Goat Herding!

I married a goat herder ... just didn't know it until now!

We are lucky enough to have a house that is snuggled between two retired law enforcement officers. Bruce King, on our right as you are facing our house from the road, is a retired prison guard. He is about as wide in the shoulders as a coke machine and some over six feet tall. He shaves his head clean and is Cherokee Indian in descent. He is very intimidating and no one messes with him, or his neighbors really. Thankfully!!! The guy on our right is also a retired prison guard (who's son is currently a State Trooper and lives up on the hill behind us all) his name is Mr. Boone, Johnny Boone to the locals. Mr. Boone used to be about the size of 2 Bruces. He has just recently lost over 100 pounds! Very impressive, to say the very least. I have been working with 10 pounds for over a year. We feel pretty safe around our little neck of the woods ... Anyway ... Mr. Boone is the one who had the gorgeous yellow rooster that used to come and visit ... the hens and the miniature donkeys last summer. This year he has found a fondness for goats. Lots of them! They (the goats) have a fondness for our other neighbor's yard, who lives down and behind us ... and behind Mr. Boone's house. The owners of that house are seasonal and live in Daytona Beach so we try to watch out for the place. There is a gorgeous rock retainer wall between the properties and a stream that runs along side both of their properties. (on the other side of Mr. Boone ... otherwise we'd have a stream and that would be AWESOME) Well, the goats love to walk down the stream and end up in the lower yard behind us, which allows them to then walk through our backyard and onto a very busy road that runs down to the Elk River Falls. They can also get to the road a dozen other ways by following the stream. The neighborhood is very tolerant of Mr. Boone's goats, and always gets them back to him .... one way or another. The picture above is how they reacted when they saw Paul (& me, but I don't really count) walking toward them. They just went for the bench to get back up to their own yard over the rock wall. The big brown Billy Goat had to be picked up and thrown over the fence once already today (Paul's poor back!) so he didn't even try to get back into the lower yard. But the rest of them like the grass better .... Mr. Boone needs to get a herding dog for these crazy goats - or an electric fence! But until then, he has Paul the goat herder!

double click and enlarge the pics ... they're worth it!
Paul the goat herder is trying to keep Billy from jumping down into the wrong yard

They basically just walk up the bench and jump over the wall to get into the Boone yard, which is where they are supposed to stay! We take the bench away from the wall ... they just walk down the stream and cut through the water to the yard anyway. This picture looks like they are flying goats! :-)

This is the baby. she is adorable and bleats REALLY loudly! She had Paul playing chase ...

and hide and seek ....

but she's too little to win right now. By next summer I hope there is a fence to detour the running of the goats! Isn't he the cutest goat herder you have ever seen? We do have fun here .... it's just different fun than you city folks have!

The week in a nutshell has been busy ... Paul installed the new wood stove in the basement and it is wonderful! We were promised an ice storm that didn't happen (amen!) so we are keeping warmer than we expected and are glad of it. But whilst working in all the dust and dampness, Paul found his sinuses irritated and has been recovering from sneezing his guts out. He sort of looks like Paul the red-nosed Englishman. Still cute as ever! I've had some sinus stuff too, but mine shows up in dizziness and clogged ears. Between us, we've got it all covered!

We are on the mend, and I am sure we'll be back to normal sooner than later.

We taught the kids at Crossnore today and had great fun. It is a rainy, cold mess today, so it was a great thing to have a plan .... lest we lie around in our jammies and veg out all day long!

This coming Wednesday is my niece Erin's birthday! Happy Birthday, Ms. Erin! Hope it's a great one for you. Erin is back in Tennessee now and pursuing the whole animal vet dream. May all your dreams come true, Erin!

Work is still weird without Steve there. The dynamic is different and I miss him terribly. The phone rings every day just as Vicki and I sit down to eat, and there is no one on the other end. Vicki and I know it's Steve checking in. He always liked lunch time the best and teased us about whatever we were eating. (espeically my tofu and such) His spirit is still with the office, but goodness knows I (and everyone else) miss his sweet physical attendance. I know I will always have "those days" when it's more sad than others. But basically, I just miss him. Hugh continues to recover and gain strength in his health, thank goodness! He's beginning to smile again and look forward to some of the golfing activities of the season but I know that will come with its own set of sad things for him. I know his heart hurts as much, if not more, than the rest of ours. Please keep sending Hugh good thoughts for all things.

I'm working on a new mosaic while we wait for spring to stay long enough to grout the ones that wait. Beth keeps telling me the cold spells are going to get shorter and shorter. I know she's right .... but she also lives about 14 miles into Tennessee, and believe it or not, it's MUCH warmer where she is. I'm envious most of the time about her warmth! That just doesn't seem right at all. Sorry, Beth. I want you to be warm, I just want to be warm too!

I am currently sharing my chair with a cat ... a cat who is doing his best to push me out of the chair so he can have the whole thing. (Artemis) He likes the idea of cuddling in a room with me and him, all by ourselves. He's scared to death of Paul's presence ... especially if Paul has boots on! So, while I'm in the kitchen and it's just the two of us, he always snuggles up to me, even if it's lying on the floor beside me while I chop veggies. But he's getting greedy and taking over my chair. Stinker that he is!

Well, guess I've rattled on long enough (& then some), so will close and get to cooking dinner on our new cook stove! IT IS SO GREAT!

Do hope all is well with everyone and you are all having a wonderful weekend!

Happy Trails,

Paul & Cheri