"Like an Irish monk?"

Here's the new bridge gate. Yeah, I realize it's not going to featured on any home improvement shows, but it gets the job done. And it was free - liberated hogwire fastened to lumber from a frat dumpster with some nails.

The already leaning rail makes the entire bridge look awkward (and unsafe), but no goats have been dropping land mines on it since the gate's inclusion. So we're saying mission accomplished.

"It's just part of your whole sick Cynthia thing."

Remember that post daring any ambitious goats to make the 4 foot jump into Dunc' and Dora's yard? Well, John Abraham strutted up there and leaped like it wasn't nothin' but a peanut. He stuck the landing and promptly starting munching on Dora's camellias.

I blocked off that potential escape route with a conveniently shaped limb. (Since this picture was taken, the barrier has been beefed up with the salvaged dumpster lumber.) When he made a second attempt and was stumped by the new impasse, he did a 180 back to the notch visible in the picture. Then he took off even farther up the downed tree, getting as much as 10 feet off the ground. He didn't like his odds as much from there and turned back before I could snap a picture from the other side.

Again, I suppose I could take preventive measures and block off that route as well. But, like before, I'm interested to see just how capable these goats are of escaping. A nine to ten foot jump is quite an accomplishment. Maybe something I could brag about as a goat owner...

"Dude, I finally got the venue I wanted."

The Dougie Deck is once again hospitable. Now, the steps and side of the deck pictured are fenced off with our newly acquired hog wire.

It's becoming more and more obvious that the number one challenge with goats is keeping them where you want them. Definitely underestimated their abilities. I'd say about 75% of my time spent with the goats is patching up a fence or solving some other boundary issue. If you have the option, do it right the first time and save yourself the trouble down the road.