Goats + Coffee

Photo by Matt Bohlken

I received a text just the other day alerting me to the fact that there is a Goat Coffee House in Eau Clair, Wisconsin. They serve organic, fair trade coffee roasted in Duluth, MN.

There is also a Wild Goat Cafe in Kent, Ohio, The Goat Cafe in New Jersey, The Dancing Goat cafe in Vermont, The Giddy Goat in .... Australia! Nanny Goat's Cafe and Feed Bin was featured on a Restaurant Impossible episode in February 2013.

By the way, did you know that some people credit goats for discovering coffee? One version of the legend speaks of a herdsman in Ethiopia who led his goats to an outcropping where they dined on berries off the bushes that grew there. Soon he realized he had discovered something magical, as the goats got up on their hind legs and began to dance around! He had in fact found the coffee cherry tree (did you know coffee beans are sometimes called cherries when they are fresh? They are!)

Goatee the Surfing Goat

The story is one told again and again. Surfing soccer-loving boy gets goat as a way to clear brush from his land. Boy, who used to live in Africa and has ties to http://www.flosoccerministry.com/ , planned to eat "Goatee" after she finished her duties, but, like many bitten buy the goat-bug (ew) found that the creature had such personality he couldn't help but fall in love. Well, not that kind of love (although the section of the video above does have a scene of them swinging tandem on a swing set, I am sure it's just platonic love).

Boy then, on his 33rd birthday, took the goat surfing and thought she did a good job. A video of him and Goatee appeared on a local tv station and soon went viral, being picked up all over the world.

Goatee is the mascot of Flo (forever loving others) Soccer Ministry, which spreads the love of Jesus through soccer. Something about soccer, and surfing, and goats... and Jesus I guess...they all inspire passionate embrace and soulful support that seems to go beyond the single entity. At least that's what I think. Think what you like - it's still cool to see a goat surf.

GOAT PATROL - LA California branch

Award for the best lead in "The hills were alive with the sound of munching!"
Fun blog site here:
http://urbanhomestead.org/journal/2008/09/09/goats-in-la/


There is a newscast video here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7609704.stm

GOAT PATROL - North Carolina Branch

According to the web site, "Goat Patrol offers an environmentally friendly solution to weed and brush problems. Unlike noisy machines and toxic sprays, goats remove problem plants quietly and safely. The herd will happily devour poison ivy, honeysuckle, wild rose, blackberry, kudzu, privet, chinese wisteria, and more!"

Check it out! http://www.thegoatpatrol.com/index.htm

(Be sure to click on Meet the Herd - they have some of the cutest mug shots!)

Brush goats in Wilsonville OR

Recap of Goat Day

8/25/2007

Goat Day was held in Wilsonville OR (the town I work in) on August 25th. Every year, Metro, the park system, brings in around 400 goats of various types to eat invasive plants. This year they decided to let people come and watch! They chose a semi-wetland area (kinda squishy ground) that had lots of overgrown English ivy and blackberries, fenced it in, and let the goats out. Here are some photos:


Donnie finds the goats.


The goats spy us.


Ooooh. Sneaky goat!