For the last month, I've been going through the motions with our goats --- feeding them, letting them out to graze, but not really allowing them deeply into my heart. Artemesia's loss was just too raw to consider repeating that experience anytime in the near future.

But there's no point in including optional activities into your life unless you embrace them fully. So, after much soul-searching, I've decided to commit and try to make our herd back into a thing of beauty and joy.

Mostly, the decision is just a trick of the mind. But there will also be some changes involved.

First --- our little wether (who has become the herd boss despite his minuscule size!) needs to learn to walk on a leash, to have his hooves clipped, and in general not to shy away from my approach. Next, we're gonna lick this parasite problem, starting with diatomaceous earth (already applied), ramping up to shaving, then hitting the chemical insecticides if necessary. And, finally, I'm putting our preordered doeling onto my list of things I'm anticipating with honest pleasure. Wanna help me dream up a name for a little, floppy-eared goat due to be born in the next week or so?

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About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.



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