farmer down

if i had to pick a time to be injured it would be now. the girls are dry and require less attention. they spend their days telling stories around the hay feeder or lounging in the sun mesmerized by the beauty that is. my injury, a torn mensicus, was a result of shemaya the goat, our local movie star, running into my knee. this happened about six weeks ago and the pain never dissipated. after a few visits with the doctor he diagnosed my problem as a torn meniscus in my right knee. The menisci of the knee joint are two pads of cartilaginous tissue which serve to disperse friction in the knee joint between the lower leg (tibia) and the thigh (femur). (wikipedia). so now i sit in my living room healing from arthroscopic surgery i had on friday.

picture is of the round bale feeder on loan to us from our dear friends rachel gall and jay wolf and their new bundle of sunshine, darwin anna wolf.

omer

i've been torn over the need to find omer a new home. omer was the first goat i saw birthed. i had my hand on his head as he exited his mother sunshine. we've watched omer develop and push the boundaries. approaching the age of 3, omer has made choices that aren't compatible with a dairy.

this is not the first time i had to say goodbye to a goat and probably not the last. sending them off to a new home isn't getting any easier.

these moments of tension allow us the opportunity to ask the bigger questions. what is a pet and what is livestock? to what length do we go to take care of our animals? occasionally im asked why i dont raise goats purely for meat? "its so much easier", folks say. but is it? what about the emotional cost that doesn't show up in a yearly budget?

omer must move. (above was written last week)
the move happened yesterday morning. Ike Gejdenson from Bozrah, CT came to pick him up and bring him home to his farm. Omer will join four other wethers in clearing fields of multiflora rose. this will be a good life for omer. plenty of room to roam and plenty to eat.

gam zeh l'tovah. also this is for good. as hard as sending omer away it was the right decision. with the does expecting to kid in two months having omer around was a liability we couldn't afford.

omer enjoy the shefa.
you have taught us much, todah.