"I found a goat farm we can stay at in Virginia!" Jacqui said this with an ear-to-ear grin as she handed me her phone to show me pictures. I took one look at those long-bearded beauties and I, too, was all in.
Let's back up a minute and make one thing perfectly clear. Jacqui is the planner and she's excellent in that role. I'm pretty sure she could vacation plan for a living.
Plus, she loves it! She can easily pull up a map on her laptop and plan a route complete with interesting stops along the way. She's thorough in searching for Airbnbs and hotels and she has the patience to read all the reviews. When I was teaching I was told I had the patience of a saint, yet I don't have what it takes to map out routes and pour over seemingly endless reviews and photos.
She wouldn't want me to plan the routes anyway. Why? I am extremely directionally challenged. I'm the person that will repeatedly turn the wrong way walking out of our hotel room. Whether on foot or driving I get lost easily. Proof positive of that is the fact that my youngest son, at the age of 10, saved $100 to buy me a Garmin back in the day to ensure that we could navigate our way to his travel ball games. Technology is a lifesaver for folks like me.
Now, I do have a say in what we do, where we stay, and the routes we take. I do some Airbnb searching and Jacqui always checks with me before booking anything. So, I do have a general idea of our plans and that's all I need. I trust her expertise and I reap the benefits daily. Sometimes during our travels I wake up unsure what lies in store for the day. There's constant surprises and I'm a lucky girl.
So, how did we end up at a goat farm in Virginia? We knew we were leaving DC in early March and had to be in Pittsburgh for a concert by mid-March. Jacqui looked at routes and targeted certain areas to stay. And, who would have thought she would find this place only about an hour northwest of DC. We are almost at the end of our weeklong stay and what a hoot it has been!
There are actually sheep and goats here, about a dozen of each. Lucky for us, there were two lambs born one week before our arrival. They are attached at the hip and totally adorable. They frolic to and fro and when their mama is idle for a moment they think it means they are supposed to nurse. It seems they have about a fifty-fifty chance for success because sometimes their mama refuses. We hurt for their poor mama, though, when they very aggressively tug at her to latch on. We can't help but cover our own mammaries and say, "Ouch!" a few times. But then we get to watch their little tails do quite a dance as they suckle. There is also a one month old lamb that is never far from the other babies.
The goats come in all sizes, shapes, and colors. Some are long-haired, some have long beards, and some have neither of those. As we were on our way here to check-in the owners texted to let us know that one of the goats, Heidi, might be roaming freely when we arrived. He said not to worry because she is super friendly and she just hates to be penned in for religious reasons. She was, indeed, out and about but soon after encountering Indy she was skittish and jumped the fence and put herself in confinement again.
Another goat caught our attention right away and we named him Bangs as he was the only goat with them.
He's adorable but he doesn't play well with others, perhaps because he is smallish. We've seen him involved in a few head-butting incidents with his mates. He was very friendly with us, however.
Indy has been intrigued with them since the moment she got out of the car. Honestly, we all have. We are usually watching during feeding time which is first thing in the morning and consists of a large bale of hay. They all come running and pushing and shoving commences. The owner told us that we could feed them animal crackers so we bought the largest bag we could find. When we approach with those in hand there is not only pushing and shoving but climbing on the fence and even climbing on each other's backs to get a prime spot. The way they open and close their mouths begging for the crackers with their snouts pushed through the fence is hysterical. It's like they are making a fish lips face but with wide open mouths.
Eating and chewing their cud is how they spend most of the day. Like cows, they have four stomachs and regurgitate food regularly to break it down. Oftentimes it's all done quietly but sometimes one of them baas loudly and soon they all chime in. Some come running from other areas. This really drives Indy bonkers!
We have been entertained by their habits. They must be itchy because they scratch A LOT and they scratch on everything. Whatever is handy will do. It might be the fence, another animal, or a log. We caught a couple homies who looked like they busting a move while trying to scratch their noggins on a log.
Sometimes they huddle together and they seem to be having a family meeting. Then, a tail twitch or something makes them quickly scatter in all directions only to return to finish the meeting a bit later.
As with all our stops, we try to learn a little bit about whatever plant or wildlife are around or the area in which we are staying. So here are some fun goat facts that we hope to remember in case we ever make it on Jeopardy. Something cool about sheep and goats is that their eyes have rectangular pupils. This allows them to increase their peripheral vision. In fact, they have a 270-320 field of vision so they can see virtually everywhere except behind them. Some of our friends on the farm have really beautiful ones. Their eyes also have the ability to rotate in their head to remain parallel with the ground so they can even see with their heads down when grazing.
Goats were one of the first animals to be tamed by humans. They've been herded for over 9,000 years. Goat meat (I know, I know!) is the most consumed meat per capita worldwide. You can teach a goat its name and their lifespan is similar to a dog.
Baby goats, called kids, can stand and are walking their first steps within minutes of being born. There are about 200 different species of domestic goat. They love popcorn and animal crackers.
We leave here tomorrow headed for Pittsburgh. Needless to say, it's been a fun week with the animals and we're going to miss them. Once again, Jacqui found us an experience stay. She's pretty good at that and I am forever thankful.
The Tail End by Lou Lou the Travel Dog
I had never seen animals like this before. They made the funniest noises! At first when I went up to the fence they all backed away. But now some of them stick their noses out and we smell each other. I want to play but my mamas won't let me in with them. We had a place above them to sit where I could look through the fence and watch them though. Sometimes when they move quickly it scares me and I bark. But mostly, they just eat all day and the stuff they eat doesn't look very good. Not interested! I didn't like when my mamas gave them treats. Treats are only for me! There's one goat that walks around all the time like she owns the joint. She is a lot bigger than me but I think she is scared of me. She must be because she keeps jumping back into their play area when I get too close. This was a really fun stay for me. Please watch my video below.
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