Reputations Lead to Horses

Up until early last summer, Luke rode horses weekly at a local riding arena for over two years. He traded work in exchange for his riding lessons, but his love for the style of riding he was doing waned. I'm not sure Luke has the patience for the slower "reigning" type riding, and he decided he no longer wanted to ride weekly. Luke's two instructors, Jim and Tiffany were sad to lose him. Luke made a way into their hearts and their love for Luke was obvious in their repeated phone calls asking and offering him to come ride anytime.

Two weeks ago, while in the recesses of my closet in the middle of an organization project, his instructor, Tiffany called me. Not only was I shocked she was calling, but by the end of the call, I was quite speechless. (That's rare.)

A person that Jim and Tiffany know is "retiring" from riding horses and has an older, well-trained horse he wants to give away to someone who would love and care for it. Jim and Tiffany immediately thought of Luke, and thus the phone call.

Mike and I spent a couple of days in secret deliberation. We weighed the costs of responsibility, finances, time and effort that adding a horse to our crew would bring. Cryptically, one afternoon, Mike took Luke to "meet the horse." Despite the fact our friend, and great horseman, Spence "went along for the ride", Luke was pretty clueless about the whole thing and believed that Tiffany simply wanted Luke to "test out a horse for them." Spence quietly observed and gave Mike the opinion and advice Mike needed. (The horse was very well trained and looked very well taken care of.)

That evening, Mike and I told Luke and Joshua the truth... We told them the story of the guy wanting the horse to have a loving home, and that we were considering letting Luke, Joshua and Drew become horse owners. We helped Luke understand that he had earned himself a good reputation, and these people recommended him to be a responsible, loving person for someone to trust giving away the horse they have loved for years. We told the boys we needed a couple of days to make a decision, and for them too, to be thinking of the choice.

Mike and I ultimately turned the decision over to the boys. We wanted them to "own" the choice, and therefore feel more ownership in the whole decision. Especially considering they would need to contribute a fair amount financially to the horse's upkeep, and nearly all of the effort into the daily care.

Mike wasn't home when the deadline for our decision came and I sat the boys down to ask them to give us their decision. I was careful to explain to them, that getting a horse opens up our hearts to heartache and sadness when the animal comes time to leave us. We have been very careful to explain to the children that this is an older horse and could live for one year, or five. There are no guarantees.

Of course, there was really no decision to make. Joshua and Luke wholeheartedly and enthusiastically agreed that they would take on the responsibility of a horse.

Drew on the other hand didn't share the same enthusiasm. He had no smile on his face, and his lips were in a slightly pouty position. Disappointed he sighed, "I really wanted a cow."

His disappointment about not getting a cow only lasted about a week, until he decided instead, "I want to buy a polar bear to live with Hank. I really want to have two white things live outside."

Later that day, Champ arrived in our cul-de sac.

Maybe Drew wasn't too excited on Friday afternoon when a truck and horse trailer arrived in our cul-de-sac, and a horse exited instead of a polar bear.
But Joshua and Luke were thrilled.

Meet Champ.
The Sowby Family's newest addition.

Luke introducing Champ to his room-mate, Rocko.

Two happy boys.

No Pressure, Just Love

I tried to talk Luke out of the county fair this year. But to no avail. He wouldn't even consider it, unless you count the pleasing side of his personality that relented with, "Well, I guess if you really don't want me to, I don't have to."

Shortly after my arrival at the fair, I remembered how much I actually do love the sights and sounds of the county fair--meaning, the 4H livestock judging portion of it. The sights, sounds, and smells make me feel as though I'm in a movie. The cows mooing in the background, animals being cleaned and trimmed, cowboy looking men swearing when a cow steps on their food, goats and sheep making noises, the misters spraying the pigs, and so on. For someone like me, who clearly considers herself a city gal, and a definite outsider amongst everyone else there, there is something charming about this part of the fair.

There are people dressed to the nines (in a 4H county fair type of way), and then there is me whose only rule of thumb is to wear closed toe shoes. (Figured that out finally my third year into it!--Next year, (I'm sure they'll be a next year, I will wear socks and tennis shoes!)

