Acer

2 April 2012 - 26 October 2023

Baby Acer tackling Goat Mountain...

...and reaching the summit.

Acer the Maple Man and Betula the Birch Boy,

with mum LeShodu, Day 5...

...and a couple of years later.

Second birthday pictures:

 

Acer at 4 years, 2016:

Always the first to shed: 10 Feb 2016

Nearly nine years old, Feb 2021:

Acer and Betula enjoying bittersweet in the Pocket Paddock,

30 June 2013...

...and 1st October 2023.

Acer's last three months have been filled with extra meals, lots of  treats, a wide variety of fallen leaves to browse, and many hours of companionship and special attention every single day.

Some of those days were sunny.

Good boy, Acer. It's been a pleasure.

~~~~~

overnight

 This happened:

More rain (of course) and perhaps a bit of wind last night brought down a tree that has been standing dead for quite some time.

Acer helping assess the situation from the Upper West Side.
Those pole beans suddenly look a lot closer, don't they, Acer?

 

The length of the bole extends all the way through the garden, east to west, compressing a section of perimeter fence which must be repaired as soon as possible. Fortunately it's the one place on the property where a gap in the six-foot perimeter paddock fence is inaccessible to the goats because of the inner garden fence of stock panels. Of course something non-goat could get into the garden from outside now - and I'm suddenly glad I didn't plant corn this year - but there's nothing I can do about that until the tree has been removed. Repairing that perimeter fence will be a job, because the it runs along the top of a steep bank covered in grape vines and precious milkweed and chin-high bee balm and many other plants. I will almost certainly do far more damage to plants than the treefall did.

Seriously. The falling tree had no way to avoid the pole bean rows and some of the jungle-like vegetation within the garden that has persisted through repeated torrential rains. A few of the stalwart catnip shrubs and fragile milkweed are on the ground. But it's quite marvelous the way the tree avoided - in some places, by inches - the raspberries, dill, okra, and blueberries. And the grapes. The beautiful grapes.

I am so grateful.

Right after taking this snap I very roughly patched that gap where the trunk is resting on the garden fence, so the goats will think twice before trying to climb up on the bole and use it for a bridge. (If just one goat gets through that gap, I can kiss the garden goodbye for 2023.) And I called a logger friend who said he will try to come by tomorrow before noon to have a look at removing the bole. I suggested he bring a friend. This is going to be at least a two-person job and I will be less than a half-person-worth of assistance. In fact, my entire role will probably be shouting - over the roar of a chainsaw - things like, "There's a tiny blueberry bush right behind you!" and "Please don't crush the raspberries, they are finally thriving!"

Fingers crossed.

~~~~~

sunday snaps

We've had two days of genuinely pleasant weather.

Not too hot.

Not too steamy.

Not as many mosquitoes and biting flies.

I turned off the fans in the barns!

For the first time in months I was able to enjoy staying outside after chores,

instead of heading inside to peel off soaking wet clothes and dry my hair with a towel.

Today, Della helped me photograph the bees in the perennial gardens:

"There's one!"

And Moxie helped me work in the big vegetable garden:

"That's enough work for a while. Let's sit in the shade."

But Piper said,

"Honestly? Gardening has never really been my thing.

And Those Goats are EVERYWHERE!

I'm going back inside for a nap now."

Okay, Pip. I'll open the door for you, and put a treat on your pillow.

Then it's time to check on Those Goats.

Moxie spends a lot of time in the goat paddocks.

It looks like she's outside the fence here, but not really - 

she's in another paddock with other goats.

It must have been a huge relief for the goats to have fewer biting bugs.

This Spring and Summer has been, in a word, terrible.

This weekend all the goats have been quietly browsing or resting in the sun.

Not kicking at flies or flapping their ears to get rid of mosquitoes every few seconds.

I hope these gentler conditions will continue...
right into Winter would be nice!

Everyone relaxed.

Not a squabble, not a row.

