Frankly speaking.......the winter is cold and cruel sometimes

Here in the mountains of North Carolina, we are experiencing an unusual winter (sort of). We had snow in January, which is not all that unusual, but then it stayed cold and warmed up, got cold again, all of which makes for an icy layer on top of the snow - treacherous for people….. not so much for goats, being surefooted and all.

Before the snow came, we lost our buddy Nigel. Nigel deserves a tribute, so here goes:

Nigel, jacob sheep who looked amazingly like Freddie Mercury, passed away with his loving companion Daisy by his side on January 14, 2022. The cause of death was undetermined, but earlier in the week, it appeared that Nigel had suffered an injury to his left eye, causing it to swell and drain. It appeared to be healing on its own until it wasn’t, and Nigel, who was flighty and nervous anyway, just couldn’t handle it. He was buried here on the farm before the big snows came.

Nigel lived a charmed life here on the mountain top, with Daisy as his constant companion and stall mate. Daisy is now trying to fit in with the goat herd, and has decided it’s best to identify as a goat from now on. Daisy is elderly, having moved to North Carolina with the original flerd 11 years ago. At the time she was a yearling.

Nigel liked to boss everyone around in the barnyard. Nigel made the breeding decisions around here, and when the little goat boys tried to get some action, Nigel would head butt them off their target. Nigel would fight like a goat, not a sheep, by standing up and head butting his target on the way to the ground. This could have been the cause of the injury to his eye.

Nigel was friendly enough with the people (if they had animal crackers), but if you looked at him long enough he would stomp his foot like he was going to attack. He didn’t ever attack, but just wanted to look scary.

In any event, we are sorry that Nigel is no longer with us. He had a really nice fleece and a not so nice personality sometimes, but then again he was not a goat. End of sheep obit.

Nature being what it is, when one leaves us, more show up. Such is the case around here. As soon as the snows came, Hera decided to drop twins.

Snow and Storm about a half hour after birth

Storm (the blue boy) appeared quite vigorous and much bigger than his sister, Snow. Even under the watchful eye of our hay wench, he didn’t make it for long. He lived about one whole day and we lost him. His sister, however, has enough personality for both of them, and she is thriving. Her new name is Izzy Snow.

A couple of days later, Gracie dropped a little girl. Gracie is a good, experienced mom, and her little girl has such a set of lungs, she has been named Fauntina, after the opera singer of the 1800’s.

Baby Fauntina with mom Gracie

So, that’s the news from the farm of late. Some sad, some good. I hope the snow melts soon. We went outside yesterday for the first time in a week, and it was pretty dicey to say the least. Wench fell on her butt while she was preparing the walkway for us with wasted hay. Good thing she had plenty of padding… lol!

Anyway, that’s about it around here…. thanks for reading Frankly Speaking!

I’m so handsome, don’t ya think? love, frankie