I knew something was going on before I even stepped out of the house this morning. As I sent several dogs out the back door and leaned through the gap myself to catch a glimpse of the day, I heard one of the goats.
She was still penned up in the barn. She was not happy about it. She was bawing and bleating, and just by the sound of her voice, I had a pretty good guess as to what she was trying to say.
Sure enough, when I got out there an hour or so later to milk and let everyone out for the day, my hunch was confirmed. It was Velvet, and she was in heat. The first doe to cycle this year.
So here we are, poised on the brink of this autumn's breeding season.
It's always kind of exciting to get to this time. Breeding in August means babies in January, which is way too early to even consider on this farm. But now the clock is ticking, and I can really begin to think about October. That's when Velvet's dreams will all come true, along with the other nine or so does I plan to breed this fall.
I've been considering next year's naming theme for a while already, and I have a pretty good idea of which girl will get paired with which boy.
Cognac will come in to his own this fall, too, and it's exciting to anticipate what kind of kids he'll produce with his exceptional bloodlines.
So we've got a few weeks to wait, but the clock is ticking. I let Velvet out of the barn and had to chuckle as she raced up the hill toward the bucks' corrals. Petra was already standing up on his back legs, leaning on the fence and calling to her. Ah, unrequited love. Give it time, buddy, give it time. We'll get there. Six more weeks will be just about right.
