Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Hey Washington Post, “Democracy Dies in Darkness” is supposed to be a warning, not a mission statement.

ha ha ha! Nice try weird people.

Baby steps, because the Republican Party is full of angry babies.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Found liable for massive fraud, is required to post a massive bond, gets a break, then files a *fraudulent* bond!

Let the trolls come, and then ignore them. that’s the worst thing you can do to a troll.

“And when the Committee says to “report your income,” that could mean anything!

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires.

Motown is Joe-Town!

These days, even the boring Republicans are nuts.

It’s pointless to bring up problems that can only be solved with a time machine.

Let’s show the world that autocracy can be defeated.

When you’re a Republican, they let you do it.

Israel is using food as a weapon of war. Unforgivable.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires Republicans to act in good faith.

Someone should tell Republicans that violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, or possibly the first.

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

It could be worse. Vance could have said “post-menopausal sows.” Waiting for that audiotape to surface.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

Battle won, war still ongoing.

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You are here: Home / Nature & Respite / Respite Open Thread: The Goats of the Great Orme

Respite Open Thread: The Goats of the Great Orme

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120Comments

  2. 2.

    Van Buren

    Well, someone said we need Tom Brady, and there’s been a bit of a misunderstanding about “Goat”

  3. 3.

    A Ghost To Most

    Goat overlords there, mountain lion overlords here. Nature is wasting no time trying to reclaim space for itself

  5. 5.

    Feathers

    When I saw these all I could think of is my father breaking every stay inside the house order if they got into his garden and started munching away. Especially the wisteria.

  8. 8.

    Mary G

    People’s hedges won’t trim themselves. At first I thought we should get some goats or other animals with big scary horns to patrol other areas where assholes are having trouble obeying instructions to stay the fuck home. Then I realized most of the assholes probably own a shitload of guns and would like to try for trophies.

  9. 9.

    Gravenstone

    Different sort of respite but for those interested in anime, the first Violet Evergarden movie is finally coming to Netflix this Thursday.

  11. 11.

    satby

    @Feathers: if the goats ate the wisteria to the ground, it would just grow back. It took me three years to completely kill one I planted in a bad spot.

    Besides, you’re allowed out in your own garden, aren’t you? I would love to live in that town and see the goats wandering about; there’s only so much watching tv that I can tolerate.

  13. 13.

    kindness

    I love goats.  They are more personable than sheep or cows.  One problem with goats is that they will eat everything.  Starting with what you don’t want them to eat most and working their way down that list till they get to the stuff you don’t care if they eat it or not.  Then they’ll eat that too.

  14. 14.

    NotMax

    Invasion of the cashmere hordes.

    Coming to a drive-in near you at an undetermined date in the future, The Aba That Ate Aberystwyth.

  17. 17.

    Wanderer

    It is a lovely place, whether filled with people or goats. I would have liked to see the goats in town. A beautiful site.

  18. 18.

    Some guy

    Thanks for this.  I have fond memories of Llandudno.  I used to eat there with my boyfriend every week, long, long ago.

  20. 20.

    MoCA Ace

    They would know how to deal with this in Greece (or most of sub Saharan Africa). Mmmmmmmmmmm goat!

  21. 21.

    WereBear

    @kindness: I’m a goat fan too. A local couple fell in love when their grandson raised some for a 4H project. They got them packs and said the were the most delightful hiking/camping companions.

    They love being in a herd so never wander off.

  22. 22.

    Caphilldcne

    There’s an island in Lake Martin, Alabama, given over to goats. It’s truly wonderful to go there, bring them carrots and they will definitely come take every carrot you’ve got. You have to  work to get the carrots to the little ones. And they’ve got no sense of personal space. It’s pretty fun going over there. These guys might be a bit too aggressive to just hand out carrots tho.

  23. 23.

    Lacuna Synecdoche

    Andrew Stuart via Anne Laurie @ Top:

    This shows what it’s all about. [The goats are] scared of me (a human) in this. They don’t like people. They usually only come down from the Great Orme when it’s windy, and only the back streets at the top of Mostyn Street. Now lockdown means it’s empty, they’re going further than ever.

    Just the other day, when I headed out for groceries in NYC, I was wondering where the giraffes are (for those who don’t know what I’m talking about, it’s a 12 Monkeys reference – I guess it’s also an unintentional Maurice Sendak allusion too).

  24. 24.

    JPL

    ABC nightly news.. We just heard from pres trump at his most somber yet..  click

    His polling must look bad.

