I have had a nice week. Been feeling mostly fairly happy, and managed to hold on to the positivity. Trying to steer things in a better direction. It’s an uphill struggle sometimes, but I’m doing my best.

I got some new winter clothes from amazon. They really help. Last week I went home shivering and shaking from the cold. This week has been much better. It will get colder of course, but I have more warm clothes coming in the mail. So I am hopeful this winter I’ll be able to keep going to the playground more than once a week and stay longer hours. That is an important part in making me happy.

I love my newsnow pants. I don’t know why I insisted on wearing jeans in past winters. With my poor circulation I should have been more proactive.

Had a trip to the eye doctor this week as well. My bi-annual checkup. Didn’t take long. Things are still stable, so that’s good. That is pretty much the best I can hope for. Being stable at a reasonable level. Gotta be happy with what I have.

Let’s take a trip to the playground now.

First something of a rarity. A picture of me without goats! Well, Mia was actually in the shot but she was just putting up her bum, so I cropped that out. I just wanted a look at my new winter coat. We’ll see how long it lasts. It was nice and clean for 15 minutes or so. Then it had hoofprints and mud and hair all over it. And smelled like buck. Oh well, that’s the price you pay for having goat friends!

The lovely Mia.

I can’t get enough of those ears.

Keeping a hold of things.

Not quite a rainbow bridge.

The unbarkening.

Here’s looking at you kid.

And this is a video still. Of Mia standing on Mio’s back. I just love it, I just do.

Miiiiiio.

*poke*

Sigrid asked me if I didn’t have a lot of good pictures by now. She said they’d like some copies. I actually ordered prints of some of my photos recently and I was planning to give them to the playground for christmas. I am not entirely happy with the quality of the prints though. And Sigrid said I could just come in and they’d burn copies. Which made me think that since they have computers at the playground I can just make a DVD of all my pictures. Going back to 2003. It’s thousands of pictures though, I’m not sure that’s exactly what they were thinking. But I’m hoping they’ll like it. Per and Alice have been working there all the time I’ve known it. Hopefully they’ll enjoy seeing pictures from way back when. It will take some time to prepare, but I like the idea of all my pictures, all the time I have spent at the playground, being shared and part of the place.

When I got there on Friday Mio and Mia had escaped from the pen. They were in the horse field. But that place is one big mudflat this time of year. So they were sort of standing isolated on a little island of firm ground. I don’t know how they got out there. Mio ought to be way too big to get through the newly rebuilt fence. But I imagine that she fled in a panic from Preben’s unwanted advances and somehow got through. And Mia then followed. It’s hard to keep out (or in) a motivated goat.

And Mio has picked up Magnethe’s old habit of going halfway up on the bench next to me when I’m sitting there. With her front legs up on the bench. To beg for treats. The perfect position for me to scratch her neck. Magnethe used to love that so much, she’d whir her head around and show her teeth and poke her tongue out. Mio doesn’t get that excited but she does seem to enjoy it. I wonder why she has started doing that now, she never really used to do it before. I’d like to think Magnethe peeked into one of her dreams and whispered in her ear: “pssst, try this trick. It always got me treats”. They all have their little tricks to get to me. Mia knows if she jumps up on my back she’ll probably get a raisin. And Bob jumps up with his front legs on me. Sometimes he’ll poke me with his hooves and I’ll grab a hoof and then he’ll push against my hand to propel himself upwards. And then he’ll get a treat. How can I resist their sweetness? I am defenseless.

Let’s have some videos.

First off the video of Mia jumping up and standing on Mio’s back. It reminds me of the old polaroid of young Mads standing on the sheep. Is there anything cuter than a little goat standing on a bigger goat? (Or sheep). You can hear me laughing in the video. It was a delightfully surprising moment.

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A goatlog from Monday. There’s a look at the budgies at the end, as requested by Debster. Who is just about the only one reading this so I don’t know why I’m pretending otherwise! But before the birds there is cuteness with the goats. I managed to lift Bob! Can you believe it. He’s so heavy, I shouldn’t even be able to do that. And it’s probably not that nice for him so I promise not to keep doing it. But it’s just so sweet. I remember when he was a little baby and I’d hold him. Aw. He’s still my little boy.

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And goatlog from Friday. Another appearance by Bodil and Sif. Bob really wanted to get his hoof on those doggie treats. In the beginning you can see Mio and Mia’s escape. Or the end of it at least. And there’s a bit where Mio steals a banana peel from my pocket. I didn’t even notice until I watched the video at home. Sneaky girl! She loves those banana peels. I can’t believe I used to just throw them out. What a waste when you have goats.

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That’s my week. Pretty good. Hope yours has been as well. Here’s to the next one.

For my next trick I should like to magically make a bunch of goat pictures appear. Huzzah!

Bob in his winter coat. He’s a big boy now, but I actually managed to pick him up. While I was sitting down. If I was standing up I wouldn’t be able to lift him off the ground. But sitting on the bench I managed to pick him up and hold him in my arms. Twas adorable. And he didn’t even seem to mind, maybe he still remembers the times he spent sitting in my lap when he was a baby. I know I do.

Love those ears.

And Mia’s ears too. They are often sticking out in the air like that. Too much starch methinks!

What do you have down there? A raaaaisin?!

Mio chewing on things.

Four goats for the price of none. Kamel doing the headroll.

Mia standing on the cement block. She’s big enough that she doesn’t need it in front of the hatch when she has to go inside. So I moved it away because it actually just makes it harder for the bigger goats to get in and out. Better to have it out there to stand on.

Mia behind the bench. I think she is taking shelter from the cold wind. She was literally shaking in my arms from the cold. Poor little thing needs to grow some wool soon! But she seemed to like standing back there in the gap between the bench and the wall. Several times on two seperate days she went in and stood there. Bob went in there too but it was a little too snug for him I think, he didn’t stay long.

Pretty fly for a white guy with a goat.

I always enjoy pictures of goats in mid-chew. Looks like she’s talking.

My head is kinda framed by goats here.

And Preben sitting down. He actually sits down even when it’s cold out and not sunny. The other goats usually only sit down when it’s warm. Or at least that’s when I see them doing it mostly. But Preben likes to chill out in all kinds of weather.

It’s getting colder and colder. I’m freezing my butt off when I sit on the cold bench for hours and hours. I have ordered some warm clothing from amazon, though. So we’ll see if that helps. I’ll be trying out my new coat tomorrow. Hopefully it’ll help keep my temperature up. Only 4-5 months to go before it gets warmer, sigh. But at least mama should be making soup soon. So that’s something.

Now some videos.

Firstly a video collection of Preben talking. I wonder what he’s saying? Judging by the end it’s probably something like PUT DOWN THE DAMN CAMERA!

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Then a goatlog from Monday. The beginning and ending are filmed outside the playground, walking along the road with Mia’s baahing in the background.

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And a little video with some closeups of Bob, just because.

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And finally a goatlog from Thursday with more coldness and goats behind benches and so on. You can see Bodil and her dog Sif saying hello to Preben too. And at one point Sigrid comes by and throws some hay onto the bench, next to me. She asked me to distribute it amongst the goats. So I did. They all enjoyed it. You can hear Preben honking and hollaring, wanting it all to himself.

That’s all for this time. Stay tuned for more magic tricks in the future.