Musings on Celebration for the Turkeys 2012

Today we had our Celebration for the Turkeys in Orland.  While the weather was iffy, the rain held off for most of the day.  I think it took all of our good karma to preempt a storm.  I was assigned to the Sheep and Goat Barn which meant that I would be hanging out with and talking about some of my best friends.  This was happy news for me. 

I had decided that Madeline and Molly would be included as part of the guest experience.  Madeline and Molly were normally relegated to the "penalty box" during tours since they could be a little rowdy, but I had faith in them.  Add to that the fact that they are so darn cute and it feels like keeping them away from the people would be short-changing them. 

I mean come on, they are fricking adorable!

The guests started coming in around 1:15 and everything went really well.  Madeline was adorable and Molly was preternaturally photogenic.  I suspect that they are both Facebook celebrities by now (I will never know since I will never use Facebook again). 

The first couple hours went by really quick.  While there was a steady flow of people in and out, I had ample opportunity to answer questions and share personal anecdotes.  It was around that time that I heard a high pitched scream.  A brief investigation yielded a report that Madeline had "butted" a small child.  Now, it needs to be noted that Madeline is my baby, and like any good parent, I will go to my grave convinced that it was the kid's fault and that my little angel was in the right. 

However, since I was on the job, I had to be diplomatic.  I sprang into action and ensured that the child wasn't hurt and his father confirmed that he was fine.  The boy, who was probably about four, was not acting like it though and eventually his dad asked if he wanted to leave.  Through tears and in a wavering voice, he replied "No", and alluded to the fact that the "mean goat was by the door."  In order to resolve the situation, I tried to direct Madeline into a side stall, but she wasn't interested.  She was quite adamant that she was the victim and didn't like the fact that I was taking the boy's side without hearing her side of the story.  She wasn't budging and the only way I was going to get her out of the door was to pick her up.

Before I go on, I need to share a little back story.  As I was preparing my clothes for today I had set aside three shirts, three pairs of shorts, three pairs of socks, and three pairs of underwear in preparation for a wet and muddy work day.  I had also meant to bring my belt, but when I got to work, I proved the adage that "the road to hell is paved with good intentions".  This wouldn't be a problem if I has still as heavy as I used to be, but since I had lost some inches around the waist it put me at a risk of losing my shorts without a belt.  As a triage I had rolled the waistband over which has the effect of tightening them enough to keep them above my hips with an occasional pull up from time to time.

Back to Madeline.  She continued to protest her innocence and as I focused on her horns which posed the greater damage, her little kicking legs unrolled the top of my shorts and gravity teamed up with my knife and radio to make them start dropping.  Standing there with two hands full of goat I couldn't hike my shorts back up so I had no choice but to drop to my knees, which was coincidentally where the waistband of my shorts were!  I sat down and tried to pull my shirt down while restraining Madeline long enough for the boy and his father to leave...but they didn't.  They just stood there.  Meanwhile, the sight of me with Madeline in my lap was drawing a number of "Oohs" and "Aahs" and flashes from cameras.  As if that wasn't bad enough, Joey, an adorable lamb who had been shadowing me most of the day, decided to come over and visit with me and Madeline.  More pictures were taken in what seemed like an eternity as I waited to be able to let Madeline go. 

Finally the man and his son walked out and I let Madeline go.  This wasn't the end of my ordeal, however.  Now I was sitting with my shorts around my knees with the daunting challenge of getting them pulled back up without it being too obvious; and it's not like I could just sit there and formulate a plan because without Madeline on my lap my predicament was even more obvious than before.

I would like to believe that I pulled it off discretely without anyone being any the wiser but I have to wonder if the people with the cameras will see the image in a whole new light when they see their pictures blown up across their computer screens.  Maybe 2012 be known as the year where indecent exposure was on the menu at the Celebration for the Turkeys!

Just Another Day at the Office

Since I had a two hour lunch today, I had some extra time to hand out with some of my friends at work.  First, I would like to introduce Gwendolyn Duck (Or Gwennie, for short).  She has been with us for a little over a month now. 

She is quite a character, and by far the loudest duck on the Farm.  It has been fun watching her be introduced to the world around her.  When she first arrived, she was in a small isolation stall with a water bowl that was barely bigger than she was.  This wouldn't stop her from jumping in and quite literally being the big duck in a small pond.  After a few weeks, she became a small duck in a big pond.  This new world wasn't always easy for her.  Initially she was stalked by Della Duck around the yard before making friends with Gordy Duck (Sadly she is a girl with a boy's name).  It was adorable to see Gordy intercept Della as she was tailing Gwennie.  The video below features a good shot of Gwen at her water bowl, a chance encounter with Gordy, and a swim in the pond.  Gordy's quacks are reminiscent of a child calling to their mother: "Mom, watch me.  Mom, see how fast I am...Mom...Mom...You're not watching!"

After visiting with Gwen and her friends, I paid a visit to the Pig Barn.  I had an apple left in my pocket from my trip to feed Edward Cow some treats earlier and I knew just who to share it with...Cesak.  I shot some more video of him eating it and captured a funny response as Reggie Pig heard the chomping and tried to confirm that Cesak had an apple by smelling his breath and, at one point, seemed intent to extract it from his mouth!

Cesak then repaid my treat by laying on my lap and going to sleep.  The sound of pig snoring kept me from drifting off to sleep, but it was probably better to be in the moment.

Lastly, I visited with my old Goat Buddies and promised I would post their pictures.

First is "my baby" Madeline.  Isn't she lovely!



She really likes being scratched between her horns...

...and on her chin.  Every goat seems to have a slightly different sweet spot, but between the horns is pretty common.  A closer inspection of her left horn seems to invalidate her claim that she hasn't been picking on the sheep since there is a suspicious tuft of wool in it.

Madeline then introduced her friend Molly.  She and Molly get "play dates" every Saturday during tour season since they can get a little rowdy with visitors and they have bonded over these.

Madeline bet Molly that she couldn't touch her nose with her tongue...

...and then used the opportunity to photo bomb her (Molly looks less than impressed)!

While Madeline was off laughing it up, Molly let me get this beautiful shot of her smile.

And those were some of my exploits for the day and the reasons why I do what I do.  It is particularly nice to enjoy your job when you look at the alternative...I Wouldn't Want to be This Guy!