Our Goat Cam expert
The Bibbed Wonder often makes me shake my head, sometimes in wonder and other times in frustration. He is an innovative problem solver, and I am amazed at his capabilities. He has had the idea for quite a while that we should invest in a Go-Pro camera. Because he is a daredevil that participates in extreme sports? Ummmm, no. He would like a Go-Pro camera to attach to my darling goats and have footage from a goat's perspective. Yes, you read that correctly. He wants to attach a camera to my goat's head and film the world from a goat's eye view. I give him credit for creativity. However, I had no idea how serious or creative he would become.
I lose my phone constantly. Eighty-five percent of the time, I have no idea of the whereabouts of my phone. The Bean and The Bibbed Wonder took advantage of my lack of phone responsibility the other night. As I prepared to make dinner, The Bean enters the kitchen with a suspiciously mischievous twinkle in her eye. She was looking around as if she had lost something. I asked her what she needed, and she grinned like a cat eating a canary and informed me that she was okay and needed nothing. Suspicious. She then raced out the door and disappeared into the garage. I saw nothing of her for almost an hour, which is suspect as well. As I continued to make dinner, I needed my phone for a recipe. Of course, I could not find my phone anywhere. Even after calling it from the house phone, I could not find it. I walked to the garage, grumbling about constantly losing my phone and my lack of ability to keep track of it.
When I entered the soap studio, I asked Abby, our friend who is helping us for the summer, if she had seen my phone. At this point, everyone who helps us knows I am constantly in search of my phone, and they often put it somewhere safe for me. Abby gave me a sheepish grin and informed me Jordan and Eric took it to the barn. Sigh. I knew those two were up to something. Abby also informed me that they intended to attach it to a goat and try to film the goats eating in the new pasture from the goat's perspective. Sigh. This is why we can't have nice things.
My innovative husband and my adventurous child had put a pony saddle on one of our larger goats, Lily. Lily is a sweetheart. She is docile, cooperative, and she will do just about anything for a treat, even wear a saddle with a camera attached to it. Lily did not seem to mind the saddle, the tripod, or the camera that had been attached to her. However, the other goats looked at her like she was a dangerous alien from outer space that had come to eat them. Lily walked around the pasture with The Bibbed Wonder and The Bean, grazing and exploring. The Bibbed Wonder did not attach my phone to Lily. He only needed my phone if his experiment fell apart, and he needed to call his phone to find it in the event his phone should be lost in a vast pasture field with waist-high grass. Sigh. I give him credit for preparedness.
All went well until Eric's phone went ding. The ding did not scare Lily, but it did send the rest of the herd racing to the barn's safety. When Lily saw her comrades racing for protection, she too took off for the barn sending Eric's phone flying and breaking the tripod. When she got to the barn, she decided she had enough of the saddle and dragged herself along the barn wall to try to remove it. Even a calm, compliant goat has her limits. Eric removed the offensive saddle, gave Lily a few extra treats, and cleaned up his mess. The Bean and her dad came in for dinner looking flushed, mischievous, and giggling like two fools. They then showed me the footage they got from their little experiment.
I must admit, it is pretty cool to see the world from the goat's perspective. They edited the footage, made sure no course language had been recorded and then posted their creation to the website. When I logged onto the office computer, I noted several windows open with Go-Pro camera deals. I also noted a Google search for a goat helmet and goat harness. Fortunately, there is no such thing as a goat helmet. However, I believe Jordan's toddler bike helmet may be in danger of some serious alterations. Sigh. I'll keep you posted. Here is the link to the "Goat Cam" footage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgewVme3N9U. Enjoy.
As always, dear reader, stay safe, be smart, don't attach your phone to a goat, and please keep washing your hands.