Saturday, March 6...Good Ol’ Goat (Greenleaf)

   A couple of years we determined that Nutt Road was a 1.5 mile walk down Picacho Highway from the campground...  although I forget if that was from our actual campsite or the driveway.  No matter.  The fastest we’ve ever walked that 3 mile round trip was just under 1 hour.  Today I was out walking to Nutt Road by 7:30 a.m....and I did not break our record.  This morning the air was so silky warm that I just took my time.  Any movement is better than no movement even if it’s slow, right? 

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   Today in an effort to give Callie a couple hours of peace, Marshal took the kids to Rooster Cogburn’s Ostrich Ranch and I went along as his wingman.  Kim decided to go for a walk instead since yesterday he got over 12,000 ‘cheater steps’ by forgetting to take his Fitbit off when we went for a ride.  So today was a make-up day...walk without wearing the Fitbit to even things out for the various challenges we had going.  So it was Marshal, me and the kiddos off to feed the animals. 

   We fed donkeys, goats, deer, ostriches, more goats, bunnies, chickens, ducks and finally the lorikeets.  Oh, and the stingrays...we petted stingrays.

   The kids are very familiar with the picture of Grampa ‘kissing a goat’ and when I told them that this is where he did it, they thought it would be fun to do the same.  Or at least Dylan and Clayton thought it would be fun...Shelby and Charlie knew right away that they weren’t getting anywhere near those goats.  I took one for the team and showed the boys how to hold a long piece of food between their lips and lean in so the goat would take the food.  Dylan tried...oh, he tried but just couldn’t make himself lean close enough. Then I offered him the use of my mask which made him a little braver but he still couldn’t quite get close enough for a ‘kiss’.   Clayton also gave it a good try but wasn’t as persistent about it as Dylan.  In the end, I was the only one to kiss a goat this year...and Shelby made sure to tell Grampa that Gramma had kissed the same brown goat that he had kissed.   

   The ostriches were ugly and slightly scary to all the kids but especially Shelby.  Because ostriches peck to get their food there is no hand feeding...their food is placed in a cup which funnels it to a pan on their side of the fence.  Even putting the food into the cup was scary for Shelby because the ostriches were big and constantly thrusting their beaks at the fence.  They couldn’t get through the fence but just the fact that they tried freaked Shelby out.  I don’t blame her because I, too, was a little intimidated by their 
aggressive manner.

   The bunnies were more fun to be around...they were cute and calm, not so demanding and therefore less intimidating to Shelby and Charlie.

    Then it was onto the lorikeets.  Each person had been given a tiny cup of nectar...hold it and the lorikeets would land on a hand or arm to drink it up...the attendant said that we didn’t have to remove the cup lid, that the birds would do that.  That was not our experience with the first cup so subsequently we took the lids off to save the nectar from being spilled.  The boys quickly figured out that reacting in surprise when a bird landed on their arm was a good way to spill the nectar and then the fun was over.  The girls wanted nothing to do with it.  So Marshal took the girls out while I stayed with the boys who were thoroughly enjoying the experience. By watching other people they realized the best way to get a bird to come to them was to lay the hand/arm holding the nectar on a fence rail...the bird would usually fly to the rail and then hop or walk onto their arm.  Much better and less surprising than the birds swooping down without warning. 

   And then finally it was time to pet the stingrays.  After multiple timid attempts Shelby finally managed to touch one.  She was very pleased but admitted that it was just a little touch.  Doesn’t matter, you still touched it...Way to go, Shelby!   

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   Today we introduced Marshal and Callie to Hot Dogs Alvaredo.  Took a picture of Marshal taking his first bite and sent it to my mom.  She was hooked on those hot dogs after the first bite and every once in a while I’ll get a text asking about them.  Are they open? Have you been there yet? That’s one of the things I miss about Arizona. I sure think one would taste good right about now.  Callie and Marshal both gave the hot dogs a thumbs up.  We feel it’s our duty to spread the love. 

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   I was sitting outside in the warmth but noticed that my eyes were getting very heavy so I simply gave in to the urge and laid down on the couch for a short snooze.  It didn’t last long but sure felt good.  Then the WonderKids came over and we all waited together for Marshal and Kim to get back from town with some kind of flotation devices.  Kids were looking forward to some pool time.  By the time they returned it was a little past prime to take a ride....the sun was at a point on its downward arc that it would have been tough on the eyes so we went to watch children flounder around in the pool instead.  Gauging from everyone’s reaction upon entering the water I was glad I chose to watch and not participate.    

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   Topped the night off with supper at Marshal and Callie’s followed by a campfire with s’mores.  No wine tonight, though.  😏

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