???!!!

What the heck was that?!  It took a moment yesterday morning to register what I was seeing when I went to open the gate to the goat pen.  The fence is four-inch square wire and four feet tall, meant to keep the girls in and not necessarily a protection against predators.  Something wasn't right with the chain and clip I carefully use morning and night to secure the latch.  Maybe my coffee hadn't kicked in yet, but then I saw that the fence next to the heavy-duty post had been broken down to about two feet and the staples had been pulled out of the post.  Crum!  Whatever the intruder was had to be big to do that kind of damage.  Believe me, I kept my eyes open and scanning the field while I straightened the fence and did what I could to refasten it to the post.  My heart was thumping as I walked to the barn.  I didn't want to run into whatever it was and was afraid what I'd find when I got there.

Missy was waiting in her room instead of coming out to meet me.  The girls were subdued, but safe, and the barn was intact.  Whew!  We went about our routine as usual without anything untoward.  However, as we paraded up to the fence later where the girls peeled off to nibble at the salt lick and the alfalfa, I noticed that the fence had been pushed down four sections farther along the line.  I guess I just hadn't seen it earlier.  Thankfully, I was able to get it straightened up so the goats couldn't jump out.  The strange part of all this is that I saw no foot or paw prints on either side nor down by the barn.  ???  I know there have been a number of bear sightings in the area, but found no fur on the fence in either place.  I can do without this kind of mystery.

Bessie Anne, clever girl, has figured out how to use the helper step I put down for her and she's back to using the doors to the deck.  Life is easier for both of us now.

I watched night fall with some trepidation.  I don't want any more after-dark visitors.