BabyGirl Blossoms 2
As the summer wore on,the goats got easier to control in the pasture..they were finding out where their boundries were and really being pretty good about things.. Of course I had my little rebel groups..but for the most-part things went well. I could go out with them and stay for awhile..and then when BabyGirl was ready to come back toward the pens..I could come back to the house to rest for a bit or get other things done that needed done. BabyGirl was getting more and more steady on her feet and hardly ever falling, if she did she was able to get herself up.It was a FAR CRY from just months ago when she had to be carried everywhere she went and propped up. She was as proud of herself as I was proud of her!
I’m not exactly sure what happened the morning everyone decided to go berserk..(I had my camera and was taking pictures of everyone enjoying the pasture) but I had goats in ALL directions when I let them out early one morning..I’m not sure if they thought I needed to exercise more or what ..All I know is goats were in places I didn’t even know I had places..*LOL* I started rounding them all into a group and heard the sounds of goats in the creek.. (having angora goats in the group) getting wet is NOT an option.. not only can they get pneumonia easy..even in summer..but the weight of their fleece could easily pull them under the water and drown them.. SO the creek petrified me and there was NO way to fence it off.. I just had to watch close and get them back up the hill if they went down there..
Well, they were down there..so off I ran to head them off and get in front of them. I had to get in the creek and get in front of where they were headed in order to get them back where I wanted them.. As I clapped my hands to get them Out of the water.. my heart stopped once again..There on the hillside ledge..in the midst of the group ~ was my BabyGirl.. The rocks on the hillside are loose in places.. and the bottom is about 20ft down.. I stopped..dead in my tracks and quietly got the ones in the bottom turned around.. hoping she would follow them back up..she did.
I got my camera out and took pictures..I knew NO ONE would EVER believe this.. She got back up the hill fine and everyone just looked at me like “what?” My heart was racing..I went over to BabyGirl and asked her..”What were you thinking?” She just sort of looked at me with that twinkle in her eyes ..as if to say back to me.. “Did you see me mama?..I was a big girl on the rocks with the rest of the goats”..How could I be mad at that?..she was doing EXACTLY what I wanted her to be able to do.
The summer went well..not many times did she fall..I would make sure to give her a shot of dex if she did have a bad fall where her neck was involved..she spent the days out in the pasture, the evenings in the goatyard.. if it was raining, she would follow her mama and sister into the barn for awhile. She was part of a small herd of outside goats that when it was evening and I knew they wouldn’t try to go out in the road..I would let them out to play under the dusk-to-dawn lights in the pasture or they would come up on the porch. Then later in the night she would come in to be brushed and hang out until bed time.. she got her extra attention with me and had her real goat life outside both..what little goat could ask for more?
Bedtime she would go to the bed and wait for me to lift her up into the bed. She would lay down on my pillow and then after I got in bed I gave her 2 cookies.This was our ritual every night. She didn’t need her legs massaged anymore but I would rub her tummy and pet her until I fell asleep..
One night in September 2001, my nightmare became reality! With my hand on her tummy I felt a bumpbumpbump that could only mean one thing!
I knew she had been putting on weight but she needed to.. she had been only 41 pounds a year ago and she now weighed 68lbs. She had also grown in size and filled out.. But a BABY?.. This would kill her for sure..I had to wait till morning to call my vet. I didn’t sleep all night. All I could think about was how dangerous this was for her..I went over and over in my mind who and when someone could have gotten to her, if I could feel babies then she was only about 2 months from kidding..was it going to be too late to abort her now?.. How Could I have let this happen? I held her and sobbed..
Well..I was right.. I called the vet and he told me it was far too dangerous to try to abort her now.. we would have to wait and see and allow her to try to give birth. Either way it was not good. The pregnancy could mean she could go down once again because of all the added weight or worse the strain of kidding could damage her neck. But we had no choice now.
She seemed pleased as pie with the whole idea.. and I have to admit, there was an extra sparkle in her eye… But it still remained a dangerous journey. All we could do now was to wait an see.. and Pray! But honestly, doesn’t she look smitten with herself? How could anyone not just love that face?
