Life in (and on) the Goat House

Since the goats moved out of the garage in May, they have been living in a small plastic trash can shelter in the yard. Unfortunately, as they have grown, the little house has not grown with them, and we knew something else needed to be found, bought or built soon. What I read in my goat books is this - if you give your goats a deluxe brand-new fancy house, they will love it. And if you give your goats a ramshackle, thrown-together hut of old scrap wood, they will love that too. Basically, as long as they are dry and sheltered from extreme weather, goats are not hard to please. I actually brought home two possible solutions from yard sales (both free!) - a wooden child's playhouse and a small garden shed, figuring my handy husband could make a few modifications and turn either one into a rainproof shelter for the goat boys. Having been married to Mr. "This Old House" for twenty-some years, I should have known better.

The wooden playhouse was hacked apart in our driveway, after my husband pronounced it "shoddy" and cheaply-made, clearly not suitable for our property. The garden shed had promise, however many of the boards were rotted and it was quickly reduced to a large pile of wood scraps (which did make a spectacular bonfire!). Probably afraid of what I would bring home next, Mike took matters into his own hands and suddenly we had a full-scale construction project in the yard, The Goat Shed. From years of watching shows like "The New Yankee Workshop" and "Hometime," he knew exactly what to do, and our entire family has spent the last four Saturdays (yes, even in the heat advisories) working on Em and Ellie's new digs. No shortcuts here - everything is measured twice, perfectly level, and trimmed to the nines. It is a thing of beauty. We had one small setback when Mike realized that while the side trim was 2 and  1/2 inches wide, the trim on the back measured only 2 and 1/4 inches. It appeared that we were going to have to re-cut all of the trim to matching widths. I know my perfectionist husband well enough to keep my opinions to myself on things like this, but Emily, after six hours in 98 degree heat and desperate to be done, exclaimed, "Dad, I really don't think the goats will mind!!" Only the threat of an impending thunderstorm made him reluctantly agree. (Friends and family, please don't ever mention the mismatched trim if you visit - we might have to start the whole project over!)

And actually, I think the goats are a bit bothered by the trim discrepancy - every time I look out the window to check on them, they are madly chewing on the trim! Once it's gnawed down to nothing, then it will be even! However, they are having a wonderful time playing on the roof! (Shingles are next Saturday's project.)