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so.

i was getting ready to go to Magdalena for a goodbye lunch   (i had even ironed my jumper and trimmed the hanging threads (unhemmed))  when i heard THAT BLEAH.  ran out, and yup.  back in ripping off the jumper and grabbing what was handy (yesterdays clothes). 

013

022
Onday and two little bucks.  one looking similar to Magic…but more grey brown but definately similar. 

so…again, birthing in Fiona's Palace…the  hardest place, but i guess favored for some goatly reason, and i moved them in to the larger stall in the shed,  Magic and Caroline still in the small one and Caroline makes the decision that she will NO LONGER stay in there and begins figuring out a way out.  it is very very noisey (everyone is yelling).  what to do.

long story short,  Caroline and Magic are outside now.  in the big yard pen. 

030
Magic, being precocious as well as beautiful, seems to have no difficulty with this on day 2 of her life and begins Just Going.

but somewhere, in the middle of all that, i turned on the hose water (in my anxiety, i yanked the pipe that has the valves)  and the pipe broke loose.  water gushing.  i hunt for the crescent wrench (that was never put back after the initial fence making extravaganza),  finally finding it,  run and climb over the backyard fence (that has never had a gate) and turn off the water to the house at the road meter.   hunt down the little can of PVC glue and steele myself. 

006
this opening is just a bit wider than my shoulders.  it leads………….

005fix
to the closest place under the house to the pipe.  all that stuff to the left is my futil attempt once to insulate the pipe with plastic shopping bags.    so,  i fix the pipe.

002
and here i am.  feeling inclined to document all this.  so i can think about it.  while i make a decision.

007
my arm.    pretty much all of both arms look like this…from scratches on the chicken wire.

008fix
my pants.  i smile.  thinking about Boro 2. 

back to  …..  So.      So.   i think it's the end of the day.   Onday and her babies are in the Albatros  (shed).  little Magic is out there somewhere for the night.  it's summer and i know that i can do pretty much anything when it's warm, being a lizard at heart.  but what i need to think about is what if all this happened in the winter?,  in the cold and oh so Wind filled days?  am i Up To It????????

 

 

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40 responses to “so.”

  1. Valerianna Avatar
    Valerianna

    Two more sweeties!! I love the brown one that looks like Magic, cutipies!
    And, I hear you about winter… challenges are just more so then…..

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  2. grace Forrest Avatar
    grace Forrest

    Winter is a real challenge for me. again, i heat with wood and
    that in itself is very labor intensive. i have to split it, haul
    it IN. often, it remains pretty cold in the house, even with
    a fire in the morning and evening. and just Plus, i don’t do well
    cold. am a whiner. and you can’t whine to animals. they will
    still wake early and need to be fed, need the ice on their water
    broken. need their areas raked and cleaned. need Time spent with
    them, no matter cold, no matter Wind.
    HOPEFULLY, things would go according to Plan and no babies would
    be born in these months. but that’s now always the case. Surprises
    occur. and i need to really look at all this. it’s a committment.
    OH!!!!!!!and i forgot. funny, what about the milking?
    oh, eeee

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  3. Leslie Avatar
    Leslie

    Grace if my mother was reading this she would say “Grace must be a Hartly girl (my mums maiden name)” Grace Hartly girls can cope with most things thrown at them….come to think of it there is very little that a woman can’t cope with….love the girls and the kids……take great care Grace….

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  4. saskia Avatar
    saskia

    whew, caring for animals is a big deal! we have just the 1 dog and with all his ailments, that’s quite enough. There are lots of wild birds in the garden, don’t have to worry about them and last summer rabbits appeared in the surrounding fields, tame ones released into the wild during the summer holidays……this spring two tiny rabbits have wandered into our garden, they are so cute and again, not my responsability. Enough about me, you live there with all of these wonderful creatures who depend on you! Take very good care of yourself, first and foremost, otherwise….indeed some planning and organising is called for, Be Prepared for what you can expect and thus remain flexible for what you don’t know is going to happen, wishing you well Grace, you have my support from afar. sasx

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  5. jude Avatar
    jude

    there must have been one wild goat party going on.
    the only way to find out if you are up to it, is to keep going. as i get close to a stretch of life on a small island, i wonder if i would be able to climb into a small boat and row myself to market.

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  6. Valerianna Avatar
    Valerianna

    I heat with wood, too…. That in itself is a commitment, add on goats, yikes. I think of my friend down the road, alone, heating with two wood stoves, taking care of chickens, two horses, geese and goats and letting an apartment annex by the night…. I wonder how.

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  7. Henrietta (aka ani or zani) Avatar
    Henrietta (aka ani or zani)

    whew, i felt like i was running around with you…i think the first pix is so cute…so fuzzy….can one do an adopt a kid? you’ll be able to share these fotos with the kids when they are grown and having kids of their own!

