It is only the beginning of May and we finally managed to get our shearing done! Our very manageable herd of 15 (excluding the 5 kids born this year) are running around practically naked. I really love seeing them like this. The bouncing fleece is beautiful but naked you can see their body condition, really evaluate their conformation, pinpoint strengths and identify weaknesses. They are shinny and clean and bouncing about the pasture as if they were all kids. Surely they feel free with the weight of the world lifted from them. They certainly seem very happy. Of course here on the high desert the nights turn cold and the last two stripped today will be seeking out the deepest straw bed they can find as the sun goes down and the temps plummet.
They will survive to play in the sunshine again tomorrow.
Last weekend I taught a class on felting soap at a local event known as the Goat Jamboree. The Central Oregon Goat Association sponsors the event every year about this time. The group is comprised of goat owners of all varieties; milk, meat, fiber and pet. This group welcomed fiber goats into it's world when no one else in the area wanted us-we didn't quite fit the mold. They have been helpful and supportive and it is good to be around them and support the education process. There were classes on clipper care, making soap, making cheese, hoof trimming, fitting, making jewelry with felt, cooking the meat and basic animal care. There was food, a raffle and lots of good friends to catch up with. I won a gift basket in the raffle filled with various types of goat cheeses crackers and drinks. A couple of friends and I baked one of the cheeses after rolling it in a bit of olive oil, curry and fennel seed. Spread on a nice crunchy baguette slice it was simple and yet totally yummy!
Kids have all arrived; 3 girls and 2 boys, 2 Caramel, 1 Oatmeal, 1 Not Quite White and 1 Black. A nice assortment making choices of who to keep and who to sell seem much easier than the days we had 15 or 20 in a kidding season. Over the last 4 years we have been downsizing trying to find that magical number that gave us all the mohair we wanted to play with, some to sell and a herd size that didn't kill us with chores. We think we have done that. As long as we go into winter with no more than 12, life seems good. Last year we got to 11 and we have our eye on the magic number of 10 for this winter. We shall see if we can stand strong on that goal. We have kept the best of the best and selling any of them will be difficult (even the darling little boys).
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