Is it possible that I jinxed things by mentioning that Slick was in the phase of motherhood where she couldn't really care less about Little-Bit? Tonight, I discovered that Slick had put herself to bed up in the tree with her siblings, parents and uncles. Forget the little bundle of feathers that is her baby peeping around on the ground with no way of getting up into that tree! So, after watching the whole flock go to bed I chased Little-Bit around and boy is he/she fast, and then popped him/her under the wing of Pippi, ironically the 'bad mum' of Little Jack. Perhaps this is her chance to redeem herself?
Nigel attacked me this morning - big time! Not just a warning or funny dance suggesting that I should scoot but fully fledged attack. He sunk his beak into my left thigh, just above my knee and it gave me a dead leg feeling for the whole day, so he's going by his alias 'Asshole' for now.
Ella and Tarka were tucked into the triangle fatty paddock with a bran mash to help digest all that hay they've been eating. I collected a wheelbarrow load of manure for the heap and took Hoby for a little walk. I'm so glad that Hoby is feeling better, he's got another two days left on antibiotics and this morning was the first morning he's walked on all four feet since last week. I was getting used to the three-legged gallop with the left front foot in propellor mode, cute but tragic at the same time.
Tarka is also feeling much better. He trotted, soundly, up and down the paddock when he saw Ella so I decided to reunite them for the evening.
Sheamus seems to be getting into the routine of veges for breakfast and a cup of nuts for dinner. The horrid roaring of frustration has stopped now that he's left to free range all day. His diet is now made up mainly of grass and veges with a side of nuts rather than the other way around, although I don't think he's a fan of the new regime I think he's come to accept it. As he and Ella have spent a lot of time together over the last couple of days I see their communication methods have also changed, everything is much more subtle. Ella doesn't need to kick him anymore, instead she hovers a foot in front of him and he promptly moves and Sheamus no longer squeals instead he has a quiet little grunt that Ella immediately understands as 'get out of my way'.
The goats appear to have bonded more with Tarka, probably due to his smaller size and his vicinity to their safe haven. I find them mingling with him without a care. They've become more adventurous and venture into different places - up on the bank, in the drain, on the edge of the bush - always keeping close to their home. When I went to let them back into their enclosure this evening it was already dusk and Mabel's sounded very exhausted and pleased to be going home. They wait by their gate, I open it and they toddle off inside and up to their a-frame house, simplicity at its finest.
So, as I head off to bed knowing that everyone is feeling better, no longer in pain (except me - my leg's killing me!) and accepting their fate as diet-bunnies I begin to contemplate jumping on the bandwagon myself. 10 kg is my aim, I want to get back to 58 kg and a size 10 which is when I felt my best. If I can weigh, measure and control the feed for all my companions surely I can make the time to do it for myself too? I'll try it for a week and see how I go, starting on Saturday!
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