What did you do today?

[Nanno]

I woke up in a panic this morning. My dreams were disturbed at 5:30 by the muffled sound of a baby goat screaming. I startled awake and heard it again--this time loud and clear. I immediately thought of the electric fence and was sure one of the new babies was caught in it. I bolted out of bed and hurried into my bathrobe and boots. I didn't hear the sound any more but I had to go check on things. All was quiet when I went outside, and as I approached the goat pen I could see the dim outline of two does lying asleep near the feeder. I went in the pen and shined the headlamp into the big shed. Jezebel jumped up in alarm at my approach, and I could see both babies curled together in the straw, blinking sleepily in the bright light. The big pen across the field was also quiet except for Tigerlily who started talking the minute she heard my voice. What on earth had I heard? Had I imagined it? I can only guess that Phil was wheezing in his sleep. He's typically a very quiet sleeper, but every so often his breathing gets loud and squeaky. It's not quite a snore and when I'm asleep it sounds like the muffled noise of a baby goat screaming outside. It had stopped the moment I jumped out of bed and woke Phil up, so I'm guessing it must have been him. But it sure had me frantic!  

I wish I had the camera on me yesterday. I burned a bagel at lunchtime and saved it for dog or goat food (whoever wanted it or got to it first). Phil went outside to feed it and ended up giving the whole thing to Sputnik. Sputnik didn't waste time trying to take bites. He took the entire bagel in his mouth and tried to swallow it whole. When he turned toward me, his whole mouth was stretched out wide in the most ridiculous, stupid, cheesy grin. The bagel was hard to see, so Sputnik looked almost exactly like this (minus the braces): 

  Goat.Grin.jpg (Size: 10.03 KB / Downloads: 45)

I wish, I wish, I wish I could have gotten a photo! I'm going to have to try to burn another bagel sometime. But of course he probably won't eat it the same way again--not if I'm ready for him.

[DownUnder Gal]

Hilarious photo! I've rushed out to the goat village in the middle of the night before too, thinking someone was screaming. It normally ends up that it was MY noisy breathing (I guess I must have only been half asleep if I heard myself). Very disconcerting but a relief when I see all the goats sleeping soundly.

[Nanno]

Yesterday on our walk, Pluto took off into the thick woods behind our house and began barking frantically. I called and called, but he never made an appearance and never stopped barking. From the angry, frenzied tones, I guessed he had found a bear and treed it. The horses guessed the same thing because they took off toward the woods as well. Phil and I took the goats in the opposite direction and went for our walk. I could hear Pluto the entire time, and about halfway through, the barking began to move quickly in another direction. At that point, Daisy left us to join Pluto. By the time we got back from our walk, the dogs were barking on the empty wooded acreage just south of ours. I still couldn't see them. We put the goats in their pens and I went off after the dogs.

I found them not far into the woods on the other side of the fence and they were barking at a dense thicket of scrub oak. Suddenly a huge black paw reached out and swiped at Pluto. He bounced out of the way and the bear charged toward him, swatting and hissing. Daisy and Pluto had that bear surrounded. I kept back at a safe distance and called the dogs. Daisy came pretty quickly, but Pluto had angered the bear and whenever he turned tail, the bear chased him. He wasn't about to run toward me (and home) with a bear on his tail! So he dodged and barked and chased until the bear eventually ran off in a different direction, at which point Pluto came running up the hill with a magnificent grin on his face. Good dog! I'm glad he didn't disobey and keep after the bear, but I'm also glad he was smart enough not to lead it in my direction.

I think Pluto had cornered the bear on our property, but I'm guessing the horses flushed it out. Bears will sometimes try to face down a dog, but we've never seen one stand up to the horses. Once the horses got it on the run, Pluto chased it to the neighboring property where Daisy soon joined him, and together they kept it cornered in the thicket until I got there and called them off. I'm glad neither of them was hurt. Bears are known to kill dogs, and Pluto looked like he was mostly teasing and taunting that bear. Hopefully old Bruin will think twice before crossing over our fence line from now on.

[goatzrule]

Wow what a day!

[DownUnder Gal]

How exciting! What kind of bear was it - a black one?

[Nanno]

Yes, it was black. We don't have grizzlies in my neck of the woods. Pluto went after a bear again today, but this time he went pretty far and I had things to do so we just waited until he got tired of chasing it and came home on his own. Silly dog--leaving the goats unprotected so he can galavant in the woods after bears!

[DownUnder Gal]

Can you strap a go-pro to his head and then post the video?

[Nanno]

He'd probably lose the Go-Pro, or the bear would swipe it off!

[Nanno]

I clipped all the big goats last week, and now they're sleek and shiny! Most of them loved being trimmed so the job went quickly and I got them all done in one day even though I had ten goats to do.

Finn always looks dapper, but now he looks even more dapper. He has a few white hairs in his black hindquarters which don't show until he's shaved. It gives his coat an almost sparkly appearance when the sun hits him after he's had a bath.  
   
   

If any goat came out looking the best, it would be Rambo. Like Finn, he was also quite dapper before his trim, but now he looks like a sleek racehorse with a fine, burnished gleam to his glossy, pure black coat. I can almost see my reflection in it!  
   

Rambo and Rocky are such buddies. They still lay together like they did when they were babies. 
   
   

Jezebel sure takes on a rich color in the summer! 
   

Sputnik had the biggest transformation of anyone after his trim. I hardly recognized him! With all this white he's going to be a lot cooler. He's definitely very blue roan on the back now, and very red roan on the front.   
   

That's a lot of freckles!
   

I'm not sure where these withers came from. I didn't notice them until I was looking at this photo. Sometimes it's hard to notice the slow changes our goats go through until suddenly they look very different. I hope this means saddles will be easier to fit soon! He'll always have that annoying dip in his back, but withers sure help to keep the saddle from sliding forward up the neck and rolling around to the side. 
   

The whole herd at rest under the trees--except Finn. You can just see him standing watch on the ridge across the driveway from the other goats. Finn takes his herd leadership job very seriously and he's become a lot more stand-offish with the herd this summer. He keeps his distance and often takes a position on a hilltop or across a field so he has a good vantage point from which to watch them. 
   

[Taffy]

That's a LOT of goats! I love all of the colors in your herd.