As we haven’t shown you the goaties in a while, we thought we’d give you a glimpse of our goats on a typical lazy summer day. As show season is over, and they’re not doing much at the moment to help on the cheesemaking front, they pretty much get to do whatever they want. There’s no question, in my mind at least, that they have a good thing going!
Early in the mornings we walk down the road to the barn to feed the girls. Minnie usually hears our footsteps first, and starts yelling for breakfast, even before we’ve had a chance to open the gate. For Lotus though, it usually takes her a little more effort to wake up.
“**YAAAAAWWWWNNNN**”
“Hi! Hi! Hi! What’s for breakfast!?”
“Yay HAY! If I’m quick, I can eat the alfalfa before Lotus does”
“HAY! Er…I mean HEY! I heard that!”
“Mmm! Fresh mineral! Yum!”
After breakfast, the girls usually expect a treat. Nooooo, they’re not spoiled…not OUR goaties!
“Pulleeeeeeze? You know you can’t say no to me when I tilt my head like this”
“NooOOoo!?! Really? Bbb…bbb…but look how weak I am…I…must…have…treeeeeats…”
“heehee…that gets her every time!”
Typically sometime after second breakfast, the girls usually then do a few rounds of head butting, zipping around the barn and yard, and playing shove your barn-mate off your favorite goatie bench.
“Lotus, this is mine, shove over!”
Of course, if they notice my camera lens, they usually come over to investigate.
“Oh Lotus, really? You just don’t get this camera thing do you?”
“How about now?”
“Can you see me now?”
“I totally get this camera thing! See? She’s not paying any attention to YOU! Heehee”
Usually by now, having spent entirely too much time with the goats, it’s time for me to leave and get something productive done. Early afternoon, after lunch, I try to check on them again though. By then their tummies are usually full, and I tend to find a pile of sleepy goats on the deck. Nap time, for Lotus at least, is a very important part of the day!
“Awwww…c’mon Lotus, don’t take a nap…I wanna play!”
“Minnie, go lay down, I’m sleepy!”
“I just need…”
“…a…short…”
“…ZzzzzZZzzzzZZzzz…”
“But the deck is uncomfortable! OK, I’ll try sleeping over here then”
“…nope, this really needs a pillow…”
“Minnie, are you kidding me? You’re a GOAT! You don’t need a pillow!”
“I’m really not sleepy today. LOTUS!!! Are you asleep?”
“**sigh** I don’t suppose it would do any good to say yes?”
“I’m bored…maybe…”
“…It’s time for a snack!”
“As long as I’m awake…and Minnie’s hogging the feeder…might I bother you for a scratch?”
“Ahhhh…that’s the spot!”
“Much better! Thanks!”
At which point, it’s usually time for me to get back to work.
“Nooooo! Wait! You’re leaving? But…”
Don’t worry girls, I’ll be back in time for dinner, and maybe we know where to find you some blackberry leaves for dessert.
Those little ones are so cute…I love to walk down the road from my house and see the goats who share a pasture with a horse. One goat was raised with the horse and she thought she was a ‘horse’ she walked all around like the horse does out in the field just a few feet away they were always together. The people who owned her gave her a new home so she didn’t stay confused. I was sad about that but they now have two more… cute little goats.
Goats are frequently used as companions for horses. I doubt the goat was confused per se, goats and horses can forge quite remarkable bonds. I’m glad they decided to add more though.
You guys are too cute for words!
Maybe Auntie Alice should offer to babysit in exchange for fresh cheese;-]
I think you’d have fun goat-sitting. Sadly though, legally, we can’t give you cheese in exchange for goat-sitting. Not until we have a certified creamery. The Federal and State regulations are quite particular about cheese production and barter or sale of cheese products. However, I think I’m still allowed to serve food to my friends when they come to dinner though 😉
They are just so sweet…I love seeing them in all their glory and I can tell you adore them too!!
We do adore them, they’ve definitely wiggled their way into being a very big part of the farm here. Not bad for two pint-sized goats! 😛
There’s some serious goat envy happening here. They’re so sweet! 19 months until we retire to a rural location. I am so getting goats.
