Wayne and I are deeply saddened.
We lost our dear friend Grady on Sunday morning around 10am.
He fought hard and we will miss him terribly. I am having trouble believing he is
really gone. Grady was the trooper, the leader and the official spokes person for
the rest of our goats.
We loved our friend so much.
The comfort in this is that I know in my heart that he knew that...or he wouldn't have known he could come to us at any time, as he did on Halloween night.
We have the gift of wonderful memories of "Grady's Antics" and we will cherish them always.
Grady, you made us laugh, smile and love you. You showed us that even goats can love, express, reason and make decisions.
We will always miss you and love you, our good friend Grady.
Thank you for all the many memories, the love, the entertainment, the laughter and joy you brought to us.
In his honor, we have posted a video of Grady, those he loved and those who loved him so very much.
Rest easily our friend...till we meet again.

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(I adore my donkey friends Poppy and her daughter Petal. They're precious and shy at times. Here are the girls I'm working with and discussing below.)
I was thinking about "fun" today. Fun is a word that is fairly relative. What I considered "fun" at 10, 16, 22 and now 45 are totally different. The past few days have been fun for me because they've been calm, quiet, without pressure and light hearted.
On Sunday, I made a call to some friends in Alabama that I don't get to see nearly as often as I'd like, but we stay in touch via email. So, out of the blue, I made a call and had a great conversation with my friend. We covered everything from simplicity to the Waltons! It was a great conversation.
Later, I talked to an old friend from college who has a farm in Stanly county. We tried to figure out how old we are now...which Dean concluded that he is 32. I do hope he's right! If that's the case, I'm 31 now, as he was a year ahead of me at Western!
A friend dropped by today. We checked out the grille of the truck. We talked about animals, laughed at the goats and had a great time. I don't "visit" much. I LOVE company...but I am very much a homebody anymore. I've just gotten quirky like that. Company, however, is a whole different matter. I do love lots of friends and visitors. Our friend and neighbor Winston drops by and checks on us often. We talk a little music, catch up on stuff going on in the neighborhood and share a few laughs. Sometimes he just watches Wayne work. (Must be a man thing! I'd be bored to tears!) But those are the best kinds of friends...they can visit and you don't have to "entertain." You can just "be" and even if you're doing something, those kinds of friends don't mind at all if you continue. Wayne's a hard one to keep still, so Winston has figured that out by now. He's like an uncle coming by to check on us kids and we love it!
The WORLD'S GREATEST UPS GUY, Leon, paid us a visit today. He had a delivery. It's always so good to see our pal Leon. We love him around here! He makes sure that cardboard packages are well out of the way of goats who think of cardboard in the same way I think of chocolate! Today, he took a minute to say hi to most all of the menagerie. When the donkeys were HEEE HAWING at him, it brought a big smile to his face. That too was FUN!
Another bit of fun was feeding the animals last night. Sophie, my only female goat LOVES to ride on my ATV with me. Who knows why...she just does. Since she was little, she'll hop right up in the seat and ride while the other goats run along side knowing there's FOOD in the back. Sophie thinks she's a princess and has the attitude to go along with it. So, after I fed, she got back onto the ATV and refused to get out. So, I took her for a ride! We spun out in the mud, we flew down the drive way with our hair and horns blowing in the wind with full abandon! We baaaah'd and laughed and spun out in the mud some more! I was laughing like mad and Princess Sophie was having a ball. At the end of the ride, I had to make her get off the ATV anyway. I guess she'd still be riding. That was great fun!
As for more fun from today... I have a couple of very shy donkeys. This evening, I fed everyone and then just sat down in a trough. Soon, two curious but very shy mom and baby donkeys were sniffing around me. I just sat there...pretending I was Jane Goodall and apes might as well have been crawling all over me. Donkeys like to do things on their terms. So, sitting and letting them sniff and root all over me was exactly what needs to happen in order to build trust. So, I sat in the trough. Poppy and Petal sniffed and sniffed. I never reached for them. I just sat still. Pretty soon, not to be outdone, TOTALLY SOCIAL Muffin, the youngest foal, was all over me. She rooted the others out of the way. She firmly believes that ALL petting is to be reserved for her. (Her mom, Cinnamon, is very social too...so, she's always up for lots of TLC!) Again, that was fun.
Right now, I'm in my red thermal pajamas and wearing them is FUN!
All the animals have everything they need. We have everything we need and all is right with the world today.
We are blessed with caring friends and neighbors, great pets and a loving family.
What more does anyone need?
Have you done anything FUN lately?

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Friday is a wonderful day to me. I can anticipate the weekend ahead. I can relax in the evening, breathe deep and think about the events of the week behind me.
This particular Friday is like the last several for me. Quiet. Because my husband has gone on a date to play golf with my best friend, I take some time for me and do exactly as I please. That's a great feeling. I spent time with the animals, watched Geordie sneak off to the pond for one last swim today, I fed the donkey's and the goats and had time to just sit and enjoy the the day as it settled into night.
I went to put the goats up, or so I thought. They went in just fine and seemed to be settling down. Then about 5 minutes later, I looked out onto the woodpile and there they stood. Clearly, they weren't ready to go in. I do a lot of repetitive action with those goats. I think they do it on purpose just hoping that I'll bring more feed to them. I'll go try it again at about dark-thirty. They'll surely stay in their shed then!
It's a lovely night and has cooled off some. I wondered if the mama bear was out tonight with her cubs, but I haven't gone up to the top of the driveway to see. I would say she's there, eating wheat, letting her babies play and doing what MASSIVE BEARS do!
I was talking on the phone earlier to my wonderful friend Mel Stanforth (super dooper dude and arteest extraordinaire!). We were discussing their visit here Sunday and I'm so excited. He and Miss Wonderful Mary are coming to sit a spell with us. While were were talking, we discussed animal behavior and determined that we humans aren't too far off from our animal relatives. They eat, nurture, love, and all the things we do. I'm sure they even get angry. Based on feeding time around here, I KNOW they get angry! To love an animal gives you one sure fire result. You WILL be loved in return. No questions asked. They don't care about your weight, if you're over 40, if you have a fat bank account or if you're even homely. They just love. They don't lie to you, they don't take what doesn't belong to them and animals don't seek revenge...at least in my experience, they don't. I can be the biggest pain in the rear in the world and they will offer total love and affection. I learn a lot from animals. They help me to be a better human.
The show on the USS North Carolina went very well. I saw old friends, made some new ones and even had some of my family there! We all had a lovely evening together. It's always good to be among friends and share the love of music. There's just no other feeling like that.
We spent a lot of time shopping and visiting with Marah. She is doing so well. She's just amazing to watch at times. She's so focused, so enthused with her education and such a joy to be with. Her intelligence is a beautiful thing and I am so proud of what a great young woman she has become. She was always wonderful..but I'm seeing her in a more adult light. I still think about letting her go, and in many ways, she's let go and stepped into her own person, but I'll always be "Mom." That's a role I could never grow tired of. She's a beautiful accomplishment, if I can take the liberty of calling her that!
So, this is just a reflective post. It's Friday. I'm chilled out and have nothing on my agenda beyond watching movie with my husband and my best friend when they arrive back here from their date! We're making wagers right now on how long it's going to take the folks in town to start spreading the rumor! HA! "Did you see that Wayne and Frieda together AGAIN? They have been playing golf for the past month every Friday. Annie is nowhere to be found and they're not even trying to hide it!"
I have cracked myself up with that speculation! Alas, the point is...I love animals. Humans could learn so much from them if only they would.
It's Friday and I'm going to have a great weekend!
I hope you do too!

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