I love seeing the people in their white shirts with the 4H badge attached to the left arm, some of them so starched I'm surprised they can bend their arms to hold an animal leash. I love seeing the extension cords set up outside a goat pen to accommodate curling irons and makeshift beauty parlors. There are mothers who think this is some kind of beauty pageant extension, and fathers who think this is the make or break event of their child's farming life.

Then there was me sitting reading a book, Joshua coloring at my side, waiting patiently (keyword) for Luke's events. Neither Mike or I have had any involvement in the raising of goats, there is no multi-generational goat raising going on around here. We weren't part of any big family groups waiting anxiously for awards and accolades. There are no pressures of long standing traditions of Sowby's winning and succeeding in the 4H division of any fair. We're just along for the ride. I wasn't feeling any competition or pressure that some of those around me were. For me, all it's about is 2 goats, a boy, and a whole lotta love.

 (The lower middle photo on the poster is of Lily, and the caption above it says, "In memory of Lily, 2012-13". Made me cry.)

Hank's New Duties

You know what springtime means, right? The last two springs have brought two new additions around here.  Hank in 2011 and Lily in 2012. We figured once Luke had two goats, we were done with goats. Of course, Lily died during the winter, and Luke feels strongly that Hank needs a new friend.

Mike and I really aren't so sure.

We see Luke still show such tender and heartfelt grief for Lily, that in those moments I think we'd magic a goat on the spot if we could.

On the other hand, we see Luke's checkbook register that accounts for all his income and spending, and pretty much every penny he earns goes to animal feed. In those moments we try to tell him that ONE goat, a rabbit and EIGHT chickens is probably sufficient for now.

Luke still has his heart set on getting another goat, specifically a "Pack Goat."

You know, the kind that will be used to pack heavy loads up mountain trails? You know, because we're always wishing we had a goat for the times we're packing heavy loads up mountain trails?

Luke has been googling goat saddle packs for weeks seeing how much they cost, and in addition has been reading up on all sorts of tips for training pack goats.

Luke is waiting patiently. (He thinks he's getting one, Mike and I still aren't so sure) Actually, I take that back, I wouldn't necessarily say he is waiting "patiently".

But I will say, he's improvising.

Always one to save a dollar, and to improvise where he can, Luke has been hard at work the past couple of weeks making his own goat pack.

The other day I drove onto the driveway and saw this:

Then it progressed to this:

 

Hank may well become a Pack Goat.

Not to mention tonight Luke's scout troop was scheduled to take a walk along a local public trail to clean up garbage. Apparently, pets were invited. I think the scout leaders expected one or two dogs, not a goat carrying a pack.

The grin on Luke's face was pretty hard to miss, as he bragged about Hank carrying the garbage bags on "his pack" and the dry cereal Luke carried along in a sandwich bag (courtesy of the tips on Google under "training pack goats") working like a charm to keep Hank's behavior in check.

I'm still not sure what the scout leaders thought of the whole thing.

Hank turning into a Pack Goat could quite possibly become a win-win for us all! Luke could quite possibly get his pack goat, without needing a new goat.

I LOVE this kid. (Meaning Luke, not the goat) Seriously, is there anyone like him? We NEVER know what he will think of next.

PS-Hank was the only pet that attended the scout activity.

Two Goats, Ten Chickens and A ....

(Hank and Lily)

I'll make this short and sweet.

Last week, Luke showed Lily at the County Fair. Do you remember Luke chose a girl goat this time around for a specific reason!?

 From April 27th, I quote,

"The reason I didn't sell Hank last year was because I knew he would die for someone to eat his meat. Rob (the 4-H instructor) told me girls are popular because people get them to breed. They don't kill the girl goats as much for meat because they want them to breed. It will be easier to sell Lily knowing she won't die."

Yeah well, that didn't exactly happen.

Luke will no longer be "raising" animals for county fairs. We don't have anymore room. Two goats is the limit. I'm not going to allow Lily to breed, we'd end up with a darn goat farm.

With the exception of the hay that supplements Hank and Lily's diet that our dear neighbor won't charge Luke for, Luke pays for the feed himself for the chickens and goats, Today after our Money Grab, Mike pulled Luke aside and helped him understand how much money he spends on animals--pretty much everything he earns and/or receives. Mike lovingly suggested perhaps it is time to sell an animal.

