Goat Daydreams

Goats get that faraway look in their eyes just like you humans. Especially when we are chewing our cuds. I know you think the whole cud chewing thing is disgusting but when you have the digestive system we have and you eat the rough foods we eat well, accommodations have to be made. You try and deal with four stomachs! But enough about that. The real topic today is what exactly are goat's daydreams?

I of course cannot answer for all goats but I can answer for this spokesgoat. I become Pricilla of the Jungle! That's right - I find myself in the midst of trees and branches and lots of good things to munch. Being a goat it is all about the food. I am sure many of you can appreciate that.

The light is mysterious and the trees cover me as I stalk my illusive prey.


First I get myself into a comfortable position and rub my head against the unsuspecting meal almost like an affectionate hello instead of the beginnings of an attack.

Then I perfect my stance for the big uh, pounce (?). Given my pregnancy I cannot pounce so well any longer but this is a daydream after all.....

Then the pine needles are mine! All mine! Bwahahahahahaha!

They sure do taste good after a diet of hay. It is good to eat different things. I know I get my apples every night but a good munch of dried pine needles are just plain yummy. I have to thank the publicist for letting me roam a bit today and have my fantasy. And the pine needles.

I hope you liked this little trip into my daydreams.

Curiosity

We goats are naturally curious creatures which can sometimes get us into trouble. But most of the time it just creates great photo opportunities. I have seen photos of goats in trees, goats in hay piles (Michael - I am talking about you!) but I think this is going to be the grand debut of a goat in a foundation window. Has anyone else out there ever seen anything like this?

That is little Sarah checking out the foundation of the publicist's new house. Even Abby had to check things out and see that the workers were doing a good job.

Given that the house is now almost finished I suspect that the workers did do a good job in spite of Abby's supervision. Sometimes I wonder if we goats are just plain crazy; and I do include myself in that statement. This is what the publicist's house looks like now. I think it is very cool but I am also glad I get to live in my barn.

Goat Revolt

I have to admit I wasn't a very good goat today. Neither was Abby. The weather hasn't been very nice lately and we are, uhmm, perhaps I should say, prima donna goats and we don't like rain or snow. We like bright sunshine. The last few days have been nothing but rain and wet snow. So when we looked out the barn door this morning and AGAIN saw snow coming down from the sky we really did not want to leave the warm, dry barn. I know we have our lovely little goat house but it is not as nice as the barn and not as big. Plus there is the long walk to get there. I would get my fur all wet. Really, isn't that just too much to ask of a goat?

So when the publicist tried to get us out of the barn we both just refused to leave. She then put our leads on us and got us to go out one door (she had mistakenly locked herself in -hee hee - and had to open the second door to get herself out. She then got the second door opened. Silly publicist!) So we ran out one door, around the barn and right back in the other door! I think we frustrated her a bit because we did this several times before she could get one of the doors shut again. We finally got down to our pen and ran to our goat house.

The boys didn't care as much about the weather at first, they were just happy to be out butting heads. Boys will be boys. But once they got settled into their pens even they started to MAAAAA very loudly about the conditions. The snow was coming down very hard. The publicist got the barn all fixed up and she then brought us all back in for the day. I must say that this spokesgoat was happy about that.

Goat Fashion

I doubt that many of you would even think there WAS such a thing as goat fashion but today I am going to introduce you to the "goat coat." Is anyone laughing yet? I know the male person laughed when the publicist bought the goat coat for little Sarah. But little Sarah was shivering and the publicist felt she needed something to keep her warm on the cold Montana mornings. So she did some research and found that her regular supplier of goat products Hoegger's actually had something to solve this problem. And doesn't Sarah look adorable in her goat coat?

Horns or No Horns That is the Question

I was asked why some goats have horns and others don't. As you all can see from my head shots I do not have horns while all of the other goats on the Happy Goats Farm do. I will now take the time to explain this to you. When a goat is just a kid the goat farm owner decides whether they are going to have a horned goat farm or a hornless goat farm. There are various reasons for each choice. My former owners obviously were of the hornless decision. It is not a happy memory to lose ones horns but there are very good reasons for doing it. As you can see from the photos that have been shown in my blog Michael and Luke like to butt each other. Buck horns are particularly thick and strong and they can hurt each other and they have been known to hurt the publicist and the male person with a surprise charge. Also little horn buds are very sharp and can damage a mama goat's udder during nursing when the kids pokes too hard to start the milk. You can just start to see baby Sarah's horn buds in this photo.

