Goats -- on Farms and as Art

Reclining Goatess, Photo © B. Radisavljevic

I meet a lot of goats in North San Luis Obispo County. I see most goats on small farms, but occasionally I see one as art, like this one I found at Studios on the Park in the Fine Crafts Studio. Unfortunately, I could not find the artist's name. 

Goats are pretty common around the rural areas of Templeton and Paso Robles, especially around organic farms and nurseries. I used some in promotional photos in my blogs, such as this one about a foster child who was in between homes and coming to a new one in the town of In Between, Texas. The book is called In Between.  The goat in the introductory photo came from the now departed Fat Cat Farm in Templeton. If you click through, I think you will figure out why  I used it.

Goat at Jack Creek Farms, © B. Radisavljevic

Goats at Finley Family Nursery in Templeton, © B. Radisavljevic

I used one of the goats in that last photo as my model in this  birthday card I made on Zazzle. I think you will see the resemblance.

Happy Birthday! Greeting Card
View other Birthday Cards at Zazzle.com
The inside says "Happy Birthday, you old goat."

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• Goats to help landscape Spring Grove Cemetery

January 22 is National Answer Your Cat's Questions Day

Do We Need a Day to Answer Our Cat's Questions?

Why is a day set aside to answer your cat's questions? None of the cats I've been associated with in the past few years have ever asked me questions. The cats in my life don't ask questions -- they make demands.

Is this cat trying to ask me a question or making a demand?
© B. Radisavljevic

"Feed me."
"Open the door."
"Give me more attention."
"Leave me alone, I'm sleeping."

Why should I answer a cat's questions? They never answer mine?

"You just demanded to go out. Why do you now want to come right back in?"
"Just why don't you like that brand or flavor of food in your dish?"
"What are you trying to tell me?"
"Why do you get upset when I'm on the phone?"
"What makes my lap more attractive to you when I'm working on the computer or reading a book?"
"Why must you climb to the roof of my car to sleep and leave pawprints all over the windshield?

It's my guess that if today is National Answer Your Cat's Questions Day,  your cat will wait until tomorrow to ask you any questions.

Need Help Answering a Cat's Questions if You Do Get Them?

More help in understanding your cat can be found in these books.

Why Does My Cat Do That?: Answers to the 50 Questions Cat Lovers AskCatWise: America's Favorite Cat Expert Answers Your Cat Behavior QuestionsThe Cat Behavior Answer Book: Practical Insights & Proven Solutions for Your Feline QuestionsWhy Do Cats Always Land on Their Feet?: 101 of the Most Perplexing Questions Answered About Feline Unfathomables, Medical Mysteries and Befuddling Behaviors

You might also be interested in these 17 things your cat wants to tell you. 

Has your cat ever asked you a question?

Guess Whom I Found In My Sprinkler Box

It seems I've had sprinkler problems since I took over my mom's house in Paso Robles. The irrigation system I inherited is part drip and part sprinklers. The front sprinkler controls are housed in a wooden box near the front porch. Since it has a lid, it stays dark and somewhat damp compared to the rest of the yard. The frequent leaks near the valves add to the dampness. So it's not surprising that when I called a friend to help me troubleshoot my irrigation problems, we discovered this fellow hiding out in the box.

In this picture, you get a better look at his feet. His toes would indicate he’s a tree frog. I just saw this free video on Amazon that would indicate this is an American Green Tree Frog. That makes sense.

I haven't seen my little froggy friend since I stopped using the sprinklers. I'm finding the sprinkler attached to my hose that I use manually is more efficient at watering my flower beds until I can afford to redo the drip system.

Tree frogs are kind of cute. If you don't have a real one, maybe you would like one of these.

 Webkinz Tree Frog Noah's Ark Tree Frog Toddler Costume Red Eye Tree Frog 8

If you do have a real one or find one you want to keep, this will help. Click the cover for purchase information. 

Related articles

• Where the Green Lawns Used to be
• The Browning of Paso Robles

Is Your Kitty a Fur Person Who Has Chosen You?

Does a Fur Person Live with You?

Many years ago I read a book called The Fur Person by May Sarton, that perfectly captured the personality of an independent cat who decided one day to choose a person to settle down with. I loved the book. One of the regular parts of the gentleman cat's day was "to read the newspaper." That meant finding a good place to observe the world and see what was happening. I thought of that as I walked past this house in my neighborhood one day and saw this cat through the window, looking out -- probably "reading the newspaper."

