For Love Of Goats

By Karen GoatKeeper

Definition of a goat: a perpetual 3 to 5 year old at a hundred plus pounds with a double dose of orneriness. That last can lead to lots of humorous or humorous in hindsight situations. “For Love of Goats” takes a look at some of those situations.
Set up as an alphabet book, this is not for small children except as a read aloud – if you dare. Each letter has tongue twisters, alliterative stories or homonym word plays to challenge your elocution. “Alpines align alertly.” “Dandy wether considers whether or not this wether should go out in rainy weather.”
Nestled between blocks of letters are reminiscences of a long time goat keeper. Karen GoatKeeper has raised Nubian dairy goats for over 40 years and worked with other goat owners and 4-H Dairy Goat Projects. Her own goats have accompanied her through moves taking them to several states.
The Little Goat, Star, a sassy little doeling, tells her story in a series of short stories.
All of the letters, reminiscences and Star’s stories are accompanied by brush ink or watercolor illustrations.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Karen GoatKeeper
• Release date: Dec 10, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463960288

Karen GoatKeeper

Finally I'm getting my novel finished! "Hopes, Dreams and Reality" should be available in May. This is a very rural book about a woman stranded by a mega flood, cut off with no phone or electricity or company facing a meltdown in her marriage.And I'm back at work on "The Carduan Chronicles: Arrival", a nature/scifi set in an Ozark ravine and in space.Two science projects: teaching units from "The City Water Project" and the new "The Chemistry Project" are taking shape. Work on the "Dent County Flora" books is getting underway again as the wildflowers come into bloom again. And there is another picture book taking shape.In case you think I haven't much to do, I raise Nubian dairy goats and have four lively kids now. There is a flock of chickens. In my spare time I garden a hundred foot square area plus a few containers.You can try to keep up with me on my website www.goatkeeperspress.com.

Book preview

For

Love

Of

Goats

Karen GoatKeeper

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you want to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Copyright ©2019 by the author.

All rights are reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or any part thereof in any form, except for inclusion of brief quotes.

All of the illustrations and text were done by the author.

Sample pages of this book and others by this author can be found at the author’s website: http://www.karengoatkeeper.com.

Other Books by Karen GoatKeeper

Fiction

Dora’s Story

Capri Capers

Edwina

Running the Roads

Hazel Whitmore Series

Broken Promises

Old Promises

Mistaken Promises

Nonfiction

Exploring the Ozark Hills

My Ozark Home

Goat Games

The Pumpkin Project

This book is dedicated to goats

and those who love them

Table of Contents

Destiny Is Named Jennifer

Beginning the Alphabet March A to G

Goat Tales

Onward the Alphabet March H to M

The Little Goat

Keep on the Alphabet March N to T

Living With Goats

Ending the Alphabet March U to Z

Author’s Notes

Destiny Is Named Jennifer

I was stranded twelve and a half miles from anywhere under doctor’s orders to do nothing while broken bones healed. I’d lost my first attempt to live on my own in a late night car accident. Now I was living with my parents in their new place in the country: a one big room building with no running water.

After a month of boredom, I was ready to try something, anything. My father’s goats obliged when Sandy, a mixed breed doe with sundgau Alpine markings, had a single, half Nubian black doe kid. Goat kids are cute, playful, demanding, interesting and I was hooked on Jennifer. She was hooked on me, loudly demanding my presence whenever she got bored.

I bought some of the few books on goats available at that time. A neighbor taught me how to milk on his Jersey cows. I found goat milk suited me much better than cow’s milk.

Jennifer would do anything for me and nothing for my father. You spoiled her. You take her, he told me. So I did.

Jennifer and I moved several times. She was queen of my little herd until the day she died many years later. Some of her relations are still in my herd over forty years later.

Jennifer turned me from being a city girl to being a country girl. She gave my life meaning and roots. Not all the times with goats are good ones, but they are interesting. Some are funny at the time. Some gain humor in hindsight. Some always remain in the You must be kidding. category.

One thing is certain: goats are never boring.

A is for Alpine