About

It all started with a garden. First just a single, 12-in-high, raised bed. Then, as each new spring arrived, I would add a few new beds as needed. I loved the smell of fresh earth and the feel of the dirt in my hands as I planted each year. I especially loved wandering up to the garden to collect whatever was ripe and ready for dinner that day. For almost a decade and a half, that was enough.

Then in 2019 I decided to get chickens. I set them up in a brooder in my studio as I went about building them a proper chicken oasis behind the house. It began as a small, 4×8 foot structure that eventually grew to include not just one, but two enclosed runs to keep them safe from the local hawks and coyotes. I moved the chicks into their luxury digs and they proceeded to thrive. We had the joy of watching them grow and multiply. Plus, fresh eggs! Another half decade went by and it was enough.

And then there were goats

They say chickens are the gateway livestock and that was certainly the case here. We had talked about getting goats on and off for most of the nearly 20 years we’d been on this property. Usually, the conversation stalled when we started talking infrastructure. We didn’t have it and we didn’t have the time or money to build it. So, we waited. Then circumstances changed.

First, my husband’s mother passed away. Shortly afterward, my father also passed. Less than a year later, my husband was offered early retirement. The combination of these events allowed us to pay off all our debt, including our mortgage, with a tidy sum left over. And a luxury we’d never had before … free time. Enough to build a barn and paddock. Enough to finally get the goats we’d long dreamed of.

We purchased three 10-week-old doelings and brought them home as soon as the barn was secure enough to house them. The joy and connection was instantaneous. These gentle, inquisitive creatures captured our hearts from the first moment. We were hooked.

Construction continued around our new additions. We finished off the milk parlor. Built a second barn. Enlarged the paddock. Three goats led to four, then five. Then we had our first kidding and the number grew to eight.

At the time of this writing, we are up to eleven goats with more on the way. Each addition has brought more joy and more challenge. I can’t wait to see where the future will take us from here. There will never be enough.