It never fails. When I let the moms with June babies out into pasture, it’s a never ending game of hide-and-goat-seek. It started Wednesday when I let Zinnia, Daisy, and Aphrodite out. For some reason, even though Bambi was never shut in, she has not taken Lucky back out to pasture. Maybe she’s afraid the Uber would be late again and they’d be stuck out there after dark.
Bambi and Lucky
Anyhow…I decided to skew the game in my favor. I shut the gate across the Back Forty, so they really didn’t have near as much territory to lose their kids. Also, the grass is shorter on the part of the pasture I left them on. You might call it cheating. I call it a good idea.
I checked all three new moms and saw they had their babies with them. Then I milked. Of course, that got the whole herd coming on a run when I called for the two girls I needed to milk.
Astra “It’s not my fault. You told me to come get milked.”
As soon as I finished cleaning up, I went back out to pasture and saw Daisy and Zinnia with their babies, but Aphrodite was fighting with Hera.
Hera and LilyAnn (I did not have my camera with me, so this is Hera trying to fight with LilyAnn right after I let them all out together. Do we see a pattern?)
I searched and searched starting where I had last seen the herd, and viola! There she was. I just brought her back to the barnyard.
Selfie (forgot to take a picture of her sleeping sweetly snuggled in a log)
Aphrodite figured it out after she got done with her girl fight and came up for the evening.
Aphrodite and daughter after being reunited
Then I had to run an errand, and as soon as I got back, I went to see if Daisy and Zinnia had their girls with them. Everyone was just getting back from pasture, and Zinnia was right there with Joy.
Zinnia (yes, you are a good mom) and Joy
Daisy was standing in the barnyard yelling out to pasture. Sigh. Off I went towards where I had last seen them. She was not too difficult to find.
Dahlia (I remembered a picture this time!)
To her credit, Daisy did come out to pasture to help. Still, it wasn’t hard for her to find Dahlia when I was already standing beside her. Since I was already out there, I gave her a lyft back to the barnyard, and Daisy followed us.
That makes the score Farmer Teresa: 2; Goats: 0. Although, a couple days before I might have lost Hera and frantically searched the perimeter of the Back Forty a time or two until I was too exhausted to walk any farther only to be ready to get the Ranger and go back out when I noticed her happily standing behind the barn door. Well played, Hera. Well played. I will concede that point.
Hera hiding behind the barn door acting all innocent
Farmer Teresa: 2; Goats: 1
Teresa
