Nanbert had a little bull calf.

I'd been checking Nanbert multiple times during the day and night since about April 1.  I'd moved her to the birthing stall from the pasture, and it then it was just a waiting game.  A very sleep deprived waiting game.  Early Saturday morning, when I went to the barn, I found her in labor.  Soon after this boy came into the world.

 My daughter has named him Nitroglycerin.  We call him "Nitro," and he is very high energy and living up to his name.  He worries his first-time momma to death, and doesn't listen to her at all.  Most of the time he's zooming around the stall with his tail over his back.  It's been raining all week, but looks like the weather should be clearing.  That means they should be able to venture out to the pasture soon.

His ears are enough to make my heart swoon.  Can't beat the Brown Swiss ears on a cute little Hereford face.  It officially feels like spring now that there is a baby on the ground.  Next up should be Delcy (Nanbert's half sister), then it will be Lola (Nanbert's mom) to calve last this year.  If the goats are bred, they will round out the birthing season in July at the earliest.  Never a dull moment around here.

What a Summer.

If you would've asked me at the start of this year what life had in store for me, I sure never would've guessed where I'd be now.  That simple Sunday drive earlier this spring that had us stumbling upon a forgotten "For Sale" sign, the roller coaster of trying to sell our farm, the heartbreak and anxiety that comes with offers falling through, the impossible hopeless feeling of having to wait through four months of unknown outcomes, it all leads to this happy statement of:  The new farm will be ours soon!  In just a couple weeks we will finally close on seventy-five acres of pure bliss.  A long, long driveway, a creek, woods, and lots of solitude and wilderness to hunker down in.

Something I'm looking especially forward to is the fact that I get a large studio space.  A very large, only for me, studio space.  I've got big goals to work toward in that space.  It will be splendid.

We should be closing on my daughter's birthday which adds a bit of extra specialness to the whole transaction.

So here's to a future full of new art, a large garden, and lots of additional livestock to add to the mix.  I can't wait.  Excited doesn't even begin to cover the level of happiness that is coursing through my veins.