08/07/2026
Remember when we said this summer has been a little… “character building?” 😅
Well, we promised the story, so here it is.
We went into this summer with plenty of plans for Cherrywell Quillet—goat shows, farm projects, events, and all the usual chaos that comes with this time of year.
Summer apparently had other plans.
It started while we were hauling a load of hay home. During what should have been a routine load check, we discovered that the hay on our trailer was on fire.
Things escalated incredibly quickly. Despite our best efforts, by the time it was over we had lost the entire load of hay, our flatbed trailer, and our truck.
And not just any truck, Bertha. That truck was our farm workhorse—the thing that hauled goats, hay, trailers, and seemingly everything else our particular version of life requires. Losing all three at once was a pretty substantial hit to the farm, the Family, and our plans for the summer.
So naturally, because apparently we hadn’t built quite enough character yet…
Not long afterward, Indie broke her leg. 🤦♂️
And because she’s Indie, that has apparently been treated less as an instruction to slow down and more as an interesting new logistical challenge. 😅
Suddenly the summer we had planned looked a whole lot different. Goat shows and farm adventures gave way to doctor’s appointments, casts, changed plans, transportation logistics, and considerably more time close to home than we expected.
That’s a big part of why we’ve been noticeably absent from several shows and events where you normally would have found us this summer. We hated missing them, but sometimes life makes the decision for you.
Somewhere in the middle of all of that, though, we had a chance—or perhaps were forced—to slow down and take a good look at Cherrywell Quillet and where we want to go from here.
This farm has never just been about having a lot of goats or collecting ribbons. It’s about our family. It’s about breeding animals we’re proud of, sharing them with people, teaching kids (and plenty of adults!) about agriculture, and creating the kinds of experiences and memories that made us fall in love with this life in the first place.
Sometimes good stewardship means knowing when to grow.
And sometimes it means knowing when to simplify, so that every animal, every experience, and every moment with our family gets the attention it deserves.
Which brings us back around to the goats you’ve already seen us mention.
After a lot of discussion, we’ve decided to intentionally right-size our herd. Some of those decisions have been easy. Some definitely haven’t. There are animals becoming available that we genuinely love, including some we fully intended to keep.
But this isn’t Cherrywell Quillet winding down.
Quite the opposite.
We’re narrowing our focus so we can put more into the animals we carry forward, continue building a breeding program we’re proud of, and have the time and flexibility to grow the educational and mobile farm experiences that have become such an important part of what we want Cherrywell to be.
We’ll have more details about the herd reduction as we get everything sorted out. In the meantime, if something from our previous post caught your eye, feel free to reach out.
As for us?
The truck is gone.
The trailer is gone.
The hay is definitely gone.
Indie’s leg is healing.
The goats are still causing trouble.
And somehow, despite everything, we’re still here making plans.
Apparently we have plenty of character now. 😂
Here’s to healing, rebuilding, making some hard-but-good decisions, and seeing what the next chapter of Cherrywell Quillet looks like.
We have a feeling it’s going to be a good one. ❤️🐐
