Nanny

The narrator, Zoe, tells a story about receiving a goat as a birthday present when she was 12. Despite it being an unconventional gift, Zoe grew up on a ranch and loved animals, so the goat was like any other pet to her. She named the goat Nanny because it was a nanny goat. Nanny goat became a beloved member of Zoe's family and the ranch. Zoe learned that Nanny goat was a cross between an Oberhausli and a miniature pygmy goat. She took on the responsibility of milking Nanny goat every day and enjoyed the taste of goat milk. Zoe reflects on how her childhood on the ranch was unique and shaped her love for agriculture, which led her to study agroecology at the University of Wyoming. Hello lovely listeners out there. My name is Zoe and I'm a student at the University of Wyoming. Today I'm going to tell you a story from my childhood. The strangest present I ever received turned out to be one of the best ones I ever got. It was cold inside the shady barn. My nose and fingers felt numb but I didn't care one bit. I was too excited. I looked into her big brown eyes and watched the steam escape her nose as she sniffed my hand. Her little tail waggled as I pet her soft coat. I couldn't believe she was my birthday present. Do you know what you're going to call her? My neighbor asked. I thought about it for a moment but honestly guys I am terrible at naming things and I could only think of one thing. So I replied I'm going to call her nanny because she's a nanny goat. Now I know that a goat is not a typical birthday present for a 12 year old but I grew up on a ranch and for me getting nanny goat was like getting a puppy or kitten or any other pet. Like I said my family owned a small ranch in northern Colorado where we grew alfalfa and raised black Angus cows. We lived miles outside of town high up in the mountains nestled between the Aspens and the evergreens. Our neighbor was an older woman who lived a mile down the road from us. She ran an animal sanctuary and had creatures of all shapes and sizes. I remember hearing the exotic calls of peacocks that go through the forest and watching her yak graze on the hillside with the local deer. When a scrawny little goat showed up at her property she decided that the best place for her was with me. I was beyond excited to take my new goat home. My parents on the other hand were a little more apprehensive. They were cattle ranchers not goat herders and this 50 pound goat was nothing like the 110 cows we had at home. Side note I don't really know if my parents knew that our neighbor wanted to give me nanny goat. They may have been just as surprised as I was. Nonetheless nanny goat was coming home with us so my dad picked her up and put her in the back of the truck. Once we arrived back home everyone wanted to meet nanny goat. The cows came lumbering down from the pasture and surrounded her like giants circling a child. The dogs ran out of the house barking excitedly as they also joined the animal powwow. If I had been in that little ghost place I would have been terrified but nanny was unbothered. In fact she seemed to love the attention that she was receiving. We made a spot for her in the barn where she would be safe and warm during the winter nights and gradually nanny goat became acquainted with her new kingdom. I say kingdom because nanny goat really was the queen of her castle. She always wanted to be where the action was. You couldn't fix a fence or chop firewood without nanny goat supervising the situation. Unlike the cows who are skittish and weary of new things nanny goat was fearless. She wasn't afraid to go on adventures and followed me everywhere while I did my chores. Even the dogs included her in their daily patrols around the property. I guess they didn't notice her horns and hooves because they treated her like any other dog. Nanny goat was a big personality in a small package. I can't emphasize enough how tiny she really was. Even compared to other goats she was noticeably smaller. It took us a while to figure it out but eventually my family learned that she was a cross between an Oberhausli which is a type of dairy goat and a miniature pygmy goat. After we found out she was basically a mini milking goat I was determined to treat her like one. That's a big responsibility my dad warned me. You can't just milk her whenever you want it's something you have to do every day he reminded me. My dad knew what he was talking about. Growing up in a dairy farm in Wisconsin he was very familiar with dairy production. I promised to take my responsibility seriously and the next day he built me a small milking stand for my small milking goat. From that point on I milked a nanny goat every single day. I did this for years all the way through high school in fact. I learned that goat milk tastes amazing way better than goat cheese. It's sweeter than cow milk and it was perfect putting on my cereal in the morning. My mom and I even learned how to make yogurt with it. We took care of nanny goat and nanny goat provided for us. That was an integral part of life on the ranch just like the chickens who gave us eggs or the garden that produced vegetables. Every living thing required love and attention but gave us something in return. I wanted to share this story with you because it encapsulates what it was like to grow up on a ranch. The older I get the more I realize how wonderful and unique my childhood was. Nanny goat is gone and eventually my parents had to sell the ranch but my love for agriculture remains. It's the reason I'm here at the University of Wyoming studying agroecology. So thanks for listening to my story.