Cowichan Valley Summertime

I grew up in places without real seasons - the Peruvian rainforest and the Sonoran Desert.  (Both places supposedly have "wet" and "dry" seasons, but really the rainforest was just "wet" and "less wet, but still pretty wet," and the desert was "dry" and "deluge for a few weeks," so I don't think that counts.)  Here in the Pacific Northwest, we may not get the kind of severe weather that some places do, but we definitely have the four basic seasons, which I always find delightful.  It's full-on summer here in Cowichan Bay and my fella and I recently got up really early and biked to a nearby meadow to watch the sun come up and see if we could catch a glimpse of some critters.

We did see deer, but they were too far away to photograph.  Mostly we just enjoyed the sunrise with a thermos of green tea.

Baby Goats!

Last weekend I got to visit a place called The Happy Goat, which is even better than it sounds.  It is, as expected, a goat farm.  The grown-up goats were a lot of fun (they acted like dogs, all very interested in us and wanting to be petted), but the best part was the 44 incredibly adorable goat babies.  

It was difficult to get photos of them because they wouldn't stand still!  They were in a pen in the barn and when the door opened, they just spilled out over a ledge and waddled up to us in the adorably unstable way that baby creatures do.  I think my voice rose three octaves; I couldn't help myself.  

The farmers are Cory and Kristen, and the farm is a 45-minute bike ride away.  I got my invitation because Kristen is a knitter and yarnie.  When she said the words, "baby goats," I was on my way!  The place is completely idyllic, complete with a rolling pasture and a pond.  Along with goats, they have ducklings(!), hens, 2 cows, and 3 cats.  I felt like my "eat local" points went through the roof hanging out at the farm - we ate chicken pasture-raised a few meters away, along with a salad of greens from their garden, cider made from apples grown on a tree down the hill, and bread my fella baked.

Even the cows wanted to say hello and be petted!

They're working on getting a cheese-making facility up and running, and I'm really looking forward to eating delicious goat cheese from my friend's farm.  Now for more goat photos:

I think Kristen needs to have a regular segment on her blog: Adorable Goat Picture of the Week.

You can find more info about Kristen's yarn at Morgan's Fine Yarns.  (Check out her blog too.)