Friday, May 18, 2012

What to expect when you're not expecting

And babies make seven.
So it's dusk and I'm sitting on the sofa enjoying a negroni and writing a blog post and periodically yelling to Owen, "Are you doing your homework?" even though I know he is puttering on the porch.

"Yes," he yells back, even though he knows I know he is puttering on the porch. Owen putters; puttering is his life. A few minutes later he says, "Mom, Sparkles is making a weird noise. Like an opera singer."

I go outside and hear the noise, see the interesting scene. Sparkles is sprawled out in the part of the yard we call "the dustbowl" with a giant bubble coming out of her behind. Uh oh. Can I bring the negroni with me? Split second calculation: not without spilling. I clamber down the hill and Owen gets towels out of the dryer and we lay them under the goat and I pull on the little black hooves visible inside the bubble and out slides baby number one. A few minutes later, baby number two arrives. Boy and girl. Tiny. Like rabbits.

This was a bit of a surprise. We didn't breed Sparkles, but all of our goats boarded with a very young male over the New Year and apparently something happened. Even if we had been expecting babies, we would not have expected them for another 2 weeks.

These aren't the prettiest kids. From some angles, the girl looks like an albino gorilla. From others, like a sheep. This morning Owen said, "They look so cute all cuddled up. Until you see their faces."

Trust me. This is a very flattering picture.

16 comments:

  1. ohmygoodness - this made me laugh very hard. It is hard to imagine a baby goat that is not cute but I'll take your word on it! love your book and your blog!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think you officially have a farm now!

    ReplyDelete
  3. When we gave up sheep raising, a friend took on our small spinners' flock. We told her that we hadn't bred the sheep that year. Well, we thought we hadn't. Somehow one of the ladies found a guy and our friend ended up with two more sheep than she originally bargained for. She said she was thrilled to have had the lamb experience - just that one time though. These fuzzy critters are very crafty about getting to each other.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh my. I only have a dog, and sometimes she's more than I can take. Goats are way outside of my comfort zone.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh. My. Please share the recipe for Negronis. After this goat story, think the name of your blog is becoming even more appropriate!

    ReplyDelete
  6. "They look so cute all cuddled up. Until you see their faces."

    LOL!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Congratulations! I don't know how your vegetable
    Garden looks this year, but you are awesome at growing goats!

    ReplyDelete
  8. hahaha, have been in this situation with a patient or two--"I didn't know I was pregnant" Totally made my day--at least it wasn't your daughter who didn't realize she was pregnant! at least you haven't been worrying all this time about an upcoming birth :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Peppermint--nothing? I guess I didn't even know you had a "Sparkles." Congratulations!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Man, I had this happen with a cat once and that was shocking enough. While the world doesn't need more cats, though, it definitely needs more goats. Congratulations!

    ReplyDelete
  11. NancyJ -- equal parts gin, campari, sweet vermouth. Shake w. ice, serve up. Very good cocktail because you don't drink them fast. A little bitter, a little bracing. One is good; two is the absolute limit. Unlike, say, a sidecar which is like drinking the world's best lemonade.

    Kristin -- Sparkles was Natalie's kid from last year. She was the only kid and we got lazy and never got rid of her. And now look what happened.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Kannur University Hall Ticket 2016
    Kannur University Result 2016 for all course
    Kannur University Admit Card 2016
    Kannur University Hall Ticket 2017
    Kannur University Result 2017
    Kannur University Admit Card 2016
    Kannur University Entrance Date 2016
    Kannur University Degree Allotment
    Kannur University Trial Allotment 2016
    Kannur University Admission 2016
    Kannur University Onlie Admission
    Kannur University Distance Education Result 2016
    Kannur University Hall Ticket 2016
    Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University BA Result 2016-2017
    Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University Hall Ticket 2016
    Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University Result 2016 for all course
    Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University Admit Card 2016
    Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University Hall Ticket 2017
    Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University Result 2017
    Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University Admit Card 2016
    Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University Entrance Date 2016
    Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University Degree Allotment
    Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University Trial Allotment 2016
    Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University Admission 2016
    Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University Onlie Admission
    Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University Distance Education Result 2016
    Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University Hall Ticket 2016
    Karnatak State Open University BA Result 2016-2017
    Karnatak State Open University Hall Ticket 2016
    Karnatak State Open University Result 2016 for all course
    Karnatak State Open University Admit Card 2016
    Karnatak State Open University Hall Ticket 2017
    Karnatak State Open University Result 2017

    ReplyDelete