These are so adorable, what a lovely surprise. I hope mama cat takes the babies and heads for the hills so you never cross paths again - you, or any other rancher.

This gave me a smile!!

:-)

(Stay on the move cat!) / R

Babies are always a happy surprise from little kids to little kits.

Stewards of the land, to be sure, and knowing that mean stewardship of cougars as well as kids. Glad to be reading this today.

Cougars and goats can live together even if that means some death. You are in the right place doing the right thing. Thank you.

thanks for this good-news post, david. that's a beautiful new baby you have in your arms.

david, i missed the cougar post, i hope it is FAR away from almosta ranch. loved this post about the baby goat.

I am so glad to read you found out this was a momma cougar. They are struggling to find safe food for their young these days without being killed themselves...such a hard line when you need to protect your own farm.
What an adorable baby pygmy goat!
...and life begins again....

It is the circle of life and you get to see it up close and personal. The good and the bad. Thanks for letting us know about the new life!

I so admire yours and Mels earthy ways and wish the ranch was Almosta this way. I could use a baby pygmy goat hug. Love to the newborn and you both.

What a beautiful post, David. Lovely pictures too. And thanks for understanding that cougars need to live too.

If you ever want to read a wonderful novel that highlights the place of predators in the natural system, I recommend Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver. It's really good (one of the characters is a wildlife biologist).

Another engaging read from someone who has obviously "been there- is doing that."

The life you have on your ranch with birth, death, renewal is what the rest of us just long for. RIP little colt.

What a little sweetie! Here's wishing for peace and safety . . . even though it never really lasts . . . still wishing.

Hello,David,the loss of the colt won't be forgotten,at least it will take time to get over it.Horses are very close to Humans.
Earth is giving a chance to feel joy again seeing and cuddling the little newborn kid.
Cicle of life:You have put it so well into words.
The young cougar mom and her cubs soften the harsh reality a bit.
I am glad for you to be aware of all details surrounding you.
Please give my regards to your wife.
Heidi B.

I did not show up here for the foal attack post. Sorry. I just could not. That baby goat is something sweet though. Life shows up at your door and repos something you thought you'd always have, then later, you notice it left you a little gift.

I look at life like baseball. It seems that every time I know the pitcher is going to throw me a fastball, he throws a change-up and I come out of my shoes. I sure hope the cougar gets away with her babies, far enough away she never has to smell the greed and stink of human smell again!

Daved~ You have the gift of overview that comes from living deep and well. The baby goat is adorable!

Glad to see the birth of those little guys! I assume the cougar must be some kind of rogue wanderer? They aren't a normal part of the ecosystem in Missouri, are they?

The circle of life - I don't pretend it's not painful, but somewhere in my head I think I get it. It doesn't make the death of your beautiful foal meaningful in any way, it was such a seemingly pointless blow to your heart and Mel's... but in light of the knowing you now have -- once again, the circle of life strikes close to home. Your little goat is pure joy! the flip side of the coin.

I mentioned in another comment, I wonder why that cat and cubs aren't being humanely caught and relocated to a more suitable environment.

Keep on truckin' in that red truck David.
Your stories of Almosta Ranch are heartwarming.
TY

He looks just like you. You must be so proud.

This is going to sound weird, but a cougar has a range of approximately 250 square miles (that's a lot) and they range far and wide over a year. Like nomadic hunters, they spend several weeks to a few months at a time in one spot and then move on.

You might give this a try -- this is going to sound even weirder -- walk around your property and pee along the places where a cat or any other predator might decide to pass. You're marking your territory in a way that only they can truly understand. You could save up a large amount in a jar and take a longer walk, I suppose.

Also, you can always shoot to miss. The loud BOOM! of a shotgun or high powered rifle can tell them they're not welcome. With a large range, they may decide your place ain't worth it.

Been stalked once by a cougar and one time by a coyote. Worked at a zoo for nearly seven years and took care of lions, tigers and bears, oh my, including a mountain lion (or cougar, or puma, or catamount, or panther, or painter, or well you get the idea.)

-r-

How sweet and some compensation for your loss. We can do little about nature's cruel side, but must also give credit for her beauty.

I'm pondering what you're going to call the little one.

3 parts of the Alpha and Omega here, Torman. Your foal, the baby goat and the mountain lion with cubs. As always a fascination glimpse into your life and into your outlook on the world. Thanks.

I don't understand the damn circle of life at all, but I like seeing that baby goat.

keri h....She is a cute little critter and it was like getting an early Christmas present.

toritto....glad to see you and happy I could give you a smile today.

Miguela......They are a blessing, that's for sure.

Oryoki Bowl.......Stewardship is something we both take very serious.

zanelle....And thank you for reading,

Candace......That's the unique thing about ranch life, it's either tears of laughter...today it was smiles and laughter.

Bernadine......Sorry you missed it but I'm glad you're here to read this one.

Just Thinking....Well knowing it is a female with little ones changes the game for me. Now I will probably settle on scaring it away rather than killing it. Not sure I could kill it now unless it was attacking another of my horses.

jramelle...Glad I could add to your day.

ThroughMyEyes....Well if you are ever in the neighborhood, drop by and sit a spell on the front porch with us.

Froggy....Thanks for the suggestion, I will do a Amazon search and see if I can order it.

Road Runner....I am so happy you liked this entry and thank you for reading it.

amymh2011.....Mel and I believe you should be a part of the land and not a ruler over it. Sometimes that puts us at odds with our fellow ranchers, but it is the only way we know.

Owl...no it doesn't last and that is why we enjoy the moments we are given.

