A goat road trip....

Today was the day our lady goats went on a road trip to meet a few fella's. Of course they had no clue why I was loading them up in the cargo back of my Saturn Vue with a window box planter full of hay. It was suppose to be a 2 hour trip. At least that would be 2 hours for normal people- not us. After wrestling the kids to get out the door by 9 am- which by the way did not happen- it was more like 9:30 am. i was hoping for an arrival to our designation by 11 am- which by the way did not happen- it was more like noon. Of course with all my kids in the car and a sick husband it almost turned out to be the worst trip yet. Roseanna from Morning Mist Nubians- Cleo's breeder- had forwarned me about the Pumpkin festival going on, so gave me tip for the time to be here & out by so as not to get stuck in town during the festivities.
The goats were better behaved then the human kids! Chia kept her face in that corner for most of the ride. She was not happy about the trip. Almost sad looking. Of course our lovable Cleo was calm & cool the entire way. After many "mommy sing this song" and Frog crying with the most high pitched scream to emphasize she was not happy about being in her car seat for so long, we stopped at a pit stop. Of course everyone had to go the bathroom and was thirsty. I realy considered letting Cleo & Chia out on the leash's to relieve themselves but thought it may not go over well with the people running the corn maze next to the place- They could see the corn through the window- Cleopatra even tried to get out to it but her leash which was tied into a cargo ring prevented her advenure. Another half hour and we should be there- they waited this long.. Not even 10 minutes later it sounded like one of the kids was pouring out their drink.... Poor Cleo could not hold it. But Chia seemed more relaxed in this last half hour and started to munch on some hay.

Once we got into Barnesville, we were in the middle of the excitment buzzing in town. Pumpkin everything everywhere! There were vendors of all kinds including a broom maker, there were lawn chairs lining the street in anticipation of the big Parade and jay walkers not caring about the traffic crossing the busy streets. (we are all guilty of that one at some point in our lives).I was excited to see that they had the "King Pumpkin" up where you can see it while driving through Main street. Just my luck and much to my husbands embarrasment due to my touristy picture taking, I snapped the above two from my sunroof. I did not want to get the sign through the dirty windsheild and families were walking by our car blocking my picture attempts. I just had to tak one of this huge orange great pumpkin! It weighed in at 1,251 lbs! Very cool indeed. My yard pumpkins- if they even grow- do not pass 5 lbs.

After we made way through town and made our last turn onto the street that leads to Journey's End Jerseys A.K.A Morning Mist Nubians, I got my first "are we there yet"?
Dear Roseanna met us by the barn drive and helped unload the girls. As soon as Chia's feet hit the ground she squatted for a much needed potty break. Roseanna said Chia was not as old as she previously thought. She is not pure saanen either- possiblly a little spanish in her. I did not know- but thats why I like talking with her. I learn alot from our interactions. She was so thoughtful & gave me a bar of homemade goats milk soap from her first batch she has made. I cant wait to use it. Tonight I am locking myself away after the kids are sleeping so i can indulge in a hot bath and use my much appreciated bar of goats milk soap. I have not tried it before so this is a treat!

After the girls were put in their temporary holding pen, Roseanna walked us (Panda, lil' man & I) down to visit the herd. WOW! Those babies got big! My Cleo is not as big as the Dam raised babies at this point, but hopefully by next summer she will have caught up in size.
She has so many beautiful goats. So many colors and patterns. Lil' man & Panda could not get the concept if you stand still the goats will come to you but if you go after them the will run. And run they did! Poor girls....
I got to meet "The Boys" too. Rudy, who will be Cleo's boyfriend fo the week, has a beautiful face. I think it will be a wonderful pairing. Roseanna said he throws his long ears and is naturaly polled too. Big smile on my face.
I also got to meet the infamous William- Chia's bo for the week. Such a sweet guy. I think he is handsome too despite his being in rut. I am sure Chia will be happy to meet him and hopefully both girls come home this weekend pregnant. If you can make it ovet over, do check out the boys on their link I gave above. Goliath was our follower during the visit and was very amusing when he came up to meet the girls. Cleo is rather shy when it came to him but Chia had no problem rubbing heads.
I met Mr. Rockwell- Roseanna's father while I was there. What a nice guy! He has so much energy -seems like he is always building stuff-and such kind eyes. He was so nice to the kids and I. Even made Panda a crown from a pretty and wonderful scented flower vine. The name escapes me, but here she is wearing some of it- the flowers have wilted. I will make sure I bring her along next weekend when we pick up Cleo & Chia. She spoke about the visit and asked lots of questions on the trip home. I even got the "but mom, how do goats really mate"? ummm... do you want a reeses cup sweetie?
~Tammie