"How To Talk To A Little Baby Goat"

Look at that face! So adorable. What a time Janice and I had at Haute Goat! Warning: many, many photos! (Please click and make therm bigger!)

As you can see the weather was perfect on Wednesday. Haute Goat is a farm in Port Hope, Ontario. It is open to the public a few days a week with various workshops and "Shmurgling" held at certain times. Shmurgling is just a made up word for hugging, cuddling and smooching the animals

We arrived at 11:00 with the shmurgling to commence at 11:30. Anyone can come for a visit and wander around the 200 acres for free (there is a donation box!) but we paid extra to enjoy the shmurgling.

First up after being greeted by the four watchdogs was the alpacas. There were I think 6 females and a couple babies in the fenced area. We were told to approach them slowly and just talk softly. There were a half dozen kids on the tour with their parents. You know how that went! There was a small stampede as the kids dashed towards the alpacas. Debbie, one of the owners told everyone to stay put and they quickly calmed down.

The alpacas mostly just wanted to eat but were letting people touch them. A few people were spat upon as they got too close!

Not too bad a place for the alpacas!

Hard to get a photo of one of the babies as everyone wanted to see her.

Then it was on to the goats. They have a large barn and enclosed area to themselves. When we had all assembled by the barn the young lady (Nina I believe) let the goats out and off they dashed. Nina is a WWOOOFer. WWOOOF stands for World Wide Opportunities On Organic Farms. Nina had been there for two weeks and was doing two more. She had been to Colorado, Vancouver and a couple other places. Originally from China, Nina was heading back to finish her last year of university at the end of August.

This little one was born two and a half weeks ago. She was very content to cuddle in my arms. That was the first time I held a goat!

A better view of the great old barn the goats lived in. Debbie stated that they have lots of volunteers helping out (lady in pink t-shirt) and you could tell. Everything was so clean.

The goats were making the mad dash for the cedar trees. Apparently goats love cedar!

You had to watch where you stood or you would get bowled over in the rush!

Love his racing stripe!

Janice and Nina feeding cedar pieces.

Interesting facts about Nigerian goats.

Two males are kept in a separate area. They breed at certain times of the year. Debbie told us they keep two babies a year and sell the rest.

A lovely metal goat that was made for them. We visited with the goats for a half hour or so and then they were put back in their barnyard.

It was starting to get hot and was very buggy.  You should see my arms! The horses were swishing their tails continually.

Interesting facts about Icelandic horses.

This one was very friendly and enjoyed a nose rub.

All the chickens were hiding out under the bushes along with a duck friend.

Lots of yummy things to nibble on.

The quonset huts have been painted by a local artist.

If you make the photos bigger you can read the sign.

So cute!

After the tour we were told we could stay as long as we wanted and Debbie pointed out various trails around the farm. This was a field of pumpkins.

Imagine looking at this view everyday!

Buckwheat growing in a large field.

Goldenrod????

I. don't. know.

Blogger decided to put this photo here! One of the arrangements on a picnic table where Janice and I ate our lunch.

Back to the walk. Butterflies were everywhere!

Another farmer planted a HUGE field of buckwheat and then set up these bee hives on their land. The honey is available to purchase at Haute Goat. I tasted it. It is scrumptious!

The field of buckwheat. It was so quiet (it was a bit of a walk from the farm but Janice and I wanted to see it) as no one else came out you could hear all the bees buzzing in the flowers. It was heaven.
We ended up being there 3 hours and were the last to leave. In the store we tried goat fudge (OMG good!) goat cheese (Ditto!) and goat Carmel Corn. I really had to restrain myself from not buying some of everything. I did purchase some soap and hand cream which are lovely by the way. It was an incredible place and we will be going back. Janice and I are interested in a couple of the workshops this Fall.

On the way back we popped into Cobourg to do a few errands and of course headed for the water.

The beach was very busy with lots of swimmers. Janice and I stayed out on the pier which wasn't too busy.
A great day which I would do again in a heartbeat.

Ralph popped by for a visit a few days ago. Chuck and I were in the living room talking and I guess he heard us.

I picked up a case of food for the kitties and put the box on the floor to see if Miss Kitty would use it. She sat in it for five minutes or so washing.

Hope you enjoyed the photos and thanks for hanging in so long!

Have a wonderful weekend!
Robin