Un-stuck, goats go home, bird-proof garden, goose needs a girl

Un-stuck
The roads finally got fixed! We can get out--thanks to Channel 3! http://www.azfamily.com/weather/Residents-at-Whispering-Ranch-fed-up-with-82843532.html
This is the news story they did on us--my husband and I laugh a little bit when we hear what the interview-ees had to say--what would you call it---a little bit hick? But I didn't move out here for the people, folks--it was all about the land :)
We wern't impatient like some folks--we did need some alfalfa for the goats but we just "snuck" out like everybody else and got the things we needed and came back in. That was a little nerve racking driving on the road though, in some areas the dirt under the road was washed away--making kind of an asphalt bridge--not safe to drive on at all! And the sherriff had been handing out steep tickets too was the rumor, so it was not without risk.
But we really think having the news out here got them to work a lot faster since they were projecting the road might not be done until early next week.

Goats go home
We were checking out the progress on the road and happened to drive by my nice neighbor George (who speaks very little english), he was the one who sold us our goat last year. This was one of the first times we'd even see him out on his property in a year--so we stopped and waved.
Me: "Como estas?"
George: "Muy bien? Y tu?"
Me: "Muy bien, gracias!"
And this is where the spanish basically ends--by this point, him and his hired hands think I'm fluent and they start talking really fast and then I have to confess, "Yo hablo espanol muy pequeno..." I don't even know if that is gramatically right. And that is how we converse--usually in broken english and spanish and for the words I don't know in spanish I just fill them in with english words--for example I might say: "Cuantos anos tienes su....goat?" (How old is your goat)
So he showed me around--in the last year he has gotten a peacock and guinea fowl--so neat! Then he showed me all his goats--wow--what a beautiful herd! Lots of milk goats and right in the middle is a pure-bred boer buck. Boer is a meat goat--so when he breeds all his dairy goats the offspring will be good for both. I told him: "Yo neccesito comprar uno chivo." (I need to buy a boy goat). And then he told me how he could sell me one--which all the ones for sale were the 50-50 dairy/meat babies and I really wanted a pure-bred boer so my kids would be 50-50 too...but then he offered for me to bring my goats over--really?? What a HUGE blessing--because a buck is a LOT to handle and they get BIG! "Cuanto cuesta?" (How much does it cost? I'm not really sure if that's what that means but he got the point :) He shook his head--saying it would be free! WHAT a blessing! DH and I tried to offer some alfalfa at the least---but he said he had plenty. What an awesome neighbor!! Someone recently told me they felt bad for us because we lived out in the middle of nowhere and didn't really have any "community." I didn't comprehend that because I talk to my neighbors more than I ever talked to my neighbors living in a subdivision with people living crammed in on all sides. And when there is no sheriff out here, or no one to pave the roads, or clean them, the neighbors get together and do it all themselves. We do our own block watch, pave roads, clean up, police the neighborhood, and watch out for each other. I have a neighbor who brings me a box of food every week. We are so blessed.
So anyway, we drove home and shoved both goats in the back of the van, happily chomping away on some grain (I canNOT believe they fit!!!) And then drove back, dropped the goats off....and the buck tried to mount them right away! Poor girls--they were bleeting for us to get them out of there!! DH asks me every day, "I wonder how our goats are doing..." We had no idea they were going to miss us! Goats are such neat animals--I can see why people who have no milk or meat inclinations want to keep them as pets. So now Ester is back "home" where she was born! We'll get them in a month--and in 6 months we should have some kids!
After that George showed us his garden--which looked AMAZINGLY simple--I think we have been overcomplicating this! He has rows and rows of "ajo." DH and I kept looking at each other---what is ajo?? He even dug one up--looked like a green onion sticking out of the ground--George assured us it was not a "cebolla" (onion). I was not convinced--until he found a garlic clove that had been unearthed--"Aqui--ajo!" OHHHH... I say, "GARLIC!" He had TONS! And it didn't look like he used any compost or anything--it was just earth as far as I could tell! And he didn't use a drip system or anything--just flooded it with the hose. I was inspired to get our garden underway!

Bird-Proof Garden
We fixed our garden up--since it is so much smaller than Georges, I think the birds eating it leaves a much bigger dent, so we covered the top with bird netting. $20 at Home Depot--I can't believe it took us a year and a half to come up with such a simple solution! We planted kale, beets, lettuce, carrots, and eggplant. The urban farm (http://www.yourguidetogreen.com/TheUrbanFarm/) has the coolest chart for knowing when to plant what if you live in the low desert of AZ (Maricopa county, etc): http://www.yourguidetogreen.com/TheUrbanFarm/wp-content/uploads/Planting_Calendar.pdf
Most books written about planting pertain to areas where it snows heavily--a chart like this is amazing because it is written just for us and planting seasons are a little different way out west!
It was a lot of fun gardening over these last 2 days--DH did all the work though :) I just sat on the ground and poked seed into the ground. In this he was reminded of the verse in Gen 3:17 where God tells Adam the ground is cursed. How interesting it says, "for thy sake." God made the ground cursed for our sakes (or maybe just my husband's since he was doing all the work--hey I have to labor in pain in childbearing so it MORE than evens out!) But I guess that means a little hard work is good for us.
We also got a bale of straw and mulched heavily. Very excited to see what will grow!

Lastly, I have had my goose for a year now and I am convinced geese are the biggest stinkers in the animal kingdom--what a punk! He attacks everyone! I guess that's not so bad since my dogs arn't much for guarding...and I know it is what has kept him alive...but my kids are terrified of him! I have GOT to get him a girl! I've heard that cures this problem. He was supposed to be Christmas dinner--did you know a young frozen goose at the store costs like $70!--the price is outrageous--I thought we could just "grow" our own...too bad I'm a softy and the goose has decided I'm his mama! ...or his mate...I'm not sure...but he follows me EVERYWHERE...is always trying to talk (honk) over me--I can never get a word in! and really just won't leave me alone! Anyone got a girl goose for sale--asap!?