And sure enough there was. Somehow she managed to escape our best efforts to keep her restrained and found herself wandering freely about the place. So decided to come and see us in the house. The problem is the route she took was via my veggie garden.
This is the very same garden that I have lovingly cared for – for months! And everything was now at what I can only described as ready and waiting. All my plants and seedlings are all safely tucked up in a nice rich soil waiting for the day when they will explode with a summer harvest. I was really proud of how it was looking and looking ahead smugly to all the goodies we will be able to eat.
Well that vision has been cut short thanks to Snowy. I can now say with impunity that she was never my favourite goat – Sweetie is. She started giving the currants a good old trim and in one short munching my crop is reduced by at least two thirds – grrr. Even more annoying is I had only just replaced the dead black currant with a cutting I had been growing ALL YEAR! I’m not sure it will survive. I have a spare – but she trimmed that too! Although not as bad!
Then she decided she didn’t actually like red cabbage or her eye spied and old favourite. Goats do indeed love Kale. She munched one right down past the growing point – it will need to be replaced. Luckily I was able to pull a kale seedling out of a box that was full of my spare seedlings and was ready and waiting to be given away in a few short hours. The other Kale plant wasn’t as badly attacked as the one that was so brutally destroyed!
Then she decided she’d had enough to eat and decided to come and see us for a cuddle… but to add insult to injury – just as I discovered her – I was right on time to watch her eat the growing tip of my Christmas lily. This is even more bitter as normally a calf club animal managed to do it sometime between august and October and this year my Christmas lilies had come through calf club season unscathed.
I tell you – she didn’t get a cuddle – she got frog marched back to where she should be so she could plot her next escape and I came inside to seethe inwardly and plan and even stronger fortification to contain even the most determined wayward goat!
Come again soon – hopefully the passing of time will ease my anger and frustration and we may laugh about this some day.
Sarah the Gardener : o )
So frustrating after all your good work in the garden.
Hi there. I guess it’s just one of the joys of country living. I have to be stoic, or I will end up crying! I have a spare kale and hopefully everything else will grow back eventually.
Thanks for your encouraging words.
Cheers Sarah : o )
That is EXACTLY how I feel after viewing the carcasses of my plants and flowers after the deer have thrown their parties. Pitiful. Those deer bear a striking resemblance to venison steaks when I look at them, especially after they’re all fattened up on our veggies. GRRRRRRRR
I hope your garden survives!
Hi there. At least you can think edible thoughts about your attackers. Ours are supposed to be friend not foe. They are pets. I think the kids would never forgive us if we had goat curry!
The garden will survive and given enough time I will have forgotten and some other drama will be going on in the garden, like caterpillars or blight or some other such nasty.
For now – I couldn’t even face going out there today, seeing the damage again would make me cry.
Cheers Sarah : o )
Oh BOLLOCKS! Bad BAD goat! :(…reminds me of Earl our teenager Amstaff who in his extreme youth at all of our expensive grafted trees UNDER the graft…sometimes you just have to suck it up and take a DEEP breath….and YELL AT THE GOAT! 😉
Hi Fran. There was some yelling, and some holding back of the tears. But I seem to have coped a lot better than previous incidents. I’m cautiously saying this but I think we are lucky that it was our own animals that we have a degree of control over and not some wild thing like rabbits or possums. I don’t think I’d cope very well with a relentless onslaught from creatures unknown.
I guess its just one of the joys of having animals and gardens.
Cheers Sarah : o )
It sure is! At least we get eggs out of our own garden marauders (when we can find them that is….)
Oh no!
Hi Heidi.
I’ve had 24 hours to come to terms with it all and while it was an annoying attack, I have now come to realise it could have been a whole lot worse and so I shall replant and carry on – with one eye on the goats at all times!
Cheers Sarah : o )
This goat might be up for auction to be used for goat stew!!
Hi there. As much as that seemed like the best option on the day, I don’t think the kids would have forgiven us for eating their pet!
The ups side is she is a tame goat and so came when I called her and then followed me back to where she belonged willingly. There is nothing worse than chasing a startled, not so friendly animal!
Cheers Sarah : o )
Funny… But not funny… Maybe funny one day. Poor you.
Hi there. I have replaced the kale and aren’t as cross as I was, but I think funny may still be days – if not weeks away! But it will come, I’m sure!
Cheers Sarah : o )
OH NO!
Hi Jennifer. I keep a much closer eye on the goats now, and try hard not to notice the damage when I’m watering the garden. I think it seemed much worse when it had just happened.
Cheers Sarah : o )
Oh dear! There’s nothing worse than losing our veg to some pest; slug, snail, insects, chickens or indeed, goats! I have to say though, Snowy’s poor wee face made me want to give her a cuddle! Sorry!
Christine
Hi Christine. I have to say I have forgiven snowy and she is back getting cuddles. But I keep a closer eye on her as some times you can see her staring longingly at my kale.
Cheers Sarah : o )