Laverne's Sporty New Head Gear

(You can see larger images of these on my Facebook page.)

The points of Laverne's horns are growing out at an angle so she's getting pretty "lethal" when she flings her head around to shoo Shirley away.

So today I went to the Dollar Store and bought two sporty rubber balls, sliced a hole into each one with my handy dandy deer knife (which I would never use on a deer or any other critter), and ran some Super Glue inside, then pushed them onto the end of her horns. Voila!!  Instant protection for Shirley and anyone else who's within range of her head.

Now when we trim Laverne's hooves we don't have to worry about her rearing up or thrashing her head about and wounding anyone with her horns.

Yeah, it looks pretty dorky, but IT WORKS!

Shirley's horns are growing in a nice arc right over her neck and back, so the points on hers don't pose a threat... otherwise, she would have received a pair of soccer balls to match her white coat.

My girls MUST remain color-coordinated, you know!  LOL!

At Last! Photos of the Goat Fence!

As I write this, my sister is downloading the photos on her digital camera to her PC. That means I'll have the ones I want in just a few minutes... Hallelujah!!!

I got the signs from Vistaprint today in the mail, so this is perfect timing because I put them on the fence and took photos of them with her camera already. So you'll get to see photos of your name on the fence (that is, you will if you contributed to the fence fund, you will!), the fence, and the girls enjoying their new pasture.

I estimate the fence is a little more than a third complete as it stands now. I'll be getting a couple hundred dollars' worth of fence panels and stakes every month or so, so I can extend it out frequently all spring and summer long until the entire area is fenced. (We're fencing  the perimeter areas on two side of our property so Laverne and Shirley can eat the blackberry leaves and vines that pop up there from the neighbor's property and keep them at bay so we don't have to slash, burn and poison them to keep them off our place.)

Perhaps it goes without saying but I'll say it anyway: there is still plenty of time to donate to the fence fund if you're so inclined! But I'll be writing in the names of donors from now on since the signs have already been printed and I've been given no indication about who else may want to donate to this very worthy effort.

It is so much fun to look outside and see them enjoying their pasture area!  Today Shirley went around the side of the building while Laverne wasn't paying attention. When she discovered her "missing," she just about lost her ever-lovin' mind.  I heard her bawling at the top of her lungs, frantic, so looked out the window to find her running at warp speed all over the pasture and into the pen area (everywhere there was to run EXCEPT around the corner of the pen) bleating her heart out, looking for her sister!

A little panicked myself, I went outside and called, "Shirley!"  Shirley bleated pleasantly and came to the fence where I could see her (but Laverne couldn't). Laverne continued to rocket all over the place yelling at the top of her considerable lungs. (I should have filmed it.)  I had to go into the pen and call Shirley back into view so Laverne wouldn't have a stroke.  As soon as Shirley came into view, Laverne went over to her and chilled out immediately.

It's amazing how bonded those two are--even though Laverne can be a real bully to her at feeding time.

Here's the link to the Sky Drive for more goat pix!

http://cid-6fb921adf044f220.photos.live.com/browse.aspx/Goat%20Pix