Evelyn's Patience

Poor, poor patient Evelyn.Some days ago I put the goats Hugh, Evelyn, and Number Two into the center paddock attached to the barn so they could room with three alpaca males and be away from a feeder that caught Hugh two days running. (Did I learn the first day when I found him stuck, head wedged into the self-feeder and lodged in place by his little horns? No! I cut him out but did not think to move him. Maybe I thought he would have learned? How ludicrous is that?)

The center paddock is formed by six-foot chain link panels on one side, the barn on one side, and cattle panels on two sides. Because it was created to contain male alpacas beside some winsome female alpacas, the cattle panels are fastened somewhat up off the ground to make the fencing taller. The strategy works for containing alpacas.

Hugh and Number Two are very small fainters, and Evelyn is a Nigerian Dwarf yearling. When Number Two turned up in the pasture with the female alpacas and the goat does with kids by their sides, I was not surprised. She's pretty tiny. Since Hugh still had Evelyn for company, I was not concerned. Then last night I was tending to the animals in the pitch dark (after having been out at a conference ALL day long) and when I put out water for the three male alpacas, I could have sworn that Evelyn was on the same side of the fence as Number Two--and with her head stuck through the cattle panel to reach the alpacas' water.

Now, my vision is not what it was once, so I have good reason to question if what I think I am seeing is what is really before me. After two days of conferencing, I was tired. When I thought I saw Evelyn, I told myself that I was probably just seeing Cocoa, Evelyn's dam who has similar markings--except that Cocoa is brown and white and Evelyn is black and white. The light from the barn corridor didn't filter out to that part of the pasture, so the guess that I was seeing Cocoa was reasonable. After all, Evelyn is a bit large to be slipping under that cattle panel fence; I would have expected Hugh to cross under before Evelyn wedged herself underneath the barrier.

I finished my chores without giving it another thought. And since I would be leaving very early in the morning to return to the conference, I tried to arrange it so the animals would not need me before the next evening. This morning I was running late and did not get out the the barn. I left feeling satisfied that I had tended to all the animals' needs the prior evening.

This evening I got home to another star-studded sky. After changing into barn clothes, I set about shuffling the dogs through their dinner routine, watering all the troughs, seeing to the horses, milking Pamela, and feeding the alpacas and goats. When I trudged through the home pasture bearing a bucket of water for the 'paca boys, I was gratified to find that they had water but distressed to find Miss Evelyn right where I had seen her last night--with her head through the cattle panel into the boys' water.

Oh no! She had to have been there all night and day! I set about working her head back through the cattle panel. She was right to know that she can slip her head through those openings with no trouble, but she failed to take into account that the particular hole she had chosen was narrowed by the presence of the T-post to which the panel was wired. The smaller opening left her well trapped.

I twisted and tugged while she charged forward and resisted my efforts. We wrestled for a good five minutes before I set about releasing the panel from the post. Once the panel was free, Evelyn had plenty of room to back out through the fence--which she did without waiting a moment longer.

I felt awful for having left her trapped there for so long. She trotted off into the night without a backward glance, making a beeline for the hay rack. She was ready for food, the poor dear.