9 months since they have roamed the Hill. the doe Goats
Since it is Thinking Back Time, i spend some time Remembering them in New Mex. Their world there of sand within Fence. No view. They had no view. or, a single Point of View. Fence. they had their migratory corridor from one fenced yard to another. The corridor was fenced. I had the horizon. They did not.
Then here, for 8 months they had their very amazing Forest. So full, so Wild, so free. But then, they were let loose. I went back in the calendar...last July. Let loose. 6 acres. Many views. Their paths are woven and worn. This is their first Spring, free. Yesterday, we saw that Arctica's lower jaw was very swollen. down to her neck. Being this time of year, the first thought, or first Fear is snake bite. But at evening feed for the Bucks, when the doe Goats get a small amount of the baled alfalfa, she ate as usual, swelling and all. Wait till morning. Morning, it's much less swollen. This eve as i write this, much less. Maybe a bee or wasp sting.
I have been so lucky. Having animals, "livestock" is always fraught with things. We did lose Cinderella. We did evacuate to Gridley for the Fire and come back with mites and probably parasites, which took a general deworming a while ago. But really, we have been so so very lucky. Everytime i am Out There, they come around, even if they are far off, they come around and commune. We are so Same, me, them, them, me. I was able to leave the door open last night, just the screen door and this brings me close to them again. I hear their movement in the deep dark. I hear them stir before First Light. Living with Goats. I can feel one of my pupils horizontal, feel the horns on my skull. Feel their nostrils and lips. How their lips are finger tips.
