OK - If I ever move back to the city I will keep a horse in my apt. (to get rid of the possibility of rats).

But I just woke JohnC up lobbying for a Goat..!! I want a goat!

JC -Why?
RF - Cause they're good to have.
JC - I dont know if we're allowed to have one outside..and you dont want it inside (You'll notice JC has lived with me long enough not to just say no.)
JC- You dont want to keep it inside...
RF - No answer...
JC - Do you?
RF - silence...
JC - Well, just not a male goat. (His friend had an ornery male goat)
....pause
JC - A real goat?, or a stuffed animal? or an icon for the computer? (said hopefully)
RF - "A real goat. Baaaaa."
JC - Whyyyy?
RF - Cause they're good to have!
JC - WHO SAYS????

RF - Shelley said!

(((silence)))

[quote="louise"]... the Keelback, a type of watersnake that will bite but has no venom. They like our place because we have a big pond (everyone calls them dams here) The Keelbacks are wonderful because they are the only snake that can eat the dreaded Cane toads with no ill effect. But there are other more deadly types around and it's good to have a dog or cat that lets you know!quote]

Louise....

1. The watersnake being non venomous, has no baring on my safety. It is clearly the heart attack (of an approaching snake) that will kill me.

2. "Dreaded Cane toads"...Swell - a new thing for me to be terrified of. (Someday I will tell you my toad in a shower story)

3. Other "More Deadly types"?? A constant waive of NY Blundervibes will always be flowing towards you - in case the cat "doesnt feel like" protecting you. PLEASE be careful.. Ewww.

Sue - you too. What you're doing is great. But be careful.

I dunno Reg...I had goats. They don't pay much attention to fences, they eat what you don't want them to, and leave what you want them to eat alone. We were given an older nanny that was very sweet...to adults...she butted my then four year old and threw him about five feet in the air. We gave her to our butcher (he wanted to use her for breeding purposes and milk). I had to stand outside and throw rocks at them when I fed my horses or they would eat the horses' food (maybe I should adjust my previous statement to : They pay no attention to fences...). They were playful and fun to watch, but they were a major pain in the ass. In fact the only cloven hoofed animals I had that also seemed like good pets were sheep.

Regina, just make sure if you get a goat, you go out and get it yourself. If you send John out to get it, then he will be able to tell everyone that he got your goat, and we all know that is not possible.

One of the Premarin mares is a huge Belgian...she's got feet the size of dinner plates. She has a #93 freeze-branded on her rear, so the numbers show up as white hair. She's a bit rude with her ground manners...as are some of the other horses that have been treated poorly, so I am very careful around them, and never take chances. One Appaloosa mare I decline to work with until she's had some issues worked on by a professional trainer; she's got a serious biting problem, and I narrowly missed having an equine mastectomy a couple of weeks ago. Thank God for my pointy elbows!
Most of them are pretty glad to see me...I come bearing the grain bucket!

I got nipped by a sika deer once in Van Saun Park, in Paramus. I had my shirt chewed on by a goat at the Catskill game farm while I was busy bottle feeding another one.(for quite a few minutes much to JC's amusement - so he sort of has already "gotten my goat") And I got spit on by a camel named Ishkabibble at the Bronx zoo - of course this over the course of 50 years or so...And to me - It all sounds better than finding another snake in my doorway.

Besides anyone who can give some one a good kick in the a$$ around here might be an asset... (pardon the poor pun)

I am not a camel!!!! Hi Reg!

Reg, for you, a pygmy goat is the answer, preferably a pygmy Toggenberg. Trust me (as I know you do; Godde knows why). Mine were full-size Togs and they are just wonderful. But yes, a female. Imagine a sweet little goat the size of Mollie. The males smell and are rude (No resemblance to anyone present, of course--speaking of full-size male (real) goats only.), while the females are sweet and loving, except to snakes and the occasional dog, whom they'll butt but not really hurt. My Greycie survived many a "whomp" up against the side of the barn. It was much like the "whomp" you imagine in Arlo's story about being caught playing ragtime on the piano by his Mom. (How does this always come around to Arlo, no matter what the topic??!!!)

