This is what the dogs do when I am out of the house.

When I come home, they tell me that they’ve been bored, bored BORED, but I know the truth. They’ve simply slept through my absence.

It doesn’t matter if others are home. This is the family joke – that as soon as I step out the door, the dogs fall asleep. Photo taken by my son.

The blueberry bushes at the front of the house had a hard year. The invasive winter moths stripped them of foliage and weakened the branches. The late spring frost killed the blossoms. They needed some TLC, so I weeded, aerated the soil, and put down a new layer of chopped straw mulch.

It’s good to get down on the ground. There are things to see.

I spy a little….

…tiny amphibian.

What could it be? A spring peeper?

Nope. Look closely, the warts give it away.

I spy a baby toad!

Now that I’ve seen one, I’m seeing lots. They’re hopping in the lawn, they’re hiding in the potted flowers, they’re in the dirt by the barn. These slug and beetle eating animals are welcome to stay! I wonder if they eat winter moth larvae?

This is a cautionary tale. The outcome could have been much different. However, this is a story of but, thankfully.

For five years, the goat pasture was enclosed with an electric mesh fence, specifically designed for goats and chickens. It kept them in and it kept predators out. It was movable, so that sections of the pasture were grazed while others were left to grow the sort of browse that the goats love. Also, rotating pasture reduces the parasite load. But, there were downsides. When the ground was hard, the stakes were impossible to stomp into the earth. In the winter, it had to be taken up. So, last fall, I splurged on a permanent woven wire fence around the perimeter of the pasture.  But, I still wanted to manage the forage so I used the net fence to block off areas. The electricity didn’t reach out to that part of the pasture, but no matter, if the goats knocked the fence down, they’d just get a bit extra to eat. This worked perfectly for several months.

The other day, after lunch, I went out to the yard to take some photographs of flowers. I noticed that Caper was near the barn, but not Pip. They’re always together. This is the first but, thankfully. Here’s the thing – no matter how busy or distracted you are, always, ALWAYS pay attention to your animals. Know them so well, that even if it is a peaceful and beautiful afternoon, that if something, even a little something, seems off, go and see what is up. Drop everything.

I put down my camera and I looked around the barn. Pip had his foot stuck in the netting. Thankfully, it was a gorgeous day and the kitchen door was open. Thankfully both of my sons were home. Thankfully, one was eating lunch just inside of that kitchen door. I yelled for help. It wasn’t an emergency, but it always helps to have a second pair of hands when a hundred pound goat has a foot tangled in a fence.

To get to Pip, I had to go into the barn, open and close a stall door, and go down a small hill. It took forty seconds to reach him, and in that short span of time, the situation had changed. He was down and five strands of wire-reinforced nylon fencing were wrapped around his neck. His tongue was sticking out. He couldn’t breathe.

Goats are like this. If they can get into a trouble, and then multiply that trouble by a factor of ten, they will.

I yelled Get the scissors! I yelled that from the hill, out of sight of the house. But, thankfully, the boys heard me. Thankfully, they knew where the scissors were. Thankfully, I have very, very good scissors in the kitchen knife drawer. Thankfully, my boys ran.

Meanwhile, I was doing my best to pull the fence away from Pip’s neck so that he could breathe. I was handed the scissors and I cut him free.

Pip stood up. Looked at me. Looked at the boys. Stepped over the fence (as if the fence wasn’t a danger to him at all) and started grazing on the long grass that he’d been trying to get to in the first place. Goats are like that.

I checked him all over. Not a laceration, or a bruise, or a lump.

My sons helped me take down the mesh fence. I won’t be using it anymore.

My goat mentor tells me that she’s had goats strung up in any number of ways. Some of her stories include broken bones, and worse. Goats are ridiculously fun to have around, but that fun comes with a flip side – if they can get into a predicament, they will.

I’m often asked, about the chickens and the goats, Can you leave them for a weekend? The answer is no. Sure, you could set them up with enough food and water. but, someone has to check in on them. The water could tip over. A predator could come by. A goat could get a hoof tangled in a fence. You never know.

I still get a pit in my stomach when I think about what could have been. But, thankfully, I was in the right place at exactly the right time, and I was paying attention. This story, this time, ended up okay.

I believe that when you have a rabbit living with hens, that she should have her own house. Candy, our first bunny that lived outside with the chickens, had a hutch. She didn’t allow the chickens in, except once in awhile a well-behaved hen was invited to join her for a tete-a-tete.

Of course, the animals don’t necessarily agree with what I think is right. Phoebe lived in her hutch for about a week and then said, I’d rather live in the coop. Meanwhile, the hens took one look at that rabbit house and said, This is the best place to lay eggs. Ever.

And so Phoebe has her hay and rabbit pellets in her favorite corner of the coop. And the hens all go into the hutch to lay their eggs. So, when I noticed the hens hesitating to go up the ramp, I wondered what was up. I lifted the lid and saw this,

Full-sized White Leghorns, like Twiggy, never go broody, but, the bantam version does, and in her day, Betsy was a seriously setting hen. However, Betsy at the age of 7, is the Grand, Very Old, Dame of the flock. She hasn’t laid an egg for years. I can’t remember the last time she was broody. Well, she is now. This has now been going on for a couple of weeks.

Twiggy likes to lay her egg first thing in the morning.

But look who’s already there. And she’s already claimed Nancy Drew’s egg.

You don’t mess with this little hen.

You can tell a lot about a person by how they eat an ear of corn. Tidy and straight across or all over the place?

It doesn’t matter how a hen eats an ear of corn. She’ll peck at it until every bit is gone.

Tonka is a calm and methodical eater. When I take him out to graze, he barely moves.

He mows down on the grass that is, literally, right in front of his nose.

The goats, of course, are another story.

They rip up the grass with enthusiasm. (Did you know that goats only have bottom teeth in the front, none on top? But there is a hard gum line. You don’t want to get your fingers bit by a goat.)

The goats take their time to look around and chew.

There might be some talking.

And the grass is always greener somewhere else.