Got my Goat

Well, we've gone and gotten a goat. The thing is, what's one pygmy goat good for? Kind of like an appendix, I think, or a salad fork. Cruel as it may sound, we're actually using her as a guinea pig; if we can keep her fat and happy all winter, we'll then expand to a Tribe, Trip, Drove, Herd, Flock of goats. (Makes me wonder why the collective term for goats is so varied and undefined, compared to a "murder of crows" or "pack of dogs.") Anyway, she's being spoiled, which is a far cry from her former home, where she shared a much smaller area with geese, chickens, and a pig! Right now she's top dog, well, next to our beagle. (She even climbs on her house and sleeps there, like the famous beagle, Snoopy.)

She came with the name Precious (gag) and one of my boys is renaming her Sunset (peculiar). I'd like to find a more suitable name for her, but I guess I will let anything serve for this goat, then think all winter of great goat names for the coming Tribe.

Goats creep me out in some ways. Just Friday we were at the petting zoo (soon to be *yawn* nothing we don't have at home*)...and my 2 year old was treated to a head butt that then bounced the back of his head against the corral, too. He was hurt, but more, emotionally wounded, for our goat would never (at least has never, yet, in this one week we've had her) do such a thing.

I am going to explore why they are an icon of dark magic. One of the most frightening images of my childhood was from a movie, Altered States, in which a goat head was flashed on screen so much in such a way that I walked out of the theatre! What's so "evil" about a goat, anyhow? I will find out!

Meanwhile, I'll go with my boys when they take Sunset on walks around the farm. I'll wonder how they'd react to future meat goats or milk goats...and I'll learn lots about tending goats as we go.