Sue Weaver: Mischievous Goats

“If you’re short of trouble, take a goat.” — Finnish proverb

Though I surely love my sheep, goats are the joy of my life. They are also favorite subjects of the scores of animal photographs I shoot each month. Caprine joie de vivre is infectious and comes through on film so well. Here are some favorites from my collection.

Parked vehicles are always fair game.
Tallulah perches on the hood;
Jadzia thinks about joining her.

Same van, different day. Simka stands on the
windshield to nibble tasty oak leaves while her mom
and brother nap and Amelia the Boer ambles by.

Climbing on yard appliances is good fun, too.

Even great-grandma goats climb.
Big Mama savors thistles growing atop the wood heap.

Goats are natural show-offs.
Young Martok dances to impress Nick, the lamb.

And it’s in the blood! Martok’s daughter,
Jadzia, tells Baaxter to shove off.

Racing is another favorite game.
Triplets Drex, Emony, and Kira storm up the hill.

Clotheslines are never safe. Edmund
prepares to denude the line of towels.

Goats love dress-up. Uzzi poses as a
caprine Oak King for our Christmas cards.

Hiding is great fun, too. Latka peers
out of a goat playhouse in the yard.

Tallulah, our herd comedienne, chomps on clothespins
left on the ground under the clothesline . . .

. . . and surveys her world from her favorite resting spot,
the wooden feed cart.

Goats are immeasurably curious.
Uzzi checks out the Nubians’ dairy barn.

Wars are waged over the turtle-shaped sandbox
we use as a watering receptacle in our yard.

And some goats have marvelously mischievous faces. Like Katy . . .

. . . Tumnus . . .

. . . Uzzi . . .

. . . and mama Bon Bon.

Sue Weaver sold her first freelance article in 1969. Since then her work has appeared in major horse periodicals, including The Western Horseman, Horse Illustrated, Chronicle of the Horse, Flying Changes, Horseman’s Market, Arabian Horse Times, The Appaloosa News, The Quarter Horse Journal, Horse’N Around, and The Brayer. She has written, among other books, Storey’s Guide to Raising Miniature Livestock, The Donkey Companion, and The Backyard Goat. Sue is based in the southern Ozark Mountains in Arkansas.