Dragonfly Farm Reference Does

These are does that are ancestors or offspring of goats we still own.

(Photo by Jim McGonagle) Ariadne was the first kid born here, and was always a favorite. She was naturally uphill and level--one of those does that looks great just walking around the pasture, and only became more beautiful with age. She had the elegant silhouette characteristic of Paco's daughters; classifier Sandi Liska called her "a beautiful profilin' doe." Our 2008 linear appraiser's comment was "Beautiful, beautiful doe." She was one of the few 91 EEEE does in the breed. She looked like a million bucks in the fall of 2012, but by early 2013 she was clearly failing. She received lots of attentionand all the treats she wanted until she died peacefully in her sleep on January 21. I will miss her very much. For more pictures and information, click here to go to her page.

Show record: 3 x 1st, 3 x GCH, 3 x BOB, 2 x RGrCH

May, 2017

May, 2017

(Photos by Kim Enos, Enos Farms) Again, I don't usually keep kids from first fresh does, but this is only the second Helios kid I kept, and I wanted to get an idea of what he can do as soon as possible. Also her dam, Inana, was one of our most promising first fresheners, who appeared to have inherited Chiaroscuro's enviable udder in spades. Sulis is the name of the Celtic sun goddess. Sulis freshened with a remarkable udder, though it does not show that well in pictures, and this really is one I am looking forward to watching develop. For more photos and information, click here to go to her page.

Show record:

Show record:

May, 2018
June, 2018

Well, this one was supposed to be sold, she really was. (So was her dam, for that matter.) But she's the only kid I have by a buck that was sold, and she is just stunning...yeah, yeah, I know. For more photos and information, click here to go to her page.

Show record: 1 x 1st, 1 x GCH Jr. Doe (Topsfield Fair, Justin Lesniak, October, 2015--no leg (wrong tattoo))

June, 2017

June, 2017

One of Snowbird's more striking daughters, very nice attachments and capacity. For more photos and information, click here to go to her page.

Gained access to zinc sulfate foot bath with fatal consequences

June, 2016--stale

March, 2015

Another half sister/half brother breeding, doubling up on the gorgeous Here For the Party. Beautiful doe kid who named herself with her very assertive (read: strident) demands for her bottle, until finally she lost her voice completely (thank goodness!!!). I hesitated to post Banshee's 2016 photos because they were a last ditch attempt to get SOMETHING the show that she did indeed grow up, but she was already in the process of being dried off in preparation for me to leave the farm for the 2016 Nationals, but I hope her good points can be seen even through the lack of bloom by that time. She should finally kid at the right time to actually travel with us to Nationals in 2018, and I hope she will finally get her chance to shine as I have always believed she would. For more pictures and information, click here to go to her page.

I lost Banshee in kidding in 2018, but she left me with the last live cover kids by Solaris. I really loved this one; miss you, girl.

Show record:

Fulfilliing my expectations nicely, thank you, Arwen is kind of a little bit of goat right now, but mark my words, she is going to be dynamite. This photo does a great job of showing off her nice general appearance but unfortunately is at a poor angle for her udder, especially since she is a bit stale here, so I hasten to direct your attention to the lovely udder shots--take my word, this is the nicest first udder I've seen since JoJo (Best Udder, 2011 ADGA Nationals). Her dam Heiress is full sister to my gorgeous Flat Rocks Holy Bull, and she definitely shows the same solid structure that characterizes all of her cousins here as well. Again, many thanks to my dear friend Sunni for sending her my way! For more photos and information, click here to go to her page.

June, 2015

The only Hallelujah daughter I ended up with from 2012, and based on this one, I plan on having quite a few more. First of all, she is one of my very best goat friends, probably second only to Egghead at this point. Second she is a daughter of my gorgeous Peregrine, and I can never have too many of those. Named after a South American bird of prey (of course). Another young doe that my 2013 appraiser loved and used the word "exciting" about...which just goes to show, you need to pay attention to the whole view of the appraiser, not just the score. I feel this one will go far. For more pictures and information, including udder pictures, click here to go to her page.

