Walnut Grove: October 2012

Where'ze Goat Pen, Lebowski?

After living in a rickety old stallion shed for years, the goats were finally treated this year to a brand new "palace," complete with two stalls, gutters, and a portico (goats hate to get wet). We also extended their lot into the woods where they could feast on honeysuckle and pine tree bark. Unfortunately, our wizened old goat, Billy, didn't live to see his new pad. After a bout with a respiratory infection, we had to put him down in the spring. In his stead, though, Iris and her brood, Walter, Ivy, and Lily, are enjoying playing lawn and leaf mowers, and in Billy's honor, Walter is trying his horns at butting. We also have two new additions to the herd--Donny and Little Larry (who, like Walter, are affectionately named after characters from The Big Lebowski). Donny and Larry are Nubians, a dairy breed--and my favorite, but they had the bad luck of being born male. Though obviously not useful as milkers, they nevertheless found a job as herbicides at Walnut Grove Farm--and were thus saved from the roasting spit.

Powell tearing down the old goat shed

Mike building the new goat pen

The new goat pen!

The goats munching in the woods

Donny and Little Larry

Donny

Little Larry

The goats together

Good old Billy in the old goat shed

The Last Scenes of Summer

Here is a final hodgepodge of pictures taken of Thomas's summer adventures, including mowing grass with Mamaw, going to Mommy's outdoor symphony concert, sticking his head out of windows, and finding a turtle!

Scenes of Summer, Part 4: Visits with Family

We had two big visits with Lance's family over the summer. For the first, we had a full house at Walnut Grove, with Lance's mother (Lynne), sister (Kim), and three nieces (Olivia, Carstyn, and Rae) coming for a week-long stay. The pet project was making dresses for the girls' American Girl dolls, under the guidance of master seamstress Lynne. Uncle Lance, not fond of needle craft, though, swept the girls away for a trip to a local water park. Luckily, no one came home with unwanted fungus.

For the second visit, Lance, Thomas, and I went to Cincinnati to visit Aunt Kim and Cousin Olivia. We had good times at the zoo where Aunt Kim (who works there) arranged for behind-the-scenes soirees with elephants, kea birds, and penguins. While in Ohio, we also visited Ripley, a small town about thirty miles down river from Cincinnati. Ripley was a hotbed for Underground Railroad operations, led largely by Reverend John Rankin, whose house sits high on a hill above the river, and John Parker, an ex-slave who bought his freedom, came north, and started his own iron foundry. Though Ripley is a sleepy little town now, you can still hear the clarion call of social justice when you visit there.