An old friend of ours had some goats that got away a few years ago. He didn't do anything about it and neither did anybody else. They went into the hills along the southern side of the island not too far from us. I remember our dog, Kandi, would suddenly prick up her ears and take off over the cliff. I'd usually go screaming after her not sure if I was more afraid of her falling to her death on the rocks below or of her killing a goat. But she did neither. What she did do was keep them out of her territory.

The goats over the years grew into a small flock. They populate the cliffs and drink mostly salt water. They are amazing creatures.

Now that our dog is dead, they have been coming around. There's olive branches to eat and other cultivated vegetation that they can't get on the cliffs. That is both a problem and really cool. If you're outside you can catch a mild scent of them even before you see them. But they will also come and eat everything I've planted here.

Yanni, our friend and stone-man, sets traps for them every evening before leaving. He hasn't caught any yet. I hope he doesn't. For him these goats mean quite a bit more money and food... for a while. They say that the meat from goats that drink sea water is delicious. I don't think Yanni is interested in that as much as making some extra money.

The original owner of the first goats that got away is also dead, so there is no claim on them. The mayor of the village told Yanni that whoever catches them gets to keep them.

Niko and I talked about gathering them up and keeping them here. At least that way they won't all be tomorrow's lunch. That seems so unfair. We might, but we're not sure if we want goats. When I say how sad it is to catch them the men say, "if we don't catch them someone else will".

Boys will be boys... I'm not getting on all men here, but rather man's need to conquer over nature. I mean, Yanni will be no better off after the goats are caught, slaughtered and sold in pieces. Not much in his life will have changed. If I could just open his eyes and put in there the riches he could posses by leaving the goats alone, to add beauty and inspiration to this deeply parched civilization.

Besides, there's plenty of goats to be had at the butcher's shop.

Enjoy these goats while they're here.... I'll keep you posted.

Be well......

Tags: goats, cliffs