This is Ginger.  She was the first goat in my herd to carry the Sliceofalmostheaven herd name.  She was a really great goat, just a little too aggressive.  When she was 2nd fiddle in the herd, there were no problems, but when she became herd queen, she ruled with an iron hoof!  She gave me some great kids, the best being Lois, but her time to move to another herd came.  On the new farm, she kidded from breeding on my farm and gave me my second-best kid who was Corvette.  Unfortunately, she passed away just after the kids were weaned.  I acquired Corvette back from the new farm.  

I give you this background information to understand what happened to Ginger.  The greatest thing Ginger gave me was her two daughters, Corvette and Lois.  These two are the basis of my herd now.  Even though Ginger herself was aggressive, she did not pass that on to her offspring.  Lois is the herd queen and retired from kidding, and her daughter, Vicki, has picked up the mantle.  I also have 2 great-granddaughters of Ginger in my herd and two granddaughters from Corvette.  

So as you can see, Slice of Almost Heaven came from just one goat, and a great goat she was.

​One evening Michelle and I were milking the goats. It was a warm and sultry night. I looked up at a box pushed up on a high shelf. I then saw a flash of movement. After thinking about it we both realized it was a bird. Occasionally, birds fly into the barns, but this was different. I got a ladder and retrieved the box we saw the bird flew from, there was a nest with three small eggs in it. 

We were dismayed we may have scared off momma bird from her nest. A few minutes later she was back. Over the next week we would see the bird fly in, we would stand still as they would go to the nest. 

We were puzzled on how the birds went in and out when the barn was closed. Did they wait till we opened the doors? One day with the front door open and the back door closed, I saw one of the bird go out via the back door. Upon inspection I found a small gap in the door. This was how they went in and out of the barn. 

After a few more days we heard the babies chirping at feeding time. The parents grew more comfortable with us and would fly in and out without much bother. 

After few day of not hearing anything in the nest, I checked and all had left. We will leave this box there. Because we know they will be back next year.

​So the cycle continues...

​I have had a keen interest in reading about the gallant men who fought to keep this nation free during World War 2. This is in large part from my late father being a combat veteran of that same war. At the end of one of the books I was reading, the author mentioned something that sparked a long forgotten memory. He said doing the right thing can be the sweetest when your actions are known only to God!

For me this started at a very young age. Culturally, Where I grew up, it was acceptable to play pranks on the night before Halloween (called Mischief Night). These were mostly harmless pranks, but one year it took on a far more sinister bent. Across from where we lived was an elderly couple. The husband was gruff and not very likable to the neighborhood kids. For some reason that year, these kids singled out his house for their pranks. It started off small, each time he would charge out of his house yelling at the pranksters as they ran away. This year it did not stop, it went on for weeks till the wee hours of the morning, I never knew for sure who was doing it. This went on until one night after taunting him, he stormed out of his house yelling and then went inside, collapsed and died. 

Even thought at the time I was only 7 years old. I understood what they had done to this man and his wife. For some reason I felt a sense of guilt for not stopping them. There was no way I could have stopped them. 

The memory of this event had faded from the local culture, and as I entered my early teens, I made a vow that no one would ever bother that house again. For many years I would stand guard over that house from the shadows of my parents property I would watch. If anyone approached that house to do the widow or her sister harm, a brilliant blinding light would strike perpatrator and they would run off. They never knew who was behind that beam and no one ever bothered them again. One day, years later, while taking over produce from our garden. I got up the courage to tell them why no one ever bothered them. The sisters did not say a word, but the gratitude they showed was deafening. 

Even though in the end I did tell them who was behind their hedge of protection for all that time before it was only known to God.  It was sweet to know that they were safe.