The people who had me directly before the publicist were of a mind to dehorn Abby when she was born but were inexperienced and as you can see, well, Abby has horns. The photo shows Abby with her kid Nora a few days after Nora was born. Her horn buds aren't showing yet. The male person was also somewhat poor at dehorning so the decision around the Happy Goats Farm was to have horned goats. This leaves me as the lone hornless goat in a horned goat world. So I am at somewhat of a disadvantage but I manage to hold my own.

The reasoning for having horned goats, especially in a place like Montana where there are predators who like to eat goats - can you imagine such a horrible thing?! - is that the goat has a method of protection. The horns are good for butting and for gouging. That does not sound nice I know, but if one is being attacked one has a right to defend oneself, right? We don't worry too much about that here on the Happy Goats Farm because we have a nice safe barn to go into every night.

Here is another photo of Michael and Luke getting ready to butt each other. They do this a lot when they have their play time.

Buck horns are much stronger and thicker than doe horns. Part of all that play head butting the boys do is practice for when they are going to try and impress us ladies. The strongest buck usually wins and the well, let's not go into the size of the horns. This is a family blog.

I hope this has helped to answer the question about goats and horns.

Michael and Luke Go for a Walk

It was another beautiful day on the farm and the publicist decided to take the boys out for a walk. They went over to the field by the barn so they could munch on the trees. But Michael is a bit strange and all he wanted to do was butt the trees and rub off the bark! Who know what runs through the heads of these bucks? I sure don't. He did end up munching on the nice green pine needles. I find them very tasty myself and was quite jealous. But I did have my turn the other day.

Luke had fun too although he kept trying to eat the publicist's little spruce tree. We are all guilty of that. Spruce just tastes so good it is hard to resist. After much persuasion from the publicist Luke finally did his munching on the pine tree like a good goat.

And of course the boys being boys they had to get into a head butting contest.

They also did a bit of roaming.

All in all it was a very nice walk for them and they had a very good time.

Interview with Abby the Goat - The Publicist Made Me!

As you know I have been interviewing all of the animals here on the Happy Goats Farm. You might have noticed that I talk about Abby a lot but have not interviewed her yet. Well, if it were up to me I would not interview her but the publicist is making me. She says that everyone should meet Abby formally and get to know her. As if I care.....I know, I know. I should be a gracious spokesgoat, but some tasks just push me too far. But here goes:

Abby how did you come to live on the Happy Goats Farm?

Duh, I came with you. You're my mother for heaven's sake. We came together as a package. Why do you think I devil you so much? That's what daughters do.

What purpose do you serve here on the farm? It seems to me all you do is butt me and eat all day.

Now that is just not fair. I am pregnant too. I am having a kid. I give milk. It's not just you, you, you. You make it sound like I am a total mooch around here. OK, I might have issues with sharing but that is my goat nature.

I think it is because you have horns and I don't. You think you can get the upper horn!

Well I think you are just jealous of my horns. So there!

Well, why do you have to butt me all of the time and steal the food and not let me have any?

Well the early goat gets the grain, isn't that the way it works?

At this point the publicist had to break up what I consider a very unlady like and very unprofessional altercation between me and Abby. I should not let her get to me like this but I do. I am very sorry to my readers for this embarrassment. I hope you all forgive me.

Happy Goats Farm Visitors - Black Cat

Today I want to introduce you to another regular visitor to the Happy Goats Farm. It is a cat the publicist calls "Black Cat" for obvious reasons; he is a black cat! We don't know exactly where he comes from but we think he lives in the barn across the street with the horses.

You remember the horses from Michael's Big Adventure, don't you?

He is a very handsome boy but he does like to get into cat-calling fights with Fred the cat. Boy can they be noisy. Sometimes I think they are going to break my goat eardrums. I really wonder if cats are necessary....but I know there are too many cat lovers out there for me to really go to far with that sentiment.

Black Cat likes to sit in the hay pile and scope out the scene. Sometimes he just sleeps up there all day. Maybe that is why we don't have mice in our barn. What do you think?

