Into the woods with goats
One of my favorite parts
of goatkeeping (combined with our too-small pastures) is that our herd
prompts me to wander in the woods on a regular basis. On previous
summers, I've usually figured I'm too busy to go on extra walks, but our
goats have taught me that there's always time for a good ramble.
During the week, we just
spend an hour in the evening hanging out within a short distance of the
coop. I read and relax while the goats browse. But on the weekends, I
often like to explore...even if that means we end up in parts of the
woods that are so deer browsed that they're nearly barren from a goat
point of view.
(Note to self --- I
definitely need to buckle down on the hunting this fall. The deer have
been staying out of our garden, but their populations appear to be very
high this year.)
Ah, this spot looks much more goat friendly.
There's nothing like a
pair of goats to make a bipedal human feel even more ungainly than
usual. Our darling does prance across deadfalls like this in a heartbeat
while I slowly pick my way through the trip hazard with much more care.
Of course, I shouldn't be
surprised at their agility since the girls have been practicing on
their balance beams for most of the summer. In case you can't tell,
Abigail is repeatedly headbutting that tree in front of her while
staying steady atop the log despite her trailing leash. Ah, to be a
goat.
Top
finds of the day Sunday included a small patch of goldenseal that I
likely couldn't pinpoint again and a couple of blooming downy
rattlesnake plantain (a relatively inconspicuous orchid). Plus some extra peace and joy to hoard for the busy week ahead.
Thanks for the boost, Abigail and Artemesia!
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About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.
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