Jessica Lynne Joins the Herd

Thumbelina’s long wait finally ended on Friday morning, March 27, 2009 when she bore an adorable, cream-colored three-pound doeling. In the darkened stall, the kid appears to be white like her mother, but in the light her creamy coloring and dorsal stripe markings become visible. With markings similar to Jennifer and Leo, this kid may mature into a buckskin or chamois colored adult. Looking at this delicate little goat and considering her personable mother, I found the name Jessica Lynne to be fitting and Thumbelina agreed.

Thumbelina likes the new mom treatment. The warm oatmeal with fruit and honey, the extra meal every morning, and plenty of attention are agreeable to her. For the most part she lets me interact with her little one, although after traumatizing the then-as-yet-unnamed doeling by putting her into a tin bucket to weigh her (she weighed three pounds that first morning) both the kid and her mom were a tad wary of me.

The kid’s naming was a cinch. She’s named for a woman who is as delicate-yet-strong as the new kid and who also naturally gravitates to Thumbelina. Jessica Lynne, the person, is intelligent and accomplished, multi-talented and articulate, and both carefully gentle and amazingly strong. Simply her presence can brighten a room. Unlike me, she considers her words before opening her mouth and is well-spoken in even the most stressful of circumstances. I wish that Thumbelina’s little Jessica Lynne may grow up to have even a fraction of the fortitude of her namesake.

Today Jessica Lynne is four days old. She has spent half of her days frolicking outdoors. Now she wears the sweater initially designed for little Raymond but too tight for his stockier frame. With the temperature fluctuating from the 20’s and 30’s into the 60’s and 70’s, and back, the sweater may help protect her from catching a chill. At night she seems to enjoy lying under her heat lamp and her head droops quickly as she drops off to sleep after her busy days. Eager to learn and full of wonder, she has been exploring with such intensity that sound sleep is inevitable. She has befriended the other youngsters—Evelyn, Gretchen, and One, Two, Three and Four—and seeks out their company when she ventures away from her mother’s side.

Welcome little one.