I've Gone Country A blog about a city girl learning a whole new world

Life is full of changes.

The past few weeks have brought many around here.

Gumby….

and Pokey, went to live with someone else.  They came into our pasture originally because a man had died and his family asked if we would take them.  So we did.  They have been with us for about 3 years.  They certainly were free spirited.  They had beautiful gaits and grabbed your attention when they would gallop by.

They’ve chased our new born calves and had the whole herd running circles trying to get the ponies to stop.  They even kicked one of the gates right off the hinges.

They just didn’t play well with the others.  They even started biting the cows this winter.  I mean like..taking a plug out of their sides… kind of bite.

It was still hard to move them on….but it had to happen.

They didn’t give us any trouble loading up on the trailer….which totally surprised us.  It was almost as if they were ready for a change themselves.

I watched as they made their way down the road.  The wind blowing through their manes… they looked like they were loving every minute of it.

That certainly made it easier on us.

A few weeks later…….

Our baby girl donkey….Jill

went to Nashville to marry another donkey about the same age.

The new owners have a farm about the same size as ours and have just begun selecting their animals.

Once they arrived here and saw our animals they asked if we would sell them a few goats too.

So…we did it…we actually parted with a few of them.

I know…we can’t believe it either.

They wanted one of the new boy goats…..so they picked this one.

They also wanted a girl.

They chose……our LUCY.

Now…that was hard.  When she was born this time last year…she almost died.

We spent all our energy and love…making her better.

and beamed like proud parents when she started making progress.

Billy and I looked at each other in horror when they picked Lucy.

We weren’t sure we could let her go.  But then again….it is hard to think of letting any of them go.

Each one has a story of their own.  Each animal has a heart string.  Each one is special.

But….we did.  We let Lucy and the baby boy goat go.  They loaded up on the trailer with Jill and they went to their new home in Nashville.

I reflected back on the first animals we picked out for our farm.

It was so exciting.

The newness of being an animal owner.  Learning about them and getting to enjoy them everyday.

Lucy had a bad start in life, being a runt, sick and rejected by her mother.

Now she gets to live her life …. really live it.  She gets to be the only girl in the goat pen and she can have babies, and be loved by the children in this family.

She’s actually fortunate that they picked her.

They thought she was beautiful…..and she is.

Billy and I shook our heads for several days….thinking what in the world have we done.   This is the hard part of  having animals.

We are trying to arrange who can go where for the upcoming season.  Once again we have some other male goats that cannot stay due to breeding problems.

A few days later we decided that we had to make even more changes.

Jed….who is our BIG….but gentle and kind goat, would have to go to a new home.   He has been a very good daddy and was one of our very first goats.  We have watched him grow up from a 4 month old….to a grown billy.

Charlie…..his son….is just a year old.

They will be leaving this weekend to live on a nearby farm.

One positive note regarding these changes were when people came to look at the animals, they were amazed at how sweet they were.  Surprised that all the animals greeted us and were eager to come up to us.

That seemed to make them super excited to get them to their own farms, anxious to enjoy their sweet dispositions.

That made me very happy and proud.

I’m pleased with the families that have chosen them, some brought the whole family to our farm.  I found it neat to watch the kids…all bright eyed, and giggling as they unloaded from their trucks.  They stomped through the muddy pasture with their little cowboy boots on, and cautiously approached the animals.   I melted when I saw our critters make an extra effort to love up on them.

That makes your heart smile.

I checked on Jill, Lucy and our baby boy goat the day after they left us.

The new owner said they were “FABULOUS”!

Well…..you can’t get much better than that.

Yes….change can be hard….but it can also be a good thing.