Fur Person Looking out Window, © B. Radisavljevic

If cats fascinate you, you won't want to miss this book. It's been around a long time, but it's still available.  It contains ten original drawings and a fictionalized story for grown-ups of a cat about town, The Fur Person, and his search for a suitable home with a suitable housekeeper.


I highly recommend you get a paper edition if you don't have an eReader that properly displays illustrations. The illustrations are an important part of the book.The gift edition above is perfect. This book should be an important part of any cat lover's library. Get it for someone you love, even if that happens to be you.

A Miniature Horse

North San Luis Obispo County is Horse Country

The North County is wine country, but it's also horse country. There are commercial horse farms, and then there are residents who have horses along with donkeys, mules, sheep, and goats. This is a miniature horse who lives in Templeton, south of Vineyard Drive, off Santa Rita Road. It lives with larger horses next to a rural home.

A Miniature Horse is Not a Pony

When I first saw this horse I thought it might be a pony, but later I met the owner, who set me straight. You can see how small this miniature horse is when one of the other horses is near. This isn't a very clear shot since the horses were at the back of the lot and I had to use my zoom.


I took a couple of other shots of the miniature horse to give you yet a different perspective.

This photo was taken looking straight at the front of the horse.

This shot was taken as I looked over the top of the fence. 

Does anyone have a caption you'd like to suggest for this one?

 Miniature Horse Manual for New Owners A Newly Revised and Updated Guide for the First Time Minature Horse Owner

Don't miss my friend Rhonda's travel blog, Albom Adventures

Two Very Different Cats: One Shy, the Other Sociable

The Shy Little Kitty

It was cold and windy today, but I went to Larry Moore Park to walk in spite of the weather. The wind tried to blow my hat off but it was tied to my neck. It blew off my head anyway, so it hung around my neck. I decided to turn back. It just wasn't fun anymore, and it was hard to take pictures of the plants when the wind kept moving them.

Because my knee is still giving me trouble I had driven to the park instead of walking. I took the way home past my mailbox with the intent of picking up my mail. As I parked, I saw a kitty perched between the slats of this broken fence. It would have made an ideal  shot, but as I expected,  the cat went back  behind the fence when I opened the car door.

I know that although kitties are shy, they are also curious. I was relying on that when I looked through the slats at an angle. It's not exactly the picture I was hoping for, but I'm happy with it. I'm glad the cat stayed close to the fence instead of running out of sight to hide.

Logan Is Not So Shy

I have a lot of cats in my neighborhood. Some are more friendly than others. I got acquainted with this cat when he came to visit me every night while I worked in the garden. He enjoyed getting drunk on my cat mint. This is my favorite photo of Logan, who loves to pose for me.

He is looking intently at a hornworm on that borage plant in front of him.  He loves to patrol my garden, but, unfortunately, he also tries to do other business where he shouldn't, so I don't encourage him to linger anymore.

Do you have neighbor cats who visit you?

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• Sleeping Cat at Jack Creek Farms in Templeton
• Review of Cat in a Vegas Gold Vendetta: A Midnight Louie Mystery
• Two Unique Tasting Room Sights at Peachy Canyon

An Introduction to the Sculpture of Paso Robles Artist Dale Evers

I first discovered Dale Evers when I was walking by the Paso Robles Library one day and saw his studio across the street. It was fascinating because the outside of it was decorated with fantastic and imaginative metal sculptures. I can't find those first photos at the moment, but a few months ago I walked by the studio again and this caught my eye.

On another occasion, my husband and I paid our first visit to Cayucos. Near the entrance to the pier we saw this sculpture. Then I read the plaque beneath it and discovered Dale Evers had created it in memory of his father, Ellis W. Evers. You can enlarge any of these photos by clicking on them.

Since then I have been discovering how diverse Dale's work is, and how far away some of it has gone. The Dale Evers Website will show you much more about him and his work than I can here, but it's well worth a peak if you like  sculpture.

The last time I saw Dale's work was on July 4, 2014, at a party at Sculpterra Winery. I hadn't realized then that Dale Evers was the new artist in residence at Sculpterra until I saw this sculpture near the tasting room and the style looked very familiar. Sure enough, it was Dale's work.  This also looks exactly like the sculpture that lived next door to me in the ZinAlley Vineyard for a long time. It is not there anymore, so it may have been moved to Sculpterra.

