The weather delivered to southern Wisconsin this week has ranged from warm and wet with thunderstorms on Monday to trees bent over, tired of the weight from the snow which fell after the bark was painted with freezing rain just yesterday. Today, the last day of January, we prepare for even worse. Temperatures will drop to the double digits below zero. The wind chill could near -30 degrees. What is going on?

Mother nature is clearly pissed off at us. Humans. Terrible tenants who probably expect their entire security deposit returned when she kicks us the hell out of here. George Carlin said it best, "we are a bad case of fleas and mother earth is just going to shake us off." So true. And she should. Humans clearly are desensitized. We tend to respond to nothing less than a disaster.

Time to drive less, bike more. Time to waste less and compost more. Time to show some f'in respect!

As always, I must mention our website, opiesgoats.com, where you can request info on our soaps and now lip balm too!

It is so freaking cold lately. I cannot get warm, stay warm, feel warm, etc. I have space heaters, a fire, a wood-burner, and, at times, the oven/stove producing heat in this not-so-big house. I even brought Molly, my barn cat, in the house because I am convinced she must be cold and lonely.

I feel bad for Angel too. She was the last goat I had inside the barn. I recently dried her after milking for nearly two years. Anyhow, she was spoiled with a heat lamp and now I'm afraid she is too delicate to be outside. She seems to be waiting for me at all times which makes me anxious.

The fact is, there is always something to worry about, rather, I always find something to worry about as I constantly project my feelings onto my critters. I ask out loud, "Are you cold? Are you hungry? Do you miss kitten-cat Molly?"

Wowser! It is a cold one out today! I have been outside much of the day picking up branches and pine cones that covered the grounds after last night's wind storm. My cheeks can't seem to warm up but it feels pretty good to be active in such chilly weather.

The goats don't seem to mind though - the sun is out and they invite the rays to take the iciness out of the air. I oftentimes see them laying out, like hairy sunbathers, napping with their eyes closed, chewing cud. As their caretaker, I have to keep in mind that when the temperature is under 37 degrees, livestock need more food and more water just to maintain their normal body temperatures.

Janesville Gazette

We recently had a journalist and a photographer visit us at the farm to discuss Opie's Goats, the product and the herd. Here is the resulting article from Monday, December 27, 2010.

http://www.gazettextra.com/news/2010/dec/27/goats-milk-soap-gets-national-recognition/

Article About Opie's Goats in the Beloit Daily News

http://www.beloitdailynews.com/articles/2010/11/29/news/local_news/news2901.txt

Capital Times Interview and Article

Janesville woman cleaning up with goat milk soap business

Last Tuesday I took little Louise to Madison to host a press conference with the Department of Agriculture and Alice in Dairyland at Community Pharmacy on State Street. Though the press attendance was thin, the press release for the even resulted in a lot of interviews with journalists who could not attend. This was the second, held immediately after the press conference at the Capital Times.

Getting Busier and Busier

Hand milking Symphony

I never intend to neglect this blog. It just happens. Don't feel bad. I neglect the website, my yard, housekeeping...you get the picture. I just keep getting busier and busier and some days I spend prioritizing my priorities.

The goats got to get away from the farm with a little vacation at the Rock County 4-H Fair. Megan and Adam Vincent were the youth exhibitors and earned blue and red ribbons in breed and showmanship classes. I was beyond proud!

We added a new goat to our microherd. Maggie joined us right after the 4-H Fair a couple of weeks ago. She is an Oberhasli, a Swiss Alpine breed just slightly smaller than the French Alpines she now rooms with out at Gehrig Game Farm.

The girls also have a new pasture that they share with Tia Maria, a gorgeous Welsh cross pony, and a few stray chickens that wander over, possibly thinking the grass is greener, but who knows! I keep finding their eggs on the straw and hay beds. Clearly they are confused.

That's all the time I have for now as I have soap to produce, package and promote!

Sunny Louise Born March 10, 2010

Well, we were blessed with our first doeling in 2010, Opie's Goats Sunny Louise. Symphony was due on March 9th and I had spent Sunday, Monday and Tuesdays nights keeping vigil, waiting not very patiently for an unknown number of kids to be born.

