Goats And Guineas

I'll try and keep it quick tonight.  We made it to Nova Scotia today.  More importantly, we made it to the goat farm, Sweetwood Farm.  We love this place so far.  It is way tucked away, at least a mile or so down a gravel road which means it's also tranquil as all get out.  The owners, Heather and Neil, are both really nice people and have been great to us so far.  They both lived all over and had busy hectic careers and traded it all in to buy a farm in NS.  I would be lying if I said I did not envy them a great deal.  It is a lot of work though.  We will not be lazing around the farm, swinging in hammocks.  No, we will be working our tails off.  But no matter what we will be doing, it will still beat commuting in the DC area to work in a bank.

As for the farm itself, there are SO many goats.  There are about a dozen or so adult females who are either about to give birth to kids or just did.  There are also about ten one-year-old female goats who are currently penned elsewhere on the farm, while the mothers are kidding.  There are about half a dozen pygmy goats whose pen gets moved around the farm, as they are here strictly for grazing (the others are dairy goats) and for keeping the grass short.  And there is a billy goat named Alchemy who is the one who gets lucky with all the females.  There are also about 25 chickens and about 25 guinea hens who are all hilarious and loud as hell.  Lastly, way in the back of the property are pigs.  The farm itself is pretty huge and much of the property hasn't been put to use yet (they have owned the farm for about four years but have only been living here and working it for two years).  There are also three farm dogs, three adult cats, and two ridiculously adorable kittens.

We got here and after a tour we got to work.  Krissy spent the evening with Heather, working mostly in the barn and helping to feed and corral all the goats and other animals.  I helped in the barn a bit but spent most of my time helping Neil with lots of heavy lifting.  While some would think that this is kind of the opposite of what a vacation should be, I am already finding it rewarding.  We'll be doing a lot of hard work while we are here.  Aside from the usual feeding and cleaning after the animals, there is also fencing that needs to be done, pens that need to be shifted, and plenty of other tasks.  We'll be working usually from about 9am til 1pm and then again for a couple hours in the evening, so we will have the afternoons to either sight-see or lounge around.  We will be here until next Tuesday and hopefully we will enjoy every minute of it.

Oh yeah, there will be more baby goats born while we are here.  Any day now.

Good day, eh.

'Sup

This sweet little baby is four days old and is just about the most adorable thing in the world.

Hans compares beards.

This goat looks like she just told you a joke and is waiting for you to react to the punchline.  In a way, that's how it always is.  These buggers are a trip.

This is just a nice little pond that is on the property of the farm.

Guinea hen - these guys are just plain ridiculous.  They cackle and babble incessantly and wander all over the place.  I'm not sure what time does, in regards to consideration of these creatures but right now we both find them utterly hilarious.

Off to bed.  We have a long and very busy day ahead tomorrow.  Will probably report back tomorrow since we have wi-fi while we are here.