THE NANNY GOATS NEXT DOOR

Our next door neighbors, the West family, (our neighbors to the west) have goats. Nanny goats, all of them. We live in a rural community where the lots are larger than usual and keeping the lawn in good shape can sometimes be a real pain in the butt chore. I think the idea of owning a goat developed from a need to lessen that chore. So goat shopping the West family went. They fell for a lovely little white nanny goat they called Hillary and a darling black billy goat they called Barack. (Do you think they are Democrats?) I need to mention here that the Wests were assured that the proper measures were taken with Barack that little goats, kids would not be a possibility. Arrangements were made, supplies were purchased but alas, the owner decided they did not want to part with Barack after all. So, Hillary came to live with the Wests all by herself.

Hillary was treated like a queen and much attention was given to her by the West family and the Smart Mouth family who found Hillary to be a great source of entertainment. But even with the star treatment, Hillary was lonely. She missed Barack and her other friends. So the West family decided to get another goat. This time, they decided on two instead of one and brought home a mother and daughter team named Daisy and Brownie, respectively. Hillary was thrilled………for about 5 minutes. You see, Daisy and Brownie are the mean girls of the goat world. They butt Hillary with their horns, rise up on their back legs and punch at her with their front hooves. They just don't like her at all. (I think they might be Republicans.)

Days turn into weeks and while Hillary still isn't able to make friends with her new yard-mates, all are learning to live together and no one is getting hurt. One day, Mr. West mentions to me that he thinks Hillary might be pregnant. It turns out that maybe Barack wasn't as fixed as they were told he was and while they hadn't had her checked out yet by the vet, things were looking like a new kid might be in their future.

Just a few days later, MHS is outside doing some work in the yard when he hears Mrs. West yelling. He looks her way and she yells, "Hey Harley Stud, you know anything about birthing a goat!" Now MHS is my hero and I always think he can do just about anything but assisting in the birth of a goat……I don't know about that.

It seems that Mrs. West was preparing to take the children to visit their grandparents and had just finished showering. With her hair in a towel, she ran outside to feed the goats before blow drying her hair. Imagine her complete shock to see an extra pair of legs hanging out of the back-side of Hillary. Mr. W was at work. She tried to reach him by phone but he was unavailable. That is when she came back outside and called out to MHS.

He came into the house to change from his flip-flops to his sneakers because EVERYONE knows you can't be birthin' no goat in flip-flops. He announced the event to the girls and me and we in turn put our sneakers on too. By the time we reached the West home, Hillary had taken care of the job all by herself and produced the most adorable little kid you've ever seen. She was almost an exact duplicate of her mother. She could stand up all by herself and fall down too. Too cute. We oooed and awwwwed for quite awhile. Eventually we had to pull ourselves away to let Hillary and Donkey (the name given by the West's #2 son…who had recently seen a Shrek movie) their much needed rest.

We've really enjoyed watching Donkey as she grows. Daisy and Brownie seem to tolerate her a little better than they do Hillary but they are still bullies to both of them. I've never liked mean girls and the stunts they pull but I have to say that while Hillary and Donkey are my favorites, Daisy and Brownie have a special place in my heart too. I guess even a bully can't be all bad.

This is Hillary. It was hard to get them to stand still for a picture because when we come to the fence, they are always fighting for attention and moving all around for a better position.

These are the bullies, Daisy and Brownie. Brownie is the brown one if you are wondering. *wink* They are not posing. I had some greenery in my hand and they were going to make sure they got it and Hillary and Donkey didn't.

This is my favorite: Donkey. Aren't her little horns cute? OK, you twisted my arm; I'll share another of Donkey:

The little darling eats my weeds. Don't you just love her?