It has been an absolutely beautiful day here in Northeast Oklahoma, from start to finish. The day was warm, the sun shined all day and the warm gentle breeze felt more like spring than fall. All in all, one could not ask for a nicer day. Of course, there had to be a downside, something to balance the utter perfection.
For several years, I have raised goats. Not a big herd, only two or three nannies and a billy. October is breeding season here and time for the old billy to do his job. Yesterday evening about dusk, he was happily doing just that, and all was well. This morning was another story altogether. My fine old billy was lying on the ground, quite dead. There was no sign of a struggle, no injuries, he had apparently just collapsed, stretched his hind legs backward and died.
I thought of him as a young goat, but upon thinking of how long I had him, he was not all that young. Seven or eight years old isn't really old for a goat but not a yearling either. Seems that though he was strong and healthy, his heart couldn't take the strain of this breeding season.
A new billy will have to be purchased at some point within the next year, but I am almost certain that both nannies are bred. I will look forward to seeing his final offspring in a few months. He will be missed but his bloodline will carry on. It is the way of things, the passing of the old to make room for the new, and so the cycle continues.
Moving toward an Earth based, self-sufficient, homesteading lifestyle, through gardening, raising small livestock and canning, preserving and storing the food produced, while shifting toward off-grid living using people powered tools and greater simplicity. This lifestyle is being enhanced by the use of old fashioned skills such as blacksmithing and wood working, while incorporating modern techniques and alternative building materials. Welcome to the journey.
No comments:
Post a Comment