Worn Wooden Stairs

 

Eric and I have become accustomed to the cycle of life and death on the farm. The huge loss of an animal friend became slightly easier for me when I began to replace some of the sadness with acceptance and deep love for our time together.  I think what I have learned the most is to never take one day for granted with the fluffy inhabitants of Short Leg Farm. Goats being notoriously curious and destructive little beasts make for a never ending “fix it” list of repairs to barns and fencing. The never ending farm to do list used to fill me with anxiety and a feeling of overwhelm. Most days I am now able to look the trouble making goat culprit in the face and just be happy for the short time I have with them. The farm really is a wise teacher. A pause and a gigantic exhale usually helps to put most things in perspective.

We lost the sunshine of Short Leg Farm last week, Aubrey. For those of you who have met Aubs on one of your visits to the farm know exactly what I mean when I call her the sunshine of the farm. She was an extremely patient and joyful friend to all. Kids would pet this fluffy dog for hours. She never once growled or showed any aggression to any other creature on this farm. Even when faced with Hobo, the barn cat, mischievously sinking her claws into Aubrey’s very distinct fluffy Corgi butt. This happened like clockwork on our daily walks to the mulberry tree. Aubs would respond by simply shooting me a look as if to say “huh, what’s wrong with this cat.”

When Aubs came to live at the farm she was quite over weight and her body was covered with a yeast infection. We never thought she would be able to go for walks or much less zip around the farm. Slowly, over time “farm fitness”, brought her back to life. She eventually lost the weight and her yeast infection cleared up. She came to love little walks and her herding instincts came roaring back. She playfully zipped from room to room trying to get everyone in one central spot. In her younger years she would get her speed up to launch her short little legs up the wooden farmhouse stairs to go to bed at night. Over 9 years of doing this she left behind sweet little worn spots on the wood. Aubrey’s Path, as I like to call it. I am grateful for the worn little path that is etched there forever.  As I am grateful for our paths being parallel for all of those years. The worn wooden farmhouse stairs seem to reflect the worn spots on our hearts for each sweet animal we have lost over the years. None sweeter than little Aubrey.

Stop by the farm this Saturday, November 30th from 10AM – 1PM for holiday shopping hours. We will be stocked with chocolate and salted goat milk caramels, goat milk soap, raw honey, reclaimed cedar soap dishes, beeswax products and more. The sweet goats will be decked out with their jingle collars. Come enjoy a brisk and festive holiday goat hike. Tickets for the goat hike are here.

If you just want to stop by and share a memory of Aubrey we would love to see you.

Trees As Teachers

 

The Trees are about to show us how lovely it is to let go of things – unknown

Fall on the farm equals new beginnings to me. As the leaves and walnuts begin to fall from the trees, I start to think about what worked best for the animals and the land over the past season. It is this time of year that my thoughts seem to be mostly about improving my farming practices and working to let go of what is no longer working for the system as a whole. The farm (and the trees) have been my greatest teacher to learn to let go of so-called perfection. The new season will allow me to try again, learn new things about the land and myself, and hopefully continue to improve my stewardship of this special place.

I have been thinking about my Dad a lot lately. He will soon turn 81. When he was just a baby, he and his family were forced to abandon their farm and animals when they fled what is now Romania to escape Russian soldiers from invading their small village. My family history is a heroic story of survival. My Grandmother eventually found shelter and food for herself and her three children on a farm in Poland in exchange for labor. My Dad recently told me that they all shared a room in the upstairs of the farmhouse. They had to move many more times across Eastern Europe to escape bombings and instability. They all eventually made it to the US in the 1950s, including my grandfather who was in a prisoner of war camp.

With each passing year and reflecting on my family history, I have become more grateful for the safety and the stability of the farm routines that I engage in every day. Don’t get me wrong there are days when I wish I could just take off on a road trip at a moment’s notice! Ultimately, I know that I am lucky to be the steward of this land and its cute animal residents. It’s interesting to me that if we all traced our family histories back far enough we all have agrarian roots in some way or another.

Pumpkin Spice Goat Milk Caramels are back! Eric will making these delicious farm fresh treats until Thanksgiving! We are shipping several times a week. If you would like some you can order here.

The last soap making class of the season on the farm is November 2. There are just 4 spots left. Tickets can be found here.

Find Eric teaching soap making at Elawa Farm in Lake Forest on October 19, 2024 and November 9. You can purchase tickets on their website.

Healing Herd Therapy Farm News! We were able to raise $550 from ticket sales for the fall festival on September 28! Another $150 from pumpkin sales! Thanks to everyone who showed up in person or who were with us in spirit. Check out these fun photos of kids doing art on the farm at the festival. Thanks to our local Pecatonica teachers and artist Sara Brunetti Dow who donated their time and art supplies to make the art happen! We are very excited to open the farm to more kids in 2025 for Animal Assisted Therapy. Check out the Healing Herd Therapy website for more info and please follow Healing Herd Therapy Farm on Facebook and instagram.

Crazy for Grazing

August went by in a flash! We were happy that we made it through with just one stretch of super hot and humid days. Whew! One way we keep the goats cool is through rotational grazing in the woods. And I am here to say that I am crazy for grazing! In my opinion, it is one of our farming practices that I am most proud of and I feel is most beneficial to our land and animals. The goats spend their time clearing weeds, eating sumac, grape leaves, poison ivy (yep, poison ivy!) and honeysuckle. I love hearing them munching away while they graze with their friends in the sunshine and fresh air. This is what nature intended for these amazing ruminant animals. Certainly, not confined or packed in tightly in a building. The animals that are in concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO) have no way to move or lay down.

Goats can provide an eco-friendly option to remove invasive plants from your land if managed correctly. In fact, they are powered by invasive leaves, not gas or diesel! The byproduct of this grazing is, dare I say a beautiful natural fertilizer. The goats digestive system breaks down weeds and seeds so they are not spreading the invasive seeds back into the environment. They do very little to disturb the soil which helps to decrease any erosion. One of the best parts is watching them eat their way through a pasture or woods. They love little sapling trees that they can bend to the ground by putting their front hooves on them for their friends to join in the feast. It is a pretty cool thing to observe.

We passed our annual Animal Welfare Audit last week.  Please click here, if you would like to read more about this certification and the standards for dairy goats. We are proud to be certified by a Greener World as an animal Welfare approved farm and have been certified since 2016.

Thanks to all of you who purchased soap last month! We were able to donate 15 pounds of soap to the Eco Soap Bank! Please click here, if you would like to learn more about this amazing organization.

In other busy news, we will be harvesting honey this week! We will get it bottled in the next week or so. It will be for sale from the farm (please give us a call first) and online at our Etsy Shop.

We are hosting a Fall Festival on the Farm on September 28 from 11 – 3PM. This is a fundraiser for Healing Herd Therapy Farm (housed here at Gretta’s Goats) to provide free Animal Assisted Therapy for kids. Please like and follow our Facebook and Instagram pages for Healing Herd Therapy Farm as all news of HHTF will soon be found there.  All the details for the fall festival and tickets can be found here.

If you would like to join us for fall goat hike or farm class please click here. Tickets are selling fast for fall goat hikes.

As always we are grateful to each and every one of you who keep our farm going from year to year! See you soon.Five goats graze in a grassy field.