Happy Anniversary, Boys -or- The oral nature of goats

Bringing Pete and Reggie home, 5/02/09

Pete and Reggie, my Nigerian Dwarf goat boys, have been with me for one year today. They celebrated their 1st birthdays in March, but I didn't bring them home to Critter Farm until they were about eight weeks old. This was on May 2nd, 2009.

If I had to state the primary thing I've learned about goats in the last year, I'd say that they are the most oral of all my animals. Anything and everything they find, if they are able to get it there, will go straight into their mouths.

As a 1st birthday/1st anniversary tribute, I'd like to share with you some photos that will illustrate this fundamental aspect of living with goats.

And so, along the line of "a year in the life", I present:

"A year in the mouth of Pete and Reggie" (in chronological order):

Fanny pack strap:

Zipper on my jacket:

Daisies:

My hat:

Plastic food dishes:

My coffee cup:

My sports bra strap:

My watch:

Rope on a tree:

Scissors in my pocket:

My leg:

Again with the hat:

Garlic:

The ladder:

The rake:

My bandanna:

Paper and pens:

My finger:

Hose hanger:

A gate latch:

Silly hats the other is wearing:

Donkey tails:

Gate chains:

Plastic bags:

Anything on the barn workbench:

The chicken coop door:

Twine:

Dried garlic stalks:

and...
Hedge clippers and rubber boots:

Getting these boys was, without a doubt, one of the best decisions I have ever made and I thank my beloved and oh-so-wise goat mentors (Maryann (Goat Philosophy 101) and Wendy (Life Beyond the Sidewalks)) for directing me, kindly and consistently - and over the span of almost a year - in this direction.

Happy 1 year anniversary, Pete & Reggie, my sweets. :-)

Roxy, the farm pup, welcomes Pete and Reggie to Critter Farm, 5/02/09