Feature Friday - BudanART

After all of the stress of dealing with that mean paparazzo yesterday I am happy today to just do my "rogue" thing and talk about a very talented artist from Canada. I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't have to deal with the paparazzi herself since her art is becoming so popular! Perhaps she can give me some tips.


I would like to introduce you to Mandy Budan from budanART. In reading her profile on etsy you will see this: "I am a Canadian artist who works primarily in acrylic. Inspired by nature, I use strong colour, discrete shapes and rhythmic patterns to create paintings which can be enjoyed for both their abstract and realistic qualities." Mandy's work is truly alive with movement and color. In fact, there are some of them that are so green and leafy I almost took a nibble! But that would destroy their beauty, wouldn't it?



What drew my publicist into Mandy's shop in the first place was her painting entitled Summer Tree. I can see why; it full of so many rich and beautiful shades and it almost looks like a stained glass window.









Mandy's newer work is getting bolder and brighter. I love this one called Abstract Poppy Flower - Scarlet Interior. It looks good enough to eat, except I am not supposed to eat poppies.





And this one, titled Among Friends. Wouldn't that make a great gift for a.....FRIEND? Hee hee, I couldn't resist.









Mandy will also, if the topic grabs her fancy, take commission work. This one is called Patty's Montana. Hmmmmm, I wonder who asked her to paint it?











Her pieces come in various sizes: 8.5 x 11" Prints, 13 x 19" Prints, 5 x 7" Chunky Art Prints, 8 x 10" Chunky Art Prints, 8 x 10" Double Chunky (two in one!) If you see a print you like and it is not available in a size you want Mandy can usually work with you. She also makes high quality note cards in series of Summer, Spring, Fall and Winter utilizing her lovely prints. Plus magnets! Whew, Mandy is one busy artist!


I suggest you pop on into her shop for a look-see. I am planning to redecorate my goat house soon and know I will be choosing several of Mandy's pieces to brighten up my life. I just have to keep Abigail from eating them......

Cursed Paparazzi!

Those cursed paparazzi are at it again. As if it is not enough that I cannot live my simple life on my farm; they have to always be here trying to catch me doing something they deem "wrong." I just don't understand this sick fascination with my life just because I happen to be a famous spokesgoat. Why do people care what I do in my spare time? Why do they care how much I eat or what I eat for that matter? It is really none of their business. When I have an interview or media appointment I do my job but when I am just relaxing in my pen or out for a walk I should be able to do so without fear of unflattering pictures or false stories being printed.

I was fortunate that my publicist caught this one paparazzo in the act and we have the offending photos in hand. I am going to share them here so that I can negate their impact should any other "inquiring mind" try to print more "Grossly Growing Goat" stories about my expanding waistline. I repeat people I AM PREGNANT, NOT FAT!!! I have to eat a lot of hay, grain and apples to keep me strong and healthy for the upcoming kidding. What kind of nanny would I be if I tried to diet during my pregnancy? I ask you!? So my publicist and I present these pictures to show you what a healthy, pregnant goat should look like halfway though her kids' gestation. I am most likely carrying twins. Of course the monster took them from behind which is my worst angle right now. Ugh! I stand up for all reproducing animals - humans too - to say that a certain amount of weight gain is necessary and healthy!

So there! Pricilla has spoken!

A Walk in the Sun, A Munch on a Tree

Today was a beautiful day so the publicist decided to take me out for a walk. Oh , Abby came too. We went up past the barn and over to the big lot next door. There are some open areas and lots of trees. Mmmmm, trees are good for so many things.








I can scratch my head.















I can try and climb the tree for an even better scratch.
















Abby likes to eat the bark.














It was a fun way to spend a day in the sun. After the walk I went back into my pen and stood in my favorite place - right next to my goat house where I could soak up more of that warm, warm sun.









This is one of my favorite ways to spend a day; a nice walk, a little munch and a lot of sun. What could be better?

It's a Cat's Life?

I came in the trailer to type up the blog and what did I see? Pumpkin the cat looking like she owned the place. I thought we goats had it good but now I am starting to wonder. Pumpkin was sitting in the publicist's chair looking quite comfortable and I have heard it said that she doesn't move when the publicist wants to sit down! Can you imagine such a thing?! I mean really; I would think the cat would give up the seat but no! She just looks at the publicist like the publicist is crazy (which if you ask me she is but that is a tale for another blog post.)

