8/1/10

Newbies

What are Alba and Dreamy staring at so intently -- and a tad bit hostilely?
It's the newbies -- Lassi and Kona
They climbed aboard the Goatmobile for the trip from Nickerson to Blackhoof
explored their new surroundings a bit
and got right down to eating
not only from their own hay feeders, but also, as soon as they were let out of their pen,
they sampled Dream and Alba's stash.
They demonstrated their Alpine fondness for climbing,
making their way up Mount Haystack,
and checked out the milking stand
and their new goat-mom
as well as their older neighbors
risking life and limb by sticking their heads in Dream & Alba's pen and drinking from the older ladies' buckets.
Kona is a gorgeous Chamoisee (brown with black face markings and dorsal stripe) and has long legs and a straight back.  She's a bit wary of people yet.
Lassi is a cute-as-a-button Broken Chamoisee, with a big band of white around her middle.  She's very friendly, having been bottle fed after her mother rejected her, but she's not the sharpest knife in the drawer:  
she kept getting her head stuck through the narrow lower rungs of her pen and didn't learn from the experience, even though she screamed each time the Farmers helped her get unstuck.  Barb had to replace two of her pen panels (for larger holes) and reinforce the third with additional fencing to prevent her from getting trapped yet again.
Outside the barn and fenced browsing areas, the newbies will stay on leashes
until they can be trusted not to flee back to Nickerson or ravage the neighbors' gardens.
Their first outing was a bit tense because the older ladies kept butting them
but now they've arrived at a relatively peaceful coexistence under the watchful eyes of Mr. T and Niblet.
They enjoy wandering through the browsing areas

and are small enough yet to vanish occasionally in the taller vegetation.
Alba remains vigilant about protecting her pallet from intruders.
Lassi quickly backs off
but Kona holds her ground
and challenges the big bully to a fight.

The newbies are a welcome addition to the Farm, especially after the bittersweet earlier departures (Dodger and her kids, Alba's popcorns).