Goatie and Lambie

Here is a little diddy that I made for Morgan when he was a wee babe. It's called Goat Boy. (If you look closely you'll see I forgot to draw the rest of the harness!)

that little dog looks an awful lot like Pearl who was but a twinkle of a star sky back then.

Ah, the good old days...when a kid could ride a goat for fun. I have some photos of my great-grand-people riding goats. So does my husband. We're working on bringing that trend back. Its good old fashioned clean fun.

Goatie reluctantly leaving me. Goats heads can turn around like an owl's. He escaped twice this way . He has a good home, its down the road. In fact, we kinda knew whose it was but figured if they really wanted him they'd come at least look for him. Goatie was free to go wherever but he chose to stay with us.

Lambie goes wherever she pleases and is always there to greet me when I pull up the drive.

Goatie was just too cool. Calm, and quiet. His little bleat was so sweet. He would just come up and let you pet his funny head and stroke his long bassett hound ears and liked it. If you quit, he'd lean in and wait patiently. I'm missing that little guy!

I BRAKE FOR JUNK bumper sticker from my friend Mary Randolph "Carter"

And as a true goat, he got in my car , first the front seat, then he checked out the backseat, then the 3rd row...(yes it is a HUGE car) and finally made his way out the very back. He never pooped or ate my seats. Silly goatie.

Roscoe feeding Blossom.
We are all looking forward to spring when we can have a goatie of our own!

xo milady

Obsession

antique German ornaments found at christmas past collector

I have a lambie obsession, I love them, I love the way they look, I love what they represent. Now that I have my own little lamb (who is a full grown overweight sheep) I am even more obsessed. Now I want a goat. Did I tell you about the goat? A goat came a wanderin' into our lives and stayed with us for almost a month. Naturally, we named him Goatie, he lounged on the deck, napped under the horses' feeder, snuggled with Lambie once she got over her fear of him.

Then, sadly, his owners came. He reluctantly left, rope around his neck, escaping his leash twice.

I miss that guy but I don't think Morgan misses him that much. At least when he's trying to paint en plein air.

Come springtime, I'm getting a baby goat. :)

xo milady

Midsummer's Eve

Midsummer eve chores. Turning dirt, watering garden, sending aliens into black holes. For a moment the light shifts and turns on the crickets, the frog songs and bird lullabies. The air is fragrant and cool to my nose. Perfect and still.
I go to check the piglets and turn to see this: Blue on Red in Green. mmmm

then this...wherever Milady went, her lamb-dog was sure to go....

and this crappy ol wire fence so delicately strung along the back drive with weeds so lovely it makes me sigh....

Bandito wants some goodnight love, so i stop and bid him well...the sun softens still into pinks and lavender ...

telling all lits time to be still and listen to the distant night songs of trucks and tractors going to their barns

while the night pulls her dark shade up the mountain higher still

until all we see is the golden crown on red rocks and know its time to go in.

xo milady

Catching Up

finally, my girls are laying eggs again!

Hello friends. Let's catch up. I've been a little busy. its spring in the valley and babies abound.
I did go and feed the bum lambs on my birthday. they are so sweet, so fragile, so in need of a warm hug and milk. i fed a little brown one that looked like a tiny elk toy. when i returned to feed on another day i saw the unfortunate pile of those who didn't make it. i like to believe my little elk was part of the robust group now feeding from a bucket ringed with nipples.

i also went to see about some baby goats. one in particular decided she liked me. alot. for some odd reason, my husband won't let me get her. (though he will kiss a pig...) speaking of pigs...we had quite a day yesterday. remember Morgan's painting Horse Chase?

well, it came to fruition. the kids picked out their show pigs, we drove for miles, and then, they escaped from the trailer. one got ended up in the horse paddock relentlessly chased by our frisky colt until the poor little thing ran right into a fence. Tate grabbed it while the stars were still circling around its head. the other ran into the the great wood and headed up the mountain. Roscoe and I gave chase, bushwhacking and tripping over and empty rugged river bed. we lost sight of the little guy when we heard a distressed squeal coming from the neighbor's property- which meant only one thing....Otis. Otis the giant slobbering loverboy with the head the size of a cow's was on the piglet, head in his mouth. i was sure that was the end of that little piggy. But Otis actually saved the day. he kept the pig in place until i could get to it at which point i flung my body over it to keep it from darting off into the wild west one more time. i picked him up like a baby and tried to calm him down as i carried him to his new home.
we all made it home okay and i am grateful.
Thanks Otis, thanks for not killing the piggy. Thankful that i didn't poke my eyes out on the scrub oak branches or twist my ankle on the rocks while trying to chase a pig into the wilderness. thankful that our investment is still alive.

more on my lamb obsession Blossom & Dot

Have a lovely day!

xo milady

Blossom & Dot

Sheep milady in my etsy store

hello, i'm cute

are you my mother?

Rosie and Blossom

sweet little miss Dot

Meet my new love, BLOSSOM.

I recently had a birthday, April 16th to be exact. I felt old . It was a miserable snowy day and nothing about it felt unusually special. A friend left a message about some bum lambs that needed mothering. I had a naughty warm feeling in my heart...and said YES without even telling my husband. Next thing I knew, I was at a lambing shed looking at 1000's of sheep and as many newborn babies. Mr. Field, being a hardened sheep farmer, still had a softness in his way which made the sad bits a little easier. Life and Death. The lessons of farmlife. At the far end of the barn was a little lean -to with warm orange lights and dozens of little wooly newborns and a super nice lady with a baby bottle. Knowing I was coming, she picked a hopeful one out for me....may I introduce....BLOSSOM.

I will be documenting Blossom's progress with a Flickr because, well, i'm slighty obssessed with her. I actually took 2, Dot a teeny little twin who never really had a chance to nurse in the wee frigid hours after birth, stole my heart with her floppy bunny ears and single black dot on her side. I slept with her by my side all wrapped in towels. I held her all day in my lap - a riduculous late spring snowstorm had us housebound. Rosie and I watched the Boy in the Blue Pajamas...a quiet deeply sad movie about the holocaust, while Dot lamely swallowed drops of sheep formula from a syringe. I put her down for a short bit when she peacefully slipped away.

Of course, we all wept.

On a happy note, Miss Blossom is well, blossoming! She is smarter than a puppy and I am totally in love.
The nice farmer said, "you just don't know...some just don't have the will to live"

Blessings Miss Dot.

xo milady