AH- the JOYS of Craiglist! I had been researching the various breeds of goats and was trying to decide between Alpines and Nubians when this posting appeared on Craigslist: "Downsizing herd" I responded to the posting and was able to talk to Barbara about the ladies she had available- an Alpine and her daughter- an Alpine/Nubian cross. Oh boy!
Early in the morning we covered the Murano cargo area with plastic and loaded a large dog crate. Hopefully the girls would fit in the crate- or we would disassemble it to make a barrier. Lil, Whitt (my husband), and I set out in the pouring rain to see and perhaps bring home the girls. The rain was puddling on the road. The wipers were struggling to keep up with the deluge as we made our way to Barbara's farm.
The barn was perched on the top of a knoll and our walk up the path was slippery. I felt like the snail in all of those algebra problems- you know the one that climbs up the wall of the well but keeps sliding back? Barbara opened the barn door and we were greeted with a chorus of baas, bleats, neighs, meows, and the smell of billy goat.
The fainting goats were clustered in one pen. Some of the fellows really looked like Dr. Seuss models- top knotted hair and curious splotches. The dairy goats were clustered in another- dainty and demure. The fellows surged to the sides of the enclosure and begged for scratching. Lil immediately complied. The ladies reservedly evaluated the visitors before approaching the gate.
Harvest, the momma, decided that all was good and accepted scratches and loving. Her daughter, Rose, however remained aloof. Barbara mentioned that Rose had been plagued by the attention of the bucks earlier in the morning and was just calming down.
We spent some time chatting with Barbara, asking questions about the history and care of the girls. Meanwhile, we met the rest of the herd, a rescue horse, and the rest of her menagerie (which greatly resembled ours). Though we had arrived swearing up and down that we were just looking, and would make a carefully considered decision...half hour later we were rolling away the proud owners of two does.
