Intersection Column | Baby Goats and Fresh Ideas

by Liz Johnson

I booked the excursion for my niece. At least that’s what I thought as my family and I planned our trip to Prince Edward Island in 2023.

My mom and sister and I had all been to the island before—multiple times. But that trip was our first in eight years and my fifteen-year-old niece Rachel’s first ever.

After half a dozen trips to the island, we had identified a few favorite activities. Lighthouses that couldn’t be missed. Trails that needed to be traipsed. Beaches that must be combed. And while I knew that Rachel would enjoy those activities, I wanted to do things we’d never done before. I wanted to make some brand-new memories with her.

Rachel has always loved animals and started begging her mom and dad for a cat pretty much as soon as she knew what they were. It doesn’t matter the shape or size, this girl loves animals.

So when a social media reel popped into my feed about a farm in beautiful Hampshire, PEI, I started following the account. Then I discovered that the working farm offered tours and even opportunities to bottle feed baby goats! I knew my niece would love it, so I stalked their website and scooped up an available slot during our trip.

Rachel was excited. And so was I.

But I didn’t expect that visit to Island Hill Farm—run by Farmer Flory—to influence Sometimes You Stay, the book I was about to start writing. After all, I knew the book was going to be about a dog breeder/trainer. I couldn’t imagine how feeding a few baby goats might influence the story.

We arrived at the farm about an hour before our scheduled bottle-feeding time and were immediately greeted by staff and volunteers and invited to roam the grounds. Rachel hugged a full-size cow before we slipped into a goat pen and rubbed a plethora of ears and pointed noses, doing our best to keep our shoelaces from being eaten. We took a quick walk through the barn, every pen filled with friendly faces. From alpacas to miniature horses, they greeted us, shaking their heads and asking for ear scratches. Of course we obliged.

When it was time to go into the baby goat barn, Farmer Flory and her team taught us about their milking operation and showed us how the mama goats were fed. They explained how they care for their animals and how an extra bottle of milk helps the little ones grow.

Finally, it was time to feed the babies. Perched on a brightly painted Adirondack chair in the goat barn, I wrapped my arms around a little tan and white body. He was so warm and nearly frantic as he searched for the one-liter green bottle in my hand. When he found it, he guzzled the milk down in seconds. Then he bleated his desire for more.

“Sorry, buddy,” I told him. “That’s all I have.” He wasn’t super-pleased with that but didn’t rush to leave my lap. Apparently, I’m not the only one who gets the hiccups when I eat too fast, and pretty soon his little body jerked every few seconds until he finally jumped down and joined the other baby goats leaping from chair to chair.

We spent another couple hours on the farm holding snow-white baby bunnies, laughing at miniature horses with wild manes, and dodging alpaca spit. Before leaving the property, we visited the gift shoppe. It smelled like heaven—a multitude of goat milk products in earthy and sweet scents. Soaps and candles and lip balms and room sprays.

My sister was the first to mention how impressed she was with the way Farmer Flory had turned her love for her goats into a thriving, creative business. How the experience was so much more than just bottle-feeding baby goats. It was educational and entertaining.

As we were leaving, an idea struck me. Perhaps Finn—the PEI dog trainer in my book—wanted more, too. Maybe he hoped for more than what he’d inherited. And maybe that dream could look a little bit like Island Hill Farm.

In the months before I started writing Sometimes You Stay, I only ever planned for Finn to work with dogs. That worked for the story. It was enough.

But one visit to Island Hill Farm changed all that. Suddenly I wanted more for Finn and his farm. Like a hutch full of fluffy bunnies and a one-eyed cow named Roberta. As his barn began to fill with animals, his character gained more dimensions. I saw in him the same love of animals and earth that Farmer Flory shared, and he’s a more interesting character for it.

I thought I booked the excursion for Rachel, but I think God knew that I—and my story—needed it more. I love how God uses the unexpected to inspire something beyond what I came up with on my own. He doesn’t have to do that, but He’s a good creator. I’m so thankful He invites us to create with Him.

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About the Author

Liz Johnson is the New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty novels, including Beyond the Tides, The Last Way Home, and Summer in the Spotlight, as well as the Georgia Coast Romance and Prince Edward Island Dreams series. She works in marketing, makes her home in Phoenix, Arizona, and daydreams of summer days on PEI’s shores. Learn more at LizJohnsonBooks.com.

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About the Book

For digital content creator Cretia Martin, home is wherever her carry-on suitcase lands. But when she literally bumps into local dog breeder Finn Chaffey on Prince Edward Island and all the tools of her trade end up in the harbor, she can't exactly leave until she gets things sorted out. Finn is horrified by the part he played in the accident and offers to help, arranging for Cretia to stay with a friend at the beautiful Red Door Inn. The longer Cretia is forced to remain in one place, the more she discovers what she's been missing with life on the road.

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Did You Know?

Teaching kids to treasure forgiveness is an important Christian principle for nurturing kids of strong faith and good character. Help your kids treasure forgiveness with these verses and discussions.   

• Read Romans 5:18 together. Explain “original sin.” It’s important to help your child understand the need for forgiveness in relation to Adam’s sin shortly after the creation of the world. Teach your child to treasure and value the gift of forgiveness displayed to us on the cross by the only person who ever lived a sinless life. Remind him that with Christ we have a new life, forgiven and clean.

• Read 1 John 1:9 aloud. Discuss Christ’s sacrifice and forgiveness. Help your kids understand that Jesus, sinless and perfect, made the ultimate sacrifice for the forgiveness of mankind’s sins. When we confess our sins, God sees our sins no more. We are made clean because of the blood of Jesus. His righteousness, not ours, makes us right before God.

• Read Matthew 6:14 together. Explain the importance of forgiving others. Willingly choosing to forgive someone who hurts us is hard. However, God’s love is bigger, and with His strength, we can forgive those who cause us pain. Because Jesus’ death on the cross made the way for us to be forgiven, it’s the least we can do in return for His sacrifice. And because we love God, we should want to obey His instructions to forgive others.

Helping your children understand forgiveness requires faith and God’s strength. Teach them to treasure forgiveness.

-Julie and David Lavender, Raising Good Sons: Christian Parenting Principles for Nurturing Boys of Faith and Character