Show record: 2 x 1st, 1 x JGCH (Bob Bartholomew, Topsfield Fair, October, 2012); 2 x GCH Sr. (John Pfeiler and Bob Bartholomew, Jr., Garden State show, May, 2017)

May, 2015

Tempal is the outside purchase I just could not resist last year. Not only is she linebred on one of my favorite old does of all time, ARMCH Buttin'Heads Bryedal Veil 2*D, but she was delivered right to my door when Tom came to pick up a buck from me...yes, she is also a granddaughter of the great Wedding Song. Tom apologized to me for her name. I happen to love the quirky Buttin'Heads naming conventions anyway, but more than that, her name reminds me of Temple Grandin, who is an expert on animal feeding methods, among other things...my Tempal also claims to be an expert in that area. "Put it right there mom, now let me have it, no, me and nobody else, that's right..." Freshened with a pretty nice first udder. Second freshening, she shows improved udder floor, with teats that have come nearly perfectly plumb.

Show record: Not yet shown.

This is to show that no, Inana does not have a funny looking head (though she is polled). You know who you are.

(Top photo by George Gould) Inana's sire, Hallelujah, is the only offspring of his late dam Chiaroscuro that I still have here, and Inana looks much like him, which is a very good thing. Freshened as a yearling with a gorgeous udder. In particular, I am very pleased with not only her capacity but with the smoothness of blending of the rear udder...I think it is nicer than my previous favorite in this area, Vesta. Appraised well as a 2nd fresh 2 year old, with the only real problem being that she is a bit "fluffy" (loves her groceries!) holding her back from a higher score.

Show record:

Dam: Doe-Sy-Doe's Tiger's L'ily *D (ARMCH Rosasharn's Tiger L + *S E x MCH Stonewall's L'il Honeysuckle E 90.1)

(Photos by Declan Dean) Ishtar is a beautiful doe. Really. Not sure what the appraisers are seeing here that is so inferior. But the truth is, once a doe has a beautiful udder (and make no mistake, once Ishtar gets the capacity her pedigree predicts, this is going to be a very beautiful udder) somehow the scores in the other areas of the scorecard grow to match. This doe ain't going anywhere. For more photos and information, click here to go to her page.

Show record:

Dam: Kannah Creek SF Kaya *D VG (Twin Creeks BW Solar Flare *S x Gay-Mor's Lucky Monarda)

May, 2012

I just love this beautiful, sweet doe, sired by my favorite buck and in my absolute favorite color. We tragically lost her dam and her brother, so I am even more grateful that I still have this doe in my barn. Freshened at 10 months old with a beautiful little (very little)udder, though an appropriate size for a doe so young. Her second freshening produced an udder with beautiful bloom, which enabled her to beat out her herdmate National CH Topaz all three times they were shown together. For more photos and information, click here to go to her page.

Show record: 3 x 1st

After I almost lost Deirdre in 2011 to a horrible, possibly gangrene mastitis, I was very glad that I had retained this doe who was orginally supposed to be sold. She takes after her granddam Aphrodite in body type, which means long and elegant, with the gorgeous Ariadne rump structure, but she is also petite like her grandsire Rio, which is good because Aphrodite is pushing the stick. Should be a lot of milk here as well. Her first udder was very similar to Deirdre's, both in shape and capacity, though she has a much higher escutcheon, and her rear udder is higher as a consequence. As a second freshener she is one of my new favorites...Like her dam she is both powerful and dairy, with a beautiful, capacious second udder. For more photos and information, click here to go to her page.

Show record: 1 x RGCH (Barnstable Fair, 7/2015, Bob Bartholomew)

June, 2015

Possibly because she is a fairly petite doe, Demeter always seems to get a bit overlooked, but she is actually lovely, and deserves more exposure going forward. For more pictures and information, including udder pictures, click here to visit her page.

Show record:

June, 2011

(Photos by Declan Dean) I really wanted to see how this Flat Rocks/Stetson cross would work out, although truth be told it's not an outcross but actually a rather nice linebreeding on Alamo Messenger and one of his daughters, Goodwood Mermaid. We now have 3 nearly identical plain chocolate chami does with almost no white at all...and she produced yet another generation of beautiful chocolate chami does by Hunk this year. She also produced a nearly flawless first udder. All this was enough to earn her the title of ADGA National Champion in 2011. In explaining why the judges chose do the almost unprecedented and award the National Champion medal to 2 year old Topaz, judge Lauren Acton said, "Yes, she's young, but that's her only flaw--she's young." High praise indeed. For more pictures and information, click here to go to her page.

Show record: Many times 1st place, 2 x RGCH, 1 x GCH (2011 ADGA National Champion, Lauren Acton and Meghan Treadway-Carter)

May, 2012

(Side view photo courtesy of Addie Pepoli, On Mountain Thyme farm) Another returnee, and I'm thrilled to have her back. She really is a slightly smaller version of her dam; every time I see one or the other I have to look twice to tell them apart.

