here's lookin at you kid...

its a fine day in the hood so i decide to take the kids and dog for a drive to the beach for a wander and play. as we pass over the bridge by the turnoff i notice all the wild goats have decided the grass is greener and more abundant on the other side of the road so have come down for a munch .

i'd already promised myself that if i am ever in a position to *ahem* kidnap one, i bloody well will and now seems like the best opportunity i'm ever likely to get.

i pull over, jump out and chase a bunch of about 10 across the road, just able to catch the leg of a young white kid as it scrambles through the fence but with a deft kick of it's hoof it frees itself from my grip and i'm left with air...bummer

i wander back to the vehicle when a family of 4 predominantly black ones start hoofing it across the road so like a wild eyed caveman from wayy back in the day i sprint after them and manage to nab the cutest little black kid with a stripe on its forehead. beaming like the proud hunter of yore i take it back and throw it in the vehicle.

the littlies are all giggles and smiles and Chi the oldest of them asks "can we keep him?" to which i reply "of course" without skiping a beat he then asks "...and can we call him nibbles?", sure i said thinking what a choice name. we carry on to the beach whle the little goat baaas and tries to hide under the seat.

funnily enough, the day of capture is also my lady's birthday so we decide to tie it to the tree by the gate upon her return and offer it up as a present. naturally shes rapt even though its suffering from the unsightly equivalent of goat cradle cap and has a few goat fleas as well, but then what do you expect ?...it is after all a wild animal and we'll sort him out wth worming stuff and de-flea her soon enough

a week or so passes and we are all enamoured with the little fellow, making sure it's loved and cared for while keeping it in plain sight of the lounge, cos the dog, having killed a few of our chickens, may decide to ruff him up some if we let her. they seem to develop a rapport so we move Nibbles round the back of the house to the orchard, yes we have an orchard of sorts with a few fruit trees out the back, that one day will be the location for a wondrous moonlight and candled feast of baccanalian proportions sometime in the not to distant future, but at present is in need of some grass maintenance courtesy of a growing goat

i guess it wasn't meant to be. the next day as i'm leaving to get the kids from school and do some errands in town i tie the dog up and make sure Nibbles has water then give him a good rub around the ears and neck. he seems to like that cos he pushes into me and goes all weak at the knees. i think/feel something isnt quite right but dismiss it as i have to go and decide to keep a sharper eye on him over the next couple of days. on returning from town, i notice him out the back lying unusually still. sadly Nibbles had passed away from what i believe may have been accidental poisoning in eating a strange, berried vine like plant close to where he was tied up.

my lady and i are pretty cut up over the whole thing and upon her return from work we bury him in the orchard and plant some rhubarb over him to mark the spot. in time re constituting his energy to us by way of a crumble pie perhaps at our orchard feast.

i've since passed the wild goat herd a few times and though i could snare another one, i'm in no hurry. if i've learnt anything from this, its that i have so much to learn, so it pays not to rush headlong into things especially when dealing with the living. maybe next year or the year after or whenever, i'd like to imagine that like john denver i'll be able to say in all earnesty " thank god i'm a country boy" but not today:)