Goats!

This weekend we visited 'A Better Way' Farms, in Charlottesville, VA, to talk to Kathy about Goats.  My youngest daughter has an affinity for goats, so my wife bought her a 'Goat Experience' for five people to visit her farm and mingle with these odd creatures.  We begged my daughter to take to us with her (she is a young adult, after all, and typically wants nothing to do with us, but goats and farm life are very intriguing to us) so she agreed to allow us to tag along.

I have to admit I was a bit surprised to find goats so friendly and cuddly.  Not that I'm in to cuddly, but they really are friendly animals.  And they provide quite a bit of value on the farm, from milk production to helping to clear the land of many types of unwanted weeds.  And let me tell you a bit about weeds on the farm...there can be alot of them!  Then again, goats do seem to nibble on just about anything.  But the thing that struck me the most about goats (and these goats in particular) was just how happy they seemed just to be alive.  The goats that we visited seemed to have an incredible 'joie de vivre' that was just fun to be around and even seemed to permeate my own soul (and I am a REALLY tough guy :)).  They even had their own playground set! 

The proprietor of 'A Better Way Farms', Kathy, is obviously passionate about her goats as well.  She takes great pride in trying to breed the highest quality animal possible, which is important for a number of reasons, not the least of which is small farm productivity.  It is imperative that small farms such as this find their business niche and survive financially - if not for the benefits to the environment, then for the diversity and benefit of the local and larger economy as a whole.
I left 'A Better Way' Farms intrigued by the value proposition goats offer farmers, not to mention just a little happier on the inside, perhaps recognizing a somewhat primordial desire to work, and play, outside more.