Sold, 8/2017

Dam: NC PromisedLand LD PussyWillow *D AR (ARMCH Twin Creeks LS Luck of the Draw +*S E x MCH Gay-Mor's LR Kitty's Meow 2*D E)

(Left photo by George Gould, right photo by Declan Dean) Somali has one of the best rumps in the herd. As a mature doe, she still has gorgeous attachments and a bit more capacity. For more pictures and information, click here to go to her page.

Show record: 1 x 1st, 5 x RGCH, (Jeremy Lesniak, Sunny Sisters show, July 2012, Topsfield Fair, Justin Lesniak, October 2015, Garden State DGA, Bob Bartholomew, May, 2017, Garden Party Show, Justin Bassett, May 2017, Garden Party Show, Cynthia Shelley, May, 2017)

Dam: NC PromisedLand LD PussyWillow *D AR (ARMCH Twin Creeks LS Luck of the Draw +*S E x MCH Gay-Mor's LR Kitty's Meow 2*D E)

June, 2014

(Photo by Declan Dean) Like all of our Hal kids, Abby is elegant, stretchy, and correct. Needs some remedial comportment lessons. Freshened the first time with mastitis on one side; that side never came into milk, so I did not get good pictures of her beautiful udder. Her udder now is lovely, and is interesting because it is held so tightly to her body and contains so little excess tissue that it looks smaller than it actually is. Abby finshed her permanent CH in style in 2014on her 4th freshening. For more pictures and information, click here to go to her page.

Show record: 1 x 1st Sr. yearling, 1 x RGCH Jr. Doe, 2 x GCH Sr (Blandford Fair, 9/3/12, Lynn Fleming, NHDGA show, New Boston NH, 6/1/14, Patricia Lynn Ricotta), 1 x RGCH (Sunny Sisters, Lancaster, MA, 6/14/14, Barb Norcross, restricted leg awarded)

Dam: Dragonfly DR Harlequin (Flat Rocks Diamond Rio x Flat Rocks Salutations)

July, 2017

My beautiful, magnificent, beloved Egghead died in a difficult kidding on her brithday.

Egghead is the prettiest daughter that Harley has ever given me, and she's turned out to be just what I hoped for--a scaled up, stretched out version of her dam. Obviously I didn't register her as Egghead, but I have come to realize that's what she is going to be called, whether I like it or not...that will teach me to give a kid a nickname; sometimes they stick. As a yearling, she drew the comment "Wow," from our 2010 Linear Appraiser. In 2011 she was part of our sweep of the top 3 places in the 2 year old class at the ADGA Nationals in Springfield, MA (3rd, behind eventual 2016 Reserve National CH Peregrine and eventual 2011 National Ch, Topaz). For more photos and information, click here to go to her page.

Show record: 1 x GCH Jr (ADGA, Ed Cavanaugh, May, 2010, SMDGA Spring), 1 x GCH Sr (Kris Fraley, Sunny Sisters Show, July, 2017)

Dam: CH Rosasharn's TL Zenith 3*D (ARMCH Rosasharn's Tiger L +*S 'E' x ARMCH Rosasharn's Eclipse 2*D 'E', 2*M)

(Right photo by Kim Enos)) Apogee is a total love. She had a very successful show career as a yearling, consistently winning large classes and racking up several reserves before capturing the coveted GCH. She freshened the first time with an udder that was pretty uneven, which was reflected in her LA score, but I believe it was a mastitis issue rather than the structural issue the appraiser decided on. Vindication occurred in her second freshening, when she received a much more appropriate final score of 88 with an E in mammary, as well as a 2nd leg towards her CH. I have no doubts about this doe whatsoever. For more photos and information, click here to go to her page.

Show record: 4 x 1st, 4 x RGCH Jr Doe (Tom Considine, HOMDGA show, May, 2010; Lynn Fleming, New Boston, NH, June, 2010; Anna Thompson, Southern Vermont, July, 2010, Joe Pilo, Topsfield Fair October, 2010), 1 x GCH Jr Doe (Joe Pilo, Topsfield Fair, October, 2010), 2 x RGCH Sr.  (Erin Griner, MD State Fair, September, 2015; Bob Bartholomew, Garden Party Show, May, 2017), 2 x GCH Sr Doe (Bob Bartholomew, Topsfield Fair, October, 2012; Justin Bassett, Garden Party Show, May, 2017)

Dam: Dragonfly M Kestrel (Piddlin Acres SC Maestro +S E x ARMCH Dragonfly Calliope *D E)