Heidi....I have lived most of my life close to nature and I learned as a small child that a man has to be able to live within nature and not over it.

greenheron....It's okay if you chose to skip those two entires, I don't blame you. The new baby is a gift which we are grateful to receive.

Scanner....I hope the same thing for that cougar.

Procopius.....The "Experts" seem to believe that the cougar has been pushed out of its original range by a larger, more aggressive lion and came originally from either Arkansas or Oklahoma. Either way, with cubs now on the scene, the population can only grow.

Gabby Abby....Good question. I believe that the state is so strapped for cash right now that the convservation department just can not afford the expense of hiring a professional guide, employing a helicopter and live traps it would take to hunt and take alive an apex predator like the cougar.

Mission....I will and thank you for continuing to read those stories.

Jeff....she does look like me and I had the devil of a time explaining that to Mel.

dunniteowl....Not weird at all. Actually the cougar with cubs has a hunting range of about fifty square miles but it has been known...without cubs....to migrate over seven hundred miles in order to establish its own hunting range free of other cats. Knowing that the cat has cubs, I will probably opt for scaring it rather than killing it and I have already marked my boundries as you suggested.

Linda....Not sure we are going to name her because we have a couple of people waiting for a young goat. As soon as she is weaned she will probably get a new home.

Walter....I am just happy you are around to read my blog, now that makes my own day.

Mumbletypeg....No matter about the circle of life, the baby goat can always make you smile. Thanks for dropping by.

I think you should call the baby goat "SURPRISE!" Knowing the cougar has cubs makes the attack more understandable, but I doubt less painful. Happy to see the new edition of Almosta Ranch.

She's so small!!!! What a cutie! The goat too!

I would be mixed in my feelings even after finding out she has offspring. It does change the gameplan though.

Perhaps she will keep going with her family. Isn't Arkansas much closer to you than Oklahoma? Her hunger would be more understandable if she was coming from Oklahoma with their drought problems. Not comforting I am sure.

Congratulations on the new pygmie though!

This is so wonderful. I love her black socks. My little 15yr old black toy poodle now has grey kneehighs since she is getting so old. -R-

If thats where you live...i would say change has done you right.

Nothing like a birth to make the heart smile. I hope that the cougar which was seen is moving away far away to raise her family. I also hope that it is the one that attacked your foal.
I enjoyed your descriptions of the seasons.

How cute can they get? I still haven't recovered from the loss of your foal, but this is a precious distraction.

Lezlie

Cute kid (mea culpa, mea culpa).

Glad the cat has left the immediate neighbourhood and that you didn't have to end up dealing with it.

Best to Mel.

well aren't you in a moral quagmire.
fuck ranch life.
i couldn't deal with such decisions.
congrats on the pygmy goat of the night.

This is a balanced and appealing snapshot of your life. I once had the privilege of watching a cougar groom herself on the opposite bank of an arroyo near our house. She didn't know she was not only seen but admired. And even when a coyote killed a beloved cat, I didn't want to kill coyotes. Life is not for sissies. Welcome to our planet for your darling little goat and for the cougar cubs. May they never meet.

That kid is a cute as a kitten!

Kate....That's an apt name for the little lady.

pastvoices.....She probably had the cubs after getting here in fact now we are starting to believe we have a number of the big cats in the state.

Christine.....Yes, those little black socks are cute. She got those narkings from her daddy.

Algis Kemezys.......It is where I live and yes, change has done okay by me.

Chrissie.....I believe it is the same cat. Their hunting range can be as much as fifty square miles so she will return, just not for awhile.

Lezlie....That's why I haven't sold off all my goats, they're just so dang cute when they are babies.

Boanerges.....Yes it is and I love the pun. As for the cat, well it has a very large hunting range so I may not have seen the last of her yet.

James M. Emmerling....Moral quagmire? No. I know what I will do and will do it without hesitation. If I find the cat on my land, I will try to scare it off, but if I find it attacking my horses or feeding on one, I will kill it...simple as that. As for ranch life, well it certainly isn't for everyone, that's for sure.

Hawley Roddick.....The first time I saw one of these big cats in the wild I was fourteen years old and the sight of that beautiful creature is still as fresh in my sixty-two year-old mind as if it happened yesterday.

Mary Wagner....When they are babies they are always very cute.

I knew there was something brighter about the OS front page today, and it was your presence there, with this fine, wise piece. And I love the pictures of the pygmy goats!

Y ou are so humane!! Even with the loss of y our colt y oure considering the babies of the cougar. A nice gift of life that little kid.
Bless y ou'all.

Gorgeous. My mother always told me she felt guilty for not raising us on a farm, which is why I loooove your posts. BUT your "un-romantic" view helps us all to see that it's not all it's cracked up to be. Thanks, again.

How strange, because change has been on my mind a lot this week. John Lennon's "Life is what happens when you make other plans" and "The only constant in life is change" have been circling my brain.

Congrats on the new baby goat, and sorrow for the foal.

Hey,marking the property is a great idea.My dog marks every corner he passes by.Sometimes,if I am not careful,I am his target.David,I very much appreciate your humble attitude towards nature.Take care.

David, you ole softie...I agree about the cougar; I hope she keeps her distance....and congrats on the Editor's Pick...but you better watch it closely...those things have a way of disappearing on you.

Yes... life and death. Can't have one without the other. Cute baby!

Took me a while to be able to come around, my friend, but I'm very glad I did. I can feel the soft little fur of your soon to be munching munchkin.

Were I the land, I could not have two more hard working, more loving, or more wise stewards than you and Mel. I assume that the new kid's name is Lucky, because that's what she is.