Since I started my Animal Assisted Therapy program in September, I have been writing a lot about the healing power of nature. I have been reading numerous studies about how being in nature with animals is a powerful combination for our mental health. This past week, I came across an interesting study that touches on the benefits of nature for our physical health too. I always thought that physical health should also include our mental health (as our brains are connected to our bodies!) None the less, this is all really interesting stuff to me as I begin to make plans for the therapeutic portio ..read more

There is a David Viscott quote that says, “the purpose of life is to discover your gift. The work of life is to develop it. The meaning of life is to give it away.” I think my gift has always been to be of service. I spent my late teen years, twenties and thirties working as a Blind Rehabilitation Specialist and teacher. My favorite memories of that time was working closely with families in their homes who had just given birth to a baby who was blind or visually impaired. I felt a big sense of joy when it seemed I had an impact in making their life just a bit easier. That work brought me to ..read more

This past week the focus of my Animal Assisted Therapy program was the topic of Animal Welfare. I love the weeks during the program when the subject matter seems to go into a direction that I am already familiar with! My connection to the assigned reading and writing seems to flow much faster this way. I think about animal welfare daily on my farm so the topic is one I usually have a lot to say about! What I did not realize was that the concept of animal welfare was first conceptualized by the Five Freedoms which was initially proposed in the UK’s “Brambell Report” to address livestock husband ..read more

One of my favorite poems is written by the poet Mark Nepo. The poem is about the art of netting. This concept of netting is about how the “net” helps to distribute the weight and suffering of life between two people. I think it is a beautiful poem about friendship, authenticity, and the need for community. I think about “netting” almost everyday and how I have been lucky enough to be on the receiving end of someone holding the net for me and in return have been the provider of the net for others. The art of netting has taught me the value of staying present and truly listening to someone else ..read more

The farm is typically open on father’s day to the public for farm classes and goat hikes. It is super fun to see so many families celebrating their Dad or Grandpa on the farm. Some folks have made it their Father’s Day tradition. Others we have welcomed many times before for various events on the farm. It fills us with joy to see so many familiar faces and that we have built a farm community where people visit regularly and find peace and fun in the farm too. Thanks to those to chose to share the day with us and the goats. Even with the joy and busyness of the day we both found our thoughts d ..read more

I have always been fascinated with the emotion of fear. Why are some people able to push through the fear and others cannot?  At times throughout my life I have allowed fear to lead the way and at other times I have been able to take fear’s hand, quiet the fear and move forward into the unknown. There is no way as human beings that we will not face fear. Sometimes I find myself wishing that fear did not exist but I also recognize the biological necessity for it. Our ancient ancestors never would have survived if they did not have their “fight or flight” response when chased by a wild anim ..read more

          We are in planning mode at the farm and looking forward to the 2023 farm season and spring goat babies! While planning for the upcoming season we always take a look back to see what worked on the farm and what we could do better in the future. One of the things we could improve on is our system to get water to all the animals both in the pasture and in the barns. Our current “system” is about as low tech as it gets! In the winter months we haul warm water to the animals multiple times a day. When the temperatures dip below zero our plastic Farm and Fleet hea ..read more

  This morning I wrote a letter to the township where I grew up in Michigan and this is what I wrote: “I am writing regarding the township master plan of constructing high density mixed residential homes across the street from my childhood home. My parents Hubert and Lynne Winkelbauer have lived there since 1970. My parents raised my sister and I there and started a dental practice in the community. They have been apart of the community for more than 50 years. My parents chose this town as a place to grow roots and live based on the community being rural with open land, nature, wildlife ..read more

The buck. The true hero of a farm. Yep, I said it. The true stinky hero of the goat farm. If you would have asked me 12 years ago if this was an accurate statement, I probably would have laughed pretty hard at that idea. Let me explain myself. Twelve years ago I quickly learned that in order to grow my farm or even have a goat farm, I would have to purchase a healthy buck to kickstart breeding. One of my first goats came to me “in milk” from a farm in Michigan which allowed me to delay breeding on my own farm. This goat’s name was Kazoo. She had the bluest eyes and looked like a spotted cow. S ..read more

  Hello! Please see some the newest members of Gretta’s Goats. We had a pretty easy kidding season this year. Below are some of our newest kids. They joined their mothers and the rest of the yearlings for a hike on Sunday. They loved it. Clark is the little brown and white moon spotted boy. He decided on his birthday that he would not nurse mom. The little cutie left us no choice but to bottle feed. He’s doing great, much like all of his new friends and led most of the most recent hike. Enjoy!       The post Meet the 2022 Spring Kids! appeared first on Gretta's Goats ..read more