You'd have thought Mike was suggesting selling Luke.
I don't think the conversation went the way Mike hoped it would.

If nothing else, Mike and I have come to the realization that, not only does Luke have 2 goats and 10 chickens, he has a pretty big heart.

Guess there could be worse things for a 10 year old boy to have.

A True Mother

There is a speech I frequently periodically give to my children when their behavior and/or attitude gets less than desirable. In short, I remind them of the fact that I gave them life. I remind them that the very fact they are alive and breathing is due to me (and Mike), and so if nothing else, that fact alone grants me respect.

They've each heard it over and over again, and every child of mine could probably give an impressive imitation version of the speech.

This week, I have added a line to my speech when should I ever have to give my speech again to Luke. It's a pretty simple line. In fact, one sentence is all.

"I drove goats to school for you."

Yes. You read that right.

This was me a few days ago.

I must give credit where credit is due. None of it would have been possible without my dear, kind neighbor who loaded the animals into the trailer and of course hooked the trailer to the suburban. All the while my dear husband worked a couple of counties away counting his blessings feeling badly he wasn't the one able to drive goats to school.

As I stood outside the school waiting for Luke and his class to come outside, I was mildly self conscious standing by a trailer with two loud goats inside, while my two pre-schoolers ran up and down the nearby stairs. Instead of ignoring the confused glance of a passer-by father, I simply smiled and declared, "I'm in the running for some Mother-of-the-year award." I'm not sure what his nervous laugh was a result of, the loud neah-ing sounds coming from the goats or my comment.

I'm really not a farm girl. If fact, what am I saying? I AM NOT a farm girl. As my dad likes to say, believe it or not I was once a proper little English school-girl. Yet somewhere along the way I took a drastic "wrong" turn and can now say I have driven goats to school for a 'show and tell'.

Although Hank and Lily stole the show, Luke was a pretty popular guy himself.

This better be a day Luke remembers for the rest of his life. The day his mother drove goats to school!! I don't ever pull trailers, let alone pulling a trailer carrying livestock.

What a mother!
Even if I do say so myself.

Animal Kingdom

I have mentioned more than once that animals really aren't my thing. Mike and I agreed very early on in our marriage, (if not before) that we would be a "no pet family."

With the exception of the occasional goldfish that has sat on our counter for a day or two, I like to think I (we) have somewhat stuck to our early commitment.

Then the 4H project started last spring and along came Hank the goat. Except you all know how that went--Luke fell in love with Hank and he didn't meet his demise at the county fair. Well then along came Daisy the rabbit because she needed a new home, and then because we were known as "animal people" Luke gained 4 chickens last fall and of course a girl goat.

I'll add in here that none of these animals reside on my property. How did I luck out with that? The long and short of it: kind neighbors.

Here we are well into spring. Hazel (the girl goat) didn't ever have her babies. Finally I convinced everyone to listen to ME the NON-ANIMAL person, to look at all the non-pregnancy signs and accept that Hazel giving birth to babies wasn't going to happen.

It actually broke my heart to tell Luke, but he took it very well.

I think it was my broken heart that responded to Luke's scout leader's Facebook status a few weeks ago that he needed to find a home for his five chickens. I wasn't too thrilled after we committed to them when Luke informed me they would have to live in our garage for a few weeks before they were big enough to join the other chickens.

As if 5 chickens in my garage wasn't enough, less than a week after getting the chickens, Luke, (while at a store with Mike) couldn't pass up the 99 cent chick sale and came home with a baby chick each for Megan and Ellie.

I now have 5 semi-baby chickens and 2 baby chickens in my garage and it stinks.
Literally.

I'll admit, I have had unkind thoughts to everyone involved.
I have now not so kindly informed Luke that the chickens will be evicted this Saturday and will need to relocate to the chicken home across the street.

And even though it may seem somewhat ambiguous to say whether or not my "no pet commitment" has been abided by, I like to think I have kept my end of the bargain.

Mike on the other hand, has not.
I blame him.

A Goat Wedding

To make a long story short, Hank had a room-mate move in the other night. Except the room-mate isn't just any old room-mate, it is a pregnant goat.

At least we hope she is pregnant.

