Little Collections 2 -

Well people asked for goats so:

. 

There are kids

and nanny goats

and billy goats.

And they come in tan as well as black.

And there are quite a lot of them.....

And although they all come from the same few moulds, they all seem to have their own character as they were hand painted.   Amazingly, the kids have survived considering that they are so small - dozens must have been hoovered up and lost during the years.

 These little chaps are even smaller
 

but they've survived the years better than some of the larger animals.  These were all made as children's toys - I don't remember hearing that anyone choked on them or got them stuck in their ears or nose, but these days they would be sold as collectors items for over 14years old I expect.  

Anyway, they give me pleasure and have done for many years.  There's lots more both lead and plastic lurking in drawers here - some even get to have a turn on the shelf occasionally, so I may post another couple of collections.   Just heard there's a toy collectors fair on Monday at the Three Counties as well as the Flea fair - that could be dangerous....

Sorting the sheep from the goats

Conversation overheard whilst waiting to buy lemonade in the food tent on Sunday:

Boy (aged about 6 or 7years old):  So, you can milk goats but not sheep?

Parent, somewhat uncertainly:  Um, no.  You can milk sheep - you can get cheese made from sheep's milk.  Ewe's milk - lady sheep are called ewes.

Boy:  Oh.  So you can tell they're goats not sheep 'cos they've got horns?

Parent: Well, no.  Some sheep have horns, especially rams - those black and brown and white Jacob's sheep we looked at have horns.

Boy:  Oh.  Well sheep have woolly coats - you get wool from them, you don't get wool from goats. Goats have different sort of fur.  Though some of them were curly weren't they?  

Parent:  Well actually, those curly ones were Angora goats and people knit with their fleece - but it's called mohair.  And you do get curly sheep too...

Boy (sighing loudly):  I think I'd better stick to cows.  I like cows better.


EDIT:   In response to the person who emailed me, the first and third photos are Angora goats, the second is a Jacob sheep, and the last is (I think) a Cotswold sheep and her three lambs.  J