Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Pepper's new Neighbor


We stopped by to see my old horse Pepper on Monday, on our way back from the elephant seals. Look who moved in to the next paddock!



A one day old colt and his mama. The mare's owner said Pepper stayed at the fence, transfixed and excited, all through the birth.

I used a Photoshop action for that first shot. Here's another one of Dinah and me, right before she drove back to college- can you tell how sad I was feeling?



She called last night while waiting for the vet. Her old goat Margarethe had lost her horn, but it wasn't as serious as it sounds, though it had me worried for awhile. The goat was actually de-horned as a baby, (not by us, it's a cruel procedure), and this horn that fell off was hollow inside. The goats are nine years old now. I guess she'll bring them home this summer. I've always been fond of the goats even though they're forever mean.

5 comments:

Jesse said...

That is sweet that Pepper will have a yungin next door to check in on. It's got to be better than TV :)

I enjoy the strange personalities of Goats, and also Geese. It's like they just aren't impressed by us big, dumb humans; and they will cop an attitude and/or nibble on people or head butt them if they feel like it.

One time my wife and I were driving by a small park near a canal, and two young children looked like they were trying to trap/harrass this poor canadian goose.

We were just about to begin feeling sad and like there was no justice in the world. But the hen perked her head up, noticed the boys were creeping in on her, and just reared up towards one of them flapping her wings.

The boy was so astonished he fell backwards into a puddle! His friend shouted and sprinted away. We didn't see much more of the scene due to the challenge of rofl and driving straight.

Namowal (Jennifer Bourne) said...

I'm glad to see Pepper's has some new friends. It sounds like he's glad too!
p.s. Yes, I can tell you're sad that you have to say goodbye to Dinah.

Hey Jesse, that goose story is classic. Goats and geese are proof that attitude trumps strength.

Sally said...

Great goose story, Jesse. I like goats and geese too.

There's some wonderful writing about geese by a German naturalist, Konrad Lorenz. That link just has more information about him, but I remember enjoying his books quite a bit. An interesting writing style. He made me understand (at the time) the importance and beauty of the scientific naming systems, which I don't imagine is taught much any more. And he liked Chow Chows.

Namowal, the ranch where Pepper lives often has maternity lay ups so he may get this thrill again! He seems pretty content out there.

Anonymous said...

Here is a link to youTube dedicated to your horsey and might be amusing to the two dimensional horsey alter ego Whinsey. Hope you enjoy the music as much as me.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=_JZUHFuklo8

Jesse said...

Corin Nemec really needs to get himself a career or else country music singers will just keep dressing him in drag. :)