I just love the name Pygmy Toggenberg !! I wonder where you get a goat...? (where do I get my goat?) What do you feed a goat? (aside from snake tar tar.)

I was thinking, Ishkabibble was a camel, not a giraffe. But it was the giraffe that spit at me. The Bronx zoo's deskunked skunk was named Petunia. But Jay, I know you're not a giraffe or a camel.

I used to live in the bottom floor of a house on 7 acres, and my landlady Anna Mae had a horse, some sheep, and goats. The goats were real characters. They liked to eat what Anna Mae called "broccoli cookies"--you know, from the thick part of the stem that you sometimes just cut off and didn't eat yourself. I think one of the goat's name was Dandy, if I remember right, but I'm not sure. Anna Mae also had a rooster and a hen, named Arlo and Alice. Such was my influence on her. I thought it was pretty funny, except at 5:30 AM when Arlo would be greeting the day, loud and clear. I would lie in bed, groaning "Shut up, Arlo!" I also found a little garter snake once, in my living room, wrapped around a light fixture. It had come in through the hole that the TV cable had come in. I've never heard of that happening in NJ, Reg. That was, however, the beginning of the end of my life in the country.

Ohhh. Reg....
On Craigslist, I found a "fainting goat" named Hewit for sale ... (funny name for a goat... or for a town)

DESCRIPTION OF HEWIT (Goat#1):

White w/brown ear & brown patch over eye
tan horns
fixed male
adult
aprox. 2years old
very friendly/playful
PET ONLY HOME!

Doesn't he sound PERFECT?

I won't be happy again until I come up with another one of Arlo's, "All Over The World" T-shirts, with him sitting in his chair (where he belongs when not on stage.) up there in space. I've either given away, been losy or stolen about 5. The one I have now is in tatters, and un-wearable. Anyone have one for sale?

At the risk of making John REALLY, REALLY mad at me, here's a cute pygmy; they don't actually come in Toggenberg; that's a breed, and so is Pygmy: http://www.snokistfarm.com/sugardaddy.jpg. They run about 35 lb., full-grown.

And here are some fainting goats. Also cute but I don't know about as a pet; they can get up to 150 lbs.: http://www.webworksltd.com/webpub/goats/faintinggoat.html

What to feed them? Goat chow! (I think they do make it); I fed the Togs (dairy goats) grain and hay, veggies and fruit, and let them graze in the pastures. For dessert they had an occasional shirttail. Jay's cousin had a pygmy goat; she moved him around the yard with a moveable fence like the one Louise uses for the chooks, and her grass was "mowed."

Yeah, they make goat chow! I used to buy that for the Angora rabbits I was raising back in California when I was doing a lot of weaving and handspinning.
The goat chow was basically mixed grain (rolled oats, crimped barley and corn)and molasses...about the same as sweet feed for horses. The rabbits loved it! My kids did, too...I caught them sneaking little handfuls out of the bag.

OK WOW! Im so excited. I love the little guy. His name will be Mr. Frodo. He is so adorable!!! Thank you for the links Ceashell.

Wyld, I can't believe you found me a goat! Thank you!!! The one on Craigs list said it has to be a one animal family, which is a no-can-do for my house...and also John has vetoed the size...and the fact that they recommend more than one in a family. (He says he can hear me saying - but he's Loooonely - he needs another goat...) But I totally appreciate it!

But I think the concept of a goat that falls over when she gets frieghtened should be MY goat. I can totally relate. Henceforth I will be known as the amazing fainting girl (or goat to my friends). (Which makes sense now that my favorite charactor on SNL was Goat Boy) When terrorized (easily done) I fall over. I actually do THAT a lot!!! LOL

Judy - my next door neighbor had a snake in her kitchen last fall, and the same house had one in the garage ceiling last year (different owner). Its horrifying.

Sue - Im thinking "Purina Goat Chow" how funny. I bet there is something at the local tack shop. That I WILL check out!

John is making me check the local ordinances to see if we're allowed to have a goat. He's got his fingers crossed. (against)

Thank you all!! My heart may make another summer up here!! But poor Shane will be out of a job (the kid who mows my lawn)