Easter on the Farm

Woke up at 5:30 and saw the first morning light of Easter '09. I lingered under the covers snuggling with Mia who was more intent on getting some rest than chatting with her mother (I got her to talk anyway) then couldn't stay in bed any longer. There's always too much to do to stay in bed! Got the fire blazing in the wood stove, made my famously strong French Roast foamy milk coffee and got the doggies out. A blast of cold wind made me wish I put on more than a sweater over my granny gown. The thermometer said 24 F. but it felt colder with the wind. Some sheep jumped over the stanchions to get outside and graze, but Thor lying in the doorway to the Northside chased most of them back in. One little sheep is on the hill eating good green grass, a sight that delights the shepherd after a long winter of slinging those costly bales. Matt is still saying "We made it, we made it!" (through another winter) but it still feels like winter out there to me. I bet we'll have another snow storm yet. I leave you with this picture of little Velvet AKA "Monkey" who I found lying flat on the hay next to her mother, Celeste, the day before Easter in '07. I tube fed her warm milk then put her in a laundry basket on the oven door in the milk room to thaw overnight. I thought surely I would find her dead the next morning. When Easter dawned I went out there to check on her and this is what I saw...a tiny little doe kid standing up, calling for her mother. She was my Easter miracle. Now she's a big, fat, sassy doe goat who rules the roost. Monkey was the one who I heard murmuring under hundreds of bales of hay last summer after the elevator filled up the barn over her. Another miracle. She's just that kind of tough girl who won't give in. As I look out the window now she's eating dog food from Knut's dish. No other animal can get near Knut's kibble. It's all about attitude, and Monkey's got it.