Getting On My Goat

I had an awful realisation last week. The once numerous goats that gave me such amusement and happiness have severely diminished in numbers. Yes yes, it's called the Circle of Life or survival or culture, and I know it (and love the song too), but now I am sad I can no longer make exclamations such as; 'look at that cute goat standing on the tree!', 'that is the smallest goat I've ever seen!', 'a goat with a beard!', 'a goat sitting on the roadside!', 'there is a goat on the roof of that moving bus!', 'look, lots of goats!' and other important observations. I know my friends and colleagues will probably be happy with that (I have already been asked how long it will be until I'm not so excited about the goats....what has it been...5 months?....mmmm, not yet.). 

I have finally figured out how to tell the difference between goats and sheep here - don't laugh, they do look the same (goats have pointy ears, and sheep have a long tail), managed to dodge them when they jump out on my bicycle rides, and (mostly) avoid stepping on their droppings that are everywhere, so when the numbers suddenly dropped its become a totally different Tamale. And so the seasons change. The lush green crops and plants have disappeared, all the fields have been burnt to the ground, the red dust of the Harmattan has set in (particularly into my hair - and my throat), the water shortages have lengthened, and the rains completely disappeared. What a difference this place can be in the space of 5 months. Now starts the lean period for the Northern Regions, when there are no more harvests until mid-next year, so living off the stores is survival. Lucky the house garden is producing the most delicious tomatoes I've ever tasted!

This is dedicated to all the goats of Ghana, I miss you come back!

LOOK! A day old goat!

LOOK! A goat with its mum!

LOOK! A goat on a tree stump!