Have I mentioned that we have a goat? Well, this is what happened. Sometimes people from the church bring us gifts of food and fruit. Apparently, we received a gift of a goat two weeks ago. I came home to find a Billy goat tied up at the side of the house. Being the animal lover that I am, I immediately felt sorry for the little guy 'cuz he was tied up and couldn't move around too much. But, I was told not worry 'cuz we were going to kill him and eat him.
OK.....but that was 2 weeks ago....
You can not leave water for "Billy" because he just knocks it over. So, everyday I go out several times to water the goat. And I can't forget about him being here because he is crying (baaah-ing) constantly. Now I have never "lived" with a goat right outside the house before and I must say, I hope this is the only time it happens. Besides the fact that he is more noisy than a bunch of roosters at dawn.....he STINKS!!! And I mean it is a thick, hovering kinda smell. I hold my breath while giving him water!
Yesterday morning, Sunday, he woke me up and it sounded like he was "on the move". I quickly dressed (in a top and skirt which is my usual attire and sandals) and headed for the door. I found that after two weeks of being tied up on a short rope, Billy had twisted and twisted it until it broke. He was indeed freely roaming around the compound. Now you may not think this is a big deal, but we cannot leave for church without opening the gate for our vehicles and if Billy gets out, we will never get him back.
So, it was decided by me, since I am the only one who is not scared of him, that I would catch him by grabbing the rope which was still around his neck. So....one of the girls shooed him my way and I lunged for the rope at his neck...I got it!!! AAWWW....the rope is in my hand, but the goat is on the run!! So now what to do? We don't have any spare rope hanging around and besides I don't know the first thing about lasso-ing a goat.
We have a cage which I use with the little dog. He doesn't stay in it all the time, but I do put him in there when the gate is open to keep him from running loose. If he does get out, he always comes back, but I am fearful that a truck might hit him. Any, I decided that we would put the goat in the cage. So I shut the dog up on the porch and headed to tackle a goat..
Once again, one of the girls shooed the goat in my direction and as he attempted to flee past me, between the house and a small bush, I grabbed a fist full of goat hair! I then wrapped one arm around his neck and grabbed his front feet with my other hand. One of the girls came to help me carry him, but because she was so afraid of him I feared that she would drop him and then I would have to start over.....So, I managed to get the goat -stink and all - in my arms and cradle him against my body, holding onto his bottom and front feet. I had to be careful that he did not head-butt me in the process. And then quickly carry him to the other side of the house where the cage was. All of the family was standing back just watching me from a distance...actually, most of them were on the porch behind a closed gate!
Once I had the goat securely locked up, I realized that I now smelled like a GOAT! YUK!!!
Now, just so you know. I cleaned up well and made it to church on time.....but this is definitely not what I pictured a Sunday morning in Ghana to be like.....
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