Well, I got the "garden" planted here at the cabin with a bit of help from the SMDGD. After about 2 hours of literally back breaking work -- I was applying the pick-axe to the ground to loosen it (my back loved that) & R was going along behind me taking out the rocks and crumbling up the hard clods of dirt -- my phone rang so I took a break to talk with one of my GA friends. The SMDGD had to take a break too and was sitting on the steps next to me, trying to included in my conversation. As I'm talking on the phone I am looking around the yard and what do I see but TWO GOATS eating the weeds, etc. on the back side of my lot!!!!! R wanted to pet them of course so I told her to make sure she kept her gloves on. Next thing I know the &**^& goats are following her up the steps onto the covered porch 8-O!!!! She wanted to feed them but I said NO but she could give them some water in the cat's water bowl and they were quite happy to have the water Needless to say, that was the end of gardening for that morning. We spent the better part of the next two hours trying to find who the goats belonged to. The folks who live across the street from me came out to get in their car. The goats saw them (new people to beg food from I suppose) and made a beeline across the street. Seems that early that AM a man had been going up and down the street looking for his goats that had gotten out the night before. All the couple knew was that he lived the next street over. They got in their car and went to see if they couod find him so R & I took the goats back across the street to play in our yard. So R is "playing" with the goats and I am trying to get my little patch of soil ready for some planting. AFter about 20 or 30 minutes, the couple across the stree get back and all four of us troop across the street to see wehat the latest is on finding the goats owner. The couple found the goat owner and he would be coming to get the goats in a bit. I head bacfk to the garden but R stays with the goats & the neighbors -- she's a nosy little thing, just like her GrandMother :-). About this time, another neighbor came out and says he will keep the goats in his fenced yard. The goats don't want to follow him so I hear him ask R if the goats will follow her. By this time I am back in the street with everyone and I help R and the neighbor herd the goats into his backyard. The older of the two goats tries to jump a hedge to get to R and lands smack in the middle -- LOLOL -- very funny until I had to try and lift that fat old man up out of the bushes!!! It took a bit of work but we got the goats into the neighbors fenced yard and R and I head back to do more gardening. No sooner had we started to cross the street but a man comes riding up on his bicycle with a bunch of rope hanging from his handlebars and asks us if we know where his goats are. R leads him to the neighbors house and I go on to start back working in the garden. The couple came out to talk with the goat man and the other neighbor and R decides she needs to stay and join in the conversation! VBS -- seems she had to tell all of the grownups about her time spent with the goats and sho also wanted to make sure that the owner new that we had given them water so that they would get sick or something -- LOLOL! Anyway, the goats went home, I called R to come back and help me with the garden and we managed to get half of the planting done before I was worn out. We had planned to only do that half and would get the rest done the next day. I had to laugh at her because her first job was to rake the pine needles away from the area I wanted to plant in and she was worried because she thought the rake handle would be too long for her and smack her in the head. She was thrilled when I went to get the rake, about half the handle was broken off and it was the perfect size for her. AHHHHH the joys of being eight years old :-). She was just pleased as punch when her Mom came to get her last weeekend and she could show off GrandMother's "little" garden that she helped plant. The look on her face when she showed off the garden was worth every ache and pain I had from the work :-). I will wait to tell you the episode of Cheeto (the NAUGHTY boy) getting away and hiding under the cabin for several hours!!!!! CiaoMeow >^;;^<
PAX, Tia Mary >^;;^<