More Family Photos

"Mama, does this say d-i-s-h?"

"Now, exactly how does this thing work?"

"I know if I look long enough, I can figure it out. If not, I will just ask Dad."

"Yippee! I am queen of the rock pile! Can I have something to eat now?"

BeBe: "The light sure is bright out here. I may have to go back under the porch steps and finish my nap."

Bunny: "Surely Mom can't see me in here. I hate to have my picture taken."

Maggie: "Please, Mom. I promise not to chase anybody. Well, except for Pansy."

O'Pea: "I sure am hungry."

"Nobody is as cute as me"

"Oh goodie! More weeds!"

Gabbi: "No, I am not eating too much. I am eating for two...or three....or four...oh dear! What have I gotten myself into?"

I asked Mama if Gabbi was getting fat, and she told me that the babies inside Gabbi's tummy were growing so that when they are born they will be Healthy! There's that word again. Hmmm....so that's where babies come from!



This is only part of my family(and me, of course!) I will see if Mama can take more pictures to show you later! Gotta run!

Love,

Pansy

The Doctor Comes to Visit

Maggie and Me

It has been very busy here. A few days ago Mama noticed that Leggs' foot was hurting. She is a horse who lives here with her mother Abby and the rest of us. She brought her into the barn so that she wouldn't walk so much, and she laid down in the barn to rest her foot.

The next morning, Mama called the doctor. Because he is an animal doctor, he is called a "veterinarian", but Mama said I could just call him "the vet" 'cause it would be easier. He came to our house in a big truck to look at her foot. He checked it and told Mama that she had an "abscess" in her foot, and it would need to be cut open. Because he said it would hurt and that she needed to be still he gave her a shot to make her sleepy so he could take care of her foot. I was there, but I couldn't watch! He told Mama to get a bucket of warm water and soak it to help it heal quicker. Then the doctor gave her "vaccinations" to keep her from getting sick from other stuff. He also gave them to Abby, and a few hours later, Abby got really sick. So Mama called the doctor and he told her to give her a shot of medicine he had left for her to use if she needed to. After she got that shot, in a little while she started to feel better. She seems okay now, and I am glad. Mama would have been really sad if something had happened to Abby.

Today we went outside in the afternoon because it was cool. Mama took her picture maker(I think Mama said it was a "camera") because she said I needed pictures of my family on my blog. So Gabbi, O'Pea, and I got to go outside to eat and play while Mama made pictures of us. Gabbi doesn't feel like playing because it won't be much longer till her babies are born, so she is tired. O'Pea doesn't really play either, cause all he wants to do is EAT, as you can see in my first picture today.

After we had eaten for a while and I ran up and down the hill, Gabbi said it was time to go in. So we all went inside and Mama gave us grain and hay and fresh water. She sprinkled a few black things in our grain along with a little bit of green powder. She said the black things were sunflower seeds and would make my coat nice and shiny. The green powder was something called kelp, which Mama said gave us "micronutrients", whatever that is.

In a little while the sky got really dark, and Mama said Gabbi must have told us it was time to come in earlier because she knew it was going to rain. I asked her how Gabbi knew that, and she said God put something in Gabbi called an "instinct" that let her know when it was going to rain because getting wet can make us sick. I told her that I didn't know it was going to rain, and Mama said that when I got bigger that I would. But for now, Mama said I needed to listen to Gabbi and come inside when she told me to. Sure enough, then wind started blowing , and then it rained really hard. Mama said she was going to close the barn door for a little while so that the rain wouldn't come into the barn. She said she would open it back up when it stopped raining, because we needed lots of fresh air to keep us healthy. Staying healthy sure seems complicated!

Well, I gotta go. Mama said she would help me figure out how to put more pictures on my blog, and I will do that again soon.

Love,

Pansy

My Own Email Address

I have been having lots of fun on the farm. I eat hay and feed and take my bottle, and I go outside to play and eat green things. Mama takes us outside of the barn, and we look for good green things to eat. I go with Gabbi and eat what she eats so that I know that it is good for me. Mostly though I like running up and down the hill and jumping up and down. Today I ran toward Maggie and then turned and ran away from her. She tried to chase me, but Mama got really mad. She said, "Maggie!! Stop chasing Pansy! You are supposed to protect her, not chase her!" Then she turned to me and said, "Pansy! I asked you to be patient with Maggie, not get her in trouble. If you can't be nice, then you will have to go back inside." I said, "Yes, Mama, I am very sorry."

After we ate yummy green plants, then we came back inside. Mama told me she had a big surprise for me. She said that I could have my very own email address. She said I could get mail from all of my new friends who read my blog. My email address is: onfirestonecreekpansy@gmail.com . Now all of you who read the things I write about can send me letters or put a note on my blog.

