Fiona and Sorcha

Hi friends,

I am thankful for a new week, because last week was a  really rough one. First, we had yet another snow storm, dumping 12 inches of snow on top of about 6 inches of snow that hadn't melted from the previous storm.

The barn was practically buried in the white stuff.

The temps dipped down into the single digits. It was so cold, the water in the goat trough froze and Banty's babies had the opportunity to hone their ice skating skills.  ;)

But the worst part of the entire week was Friday morning, when we lost one of our dairy goats, Fiona.

Here is Fiona last spring with one of her bucklings, Titus, chewing on his Mama's beard.

 Now, losing one your livestock is costly, financially speaking. But Fiona was so more than just one of our livestock; she was a pet and very much like a member of our family. We are still not sure what happened to her. She was very unlike her usual quiet self on Friday morning when I went to the barn; she was very vocal, as if she was trying to tell me something. But when Asher checked on the goats later that morning, he found Fiona dead. We were all shocked, and so saddened. We still are.

But I want to back up a bit. A couple of months ago, I got an email from our breeder, Mary. She asked me if would be interested in a pregnant doe since she was trying to downsize her herd. We prayed about it and decided that since Fiona wasn't pregnant, we needed another goat to provide milk for our family. We accepted her offer.

Mary was supposed to deliver the goat in February, but couldn't because of the winter storms coming through her area. Every week-end she planned to bring her down was postponed due to bad weather. And every week-end that the goat didn't arrive, we were disappointed. We were very eager to meet her.

Finally, on the morning that Fiona died, Mary called me and confirmed that she was delivering the goat that very evening!

So, exactly 12 hours after we lost Fiona, the Lord graciously provided us with a lovely Toggenberg/Alpine doe, whom we named Sorcha (pronounced "Sorka") Isn't the Lord's timing always perfect, friends? He provided Sorcha exactly when we needed her.

And isn't she a beauty?  :)

The name Sorcha is the Gaelic version of Sarah, meaning brightness.  And she has definitely brightened these dark days after losing Fiona. While we are still mourning the loss of Fiona, Sorcha has made the loss so much easier.

She and Helena are getting along well, except for an occasional  rumble at the hay rack.  ;)  She is due next month. 

But before Sorcha's big day, Helena is first: she is due in a couple of weeks.

Iodine, clean towels, and all the other birthing supplies are close at hand. The only thing left is a last-minute cleaning of the barn. So almost everything is ready. The goat stork cometh.  :)

Have a great week, everyone!