The year is winding down. It’s been a … year. It certainly has. A year indeed. Not that much has happened in my world. It’s been a quiet year, for the most part. I can only think of two really big things that happened.. Both happened during the summer. And both were goat related. One thing was great and one thing was horrible. Magnethe passed away. After knowing her for seven years, it was a big loss to me. She was a dear friend. She was the last remaining connection to the “original” playground, my first experiences with goats and the journey I went on. She was the leader of the flock, the grand old lady. It’s still sad and strange that she is not around. It’s almost 6 months ago that she died, so my brain no longer expects her to be there. But I am still often both happy and sad when I think about her, when I stumble upon pictures or videos of her. When I dream about her. I miss her. I hope I will see her again.

And then of course Mia came along. A month later and just when I needed her. Something good and sweet to keep me connected to the playground, to keep it a happy place. She might be the goat kid I have been most connected with, if you don’t count Magnethe who was the first kid I ever saw. We were so surprised that Mio only got one baby because she’d been so big. In retrospect I think it was a good thing. At least for me. Although it’s wonderful to see little goat kids playing together, having just one baby made her strong and independent and probably made my bond with her stronger. I have never had a goat trained quite as well, I only have to lean over a little and she’ll see it and jump up on my back and expect a treat. And when I say I have her trained… well you might argue that she’s the one who has me trained. Because she only has to jump on my back and I can’t deny her a treat. She’s a little wonder. I have met new friends through sharing her videos and pictures on Facebook as well.

The two main things I will remember from 2012 is Magnethe’s passing and Mia’s coming.

And of course all the good times with the other goats. With family. With facebook friends, new and old. Falling and rising. Some people that have become very important to me. I appreciate those a lot. I am glad that I am not alone and that there are people who continually show me that they care about me. It is still hard for me to accept and believe, but it gets easier with every day and every positive interaction. So thank you all. It means a lot to me.

Last December my dad was in the hospital and I was very worried about him. He’s doing better. He’s got a condition, I guess, that could cause him to pass out at any moment. But probably won’t. At least he’s back on his feet and seems to be doing well. My parents of course are moving. Immediately in the new year. We had new year’s dinner today, it was very nice. Most probably the last time I’ll see the old house. We moved in there sometime in the 80s. I must have been around 2-4 years old. We couldn’t quite agree on the exact year we moved in. But it’s some 30 years ago. My earliest memory is of the day we moved in. So it’s quite strange that that is coming to an end, that someone else will be occupying our space. 2013 will bring new spaces. But the people will remain the same, if all goes well. I hope 2013 will bring good things for the people and goats I know. Hopefully the sadness and loss will be at a minimum. For us and for the world. Now that the world isn’t ending… let’s take good care of it.

I never do resolutions, but of course there are things I want to work on in 2013. Keep working on. The healthier living. The being a better person. It’s a work in progress, but I think I have made some. Progress, that is. When Magnethe passed away I wanted to make it a catalyst for change, and there has especially been one big change, but I don’t really feel comfortable talking about that one. But it’s something I’m a proud of. And I hope I can keep going. Be more positive. Be generous with friends and charities. Not let my insecurities overcome me. Stay off the cola and cheese. Keep exercising. I have big plans for the summer, when the weather becomes warmer again I want to really kick ass. My eyesight has been pretty stable this year too. Hopefully that will continue. I can’t hope for improvement really, but I can hope for stability. To keep what I have and appreciate it.

And so on and so forth. I have laid these plans well so I am sure it will go off without a hitch. Perhaps I shouldn’t be carrying these unstable sticks of dynamite around in my backpack though…

Hope you will all have a safe night. There’s about 40 minutes left of the year here. Constant explosions (just had one o’ the big ones, the ones that practically shake the building). I don’t particularly like this spectacle. And I really hope the animals are all safe. Take care of yourselves and others. And may you all have a merry and succesful 2013.

See you in the future, I’ll be the one flying a jetpack into the sky.

Christmas is over. New year’s just around the corner. I will probably write some kind of new year’s entry tomorrow. But before that, I was happy to get some proper goat times on Thursday. The playground was open again and I got to spend some good times with my buddies. And as is tradition, someone had dropped a christmas tree off for the goats.

Mmm, a delicious christmas feast! I wonder whose tree it is. I have never thought about it before, but I’m guessing it’s one of the employees. Per or Alice would be likely candidates since they’ve worked there as long as I’ve known and there have always been trees for the goats.

Anyway, it’s always nice to watch the goats dive into new and unknown treats. Everyone seemed to quite enjoy it. I moved the tree around a few times, different positions and locations. So they could get at all angles.

There’s Mio in the foreground while the others have at the tree. She seemed a little off when I first got there, like she was staying away from the others almost and seemed maybe she wasn’t feeling so good. But once I brought out some treats she started pushing the others away and snorting at them. She was eager to eat and boss the others around, so hopefully it was just a little bit of post-christmas blues. She seemed fine when I left, so fingers crossed all is still well.

By the way here is a picture of my family’s christmas tree, as seen in the previously posted video:

I wonder if the goats would have wanted to eat that tree! Well, they’d probably be happy to chew at the cardboard boxes at least.

In Denmark we have an old, traditional Christmas song that goes “Først skal træet vises… siden skal det spises” which translates to “First the tree will be shown off, later it will be eaten”. Which was always a puzzling line when I was a kid. But I think it referred to candy, probably chocolate, being hidden in the decorations that were put on the tree. I don’t remember if we ever did that in my family. But I think that’s what the song refers to. The goats have quite their own definition of eating the tree, though!

Last of the pictures:

Bob elevated on the cinderblock. A real mountain goat!

Mia looking off into the distance, and me looking at Mia.

And Mio. Can’t help worrying about her, I probably won’t see her until Wednesday. That’s the worst part of the holidays, not being able to see the goats. I really wish I could get a new key to the place so I could still spend time with them when the playground is closed. Oh well. I hope they all get through new year’s eve okay too. I don’t like thinking of them in the stables with all that noise and smoke and all the explosions all around. I talked a little with Bodil and she’s once again planning on spending the hour around midnight in her bathroom with the radio on, to get Sif through the worst parts. As she did with Lulu. It’s not the funnest night for the animals. And I must say I don’t like the fireworks much either. Especially not all the kids running around this month with the bombs. Bah humbug!

A video of the goats picking the tree apart:

I wonder if they will be visited by ghosts of christmas trees past?

That’s all for tonight. Tomorrow is the great new year’s blast. Stay safe and have fun!