The Kids in the Garden

First let me start off by saying HAPPY HALLOWEEN! I hope everyone has fun trick or treating tonight. Don't eat too many treats and don't play too many tricks. heh heh.

 

The garden has been the grazing hot spot this week! I'll tell you. We are going to miss it and its tasty treats.  The kids had their share of fun in there. They spent some time with us older goats....

But then it was off on their own.

I think Matthew is really showing some attitude here...what do you think?

Jeffrey is really becoming an expert nommer. It's a good skill for him to learn before he goes off to his new Farm.

I hope he is sharing his skills with his sister!

 I know the kids enjoyed their time in the garden. We all did!

Tomorrow:  Jeffrey Escapes!

AbbyDay - Abby in the Garden

Hooray for AbbyDay! The best day of the week!

Now if you ask me I had the best time in the garden. I don't know what those other goats were thinking but I went and nibbled at the tastiest treats to be found. I am a master nommer!

 I munched

I gobbled

I ripped the dead plants right out of the ground! Boy were they good.

The little kids were watching me. 
I hope they learned something.

It was good to chow down in the garden. I wish we could do it every day!

Tomorrow:  Did the kids learn from Abby?

Goats in the Garden

Well this is really not as bad as it sounds. The garden is very, very dead. But that doesn't matter to us goats. Oh, no! We love to munch on dead plants so when the publicist let us loose in there, boy did we have fun!

 I went right for the dried up, old brussels sprouts plants. Mmmmm.

I have to admit I was quite a piggy goat. 

But they are so good! And now I won't have any more until next year. 
Then Abby figured it out and tried to horn in on my snack. Heh heh, horn in.

Jillian went after the dried bean plants. She is no dummy. She knows tasty when she munches it.

 Now Mallory. She is an odd one. She went for

Grass! 
Grass! 
We have that in our goat pen. 
Silly Mallory.

Now Abby did much more munching in the garden but you know what tomorrow is....


ABBYDAY! 

So she will tell you all about her adventures in her post.

Wordless Wednesday - Will it Never End?

Now a ROOSTER?!
 I can't even show my face I am so embarrassed.

This is just not fair. What's a goat to do?



(The publicist messed up my schedule again. It's Wordless Wednesday today. 
Tomorrow will be Goats in the Garden - WHAT?! 
Silly publicist. Someone needs to buy her a calendar.)

Guess Who's Mooovin' In? We Have New Neighbors

Ha! I fooled you, didn't I?

You thought we were getting a cow here on the Happy Goats Farm didn't you? But the publicist and male person are very happy with the milk from me, Abby, Jilliand and Mallory.

Remember Dusty? 

Dusty and the other horses on her Farm are the ones who now live with cows! How cool is that? The publicist loves moos she hears. She likes cows but we really have enough milk around here. The only thing she would like to have is the cream that you can get with cow's milk - then she could make more butter. Goat's milk is naturally homoginized which means the cream doesn't separate from the milk.

The new cows are kind of cool. It's a shame Harry the Cowgoat isn't still here.

He would have felt right at home with these cows. They are black and white.

But then again, Jeffrey and Emily might match them better. They are more black than white...

There are three all together; two in the main field and one all by himself. I am sure Luke can empathize with that!

 This is a close up of the lonely cow.

They are pretty far from the road so the publicist couldn't get very close to take pictures. Hopefully they will move around the different fields and she will be able to get better shots.


Tomorrow:  Goats in the Garden...WHAT?!

The publicist wanted me to tell you that she has two giveaways ending tonight on her blog; one for a vinyl banner and one for 250 Custom Stickers. So head on over and enter!

Goatucation - Eagle Bait!

I mentioned in one of my posts that the kids didn't go out on too many grazes when they were little because of our resident Bald Eagle.  He sits in our tree almost everyday. He is not here much in the Spring but he is here constantly in the Fall and Winter. 

Bald Eagles are very large raptors and a little goat kid would make a nice meal for an eagle. Some of my commenters were surprised that an eagle could lift a goat kid. A Bald Eagle can lift up to four pounds! Goat kids when they are born only weigh (at least on this Farm) around two pounds. Now they really prefer the trout they find in the river but if they thought they could easily catch a little goat kid...
The eagle tried to fly away with Farm cat Fred so we know he is checking things out on the Farm.

We also have Golden Eagles in the area. There are not as many around as the Bald Eagles but both the publicist and male person have seen Golden Eagles flying around. They are truly magnificent birds.  They are larger than the Bald Eagles; they can have a wingspan of up to SIX FEET! That is a big bird! Golden Eagles have been known to take small deer. Deer are our cousins!

So it is much better to keep the kids in the pen until they are bigger so that the eagles won't be interested in having them for a snack.

I hope you enjoyed learning about the eagles around the Farm.

