The Liminal Farmstead-San Clemente Island Goats

Spy cam!
I have been raising goats since 2009. I know a lot, and I know that I will always learn more. Eartha had me worried about her pregnancy, so I put my spy camera in a jug overnight. She's just fine but of course I got the goat poop money shot. Cameras are a great investment. 🤪
#smallfatmlife

Luigi and Woodland Star peacefully eat. But I have seen Woodland Star bully other goats away from hay. Offering multiple hay feeding locations can allow lower ranking goats to eat what they need without too much goaty drama.
#sanclementeislandgoats #smallfarmlife #goatsky #rurallife #goatnerd

More good morning from The Liminal Farmstead.
#goodmorning #bluesky #westernwisconsin #wisconsin #smallfarmlife #rurallife

Good morning from The Liminal Farmstead!
I love when Hyyge's ears stand up.
#roughcollie #farmstead #smallfarmlife #doglife #dogsky

Who else comes home from work in Western Wisconsin on a weird but lovely 50 degree February day. To have a beer, aquavit, and porch hangs with your partner and favorite San Clemente Island goat Kasimer. Rural magic.
#blackgoat #smallfarmlife #wisconsinfarm #theliminalfarmstead

Around this yearling time they start viewing me once again with curiosity. The weird creature that gives grain and treats, even if I do still trim hooves and give health checks. They sometimes allow for snuggles or a quick butt scratch! Some always remain more distant than others. But that's ok.

Coming back to personality changes. Leland is just under a year old. I often observe new kids to be curious and inquisitive. As they get older they become more independent and possibly cautious of me as I have done horrible things to them. Like getting weights and giving vaccinations.

This doesn't make them hard to handle. Providing routine and positive reinforcement helps to allow safer handling. And you don't need fancy handling equipment either, but of course that all depends on an individual's management plan and number of animals.

San Clemente Island goats did run feral on the San Clemente Island until the 1980's. These goats are no longer feral, but I observe them to be more alert than other goat breeds. My presence is usually ignored. Minus the few goats who do want butt scratches or chin rubs.

All critters have personality. And it's fascinating to observe goat personalities change through the course of their lives. Leland is now extremely curious of me rather than terrified.
#smallfarmlife #sanclementeislandgoats #endangeredgoats #goatsky #goats

The first kidding date is in mid March. Many does have bigger than normal bellies and their vulvas change. Some does become overly friendly later in pregnancy, like due to hormonal changes. I check for dropped ligaments to determine how close a doe is to kidding.

Because goats are ruminants, having wider bellies can be normal and so it's hard to visually confirm pregnancy. But, getting to know your goats, and observing unique traits they exhibit can help me visually confirm.

The San Clemente Island goat does are showing their pregnancy. Argenta's belly is getting low to the ground. It's sometimes hard to be certain goats are pregnant unless you test them. #goatsky #smallfarmlife #goatfarmer #endangeredgoats #theliminalfarmstead

It takes a while for the sun to appear in the valley.
#rurallife #smallfarmlife #wisconsinlife #wisconsin #theliminalfarmstead

New hay! Never mind the other hay in the big feeders. That has hay from yesterday, gross. New anything requires a goat mob.
#sanclementeislandgoats #goatsky #smallfarmlife #endangeredgoats #livestockconservancy #wisconsinfarm #theliminalfarmstead

Garland, the San Clemente Island goat. AKA, the zipper bandit. He loves finding the zipper on my jacket and pulling it down.
#goatsky #sanclementeislandgoat #smallfarmlife #theliminalfarmstead #livestockconservancy #endangeredgoat

Why is ICE seizing people’s phones and documents? • Minnesota Reformer After the federal agents took the shackles off Gust Johnson’s ankles to release him from detainment, he asked for his phone back. That would be staying at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, th...

minnesotareformer.com/2026/02/12/w...

Black farmers are getting shut out by the Trump administration.

John Boyd, president of the National Black Farmers Association, says the WH told him, they are “moving away from DEI and small farm issues, and they were focusing on large-scale white farms… because they produce the most food.”

45 Degrees North: What A Mess | The Daily Yonder Last year, an ice storm in late March knocked down many trees in my area, including around the edges of two fields behind my house. A few weeks later, a

dailyyonder.com/45-degrees-n...

said that when students returned to classes after winter break, as many as 50 households in the school district had seen at least one parent taken by federal agents.

Ben Nelson, a St. Paul resident who serves as the pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Woodville and works as a coach on the track team at Baldwin-Woodville High School,

Twin Cities ICE presence extends into Wisconsin • Wisconsin Examiner ICE agents involved in the agency's surge into Minnesota have regularly crossed the border into nearby western Wisconsin communities.

wisconsinexaminer.com/2026/02/06/t...

State violence against Black Americans laid the groundwork for fascism | Jason Stanley

"Fascism feeds off exceptions to equal personhood, adopting practices honed on those considered lesser-than to apply to the regime’s political opponents," notes Jason Stanley.

"The response to fascism must include the dismantling of the pre-existing structures that enabled and justified its rise."

Some fraud is fine but some is bad?

bsky.app/profile/unic...

Apparently food fights break out with the San Clemente Island goat herd. Kasimer is a sad victim. 🤪 Kasimer is also an uncommon self-black SCI goat, one of just a handful that exist!
#smallfarmlife
#farmstead
#farmsteadnothomestead
#sanclementeislandgoat
#endangeredgoatbreed
#theliminalfarmstead

Yrsa, Norma, and Dorothy. This trio of critically endangered SCI goats also carry an uncommon cream and black color. All US SCI goats who carry this color come from my buck Max.
#sanclenenteislandgoat
#smallfarmlife
#theliminalfarmstead

Former Farming Leaders Warn U.S. Agriculture Could Face ‘Widespread Collapse’

"The letter...was signed by 27 influential figures in the farming sector, including former heads of powerful associations representing corn and soybean farmers and officials from the Bush and Reagan administrations. It expressed dismay at the 'damage done to American farmers.'"

Every Homeland Security officer in Minneapolis is getting a body-worn camera, Noem says “We will rapidly acquire and deploy body cameras to DHS law enforcement across the country,” Secretary Kristi Noem said in a social media post.

I do seriously wonder if this is being implemented for facial recognition bs.

Every Homeland Security officer on the ground in Minneapolis, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, will be immediately issued body-worn cameras, Secretary Kristi Noem said Monday. to.pbs.org/4qWEEny

Hayward fat bike riders take to the snow in solidarity, remembrance of Alex Pretti • Wisconsin Examiner A fat bike ride in Hayward, Wisconsin, was one of many Wisconsin rides in honor of Pretti, a Green Bay native killed by federal agents

In Hayward, Wisconsin fat bike riders gathered for one of many events in memory of Alex Pretti Saturday wisconsinexaminer.com/2026/02/01/h...

Guys I promise we do not need any more opinion pieces arguing that it’s okay to want to be thin