It's kind of a long story, I'll make it quick.
Paul (Luke's mentor) was disappointed Luke wasn't able to sell Hank at the County Fair. Not that he doesn't like Hank, or want Hank living over there, (Au contraire!) he was just disappointed that Luke wasn't able to get a return on his investment and experience 'raising a goat to sell.'

Insert into the story an injured goat that Paul's son Clint found in the middle of nowhere a year or so ago, and gave a home.

Paul figured that homeless goat could become the mother of baby goats that Luke could raise and SELL at next year's county fair.

Luke and Mike picked up the goat about 6 weeks ago, and introduced me to her on the way to her "Goat House." (Really, what should I call that type of place?) The poor thing didn't even have a name, so I promptly named her Hazel, and off to* find a boyfriend* she went.

Luke informed me "She will come home after going through three cycles." He knew enough to (somewhat) know what he was talking about, and now he knows even more.

Thursday afternoon, Luke made me stop by Hazel's "temporary residence" to see if she was available to come home yet. Friday morning he begged me to take him to go and get Hazel. My response?

"Nowhere in my job description did it say I would transport livestock around town. That is Daddy's department. Ask him."

It was like waiting for Christmas morning for Luke! But finally Saturday evening, just as the sun was setting Hazel was introduced to Hank. I don't think it went too well.

Even though I have never been one to believe that animals should be treated like humans, I have found it slightly scandalous that a pregnant goat was moving in with Hank. So Sunday morning, just hours after Hank and Hazel's first night together I walked over to visit them. Luke was screwing down Hank's roof in final preparations for the impending wind storm. Pulling a red ribbon from my pocket, I informed Luke that is was time for Hank and Hazel to be married.

Poor Hazel was scared to death already of her new home, and was certainly showing some nerves as a 10 year old boy used a power tool above her head, and so as a result, Luke decided that trying to attach a red ribbon to her horns for a wedding ceremony wasn't the most nerve-settling thing we could do for her. And bless Luke's heart, he tried his best to brush her horrible snarled fur, but she'll have to get used to that gradually.

After trying our best to get them to stand together, I decided that I could pronounce them "man and wife" just as well with them three feet apart as side-by-side.

And so I now introduce to you, Hank and Hazel, husband and wife.

I don't doubt we are in for all sorts of adventures now with TWO GOATS, one of them likely pregnant!!

(Even though I record plenty of funny things on my blog that my kids say, I don't really think it would be appropriate to declare so publicly what Luke ran home telling me yesterday about Hank and Hazel. But believe me, I absolutely did record it in my personal journal. It's funny. Like laugh out loud funny. Sorry I can't share.)

Hank's Fate

Hank made his appearance at the County Fair this week. Hank had his own little stall and was surrounded by goat friends on every side. I really had no idea what this whole 'entering a goat into the County Fair' thing was all about.  It has just kind of been Luke and Mike's (and Hank's) deal. But when my neighbor called me the other morning and asked what time Luke was 'showing' Hank as she was planning on attending, I thought I as the mother should probably make an appearance at the goat show!

Aaghh-about two hours, 500 degrees, and a lot of dusty feet, clothes and hands later I momentarily wondered if it really would have been best to have kept it Luke and Mike's (and Hank's) deal after all. Instead it was a family affair. (Minus Megan-who had some musical commitments.)

I wish I could record every moment, every expression, and every thought I observed or felt while I was sitting at the County Fair Goat Showmanship Show, but I can't. And even if I could, I wouldn't. They are instead quiet little memories and moments that will be forever ingrained into both mine and Mike's heart and mind. Luke may not exactly be a 'Goat Showman' but by golly is he a goat lover.

And maybe I even have a place in the 'goat lover' category. After all-it was ME that got all choked up and teary eyed when I read this last minute 'stall decoration' Mike made for Hank's County Fair stay.

This morning was the Goat Auction. Despite Hank's ranking of 5th place in the 'Goat Meat Show', Hank remained in the comfort of his Fair stall, while Hank's County Fair room-mates met their fate. The decision was entirely Luke's. The enticement of doubling and tripling Luke's financial investment thus far was not enough to break the bond of love between a boy and a goat! 
And so I introduce Hank, our official family pet.