Today was GOATS.
this morning, Giving Water to the Buck Goats, i see this.
a Diamond web. a sign.
Today, the Other vet. they call it a Ranch call. He was late, but he arrived and he arrived WITH A GOOD AND STURDY YOUNG WOMAN VET TECH!!!!!!!!!!!!! oh hooray and Tra La... When i had stopped there on Tuesday to make the appointment and speak with him, i underlined the fact that Magic is a Strong and Headstrong Goat. No lightweight, her. So...here they were. i brought them through the house, out the back door so They would know they were "house people". They however gathered in an arc, staring. Still. gathered, staring and still. So we just stood there for a while, watching them, i'd given them their evening grasshay early. They went back to eating, but the minute i said Magic's name and walked toward her.......no Fooling them....something was UP.
but she didn't run and i got her collar and they moved in. She began trying to get away and i put my body behind her while hanging onto the collar, they arranged their stuff and at some point he told the Tech to straddle her. Long story short as i can, he marked the cut with a small saw, enough to hold the thin blade of the Gigli Saw, my body is at her rear so she can't move back, she is rearing and yelling, her tongue hanging out, making those horrible huffing sounds Goats make, expelling burts of air, and the Vet begins to saw, just a few seconds, and half way through, the whole Scur pops off. Just like the last time with Barbara's scur. A little blood. not much. and we let her go. They gather up their stuff and leave.
There is maybe an hour of ...... of, what?. an hour of UnSureNess. Much movement. Much headbutting. Comotion. No one eats. They just mill around. a Lot of vocalization. and i sat on the porch and watched. For sure, now, it's Onday that is the Alpha Goat. Snowbunny, the Matriarch has deferred to her daughter Onday. For a while, Onday follows Magic. There is no overt behaviors. All she has to do is look in Magic's direction and Magic moves. As time goes by, it eases. Magic is allowed to eat, unlike Barbara, who was kept away for 3 days. I think this is because of Magic's standing in the Herd. She is a strong Goat. But i don't really know.
and just before the rain storm, i took advantage of all the ify feelings out there and filled my pockets with peanuts (in the shell) and had the wisdom to use the moment in a good way. i called the name of each Goat, clearly, with direct eye contact and when that Goat came forward through the throng, i gave the peanut with a closed hand to mouth and said the sound that the Mustang Woman taught me...the sharp !D!. Over and over, each Goat, each name, !D!Peanut! until everyone had several chances, including Magic, Magic 4 times, !D!.
so we survived another Event. and i understand more and more that it's how it is. and all there is is Just Going. Doing what needs to be done. We Just Go.
you can see where the cut was Supposed to be
and stitching....well, only this one worm. There will be many.
and this one bird. There will be many.
This.
Querencia:
"The word doesn't translate. It is used in Spanish to designate that mysterious little area in the bullring that catches the fancy of the fighting bull when he charges in. He imagines it his santuary. when parked there, he supposes he cannot be hurt.....So it is, borrowing the term, that one can speak of one's "querencia" to mean that little, unspecified area in life's areana where one feels safe, serene."
William F. Buckley Racing Through Paradise
