Country Life in North Central Florida
A Thursday morning visit
Gina, my best friend and birding companion, lives on 40-acres about 12 miles northeast of me. She always running “into town”, so I rarely go to her place. In fact, I was shocked to realize I hadn’t been there since 2019!
Gina is also my computer person. Since my laptop wasn’t charging properly and since she wasn’t coming to town the rest of the week, I took my laptop to her.
The lead photo shows the planted pines that line her property, hiding her home from the road.
Her gargoyle-protected driveway winds through the woods. In wet weather, the drive is often submerged.
When Gina and her now-wife moved there, they had three horses, one burro, three pet pigs, a flock of chickens, and several goats, dogs, and cats. Almost 20 years later, they are down to four goats, two dogs, and three cats.
We sat on her airy Southern-style porch while she worked on my laptop and the dogs, Bunny (left) and Lina (right) napped.
Afterward, we walked through her wildflower garden to get to the back fence.
Gina lured the two male goats from the shady woods with apple slices and carrots.
Romeo, the larger goat, is a Nubian-Florida Standard. No, the smaller goat is not a baby. Chunk (full name: Chocolate Chunk) is a full-grown Nigerian Dwarf Goat. I’d met Romeo before, but Chunk was recently added to the family when an elderly goat passed.
Look at the size of Chunk’s horns compared to his body!
Next, we walked to the front pasture to see the female goats, Mags and Mimi. Both are Kiko-Alpine Goats. If the males and females are pastured together, the males won’t let the females eat.
Mags and Mimi don’t care for carrots or apples, so Gina brought their favorite treats — saltine crackers.
And, she offered some sort of seedy grass that they like.
Meanwhile, the dogs rolled in and strolled through the grass, waiting to be let into the air-conditioned house. Outside it was 88F with no breeze, so I couldn’t blame them when they rushed through the front door!
As I was walking back to my car, I spotted three woodpeckers — 2 Downies and one Pileated but the Pileated was too fast for a photo!
And, this Katydid tried to hitch a ride to town on my pants!
I had an enjoyable visit with Gina and her pets, including getting to finally meet Chunk, and my laptop is fixed. Plus, I had a pleasant drive through the countryside. Not a bad way to spend a Thursday morning!
© Dennett 2022
