While out training myself on a new 100mm lens (on loan, thank you, Carol!) I decided to walk alongside a fence that looked oddly familiar. And it should, because when I was a kid, walking around the Berkeley Hills, I would see it now and then in the summertime and upon touching it, receive a small electrical shock: its purpose, just as before, was to keep its inhabitants within the boundaries of the fence.
I walked on a little further down a steep path just off Skyline and Keller Ave, and sure enough, just as before, I saw--really heard them at first--hundreds of goats, happily chomping away at the grass. They're my favorite wildfire prevention tactic in the Bay Area--if you don't know about them yet, you'd be surprised how far and wide these guys get around, from Lawrence Hall of Science to the Oakland Zoo. They've been out here each summer for at least 15 years, eating the would-be tinder.
I have to admit, after hiking for a while, and feeling a bit run down by how much debris had been thrown everywhere I walked, running into the goats was a silly, wonderful surprise. As far as photo ops go, they turned out to be great practice for me to take pictures. The goats were understandably wary of getting too close (remember: electric fence) and the ones that did were on the move. But, this forced me to hone my dexterity in switching between aperture levels, and to play with waiting them out for specific shots I wanted.
