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Animal
House Folly
Farm Blog
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There are more goats than people here on our little island. Karpathos, some 250 sea-miles from Athens, is barely on most maps. Neither of us had lived on an island before, so when my husband and I decided to relocate to Greece in 1999, we had to convince friends and family we hadn't lost our minds. There are more goats than people here on our little island. Karpathos, some 250 sea-miles from Athens, is barely on most maps. (It lies between Crete and Rhodes.) Day-to-day life on Karpathos is unrushed. You can get a glimpse of it from the bus as it manoeuvres the sharp turns of the narrow roadways. You'll see cats napping as they wait at the harbor for the fishing boats to offer up the day's catch. Olive groves soon give way to patches of orange and lemon trees and wild sage and thyme fill the air. There are few cars since most of the cubed whitewashed houses nestled in the mountainous terrain are accessible only via stepped pathways. The only noise might be the bells of the goats who have called this island home for centuries.
We were surprised to learn goats like to munch pine trees. We thought the needles would stop them and our new trees would be safe, but we were wrong. Garlic growing in the garden is another favorite treat. We've learned a lot from the local goats, who like to gather under our almond trees. They don't so much like the nuts, but the leaves are true goat fare. The babies have learned to stand on our picnic table to reach the branches. Indeed, most of our neighbors are goats. They scamper across our metal roof, sounding like claps of thunder. Startling at first, this is something we now embrace. After all, it is a routine part of our island life.
Copyright 2001. Roberta Beach Jacobson. Please do not copy in any manner,
print or electronic, without permission from the author. Photos courtesy of the author
About the Author: Roberta
Beach Jacobson is an American writer who moved to Europe in 1974. Most
of her writing for books and magazines focuses on some aspect of European
travel. You can read more of her work at www.islandmania.com
and www.insidereuropa.com
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Not all goats spend their days climbing mountains in search of brush.
Many prefer the flowers in our courtyard. They particularly like roses
and geraniums, though most any vegetarian snack will do.