My hand is shaking a little. A couple of hours left of the day and then tomorrow it’s up early and off to TMU.

I am nervous. But it’s not too bad. I think I have the bus situation figured out. And tomorrow is just a “meeting”. 9:30 to 12. The real work starts on Thursday. Everything will be fine.

And might I just add, you guys are the greatest. You make me smile. It makes me happy to know that I will never walk alone.

I am not feeling too well. Today and yesterday. The mood has been swinging. Scared and depressed. About Wednesday. My first day at TMU. It’s not alltogether too surprising. I always feel like this before big events. And it always turns out that I had nothing to worry about. I am sure this will be the case with TMU as well. So I just have to get through these days and then everything will be fine.

Instead I shall try to think of some positive things. Like mother’s delicious soup. I wish I could invite ya’ll round for a taste. But then there would be less for me! And in true goat fashion I want it all for myself. It is part of the fun of momma’s soup that she cooks up a giant pot and it lasts for days. It’ll do me good on Wednesday, knowing that I’ll be coming home to a serving of splendid soup. As silly as that may seem.

I am feeling a bit light-headed. Might it have something to do with the fact that I had a large haystack removed today? Yes, I got my hair cut. And my goatee is gone too. I was slightly worried that the goats wouldn’t be able to recognise me. But…

Mads seemed to accep the change.

Not that I bribed him or anything.

Certainly not with lemonade. Nope. Remember the video of me shaking the bottle and Mads licking his lips? It’s funny how different Magnethe reacts. She reacts like I would have thought Mads would. She steps away and flinches and almost seems scared that I’ll spray her with water. She does not want a taste of lemonade at all.

Another one of Mads:

Look at that expression on his face. Funny goat.

On my way home I met Bodil. It’s funny how often I run into her. And then I stop on my bike. And we talk and laugh. She’s great. I almost feel normal when I talk to her.

Speaking of positive thoughts, here are some from youtube:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZktX2RiZT2o. Bunnies and chickens. One big mess. Little cute baby bunnies, couldn’t you just pick them up and play petanque with them? Well, not really of course. But little furballs of joy they are.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=AXnsRwt3UDA. Magnethe giving the camera a little lick.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=oJGD414GlGk. And Mads jumping in through the hatch to join me inside.

I don’t know what I’d do without the goats.

If you liked Gabby then you should check out the two new videos of her: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SafTqPxQh40. And http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTs1GqVTBO8. She is beautiful and seems like a sweet goat. What I really love is how Nasubionna loves her. Once you let a goat in your heart there is no stopping it.

Those two videos are of Gabby chewing on her velcro. And in much the same vein here is Magnethe chewing on my jeans: http://youtube.com/watch?v=9riZPsinsbY. (It might not be available on youtube yet, if it doesn’t work then try it later).

Luis Lemmings asked if Magnethe expected a treat when she got up and stood in a bucket. The answer is no. It’s not a trick I taught her. It seems like such a random thing, doesn’t it? Just standing around in buckets. That’s probably why it’s so funny. So random. And the look she gets on her face. So pleased with herself. Like standing in a bucket is the most natural thing in the world. Which of course it is, when you’re a goat. But lookie here:

And here:

I sense a trend. Mads does that too. He doesn’t stand in buckets but he does step up on planks or that stone there. And there’s the bench of course. Even if I’m not on the bench he’ll still get up there. I think the goats just like to stand on a clean and plane surface. I remember reading once that the reason why the goats were so prolific was that they hated mud and dirt and they tried to avoid it and thereby avoided a lot of diseases and such. And we all know that they love to jump up on stuff. Benches, fences, tables, other animals. So I would think that’s where it comes from. A clean plane surface. Or maybe, as the Debster speculated, it’s just her way of saying “this bucket is empty, please fill it with food”.

Funny that Mads doesn’t generally stand in buckets. He does always stand on top of them if they are turned over. That’s the trick I taught him. And he keeps doing it. So eventually I have to topple the bucket over and roll it away, otherwise he keeps stepping up on it and looking at me. “Okay, I’m on the bucket. I did my part of the deal. Now where is my treat?” it looks like he thinks.

Aren’t they great?

Yup. See? Everything is good. Everybody is happy. No worries. Fa-la-la.