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  8. elizabeth fortes Avatar
    elizabeth fortes

    Dear Grace!
    what i really love is that in the middle of all these labours, decisions and emergencies you take the time to document and share it with all of us! Thanks!
    Quite a marvellous story!
    Much love to all! elizabeth

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  9. Yvonne Avatar
    Yvonne

    What a lot you are handling, Grace – I see you as tough, hardy and resilient – a strong survivor. I would feel daunted by what you’re facing with winter, too.

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  10. Nancy Avatar
    Nancy

    Those babes are just the cutest little ones ever! I have faith in you! Whatever you decide to do…you will be able to do. It is good to think of these things though. I like that you do that. Your level of commitment is admirable. 🙂 Thank you for sharing it All with us.

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  11. nance Avatar
    nance

    you , grace, i hold capable. you more than anyone else i know can handle this. and still smile and not take yourself too seriously. who else would have thought to document it in this way. i just love it all. and you…

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  12. Jenni Lynn Avatar
    Jenni Lynn

    Ha, I knew you were a warrior all along. Glad I found this story today. There certainly are challenges when we choose to live alone, now mine seem so doable….you go girl!!

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  13. Joan Avatar
    Joan

    Oh, Grace! You are doing a great job with those goats. They are lucky to have you. I can see how resourceful you are. Like Nancy, I have faith in you. Congratulations on your new babies.

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  14. grace Forrest~Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest~Maestas

    would be interesting if you talked to her about it

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  15. grace Forrest~Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest~Maestas

    oh THANK YOU!!!, i must be a Hartly at Heart. actually,
    my “maiden” name was Hartwell.
    THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!for coming by!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  16. grace Forrest~Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest~Maestas

    these are GREAT words….Prepared and Flexible. yes.
    this is IT. the support from afar is oh so so Nice…..
    xo

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  17. grace Forrest~Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest~Maestas

    yes…no way to know, but find out. and so far, knock
    on wood, it’s been really just ok.

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  18. Valerianna Avatar
    Valerianna

    Actually, I have… and she is pretty DONE with it. She’s at the point of not wanting to do any of it, just make art. And there’s MORE on that list… plowing her own driveway, 3 vegetable gardens, landscape design biz, forgot to mention the dog and 2 cats.

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  19. grace Forrest~Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest~Maestas

    nice thought, but…they need to just go. cut the cord.
    one of the great things about goats is that they like
    changes. takes them a minute to reorient, but then they
    begin putting things all together for themselves. it’s
    really very wonderful to watch. i admire them.

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  20. grace Forrest~Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest~Maestas

    i no longer keep any other kind of “record” of anything.
    i used to write reams of diary pages, reams. drawings.
    clippings. now…this and cloth is It. and i have oh
    such good Company here!

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  21. grace Forrest~Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest~Maestas

    am really considering that.

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  22. grace Forrest~Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest~Maestas

    i learned that. so many things i WANT to do, think would
    be so great, but the reality is hard. and again. this
    wouldn’t be about ME, but about them.

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  23. grace Forrest~Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest~Maestas

    yes…that has proven to be an enormous thing..the not taking self too seriously…i love that i can take these
    muddy bloody pics and show them. i think it’s how
    people would say LOOK at me to those they live with….
    ????
    i love you………..

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  24. Henrietta (aka ani or zani) Avatar
    Henrietta (aka ani or zani)

    people not so much…we tend to not know how to let go! 

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  25. grace Forrest~Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest~Maestas

    i am doing the best i can and am changing things by the
    moment….according to what makes sense IN that moment.
    there’s more babies to come. eeeeeee

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  26. grace Forrest Avatar
    grace Forrest

    there are so many amazing things they do…with total
    uhhhh….spontenaity….i guess that’s a good enough word.
    today i opened the little door that we made in the side
    wall of the shed. this means anyone can go in or out
    at will. this is the sectioned off space inside where
    i put Onday and her little boys yesterday. well…all
    that changed. first she realized she could go out. and
    come back in. and go out. and then, slowly, everyone
    else investigated and at one point Everyone was in there
    except for little Magic who was sleeping outside in her
    spool. So, in/out in/out and Onday, who can be a kind
    of bully in my mind..maybe in the goat world she is just
    a dominant doe…probably….anyway, Onday is really
    nailing everyone at random…HeadButting…like slamming
    into them, BAM, hard, and i guess it was her way of
    maintaining her boundries around self and babies?????
    no one seemed to get their feelings hurt. they’d leave,
    but come right back. at one point, a bumble bee bizzed
    in and Onday SCREAMED and Everyone bolted out of there
    and hid. only to come back moments later. and then
    the little black baby ventured OUT and i was watching,
    pulling weeds….to see if he could get back in and all
    of a sudden Ginger, mother of the first two babies, bit
    his ear tip!!!! he screammmmmmed. but Onday didn’t
    react at all. did not have a feeling toward Ginger for
    biting her babies ear. didn’t really respond over concerned for the babie.
    so…i watch. if we are going to partner up, i need to
    learn to be more goatie.