Tomorrow: Who's Moooooving in?

Who's There?

The publicist looked out her window (isn't it amazing how many of my posts start out that way? I don't know what I would do if the publicist ever STOPPED looking out her window) and noticed Jillian  looking off to the West. Intently.

 

Then Mallory hopped up on a spool and started staring too. Hmmm...

She wondered what could be causing them to be staring so.

Then Emily and Jeffrey joined Jillian on the little goathouse.

Even a rooster was staring. Hmmmm, WHAT could it be?
Why a visitor! 
In the field next to ours!

Dusty the horse has come to pay a call.

That or to graze on the grass growing in the field.
What do you think?

Dusty is one of the horses that lives across the street. Dusty is not supposed to be over in this field. Dusty has a HUGE field for grazing across the street.

Bad Dusty!


Jillian was very surprised to see a horse right next to her goat pen!  This is the first time Jillian has been here for one of the Great Horse Escapes. Abby and I have been through them before..... 

Dusty is a very pretty horse but also a very erm, challenging horse. She has been known to sneak over AND EAT OUR HAY! 
Can you believe such a thing?! 
Her owners soon came and took Dusty back to her corral and things calmed down in our pen too.


I hope you enjoyed seeing our visitor as much as we did!


Tomorrow:  Goatucation


The publicist has asked me to tell you that her giveaway for 100 Custom Postcards is ending tonight on her blog so if you want to enter you had better hurry! Mmm, I'd bet postcards would taste good.


 

The Kids Graze

I know that I reported that we had our last graze of Fall. What I didn't report was all of the fun that the kids had when they went out for the graze. Since the kids were born late in the year they really haven't had many grazes - which is rather sad for them but it was the safe thing to do since the Bald Eagle hangs out in the tree. He would find goat kid to be a tasty treat and that would make us all very sad. So this graze was one of the few chances the kids got to go on a graze.

I will say that they took to it like pros! They had a very good time but I think they spent most of the time running and exploring rather than munching. I suppose that is OK when you are still nursing.  

They ran over to check out the view of the river.

 Then they ran down the gully and back again and discovered the big hill in the yard. THAT was really fun for them. They felt like Kids of the Hill.


They ran up.

 They frolicked

Matthew thought he saw something but he soon heard his nanny calling so.....

They ran down.

What more fun could a herd of small kids have? I suspect that they would have stayed out all day if the publicist had let them!

Tomorrow: A visitor!

AbbyDay - Important Information for Everyone Who Loves Pets

It's Friday again and that means it's AbbyDay. I know I usually spend the day talking about me but today I am actually going to spend my talking about something very important - all of the poor animals in shelters.

I am a lucky goat. I have a wonderful home (in spite of having to share it with other goats - I would be much happier if it were just hunky Luke and me). I have lots to eat, a nice barn to sleep in and spools for playtime. 

 There are lots of animals out there that don't have such a great home, they live in shelters all over the country.  So I want to urge you that if you are going to get a new Farm puppy or Farm kitty to go to a shelter.

That is where the male person got Sherpa for the publicist. She was very sad about losing Farm cat Fred and little Sherpa has made her very happy. The publicist has told me all about a very informative site called Adopt a Pet. It is full of wonderful information on how to, well, adopt a pet. The publicist wrote about this site on her blog too. With the information she posted and what I am about to write, you will have lots of good stuff to read and bookmark for when the time comes for you to adopt your pet. 

Here is the good stuff about how to adopt a pet:

Common Questions About Pet Adoption

Q: Although there are literally millions of pets in shelters, pounds and other ‘temporary housing’, many pet-owners-to-be don’t think about pet adoption when they’re looking for their new four-legged friend. Why do you think this is, and what can be done to turn that around?
A: Many people who want to get a pet just are not aware of how many pets are available at shelters. They might also have the misconception that pets are shelters might be there because there was a problem with the animal. In fact, most pets end up in shelters not because of any problem pet behavior, but because an owner died, moved, or simply didn't have the time or money to care for the animal.  In some cases animals are lost and never found by their owners.  These animals are healthy and very eager to please.  Rescues pets are wonderful- just ask anyone who has one.

Some people are seeking purebred animals or puppies and think these are not available in shelters. In fact, nearly a quarter of all animals in shelters are purebred. Often someone buys an expensive purebred animal and then attempts to breed that animal to recoup their money. Often these puppies or kittens are not placed in homes, and end up in the shelter. Puppies and kittens often up in shelters as well, but it is important to note that your animals, especially puppies, require a lot of work and training and can be quite destructive (peeing on the carpet or chewing shoes). Puppies are great but often people are much happier getting a dog who is older, and whose size and temperament is a known quantity.

With Adopt-a-Pet.com and without even leaving their home, people can search all their local pets and see pictures and descriptions of the animals.  This way, they can find the exact pet they want, call the animal shelter or rescue group, and get information on how to adopt that specific animal.