  26. 26.

    Lacuna Synecdoche

    @MattF:

    Goats are, by far, preferable to frogs or locusts.

    Oh, I don’t know. Frogs aren’t so bad – as long as they aren’t raining down from the sky …

  29. 29.

    prostratedragon

    @Lacuna Synecdoche:  Wasn’t there a pestilence in that that was used by plutocrats for their own ends?

     

    (I’m also reminded of my grands’ old house in Memphis, still there according to googleearth. It’s about half-mile from the zoo, and on quiet evenings in the 1950s you could hear the lion quite clearly. I’ll bet this is the quietest it’s been down there since about that time.)

  30. 30.

    Miss Bianca

    Great. Now I know I’m going to be intoning, “there are goats…everywhere…” and all those people without my 6-foot safety zone are going to be edging *even further away*….

    ETA: Actually, that might be a *great* way to insure social distancing if people insist on standing too close to me!

  32. 32.

    A Ghost to Most

    @kindness: We love the mountain goats here. Sometimes we just drive up until we find goats, and then just hang out with them. They don’t seem to mind.

  34. 34.

    Roger Moore

    @Baud:

    Animals come into human areas more than most people probably realize.  It’s just that most of them are afraid of humans and do their best to remain unseen.  When people are out and about on their normal schedule, the animals find places to hide.  But once everyone is staying inside, they are able to come out of hiding.

  36. 36.

    Mohagan

    @kindness: We have had Nubian goats as companions for our horse, and they are wonderful – a combination of cat, dog, and deer.  Very companionable like dogs, don’t like to get their feet wet like cats, and browse like deer (leaves and twigs – roses, yumm).

  37. 37.

    Mohagan

    Yes, this plague is good for all the earth and its life except for humans.  Reminds me of when I learned the DMZ between North and South Korea is a de facto animal sanctuary.  No people = more animals.

  38. 38.

    CaseyL

    It’s a hopeful sign of how fast the Earth could renew itself if we got out of the way.

    …

    …

    …

    …OK, maybe not so hopeful.

  40. 40.

    kindness

    Back in the 80’s I had a tight friend who had a few goats.  That was my first meet and get to know.  That’s also when I learned they will eat anything.  Like if your gate is open and there is laundry hanging on the line?  Goats love the adventure of eating something new.  Starting with your silk kimonos and working their way down to towels.  Karen was so pissed at her goats.  I couldn’t stop laughing.  She knew that is what they’d do.  It wasn’t their fault.  They were just being goats.

  42. 42.

    columbusqueen

    @Miss Bianca: My family raised Nubians when I was a teen. Not only are they good company, but their milk is delicious. It’s very rich & creamy compared to other breeds; very much like Jerseys are among cows.

  44. 44.

    Martin

    Huh. USGS sent me a notification but it doesn’t show on the interactive map. Did someone kick a seismograph?

  49. 49.

    Lacuna Synecdoche

    @prostratedragon:

    Wasn’t there a pestilence in that [12 Monkeys] that was used by plutocrats for their own ends?

    Terrorists, if I recall correctly, not plutocrats. However, I could be wrong. Although, realistically, plutocrats are a subset of terrorists – albeit whiny, wealthy, privileged, self-serving terrorists –  so I suppose it could be both.

    But, yeah, the plot revolves around a world in which most of the human race has died out due to a pandemic, and the remainder is isolated underground.

  52. 52.

    Barbara

    @Roger Moore: Right. I have had mice in my house most of the winter. They hang out behind appliances and walls. They are probably better attuned to our circadian rhytms than we are.

  53. 53.

    kindness

    I don’t know what kind of goats Karen had.  She had this one that was huge.  A gelded male.  He was between the size of an alpaca and a llama.  Big for goats.  One of his horns was deformed and only grew a tiny bit out of his head almost sideways so with his one good horn he had an almost unicorn look.  My guess is he got bonked on the head when he was very little.  He was fun to be around though.  You had to be tough as he’d lean all in to you and push you over.  Usually if they got loose into the back yard they’d go after the flowers & then the leaves on the trees & shrubs.  Sure were sweet though.

    Got my 2020 Census ID.  Did it on line tonight.  I got the short one so it was quick.

  54. 54.

    A Ghost to Most

    In Maryland, there was a thriving business of renting out goats to eat poison ivy, which they apparently love, with no ill effects.

  57. 57.