Just the way I like it!

~~~~~

birthday girl

Today is LeShodu's birthday.

She is my foundation doe;

the Matriarch of Cloud Harvest Cashmere.

Every goat on the place is related to her.

She came here in 2010, at the age of 6:

In Spring 2011, LeShodu introduced Violet and Lily of the Valley :

 

Acer and Betula followed, in Spring 2012: 

Reluctantly (it was my idea), LeShodu took a year off in 2013...

"Humphh."

...then produced Vinca and Dara in 2014. 

LeShodu was formally retired as a breeding doe in 2014.

Again, it was my idea.

LeShodu's clear preference was to continue growing her herd.

Can a Queen ever have too many Subjects?

LeShodu does not think so.

Of course, LeShodu has not retired from either brush-clearing...

...or producing very nice cashmere.

Happy 12th Birthday, LeShodu - Queen of the May!

~~~~~

in like a lion

March did indeed come in like a lion this year.

It began with a roaring, middle-of-the-night windstorm that brought down a great many branches - but would likely have taken down entire trees had they already leafed out, so we were lucky. No injuries, no damage to buildings, no power lines down.

There was this small, localized bit of misfortune:

It's the top of a maple, that snapped and fell across the roundtop. I was able to pull it off with that line, but...

Possibly later I can buy replacement sections for the very bent frame pieces, but there's no point in moving all the hay now; it will be fed and gone soon enough. Meanwhile, I've got a tarp tied down over the many holes poked in the cover. It'll do.

~~~

We had snow for three days in the first week of March, but the sort of dusting that one can thoroughly enjoy; an end-of-season novelty, soon to be just a sparkly memory.

Of course the reality is, we've had massive snowstorms in April, and I recall once being stuck in my own driveway in May. But despite this...when the season is shifting and days are growing longer and are sometimes pleasantly warm, it is easier to perceive snow as a transient and beautifying gift. Which is why I don't think this titmouse was worried at the moment when freezing rain turned to snow yesterday:

"Snow? Let's see...a variety of seeds,
a perch all to myself,
under an overhang...
and it was 60F yesterday.
I'm good."

~~~

Scattered between all this rain and snow and wind, there have been some blue-sky-and-shirtsleeves days. Some outdoor carpentry project days.

 Some let's-muck-out-the-barn days.

And even a couple of "drag the chaise out to the Upper West Side paddock and knit for an hour after chores" days.

Yes, actual knitting.

With agreeable company.

And valuable opinions when requested.

~~~

So, here we are quite suddenly halfway into March, and it's been characteristically changeable so far.

I wonder what will happen next?

~~~~~

sunday snaps

Just a few pictures from a day of sunshine and wind...

beginning with the morning light pouring into the barn through the south windows.

This is Azalea:

After morning chores, some quality time with the herd on the Upper West Side. Brilliant winter sun, but breezy - as you can see from Violet's coat:

Just like some people, some goats are not easy to photograph well. You may get a pretty shot, or a technically excellent shot, but the subjects just don't "look like themselves."

Acer is one of those goats.

But today, I somehow got several pictures of Acer that really do look just like the goat I know...so many that it was hard to pick just one to show you!

But here it is: 

Acer

~~~

In the afternoon, Piper and I went for a little walk - as we do most days when the weather is decent - and for the first time in many months I brought a sketchpad and cushion.

After we rambled over hill and dale for a while, Piper was ready for a rest. The sun was warm but the wind was cold, so I plunked my cushion against a tree on the lee side of a little esker, and began to draw a maple tree. It has been having an adventurous and challenging life growing alongside a large rock.

Piper was happy to sit in the sunshine...

catch her breath...

have some treats...

...for about two minutes.

Then she changed position.

See that grey trunk behind her head?

That's the maple I was drawing.

And in case I missed the point...

 she moved in a teensy bit closer.

Her head is now on my sketchbook.

Well...

I guess that's enough sitting for today.

~~~

I hope you had a lovely weekend!

~~~~~