Who Can Resist a Goat Snuggle?
"Farm Seeks Volunteers To Cuddle Goats, And The Internet Comes To The Rescue."
-The Huffington Post
Some say that snuggling is the secret to happiness. By that rationale, snuggling baby animals, namely baby goats, must be the path to joy.
A small mention in our local newspaper this spring caught my eye. Caromont Farm, a small farm in Charlottesville, VA, had an unusually large number of baby goats born all at the same time. As this farm makes artisanal goat cheese and thus they needed the mother's milk for cheese, they were in need to volunteers to come and bottle feed and snuggle their sea of baby goats. This had "Wandering Adventure" written all over it.
It seems like many folks fell in love with the idea of snuggling baby goats as much to the farm's surprise, their small request for volunteers went viral. Soon, national news outlets were sharing the story and folks were traveling great distances to come and help. How's that for a feel good story?
We had the pleasure of attending one of the goat snuggle sessions in April and indeed, it was truly a one-of-a-kind experience. The baby goats were eager for attention. You just had to sit on the ground and groups of them would come and sit on you and snuggle. I'm pretty sure my kids would have never left if it hadn't been time to head home. The folks at Caromont Farm also shared with us their process for making goat cheese and allowed us to sample their cheeses, which were fabulous!
We plan to stay tuned to their Facebook page in hopes of attending future goat snuggles. Trust us, it's worth the drive! ;) It will keep you smiling all week!
Note: Caromont Farm has announced that they will be teaching a class on August 6, 2106, on how to make goat cheese. Owner and cheesemaker of Caromont Farm, Gail Hobbs-Page will cover topics including milk chemistry, acid development and documentation, culturing, and curd formation. Students will learn how to make three simple farmhouse cheeses: whole cow’s milk ricotta, chevre, and a rustic goat's milk feta. Afterwards, everyone will participate in a sensory analysis and round table discussion of the cheeses made that day. You can sign up here.
Read all about it: