I’ve got me a new herd manager.  He’s in charge of keeping water tanks full, doctoring goats, sorting goats and helping me.  Basically, Duke now has a paid position. Tammy says that I’m a tight ass, but Duke and I negotiated this deal together.  And for the past couple of weeks, Duke has been a helluva employee.  Whatever title he wants, he can have.  Manager, foreman, herd director, whatever.  

     However, on this 10th day of June, I found his weakness.  He and I planned to go to Waynoka to get our haircuts.   Tammy asked if we could “Please take the vacuum to Darrel to see if he can fix it.”  You see, not only does Darrel Gosney have a set of clippers with a vacuum attached, but he also can fix sweepers.  She left me with this thought, “If he can’t fix it, you’ll have to buy a new one.”  WTH?  I bought this Kirby in 1998 thinking that I would never have to buy another sweeper.  Or at least, I would be old enough that I would be in a home and all I would need is a dust buster.  Anyways, I remembered to load the Kirby in the back seat of my pickup.  

      Made it to Waynoka and Duke got his hair cut first, then myself.  I went to write Darrel a check and asked the date.  Darrel said the “10th”.  I looked at Duke and said, “Hey, it’s your Mimi’s birthday.   Don’t forget to remind me that we need to call and wish her happy birthday. ”  His reply, “Sure.”  

      Got back home this afternoon to work goats and do chores.  I needed something out of the backseat of my pickup.  I then realized that the sweeper was still there.  I hollered at Duke.  “Hey, meathead!  Why didn’t you remind me about the sweeper needing fixed?”  His reply, “What sweeper?”  

“RUSM?!  The sweeper that you rode next to for 50 miles to Waynoka and 50 back.”  

     And about that little remind me about my mom’s birthday.  I remembered about 6 pm that we hadn’t called.  I hit him up.  His reply, “Yeah, I forgot.”

      Nonetheless, we don’t have a fixed Kirby sweeper.  But, we did meet up with Mimi at Gusto’s in Shattuck for supper.  Of course, we were late.  No matter what industry you are in, it is hard to find good help.  And even if you find good help like Duke, just realize that we all have limitations.  

     And on the Duke note, we had some visitors from south Texas.  Their ex-ag teacher is a long-time hog and goat customer.  He sent them up here to pick up some wethers.  10 hour drive to get here.  They needed 2 wethers, but left with 3.  The funny part–this couple had a cute daughter about Duke’s age.  Duke was WAY GOOD at catching and setting up wethers for this family.  I have found his motivation.  

      Here’s to all of you that take time to read this.  I hope you all have a good day and a better tomorrow.  Stay flexible but not limp.  

     Had a big weekend trip to Texas.  We left early Friday morning with several does on the trailer.  Our first stop was at Earl Peacock’s.  Dropped the does off at his place for future flushes.  Looked at several good doe kids at his place.  We were all amazed with the dry land corn in that part of the world.  We then headed towards Goldthwaite to look at some of Saturday’s sale goats.  We did have to stop at a DQ for an ice cream break.  Mikey needed a peanut buster parfait.  Brucey, Duke, Braden and I all decided ice cream sounded good.  Big BIll just opted for a glass of water.  

     It is amazing how green and lush central Texas is this summer.  It was a very good thing the road sides are extremely lush and wet as Friday afternoon we passed a potential HUGE fire danger.  On the hills north of San Saba, there was a SUV pulling a 16′ utility trailer that just had smoke rolling off of it.  We first thought that he had a load of dirt and the dirt was blowing.  But as we got closer, we realized that he was hauling a heavy load of flat rock, kind of like some kind of landscape rock.  This trailer was way overloaded and the left front tire was gone.  The rim was rolling on the pavement.  The bearings were smoking.  

      Mikey and I passed him and got away.  Bill passed him at the top of a hill.  We were traveling at our normal warp speed.  The amazing thing was that, as Bill referred to him, “Guido–the rock layer” was gaining ground on them as they went down the next hill.  I’m pretty sure that load of rock was pushing that SUV down the hill.  Even if he had trailer brakes, I’m pretty sure that they too were smoked on that front axle.  

     We made it to Llanno for Cooper’s BBQ on Friday night.  It was as expected.  We found a hotel and crashed for the night.  Duke and I utilized the hotel swimming pool which was complete with waterfall, dolphins painted on the bottom of the pool and once underwater, you could hear dolphin sounds.  Pretty nifty.

     We started Saturday at a sale in Lampasas.  Small # of wethers, but a nice set.  La Copa sold a really good wether that brought $12K.  Don’t know who got him, but that was a good one.  The highlight of this sale was the donuts.  They were from some local bakery.  These donuts were like a Daylight Donut/Krispy Kreme cross.  They were GOOD!  We all had more than we should have.  I’m not sure how many boxes Braden ate.  

