The goats got a job!

The goats are on their first job of the year! I only took half of the herd, because it's not a very big job. We actually did this same job last year, but the homeowner didn't get around to building the chicken coop she planned to put in the space, so everything grew back. She swears she will build the coop this year.

When we did this job the last time, it was much later in the season, so we didn't know that the whole area is full of bleeding hearts. They are beautiful plants, but quite poisonous, so we spent an hour and a half pulling as many as we could find, which was a lot. There are lots of bracken ferns in the space too, which I remembered from last year. They are much more toxic in the spring, so we had to make sure we got all of them.

Here's what it looks like before they got started. I will try to remember to get a picture when they're done. I always mean to, but I usually forget.

When we were done getting them set up, we had to go back to the property where they've been living all winter because my car was there. We found the remaining goats on the wrong side of the fence once again. We put up another piece of fence to block the tunnel they made through the giant blackberry pile. I will be very curious to see it if works. I'm moving the remaining herd to a property down the road from me tomorrow, so hopefully this Houdini nonsense will be done.

When we got home, my son and I took the big dog and our two puppies down the road to the property the herd will be working on next. I know there's a ton of bracken fern there, so I figured we could start pulling it and get the puppies used to being in the car. They made it there without throwing up! It's less than a mile, so I figured if I took it slowly they would be okay.

They had a marvelous time romping around in the grass and exploring. We would have stayed longer, but I got a phone call from home asking "Are the goats supposed to be on the back patio?" No, they are not. We had to go home immediately and put the goats back where they belong. After all the evening chores were done and I had time to sit
down and write this post, we were hearing puppy noises that sounded farther away than they should have. Turns out two of the puppies managed to get into the feed pen in the barn and couldn't figure out how to get back out. Every time I think I can relax, some other crazy starts happening.

I'm going to try to sit quietly for the rest of the evening, because tomorrow I have to finish mucking out the big trailer and move the rest of the goats, and I am very, very tired. Also, my arms are tingling because the area we were working in today is full of stinging nettles. I feel like I have been complaining a lot, but I do actually love my job!