the pasture, with goat herder - Michael and he and a young boy bring a bag of grain down ... all the goats and the horse wrestle over the feed. We get the truck open and the cage open in time for him to wrangle the Black doeling into the cage. It is quite funny to watch as he and DY trap the white Doe and Michael wrestles her into the cage too. Wow ... what a fighter she is. Michael suggests that we keep in touch and possibly breed Mira with one of his bucks next year (I guess he plans to get more bucks because we don't plan to breed her with her father ... can we just say Yuck!!).
This brings up the subject of Lily and her brother pygmy ... we decide that we will get the brother castrated and let her breed with the other buck. Off we go home with Mira (Black Cashmere) and Delilah (White Pygmy Cross) and they are a lot quieter than Lily was.
Juliet ... The Calmer Goat?
Later mid afternoon ish, Mama and Akita take a drive to Langley to pick up the Boer Doe. As before, Dianne - the goat lady comes out ... grabs a handful of Grape Leaves and calls "here Goats ... Here girls" ... all the goats, a horse and several Chickens run for the fence. We go inside the fence and she grabs the young doe. She lifts her front legs, and kinda half rides and half carries her to the kennel in the truck. After we get her inside ... she starts "bawling ... Maaaaa Maaaa". Almost as loudly as Lily was. Juliet (a chocolate brown headed, white bodied Boer Doe) has no horns ... only bumps on her head. We ask Dianne and she says it is because she "de-horns" them as babies. We pay Dianne and our quickly on our way home.
What a Busy Day and It Isn't Over Yet.
Later that afternoon we get a knock on the door and our two bucklings have arrived. They are a mess and the goat man - Ron and his daughter deliver them to a stall in the barn. They tell us what a nice barn and house we have. We thank them and they tell us that another year they picked up their goats from this same camp and they were covered in Maple Syrup. We should have asked them more about bathing the goats, but we were just too excited to finally have all of our little herd home with us. Akita and Mama get to work as soon as the others leave and hose them off, but we sure have trouble cleaning the bottom of the larger white Pygmy. Once we have them hosed off ... we put them in with the "girls". We have already had to separate Mira and Delilah from Lily as they were bullying her. It was a little better when Juliet arrived, because even though she has no horns ... she spreads her ears out and butts the others off of little Lily. (They have almost a mother-daughter relationship and have been inseparable ever since). We put "Knee Pad" in with Juliet and his sister. He is a lovely red and white coloured pygmy ... a little bigger than Lily. He does this weird walk on his front knees and doesn't really walk properly when his legs are extended. Mama wants to call him "Tiny Tim", but her children say "that's like calling a crippled child crippled". Oh well ... right now he is mostly called "Knee Pad", but Mama still secretly calls him "Tiny Tim". The Larger Buck came with the name "Oscar", but non of us really liked it. He is white with a great Afro on the front of his head. As soon as we put him in with Mira and Delilah ... he started saying "Yuuuup, Yup, Yup, Yup" .. well being Storage Wars fans ... he had his name "Dave ... of Course" and he is turning out to be almost as much of a donkey as the guy from the show. All six goats in the separated stalls of the chicken coop area. We let them outside one side at a time in the glorified dog run, and soo far ... soo good. Now to fix those fences ... Tomorrow.
Thanks for Reading and Welcome to our Barns,
The Lims
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