Relaxing outside with a good book

It seemed like a good idea at the time:

The llamas and goats would peacefully graze for a bit, while I parked my hiney in a chair in the pasture and read my book:

Silly me, what was I thinking?:

There now. See that? This is exactly what I had in mind. Peacefully grazing:

Uh oh:

Hi Pete. Got an itch?:

Ok, that wasn't too bad. Off he goes:

But wait. Back so soon? And with a cohort:

Hey Reggie:

Oooof, when did you get so heavy?:

Go play, you guys. I just want to sit here and read for a while:

That's lovely, Pete. I appreciate how delicately you have placed your hooves beneath my underarm:

Little boy, you don't even remotely FIT in my lap anymore:

Oh hey, Kai-Kai, I'll bet you're wondering what all the fuss is about. You don't want to sit on my lap, too, do you?:

Ahhh...finally. Now, what page was I on...:

Doh! Is he coming back again? Maybe if I pretend not to see him:

Hey again, Reg:

Noooo, no book chewing!:

Dangit, this is a library book, too. Me and my stupid ideas:

Ow, that's my foot:

Ok, maybe now I can read more than half a sentence..:

It's lucky he's so cute:

Has anyone ever told you that you are very persistent, Reggie?:

Pete, meanwhile, has found himself the coziest spot in the pasture:

This is one relaxed goat:

You're my sweetheart, Reggie:

Love you, Pete:

And even though I really thought I wanted to read my book today, I'm instead completely captivated by your antics:

As is Dolly. She thinks you're both pretty cute, too:

I finally gave up on my book for that day.
Kai and Pete set immediately to discussing the plan for the next day:

Clearly I have no say in any of it.

Disrespecting my fence

In February I wrote a post called Mud Management and Erosion Control that discussed the temporary twine "fence" I have erected around my chicken coop to prevent the big animals - 3 llamas and 2 donkeys - from 1) eroding a fragile hillside and 2) eating the few puny shade trees on the backside of the coop:

It has actually worked quite well, considering it's a bunch of silly, orange baling twine. Recently, however, I noticed that one of the sides of my "fence" was hanging quite slack:

I wasn't sure exactly what (or who) was causing it until I saw this:

Now I realize the picture above might mean little to you, but how about this next one?:

Maybe this makes it even clearer?:

Dolly llama is standing inside the chicken shavings compost area to get to the greenery on the other side:

The force of her body against the chicken wire mesh along the back is bending the t-posts which, in turn, is then pulling the twine fencing:

As I am standing there, I see Dolly realize that the green stuff on the other side really is just as delicious as she had imagined, and she tests the fence further:

Now she's got her sights set on the really good stuff:

It was all downhill from here:

One step...:

...led to another:

Toni watched me closely to see my reaction to the trouble her mama was getting into:

So focused on the yummy, green deliciousness, she hasn't noticed her pending entanglement. Now half of her body is between the two fence lines:

Going for full-body-entanglement:


Suddenly, she realizes her dilemma. This could get ugly:

I decided it was time to whip out my "Sharpest Knife in the World" ™ to prevent panic and potential injury from ensuing:

Released from her brief bondage, off she went:

With nary a glance behind her:

Everyone else, though, still respected my (now lying on the ground) fence:


This made me feel a little better. ☺

Sigh...

Weeds everywhere.

But hey, it sunny out!

And I've got lots of help:




P.S.
Chester says "hi"...