1. As a friend for Radar, Rod's beloved (yes, beloved) little, bottle-fed, adorable Alpine goat. Goats need company. Or they can get depressed and die. That would be sad.
2. Rod wanted to see what a La Mancha goat would be like. They are a breed which originated in Oregon (like La Marion berry), have no ears to speak of and are reputed to be the most lovable and affectionate of goats.
If "lovable and affectionate" can be read as "extremely needy and the noisiest goat EVER," then yes, I would have to enthusiastically agree.
Ringo bawls for hours in his nice warm and cozy stall. His wail can travel through closed doors and windows for miles. Reader Brenda can verify this fact.
He bawled like a baby crying for his mother for days. He lost his voice and then sounded like a goose with a pneumonia . It was awful. You mothers know how you feel when you hear a baby crying like that. You want to fix it. Fix it now. Comfort the little baby.
So we did. We would go out and hold him and comfort him. This is hard because he looks like an alien goat. Well, what an alien would look like if a planet of goat-like beings invaded Earth. Because he has no ears.
Are you frightened yet? You should see him when he bolts across the yard, full goat speed, and leaps at you. That is scary, my friends. SCARY.
But I am trying hard to love him, no matter that he is strange and different looking. As my daughter pointed out, I am always for the under-dog. Or under-goat, as the case may be. If that is true, then I should be wildly in love with this little guy. No matter that he bawls like a wounded elephant, or that he has chewed my Floribunda rose bush into a pile of thorny, flowerless twigs, or poops (BIG poop, I might add) on my front porch, or chases our cars down the driveway if one of us should ever leave or that he focuses his eyes directly on us in a freakishly disturbing manner.Or even that he smells kind of goaty.
He is still a creature that we need to care for. And we will look past his odd exterior into his little goat heart and love him anyway. Because he loves us. Well, he needs us, anyway.
I hope that God looks past my frumpy, not in perfect shape exterior and loves me anyway. Basically, I am a homely goat, too. (get off your high horse, you are,too) All needy and getting into trouble. But I'll follow Ringo's example here and bawl out my needs,stare directly at Him and race as fast as I can straight Jesus.
I love, love, LOVE how God uses all His creation to point to Himself. If we'll just look, there He is, all around us. All the time. Thank you so much, Lord.
My bloggy friend, Bev, (or as I call her "Crazy Chicken Lady") is catching the farmy flu, as well. Stop by and say "Howdy" to her. Because that is how we farm folk greet each other.
Here I am lovingly comforting poor little Ringo. You can see the special bond we share.Please pray for us.
10 comments:
naaaaaaaaah! Ah Ringo! Ah Didilyn! Bless your heart! May the bonding come and the wailing stop! hehe
I am pretty sure when I run towards Jesus bawling, that I am SCARIER looking than a goat! God is so good!
No ears is a little hard when it's not what you're used to. He is a pretty color though and I hope he makes a nice friend for your other little goat. The females are rumored to make great milk goats. Looks like fun!
aaawww, how sweet. One of our dogs is named Ringo, so it's hard for me to not love that name. :)
Life with a goat, I think the rest of us are just plain missing out on all like has to offer.
Blessings
Robin A.K.A Goat Deprived and enjoying being able to live vicariously thorough your goat experiences!
I want goats. I want chickens. Did you know goat cheese is the new rage?
I will add "crazy chicken lady" to my list of many names... some have a coat of many colors... I have a list of many names. Oh sweet mercy - the adventures and lessons continue. We spent hours in the middle of last night dealing with predators on our helpless chickens. Who knew?? That's a story for another day. I'm sleepy.
Lamanchas are not
'ugly". They do not look like "aliens". And they ARE the most docile and friendly of the goat breeds. I speak from experience. I have raised goats for 10 years and have owned probably every dairy breed there is before settling on a Lamancha herd. They are not screamers or hard-headed like Nubians, high-strung and nervous like Alpines, prone to udder problems like Saanens, or temperamental divas like Nigerian Dwarves. They are more like a dog than a goat, and thrive on human interaction. I imagine the crying is separation anxiety from leaving his previous home. All kids (or any other baby animal) go through it. The wild running is just a goat kid being...well...a kid! They all run, jump and play. It is a phase he will outgrow. Eating roses is something ALL goats do, not just Lamanchas. They share the same dietary tendencies as deer. The "goaty" smell sounds like a "bucky" smell. Has he been wethered? That should solve the problem. All in all, these sound like non-issues. He sounds like a normal, healthy goat that could come from ANY breed. If your Alpine doesn't do any of those things, he is the EXCEPTION, not the RULE. Give poor Ringo a chance, or give him to someone who will love him for who he is.
I am not sure how full of wit I am this morning but I will not let that constrain me!
I LOVE your little guy! We are not farmers or even country people but only because God has not opened that door. We call ourselves the Big House in the Little Woods. We've had every critter imaginable exCEPT a goat, but we can certainly attest to the loud protestations of a lamb!
Loved your post and wanted to thank you for dropping by my place while I was gone on vacation and for leaving a comment! So thoughtful. Blessings to you and to all your adventures!
Oh, if you ever get to know me you'll find brevity is NOT my strong point!
First I forgot to say I love your opening salvo - about coffee. Too clever! Next, I had to peruse your site and read your testimony. VERY POWERFUL and SO important. Thank you for your courage here.
Then I saw that you know the Alcorns. I don't, though I sat at their dinner table at a writer's conference years ago. Of course, I had heard of Randy but didn't recall the face. As we all quizzed each other on why we were there I asked him what he was doing there. (Mind you, he was the keynote speaker and author of, I don't know, a THOUSAND books?!) He very patiently handled by idiocy. His wife laughed later as she told me (when I finally realized my own stupidity for the 10,000th time in my life) that she thought it was very good for him! Made me laugh and I never forgot it. Tell them "hello" for me from someone THEY would never remember. :)
Blessings!
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