Today is Father's Day and I want to say Happy Father's Day to all the great dads! Much love to you all!

Much Love, Leslie

Guest Post: Jane's Summer Part 1

 Well, hello there. It's me, the best niece in the extended Thomas family. (No feedback on that statement will be taken at this time.) 

I'm writing here at the request of Leslie to give y'all some updates on my summer working at the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site in Flat Rock, NC. I started in a little over a week ago in early June, and I'll be working there through August. The job is super great so far, and I'm working with several younger rangers who did the same type of work program I'm doing, so I'm getting tons of advice and mentorship. 

So far at the job, I've been helping to feed about 18 goats (about 15 does and 3 bucks) every morning and afternoon. We also clean the barn every morning. The goats are gentle and sweet, and like people, so I usually spend at least a few minutes petting and scratching whoever wants attention. They are also not the pygmy goats you may be imagining. These goats could hurt a person if they wanted to because of their size. On Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, the visitor store is open, and another of my roles is to work there, selling books/other merch and giving out Junior Ranger and BARK Ranger materials. It's so fun to see kids get excited about having the opportunity to earn a badge, and be like real rangers. Later in the summer, I will also be giving 10-15 minute presentations, called Porch Talks, to groups of visitors who want to learn more about the estate and the Sandburg family, since no one is allowed to go inside the house because of the pandemic, so I've been reading a lot of park material to help with drafting my presentation. 

Goat barn and pasture.

I get to be outside and moving a lot at work, which is something I'm realizing I much prefer to sitting at a computer all day. I've even been able to hike the 5 miles of trails on the property, so I can give directions to people who may ask me. 

View from Glassy Mountain of the Blue Ridge Mtns, one of the trails on the property.

Okay, back to the goats. They are not milked anymore, but the point of having them is Carl Sandburg's wife raised and bred dairy goats and ran a dairy farm, winning tons of awards for her dairy goats. So the goats are carrying on that legacy. We have three breeds: Toggenburgs are from the Swiss Alps region, and are gray-brown and shaggy. Saanens are completely white, and are from the same region. Nubians are Anglo-African, and can be a variety of colors (black, brown, spotted) but are characterized by long, floppy, white or gray spotted ears. Currently, the farm has one kid (baby goat) named Solstice, who is not actually very small. He is quite the escape artist. 

The goats are big fans of hay. (From left, a Saanen, a Nubian, and a Togg.)

And belts. (No belt or goat was harmed in the making of this photo.) This is Cricket, a Nubian.

Cuddling goats. :) 

This is Agatha, normally quite aloof, cooperated for this photo.

Solstice, the baby!

And here are the boys! Landslide is the white one, Midnight is black, and Lightning is brown. 

On my off days I plan to go on hikes and generally explore the area, especially Asheville. Today, I went on a hike in Dupont State Forest to three separate waterfalls (pictures below). One of those falls is where some scenes from Hunger Games were filmed, if anyone's curious.  

Where I ate lunch today :)

Last two photos are Hunger Games locations!

More soon,

Jane

Jane Has Left the Southern Nest...

Jane has left us to drive to her summer job in Flat Rock, North Carolina ~ the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site.

She will live in Hendersonville, which is the closest city to Flat Rock.

First step after graduation.  Congratulations!!!!!

~ Leslie