      The Lone Star Elite sale at Goldthwaite was next.  This was a really good set of goats.  There was a HUGE crowd.  The prices weren’t plumb stupid, but the sale averaged really well.  Immediately following was Helms-Book sale.  Another really good set of goats.  

      During the Lone Star Elite Sale, David Garrett brought a doe to me to catch a ride back to Oklahoma.  Somebody had bought her online last month and we had rooom on the trailer.  David put her on our trailer.  In between the Lone Star and Helms-Book sale, we loaded some wethers we bought.  Bill opened the side door of the trailer to load a wether.  This turned out to be a mistake as that doe had decided that she didn’t want to be on the trailer anymore.  I didn’t see much of this doe as I was on the opposite side of the trailer door.   I just heard a bunch of groans, growls and grunts, the unmistakeable sound of hooves and horns hitting human flesh, then a few cuss words.  The door finally closed and Bill had cuts and bruises from that doe kid.  But she was still on the trailer.

    We now headed to Early for Garrett and Bean’s sale.  Really good set of wethers.  They sold high, but not as high as I expected.  One more sale stop in Brownwood.  5 sales in one day.  It was time for supper.  

      Sunday found us driving home in the rain.  The Red River was rolling as we crossed the border.  We even got rain here in paradise.  

     After all of the miles and looking at a lot of really good goats, I am really pleased with what I see, right here in Oklahoma.  

      Shut the gate is a term that needs to ALWAYS be practiced in life.  No matter what you do.  Always remember to shut the gate.  If you open a gate, shut it behind you.  Unless told otherwise.  It’s just good practice to shut the gate.  

     If you are dealing with livestock, then you will quickly learn to shut the gate.  If not, then you will find yourselves sorting does & babies at odd hours while using flashlights.  Trust me.  This is the accelerated version of learning real-life skils.  

       No matter what  you  are doing, learn to shut the gate. If you are leaving a really good job, shut the gate so that there aren’t future problems.  Always learn to shut the gate, before you rmouth turns into the biggest part of your anatomy.  

     When in doubt, shut the gate.  

     Covered some miles today and saw some nice goats.  The one constant that I am running into….it seems like most breeders are heavy on doe kid percentages….and have really good quality on the doe kid side of things.  Sasquatch (Shovanec and Sweet’s Helms bred buck) passed away recently.  Too bad as he left some really nice kids in his first crop.  Crush (Big Ern’s buck) really made a consistent kid crop.  I only took a popper today, but I dang neart needed a trailer.  But, the goats are unloaded and hitting the feed and water.  I did see some really good black headed kids out of Schoovanec’s Black Rhino buck.  They are young but promising.  

     How about the text your bid doe sale?  The winning bid was $7,019.10.  Who the?  What the?  Ungh!  I was actually with the winning bidder today and got to hear the strategy behind the numerics of this bid.  Hard to make fun of that bid as that $19.10 is the difference between winning and not getting that doe.  If all of the bidders had seen that doe in person, she would have brought more than that.  Even though I’ve spent enough money lately, I still considered getting in on that deal.  

     Thanks to all of the buyers, bidders and lookers on our doe sale Monday night.  

     Really, the big news in the world of Kelln Livestock is not in the goat side of things.  It is the Canine portion of this operation.  Sasha the corgi had puppies on Tuesday.  She had a litter of 6.  All males.  Blue merles and tri colors.  She is a first time mother at 7 years of age.  And she is doing a stellar job as a mom.  Ammo (the sire)  is just now a year old and has a set on the ground.  How about that?  I guess he got himself one of those cougars!  These dogs will be bonafide goat ranch proven.  Ride the gator, chase wethers down the road, eat hoof trimmings as I trim hooves and spend time in the pasture with GARP, reminding him that he is a dog and that he can’t fit under the gate like a corgi.  But most importantly, be great kid dogs and companions.  And yes, Kela got to FaceTime with Sasha and the new babies.  

     Hold your skirt down, the wind is back.  And it came back with a vengeance.  I hadn’t missed it and I hope it goes away soon.  Dry, dirty and windy….as Jodi Seelke stated earlier, “You can grow a garden in your ears.”  

      We are waiting in anticipation as Sasha the corgi is due anyday.  She looks miserable.  We knew the due date because somebody was present to document the conception with a phone camera shot.  I think the term in the dog world is “LOCKED UP like two dogs f…..”  

