Kinda Ridiculous...

So we’ve been picking for 18 days and it’s only June 27. Kinda ridiculous.

Also kinda ridiculous? The weather acting like summer all April and May, then returning to typical June weather almost as soon as we needed to pick berries…

There were some rugged days out there for the crew. Most of the days, the rain was not steady – but while it rained, it dumped! And there were a couple of days where the rain was steady for some hours.

Normally, these conditions would have created a perfect environment for lots of mold growth. Our saving grace? It was downright cold – and we kept picking in spite of the conditions. I was sorry for our crew, but continuing to pick was the right decision. The cool weather was miserable for the crew, but it kept the mold from growing. Most of the times the weather changed back to sun were accompanied by drying breezes, and slow warm ups, if any. Perfect transitions!

To date, mold has not gotten a foothold in the field, and quality has been good. Harvest is going well, and I am very thankful…

…And just the same, looking forward to it being done.

In other news, the goaties have been growing like weeds, with the exception of Clementine. She’d been looking more and more puny as her brothers’ growth outpaced hers by several inches.  I feared that something was wrong, but couldn’t figure out any symptoms that made sense. Finally, I just brought her in and found out that the poor baby had an overpopulation of coccidia in her gut, and they were robbing her of enough nutrients to grow well. Five days of medicine and she is much better – feisty, and tail up happy! It makes me smile after seeing her so timid and overpowered by her big, strong playful brothers. She has always liked me, but now she loves me loyally because she loved to eat the banana flavored medicine that I administered. If I am in the pen, she just follows me around – and right out the gate to wherever I am going as if we belong together at all times.

The brothers all got fixed on Friday, and that made them a lot less playful for a day…but just a day. In a week, the babies will be 8 weeks old. Abner and Dexter will be moving to their new home. I’ll miss the little beggars, but they are getting a great home at my friend Jamie’s farm where they will not lack for attention from her and her 3 animal lover kiddos. Best way for me to give them up…

Bo and Clementine will be staying here with Barnaby and Imogene. I expect that both farms will experience a day of separation crying, and Jamie and I, bleeding hearts that we are, will feel terrible for a little while. But that is the way of farming, and soon enough, everyone will be happy on their own.

I had hoped to post so many more goat pictures and stories of their antics because they are kinda ridiculously cute! But early harvest messed up that plan… Abner, Bo, Clementine and Dexter have been a great gift of fun and laughter – and just plain therapy for the stressful days of an early, rainy harvest. I’ll try to catch a few more antics on video to share because I know you all like their ridiculous cuteness as much as I do.

So – a little catch-up on what’s been going on here. It’s a busy, busy season already this June…and to think that most years, we would just be thinking about starting to harvest now! We likely only have 2 weeks left to go…And after that, we will have a bunch of summer left to enjoy!

I can handle that kind of ridiculous.