A dear friend of mine recently invited Sofia and I to join her on a field trip to her sister’s goat farm on the border of East Montpelier and Plainfield, Vermont.   With the promise of seeing baby goats, how could we resist.  Our destination was Willow Moon Farm and on a picture perfect April morning, we headed out the door for an experience we will never forget.  We arrived in just over an hour and were warmly greeted by, Sharon, the owner of the farm.  Without hesitation, we headed  into the barn where the newborns were being housed and that was it … we fell in love.  If you have never seen a baby goat, make sure before your number is up to hold one in your arms.

Willow Moon Farm raises these beautiful Nigerian Dwarf Goats in order to produce delicious award winning farmstead cheese from their milk.  We tried the chive chevre and it was amazing.  I highly recommend a road trip to this farm, it is well worth the drive.

Sofia and I incahoots with Madelyn & Sullivan

Who says you have to stay indoors with your animals when the snow flies.  Sofia and I took our magnificent sheep Erland along with us  for our first expedition of 2012 into the white wilderness today  and we had a blast.   Although we were a bit rusty on our skis, we managed to get down the hills without a visit to the emergency room.  Our pets need exercise year round and don’t let the white stuff keep you indoors.  Dress yourself and your pet (if necessary) appropriately and enjoy what New England has to offer year round.

Check out the link below if you are interested in seeing Erland and I hitting the slopes.

http://youtu.be/Dcez6SMvyWg

Sofia is “incahoots” this month with Becky, the miniature horse from Baymare Farm, at the Springfield Town Library.  Yes, you are reading that correctly … a miniature horse was in the library.  Vanessa Wright, an equine photographer and writer, had a beautiful exhibit of horse photographs recently at the Springfield Town Library.  At the end of the month long exhibit, Vanessa along with Miranda Bogardus (owner of Baymare Farm) and her miniature horse Becky came to the library for the grand finale and captured all of the kids attention.  Vanessa took photographs of all the children with Becky … I have never seen so many smiling kids & parents in one room.  Becky is an extraordinary miniature horse who will fill your heart with love.

Becky is another example of how important animals are in all of our lives … thank you Becky for being so patient.

Introducing my Shetland Sheep Erland. This handsome boy just turned two years old and loves to be with our family. In the winter, we cross country ski with Erland close at hand (he is still learning not to step on our skiis while we are in motion). However, in the spring time we switch gears and take him biking with us. Click on the following link and you can see him in action as we head off for a ride.

Welcome to spring!  Signs are all around that the animals have awakened from the long winter season.  Our rooster, Brewster, is very busy chasing his lovely feathered ladies, the two rams are hard at work seeing whose skull is stronger, the duck is on the pond, the horses are finally able to graze on fresh green grass, the cats no longer want to be indoors kept warm by a woodstove and our most senior animal family member, Sadie, is back to being a hound dog with her nose to the ground.    Not only are the birds singing but one of my animal friends that I care for  likes to sing along with a whistling tea pot, his name is Luther and if you care to hear his rendition of I Love You…