Now if only it could be like this year round...

Today was a beautiful day in the Piedmont of NC. Apparently, I was not the only one to think so. I received this picture from my husband when he went to feed the goats. Yes, Kikos are great foragers, but I think this warm spring day was just more than anyone could resist for a nice bit of relaxation.

The family group in the foreground is "Callisto," a 50% Kiko doe and her two 75% Boomer kids, "Superchunk" and his brother. These guys were born mid January, so they aren't even 90 days old yet. In the background facing this direction are MoneyPenny, another 50% doe with her 75% doeling, and behind them are Venus, a 50%er with her two 75% doe kids, Mud and Shiver. My husband named Mud and Shiver in honor of the weather on the day of their arrival. They were our Christmas Day kids, born in the sleet and freezing rain. All the goats in this group are for sale, as we hope to have fewer does next winter. We are planting a new winter pasture of Orchard Grass and Alfalfa, to which I plan to add a little of this and a little of that, but it remains to be seen how it will do between now and the fall.

We are still watching "34" who is due on April 12th. She is a Purebred doe by AFK Caesar and out of a Tay Naboo daughter. She looks like a bubble with little stick legs, so I would be surprised if she has a single. She is a first timer, so hopefully all will go well. This picture of her is an older one from over the winter. She is not so fuzzy now, but definitely wider and has an udder started. She isn't really interested in letting us feel for loosening ligaments around her tail, so we are just going to have to use arm's lengths observations about when she is going to kid. The chicory field is starting to grow, so we are hoping it will provide good summer gains.

This will be the next first timer, Indy 85, that we will be watching. She is due a few weeks after 34. This is a doeling by Iron Horse and out of a Blue's Son/Tay W27 cross doe. We really like Iron Horse, and this time next year plan to have four Iron Horse doelings in the herd. The other three Iron Horse doelings are out of Tay W48 (GoldmineI and Sunkist 109 daughter), Purdy (daughter of Tay 007 and W 65), and a daughter of Nick and Tasman Temptress. We hope these girls will add some frame to Boomer's muscle and rump, and of course there is plenty of muscle coming from Iron Horse, too.