    CaseyL

    @Baud:   I’m trying to figure how to take that :)

    @Barbara:  So is the Hanford Reach, the area in central Washington state where the Hanford Nuclear Reservation (bomb production site) used to be.  I think the area is considered too contaminated to ever have human habitation again, but all sorts of local flora and fauna thrive there.  (Used to be rumors of 3-eyed bunnies, but those were urban legends.  I think.)

  62. 62.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Barbara:  Technically, “exclusion zone.” But it’s become a fairly significant tourist attraction in recent years.

  63. 63.

    Barbara

    @CaseyL: PBS had a special on the animal life found around Chernobyl. Even storks and native wild horses are thriving there, although endangered elsewhere. Many animals ride out the winters in abandoned structures like barns and even apartment buildings.

  64. 64.

    raven

    The Babushkas of Chernobyl
     

    An affectionate portrait of a group of women who, after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster and evacuation, returned to the exclusion zone surrounding the nuclear power plant and have resided there – semi-officially, for years.

  65. 65.

    Krope, the Formerly Dope

    I just saw the Michael Moore tweet from earlier that one party hoards the wealth to preserve the power, the other preserves the power to preserve the wealth.

    There has to be wealth for the wealth to be distributed fairly, doesn’t there?

  66. 66.

    dmsilev

    @A Ghost to Most: In California, because California, goat yoga is a thing. People pay to lie on yoga mats while baby goats climb over their backs. No, I don’t know why either.

  69. 69.

    MomSense

    @Miss Bianca:

    Nubian goats have the most amazing ears. I used to take my kids to see Nubian kids just so we could pet their ears.  You will fall in love with them.

  70. 70.

    Mohagan

    @Miss Bianca: We got Nubians because they are common in. N CA (they can take the summer heat better than the Alpine breeds). If you do get a goat or two, I suggest researching breeds common in your area to get animals that will do well. Nubians turned out to be the Siamese cats of the goat world, with lots of personality and quite chatty.

  75. 75.

    Barbara

    @CaseyL: I searched and it is called Radioactive Wolves, but the video was not available, or at least not on the PBS site. It is a Nature production.

  81. 81.

    Patricia Kayden

    Trump sounds normal for 60 seconds.NY Times Reporter: Trump strikes a serious and presidential tone in latest presser.Trump 1 min. later: APPLES CORN PEACHES CAT GET THEE TO A NUNNERY PIECES OF EIGHT IMPEACHMENT YOU ARE THE ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE NO FAIR GEORGE BUSH DAN QUAYLE!— Gus (@Gus_802) March 31, 2020

  84. 84.

    Michael Cain

    @ema: There are a number of open space places around the Denver metro where they run goats for part of the year. They prefer the shrubby invasive plants to the native prairie stuff.  From what I’ve read, it takes about three passes over as many years to kill off the bad stuff including the roots.

  87. 87.

    Martin

    I guess I get spoiled by the rapid earthquake data here in CA. Guessing Idaho doesn’t have a seismograph every mile like we do.

    Not surprised they get earthquakes there. They had a supervolcano there, after all. But 6.5 will get your attention if you aren’t used to them.

  91. 91.

    opiejeanne

    Washington state’s reporting system for the coronavirus has been overwhelmed by data since Sunday, which explains why I wasn’t seeing numbers being updated on Sunday  and then little corrections yesterday. Today there is no report in the Seattle Times but I did find some data at the local network affiliates which they arrived at by adding up the info reported by individual counties. 14 new deaths (15 is the highest one day number), but more than 750 new cases. They know it’s at least that many, that we are now above 5300 cases.

  92. 92.

    A Ghost to Most

    @Martin: I am exceptionally allergic to it. It’s put me in the hospital more than once.  It’s a wonder that goats love eating it.

  93. 93.

    Martin

    @A Ghost to Most: My stepfather is the same way. He would break out from being downwind of the pollen. My job for a while was to go out and pick the stuff and dispose of it. So I’d pack up trash bags full of the stuff from near the house. Never once broke out from it.

    Eventually he had to get shots because it started to affect his breathing if he inhaled it.

  94. 94.

    CaseyL

    @Gin & Tonic: Yes!  That’s it – and it’s wonderful.  So many species are in that area.  Wolf, moose, beaver, boar, true wild horses…enormous carp and carfish, birds, turtles… Bison!  I had no idea bison had ever been in that region.  It’s fascinating.  Thank you for finding the documentary!

  97. 97.

