Calves meet goats
I look up from picking edible flowers and see that Daryn has let the new calves into the paddock where the goats are. The calves see the goats and excitedly gallop over to say hello, their tails like bike flags sticking out behind them.
A few goats look up to greet the calves, but others act disinterested, and a bit like they're above it all.
"Hello, what are you?"
"We - are goats."
"What's a goat?"
"Well, as a goat, we do whatever we want, eat the best bits and have a great time."
"Are we goats too?"
"No - you are calves. You do what Daryn says. We don't mind if you share a paddock with us from time to time, we might even become friends ... but just remember ... even when you grow up and are bigger than us ... we're in charge."
Each year we raise cattle from young weaned calves through to 18 months or so. We rotate them through our paddocks, moving them every couple of days, and sometimes they share a paddock with our goats.
The two species interact happily, even when the cattle are grown up and much bigger than the goats. Sometimes a goat and a cow become good friends, but I always get the impression the goat's think they're a bit superior to the cattle.
Do you wonder what animals think of each other?
Who are we? I am Louise ... the storyteller ... and the guy in many of my illustrations and stories is hubby Daryn. We're the two person team behind Salty River Farm, a small farm and market garden north of Auckland, NZ. Most of the time we're busy growing and selling seriously good bagged lettuce and edible flowers. But on days off, with so much to inspire me, I set about illustrating and telling the little stories that unfold in around us on our farm.