Martha Washington

A force to be reckoned with, Martha enjoys watching power tools being used and dreams of working in the garden alongside other - perhaps bipedal - humans. She also harbors fantasies about being invited inside The House, where she suspects things are happening without her: perhaps heaping plates of rosebushes and mango peels are being eaten. Whatever the potential payoff, Martha has spent years plotting how to get into The House.

Martha has, thus far in her life: driven a car (it was in "park" with the motor running), been hit by a car (and had her jaw split right open), and been attacked by a pit bull (incurring a head wound that required stitches and removal of one ear) and lived to tell the tale. She is smart and gracious. A queen among goats.

Martha is in the process of handing the title "Lead Goat" over to Louisa, an heir apparent. Martha lets her do all the footwork, i.e., getting up to see what the person at the gate wants (unless it involves mango peels or kale leaves).

She really loves having her own herd of young ones and even when they pass her, she is still wagging her tail. She loves teaching them which plants are good to eat, and how to lie in the sun and watch the people when they work in the garden. She was very lonely when it was just she and George.

She loves her vegetables, has a very broad palate which changes seasonally, and still eats a greater variety of plants than any other goat in the group.

Named after both the hippo duo in the "George and Martha" children's book series, and after the first First Lady. George and Martha are both a pygmy/cashmere cross. Both had their horns removed as baby goatlets.

George Washington

George is Martha's contemporary and was, for a long time, her only caprine companion, but sadly, not her equal. George fancies himself to be the leader of the pack. He is unaware that all the girls are humoring him in this fantasy.

Neither he nor Martha have horns, but this does not stop George from joyfully challenging any and all of The Cashmere Four to high-five contests every few minutes when spring arrives. He will do this until his head is raw. The girls used to hit back very gently, but he always asks them to give it their best shot, so over the last few years they have gotten so that is what they do. He will wag his tail while butting horns (it's an inappropriate term for a goat with no horns, he apparently is unaware...), then, after a tough hit, will stand and blink, consider dropping to his knees, reject the idea, shake his head to settle the circling bluebirds, and challenge someone else. This is his favorite game.

His next favorite game is to hit Martha when she is standing next to a person, so she goes crashing into the person like bowling pins. He thinks this is hilarious!

George loves carbs. If it is leftover bread, pasta, or rice, it is for him. If it has a potato chip, watch your knee cap! George is the only goat stupid enough to assault the people who feed him, although it never hurts, it's just really annoying to get goat hoof prints on one's shirt. He is unaffected by the resulting slap on the melon and the epithet "Geo-orge!"

George is also famous for his stinky belch. To him, they are an act of love and affection. To us, they require a gas mask. Goats are ruminants and as such, are used to burping their food back up over and over. George is the only goat of the herd who will turn and face a person as he is burping. It is goat etiquette to look away. Often, if he is particularly enjoying a good rub on the head he will belch, momentarily blinding the person who was displaying the affection. He or she is thus forced to give up the head rub and feel his/her way through the noxious green cloud until locating the barn door. We have not yet found anyone lying unconscious in the hay, but if we do, we will certainly know who to blame.

George loves his Martha. He is very sad when he is away from her (like when she was in recovery and not available to be hit or cuddled with at night).

Named after both the hippo duo in the "George and Martha" children's book series, and after the First President of the United States.

The Cashmere Three, all age 3

Martha, Eleanor, Rosalyn, Lucy, and George (hey! wait up!)

Second row: Rosalyn, Lucy in the far back, Martha, and Eleanor. Front row: Louisa and George. "We are prepared to be fed treats.

Rosalyn, Lucy at the back looking quizzical, Martha, Louisa giving us the dismissive "butt" shot, and Eleanor. Foreground: George, still hopeful that this might be a feeding moment.

Louisa Adams

Eleanor Roosevelt

She likes her position. She is unwilling to share being second with Rosalyn or Lucy, but is content at being second in rank. To our knowledge she has never coveted Matriarch, nor even the destined-Matriarch position.She is an excellent back-up goat.

Named for Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady, and wife of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Rosalyn Carter

Rosalyn is quiet and shy and genteel. She will not be brushed and does not like being touched by people. She is not dumb; she is very aware of what is going on around her. When she rejects a person, she is always polite about it. And when running away from people who want to put her on a leash and brush her, or take her picture, she is capable of elegant and graceful moves previously unseen by man (like leaping a five foot fence from a relaxed standing position).

Named for Rosalyn Carter, First Lady, and wife of Jimmy Carter.
 

Lucy Webb Hayes

Lucy is a visiting dignitary. She is aloof from the other goats when handouts are being jostled for. She enjoys a good rump massage but is not curious about people or what they might be up to. She loves a good brushing and she has arguably the loveliest coat of the bunch, which she wears like a mink stole in the winter. She, like Rosalyn, is content with being behind the rest.

Named for Lucy Webb Hayes, First Lady, niece of Rutherford B. Hayes.