Where Goats Sleep

Our goats have a three-sided shelter where they can take refuge during the rain or sleep on cold nights. It has a little attached corral where we can pen them if necessary. It works really well...for them. Unfortunately, it has to be cleaned. It's not nearly as bad now that we don't have a horse, but cleaning it isn't the most pleasant chore in the world.

The goats like to help, though. The other day I filled several bags with....stuff....and put it in the wheelbarrow to take up the hill. After I went back into the shelter, I heard a crash, and came out to find they had knocked the wheelbarrow over. It works much better this way, don't you think?



To clean the shelter, we use a special upturned rake with narrow tines -- goat poop is very similar to deer poop -- and then spread bags of Equine Pine over the entire area. It's a pelletized product that puffs up and spreads out after a thorough wetting. It's really a wonderful thing. (My standards for what's wonderful have really changed since we moved here!)

Here's a 'before' picture...



...and an 'after' picture. Doesn't it look fluffy and (relatively) clean? You'd think they'd be delighted at the change.


Evidently not....

Cat and Ducks: Detente?

Irving the cat seems to have reached an accommodation with the ducks. He'll give them the proper respect, and they won't peck him to death. It works for everybody.

The ducks have started spending a lot of time in the marshy area at the side of the pond. The other day, Irving decided to walk the narrow path between the two areas, which took him right by the ducks. He checked out the situation first...



...then carefully walked by them to check out an insect that needed a cat's attention. On the way back, the ducks came out to see what was going on, and he got caught between them and the pond.



Finally they walked on, and I got this picture of him looking back at them, with the goats in the shelter, and Halley the white cat on the ledge next to them. Halley loves to watch Irving get himself into a pickle.



Irving tried to act cool about it, but his tail stayed puffed up for an hour afterward.



Those ducks are scary, man.

The Geese Herald Spring

We marked a full year in the new house this month, so we're starting to see some events repeat, and first among them is the arrival of the Canada geese. Eighteen of them have arrived, just like last year. They come and go, and two of them are here more often than the others, so we suspect they're the pair who had the goslings last year.



They're noisy, territorial, and messy....but as long as they bring spring with them, that's perfectly fine.

Emma Jumps the Fence

Emma jumped the fence in the front yesterday! It's the first time one of the goats has gotten out since we had the fence redone last spring.



I went out in the evening to give them their carrot and apple treats, and Emma stood up on the fence the way Arlene is doing in the picture below. It sagged beneath her weight...



....and then with one push of her powerful hind legs, she was up and over the fence, and standing in front of me in the yard. I don't know which of us looked more surprised. I grabbed her by the horn, but quickly realized that would just spook her and I couldn't possibly hold on to her.

Fortunately, if you're carrying carrots and apples, you don't have to manhandle a goat to get it to do what you want. All you have to do is look like a complete idiot walking across your front yard dangling a carrot in front of a goat, until you get to the gate on the far side of the yard. You do a complicated juggling act to try to hold on to the carrots and apples while fending off two goats, one on each side of the gate, and you carefully open the gate while a large goat is standing up on it pushing against it. Then you coax one goat through while keeping the other from escaping. Wave at the passing cars as you go. Piece of cake! One goat returned to its pasture....relief all around...passers-by amused. What could be better?

She hasn't done it again yet. Fingers are crossed...

Fun With Ducks

I don't know why, but I think it's so funny to walk by the pond and see the ducks' behinds sticking out of the water. I was lucky recently and caught the action as one desperately tried to force his plump, water-repellant body under the water to feed. I love that orange foot flailing in the air.



In the shot below, you can see both orange feet out of the water. This picture was actually on the day the cats were pretend-stalking the ducks, and you can see three of the duck armada sailing in to assist their comrades in the horrific cat-duck war. (The cats never did anything but stare menacingly at the ducks, who were obviously not terrified.)



Rusty, the little wild red-headed duck who has been visiting us for months, stays near the domestic duck flock most of the time. A local who visited the pond recently said it's been a long time since he's seen a red-headed duck in this area. We speculate he's either old or got separated from his group somehow. (I mean the duck, of course, not the local.) It's nice that he feels comfortable enough to stay. He's a really pretty duck.



And speaking of good-looking ducks....



Doesn't the black-and-white one look like a penguin there? It was doing some complicated contortions to clean itself. Irving the cat was about 10 feet away at the time. Nice to see he's treated with the proper respect by the ducks...

Don't Drink Out of That Glass!

We used to be able to leave half-full glasses around the house.

Then we got Irving.



If you come to our house, I strongly recommend watching your cup.

Does My Cat Have a Death Wish?

I've mentioned before that we have a huge Muscovy duck with claws, and that we also have an idiot cat, Irving, and a smarter cat, Halley, who likes to egg Irving on to do stupid things.

I guess we should have seen this coming.



Irving has it in his head that he can catch a duck. Yesterday he got right down to the shore, within a very short distance of a group of the smaller ducks, who are still bigger than he is. Halley, of course, was in the background watching. Can you see the little cat smile on her face?



Irving got as close as he could, with the ducks not reacting at all, because of course they know he's an idiot. Afterwards, he and Halley exchanged the cat equivalent of a high-five....



....and then Irving decided to go after Corky, The Duck With Claws.



In the picture above, he looks like he's looking somewhere else, but that's actually a clever tactic designed to avoid Corky's notice....because of course Corky can't see him if Irving's not looking at him. Irving followed the whole duck flock up the hill to their corn bin, and then followed them back down. I'm not sure if they actually didn't notice him, or if he's so inconsequential that it didn't even occur to them to react to him. Probably the latter, but of course he's all puffed up now because he chased the ducks and lived through it.

I'm afraid Irving has a harsh lesson coming, though. The Canada geese have come back. We had 18 for a while yesterday. (Last year they alternated between our pond and our neighbor's pond.) I mentioned to my husband that if we get goslings again this year, Irving might attack them. He just laughed, and then I remembered that the geese parents killed a snake last year. I imagine Irving won't be spending much time down by the pond for a while.

It says a lot when I'm more worried about the cat than about the birds...