Happy Goat Day!

Who can understand the mind of a goat? I found this older photo which shows the tiny plastic house the goats lived in until my husband built their deluxe shed - it is hidden behind the higher platform, a yard-sale find which served them well most of the summer. Now that they have much more elaborate living quarters, I moved this lightweight hut up onto the deck, figuring that they could keep warm and dry in it while hanging out by the back door to our dining room...FORGET IT!

They act as though they have never seen this frightening foreign apparatus before - choosing to huddle against the windowsills rather than go into the little house. Even when I put their buckets of hay in it on a rainy day, they stand outside the structure and stretch their necks in to yank out mouthfuls of hay. I have cleaned it, lined it with familiar black mats (which Elliot is also now nibbling, following his brother's example) and even tried sitting in it myself to coax them in. Maybe I should show them the photo. See? You spent many happy months here! Goats!!

We have decided there are two kinds of days - goat days and not-goat days. When the weather is dry and sunny, even if the temperature is sub-zero, those are the days for goats. They will lounge outdoors for hours. Any sort of precipitation, however, sends them frantically hovering inside the shed all day. Not even gentle snowflakes will be tolerated. Of course, all day in the shed means massive clean-up for us...

Today is a goat day. The weather chart says "brisk" but the sun is shining. All is well with their world.