Day 14 - N for Not your average Goat

My Saturday serendipity unfolded only and only because of the 'surrender experiment' thingie I was doing since the commencement of the Nineteenth year. To the uninitiated, it is a fancy term for saying yes to all opportunities that knock the door without doing too much contemplation.

We were out and about and I got into my loungers to do chores around the house when the significant other came with an idea to visit his friend."S says there are baby goats on the farm. Let's go with the toddler" My ears perked up at the sound of farm and baby goats and the next thing we knew was driving into this fabulous gated property that looked like it could be somewhere by the swiss country side. When we walked in we were greeted by S that was cleaning the fish pond. A school of robust looking koi fish clamored around with the cutest open pouts while the second born fed them. "There are some baby fish out there" came a voice from behind us, with the sweetest of accents. I turn around and meet K. She looked like a desi version of Lauren Hutton - defined face structure, chandelier earrings that grazed her slender shoulders and a pile of highlighted hair tumbling down her high cheekbones. She for once was going to redefine my new 'role model' of graceful ageing. If she weren't tending to the animals on the farm, she could as well be gliding on a ramp wearing some couture fashion,as she looked that supermodel part, yoga pants and a faded t shirt not withstanding.  

"Let's meet Chevy" the timbre in her voice was very soothing. "CHEVY" "CHEVY" she calls out and adds "It is so funny, she thinks I am her mom" 

Far across the picket fenced enclosure, we spot Chevy bleating her head off to be let out of the gate. She continues her high pitched cries while making a bee line to her momma - the human momma that is!

S and K tell us about the adventure behind Chevy's survival and how she was christened by a group of school kids that came visiting to witness her mom deliver the babies. "A wonderful lesson in nature" I thought. So for all practical purposes, Chevy behaved like a Canine in sheep's clothing. She wanted her momma's undivided attention, kept tugging on to her pants with her teeth and  gave a "Look she loves me more" attitude to the nervously barking house pet Stitch that was vying for his share of attention. The house pet in question was sporting a freshly manicured coat and a menacing expression that looked like he was willing to chew n spit out Chevy if He could. Only that his puny Yorkie size didn't probably co-operate. And what he lacked in stature he compensated with his lung capacity. 

Amid all this bedlam we moved to another enclosure to see a new born goat Sprout. Now, sprout was having latching issues and his mom was kind of easy about trying too much. As K held the baby to his mom's udder, his feeble mouth kept slipping off. K sprung into action. "Let's milk the mom and feed him with a bottle" she announced while walking to fetch a pail to milk into. S forbade K from spoiling the kid. K started milking the goat anyway. And right then, a thought occurred to me. " May I try milking the goat?" I asked unsure but determined to try. "Oh of course, but what about your white dress?, It'd get dirty squatting on the dirt" She was concerned. I for once wanted to be a farm girl. While mentally preparing to make a ER visit and not caring if my white clothing got dirty or bloody, I got to milking. I suddenly remembered how my sister thought that birthing the puppies of her pet was the most amazing experience she had in her life. Now that would be a hijack of this blog if I go in details, but I'd revisit that one day! (making a mental note) 

The udder felt like heat pads that I used to soothe my c section incision. I was taken aback by the wonders of this nature, I probably got misty too while in the background, my little one looked at the whole process with dilated eyes. "This is where milk comes from" S told my toddler - "And not from store shelves" It suddenly occurred to me that my second born addresses milk as "white juice" - that's some tricks I had to play to wean her off of nursing but back to the point, It occurred to me that no technology can probably teach the kids as much as nature does.

Very soon, we were back indoors, gathered in the living room and Chevy makes it inside much to the annoyance of Stitch who wasn't going to take it keeping mum. As I hear the story of Chevy, I think to myself that it makes up for a movie script. Apparently, Chevy's mom was kind of old and K was surprised that she was even carrying - she passed on in child birth and so did Chevy's twin. And a week after that Chevy's dad passes on. Talk about tragedy to Shakespearean levels. S and K looked more like sisters than friends as they related to us the way they bottle fed Chevy, bought her indoors trying to keep her warm and secure.
"We didn't think she would make it - and look at her now" S exclaimed. Chevy was one heck of a robust baby goat, drinking milk out of a saucer and eating off of her mom's fingers, fresh fruit bits like apple and kiwi - Stitch was non stop yapping all along and no one even seemed to care at this point! :)

We had a relaxed evening while I kept marveling at Sprout feeding out of the bottle. I held him in my arms and fed him. It was the most unexpected experience of my recent past - milking a goat, feeding a baby goat fruit bits and another one out of the bottle, cradling him in a blanket and holding him snug like he was a human baby!

The planet is such a wonderful playground - animals and humans co existing like soul mates, heart warming stories of love, pain survival and support and lessons teaching you the most important of life's tricks of the trade, only if we slowed down and made a connection. 

Such a wonderful playground - everyone needs to get out there and play once in a while. That would probably fix all ailments of the body, mind and spirit.

I came home late that night with my heart overflowing with gratitude for the serendipity, for the food for thought and for crossing paths with K the rock star and Chevy the Protagonist of my entry number 14 and a very important life lesson:) 

Pictured - Chevy nibbling an apple slice from under the dinner table. 

Apologies for the typos - proof reading is postponed due to time crunch :D