Goat Love

The goats are such a big part of my life now, I think it is only appropriate they make occasional appearances here. and lucky you, you don't have to hear their incessant bleeeating while you admire their floppity ears and soulful eyes.
The girls will be receiving even more attention in the coming months as I prepare to breed them; now is the time for RESEARCH, as this will be my first time in charge of such a veterinary venture. I joined an online goat list serve where I am learning the nitty gritty on goat estrus cycles, breeding, kidding, and an assortment of medical advice from how to care for geriatric does to procedures for identifying and removing hoof parasites.

Currently we believe that Ezmeralda is 9 months old,

and Lupita Maria is about 7 months.

Appropriate breeding size/age is a matter of discrepancy amongst goat enthusiasts, but I have deduced the most important factor to be weight of at least 80 lbs. How will I weigh my goats? great question. We have no scale for humans, much less the clunky cloven-hoofed ones. Welcome to Nicaragua....

As for basic care, pre-expecting momma goats require the same as any mammal. With earnest, I strive to keep the girls in top shape by:

Providing an abundance of high quality forage

Goats are ruminants, meaning they have four stomachs! Digestion is a complicated process by which plant material is chewed, swallowed, regurgitated, chewed again, and finally rendered useful in the fourth stomach. Other ruminants include sheep, cows, deer, and the like.
Anyway,,,,,in addition to weeds and shrubs and the occasional bark of my lemon trees, the goats enjoy fruits such as mango, guava, and apparently banana flowers:

she ate the whole thing!

Our goats also receive a serving of fortified grain in the evening, as well as a vitamin/salt supplement.

and secondly,

Allowing them ample exercise

Goats are surprisingly fast. They LOVE running and jumping! Each morning when I open the gate of the Cabra Cabaña, the girls bound out at lightening speed, delighting in their freedom of space.
Ez, Lupita, and I have established a Goat Walk as a morning ritual, me enjoying a brisk walk around the farm and the goats alternating sprints with furious chomping of roadside weeds. it's a win-win situation.
These days, with the constant tropical rains, it is frustrating for all of us to be cooped up inside. Unlike sheep with their water-resistant wool, goats become soaked and chilled to the bone in wet conditions. On rainy mornings I don my raincoat & mud boots and scramble out to harvest fresh stalks and branches, which are hand-delivered to the cabaña. (If only we were so lucky!)
Things are only going to get more exciting (and maybe scary & weird), so stay tuned for the upcoming adventures of Ez & Pita!

hooves,paws, & claws

i love gardening and its challenges but i must admit that for me, it is a decided effort to focus on the flora and not the fauna.In the past year while i've warmed to seeds and saplings and soils, our animal clientele has grown--the furry ones deserve a post of their own!

Lucinda

We inherited Lucinda from another farm where she was a work horse, pulling heavy loads, maybe plowing. She was scrawny and timid back then--three months as a free-ranging "rescue" horse and she is chummier with us than i believed a horse could be! She follows our car as we leave and enter the property and every morning she greets us with a cheerful whinny at the front door! Affectionately referred to as our living lawnmower, Lucinda's main job is to keep the weeds down.

I don't have a saddle yet, but Luci is fine with bareback. she loves mangoes, stomps her feet in delight while eating grain, and has the sweetest horse-breath.

Future prospects for Lucinda: a horse buddy? plowing with me, and riding to town in sophisticated leather get-up!

Lupita Maria y Ezmeralda

Our goat gals continue to amuse and alarm. Because of their habit? ability? to eat all things green, i keep them tethered in various weedy spots around the farm. otherwise our coffee and lemon trees, not to mention my veggies, would be long gone. Inevitably, the two of them twist and tangle their ropes into insane knots, often within minutes.
Ezmeralda and i tend to butt heads (ha, actually her head butts my leg) as we vie for title of alpha female. i read that to show dominance, you should hold your goat on her back until she stops fighting. i've showed her 3 times now, but we still do not have an agreement.
Ez's favorite activity is running into open spaces and jumping for joy! Second favorite is probably roughing up Lupita.

Lupita Maria is the kid sister ;) and behaves as such. she's quieter than Ez, and always wants to be where her big sis is. i love her floppy ears and pink nose.

She loves fresh fruit and afternoon naps in the shade.
Up next for las cabras (in a year or so): babies, milk, goat cheese!

Zaya

Adjusting to farm life has been slightly traumatic, as Zaya is terrified of horses and dogs. you can sometimes catch her in a playful mood, but these days its rare.
The recent introduction of a new kitty has been the last straw for poor Zaya.

How could anyone not fall in love with this face?

Either of these faces! Thank you Jen for being a pedestal to our princesa: Chia
Chia makes up for her incessant mewing the second you pick her up by purrrring and nuzzling. she is a huge fan of the broom, piles of dirt, all insects, and being picked up.

Por las gatas: mediation, peace talks, friendship; more diligent insect control.

La Cabra Cabaña

Recently it has been more and more obvious that Ezmeralda needs more sufficient shelter.

the poor dear has been out in the rain, alone, tethered to a tree.

Lucky for her, it was Gansers to the rescue!!!!

Taking a break from volcano hikes, island boating, and sumptious seafood feasts, our dedicated visitors donated their own sweat and tears into the creation of a happy home for our Ez.

The ultimate product, La Cabra Cabaña, was a complete success!!!!!

Since the construction of la cabaña, we have added a newbie to the family:

Meet Lupita Maria!

Despite the bizarre fact that Ezmeralda is a (human) momma's girl, Lupita took to her right away and follows her every move. The girls can usually be found chomping grass and shrubs in various areas around the farm, or during a downpour, shacking up in their tropical luxurious goat accomodations.

Muchas gracias Adam y Alissa!!!!

the good, the bad, and the ugly

Good: flowers are blooming!Calendula, Calendula officinalis

Borage, Borago officinalis

African Marigolds, Tagetes erecta

Girasol, Helianthus giganteus

well, the squash/zucchini situation has gone from Bad to Worse. i should have taken some photos to share, but a passionate burst of rage has rendered that an impossibility. Upon realizing that the poor dears were not only infested with Squash Bugs and Striped Cucumber Beetles but also a despicable pest called the Squash Vine Borer, i tore their ravaged carcasses from the earth to spare them any further humiliation. In my hunt for the aforementioned bugs, i had dismissed the presence of the interesting buzzing black and orange "bee" in my garden, who meanwhile was busy (as a you know what) injecting its caterpillar eggs into the stalks of my squash plants.
Apparently it's possible to salvage your plant if the worm is removed early; in my Three Sisters Garden, it was too late.
On the upswing, while the zucchini plants were of no further use to me, they were a special treat for a new friend....
more Good: Introducing EZMERALDA!
A voracious eater, Ezzie was happy to obliterate every last trace of my squash plants,
not to mention, EVERY last piece of greenery in our backyard. Goats! there's no stopping 'em!

Finalamente, the Ugly

All three varieties of the tomatoes i planted are exhibiting classic signs of the fungus Early Blight. note the yellowed to brown circular spots.
Tomatoes have been the thorn in my side since the beginning (remember the UC-82s??) so maybe i'm not even surprised. Early Blight feeds on moisture, and unfortunately thrives in areas with heavy WEEDS. oooops. so much for my pro-weedy garden campaign.
The other huge mistake i made was planting tomatoes in the same darn garden plot--the fungus was most likely living in the soil since the first tomato crop. arrrgh.
still, the grape tomatoes continue to produce fruit.

¿fruta fea?