…I Can Sing!
So, I’m sure you’re all wondering how my first day of work at the playground went. And let me assure that it went just fine. No worries.
Although I hurt my back. Mostly from chasing goats I think. They escaped. Twice. The lock on their door is sort of tricky and I guess I didn’t get it completely shut. So they busted out. I managed to get Mads and Magnethe back inside. Then when I tried to get Mathilde in through the door, Mads came sprinting out again and Magnethe followed him. And when I tried to stop them Mathilde got free too. So had to start all over. Phew haha.
Goats are hard to control. It’s impossible to push them. And if you pull them then they’ll dig their heels in. Even if you’re pushing them towards a giant bunch of tasty treats, they will still dig their heels in and refuse to be pulled. At least these goats will.
That along with the carrying of food and water kinda busted my back. But other than that it went fine.
The first thing that happened when I got there was Nina the cat coming running up to me. I had to feed her too. I thought she was just a wandering cat who happened to come by the playground every now and then. But she actually has a little shelter thingie in the rabbit house. And when I locked myself in to the playground’s main house she came in with me and got herself a bowl of special fodder. She has kidney problems. Poor little thing.
After she had food and water I went to get started on the other animals. First off was Yvonne. Mrs Piggy. I was told to start with her cause she’s the most impatient one. Apparently. Personally I find it hard to believe that anyone can compete with the goats, but okay. I couldn’t find the big shovel/spoon thing that I was supposed to use. I spent some time looking after it. Then I gave up and used a pitcher and tried my best to estimate the right amount. The paper I had said “5 pig pills” and that meant 5 shovelfulls. So it was a little tricky to measure. After I was done with Yvonne’s food it occured to me to check the playground house. And there was the shovel thingie. I imagine they had brought it in there so I could find it easily. Hah. But those were the only two problems, the goats and the shovel thingie. Other than that everything went smoothly. I had been most worried about Musse, the horse. Handling her on my own. But I needn’t have worried at all. I didn’t really know how to put the reins on her properly. But she walked calmly with me, I didn’t even need reins to pull. So I let her out on the pasture and continued to feed the rest of the animals. And when it was time to take her in, I just called for her and she came to me and walked peacefully back in her stable. Easy peasy.
Felt sort of funny feeding them all. The sheep baahing for me. The goats maahing for me. I almost felt like a farmer. Old McPlume he had a farm…
I had expected to spend only 30 minutes or so. But it took more like an hour and 30 minutes. With the chasing of the goats and the looking for the shovelspoon and the generally learning where everything is and so on. I didn’t take into account the fact that Jannie always had her parents to help her and she knew how to do everything in the optimal amount of time. It was a little cocky of me to think I could do it in the same amount of time on my own and without having done it before. I imagine it’ll be around 45 minutes in the future. Taking it leisurely and having a good time with the animals.
All in all it was really nice. I hope I didn’t make any mistakes. I handled the alarm in the house ok. Remembered to lock all doors and turn on the alarm again when I left. I’m pretty sure I didn’t kill any animals. I remembered to get Ęsel inside. You know, the old rabbit who runs around where he pleases. I had to make sure he wasn’t off somewhere while I locked up.
I’m looking forward to doing it in the future. It’s a good feeling. To actually work. A legit job. Responsibility. And if I can just make sure not to let the goats escape then it won’t be too hard either.
Tomorrow I have the day off. And I will rest my back. Then Tuesday I have to see my therapist and Wednesday I have to see my doctor. And then we’ll see what happens.
June 6th, 2006 at 0:12
Sounds like you had a great first day feeding the animals. With our goats, you have to be the “leader” and they will follow you. Especially if you have a treat in your hand and they want it. Chasing them, pushing them, or pulling them just doesn’t work. But they do like to follow. BE A LEADER, PLUME! Goats will follow you to the ends of the earth (or at least to where the food bucket is).
I hope your therapist and doctor appointments go well. Be sure to tell them how well you’re doing with the animals and the people at the playground. I can really “hear” a difference in your blogs. And you seem to be interacting more with the kids and staff at the playground. The animals give you a bridge to connect with the people.
Everyone makes mistakes, don’t worry too much about that. The more you do the feeding, the easier it will get. Sounds like you did a great job. Congratulations!
June 6th, 2006 at 7:07
That is so darned cool. Sounds like a bit of Keystone Cops happened with the goats. And that’s funny about Miss Piggy being impatient. I like how each animal has its own personality.
We’re going to have to get you a pair of overalls and a pitchfork. :)
June 7th, 2006 at 10:54
Deb – Hehe yes. The problem is that Mads won’t let me be the leader :-P hehe nah, it’s not too bad. Usually a treat helps a long way. And Mads will usually follow me around anyway, even if I’m not trying to get him inside. I can’t help but love how stubborn they can be though, they have personality.
The animals are the bedge bridge ever. They help in so many ways.
Thank you!
Katherine – It’s great how different all the animals are yes. It’s funny when you get to know them and you recognise their little personality traits. Someone who just passed through probably wouldn’t be able to tell all the little goat kids apart, but I can see the differences easily.
Just call me Zeke, then :)