5/24/08 -- 4/11/11

Named for the Roman goddess of fire and the hearth...and thank goodness she did not remain a virgin. Vesta had the trademark stretch and style we always see in Kestrel's kids, plus the very tight shoulders and elbows that Hal reliably produced. When Judge Barb Norcross named her Best Junior Doe in Show in New Boston, 2009, she remarked that Vesta strolled around the ring like a runway model. She was always well aware of how beautiful she was. Vesta's first udder was pretty much all I could have hoped for, and I had expected her to be spectacular when she was mature. Alas, it was not to be. She had a nearly perfect rear udder--height, width, and the smooth blending into the escutcheon that is all too rare in Nigerians. The photo above right says it all on that score. For more photos and information, click here to go to her page.

(Photos by Declan Dean) Creeper is a very nice doe with an unassuming personality and a lovely udder. Very pleased to have her here. For more pictures and information, click here to go to her page.

One of our valued imports from Flat Rocks: an unpolled Gem daughter, which makes her incredibly precious (because she can be bred to a polled Gem son...). Galena is not the friendliest goat with the prettiest face, nor is she the prettiest color, but her udder makes up for all--according to her breeder, better than her dam's at the same age. Her strength in head, legs, back and rump don't hurt either. For more pictures and information, click here to go to her page.

This doe is put together so well, I just love her. Answers to JoJo (loudly). Milking this doe has taught me the fallacy of statements like "That udder is terrific, she just needs to fill up that rear a bit more." This udder is attached high and wide and looks beautiful even empty, even though it milks down to exactly nothing. For more photos and information, click here to go to her page.

Show record: 3 x GCH and BU (2009, Jeremy Lezniak, Franklin County Fair,  2010, Bob Bartholomew, Saratoga County Fair, 2011,Bob Bartholomew, Blandford Fair), 2011 ADGA National Show, 4th in the 5 year old class and Best Udder of Breed (Lauren Acton and Meghan Treadway-Carter).

Our February surprise! I really liked this doe as a kid, and so did the judges, but for the longest time they always liked one other kid just a little more. That's okay with us. She looks just as nice standing in the pasture as walking in the show ring. She has a naturally level topline and beautiful neck blending into her shoulders. Leprechaun's get are known for their slow developement, and as Ceili is Leprechaun in spades, we knew she was right on track. Sure enough, she has matured into a beautiful doe who I think truly deserves her excellent linear appraisal. For more pictures and information, click here to go to her page.

Show record: (as a junior doe) 3 x 1st, 6 x 2nd, 1 x GCH JrDoe, 1 x RGCH Jr Doe (ADGA)

I am so glad to have Chickadee back here--thanks so much Angie Wills and Jill Bullock for making it possible! I don't have many kids from either Giacomo or Snowbird, so she is doubly valued. She has freshened with an beautiful udder, very capacious, excellent attachments, lots of division, and huge teats. One linear appraiser commented "It isn't very often that you see teats almost pointing inwards in a Nigerian." For more pictures and information, including udder shots, click here to go to her page.

Deirdre is one of our nicest does, and as such she represents a teachable moment for me, because I did not see it at first. I just could not look past the power of this girl to see how dairy she really is; but judges consistently commend her on this quality. She also has a terrific work ethic; I have no other goat who knows exactly what she is supposed to do when she walks into a show ring, and just does. it. Our first senior doe to earn Best Doe in Show. For more pictures and information, including udder shots, click here to go to her page.

6/1/05 -- 9/1/16

(Photo by Dennis Whitlock.) Harley is a nice little polled doe of pure Flat Rocks breeding, who is apparently the spitting image of her granddam, Holy Terror. She is not supposed to even be here, because both of her parents are polled--obviously a big oops on my part, but she turns out to be perfectly normal. So we seem to have dodged a bullet, and you will certainly not see a pedigree like this one every day. I usually refer to Harley, who stands 17 1/2 " tall, as my toy goat--she is really very correct, just very tiny. I love her udder, though I have to admit it is not very gravitationally challenged. For more pictures and information, including udder shots, click here to go to her page.

Littermate sister to our lost beautiful First Flight, we were lucky to get Declare back in June of 2007. She looks a lot different than she did in her baby pictures--believe it or not, she's a chocolate buckskin, but could easily be mistaken for a solid chocolate goat. I have found out the hard way that you can not change this doe's routine one iota, or she stops eating. She remains one of our harder keepers, and is nicknamed "The Whippet", because there is not a spare ounce of fat on her. Despite her low LA score, she is actually very graceful and well put together, and I believe maturity will reveal the potential that I see in her. For more photos and information, click here to go to her page.

