"Some beers, a few laughs..."

Our spontaneous backyard goatscaping experiment for the week hit a minor bump. After analyzing her herd, Mrs. Charlie didn't feel comfortable selling me a goat to both keep for a few days in the city, and then eat. Nothing fit the bill entirely. That is to say, there are edible goats available, yes, but none that were old enough to be removed from the herd and expected to remain relatively quiet.

So, our goats-in-the-chicken-run idea will have to wait until another time. On the bright side, Mrs. Charlie was very receptive to the idea of loaning me a few goats for 24 or 48 hours in the future. A very kind and generous person she is, indeed.

But, don't let the rain check fool you. We're still on for roasting goats this weekend. Two of them, in fact. The onset of warm weather deserves celebrating, and USA is playing Argentina in soccer. I even put a bug in Kelly's ear about preparing one goat Jamaican curry style. Sounds like the makings of a party...

"We're talking about unchecked aggression here, Dude."

The good news: our wounded hen seems to be slowly recovering. I'm no vet, but it's clear she's starting to act more like a chicken. She even laid an egg today, albeit slightly misshapen. Then Brian dropped it...

The bad news: our rogue predator(s) is still prowling the neighborhood. The closest guess I have after seeing shadowy shapes fleeing the scene is a raccoon. Maybe two. I know, I blew it. That was my chance to prove a point to the little devils.

Plus, I just heard a great horned owl in the backyard for the first time. Right over the chicken run. So, we can chalk owls up to the list of potential predators.

Speaking of the list, I find it fascinating how many people have an opinion on what kind of animals could be stealing from our flock. The boss, the checkout lady at Athens Seed, Grandpa, the roommates. Everybody's got a theory. Whatever it may be, it's getting a lot of attention. What do you think? A penny for your thoughts...