A Low, Munching, Sound.....

It's a sound reminiscent of that eire, creepy thing out of Stephen King's "The Langoliers" - it starts out soft, and distant, then gets louder, and louder, and LOUDER - until it's all around you.

PANIC!

Wait - it's Sunday morning, Springtime in Nebraska, and you've just let the gate open so the cows and goats can "work" on the driveway.

You've entered - The Feeding Zone.....

I usually turn out the goats onto the driveway this time of year because it's the first part of the farm that has grass long enough to eat. I figure I got three choices: (1) Leave it grow, (2) buy gas for the lawn mower, or (3) Let the Hired Hands clean it up.

I'd let it grow but it takes over the driveway. As for the gas - It's getting more expensive all the time. Now, the "hired hands" need something to eat, so guess which route I took?

This is the first spring season that we've had cows, so they naturally headed out with the goat people. Every one of the goats who were here last year, KNEW what was going on when I started closing the gates at the ends of the driveway, and immediately headed to wait by the gate to let them in.

Daisy and Mabel had no idea what was going on, so they stayed up by the barn with their "radar" up, listening and watching intently. They knew SOMETHING was going on, but weren't sure WHAT. I finally went up and took ahold of Daisy's halter so I could lead her to the gate. She wasn't sure at first, but figured things out REAL quick. She saw the goats out in the nice grass, and decided she couldn't let THEM have all the good stuff. Mabel hung back until she saw Daisy out with the goats, then came trotting down the hill to join in the fun.

The only one who had a hard time, was poor old Chuck. being blind, he followed the fence down the hill until he came to the gate. Even with Belle and I encouraging him, he stood in the opening for a few seconds, then went on by.

Everyone ate for awhile, then came back to the tank for a drink, then a nap in the cool sunshine. I stood in the middle of the feeding frenzy for awhile, just listening. I never noticed how noisy these creatures are when they eat! I could hear grass being ripped all around me. A couple of times, I was nearly ran over by a goat on a mission.

NEVER get between a goat and food - it can get ugly.....

At any rate, I managed to take this video this morning. It's (for some reason) not real high quality, but it gives you the idea. I Figured I needed a "boost" in my Hillbilly reputation, so I'm leaving them out there awhile so they get as much "exposure" as possible.