Archive for the ‘Goat Love’ Category
Visiting with Old Goatie Friends
Yesterday I went to visit Margherita, Carmelina, Colombo, and Nina in their new home. You remember them, right? From before we thinned the herd?
Well I’m happy to report that all four are doing *wonderfully.*
Their coats are shiny and clean, and oh my have the babies grown!
I’m saddened to report that Colombo wouldn’t come to me at all.
He seemed to have absolutely no recollection of all the hours we spent playing in the pen, but then he was the shyest of the three kids.
Baby Neeners warmed up to me very quickly though:
I always did have a soft spot for her. Isn’t she becoming a *gorgeous* goatie?!
Then as I petted Nina, something clicked in Margherita as she seemed to recall all the face scratches she got from me during the previous year– and then she wanted more even after I left the pen.
Such a sweet face! I always called her my capra-cuccio (CHOO-choh) because her big eyes always reminded me of a donkey (cuccio means donkey in Italian; capra means goat, of course).
Carmelina was her usual self. She never was one for petties, but I did manage to sneak some in anyway when she wasn’t hovering around the fence looking for food. Yup, same old Carmelina. Always hungry.
But you know what really warmed my heart? When the guy now taking care of them said, completely unsolicited, “Mò non riesco ad ammazzarle!” Now he couldn’t bear to slaughter them.
Yay! It always was part of the deal that none of them would end up on a table, but you never know — and it was great to hear that he had really fallen for the girls and Colombo.
Our lil’ buck-in-training, by the way, just may be off to the next town over to become a stud. Fingers crossed it all works out for him — and that he’ll be more friendly with his does than he was with me.
I’m so happy they’re all doing well, but I have to admit I was in a bit of a funk after we said good-bye. All over again. Just like they got on the back of that Ape yesterday.
I already missed them only minutes after seeing them, so I did the only thing I knew would lift my spirits back up. I visited the home pen to see my Pasqualina, who will always be my baby no matter how big she gets.
There’s just nothing like a girl’s first goat love.
Forget Snakes on a Plane…Beware of Goats on a Boat!
I just came across this hilarious sketch done by 3rd Floor Productions and shared via Hidden Track TV on YouTube, and I had to pass it on.
It’s called “Goats on a Boat” and is spoof of the movie “Snakes on a Plane.” The tagline?
Live By the Hoof, Die By the Hoof.
Enjoy!
Buon weekend!
H/t Exotic Pet Tips.
Goat Berries Reaches 100 “Likes” on Facebook!
What’s that you say?
Goat Berries on Facebook now has 100 “likes?”
Woooooooohooooooooooo!
Thanks so much to everyone who helped Goat Berries on Facebook reach the ever-so-cool 100 “likes” mark! Onward to 200!
If you haven’t yet visited us on Facebook, please do because I post a lot more goat-related links and pen updates over there as well as on Twitter @goat_berries.
Plus these are great ways to meet and chat with other goat lovers like yourself — who, I have to say, are a really welcoming, wonderful bunch. It’s such a joy and privilege to be a part of the Interwebs’ goat world!
Thanks again for reading!
Lots more goatie adventures to come, including our first experience with watermelon rinds….
Goat Brushing, As Inspired By a Cat
My goats aren’t for show, and Pasqualina has always kept herself clean and pretty on her own, so I never even thought about getting a brush — until we rescued a long-haired cat not too long ago:
That’s Giordano, and he is one big furball. Along with kitty kibble, a brush is one of the first things I bought after he came to live with us. And while I was there at the pet store, I picked up another brush to try out on the goaties.
Whoa. If you want to hold a goat hostage, brushing is the way to go.
I’m pretty sure the girls would stand there every day of the week and twice on Sunday for me to run the brush over their new! improved! shinier! happier! coats! Unfortunately for them, the temps have been ridiculously hot over the past couple weeks, so I can’t brush for very long before the sweat literally starts dripping all over us. Gross, I know.
Needless to say, I didn’t feel you’d exactly *want* photographic evidence of the sweat scene, so here’s a Pasqualina picture I played with in iPhoto instead:
Do your goaties love a good brushing too?
Goats and Nicknames
I don’t know if everyone does this, but I can’t stop myself from turning perfectly good names into a variety of nicknames for any and all animals in my life. I’ve written about this before at Bleeding Espresso in my intro to a post about where Italian boys’ nicknames come from, but now it’s time to talk about Pinta for she has become the following:
Pinters
Pintaruccia (PintaROOcha)
Ruccia (ROOcha)
Roochers
The Rooch
And my personal favorite…
Pinters Magooch.
“I got your Pinters Magooch right here,” bleats The Rooch.
Do you do this with your goaties’ names? Other animals’ names? People’s names?
Please tell me I’m not alone.
The Real Goats of USA Soccer
For those of you not following the World Cup, the United States has a big game today against Algeria.
Yes, I live in Italy and am an Italian/American dual citizen, so I also root for the fighting Azzurri of Italia. But you know what they say: you can take a girl out of the USA (OO-sah as it’s pronounced in Italy), but you can’t take the USA out of the girl.
Apparently, my divided loyalties have rubbed off on my goats, because they can’t wait to get their hooves, well, teeth on any and all things red, white, and blue — and these girls really aren’t usually clothes nibblers, honestly!
You can’t see it from the photos, but my t-shirt has on something like this:
And so USA soccer/calcio/football fans, the next time you need a goat, we have your goats right here. You know, I’m thinking there’s a great marketing opportunity in there somewhere…aha!
The Real Goats of USA Soccer.
Bravo? Call me.
Let’s bleat.
Sponsor the Old Goats of Apifera!
GoatSpotting!
Goats that readers have spotted out and about. Send your photos to michelle(at)goatberries(dot)com!
