I said goodbye to Peach the other day, an elderly white Nigerian Dwarf goat with peach markings, tattered ears, and a beard nearly as long as her face. No, she didn’t die, but her exit marks an ending. After living in our yard for nearly a year with her small herd, Peach has gone to live with my mother, her rightful owner, whose new home in New Hampshire is now ready to accommodate farm animals.
I tried to explain all this to little Peach the other evening. I knelt beside her and scratched her chest, neck, and back. I felt her wiry beard. She half closed her eyes and soaked up the affection.
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Ben Adelman is a middle school English teacher and grew up raising dairy goats. He co-leads the Essex County Kids Goat 4-H club with his wife, Evangeline. They live in Boxford and have two adult children.