We're Kidding...No Kidding 2011

Dateline: 5 Feb 11 It Was a Glorious Morning in the Meadow....... ......a warm, sun dappled morn.  The birds were singing and butterflies flitting, when three precious babes were born to a world full of hope and promise..... WAIT...STOP!!!!!  THAT SURE AIN'T MY LIFE!!!!!  How about....it was the middle of the night in a blinding snowstorm.......no, that is not quite right either.  The reality of it is that at about 9:30 last nite Chickory Blossom gave us a buck and a doe, and at 9:45 Moon Pie gave us a doe.  But there really was snow on the ground,  they are precious babes, and the world is full of hope and promise...... Yes, things were a little busy in the maternity ward last nite.  Susan, dear Susan, always experimenting on ways to better the goat tending process, has discovered the beauty of raspberry leaf as a means of promoting uterine health and significantly reducing discharge before and after birth.  We have been feeding copious amounts of raspberry leaf the last couple of weeks, we are talking POUNDS, here, and low and behold, no pre-birth goo, which is fabulous, except that goo has been one of the definitive indicators that the "time" has come.  We have been on high alert with Chickory for over a week, all the other signs were there, she was ready to pop any minute.  And just yesterday afternoon, i looked at Pie and said to myself, "She has got another couple of weeks to go, at least."    Just goes to show you.  They are such GOATS!!! Ellie May, Jethro and i had come in from evening barn chores, had dinner, baths, etc., and had just settled in to do a little Saturday nite popcorn and movie thing.  Jethro went  to the back of the house, then came in and put his coat on, said he heard Pie and wanted to go check on her.  I didn't think anything of it.  When we fed the does, about 6:00pm, everything was fine, no signs or indications of any activity.  And Pie has been bellowing for weeks, been quite the drama queen throughout the entire pregnancy.  No, that is not quite right.  Let's try this....Pie has been quite the  DRAMA QUEEN.  Yes, that is more appropriate.  And she surely had a couple of weeks to go.  Jethro came running back in the house, hollering that Pie was kidding, so Ellie May and I, being the seasoned mid-wives that we are, sprang into action like a well oiled machine, each to their respective jobs.  Ellie May headed to the barn, and while i was prepping in the kitchen, Jethro brings in the first kid. I get out to the barn and see another kid in the corner, and Ellie trying to help Pie, who thinks she is dieing, pass an over sized watermelon. I think, "WOW, Pie was pretty huge, but i never would have dreamed a first freshener would have TRIPLETS!!!!  That's AMAZING!!!"   All the other does are standing outside the barn in the snow, except for my darling Chickory, who is standing next to Pie, looking at me like, "Where is the love?  How come nobody is giving me any attention???!!!!"  Now, many of you know that Chickory Blossom is my miracle goatie, my special, spoiled rotten girl in a goat suit, who happens to share my birthday.  Anybody that wants to hear the story of how Chickory helped me save Lace at 3:00 a.m.one time, just let me know and i will be happy to tell you just how connected this goat and i are.  But i do have to admit that she is, shall we say, used to special treatment.  And at that very moment, while we are assessing the situation with Pie, who was busy trying to deliver what turned out to be the second biggest kid we have ever had here, Chickory is nosing her way in to the thick of things, with a polite but persistent, "Excuse me, but doesn't this situation usually involve cookies, peanuts, and warm molasses water??  Can't a girl get a little attention around here??"   I took hold of her collar to head her out the door, and low and behold, here comes placenta.  Yes, she immediately got her maternity treats, a good brushing out and milking, and lots and lots of loving.  While i was taking care of Chicklet, Ellie May helped Pie deliver a pony.  All mommas and babies are doing beautifully.  This year's name theme is Texas Towns.  We had a great time researching our possibilities, and learned a lot about our state.  We found that a lot of the most interesting names are now ghost towns, or very nearly so.  Places like Ding Dong, Diddy Wa Diddy, Jot 'Em Down, and Cut and Shoot.  Hmmmmmm, perhaps names are more important that we think...... One of my all time Top 10 favorite movies is a twisted little thing from the early '70's starring Ruth Gordon and Bud Cort called "Harold and Maude."  As fate would have it, there just happens to be a Harrold, Texas, and a Maud, Texas.  Now, Ellie May has seen this movie, and while she doesn't appreciate it like i do, she knows how i love it, and she is the one that found the Texas towns by the same names and called them to my attention.  Since she did the hard part, ok, the hard human part, of pulling a stuck kid, she got the honor of naming all of them.  She decided that since Chickory's babies were black, they were already in funeral garb (you have to see the movie to get the joke) and must be named....but of course, Harrold and Maud. Moon Pie's baby is a carbon copy of her momma, and very much reminds us of her dear departed auntie, Moon Dust (aka Dusty, Doodles, and the "Poodle") and has been christened Utopia. Harrold checked in at 7 lbs, Maud at 6 1/2 lbs, and Utopia (Momma, can i have a Pony?) arrived at 8 1/2 lbs. And there you have it, friends, the first installment of " We're Kidding, No Kidding 2011 From Tail's Up Homestead," brought to you by our fine sponsors in the barnyard. Stay tuned for the next update.....Will it be Becky Births Babies?  Lace Lives to Lactate?  Dosidoe Delivers Does?

two hours later....

...hit send on the last post, went out to the barn to do chores, just in time to catch a buck and a doe from becky at 4:30 and a buck and a doe from dosidoe at 5:15. much to do, vitals later!!

and two hours after that...

ummm, that's 7 kids in less than 20 hours. 

just in case you're counting.

some things that i have realized in the last 12 hours:

this means.....

from 28 - 35 bottles a day

at least 4 milkings a day, X 4 does.

10-12 of the wrong sized piddle pads a day (if i'm lucky)

2-3 loads of towels a day

at least two dishwasher loads of milking paraphernalia for sterilization a day

the portable play pen and a laundry basket are not big enough for this crowd.

4 mommas pining for something that is missing that they are just not sure of is way more heartbreaking than just one or two.

seven babies do not all sleep at the same time.  someone is always awake. 

and one of them is a rabble rouser.

Two years ago kidding season lasted TWO MONTHS.  therefore it was called "season:"

Last year, because we had hurricane Ike during breeding, kidding season lasted TWO WEEKS.  this was not so bad, and that is what we were trying for this time.

This year, we discover that the Tigger Method of breeding, in which you throw open the door and hope for the best, is not the wisest course of action, because breeding season seems to be TWO DAYS.  (If Lace will pop out her 3 or 4 today, that is.)

One of them weighed 9 lbs, one of them is named Splendora.  couldn't tell you about the rest right now.  will do so when i untangle it all.

Y'all have a peaceful, lovely day, ya hear?