Goats!

Aren't they adorable?

For YKWIA, who loves goats

Time for bed

I think it's time to water my plants. My spider plant just plunged off the top of the computer desk in an effort to tell me (okay, so when it gets dry, the 'baby' plants outweigh the parent plant, and they all hang in basically one direction, so it gets too light to keep its place, and just fell without being jostled or anything). But still, I'll take the hint. And with that, I'm finished for the night. Goodnight, all. Hope you are safe and happy and having good things happen in your life. And just to leave on a happy note, I bring you baby goats. :) [You're welcome, YKWIA.]

For YKWIA

Adorable Baby Goat Headbutts Huge Dog. Her Reaction? Awww!!

It’s always tough for the older kids to have to deal with integrating a new baby into their world, and the same is true for animals. The older pets that have been in the house longer have their established routine, they get all the table scraps, and they get to relax whenever and whereever they want. So having a new baby in the house can be a hard thing to get used to.

Don’t tell that, though, to the incredibly patient and loving komondor pooch named Duchess in this hilariously adorable video. The fluffy white dog just wants to hang out, relax, and maybe catch a few Z’s, but the family’s tiny Nigerian dwarf goat Peppa Lass is not having it.

Have you seen Butterfly the geep?

Adorable, in my opinion.

Okay, I promise, just one more goat video, and then I'll stop for awhile :)

Mr G the goat was rescued from an animal hoarding situation and taken to a sanctuary, but wouldn't eat for days and acted very depressed and lethargic. Apparently his best buddy, Jellybean, a burro, had gone somewhere else, and he couldn't bear the separation. So one of the folks at the rescue made a 14-hour trip to bring Jellybean to Mr G, even though they'd never taken in a burro before. The change in the goat is absolutely amazing. :)

Mr G and Jellybean have their own Facebook page, actually: https://www.facebook.com/mrgjellybean

There are people who honestly believe animals do not have emotions or form bonds like people. This sort of thing demonstrates that they are terribly wrong.

Since I can't seem to mail this to YKWIA

due to his provider's spam settings, I will provide it here, in the hopes that he will see it. The rest of you are very welcome as well.

This was adorable

I had to share this with YKWIA, who has a soft spot for goats, and I'll share it here, too. It's a great use of assistive technology to help overcome disability:



(YKWIA, this is a different video from the one I sent you. This is the actual footage from Edgar's Mission, which unlike the video I sent you from the Weather Channel site, is longer, doesn't autoplay, and oh, by the way Weather Channel, Edgar's Mission is in Australia, which is a totally different country than New Zealand (the other video had an intro all about New Zealand). Perhaps they should stick to weather and not geography.)

PS Success! Now the video on the Weather Channel talks about Australia rather than New Zealand. They must have gotten enough feedback to change the introduction. Yay!

For YKWIA

According to the Weather Channel, 'Buttermilk is becoming an internet sensation. The 5 week old Nigerian dwarf goat lives on a farm in Houlton, Maine.'

This is adorable

I had to tell YKWIA about it. One of the ladies at work mentioned it to me. They're so fluffy!

Goats!

This is for YKWIA:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

I have the goat!

You may remember, if you've been reading for awhile, that last time the 'Books Are Fun' book fair came to the hospital where I work, there was a singing goat puppet that sang the goatherd song from Sound of Music.

Now, I have a friend who dearly loves goats, having grown up on a farm where they raised them. So over the years we've given him stuffed goats, goat puzzles, etc. So the goat was a natural present, but I didn't get it when I first saw it and when I went back the next day, they were gone.

The book fair came back to work yesterday and today and the first thing I did was ask about the goat puppets. They didn't have any, but the lady took down my name and number and said she would check the warehouse.

This morning I was getting dressed when I got a phone call from her. She'd located one in a bin, but she thought the batteries were run down and only had AAAs (it requires two AAs). I told her I had some and would bring them in with me. So when I got to work, I went by and we put in the new batteries and they worked like a charm. Here's another person's video of the same model of puppet singing:

I wonder what my friend's cats and dogs will think about this?

PS The Rottweiler thought it was great fun. The other dogs were dubious. The cats freaked. I've never heard the one ever hiss, and he did, bristling up.

It's not every day you see a flaming straw goat

Swedish Christmas straw goat burnt

A giant straw goat - the traditional Scandinavian yuletide symbol - erected each Christmas in a Swedish town has been burned to the ground yet again.

The 13-metre (43-ft) high billy goat has been torched 24 times since it was first erected in Gavle in 1966.

The goat was set alight in the early hours of Wednesday morning in the city north of Stockholm.

City spokeswoman Anna Ostman said the incident, which is being treated as serious vandalism, was "sad".

"We had really hoped that he would survive Christmas and New Year's," she said.

The goat has survived the Christmas season just 10 times since 1966. I think the town should embrace the tradition--it has shades of a pagan sacrifice à la the Wicker Man. (And before you say, but it's Christmas, and Christian, let me just remind you that Yuletide greenery, Christmas trees, and Jolly Old Elves have nothing to do with Christianity, but are pagan remnants, as is the date of Christmas and the tradition of giving gifts. Without paganism, there would be no Christmas, or at least any Christmas fun.)

Best quote of the day

'It costs us about the same as mowing, and goats are a lot cuter to watch than lawn mowers,'--Don Hoffman of Google, which is using goats rather than machines to care for its fields occasionally. (Follow the link and you'll see a picture of the goat herd. There are about 200 goats and one border collie that have been working on this project.)

For YKWIA, who really wants a goat

That is one patient sheep! Can you imagine the little goat on a dog?

A goat for YKWIA...but he comes with a buffalo :)

From MSNBC:

What would Aristotle do?

The lines are blurring between animal, vegetable, and mineral with transgenic creations. Witness the latest, poplars with rabbit genes to help pull poisons for the environment. It's a good cause of course, and years from field testing, but what happens when these products make it out into the world? How will they affect wild and cultivated varieties? Do you really want to eat food that's been tinkered with?

Mutants or saviors? Rabbit genes create trees that eat poisons

And let's not forget spider goats and glowing bunnies (the latter of which died young and never really glowed with the colour or intensity of published photographs, which were enhanced by an artist--and only the body would have glowed, not the hair, which is dead tissue).

Thanks to YKWIA, who over the years has regaled me with stories of spider goats, glowing bunnies, and now bunny trees.

Baby goats!

I know, it's random, but they're so cute...YKWIA will enjoy this. :)