    Yutsano

    @Martin: That’s my dad and seafood. What’s sad is everyone else in the family LOVES seafood, My dad is a very good sport and will prepare it (he can handle seafood just not ingest it or inhale steam fumes) but he can’t partake. There’s a standing family joke about how Mom could be easily rid of him if she wanted.

    @Miss Bianca: There might be a furry music group with that name. I’ll send out some feelers.

  98. 98.

    opiejeanne

    @opiejeanne: I just saw that WA has finally posted the update. There are 232 new cases, for a total of 5482 cases.

    I read the total wrong and thought there was a jump of over 750 new cases. I was stunned by that number and checked my math. Thank goodness because that would have indicated that we are not about to level off here.

  99. 99.

    J R in WV

    Wife was once affected by smoke from a pile of garden trash her father was burning — included poison ivy, the smoke affected her lungs… was in the long ago, like 50 or 60 years ago.

    I was never bothered by poison ivy until once while running barbed wire fencing across the ridge top of our farm. The ivy was thick in a patch of multiflora rose, and as we cut our way across, naturally we got a ton of little scratches on all parts of our bodies. Every scratch wound up a little string of blisters, to my amaze, having never even seen poison ivy blisters on myself.

    Now I don’t get it bad, but I’m hindered by not even being able to recognize it. Wife can see it 20 yards away… I can’t. So a good thing it doesn’t hit me as hard as it does some folks.

  101. 101.

    CaseyL

    @Miss Bianca: Because the fur suit would get pretty damn hot pretty damn fast.  Or because playing instruments while wearing fur gloves is a wee bit challenging.  Or both!

    There are furry conventions.  I wonder if they have the traditional Saturday Night dance party – that would be something to see!

  104. 104.

    Barbara

    @J R in WV: Over time most people become allergic to poison ivy. My husband never had it until very recently, but it is not nearly as awful as when I get it, which can be through handling towels or clothes.

  109. 109.

    The Golux

    @J R in WV: I’m lucky enough to be only very mildly allergic to poison ivy (I have once or twice “suffered” through a couple of rashes about the size of mosquito bites), but I don’t take any chances.  Since my wife is extremely allergic and often need steroids to reduce the inflammation, it’s my job to pull the poison ivy when it crops up.  I put my arm in a plastic bag, grab the ivy and pull it, then invert the bag.  I go out of my way to avoid touching it directly.  I’ve heard tales of people whose resistance to it went away suddenly.

    Oddly, I am more careful than my wife, who is the one that suffers.

  110. 110.

    Brachiator

    Kurosawa on TCM

    Starting late tonight through tomorrow, TCM is featuring a series of the films of master Japanese director Akira Kurosawa. Especially recommended are the taught drama Stray Dog, about a police officer in postwar Japan frantically trying to deal with the ramifications of the theft of his service weapon. Then there is High and Low, with Toshiro Mifune as a wealthy businessman whose son is apparently kidnapped when the businessman is moving funds to seal an important financial deal. And also the moving, inspirational Red Beard, featuring Mifune as a wise village doctor in the late samurai era.

    And for fun there is Hidden Fortress, one of the inspirations for Star Wars. Yes, there is a plucky princess.

  113. 113.

    CaseyL

    @Miss Bianca:   Those are Science Fiction conventions.  The costumes at SF cons are stone cold amazing. Hundreds of hours of work and hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in material and embellishments. It’s where all those cosplay conventions and TV shows originated from.  Lots of “fantasy” outfits, including elves.  Between the elves and the Vulcans/Romulans, there are a LOT of pointy ears to be seen.

    @Yutsano: Um.  Yes.  There certainly is.

    I keep thinking I could easily have grown up to be a furry.  When I was a little kid, I wanted to be a horse.  I seriously wanted to be a horse.

  114. 114.

    Amir Khalid

    @mrmoshpotato:

    I always use headphones with a laptop. Laptop speakers inevitably sound like crap; so do most outboard speakers. Neither gives me privacy when I’m watching porn.* The studio monitor headphones I use now need a bit more oomph to sound their best than the laptop can provide, so I need the amp. I guess I’ll have to use my out-and-about headphone amp.

     

     

    *I threw that in there just to see how you guys react.

  119. 119.

    Barb 2

    Those goats are Angora goats. They are shorn twice a year. Mohair goats. Baby goats have the softest fleece. The baby goats are the most darling little creatures.

    if you see a mixed group of sheep and goats in the four corners region in the southwestern part of the US, most likely you are seeing Angora goats. Reservations have lots of these goats. Spinners and weavers love the mohair from these long hair goats.

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