RIP Sparkey

I lost an old friend two days ago, on November 9. He was someone I became accustomed to, and I looked forward to seeing everyday, even if it was to feed him a piece of wheat bread and alfalfa. Sparkey was a pigmy goat, that was born here on our property 12 years ago. Life expectancy of a goat is 8 years, so he lived a good long life. We originally bought two pigmy goats for our children, and Sparkey was the offspring of one of those goats. Our children grew up, moved out, went to college, and Sparkey became my responsibility. Working from a home studio is sometimes a lonely road. I often would step out the back of my studio and call up to Sparkey's barn. He would always answer back and often come down to the fence line to greet me.
Over the years there have been a few times he has even helped me out, serving as reference for a few goat related projects.
I cherish having a wood engraving of him that I created years ago when he was a little boy.

After transporting him in a wheel barrow to his final resting place, I buried him out the back door of my studio beneath an small evergreen tree. As that trees grows, I will always think of him.....