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  27. grace Forrest Avatar
    grace Forrest

    i thought i answered you…will wait and see if it
    showed up….

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  28. grace Forrest Avatar
    grace Forrest

    yes. for some years i was DONE with anything to do with
    anything. that was Good. but now…i’m re thinking
    a lot of things. and maybe i can do that because to me
    it’s so much the same as making cloth. they fit. i fit.

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  29. grace Forrest Avatar
    grace Forrest

    maybe i didn’t click post…????
    anyway…it’s a choice i would make over and over. the
    alone. i like it this way and am reclaiming in in a
    certain way…i think it has so much to do with the
    concept of MENDING. which is to me, an all pervasive
    way of doing things….
    so, then, do YOU live aloNe?

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  30. Deb G Avatar
    Deb G

    Grace you are awesome and your babies so sweet! I think you will do what you do need to do, and ask for help when you need it. 🙂 P.S. I so wouldn’t have been able to go into the crawl space.

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  31. grace Forrest Avatar
    grace Forrest

    there used to be chronic problems in there. i got used to it then.
    that was maybe 10 years ago…????
    there was a black widdow spider who lived just above the entrance
    space. she would always back up and pull all her legs in to her
    chest/abdomen. i just paid a lot of attention to keeping my head
    down.
    but it’s been a while and my mind made it even creepier than it
    really is. actually, today, i’m glad it all happened and glad
    it resolved and glad i did it. i wouldn’t know i could if i
    hadn’t HAD to….right?
    and again…it’s about them. if it were me, i could have waited
    till i found someone to help. like a day or so, even with no water.
    can buy water to drink. but…they couldn’t wait.

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  32. Henrietta (aka ani or zani) Avatar
    Henrietta (aka ani or zani)

    Grace. This is lovely. So family like. I can see you are really getting involved in goatie. I think its wonderful. You should keep documenting your adventures. Definitely keep a foto journal. Also you do illustrate so I know you draw. That would be another way of keeping an image file. Your life has definitely been altered since you started learning goatie. Xox and nite nite. Am at moms and she thankful asleep for now. Say good nite to the girls for me too.
    Sent from my iPhone

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  33. Robyn Ayaz Avatar
    Robyn Ayaz

    Grace the Amazon warrior woman! I worry about you in the cold – not because you can’t handle it but because you will keep on, doing your best. Your poor arms! It is so entertaining hearing how intelligent the goats are, and the little ones learn so quickly, amazing.

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  34. ali Avatar
    ali

    so sweet–those faces, I love them. And you, Grace, shimmering in to play plumber–you are awesome, woman!

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  35. Jenni Lynn Avatar
    Jenni Lynn

    I just sat down and saw your comment…yes, I do live alone, very happily. After the second divorce I thought I might be broken but now at 63 I am so spoiled…However, I do think I would have called on the “handy-man” for crawling under the house…I’m inspired.

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  36. Doris Avatar
    Doris

    Grace, as a child of the city, with only some experiences with cats and budgies I always sit with open mouth reading about your life with the goats… It opens a complete new world for me… Your photos only show a second of this turbulent life and I only can imagine what it means every day, and this excitement with these little ones. You look so tough in your working outfit … 🙂

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  37. grace Forrest Avatar
    grace Forrest

    warrior woman??? no, and the scratches are from my own
    anxiety and hurry. things to learn.

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  38. grace Forrest Avatar
    grace Forrest

    it’s just pipes. i used to rely on the neighbors to
    do it…he needed a little xtra work and was just There.
    but they moved. and now. you can’t call a plumber to
    crawl under a trailer house. they won’t do it. and so,
    one crawls. i’m small (the pics might look bigger?),
    barely 5’2 and more toward skinny, so i’m an easy fit.
    maybe i should go to plumbing school??????????????

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  39. grace Forrest Avatar
    grace Forrest

    nice, then….that you feel “spoiled”, YEs. and try
    some plumbing. it’s a really good feeling.

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  40. grace Forrest Avatar
    grace Forrest

    as Jude says…HA …my working outfit…yes, ha.
    and once the babies are all born, it will quiet. this
    shouldn’t happen, ordinarily. you PLAN the breedings.
    this was the result of accidental chaos.
    so…we’ll see. i am thinking well, about it all. and
    tonight, i sit and watch them while i’m watering trees
    etc and they come, nuzzle, mutter. and i thought…well,
    it’s COLD, really, only November thru Feb, really….
    and if it goes back to how it was, not even really that.
    not much, really, for all this pleasure……….

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