Slice of Almost Heaven Blog

Goat Lesson Plans

12/6/2018

Last month, Michelle went on a trip. The trip was to last for a few days. Here on the farm, I tend the ducks and chickens plus I am the building and maintenance person while Michelle tends to the goats.

With that being said, Michelle is very particular about the care and feeding of the goats. This is rightly so since goats are a “prey animal” they do not outwardly show sickness, that would be a sign of weakness. So, you must read the subtle clues, are they acting off? or just crabby? If you wait to the point they are down, you may not be able to bring them back from the edge.

So, before she leaves for a trip, I am given a VERY DETAILED set of lesson plans. It goes over all facets of their care. When to feed, what to feed, how much to feed, etc. This is preceded by a few days of intensive training where I am drilled on their care. This is followed up by several phone calls during the trip.

To say I am ready is an understatement, but I have to admit I am relieved when she gets home and she finds the goats in the same condition as when she left them in my care.

Corvette, Short Goats are Cool!!!

11/25/2018

It is breeding season here on the farm. As our normal custom, we breed maidens to a Nigerian Dwarf.
We do this so their first kids are smaller and can be born with less stress to the doe. We can also see how the does udder is going to turn out. The resulting kids are able to be registered as F1 Mini Oberhasli.

The idea looks good on paper, but in practice it can be a challenge.

Corvette and her sister Suzuki are turning out tall like their sire, Zippo. Junior, our Nigerian Dwarf is a little on the shorter side of the breed. So we have a most interesting situation. We have the breeding of an Amazon with a Dwarf. We keep telling Corvette that "Short Goats are Cool". She was a bit skeptical at first, but when there is a will there's a way (and helpful little hills don't hurt either).

Here is a picture of the happy couple.

Thanksgiving Blessings

11/22/2018

Today is Thanksgiving, a day we bow our heads and thank the Lord for all his rich blessings of the last year. We will be doing this, but we should also give thanks for what we do not have.
The above statement may sound counterintuitive. Let me explain, sadly this time of year people are so very focused on material things. As Christmas approaches people are consumed with getting "stuff", but how many will take time to reflect to the important things of life. This day when we sit down for our meal we will reflect on the blessings of the past year. But we will also thank the Lord for all the things we do not have.

We do not have to look for a job to pay our bills.
We do not have to look for a place to live.
We do not have to look for something to eat.
We do not have to look for transportation.

We could go on, but I think you get the point. So as we go forward through this season, take time to remember the true reason we celebrate the season. God came into his creation that he loved so, He willingly sent His Son to live, die and rise again so those who believe on Him may have everlasting life through Him.

So this day and in the coming weeks please try to remember the real meaning of the season.

Do you really mean those words??

10/28/2018

If you have been reading this blog for any length of time you will know Michelle and I have been married for over 20 years. I do not know any people who go into marriage thinking they are going to get a divorce ( we did not).

So, on that fateful day, you look into the eyes of the love of your life and make a vow to them. First off what is a vow? It is a promise to the other person. In our case, it was a vow we made to each other and to The Lord. A promise that should not be broken. We both took our vows very seriously.

Over the years storms have come and gone. There have been countless times I did not “like” Michelle and for her, it was the same. There have been times when each of us has stormed off mad. But over all the years we ALWAYS followed one rule. Never go to bed mad at the other. At times it is not easy, but we do not violate that rule. At those times I wanted to walk out, but where would I go? She is my Mechelle, she is a part of me, like a hand or foot. It would be easier to cut off a hand then walk out on her. You may think this is melodramatic but for us, it is the truth.

So the question I have to ask, did you really mean the words you spoke that day??

Where were you that September Day?

9/11/2018

September 11, 2001, most of us my age or older remember that fateful day.

I vividly remember what I was doing that day, the horror and fear I felt. Michelle was at school with her students, some had a parents in the towers. As the day unfolded and the towers collapsed, our shock and deep fear grew. In a moment our collective innocence was stripped away never to return. The world was a different place now. Later that day, Michelle and I took it upon ourselves to do something to help cope with the shear enormously of what had happened that day. At the time, we had a cleaning and maintenance business. We traveled to each condominium complex and lowered the flags to half staff (no small feat since we had 26 complexes).

As we drove from place to place, we saw people like us in shock and disbelief. We drove into Sea Bright, a small shore town at the edge of Sandy Hook Bay. The New York skyline could be clearly seen in the distance. That is when we first saw it. Instead of seeing two towers all we saw was smoke rising from where the tower had been. We just stood there for a while trying to make sure that our eyes were seeing what was before us. It was real, it was personal. The next day Michelle found out one of her students lost her father in one of the towers. He called his wife and told her he loved her. That was the last time she ever heard from him.

Things changed quickly, our local military base was now locked down. Soldiers were guarding the gates with M16s where hours before this was a open base to all. I was sick for days after, I wondered if there was something sinister in the gray dust.

