With all my recent concerns about comparing different types of seed pods for Em and Ellie, I have encountered some criticism related to the amount of time and effort required to satisfy food cravings for the goats. Yes, they do prefer these specific pods, this brand of animal crackers, only certain varieties of apples (gala and yellow delicious, but never honeycrisp), and very particular weeds...but are goats really that different from humans? Or more specifically, teenage boys? One local event will help me prove my point.
While my own daughters were raking leaves for the elderly last weekend, several of the young men in their lives were engaged in another group activity - a long-planned event which truly could only have been contrived by teenage boys - what they referred to as "The Pizza Crawl."
Our small town inexplicably boasts nine pizza parlors, and apparently there was some disparity among the teens about which shop sold the best pizza. What happened next reminds me of Emily's 8th grade Science Fair project (a story for another day). This group of high school boys decided to settle the matter with scientific research. On Saturday they met at one end of town and worked their way on foot through all the pizza shops, each boy consuming a single slice (choice of any toppings) at every establishment and rating it for taste. Five miles, six hours, and nine slices later, the data was compiled to determine the best pizza in town. (I won't give it away, but there are a half-dozen boys with sore feet, full stomachs and empty wallets who might tell you if you ask nicely!)
Pizza, pods - you might as well eat the kinds you like best. Myself, I'm thinking about all the bakeries in town - wouldn't it be useful to determine which sells the tastiest sweets? Hmmm...anybody want to go with me on a "Pastry Crawl?"
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Leaf-Raking with a Purpose
Today marked our church's "Annual Leaf-Raking Day" - an opportunity for members to serve our neighbors by doing outdoor yard work for the elderly and disabled in our community. My family has participated in this event since the kids were old enough to hold a rake - after all, it is a wonderful opportunity to teach our children the value of hard work, set an example of altruism, promote exercise and fresh air, and have fun together. Sometimes there are even homemade cookies from grateful homeowners...
ok, ok - just like Pinocchio, my nose is growing - so I'll tell the truth. While other families might have raked for all those reasons, this year we had only one motivation for dragging ourselves out of bed early this morning to rake until our hands blistered...
Masquerading as rake-wielding volunteers provides the perfect excuse to scour yards all over town for - yes, you guessed it - edible seed pods for the goats!
Think about it - what better way to locate and map out new sources of pods without being arrested for trespassing? Really, Officer, I was just collecting snacks for my pet goats... (Unfortunately, when Emily and I collected about a thousand pods at the park last week - we apparently got the wrong type. Oops...not only are they tough and indigestible - they are stinking up our garage so badly that we have to hold our breath out there or keep the garage door open.) What we are seeking are honey locust trees with their small, sweet pods, not regular locust trees which produce mammoth, malodorous monster pods. There is also one other kind of locust (yet unidentified by name) which drops miniature crunchy treats we refer to as "snack pods." Those also are acceptable. (Thanks to a good friend for discovering them.)
To achieve maximum coverage, my family split up into different raking groups instead of working together. My husband got the worst of this deal, as he was assigned to transport and supervise three middle school boys who had apparently never held a rake before and spent most of their day chasing each other around with the electric leaf-blower. Fortunately, Mike is a skilled raker and his group did manage to finish their assigned list of houses just before dark. Unfortunately, any pods they collected were dispersed by the blower...
Yes, it might seem like a lot of effort - but wouldn't you do it for your goats?
ok, ok - just like Pinocchio, my nose is growing - so I'll tell the truth. While other families might have raked for all those reasons, this year we had only one motivation for dragging ourselves out of bed early this morning to rake until our hands blistered...
Masquerading as rake-wielding volunteers provides the perfect excuse to scour yards all over town for - yes, you guessed it - edible seed pods for the goats!
Think about it - what better way to locate and map out new sources of pods without being arrested for trespassing? Really, Officer, I was just collecting snacks for my pet goats... (Unfortunately, when Emily and I collected about a thousand pods at the park last week - we apparently got the wrong type. Oops...not only are they tough and indigestible - they are stinking up our garage so badly that we have to hold our breath out there or keep the garage door open.) What we are seeking are honey locust trees with their small, sweet pods, not regular locust trees which produce mammoth, malodorous monster pods. There is also one other kind of locust (yet unidentified by name) which drops miniature crunchy treats we refer to as "snack pods." Those also are acceptable. (Thanks to a good friend for discovering them.)
To achieve maximum coverage, my family split up into different raking groups instead of working together. My husband got the worst of this deal, as he was assigned to transport and supervise three middle school boys who had apparently never held a rake before and spent most of their day chasing each other around with the electric leaf-blower. Fortunately, Mike is a skilled raker and his group did manage to finish their assigned list of houses just before dark. Unfortunately, any pods they collected were dispersed by the blower...
Yes, it might seem like a lot of effort - but wouldn't you do it for your goats?
Monday, November 11, 2013
Pods: Part 2
SPOILER ALERT - if you haven't read the previous post ("Pods for the Goat Boys"), you should go back and read that first. Otherwise you will think I am a complete lunatic. Ok, ok, you might think that anyway...
