These are the three goats I turn to in setting a good example. That's Hyacinth, the mother in the middle, flanked by her kids Dandelion and Daffodil. They are low key, slow and steady. They are friendly but not too friendly. They are skittish but not too bad.
Hyacinth is a pretty LaMacha doe with a nice beard and pretty blue eyes. Sometimes people think she's funny looking and wonder why we cut her ears off. LaManchas have little elfin or gopher ears and they are bred that way. I have no idea why someone decided to breed for the lesser ear is better trait, but it's an American concoction. Hyacinth was bred with a Nubian buck. Nubians have long luxurious pendulous ears. The babies have the length, but they stick out more than they hang.
A year or so ago Hyacinth was very sick and wasn't interested in anything. We coaxed her back to health and I knew we'd turned the corner and she would certainly get well, the day she played with the Velcro on my winter coat. She loves to undo Velcro. She'll do it over and over again like a toddler with a new game. She's tender and doesn't run away, just gently separates the two parts of the Velcro strip.
The other goats might be prettier than Hyacinth and her twins or exude a more rambunctious personality, but I love the fact that I can count on them to be the calm presence in the midst of the barnyard. Sometimes I think I'm getting old and boring. Maybe I am to those around me, I'm just not going to ask. But life isn't always about bouncing around and looking pretty or even outdoing others. Sometimes the best times, are when we allow ourselves to become that calm, reliable presence.
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