This evening, after returning home from the spa, I spotted our Alpine goat Aldo (named after my favorite shoe designer) up on his perch, looking out onto his kingdom. I could not resist sharing with you 'rainers, as you have been most supportive during my recent loss of Spot, our big-lipped cat.

Being a Realtor, I am never without my camera; I just had to take a photograph. In the second photo, you will notice how the light changed. Here in Bellingham, WA, our sunsets are magestic, but the colors change so rapidly and can be fleeting.

You may be asking, why would the Bellingham Realty Girl have goats in the first place? Oh, did I not mention that I have two? Well, to make a very long story short (I have some southern roots, and we can tend to tell a long story from time to time)... Our "Goat Project" was hatched over a couple bottles of fine German Mosel wine  while sitting at this little outdoor cafe in Austria, dwarfed by the Alps (you wine lovers and connoisseurs will know what I am talking about) and Streudel. Don't all brilliant ideas begin with wine?

Tipsy on the finest white wine a grape has ever produced, the pilot thinks that we too could have livestock to gently snack on blackberry bushes, and keep the lawn looking ragged and rolling. Equally tipsy, I acquiesced. What could be so hard about a couple of goats? (I only agreed honestly, because the pilot said I could name the goats and they could indeed wear cute bells - which ours do).

We returned from Europe with the highest tolerances we had ever had in our marriage (and the realization that it is indeed fulfilling to go on vacation without children), and plans to erect the most gawdy of goat chalets.

So, four months later, two acres of fencing, a livestock guardian dog (...a whole different blog folks...), and the gawdiest of goat chalets this side of the Mississippi (and two tinkling bells from the local feed store,) we drove east four hours and bought two neutered male Alpine goats.

No, we have no plans to breed, milk, or eat them. We just like looking at them, walking with them, and enjoying their affection. You didn't know that goats could be very affectionate did you? Well, they have a certain affinity for my ear lobes, I can tell you.

Enter into our lives Aldo and Beppe (named after a famous Italian acoustic guitar player). You see that? Like Jack and Jill sinks, the pilot and I argued over names for these goats more than we did for our children. Seriously. We each named one, and wouldn't you know it? I name one after an Italian shoe designer, while the pilot names one after a guitarist. Why Italian names? As I mentioned earlier, that's a blog of a different color, and having something to do with our polar bear dog, Luna.

I promise to keep you posted on Aldo and Beppe. They have been great fun. But beautiful too, as you can see above. Thank you for reading.