Got Yer Goats?

Yesterday, my husband and I spent the entire day working in the pasture. I yelled at him once because he almost ripped my thumb off when we were trying to throw a tractor tire over the fence. He didn't say 1-2-3, he starting throwing at 1 and I wasn't ready! We took down old chicken pens and fencing to create a better pasture for the goats. We are going to use the wood from the old chicken coops to build a goat playground. We also bought over $200.00 in lumber for their new playground. They are going to love it! They'll get to climb up ramps, lay on the top platform and sunbathe. I'll enjoy drinking some wine in the evenings and watching them play "king of the mountain".

We used some of the fencing from the chicken pens to form a feeding/corral area for the goats. This corral is locked until feed time, then I open it and they are locked in. You don't know how difficult it can be to catch a goat in a 7 acre pasture for worming, then keeping track of which goats have been wormed. It would drive me crazy! Now, I have tricked them and I will catch them with ease. The goats are really obnoxious when you try to feed them, they are impatient. They'll stand on the feeders. I can't pour the food into the feeder when they stand in it, the food sometimes is poured on their heads or on the ground. Today, they were confused about how to get to the new feed area but when they heard the sound of the metal garbage lid, they came running!

I also learned how to operate a Troy-Bilt zero-turn riding mower. I almost peed in my pants when I first started driving it because I almost mowed down my husband.(That was for making my thumb bleed) Then, I almost took down the fence. It took me a couple minutes to figure out, reverse, forward, right and left using both hands. Then, I was zipping around the pasture cutting the grass like a good old redneck. Hand me a Bud Light and some chewing tobacco and we'd have a good Polaroid!

I bought ten pound of lamb I've got to cook today. Irish lamb stew, lamb chili and souvlaki. The butcher gave me a great deal I couldn't resist so I'll start a cook-fest after I run, swim and pick up goat oat hay. Ya'll want to come for dinner and watch the goaties play?