Goat Walks

Just a short walk from our home is a pasture filled with an impressive herd of goats.

Not long after we moved in, “goat walks” became a consistent pastime, particularly after Liam was born. We’d say, “Let’s go for a goat walk!” just to get outside for a bit.

It became a delightful rhythm, one which Liam now recognizes with high degrees of enthusiasm, especially because he usually gets to ride on Daddy’s shoulders to get to the goats.

This spring, we’ve seen a number of new baby goats added to the mix, including what we think was a set of twins. There’s a billy goat that is clearly the alpha but sort of makes me think of a crotchety old man. Many of the kids stand in the feeding buckets or expend their energy frolicking around. 

Sometimes they’ll respond to our sorry attempts at mimicking their “maaaaaaaaa.” Liam even tries now. 

What a funny, wonderful, and unexpected rhythm we’ve fallen into as our little family. We’ve had others join us on these walks on occasion, but it’s usually just our three.

I love it. I love the fact that we can go watch the goats at length (provided they’re near the fence where we can actually see them as opposed to across the field). I love that it gets us outside. I love that Liam gets so excited. I love the fact that one of the neighboring homeowners knows to ask if we went to see the goats. I love that the goat owners enjoy our viewings and have even given us bread for Liam to feed the goats.

There’s not necessarily anything deeply spiritual about this other than it puts us in a simpler moment, one free of to-do lists and technology, and places us in front of some of the most hilariously unintelligent creatures on a regular basis.

Do you have anything like this in your life?