Goats

Last Saturday we had dinner with the goats. The goats were on the roof. Mid-meal, I glanced out the restaurant’s large glass windows and found myself staring directly at a goat on the edge of the low roof. He was leaning over to munch on the tall juniper bushes that surround the building… dessert, no doubt.

Wisconsinites will recognize the locale, Al Johnson’s Swedish restaurant in Door County. In traditional Scandinavian style, the building has a grass roof, and goats are used as lawnmowers. (Note to ecologists: your “green” roofs are not a new invention.)

I am fascinated at how people will flock from miles around to see ordinary animals in incongruous settings. I am definitely one of these people. I love the goats, and I’m also a fan of the ducks.

Get me within 100 miles of Memphis and I’ll need to go to the Peabody Hotel to see the ducks swimming in the elegant lobby fountain. The ducks are a tradition at the Peabody, dating from the 1930’s. The ducks reside in a penthouse suite and are ushered down each morning in the ornate elevator by the duckmaster. A red carpet is rolled out, and the ducks parade to the fountain. The reverse happens during the evening cocktail hour. Hordes of well-dressed and well-heeled guests, drinks in hand, cheer the ducks as they parade back to the elevator.

My niece recently informed me that the ducks have started a franchise in Orlando and are also adding class to Little Rock.

I have not yet caught up with the penguins. They stage a daily parade (or walkabout in the vernacular) at the Edinburgh Zoo in Scotland. I’m saving up for a trip.

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1 thought on “Goats”

  1. “The picture of you walking through a field of trillium is my all time favorite of all the pictures I have enjoyed. I will drive for hours to see them in bloom even though I can look out my patio and see a few.

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