I don't get to go in and sit in the publicist's chair like that. Although I think it would be pretty hard for all of me to fit right now. I have to admit that I am getting rather large these days - but it is all kid! Or I should say kids. I usually have twins. But if the cats get to lord it over the publicist why don't the goats? Is this really fair? Perhaps I should call some kind of goat council and see what the others have to say. Hmmmm, but I would have to include Abby in that and I am not sure I would want to let Abby have anything special......I will have to ruminate on this.

What do you think? Do you think the publicist's cats have it better than her goats? I mean we do get extra grain and all those apples. And lots of tail scratches and head pats. Maybe I am jumping to conclusions. Let me know your thoughts and I will post mine later.

Oooh, What She Said!

Today's post is not going to be very long. And I cannot include any photos. When the publicist/udder massage specialist came out to get me today she was not in a very good mood. I did my best to cheer her up; I rubbed up against her knees and looked up at her with my big brown eyes. I know she likes this. I even tried running a little but I am very pregnant now and running is not easy for me. I even burped - she thinks my burps are hysterical! I soon learned through her mutterings that the computer was not working well because of the satellite provider, HughesNet. They have been giving the publicist problems lately with something called "bandwidth." Being a goat, I just don't understand all of this technical stuff but I don't like to see my publicist upset. HughesNet's answer to the slowing down of the computer seems to be to pay more money - not a very good answer, but typical - when we do not watch videos or that youtube thing. So the publicist has basically said that Hughesnet is going to go bye-bye when they move into the house. We are going to get DSL. She of course did not say it quite that nicely but this is a family blog....

I am glad that I do not have to worry about such things. It is nice for me to just be able to enjoy today. It is bright and sunny. The snow is starting to melt and I even saw some tasty weeds starting to peak through all of that ice and snow. Spring MUST be right around the corner! I sure hope so.

Oh, the publicist also said that if she doesn't get to visit all of her entrecard friends it is due to *%^*)*&^%%%#$^Hughesnet and she is sorry. I figure you can understand what that might mean. I again refer to this being a family blog.

Coveted Scratch of the Tail Award

I woke up this morning to exciting news from my publicist. She told me that my wonderful soap had been on the FRONT PAGE of etsy. Now that is just wonderful. It means that so many more people got to see my rich, goat's milk soap. So of course this means it is time again to bestow The Coveted Scratch of the Tail Award. Ta da!

The list was created by DalMare who makes beautiful crystal jewelry. In fact she is having a President's Day sale in her shop right now. Maybe I will get my ears pierced and treat myself to these. I think I would look good in purple, don't you? And I noticed that she comes from the Jersey Shore! That is where my publicist moved from before she came to Montana. So I thank DalMare for adding my Sea Urchin Soap to her beautiful list.

I also found my Shaving Soap to be in another lovely list from Strandsoflight. Her shop tag says "mindfully made to be playfully worn." I like that. I do everything playfully. That is the life of a goat! I like these but I fear Abigail might think they were real flowers and eat them right off of my ears!

I thank both of these ladies for creating such beauty and including my soap in it. I hope they enjoy their award.

Happy Valentine's Day

I wanted to wish all of my readers a Happy Valentine's Day. This is not a big celebration in the goat world but I realize that many of my readers are humans and they like to celebrate with candy and flowers. Mmmmmm, flowers. They are so good to eat. I don't understand why people keep them in a jar of water when they are so very tasty. If someone came up to me with a bouquet I would take it, hide in a corner so Abby wouldn't steal any and enjoy every last bite. Then I would have myself a good burp and chew my cud for awhile remembering the taste of the yummy flowers. THAT is how I would spend Valentine's day. But goats are different from humans and I suppose that is a good thing.

So go out and enjoy your Valentine's Day. Enjoy your chocolate, have a nice dinner. But if you get a chance, stop by and bring me some flowers. I am always up for an extra treat.

