Fall may still rule here in the Ozarks, but its grip is weakening. The black walnuts are carpeting the ground making walking a challenge. And the persimmons are falling to the delight of the goats.
Lazy Summer
Horseflies kept the goats lazing about in the barn most of the day all summer. These biting demons like it hot and sunny. They don’t come into a dark barn.
Around here these insects come in several varieties from the housefly lookalike stable flies to deer flies to half inch horseflies to inch long terrors. Being bitten by one of these is like being stabbed with a hot needle.
My small Nubian herd dozed the day away. I put out hay so they could get up and snack. Getting water meant risking the horseflies.
It’s not safe to put buckets of water in the barn. By the time it’s half empty, one goat or two will knock it over. Then the chickens fill it with straw and manure.
Fall Arrives
Cool weather meant the horseflies and their ilk subsided. The goats kept up their lazy ways. They waited until I led them out sometime in the afternoon.
Then the goats discovered the persimmons are falling. These are delicious goat candy. The first goat under the tree gets the most.
Now I go out to the barn after lunch (Mornings are writing time.) and find only the chickens are in residence. Cleaning out the barn is much easier. Making the rounds of the hay troughs looking for eggs is easier.
Goat Treats
The persimmons are falling in the yard too. Walking to the barn now entails searching under the yard tree and collecting persimmons. They become dessert placed on the grain at milking time.
All of the goats, even Kingpin, eat dessert first.
Goats are fun to write about. For a wild romp of a tale, check out “Capri Capers”.
