BFFs

Marilyn Monroe warbled breathily that "Diamonds are a girl's best friend."  That may be true for Lorelei Lee, but goat girls believe their best friends are grape growers and wine makers.  Their BFFs (best friends forever) are Joel, who throws over vine trimmings and sometimes just clumps of weeds in desperation to please, and Robert.  The girls will trail along on their side of the fence as Joel walks his vineyard, hoping for goodies.  I swear, if a goat could bat her eyes and flirt, my girls would take the prize.  On the other fence line, Robert ("Bonjour, Robair") steals their attention and their fickle hearts when it is the season for crushing grapes, as it is now.  Joel is left with a bruised ego as the goats rush to the other side of the pen where Robert pitchforks over stems from grapes that have gone through the auger.  The stems have the same sugar content as the grapes and no alcohol, and the girls go mad for them.  I had not realized the crush had begun, even though I'd heard sounds of an auger on the hill recently and knew there was more activity at Fleur de Lys.  I did notice that the girls were more anxious than usual for me to open the gate to the big pen after finishing in the barn.  For a couple of days I wondered why they had sticky spots on their coats as I brushed them down, and then realized they were from flinging stems around as the girls jostled for their share of the sweet treats.  It's a good thing the stems are not fermented or the goats would be drunks as skunks.  In the immortal words of Phil Robertson, the girls are "happy, happy, happy."  They know who their best friends are.