New Year's (for Goats)

The New Year means nothing to goats. Honestly, they have no idea when we have a holiday, nor do they care.  They celebrate other things. Sunny days for instance, are cause for celebration for them. And food.  And really that's about all I can think of...

They are such creatures of habit and so food-centric, that even their morning feeding of timothy hay is exciting. When I have a treat for them--tortilla chips, stale cereal, or raisins--they are very happy. But the biggest excitement by far is Christmas tree recycling month...going on right now.

Running out to eat a newly delivered tree

Evergreen trees are their favorite treat of all. If they escaped into my garden, my expensive hinoki cypress would be turned into a tree carcass in record time.  So luckily we have several friends who like to "goat-cycle" their christmas trees, and the goats have about a month each year of evergreen bliss.

So far, they've eaten most of four trees and we have three more waiting for them. It's a win-win for all of us. We get a very convenient and earth-friendly way to dispose of our tree, and the goats get to eat loads of their favorite food.

So I suppose that goats do indeed celebrate the New year. But let's be honest...it's all about the food.