Time moves on and the years pass by, we moved to West Virginia and I started my new career at WVU. Each September 11th, the ROTC has a 24 hour vigil. For years now when I come to work before dawn. I go and pay my respects, as I approach the tears start to flow. By the time I get there, I can barely speak, I try to say thank you and that I saw the smoke from the towers. Most times I can only get out thank you before I am consumed it full blown grief.

This year due to a mixup I was ask to do something, a thing most would not think as important. I as asked to lower the flags on the downtown campus. This was not a job for me, it was an act of reverence. I bowed my head and cried again. Then lowered the flags like I did 17 years before. The pain was raw and the tears flowed hot.

I thought of all the people who died that day. All the brave men and women who ran into those towers, knowing this was a one way trip and went anyway. "No one shows greater love than when he lays down his life for his friends" John 15:13 ISV

As I wrote the verse above, I was reminded once again of the person who willingly died for me so I may live. He lived a sinless life and chose to die to atone for me and each of us. When I see my risen Savor, I fall to my knees, I will behold his nail scarred hands.

Then I will truly know the depths of his perfect love...

Country Roads

8/19/2018

Photo of WV road by http://www.forestwander.com/

The iconic song “Country Roads” by John Denver has a special meaning to both of us. This is due to the song intersecting both of our lives multiple times spanning a time period of over thirty years. Dating back to before we ever met.

For me the date was June 1984, I was living in New Jersey. I get a copy of a photographic magazine. Inside I find an article about cave photography. Intrigued, I reread the article several times. I kept thinking about the article and I sent a letter requesting more information. A few weeks later I get a standard information packet from the national cave organization. It was nice but it did not give me any local contacts. Fast forward a year to 1985, I get a letter from a local cave club in New Jersey. I called them and started going with them to explore some wild caves. All this time they talked in glowing term of the BIG CAVES in West Virginia. Finally, they formed a trip to Lewisburg WV. On the 8 hour trip down they played Country Roads over and over. When our vehicle crossed the state line, I started to understand. The more time I spent in WV the harder it was to leave. My heart was so sad when I crossed the line to head back to New Jersey. I never forgot my time in West Virginia, I went on several more trips there. Each time I fell more deeply in love with that special place.

That same year Michelle was in basic training at Fort Dix, New Jersey and took a field trip to Fort Monmouth, which was only 4 miles from my house. That was her first time that far away from her WV home she loved. It was her first time in NJ, but not her last....

In 1998, I went on a Christian Dating site, a few days later Michelle wrote me. We talked and I found out she lived in Lewisburg, WV. I told her I was there in 1985 caving, she was not impressed. We talked, fell in love and I drove down to meet her face to face. We got married later that year, and she moved to New Jersey, we lived there for 8 years. But her heart was in a place south of New Jersey, in those sweet mountains of West Virginia. For me the tug to move to WV kept getting stronger. We played "County Roads" to death on our CD player as we both dreamed of some day returning to WV. When we were doing the final part of the remodeling in the condo before the big move we made a CD of WV songs. Different versions of "Country Roads" was on it. That CD is what kept us going when we just wanted to give up.

In 2006 we moved to Kingwood, WV and never looked back. We live on a farm high in the mountains. Life is hard here, but we love it. This is where those country roads took us home. To the place our heart will always belong......

Buck in Training

7/29/2018

This is a picture of Tre, our newest buckling (on the left). He is getting along well with the other guys, but he is already feeling his "oats" and taking his turn on "The Rock".

"The Rock" is where the senior buck will stand and survey his domain (see picture on the right). Tre is trying it on for size.

From the look of his face, it feels pretty good!

Goat Boardwalk

7/6/2018

Sometimes I wonder, about the lengths we go to, for the health and welfare of our goats. Living in the mountains our challenge has always been to guide the water that flows after a rainstorm away from the entrance to the does barn. View the following Sway to discover our solution to the problem.

My Name is Zippo, and I have DGS*

6/11/2018

My name is Zippo and I suffer from DGS*.

At this time there is no cure for DGS*, but researchers keep trying to find a treatment for this aliment.

Symptoms can cause panic and shock in goat keepers because they are so startling, but is not fatal.

I can live out a normal life with it. It just entails my caretakers to know the signs and treating me accordingly. The intensity of the symptoms increases with the temperatures. Hence, in the wintertime I do not have any attacks.

Tell your goat herding friends about DGS*, before it happens to them.

My Name is Zippo, I have DGS*.

Goat suffering from DGS

Photo courtesy of Dahlia May’s Farm

*For those of you who have not seen this it is called Dead Goat Syndrome. A goat with DGS lays down in the pasture like it is dead, but they are enjoying the sunshine. The goat herder panics and runs to their aid, then when get up to the goat, it looks up incredulously at them and seems to say "What’s your problem?"

Now THAT's Service!! Delivered to your Door

5/28/2018

When you think of chickens, you do not think of a bird with great mental powers.

But, you do not know our chickens. You see we have a special chicken. Each night during the summer she delivers her egg at our doorstep. Right around 6 pm each and every night she lays her egg. I try to watch for her but she seems to be shy. She just lays her egg, walks off merrily on her way, her deed for the day is done.

So if you stop by early one evening. You may want to watch your step.