If I had my way, I’d live more rural than we do now, and get a lot more goats! I can’t manage some of the larger breeds, but these little ones are very easy to handle, have fabulous personalities, and don’t require an awful lot of space either 🙂 I hope you’ll post about your goaties when you get them!
Aawww, they’re just so darn cute! I can see how easy it would be to spoil them with little treats. They certainly do have a great life!!
The challenge with treats is not letting the girls get fat, so don’t tell Minnie, but most of the time, ‘treats’ are just part of her daily ration 😉 She is funny though, she so knows how to play me. I swear, it’s getting more difficult for me to say no to these two. I’m getting soft in my old age!
They are very cute – I can totally understand you spending a lot of time with the girls!
Minnie has perfected the art of screaming hysterically (like she’s stuck in a fence or something) when she sees or hears me up in the garden. It’s just an attention-getting maneuver. The first few times she did it, I ran all the way down to the barn, expecting to find her in some sort of trouble. No. She was standing on her rock, screeching at the top of her lungs, staring straight at me, as if to say “hey mom! what took you so long” 😉
Ahhhhhh no wonder you spend so much time with them and I don’t blame you spoiling them now and again. You show their personalities so well with your captions Clare.
Thanks Rosie, I’m always amazed how different the personalities of animals can be. There’s no question Lotus is the mellow one…and Minnie, well, some days, she almost seems a little hyper. They couldn’t be more different, but they’re both a ton of fun.
Adorable! But a “pile” of goats is probably stretching it. 😉
Ha! Well, yes, technically it’s a very small pile…at the moment. We do have plans to make that pile bigger though 😉
No wonder you go check on them three (or more) times during the day – they are just adorable! Such personalities! I honestly don’t know how you get anything else done!
Some days I don’t know how we get anything else done either 😉
They are absolutely adorable! I was hoping to see another video of them 🙂
I promise, another video soon! At the moment though, I wasn’t sure how exciting I could make a video of sleeping, and eating 😛 I’ve also been a little busy with my ‘day job’ lately too!
One thing I have never noticed is how unique goat’s eyes are. The coat on each of those goats is so shiny…looks so healthy. And they are adorable.
Goat eyeballs are fun, aren’t they? There’s just something about those rectangular pupils…
I really love your dialogue, you seem really enjoying your time with them huh! We have a few native goats too, small but cute, sometimes they have this extra earing-like skin swatches beneath the jaw and it makes them more cute when still kids. I also love them when they jump and turn. It is just difficult for us during the dry season as most grasses get dry and they get thin. So we tether them outside to look for grasses and weeds. What is normally your feeds composed of? I also love your beds, we just have bamboo slats.
Ah, yes, we call those wattles! Neither Lotus, nor Minnie, have wattles under their jaw, but some Nigerian Dwarf Goats do have them. In order for the kids to get them though, at least one parent must also have wattles.
Most of our feed is either grass hay, and/or alfalfa hay (we purchase our hay). The girls are also taken out to browse on some of the plants that grow wild here, like blackberry vines, which are their favorite! 😉
They certainly haven’t outgrown being adorable! I can see why it might be hard to tear yourself away to do some real work. 🙂 -Jean
I’m hoping they never outgrow adorable. Although, I’ll probably always think they’re cute 😛 I have to be disciplined when I’m down at the barn though, it’s too easy to want to sit out in the sun with them all afternoon!
Hey!
I met you at the Red Bluff show! We were in the pen next to you! You got to see my boy, Jasper who is Minnies uncle!
Anyway, just wanted to stop by and say hi! I love the pics of those girls. Tooooo cute 🙂
Hi Laura, thanks for stopping by! I hope the rest of show season went well for you! We saw Jasper at Watsonville too! If memory serves, I think Tanya(?) brought him down. How is ‘Uncle Jasper’ doing? We enjoyed the Watsonville show, especially as it was so close to us here. Sure beat driving for 5 hours to get to a show, we actually were able to come home at night! I suspect next season though, we’ll be going to a lot more shows 🙂
They are delightful – so full of life and with their own personalities! It must be difficult to drag yourself away from them.
I would never tire of having them around. They are just precious. Loved your captions too.
I’m glad to see your blog back up! Your goats are adorable and quite entertaining. I don’t see how you get any work done at all!