A Rendezvous with a Goat

Last evening, I plucked baskets full of spinach, coriander, methi (fenugreek), eggplants, peas and beans along with a few tomatoes, radish, a small pumpkin and a papaya from my vegetable garden.   The sky was draped in an orange glow, butterflies in several color combinations were fluttering at a distance, the wind was gently playing with my errant hair strands and heaven seemed to have descended upon earth.   I was consciously making an attempt to enjoy the ‘bliss’ and stop myself from thinking, “What am I going to do with all this?” The maid, the driver, the gardener and the neighbors everyone seemed to have had enough from the above bill of fare.   My daughter had vowed that she would never make her kids go through the bounties of a kitchen garden.  

A sudden movement in the corner of my eye brought into focus a rather large sized goat jumping over the barbed wire fence; headed for a luscious dinner courtesy my green patch.   My blissful quandary vaporized in a moment as I tried putting on a ferocious scowl and started looking for a stick.   The visitor seemed quite determined to have a feast and it continued ignoring me nonchalantly to the point of being rude.  

Maintaining a respectful distance, I clapped, whooshed, clucked, stomped; all to no avail.   I was amazed at how my thoughts seemed to change in micro seconds.   I wished I was a cowgirl who could smoothly lasso the goat and tie it to a tree; thought about hurling the stick at the target but my dismal record at darts kept me from throwing the only weapon I had.   I cursed my husband for not being around when I needed him and finally exhaled deeply and told myself to calm down- there was no point in getting hyperventilated.  

I glanced at the baskets that I had hurriedly deserted on the ground and I glanced at the goat that was now nibbling at the edges of the spinach bed.   A premonition from the heavens came to me in that moment! I grabbed some veggies in a basket and ran towards the fence.   Dumped the colorful mix there unceremoniously, puckered my lips and made well, er… loud kissing sounds.   That certainly caught the goat’s attention and it started moving towards me.   I pointed to the laid out tomatoes, spinach, eggplants and beans, batted my eye lashes and prayed I made an impressive sight to the four legged creature.   Halleluiah! The goat started moving towards me.   Calmness had left me again and my heart was racing.   I hastily started tossing the stuff over the fence, hoping and praying that the goat followed the food and I had enough time to get out of the way.  

So all in all, the goat was out of my yard and I no longer had to think about ways of off-loading the day’s harvest.   I just hope this uninvited guest does not show up again soon.   And I sincerely hope for better ways to set my heart racing!