I was born and raised in a rural Northern California town tucked between towering redwood trees and foggy shorelines. My parents owned an eight-acre plot of land where they raised goats for mohair. Over the years, the rotating cast of farm animals included ducks, chickens, a llama, the occasional sheep, and one particularly ill-tempered pony whose stay with us ended abruptly after he bit my big brother on the back.

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Many of my earliest memories are tied to beloved farm dogs and barn cats, most of whom preferred spending their evenings stretched beside the warmth of our living room fireplace or curled into the comfort of a tired lap. A few free spirits, however, preferred wandering neighboring pastures and drifting home whenever the mood — or scent-filled breeze — carried them back.

Maybe it was simply my nature, or maybe it was because there were no other girls my age for miles, but I regularly turned to our animals for friendship. I formed attachments to clucking hens, physically latched onto cats and dogs whenever possible, and learned early on to tactfully avoid the wrath of protective mother ducks.​

 

Each spring, the goats gave birth, filling the property with bouncing newborn kids ricocheting across wooden ramps and climbing blocks my dad had built by hand. (He also built our house.)​

 

But not every birth ended happily.​ I vividly remember uncertain nights when my mom carried fragile newborn goats into the house for extra warmth and care. The following mornings carried a quiet heaviness as we waited to see whether the baby had survived the night. Most didn’t. And the ones that did often faced long recoveries involving bottle feedings, medicine syringes, and constant attention — tasks my mom occasionally allowed me to help with.​

 

Looking back now, those moments quietly shaped me. They instilled a deep emotional connection to animals; revealed the preciousness of life (as well as the certainness of death); and gave me an early language for understanding the vulnerability, caregiving, and the emotional weight that can come with loving living things.