Beforeclosure
I got some disturbing news at the playground this week. Apparently there have been talks about possibly closing the place. I don’t really know all the details. I’ve been told that it’s very unlikely, though. In fact they didn’t even want to tell me because they didn’t want me to worry. But then as I was leaving on Wednesday a couple of kids came running up to me with clipboards. I figured it was probably the census thing they do every now and then to register how many users the playground has. But no, it was a petition to not close the place. So that kind of stopped my heart for a second. Bodil was there too and she said that she had talked to Nina about it the day before. Apparently there are different models being discussed and closing playgrounds is one of them. Financial grounds, I’m sure. But it should be very unlikely that ours will be closed. That’s what I’m told. So I’ll have faith in that. Not so much else I can do.
On Thursday the playground closed early. I talked a little with Bodil and Dennis, who had just closed up. I guess my name has come up in the discussions. “What about Lasse” was the first thing Alice said when they talked about it. I know they can’t keep the place open just for me, if it were to be closed. But it’s nice that I’m such a big part of the place that I get considered in the planning. It sure would leave a giant hole in my life if the playground closed and the goats were sent to other places. Dennis said something about that maybe they could all go to the place he lives. I think it’s the same place Sigrid lives. Or lived. I might have that mixed all up. Bad memory and face blindness makes it hard to keep track of all the things and people. But anyway, that way the goats wouldn’t have to be split up and I could still see them some times. But of course it would not be the same as now. When I can just pop out quickly, have my own key and a place I know and feel comfortable with. I really hope this will all turn out okay.
I gave Dennis my phone number too. So they can call me if we get goat babies during a weekend. I’m going to have to go back and do a checkup on the dates and do new calculations, though. Because it’s all very puzzling that there are no babies yet. I’ll have to look into it.
Other than that it’s been a quiet week. I met a grandmother who came with two 8 year old twins to see the goats. She must have heard about my youtube channel because she asked if she could get the name of it. I guess the kids wanted to show the goats to their classmates, but they live in Ålborg (just visiting grandma during the winter holiday I guess) so they can’t just bring their classmates to the playground. Hopefully they can enjoy the videos then. It’s always nice when you meet people who are interested like that. It would be very sad if the place closed and kids in the area no longer had the chance to go and take care of the animals and all that.
Let’s go to the photos.
Kamel trying to reach the pine. If it had been any of the other goats they would have jumped up on their hinds legs to get it. But gravity is no friend of Kamel!
Scratchies for Mia.
Sweet Mia.
Bodil’s little dog Sif. Bodil will say “Where’s Lasse? Where’s Lasse?” and then Sif will look up at me or come running to me. Unless there’s bread on the ground or kids to play with or other things to occupy her attention!
That fence is in a very impractical place, the goats think!
Scratchies for Kamel.
More sweet Mia.
Mia and Kamel on the log inside.
Goofballs.
Mia and Mio.
Just Mio.
It was supposed to be a picture of Mio, but of course Palle tries to steal the spotlight.
Okay Palle, here’s your closeup.
And with Mia.
And a last one of Kamel.
And a goatlog. Featuring Bodil and Sif and visiting twins and of course fun with goats. I especially like the part where Mia seems to almost be grooming Kamel. Maybe she had raisins stuck in the wool. She IS very fuzzy, old Kamel.
And that’s folks for this all, week. See you in the next honda.
February 25th, 2014 at 4:55
Noooooo! They can’t close the playground, I forbid it. Don’t they know how much enjoyment everyone gets from it? I hope the petitions to keep it open helps. What are the staff saying about it?
That’s just to dreadful to even think about. Do you have alot of parks and “green areas” where you live? What do they expect the children to do who live in the apartments? The kids probably can’t have any kind of pet where they live, so they need to be around animals and outdoors sometimes.
I sure hope they reconsider their priorities and make cuts elsewhere. People need to be able to spend time outside and enjoy nature and animals, especially kids.
Kamel is really wooly! Our boys are starting to get wooly bits in their coats as well. John Boy’s neck is mainly black and I can really see the white, wooly bits there. Both of them have been scratching and rubbing up against the fence and the wooden benches. All that wooly hair much itch when it’s ready to fall out. Guess that’s a sign of warmer weather.
Although when I came home from book club tonight, it was SNOWING again! Someone said only an inch, but last time that turned into more like 5 to 7 inches. I am so tired of shoveling snow.
I talked to someone else who raises Boer goats and they said their “kidding” time was late, too. They thought their mama goats should have been having their babies by now. Guess your goats aren’t the only ones running on a late schedule!
February 25th, 2014 at 21:51
I sure hope it won’t close! I haven’t really talked to them about it, other than what I wrote in the entry. But I’m told it’s very unlikely it’ll happen, so I’ll have faith in that. I don’t think there are other places in the neighbourhood where kids can do the things they can at the playground. It would be really sad if that was taken away from them. We’ll see what happens.
Kamel is easily the most woolly of the gang. The others haven’t really gone too wolly. I thought maybe Palle would start getting paler, like Bob did in winter. But he hasn’t really. Kamel always gets lots of stuff and dirt stuck in her fur, so I like to brush that off her.
Snowing again?! Maybe you should ask the goats if they’re secretly doing snow dances or something. It can’t go on forever!
March 2nd, 2014 at 14:57
Can you guess what I’m going to say next? Yes, it SNOWED again overnight!
Can’t really tell how much as the wind is blowing at a steady rate and there are drifts in places about knee-high. March has come in like a lion – a big, furious, hungry, roaring white lion.
Off to work we go (with shovel in the back of the truck), then my husband has a band concert to play in this afternoon if it isn’t cancelled due to the weather.
March 2nd, 2014 at 23:59
Well at least there’s no snow shortage in your neck of the woods! We’ve barely had any this winter, probably won’t get any more until next winter. I feel quite tropical compared you what you have! Hope you’ll get a good spring soon!