the darkness during the middle of the day would have on their herd of 34 goats. Armed with 2 iphones, cardboard eclipse glasses that they picked up at the local hardware store, and a bucket full of peanuts, they endured the heat, humidity, and bugs and came up with this conclusion:
Don't Look at the Sun!
Regardless of what everyone said.....I did not get all of the goats their own eclipse glasses. Common sense told me that goats don't look at the sun on a daily basis, so why would today be any different? After reading a few write ups from a couple different vets, I decided that the goats should be safe and that I shouldn't have to bring them inside the house, to stop them from blinding themselves during the big event. Still.....I couldn't help but wonder......would they look? Guess what.....I was right. Humans are the only animals crazy enough to stare at the sun. I haven't seen any goats bumping into their totes or tripping over tree stumps, so I'd say that they all controlled themselves and didn't look directly at the sun. Smart goats.
Personalities
Before the moon started to steal the show, we observed the goats to see if everything was normal with the way the herd was acting. All was normal.....well, as normal as our goats can be. Shortly before noon, the moon started to move in front of the sun. I was ready for anything! Goats jumping in trees, goats howling at the moon, goats breaking down the gates and running away....I didn't know what to expect. I learned very quickly that the partial eclipse did absolutely nothing to their personalities. How about totality??? The moment we have all been waiting for!!! It's dark!!! And what are the goats doing? They're still doing the same thing they always do. Grazing, sleeping, butting heads......except for little Ms. Poundcake who was in the kidding area with Bernice. Poundcake screamed and screamed and screamed until Farmer Josh came running to her rescue. That was a cue for the herd to head up to their common area. They all slowly waddled behind Farmer Josh, not knowing exactly what they should do. I'm convinced they thought it was bedtime, but were completely confused by their evening routine being thrown off. After a few minutes, it slowly started to get light out, and the herd stopped in their tracks and looked around. They let the lightness soak in for a moment, and that was it. They were back to being goats. Butting heads and taking names.
Eating Habits
Would this once in a lifetime event have any impact on the many stomachs of our herd? Prior to the eclipse, nobody had any problems getting their breakfast down. They might tell you that they were still starving and that I didn't feed them enough, but never trust a goat. They lie. During the eclipse, up until the moment of totality, everyone continued to graze, eat hay, and snack on peanuts that the farmers would magically pull from their pockets on occasion. And then it hit....total darkness. And they continued to eat. Big surprise there. The only thing I observed to be any different was that once it was light again, they were convinced it was morning and that they needed breakfast again. However, I do believe they are always looking for an excuse for second breakfast, so I don't know if this can be considered a scientific observation or not. In conclusion, the eclipse had absolutely no impact on our herd's 136 stomachs.
What's That You Say?
I don't know about other goats, but my goats are known for being very vocal. Nighttime is a different story. They are actually very quiet once it gets dark(unless someone is in heat), so I was interested to see if the eclipse would quiet them down. The goats surprised me once again. The darkness didn't stop this herd from voicing their opinions. Whether it was Poundcake screaming from the kidding area, Rosie shouting for Ruby, or Will the Pill bleating at my pocket because he knew there were still peanuts in there.....this darkness brought no silence. I read articles about how the owls would start hooting and the locusts would stop buzzing, but I would have never known. The goats were never quiet long enough for me to hear what else was going on.
Let's Do It Again Sometime
I can honestly say that I don't think we had any scientific breakthroughs with this little experience, but we sure had a lot of fun. I couldn't think of a better way to spend a summer day, then with my most favorite goats and husband. It's a moment that we won't soon forget, and thanks to technology, we were able to live stream part of the event with friends and family and also have loads of photos and videos to help us never forget this magical day. If you ever get the chance to see an eclipse in totality.....do it. It truly was a magical experience.