I knew around noon last Wednesday, March 10 that Symphony was well into labor. She laid down, got up, laid down for hours, unable to get comfortable. I let her companion doe, Little Peanut outside and got a bucket of warm water ready and threw towels into the drier to heat them up. My dear friend and partner in crime, Crystal, coached from a few feet away and was quick to bring me the above mentioned supplies when I super-stressed out screamed to get them.

The sun came out at just the time I was warming the baby goat, thus the name Sunny Louise. We've been enjoying her company ever since, letting her run around the house with the dogs, bottle feeding her and watching her climb stairs and jump on furniture. They are athletic little creatures!

The Today Show

My guerilla marketing in New York City paid off. Matt Lauer did a wonderul plug for Opie's Goats Organic Goat Milk Soap. Last Tuesday morning, Gail (my mother) and I left our hotel room and took a taxi to 30 Rockefeller Center. 30 Rock. Still dark out, we hit Dean and Deluca for coffee and a muffin. People were already starting to gather outside The Today Show studio, having already gone through mild security and kept at bay with the famous barricades seen every morning on national television.

Shortly after the show starts we are told that the talent would be venturing outside at 8 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. and added that Sharon Osbourne would be Kathie Lee's cohost in the later portion of the program. Hoda was on vacation or something. Anyhow, true to their word, the crew all came out at 8 a.m. and immediately greeted the crowd. Instead of shaking Matt's hand, Gail put a bar of Opie's Goats into Matt Lauer's hand. Walking away, he began to read the label and turned and said, "tell me more, what is Opie, who is Opie, etc." I said, "that's our last name. We raise French Alpine Goats and make soap out of their milk."

He returned to stand next to Meredith, and when the cameras went live Matt said, "Meredith, these ladies wanted me to give this to you. It's Opie's Goats Soap." She looked at the bar, smelled it, and said, "smells good!" And that was our Today Show plug! Just like that.

Going Soy Free

Contrary to popular belief and as a result of very successful marketing, soy is not man's best friend. Not in the least. In fact, soy can be quite toxic especially when it isn't fermented (I think tofu is a fermented product). Nonetheless, soy has always been presented as a health food, with advertisements boasting about how soy is the cornerstone of healthy Asians. The fact is, Asians eat very little soy.

That said, I will be buying soy free feed for my goats. Goats, like humans, are not built to digest soy without negative side effects!

Opie's Goats

Welcome to Opie's Goats, a blog dedicated to the life altering decision to raise French Alpine dairy goats organically and also to live as close to the ground as I can. At present I have to Junior does, Symphony and Peanut, both nearly a year and already expecting their own offspring. They are low maintenance yet deliver a lot of laughs in return. They are wonderful animals that are both curious and kind. And, although inexpensive, I intend to have them pay for themselves through the sale of soap and eventually cheese. What happens in the meantime will determine what the future will bring.

I also have two dogs, Izzy and Moses. Izzy is an almost-12-year-old West Highland White Terrier and Moses is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Bichon Friese mix. Nearly two years old, Moses is just a big baby. Izzy, however, is queen of the world. When it comes to the goats, however, they are both completely disinterested. It might have something to do with the headbutting the goats so enjoy, but for Moses, well, it could be the electrified mesh fence he 1) got caught in, and 2) relieved himself on (Yikes!). Some things will not happen twice. I have my sights on a third dog specifically for the goats. A beautiful Great Pyrenees named Vixon. I'm hoping her owners are still looking for a new home for her in the spring when I am ready to move the goats to a different location.

My mom, Gail, is my right hand. Not always thrilled to do so, she helps when I need the goats fed or watered. They love their time with people and it is important to do more than throw them a flake of hay. I tell my niece the most important part of feeding the goats is patting them while they eat. My friend Crystal has been my other right hand. On several occassions she has stayed at the house and taken care of all of our spoiled animals. They are actually more spoiled when she leaves!

Off to the mudroom to cut soaps down to size! It is now officially for sale at Rumor Style Lounge in downtown Janesville and I have to make more POS displays for additional locations. I am looking forward to 2010!