Goat Field Trip

Today was barn cleaning day--a job that none of us enjoy.  In fact we all dislike it so much that we have put it off for the past several weeks!  But it could wait no more.  As it is my birthday, Sophie and Emily did most of the work today.  I helped them because they were taking turns gaging and complaining of not being able to breath!  I can't think of a better character building experience for our daughters--another plus to owning farm animals. 

The goats ordinarily do not like barn cleaning day.  For starters, we shut them out of the barn so that we can shovel the urine soaked wood chips and hay out the back door without them in the way.  They are so curious that the job would never get done if they were allowed to be a part of it.  Today with the sun shining and the goats already basking in it, they didn't mind being locked out.  And we decided to give them a field trip which they liked very much.   

 They are always most comfortable in their yard, but on nice days like today, they sometimes like to wander around the property and see what else they can eat.  We keep a pretty close eye on them so they don't eat things like rhododendrons or cherry trees--two plant groups that are toxic for them--but otherwise they are free to explore a bit. 

Blackberry and Sweet Pea are our more skittish goats and if they get spooked by a loud noise they run back to their goat yard.  Silver and Lily are fearless and curious and really enjoy the time.  Lily, however, is getting so comfortable that she goes a bit too far.  Today she was wandering around the driveway.  We are pretty sure that if we didn't stay with her, she'd be on top of one of our cars, climbing it like it was a goat mountain put there for her amusement. 

They ate blackberries and salmon berries along the property line and climbed the firewood pile and some rocks.  They skipped around, played and pretty much enjoyed themselves until some internal clock told them it was time to go home.  Like the herd they are, they all trotted back to the safety of their goat yard.  I'm not really sure if they like their clean barn.  It's quite possible that they like it with layers of wood chips and hay all soaked with goat poo and pee.  But we presented them with their clean barn anyway.  And now they are all napping on the bench in their barn, worn out after a day of exploring just like the kids they are.