The Farm At Cedar Woods
2660 Holden Corso Rd V9X 1M7 Nanaimo, BC, Canada

Cramming in some more baby goat spam between packing and cleaning....here's one of Buttercup (top) Rosie (middle) and Clover (bottom) settling into their "bunk beds" for the night...until Clover decided she couldn't go to sleep until she'd had a glass of water.

Rosie isn't one to be left out of the fun, so she decided mama looked like a great climbing toy too. Bubbles, you are SO patient with the little ones!

The last of our goats have now gone to their new homes and we are busy doing our final packing and farm cleanup before we move. But lucky for you, we stocked up on lots of fun goat videos in the last week, and we tucked them away so we could all enjoy some more laughs as we get ready to say goodbye. Let's start with Buttercup giving her mom Bubbles a little back massage...

We're getting very close to our move date and the last remaining goats will be going to their new homes on Friday. Saturday we'd like to clean out the two goat houses and maybe do a little more weeding in the asparagus patch so things are ready for the new owners. If you'd like to volunteer for 1-2 hours to help out with these chores we'd love to see you on Saturday at 1:00. Payment will be in fresh asparagus and/or rhubarb, and the weather looks quite pleasant! Please send a PM if you'll be coming, so we can make sure we have enough wheelbarrows and shovels for everyone. :)

"Are your goats friendly?" "No. Absolutely not. In fact they're quite ill-tempered. They're very mean to humans in general and to small children in particular. They'll bite your fingers off if you try to feed them and they've been known to attack the UPS driver for no reason at all. Very nasty creatures." (Farmer Susan's plan to keep these last baby goats all to herself ;) )

Dinner is served! From right to left: Bubbles; her 4 doelings Buttercup, Maple, Clover and Rosehip; and George. He knows a good thing when he sees it. ;)

We just LOVE getting updates from the families who have purchased animals from us. These two lovely young ladies are a year old today and we just received a nice birthday note updating us on how they're doing. Some of you might remember wee little Chocolate Chip, the smallest of Clover's quads born last Spring. These are two of his big sisters, Pippin and Jem. They went to live with a family on Salt Spring Island last Summer where they are almost ready to become family milk goats. In the meantime, they have obviously been fawned over and loved up by their caretakers. So nice to see you again, Pip and Jem!

One of the many unique benefits of farming...sheep's milk butter!

When things get stressful around the farm, there's nothing like heading out to enjoy some browse time with the goats to get grounded again. And those in-your-face baby goats don't hurt either!

Bubbles playing "photo booth" with Farmer Susan

Evil baby goats

It's here! First of the season fresh picked asparagus. Limited quantities available for pick up this weekend on Saturday after 1:00 pm. $8/lb, please order via PM and we will confirm.

Just in case you're wondering...this is what a cow spa day looks like.

Everybody loves Farmer Gerry! <3

Help Wanted: Looking for someone to harvest asparagus once a week on Tuesdays for the month of May (4 weeks only). Payment is $2 per pound, with approx 25-35 lbs to be harvested each time. 2-3 hours work once a week, will likely take less time as you gain experience. Must be reliable and able to commit to every Tuesday for 4 weeks, but the time of day is flexible. You must also able to follow instructions, and have your own transportation as we are not on a bus route. Our farm is near Tamagawa University in Cedar. Young folk are welcome to apply if they meet the above requirements. This would make a great first job and a quality reference will be provided for quality work done.

Seamus offered to help with milking chores this morning. He says he's got lots of experience. :D

The kids are almost always silly and bouncy in the evenings, but today it looks like Aunt Olivia had a touch of Spring Fever too!

First butter of the year, courtesy of our sweet cow Shannon and her abundant milk supply. No colour added, just plenty of vitamin A in all that lush Spring grass she's dining on. Oh, and a little pink salt for the final pressing. #farmfresh #realfood

Our friends and fellow farmers at Yellow Point Farms here in Cedar/Yellow Point believe this 12 day old goat kid was taken from their farm on Saturday during a public "goat shnuggling" event. This little guy NEEDS to be with his mama, he is much too young to be without her milk and comfort. And of course the mama goat is crying for her lost baby. Our friends are beside themselves with worry, as we would be should anything like this happen to one of our beloved creatures. If anyone knows, hears or sees anything at all, please contact the RCMP as I believe a report has been filed. Kid's description and more info is in the original post below. Come home safe, little one. <3

Heading out to pasture for the day...

Big goofball Rónán is determined to be little Seamus's BFF. And so is Farmer Susan. :)

Spring has sprung The weeds have riz If you pull them you'll get Some as-pa-ra-giz!... (please PM if you plan to come, thanks!)

Wee Seamus is so curious and just can't resist scritches...just like his mama Shannon, who is constantly hovering over him!

And now, back to our regularly scheduled (farm baby) programming. These three littles will all be going to the same home together once they're old enough...Buttercup (1&2), Clover (3&4) and Potsie (5). <3

We interrupt the recent stream of cute baby farm animals in your feed to bring you an important announcement: first of the season local asparagus is here!

I'm SO excited, 'cause today I got a name! I heard the humans talking and Farmer Gerry said I had to have a good Irish name 'cause my ancestors are from Ireland. Then Farmer Susan came up with a bunch of different Irish names, and then they chose....Seamus! Farmer Susan says it goes good with my mama's name...Shannon and Seamus. :D P.S. You say it like "SHAY-muss." What do you think? I like it a lot!

This past Winter and early Spring we've kept the chickens in their smaller run in order to let their larger range area rest. Now that the weather is warmer and the vegetation has started to regrow, we've opened the gate to allow them access to all that tasty forage...miner's lettuce is a huge favourite!

Wow, the world sure is a big place! I sure am glad my mama sticks close by so I don't get lost out here!

Lucy (on the right) gets some TLC from her 15 month old calf Rónán. Lucy is due with her next calf on May 14th. <3

Here's some more baby goat yoga at it's finest, for your Friday night viewing pleasure.

Hi! Today was my birthday! I had a pretty busy day. Here's what I did...

But mama....I just HAD a bath!

Bathtime for baby <3

Hmm....the little guy seems to have developed a bit of an attitude already. Watch for it....

After two days of looking like her udder was going to explode, Shannon's calf finally made his appearance this morning at 8:00, literally moments before we arrived at the barn. It was a little too exciting there for a bit, as the calf was born still enclosed in the amniotic sac. The umbilical cord had broken but the calf had not taken a breath yet due to the membranes completely covering his face and head, and Shannon was cleaning off the tail end instead of the nose end...oh... no! Fortunately, Shannon didn't mind us helping her out. Sometimes a mama cow can get very ornery with anyone who tries to mess with her calf, and even with a sweet cow like Shannon you never know what those hormones are going to do to her normally gentle nature. But she was wiling to accept help, so after pulling the membranes off his face, wiping the mucous from his mouth, and lots and lots and LOTS of vigorous rubbing, the little guy finally took a breath (and Farmer Susan breathed a huge sigh of relief!). In this video he's about 15 minutes old and Shannon has just settled down and started to clean him. Previously, she had been quite agitated as he was not being as responsive as she'd like...she'd been bellowing and pushing him around the stall, trying to get him to lift his head and start moving on his own (which is how he ended up outside on the deck). All is well now, the little guy has a very full tummy, there's a litre of spare colostrum in the fridge, and Shannon is being an outstanding first time mama. Lots more cute calf pictures are sure to follow!

Mama goats are so patient! Here's a little entertainment while we're waiting on Shannon to calve. Sorry for the wobbly camera...no-one escaped the baby goat attack today!