Azienda Agricola Arpisson, Part 10

The goats hate the rain so they ran home to take cover.

On our last night we had the grande grigliata! 

animals in the mountains

all-day herding of vilsau, lurekalven, norway

Patrizia herding, Azienda Agricola Arpisson, Valle d'Aosta, 2012

Azienda Agricola Arpisson, Part II: Herding

 My favorite job at Arpisson was taking out the flock of 60-odd goats. I had to guide them to the fields where there was still a lot to eat, without letting them go on neighbors' land, into the town, or too far up the mountain. Often it would be two or even three hours of running around after them before they began to settle down in the grass. Unlike cows, which are steady as a lawnmower on their fenced-off areas, goats prefer to clip off the just the tops of flowers and run from patch to patch with no sense of economy. More I've written on herding the goats is here.

To me, goats have very human faces. I can't tell if this is objectively true, or just because I've spent so much time with them.