Just Some Thoughts

Sometimes, I see a goat or llama and panic because I think they are dead or stuck.  One example of that happened when I was going through the barn the other day.  See Flower.

Tansy in the doorway; arrow pointing to Flower

Well, she looked horrible.  But, she was actually just hanging out back there.

I don’t know why they like to stand behind that door, but there’s several of the goats who hang out there.

I’m not sure he’s looking good, but Mr. Peacock is looking naked.

one long feather is still attached; the rest are just lying there.

It only took about a week for the majority of his feathers to fall out.

He’s still handsome.

In good news, the stinking chamomile that I’m so allergic to is dying down.  I’m hoping the birds will keep it eaten down next summer.

brown leghorn

Sometimes I wonder why goats don’t like me.  I worked so hard to tame down Ostara.  She does like being petted and butt scrubbies, but most of the time she prefers not to be touched.  She’s a gingerbread goat (run, run, as fast as you can; you can’t catch me; I’m the gingerbread goat).

Ostara enjoying betting petted and looking annoyed at the same time.

Then, there’s Brigit.  I would pet her sometimes when I was trying to tame Ostara, and she’s actually nicer than Ostara.

Brigit

And Zora is still as wild as can be.

Zora is even beyond a gingerbread goat; she just wild.

Goofy goats. Whatever.  I need more wild goats, don’t I? No. I don’t. I want nice goats.  In fact, if Trace doesn’t get bred this year I’ll think about selling her.

Trace

I really am tired of wild goats.  And she used to take a bottle from me!  Seriously.

Fences and Feathers

Parent-teacher conference week is always stressful with the extra time at work.  This year, I am grateful we are doing our conferences from home.  Especially since I got home Wednesday and saw I had a text from my mom telling me that I had a goat stuck in the fence.  Turns out, someone drove by and saw it and called my dad who called my mom to see when I would be home.  When I found out I had conferences, he called my nephew and son and finally got one of them.  At the same time I was headed out of the house to go see what was going on, my son was pulling up at the bottom of the pasture and hiking across the front pasture.  Then I saw Purl come bounding up the hill.

Purl

I had to head back in for conferences and the rain came and I didn’t get back out there.  So I hoped she had learned her lesson.  When I came home Thursday, I drove slowly and didn’t see her in the fence, so I went in and checked in for conferences.  Then I went out to the barnyard.  No Purl.  I hiked out to the other short stretch of fencing that is not goat fence and released her.

(She deserves the unflattering photo after getting stuck in the fence twice.)

On the way back, I was walking more slowly, and I stopped to look at the feather I had noticed on  my way out.

Then I noticed another and another.

With the snow melting and the winds from the north, peacock feathers were blowing into pasture from the cornfield.

I’m pretty sure the poor peacock Moose let out didn’t even make it through the first night in the corn field.

ISU cows on the cornfield

Poor boy.

When I was doing chores, Thursday evening, I caught Purl.  Okay. I let her in to eat sweet feed.  Anyhow, she is not sporting a horn apparatus.

Hopefully, that takes care of the situation.

On My Walk

On my walk to take pictures for the blog and check Maybeline (still no cria) and the goats,

Athena

I get to see lots of other things too.

robins

hawk

Sometimes, I even get them to sit still long enough to take a picture.

fritillary

red-headed woodpecker

hawk feather?

Luckily, we’ve had beautiful weather for walking in pasture.