The Year of the Goat: A New Farm, New Cat, and Kid(s) on the Way

Margaret and Godfrey stand in the field behind our new farmhouse in Gray, Maine. It's hard to tell in the photo, but Margaret is pregnant, and we're expecting our first baby in June! | more photos of our new farm

Happy (very belated) New Year! We know that 2006 is going to be a great year for us and so far we are off to a great start. In December, we took the next step towards the dream that began when we departed New York City on our great goat adventure almost three years ago. We bought the farm. Just about 2 months ago we closed on a small farm in Gray, Maine. It's a 1901 Farmhouse with attached barn on 10 acres (7 wooded). It has a small orchard and an area with fence posts just waiting for fencing and some goats! We definitely have our work cut out for us and many projects ahead. The property has not been used for farming for many many years, and so we are charged with the exciting task of returning the place to agricultural production. At some point the barn was turned into a three car garage, but it is in very good shape, and with a new door and some pens, we plan to be ready for our first goats next month!

As if this weren't enough good and exciting news, we are extremely happy to announce that after we get our first goats in the spring, we are expecting our first human kid in the summer. First freshener Margaret is due on June 14. We don't know if it will be a boy or girl... we're going to let that be a surprise.

In other news, one of the things we descovered about an old farmhouse is that they are often inhabited by smaller less desirable farm creatures, who like to leave you little gifts on the kitchen counter and in the stove. (In fact, we had to buy a new stove thanks to the little critters). Which is why no good farmhouse is complete without a farm cat. So we are happy to introduce the newest member of the Hathaway Schatz family: Snuppy the Cat. Snuppy was adopted from the H.A.R.T. shelter in Cumberland, Maine and she is a welcome addition to our household. After a couple of tense days, she and Godfrey have reached a truce and show signs of actually warming up to one another, and we've seen no visible evidence of the mice since Snuppy's arrival. Welcome, Snuppy!

We are still working on a farm name, and we hope to have settled on one by the time the goats arrive in March. Until then, we're focusing on getting the barn ready for the goats, working on a chicken coop, and just trying to keep warm.

We hope that this email finds you well, and if you ever find yourselves in Maine, feel free to stop by Karl & Margaret's (Soon-to-be-named) Farm.