Today after school Emily and I drove to the park where she had discovered a gigantic locust tree. What a bonanza - there were seed pods everywhere! The goats are set for the winter, no question, and there are still hundreds of pods hanging from the tree - we may go back next week and fill our bags again. Concerned about possible toxicity (as my car and garage now have a distinct and very strong vinegary smell), I looked up locust pods in our old World Book encyclopedia. With my daughters laughing at me (why don't you just google it, mom?), I learned two interesting facts. First, the waxy locust seeds inside the pods are not digestible but are excreted in their unchanged form. Yes, we had noticed that...Second, the apparently-sweet pulp of locust pods is sometimes ground into cattle feed, so I assume it is not a toxic substance.
Snacktime, goats!!
Friday, November 8, 2013
Pods for the Goat Boys
The things we do for our pets...Today was bitter cold and windy, I had 22 items on my to-do list plus an extremely good book calling for me on the couch - but the goats were restless and wanted to be taken for a walk. How could I say no? Anyway, maybe I'd find a few more pods in the field...
Some people hunt for coins on the ground, or four-leaf clovers. In our family, the current treasure is what we call "pods," the dried brown seed pods which drop from our two honey locust trees in autumn, and which, we have discovered, are the goats' most favorite treat. Crunchy, fibrous, nutritious (I hope) - the goats munch with delight when they find one, so I got the idea - let's collect them and store them as a snack all winter!
Problem - the goats have already eaten most of them, and the trees are nearly bare. Every day I "walk the grid" of our yard like the forensic detectives in my favorite mystery series, eyes peeled for pods. Yesterday I found five, today only one. Rationing has gone into effect. I figured out that even if I give each goat only one pod per day, we will barely make it to Thanksgiving.
Not that pods are all I think about...despite what my friends said when I posted a sign on the church bulletin board looking for "pod donations." (None of my friends have locust trees, sadly.) There are holidays to plan for, and birthdays. We discovered three stray kittens living under our shed. My husband nearly cut his hand off in an accident at work. (Good thing I have all those first aid supplies left from the goats, since he refused to go to the hospital!) Emily passed her drivers license test but somehow I am unable to let her drive by herself. (I might have to follow her around in my van the first few weeks...) And this afternoon both my daughters were out with boys - life is moving a little too fast for me!
Emily and her friend pulled into the driveway just as I was heating up dinner. Out the window I saw them carefully unloading a large plastic tub from the back seat. "Mom!" called Emily. "Wait till you see what I got!" Together they carried this mysterious crate to the door - oh, please don't let it be another litter of stray kittens...I recalled that this boy lived near a farm - and then I knew. Oh my gracious - it's an orphaned baby goat who needs to be bottle-raised and she's brought it home - how can I say no? How can I say yes? Oh, I want to see how cute it is! Mind churning, I yanked open the door, and the two of them triumphantly displayed a tub overflowing with...pods. Pods! Apparently they had been climbing trees at a local park, discovered a gigantic locust tree, and spent the afternoon collecting hundreds of pods for the goats. (I think I like this boy!)
Although I am sort of missing that baby goat who needed me...
Some people hunt for coins on the ground, or four-leaf clovers. In our family, the current treasure is what we call "pods," the dried brown seed pods which drop from our two honey locust trees in autumn, and which, we have discovered, are the goats' most favorite treat. Crunchy, fibrous, nutritious (I hope) - the goats munch with delight when they find one, so I got the idea - let's collect them and store them as a snack all winter!
Problem - the goats have already eaten most of them, and the trees are nearly bare. Every day I "walk the grid" of our yard like the forensic detectives in my favorite mystery series, eyes peeled for pods. Yesterday I found five, today only one. Rationing has gone into effect. I figured out that even if I give each goat only one pod per day, we will barely make it to Thanksgiving.
Not that pods are all I think about...despite what my friends said when I posted a sign on the church bulletin board looking for "pod donations." (None of my friends have locust trees, sadly.) There are holidays to plan for, and birthdays. We discovered three stray kittens living under our shed. My husband nearly cut his hand off in an accident at work. (Good thing I have all those first aid supplies left from the goats, since he refused to go to the hospital!) Emily passed her drivers license test but somehow I am unable to let her drive by herself. (I might have to follow her around in my van the first few weeks...) And this afternoon both my daughters were out with boys - life is moving a little too fast for me!
Emily and her friend pulled into the driveway just as I was heating up dinner. Out the window I saw them carefully unloading a large plastic tub from the back seat. "Mom!" called Emily. "Wait till you see what I got!" Together they carried this mysterious crate to the door - oh, please don't let it be another litter of stray kittens...I recalled that this boy lived near a farm - and then I knew. Oh my gracious - it's an orphaned baby goat who needs to be bottle-raised and she's brought it home - how can I say no? How can I say yes? Oh, I want to see how cute it is! Mind churning, I yanked open the door, and the two of them triumphantly displayed a tub overflowing with...pods. Pods! Apparently they had been climbing trees at a local park, discovered a gigantic locust tree, and spent the afternoon collecting hundreds of pods for the goats. (I think I like this boy!)
Although I am sort of missing that baby goat who needed me...
Saturday, November 2, 2013
Trick-or-Treat with the Goat Boys!
Yes, Elliot was a bit humiliated to be dressed as a girl...His original costume was Batman, but the black cape just blended into his fur and he wouldn't keep the bat mask on...luckily we found an old Minnie Mouse costume in the dress-up bin downstairs. Here are a few possibilities for next year.
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