I gotta go eat my hay now. Mama will give me my night time bottle soon, and then I will go to sleep. More later.

Love,

Pansy

Greetings and Salutations

It was warm on June 17, when I was born in the North Carolina mountains.  They tell me that I was the first one born, because I have 2 sisters, Goldie and Holly, and a brother I call Uppy.
My name is Pansy because my mothers name is Tulip.  I also have a Granny Joanna(I call her Gran) and a Gramps named Mike.  They love me very much. 

I live with Gran and Gramps with a lot of other goats.  I drink my Mommy's milk to help me grow strong, but I also eat a special feed that has medicine in it to help me not get sick. I also get to go outside and eat green stuff, and I get hay when I come back to my room at night.  Gran even gave me a shot, which hurt for a minute, and told me that it would keep me from getting sick.  Gran called it a "vaccination" and said even human kids get them too to help them to not get sick.
 
One day Gran and Gramps told me that I was going to go to a place called Tennessee to live with a new mommy, and a daddy too.  I told them I didn't want to go to a strange all by myself.  That is when Gran told me that she would never send me somewhere alone.  She said my Aunt Gabbi and Uncle O'pea would be coming too so I would have someone to play with.

One morning when I was five weeks old Gran said it was time to go and meet my new mommy.  I was very scared, so Gran held me while Gramps drove the truck.  It seemed like a long time, but we were there before you knew it.  As we arrived, Gramps blew his horn, and a lady came walking out of the barn, waving.  She had a big smile on her face, came over to Gran and picked me up.  It wasn't too bad, even though I was afraid.  She spoke very softly to me and even scratched my ears.  Then she gave me a bottle that Gran had brought.  I was only used to drinking from my goat mama, so it was confusing at first.  Then I figured out that it was my milk and I drank and drank and drank.  When my belly was full, I quit drinking.

After I ate, my new mama told me she was putting me in a safe place with Gabbi and O'Pea to take a little nap.  It smelled all fresh and the ground was soft.  She had bales of hay in the back corner so we could climb up on them and lay down.  She put fresh hay in our room for us to eat, and she cut locust leaves, pine branches and blackberry leaves for us to eat.  Yum, Yum! They were so delicious.  I decided that this might just be a nice place after all.

I told Gran and Gramps goodbye, and that I would miss them.  I think Gran had a tear in her eye especially because she was leaving Gabbi.  I think it was because Gran fed Gabbi from a bottle from the day she was born because her goat mama was sick.  Gran gave me a kiss and told me she would come and see me again soon.  I promised her that I would be a good girl.

After Gran and Gramps left, I felt a little bit sad, but Gabbi said we were starting a new family here, and that there would be more little goats for me to play with soon because she was going to be having babies.  She said I could be a big sister to them, and look after them.  Then I suddenly didn't feel sad anymore, because I was going to be part of a big adventure!  Mama brought a big white dog into the barn and told me her name was Maggie.  She said Maggie was really just a puppy, but that when she got even bigger that she would stay with us and help keep us safe.  She told us to be patient with her until she learned what her job would be.  I told her I would try, but that she was lots bigger than me.  Mama told me not for very long because I would grow very fast.

For the next two days, Mama fed me warm milk from a bottle, and I ate grain and hay and green stuff.  She took all of us outside and we followed her out into open place with green trees and lots of green stuff to eat.  Gabbi showed me the things that were good for me to eat, and the things that I shouln't eat.  I think O'Pea just eats everything!  He is a big pig and tries to push me away from the good things to eat.  Mama tells him not to be a bully, and then she finds me a place where I can eat good stuff too.

The next day after I ate my breakfast, Mama told me there were more members of the family.  She picked me up and took me to the gate and I saw really big animals that I had never seen before.  "Those are horses", Mama said. "While you are little you must stay on this side of the fence, because Abby and Leggs are very big and might accidentally step on you.  When you are bigger, perhaps you can go out into the pasture with them."

Then one morning I told Mama that I really missed Gran.  She told me she had an idea.  She said that she had something called a "computer", and that I could talk to Gran even though she was far away.  She said I could send her something called an "email", and that she could send me a message.  I told Mama that I didn't know anything about those things, but she said she would help me.  So I told Mama what I wanted to tell Gran, and then she typed it into an email and sent it to Gran.  A little while later, Gran sent a reply to me, and told me she was going to see me soon.

I told Mama that I liked sending emails, and she said I could have a "blog".  She said I could tell lots of other people what life is like living on a farm and growing up there.  I told her that would be fun if she would help me.  She said she would, and that the first time I wrote in my blog that I needed to tell everyboy "Hello".  So that is what I am doing today: 

            "GREETINGS AND SALUTATIONS!"

I will write more soon, but I must take my bedtime bottle and then go to sleep.  Nite, Nite.

Love,
Pansy