The good news: I can keep goats and hens on the property in Malibu. I spoke with a very polite lady at the Malibu Council code violation department.
I was expecting a very long conversation, instead, it was very short.
“Can I keep three goats on two acres in the Santa Monica Mountains?”
“Yes.” She replied, adding. “You can keep 3 goats on your property as long as they’re 50 feet from anything humanly habitable.”
Silence. She cleared her throat.
“Is that it?” I said, expecting more. “Yes.” she replied, “that’s it.”
“I think I may very well be in love.” I murmured. She giggled like Marge Simpson.
The last vacation tenants just left the property leaving a rather unpleasant egg smell behind them. Perhaps they were vegetarians or something. There was orange peel on the paths and some child had broken a faucet that cost $85 to mend. I shall take it out of their deposit.
This morning, after breakfast with John and the others, I started my list of things to do for the New Year. Suddenly I was thinking about yield per acre, chicken coops and chevre.
Malibu house. The dogs just love it here. Luna spends hours exploring the garden-just like the Big Dog. I missed darling Big Dog so much today. Jerome left pictures of her in the mail box that I could not bear to open. They remained unopened since Christmas in a large pile on my desk marked ‘urgent things to do’. I thought I better look at them.
It made me feel sick with grief when I saw her sweet face.
I wish I felt that way about my grandmother.
Anyway, I spoke to a very eager sounding vegetable garden planner, my architect and a lady who lives near Sacramento about buying goats. Our call was dropped so I’ll call her again tomorrow. She is a ‘grazing service provider’. I met the plumber at the house who mended the faucet and tomorrow, first thing after breakfast I need to make a list-like call Lewis for instance who will reconfigure downstairs so I can start living there in April.
There is just so much to do! I just need to do it.
At breakfast I confided in John that all my life, my real career has been the maintenance of my addiction and anything else I got up to was a hobby. Making films was a hobby, making theatre..a hobby. A distraction from the disease of addiction.
My primary purpose has been the pursuit of selfish pleasure.
Today, I have only good news to report even if Luna trotted out of the long grass covered in ticks. Everything was very dealable with, not nearly as scary as I expected-and I never once had to take a nap.
