Cuzco is begging me for a tour of the interior of my new house! Stay out, goat!

The first day we moved in, the telephone guys came to our house to install the internet. They were in and out of the garage, but Cuzco was puttering behind the house so I thought nothing of it. Until I heard “click-a-clack-a-click-a-clack-a” on the tile floor behind me. I turned around and Cuzco was standing right there in the kitchen, sniffing along the counter-tops and surveying our new house with a critical eye. Dang, does that goat ever look big when he’s inside the house!

Apparently Cuzco had moseyed around the house to see what was going on in the garage, and on finding nothing more interesting than the telephone serviceman (who did nothing to stop him), he simply wandered through the open door into the house. Seeing my goat appear unexpectedly in the middle of my kitchen made my day. Suddenly the house felt like home. But I didn’t want Cuzco to feel at home in my house! I shoo-ed him out in short order and put him on his chain so he couldn’t come back!

Cuzco loves the back porch. He thinks the doormat was put there specifically for him to nap on. Now, instead of wiping the mud off our boots, the mud just gets stuck full of goat hair to be tracked right along with it into the house. I suppose it adds extra spring to our carpet. 😛

Phil and I recently bought and moved to a house on 40 acres, so Cuzco now has a bit of room to spread out. 😛

I can’t wait to bring up my horses so he can have buddies again!! Here are a couple of photos of Cuzco when Phil and I went sledding earlier this week on the amazing sledding hill outside our back door. Cuzco had fun chasing us down.

Sledding videos:

When Phil buys me flowers, Cuzco gets to enjoy them when they’re past their prime.

Cuzco was originally purchased to be a companion to my colt, Jet. Those two were quite the pair of trouble-makers. They still are, in fact. 

“Cuzco, let’s go steal the halters!” 

“I’m on it!” 

Cuzco? Spoiled?! Never!!

He earns his keep… A little bit… Sometimes. 
We had nearly a foot of snow last night and it was still coming down hard most of today, so we decided to walk the two miles to the store instead of drive on the treacherous unplowed roads. Cuzco got to carry the milk home–one gallon on each side. He did very well considering the snow was up over his knees, and he didn’t even complain once.

Cuzco loves it when Phil plays his fiddle or mandolin. He drops whatever he is doing and stands near Phil to listen.

From Sopris Unlimited. It’s a llama halter, but it fits Cuzco nicely. I wish they still made these!

This is me and Phil’s all-time favorite photo, hands down.

Every so often, Phil and I go out of town and my friend Wendy keeps Cuzco with her horses and goats. Cuzco met Wendy’s five pygmy goats for the first time in July 2007. They cornered him and he was terrified.

After sparring for a while, Cuzco decided that the little goats were dangerous, and when Phil and I tried to leave him, he leaped over Wendy’s fence, which is easily six feet high, and chased our truck down the road. We had to tie him to a tree so we could get out of there.

Cuzco eventually got used to the little goats and he and the feisty gray named Dilly became boyfriend and girlfriend. By the end of “goat camp” (as Phil calls Cuzco’s stays at Wendy’s), Cuzco had settled himself firmly in the middle of the pecking order. I guess Cuzco can’t take the humiliation of getting bossed about by pygmy goats, though, because after staying at Wendy’s a couple of times, he left the goat pen for good and stays with her horses. They boss him around too, but at least they’re bigger so it’s not as embarrassing for him.