Q: What are the 5 most important things a potential adopter should consider when choosing their new pet?
A: We actually have a blog post on this highlighting the top 10 things we believe are important when adopting. Here are five, the rest can be located by visiting this page http://www.adoptapet.com/public/guides/permanentpets.html.
1. You need to make a real commitment to care for your pet for its entire life.
2. Verify in advance that you’re allowed to keep a pet where you live.
3. Never adopt a pet on a whim or because you feel it’s love-at-first-sight
4. Provide sufficient exercise and stimulation during the first few weeks, this will help the pet adjust.
5. Make any necessary modifications to your yard and fence to provide for your pet’s safety.

Q:  What are 5 positive aspects of pet adoption, and why it’s a good option?
A: 
1. When you adopt an adult animal, you can see his/her size and temperament.  This helps ensure that the pet is right for you and your family.
2. It feels great to know you have saved an animals' life and everyone you meet will give you kudos for that for years to come.
3. Adopted pets are very loyal and know they have been given a new home.
4.  Adopting a pet can be an important lesson to teach your children-- both about the value of life, and also about civic responsibility and even recycling- in this case recycling a living and loving animal into a new home.
5.  Choosing a mixed breed animal can help avoid many of the genetic health problems that have developed in purebred animal due overbreeding and inbreeding.

Q: If someone reading this isn’t in a position to adopt a pet right at this time, but still wants to help homeless pets, what are 5 things they can do to get involved?
A:
1. People can do Social PETworking!  They can run a search on Adopt-a-Pet.com, find a pet they want to help get exposure for, and use the share tools on our site to post the pet link on their Facebook, Twitter, MySpace or other social network page. Or, they can email the link of a pet in need form our site to their friends.
2. They can place a link/graphic or even a search widget for Adopt-a-Pet.com on their personal website to encourage they users to see pets in need at local shelters.  (hyper link "link" to our links page where we have graphics to be used as links)(hyper link "search widget" to our search module page which itself is a link form our links page)
3. People can add their info to our volunteer database (link) so shelters who need volunteers can find them.
4. People can search Adopt-a-Pet.com to find a local shelter, and make a cash donation to that shelter to help them with the costs of housing, feeding and medical care of shelter animals.
5. People can encourage other pet owners to spay or neuter their pet (link to our spay neuter page) to help prevent unwanted births.

You can see that we have put the link for Adopt-A-Pet on our sidebar. We are helpful goats. Even me!

The publicist wanted me to share this photo with you. When she was out taking the photos when we were on our last graze Sherpa decided to accompany her and be her photographic assistant

He stayed up on her shoulder the whole time and didn't once try and get down. Silly kitten! 

I will, of course, end with a photo of......ME!

Enjoy!

Tomorrow:  The Kids Graze

The Last Graze of Fall

Winter will soon be here and there is not much left for us to graze on. We are mostly eating hay and the treats the  publicist gives us from the male person's garden.  It's disappointing but that is the life of a goat. It's a good thing we like hay! The publicist buys us some tasty hay too. Yum!

We don't go out for many grazes in the winter because there just isn't much to eat so when the publicist let us out yesterday we knew it was probably the last one for a long time. It wasn't a really sunny day but it was still nice to run around and see the sights. The kids really had fun because they haven't had too many grazes.

We all head over to the riverbank because the view is so pretty. Isn't that what  you would do?

Then we ran down to munch on the bushes in the gulley. There were still some yummy green leaves.

Mallory ran up and found a log to nibble. Mmmmm, bark.

Jillian scratched her head on an old tree. I know from experience that this feels really, really good.

It was fun for all of us to be out.

A chicken even joined in the graze. I just can't seem to shake those hens. Harumph!

I hope you enjoyed seeing our graze as much as we enjoyed going on our graze.

Tomorrow: It's AbbyDay and she is going to have a special message for you.

Wordless Wednesday (Almost) - Oh, The Indignity!

 Can you believe the nerve?

I mean, seriously.

I am not a chicken roost! I am a SpokesGoat! Harumph!

Tomorrow:  The Last Graze of Fall 

Emily Flies

I know I have been writing a lot about Emily lately but she is a little spitfire! She is also the most adventurous of the the three kids. YOU might be surprised that it is the doe that is the scrappy goat, but I am not. I know that we does are the ones to go first into the fray.

You know well that Emily has been dancing on the goathouse and on the spools. But did you know that she has been leaping and flying too?

I think she is just a goat full of joy!

 She flies from the goathouse.

She leaps from one spool to the other.

She flies back again.

I think she loves to play.

I don't blame her. If I were a young goat....aaaah the fun I would have.

Tomorrow: Wordless Wednesday - Oh, The Indignity!