In the effort of trying to do this goat herd dispersal while being in a very busy time of year at my job, I told the super clipper Blaine Rue to get his donkey to the greater Fargo area.  I needed to get the Feb/March bucks clipped & photoed.  But, I also wanted to get the April & June bucks ready.  And I really needed to get all of the ag kids projects clipped and ready for the upcoming county show.

Friday night was fun.  Blaine started clipping at the ag farm.  I went home to put out hay, fill feeders, feed cows, doctor calves, fix electric fence AND deliver baby goats.   Wait.  What?  They aren’t due until Feb. 3.  Triplets but all alive.

Saturday morning was when the marathon really started.    I had the Spillman twins and Clayton Washmon lined up and ready to work.  And work they did.  The Spillman’s washed and dried.  I guarantee that these bucks have the cleanest, shiniest nut sacks.  These boys will work.  Clayton helped wash, dry and move bucks.  Blaine clipped.  I was all over the place.  Clayton and I set bucks up.  Blaine ran the camera.  One set done just after 1 pm.  Let’s do the next set.  We got them done before we lost light.  This crew worked well.  But, I will be honest.  I like having Duke around when clipping bucks.  He can wash, clip, setup, run the camera–all of it.  I’m pretty sure that he didn’t miss being here.  I’m also real sure that he is getting paid more where he is at.

Then we headed to Woodward to clip more projects.  Sunday morning found us clipping more projects.

12 yearling bucks washed, clipped and photoed in one day and 17 show projects thrown in on either end.  We used the Henry Ford assembly line technique and kept them rolling.  Unload, wash, dry, clip and on to the next one.  I can tell you that this pace of work is actually cheaper as it kept Blaine out of the beer.  And he was ready for bed when we were done.

We are all still laughing about one of the twins talking about getting brake cleaner on his wiener and how bad it burnt!

It was a marathon weekend and I am sore but I had fun. (not as sore as brake cleaner on a wiener!)  On Saturday night, I really enjoyed watching a group of 10 or 11 year old boys, from 3 different schools, sitting at a table while learning to play cards.  Banners are important but the social network that is developed from stock shows is priceless.  One of these boys was there with his great-granddad.  We’ve been friends with this stock show family for a long time.  But, seriously, how cool is great-grandad and kid starting a new goat project?  WAY cool!

See, I’m not always a negative soul.  I can see the good as well as the bad.  And obviously the good still outweighs the bad.

On another note, there are a couple of chicks in TX that need to quit wasting their time reading this stuff.  You both have good husbands that need attention.  Yes, Megan and Kelsey, I’m talking to you!  And yes, I am wearing my hat while typing this.

I’m done.  I will hopefully have buck pics up by the end of the week.  Have a good one and a better tomorrow.