Feature Friday! Humblebea

It's that time again! Yes, Feature Friday where I get to go rogue and talk about something other than annoying Abby or soap. What a pleasure for me! Today I want to show you some adorable children's clothing and papier mache collectibles. In fact, if you have looked through the Happy Goat Soap shop you have all ready seen the work of our featured shop. This talented artist created all the adorable papier mache goats used in our soap listings! My publicist sent her pictures of us and Natalie from Humblebea worked her magic and sent back little caricatures of each and every one of us. This listing shows me!


Natalie describes herself this way in her profile: lucky wife • proud Mom • obsessive crafter

Sounds like she does not have time for a goat! I can believe the obsessive crafter part by the wide range of beautiful items she has in her shop. Her gorgeous children's clothing would be perfect for your own kids or for gifts. If my kids didn't grow so fast I think I would consider having her make me something for them - but then again, they would probably just eat it.




I think this little pinafore would be perfect for a spring day.















She also makes little baby shoes. They look so comfortable. I wonder if they would fit on hooves. Sometimes I just get tired of walking on the snow, you know. Hmmmm...and green is my color!











Now, bees are not my thing. They sting me sometimes and I really do not like that but who could resist these adorable little papier mache bees. They would never sting!












There is a lot more to look at in Natalie's shop and I really think you should check it all out. You might find that perfect gift for your next party or shower. Or a present just beecause.


Hee hee, I can be a funny goat!

Two Winners Announced

Hooray! Today is the day all of the winners in the One World One Heart Blog Giveaway are announced. There were over 500 blogs participating so there will be a lot of happy people getting emails.

Here at The Maaaaa of Pricilla I was giving away three bars of my rich Happy Goat Soap to one lucky winner. Since we had so many entries and there was some confusion on my pubicist's end (sometimes she is a little goofy) I have decided to give soap to two lucky winners! How cool is that?! This was our first year participating in this great blogging event and I know we will be looking forward to next year.

There were 280 comments on the post - isn't that exciting? So my publicist went to Random.org this morning to pick the lucky comment and it was #212 from SummerSadie. We are also giving soaps to prpldy. Nowthey will just have to choose their soaps from the shop and they will be mailed right away.

The publicist has a big headache today so if she were the winner she might have chosen these. What do you think?

I want to thank everyone who came to my blog and commented. It was nice to read all of the nice things about how beautiful I am. Even though I am not a vain goat.......

Today is the Day!

Today I am in official spokesgoat mode.


I am pleased to announce that today is the day that our two new soaps will be available in the Happy Goat Soap Shop! If you will recall from this post we are introducing two new shapes into the shop;



The Rooster in the Goat Pen Soap and

The Chicks All Right by Pricilla Soap











The Rooster soap weighs 5.5oz and will cost $5.50. The Chicks soap weighs 4oz and will cost $4.00 but as a special blog offering if you wish to purchase these BRAND NEW SOAPS just mention that Pricilla sent you in the "notes to seller" and you will get a 15% discount. Aren't I a wonderful spokesgoat? So be sure to check them out or I might lose my job - not that this is my ONLY job. I do provide the good, rich milk that goes into every bar of Happy Goat Soap.

Looking Back, Looking Ahead

The plumper I get the more I remember my last kidding. The one that brought me my Michael and my Sarah. This is a photo of Michael right after he was born.

They were the cutest little doeling and buckling.

This is a picture of Sarah right after she was born.

Michael you have met of course, because he still lives here on the Happy Goats Farm but my Sarah went to live on another farm where I know she is very content. I get updates all the time from her new barn maintenance specialist.I hope to take a road trip later in the spring or summer and get some photos of her so you can all see how pretty she is now.

They were both adorable little kids and I know my new kid(s) will be just as cute. I am not a proud mother or anything like that, am I? I usually have twins; in fact I have always had twins. It is Abigail that only has one kid - ha ha! But I am not a competitive goat, no not at all!

They are about a month old in this photo.

My new kids should be here the beginning of April. I wonder what I will have? Will it be two doelings? Two bucklings - heaven forbid! Or a doeling and a buckling like last time....hmmmm. Abigail's kid(s) are due in June or July. Two of our kids are going to join Sarah and Nora (Abigail's kid from last year - that's Nora in the photo. She was about two days old when the publicist took it) on their farm. One doeling is going to stay here at Happy Goats.

So many happy memories for a goat.

A proud mother is a proud mother.....here we all are after I cleaned the kids. They are maybe one hour old.