it was her mezmerizing beauty that captured my heart and momentarily immobilized my brain. we called her "dortje", dutch for dorthey. she was no ordinary goat, and she begged an extraordinary name.
she was entirely different from Scarlett. we had taken the van which had a deeper back but she hadn't moved, curled up in the fetal position in the back boot. hadn't made a single sound. only her odor breifly gave away her presence in our mini van. one of the kids had even remarked how good she would be at playing hide and seek {which we found out was ominously prophetic}. when we got her home, i knew from my last delivery to the barn, that this may be an issue. my mom hugged my waist to anchor me to the ground this time, still sore from my last dragging. Dortje, even though half the size of Scarlett. jumped out of the back with twice as much pazzaz and for a few good paces dragged both my mom and me, with our heels dug in. it took both of us and all of our might to steer her into the barn but we did it. and we were proud.
normally, a new pastured or free range animal on the farm would need to stay cooped up for a week or two until they got used to this being home but Dortje had been so anxious she had stopped eating all together and we thought, wrongly, that being in with our other does would help her settle better. it worked for a few days. but in those few days we had also attempted to milk her which she had apparently felt a catastrophic injustice to her personal space.
it was on the eventual eve that i gave up milking the fiery wild-ling, that she decided she was not coming into the barn for the night. it had been pouring rain all day and everything was slick and muddy out in the pasture. i called to her & tempted her with grain but she was not interested in interacting anymore. even Scarlett came out & tried to reason with her but it just made her run faster and further.
i tried to cloak my plans for her capture by looking off casually into opposite direction while i slowly walked behind her, attempting to push her forward towards the goat barn. all the other goats with their heads taking turns bleeting out the barn door for her to seek asylum. and she flew fast and hard against the fence that bordered the busy road momentarily pausing for dramatic affect like she was going to jump if i dared step any closer. i held my breath like i was the one that was going to get run over if she did pop over that fence. in one such pivotal pause, she took a sharp turn and bounded towards and into the little goat door opening into home free! and i gunned it to close that little flap door before she could escape. as i slid in the manure slip-and-slide that had accumulated outside the door at mach 3 into the side of the barn, i frantically reached in to slam the door. to my surprise, she rocketed out of that little door, right over my forehead and trampolining off my mid drift. and i lay there. just for a moment. with my head propped up on a muddy rock. flat out trampled in the cold, cold mud as harsh rain drops & tears pooled on my cheeks. Scarlett & Jemimah peaked their heads out cautiously to see if i was ok. i was not ok. and i was gonna get that son of biscuit of it was the last thing i did. i slowly sat up and gritted my jaw.
it was considerably darker by now and i could barely make out her deer like frame in the back distant corner of the field. i marched off into the wind and rain with determination that she was not going to get away with this. she crashed through the creek that cuts our pasture in two and i too flung myself, unsuccessfully, across the creek inches from making it to the other side. i stood there for a moment as snails filled my shoes and sunk deeper into the mud and let out a exasperated cry! the horses had now taken notice and sauntered over to check out what my problem was. but they were no help. no help at all and scared Dortje further and further into the back corner.
i collected myself and crept as quiet as one could with snails squeaking in their crocks and a ridiculously over sized raincoat and pants so soaked with rain and mud that they has lost their will to stay around my waist. i crept into the pitch black as close as i possibly could to the sound of that dinging bell around her neck. she was walking the back fence looking for a way through without getting electrocuted. and i sneaklily snuck until i knew i was close enough. i knew i could grab her and pounced hard on her which scared the living life out of that goat. slick as slug from the rain, she popped out of my arms dragging me over the electric fence with her. the blast of electrical shock stunned me so hard i let go and she was gone. her bell bouncing away into the thick, thick bramble of our neighbours 200 acre backyard.
in sheer horror i bounded my soaking, sopping pants in a hysterical fit all the was back to the house, screaming for help! by the time i made it to the house, i collapsed completely out of breath, trying to explain the urgency of the situation to my mom and steve, who had thought i had been serenely milking the goats all this time.
we threw the dog & some rope into a vehicle and scoured the street behind the field that she'd escape into. we searched until 11pm, knocking on neighbours doors to let them know about our fugitive situation. and then we stopped. my mom wiped the goat footprints off my forehead and said, it's time to leave it until morning. she made me a small bite to eat after i had changed into dry clothes.
as i cried my woes and worries about finding that horrible, terribly, preciously beautiful goat, i noticed that a big blister started to rise under my eye. wild celery is a real problem in this area and if you get in your eye, you instantly go blind with no hope of recovery. in despair, i declared i was probably going to go blind, flopped on my bed and fell fast asleep until the early morning hours.
No comments:
Post a Comment