Declare is For Sale, $500.00--Sale pending

3/20/05 -- 5/15/17

At first I thought that we lost sweet, gentle Tiger's Eye to a coyote attac, but on further inspection, it appears she died peacefully in her sleep--and the vultures found her. No harm done, birds, she was already in a better place. Dam of the 2011 ADGA National Champion Doe, Topaz. For more photos and information, click here to go to her page.

June, 2014

2/17/05 -- 3/12/17

I absolutely love this doe, and I feel so lucky to have her here. Sunni, Ella's breeder, has retained her full sister Ever After, and considers her one of her best--and we can see why. Ella's dam is closely linebred on Surprise, being both a Surprise daughter and granddaughter. Ella represents a cross of the Surprise line with Kingwood, which has proven very successful in the past. She is very elegant and level on the move, with great legs and feet and a sweet, cheerful disposition to boot. Ella's udder is a carbon copy of her beautiful sister's; for more photos and information, click here to go to Ella's page.

We lost Ella to a ruptured uterus at 12 years of age--in what is essentially a miracle, she left me a gorgeous daughter, Liliana.

2/15/03 -- 3/18/16

I'm a longtime admirer of Jurassic, and Snowbird's breeding was an interesting combination of Jurassic, Willows and Twink's Pixie. She had a very accomplished family whose titles keep accumulating--see her page for details! Snowbird is not our biggest milker nor our most spectacular performer in the show ring, but she is just so well put toegether in all categories of the score card that I believe she has a tremendous amount to offer, and she will never leave here as long as I have goats. For more pictures and information, click here to go to her page.

5/16/04-- 2/16/16

Willow milked very well, and was the first doe in our herd to have earned her star on 305-day test. Not really a show doe, she more than earned her keep as an outstanding brood doe, and her daughters are highly valued members of the herd. For more photos and information, including udder shots, click here to go to her page.

1/3/04  --6/6/11

(Left photo by Lorene Toth) Chiaroscuro was without question one of the most beautiful and correct Nigerian Dwarf does I have ever seen. I nicknamed her "Chiara the Invisible" for her completely mysterious poor showing in the show ring in 2009, as she has failed to even earn first in her class in 4 shows and counting (yes, the above photos are from 2009, as is the likewise non-winning dairy herd --click the rear view for a link to the photo.)Like Party, Chiara had a little trouble reconciling herself to being a dairy goat, but she was more than worth the trouble. Her second freshening udder was so much better than her first that I consider her a cautionary tale about making decisions about a first freshener too hastily. Her udder is very capacious, and when full, it absolutely does not move, and the rear view is just beautiful, even when the doe is at a dead run. I know this for sure because early in her milking career, she demonstrated it to me each day at milking time. Eventually, she seemed to have decided it was part of the routine, as she made me make exactly 3 circuits of the pen before stopping dead and waiting for me. I think by the end, we were partners, and we were certainly very fond of each other. She leaves behind here only her gorgeous son by Halifax, Hallelujah, but that promises to be a significant legacy. As always, thanks Kellye, for breeding such beauties and for sending them my way; I am sorry I could not save her. For more photos and information, click here to go to her page.

Show record: 4 x 1st (out of 5 times shown as a junior doe); 1 x GCHJr, 2 x BOB Jr, 1 x GCH Sr doe (did not receive the leg because the ADGA office had reversed her tattoos; apparently this is not grounds for restoring the leg, despite the fact that the tattoos on the show report match those known to appear on the correct registration papers, and everyone agrees that they do)

4/1/01 -- 12/27/14

We finally lost Clio's dam, ARMCH Fairlea Heidi *D 'E', at 16 years of age; at 10 she was still winning Best of Breed and Best Udder (Heidi is on the left in that last link, with her daughter, ARMCH Fairlea Gretchen 2*D, and her granddaughter, ARMCH Fairlea Fleur 3*D 'E'). Like her illustrious dam, Clio had a serene and loving disposition, very conducive to remembering why I have goats in the first place, as well as tremendous staying power. She proved it in 2012 by earning an LA score of 90 at 11 years of age. We lost Clio to cancer at the age of 13 1/2, a bit sooner than I had hoped, but she was my sweet girl to the end. I really miss this one. For more pictures and information, click here to go to her page.

Show record: 8 x 1st, 1 x GCH Sr. doe, 3 x RGCH Sr. doe (received a restricted leg for one), 1 x BOB, 1 x Best Udder