Opals aren't just gemstones anymore

I think Craig's List is just about the best thing since sliced bread. Not sure what's so great about sliced bread really, so perhaps it's better than sliced bread. I prefer it to eBay because it's local, and there's such an interesting assortment of items on it. We've purchased (or obtained free) a lot of chicken and goat structure building materials from it. Today, I purchased a second set of trolley lights for my plants in the spring when I start seeds indoors. Kelly also found fresh grass/clover/alfalfa bales on it today for $2.75 a bale! Wow!! He rushed out and bought all 21 bales that they had left for the goats for winter. What a great price.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. I was looking at Craig's List last week and saw a listing for a "lonely goat" who was a miniature goat with no companions. She was at a farm with 10 horses, but as you can well imagine, horses and miniature goats are on different levels, in so many ways. I thought about it for a couple of days. The ad didn't disappear. I talked to Kelly about it. He said we already had 7 goats. I knew this. But this goat was lonely. Maybe she needed us. He read the ad. He said maybe we should go have a look. So I wrote to the poster and said that we wanted to see the goat, and could she give us any more information.

She said the goat's name was Opal, and she was born in March to the Nigerian Dwarf goats that are in the petting zoo at our local city zoo. She was very affectionate, but lonely as an only goat. Goats need companionship, and this one was not getting the attention she needed. Clearly, a visit was in order.

We visited Opal on Sunday. One look, and that was all it took. Opal came home with us that very day. She is, in 2 words, a lap goat. She likes to sit on my lap and get head and ear rubs, and she thrives on affection. We introduced her to our nubians. She seemed to enjoy playing with them, but then, she discovered that she fit through the grid of the cattle panels that serve as our goat fencing. Oops. Little did we know she was an escape artist. So, little Opal now lives (temporarily) in a 12 by 7 foot dog run, next to the nubians. We think she will get a little bigger, and may be unable to fit through the cattle panel grids. If not, she will need her own little area. And, she's a bit lonely this way, so it may be that she needs a goat companion her own size. And for that, there's always Craig's List...