because everyone loves a picnic!
I dragged some freshcut branches to the upper paddock this morning.
Black birch: always a crowd favorite!
Each branch puts out many lateral side-branches,
so if a big branch is hung on a fence,
goats on both sides have equal access to lots of leaves.
 |
| Betula |
Wildlife note:
moose also love black birch (Betula lenta).
I recall a natural resources debate about the reason for this,
and I stand firmly by my theory:
moose want minty-fresh breath.
 |
| Vinca |
Goats are very particular about which leaf they wish to eat.
 |
| Acer |
Very, very particular.
 |
| LeShodu |
Even the babies:
 |
| Azalea and her mama, Lily of the Valley |
 |
| Dara and his mama, LeShodu |
Of course, in the snap below,
Betula is reaching for a leaf on Lily's side of the fence,
and vice versa.
Naturally.
My fault.
I don't know what I was thinking,
distributing All The Best Leaves
on the Other Side.
I apologize for the quality of these pictures.
They are like not-really-very-good family holiday snaps
where a fuzzy subject is also half out of the frame.
I was mostly holding the camera over my head
and optimistically shooting down through the foliage.
9 out of 10 images looked like this:
But just in case you've never been to a goats' picnic before,
I wanted to invite you to this one.
Go on, nibble a twig.
Minty-fresh breath isn't just for moose!
~~~~~
Your photos are great.
ReplyDeleteWhat a sight to laugh and smile about!
Thank you for posting
You are so kind, thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the pictures. It really is fun to watch them tuck in; makes it worth the effort of dragging the branches over hill and dale :)
DeleteThanks for the invite to the picnic. ;-) That was fun! Funny how they wanted the leaves that they couldn't get to. lol I miss having goats and llamas and chickens.... They're all so cute and fun!
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of the horses at the boarding farm down the road from here. All sorts of lovely fodder out for them in the field. So they trot to the fence and slide their heads through to eat grass on the outside...
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to know your goats are particular about their breath too! Our goats liked mountain ash and stripped my dad's favourite tree ... more than once! We only had white birch on the property, no black birch.
ReplyDeleteWendy x
I sympathize with your Dad! My goats enjoy all the birches, conifers, maples, ash, and even red oak which I thought would be too bitter but I was wrong. My gang are Equal Opportunity Destroyers.
DeleteI don't think you know exactly HOW big of a smile your blog brings to my face! I LOVE these goats - and you for always posting them. And Piper...
ReplyDeleteWho KNEW Mooses want minty fresh breath? I learn something new every day! Happy week, Quinn - XOXO
Ha-ha! Capturing munching goats isn't easy. While visiting a friend in Las Vegas NM this summer, we went to her neighbor's who has two goats in his backyard. They were clamoring on stumps and using each other's backs to try and get to the leaves. It was pretty funny. But in a small backyard, it was very mess, too (I know you know what I mean :)
ReplyDeleteBest wishes, Tammy
Oh, yes, I know what you mean :)
DeleteI really do spend more time every day on "barnkeeping" than on housework. Of course, this may say more about me than it does about the goats!
What happy goat faces. What goat doesn't love a batch of fresh goodies! I try to do this for my goats especially in winter, but it doesn't take long before they start hollering and begging every time they see me, LOL
ReplyDelete