Finish Line

The old year is winding down and the finish line is in sight.  I can't say 2016 started out great what with the discovery of cancer, but I think it's safe to say that saga has a happy ending.  I took a little time this morning to re-read January and February from this Farview Farm diary of 2016.  It is true that the more things change, the more they stay the same.  Some things break and are fixed, small tragedies are survived, animals create havoc and joy, there are births and deaths, weather is predictably unpredictable, family stays constant.  In other words, that's life.

Yesterday was bittersweet.  Esther is reaching her finish line.  Cindy and Esther are sisters, two of triplets born to Lucy.  They are both 15 years old, ancient for a goat.  Cindy has had health issues in the past and I've held my breath until she rallied.  Esther has had no such problems.  That said, the day before, Esther did not come in for breakfast and I could not find her at bedtime.  I had put all the others inside before she finally appeared around the corner of the barn and relieved my worries.  Yesterday morning, after a cold, cold night, she was lying down and shivering in the stall.  I tended to all the others and she still had not moved.  This was not good.  There are reasons not to leave a girl in the barn for a day:  one, there is no water in the barn and I can't think of anything worse for an animal than not to be able to get a drink.  Two, if they die, it's nearly impossible for me to haul the body over the sills and outside.  With much encouragement, pushing and pulling, I got Esther up on her wobbly legs and out the door.  Even with weak sunlight, it was warmer outside than in and I hoped this would give her strength.  I went out to check on her throughout the day and she managed to get herself up to the water trough and was still on her feet at nightfall.  Confused, it took some time and guidance to get her into the barn and she stumbled in, but she made it.  Good old girl.  I know her end is coming, but I really don't want to go down to the barn this morning.

I've been writing this blog of daily farm adventures for nearly seven years.  Not every day is good, but it is my firm belief that there is something good in every day.  It helps my attitude to review each day and focus on the positive.  I would truly like to thank everyone, over 125,000 hits to date, who has checked in to see what's happening at Farview.  The response has been overwhelmingly more than I ever, ever anticipated.  Ya'll come back now, and we'll go through the new year together.