Are you familiar with Dale Evers' work?

Related articles

• Lynn Kishiyama Back in Residence at Studios On the Park
• Surreal animal sculptures

Exploring the Spanish Camp Area of Paso Robles

I Discover Spanish Camp in Paso Robles

Although the Spanish Camp area is only five minutes from where I live, I've never explored it  before. I had heard there were some very large homes there on acreage, but until today I never saw them. I found the development quite by accident.

It's a Private Home - Not a Park

I was coming home from physical therapy and decided to stop somewhere for my photo walk on the way home. Instead of turning toward home, I just kept going south on Creston road until I saw what appeared to be part of a park -- the oasis you see in the photo above. It was on a corner, so I turned right and parked. Then I discovered this was in the yard of a private home. Each home had lots of land, and mature oak trees were scattered everywhere.

Up the Hill

 I decided to walk up the hill in front of me, and on the way I noticed some   goats at the very back of this lot. I had to catch them with my zoom lens, since they were far from the road. You can see the large oak right behind them.

Do You See the Goats Between the Fences?

I could see the crest of the hill only a couple of blocks away (if there had been blocks) so I decided to check out the view. Once at the top I could see a long way to the west and  south. This is the shot I will share with you. What appear to be large flat stones as you look down the hill are really rooftops of other homes.

Those are Rooftops -- Not Flat Rocks -- Below the Trees

This experience and the discovery of the Snead/Rambouillet Trail last week shows me that even when you live in an area a long time there are still discoveries to be made and much left to explore that you haven't seen.

Have you come across any surprises in your own town lately?

The Birds, the Bees, and the Flowers on the Snead/Rambouillet Trail

Revisiting the Snead/Rambouillet Trail

I previously walked this trail on March 18, but at that time I didn't know its name. Evidently the official trail entrances are on Snead and Rambouillet, but I entered on Oxen near Brahma. If you walk across the street from the sign toward the tree on the other side and then turn left on the sidewalk, you will almost immediately see the entrance to the trail on the right. I showed you the entrance in Surprised by a Hidden Trail on March 19. You see stairs leading from the sidewalk down to the trail.

Last week it was dusk when I walked and I didn't have much time to explore. Today I walked in late afternoon while the sun was bright. As one walks down the steps into the forested open space, the first thing one notices at this time of year is the display of colorful wildflowers on either side of the stairs.

I wasn't the only once to notice all those flowers. You could hear them almost before you could see them because the bees were very busy gathering pollen. I caught this one on a clover blossom. They were also doing the rounds of the vetch, but I didn't see many on the lupines and poppies, which were also abundant.

The birds were also quite active. I could hear the woodpeckers in the trees, but I couldn't see any. I did see lots of scrub jays like this one. They didn't seem eager to be captured by my  camera, but I finally found one who decided to show off a bit instead of playing hide and seek in the branches.

Open Space to Explore Nature is Important for Children

As I walked, I couldn't help but regret the suburb of Los Angeles I grew up in didn't have any wild places where kids could walk to a place nearby to explore nature. We had a park with a playground, a tennis court, a cement slab where we could skate, some ball fields, and some trees. There were no "wild" areas to explore. There were no creeks or ponds where one could see ducks and catch tadpoles.

The children lucky enough to live in the neighborhoods around these trails have all of that. Here are a couple of ducks that were resting in the shadows beside the creek. I also saw tiny tadpoles in another park of the creek, but they were too small to photograph.

The ground squirrels I saw wouldn't pose for me, either, but I saw them. They would dive into a nearby hole before I could even see them clearly. Nevertheless I did my best to catch them on camera, and when I got home I found there was one who did not manage to escape my zoom lens. It's not a very clear shot, but it proves I saw him.

 Nature's Playground: Activities, Crafts, and Games to Encourage Children to Get Outdoors

If you'd like to encourage your children to explore nature, one of these books might be a good place to get some inspiration. 

& 

 Sharing the Joy of Nature: Nature Activities for All Ages Sharing Nature®: Nature Awareness Activities for All Ages How to Raise a Wild Child: The Art and Science of Falling in Love with Nature

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Do you have any wild places children near you can explore within walking distance of their homes? What sort of wildlife do you see most where you live?