Saturday, April 16, 2011

A Roll In the Hay

There is something ludicrous about a goat with a full udder rolling on the ground scratching her back, legs in the air, distended teats waving around.  The girls are just beginning to shed their winter coats and even though I brush them daily, this must be a particularly itchy process.  (One of the disadvantages of living alone is trying to scratch that unreachable spot on one's back, so I know just how they feel.)  Goats, unlike their cousins the deer, are not particularly graceful animals on their best days, and rolling around in the dry alfalfa does not show them to good advantage.  Goats have short legs in relation to body length and unless they're in a full-out panicky gallop, they tend to run like hobby-horses, which is an amusing sight in itself.

I've found that one way to keep myself from feeling "penniless" (which I certainly felt after going to the grocery store!) is to spend a few shekels on something frivolous.  While I should have been doing something else to get ready for Dolly's visit, I planted a hanging basket with six dollars' worth of bright petunias and alyssum.  The already banged-up budget won't miss those pennies, and I'll get a lot more than six dollars in pleasure watching those flowers grow.

Now I really must dust before Dolly arrives.

2 comments:

Kathryn said...

Once again, you didn't disappoint - I'm already smiling! The mental pictures you paint with your keyboard palette and brush of words is wonderful and amazing. I'm right there with you enjoying the goats as they scratch that itch and romp and meander. And good job on the hanging basket - love the combo of those flowers, and since all I can think of is the way that the rabbits ate MY petunias last year, I smile knowing that yours will be out of reach...except now I can see the water run down your arm as you water them - unless you have a long wand! OK, go dust - I hope Dolly's bad-weather spell is BROKEN!!

Jennie Bolen said...

It was nice to meet Dolly, her name fits her perfectly. Hope you two go galavanting all around town getting into all sorts of trouble. ;) Thanks again for the magazines, I will be definitely be looking over them over the next few evenings or so. I am ALWAYS in need of new recipes. :)