      It’s also time to get serious about buying goats.  Sale season in TX and OK is BACK.  Some people get in too big of a hurry and just go to buying, then later regret doing what they did.  And then they buy another to fill the void when they should have gotten help and bought the right one.  Some want to wait till it fits their schedule better and miss out on goats that they needed for their price point.  And some of us buy whenever we see one that we like that fits our budget.  

      Sat down to look at my list of goats to buy for people.  All of the usual suspects have contacted me over the past couple of weeks about getting wethers.  But only 4 actually told me how many, how much and what their goals were.  Of course, I could have a helluva year if Duke, Bree, Chesley and Sarah are the only ones that I have to buy for.  

      A pile of others have told 1 or 2 parts of the orders.  But not exact details.  Makes it hard to buy when you don’t know details.  “We want 4 wethers or we would like to win….”   “Need a cheap one to make the sale at Tulsa and we want to kick ass at OYE.”  Okay.  But what are you willing to spend to get those 4 wethers that are going to win whatever?  What exactly is your definition of kicking ass at OYE?  

     And now, that I’m self-employed, I’m not buying without a commitment.  It’s best to have the info together to try to put package deals together.  Look at the rest of the world–Wal Mart–buys in volume, sells cheaper.  If you can minimize travel, that saves fuel & motel money.  As a breeder, you like to see several head leaving to proven feeders and getting off the feed bill.  As a buyer, it makes expenses average out.  If I have to drive 1,000 miles to buy one goat, fine.  I can do it.  Have done it.  But gas, tires, time, etc. costs money.  If you want to win OYE or Tulsa, fine.  Been there done that.  It costs money.  We’ve done it with cheap wethers and we’ve done it with wethers that cost more than a good pickup.  

     A lot of people take stuff for granted.  Partially my fault, but mostly not.  I will continue to help buy, feed and show goats for people.  But I will not do it for free.  Nor should I be expected to.  I’m still wrestling with how much more of it that I want to do.  I like the crew that I have been helping.  But, there will have to be changes.

     Nobody needs to read this and think that I am pissed at anybody.  I’m not.  I am perfectly content with just taking care of 4 kids and their goat projects.  We do a really good job already. 

     On another note. I really like looking at this pen of Rumour Has It babies.  The wethers are healing up and look the part and handle better.  B.A.B.s looks the part and gets better when you handle her.  Most of these will sell at Norman or at Saturday Night Live.  

      Saw Helms facebook bid-off doe the other day.  Don’t know where the bidding is on her, but she’s one of the best ones that have been offered.  

     On a funny note. It is comical to walk across the drive with a pickup load of Georgians when one of them spies a 30″ snake and jumps up and sideways.  This in turn causes three others to jump.  The snake is more scared than the rest.  I turned looked and said, “It ain’t a rattler.  Just a small bullsnake.  Wait.  Nope.  It’s a puff adder look at its head spreading.”  One of them, said, “I don’t care what kind of snake it is.  It’s a snake and I DO NOT like it. Is a puff adder poisonous?”  Nope.  But they can scare the beejesus out of you.  

       Have a good night, a great morning and hopefully the wind goes away tomorrow.  And hopefully, no rattlers.  

What is the old saying?  There is a first time for everything.  Friday found us dealing with several firsts.  

      First of all, it was wet near Quitaque, TX.  I had never seen mud out there before.  We normally have sweat running down our cracks when we are out there.  This time was no different in that regard, but it wasn’t from 110 degree heat.  It was from the humidity.

      Another first on this trip.  Very few flies.  Normally, there are lots of flies.  That just goes with that many livestock.  Helms invested in some kind of predator wasp and they obviously work.  As a result, very few flies.  

      Maybe the most suprising first, is the fact that Helms has his goats BLOOMY.  I’m not used to looking at bloomy Helms goats.  I’m sure he has a sizable feed bill this year, but the goats look very good.  I normally need to use my imagination and try to project which ones are going to feed.  Not this time.  Instead, I’ve got pages of ear tags that look good and are going to numerous sales scattered around.  

     I’ve not seen the likes of the # of doe kids that they have.  It’s like looking at an ant den as the multitude of doe kids move in all directions and they all look alike.  Then they take off in one direction, in unison and move like a flock of birds.  It gave me a headache looking at them.  Doe kids, yearling does–a really good set of females.

     And, yes.  I did study the buck prospects that will be selling.  A really deep set.  Of course, I would like to cut a couple of them, but I bet they bring more as a buck than what I would spend on a wether.  

      There was no large trailer needed on this trip.  I would have liked to have bought about 50 wethers.  But it has just become too difficult.  Why?  Retardation.  Not mine or Helms.  Parental Retardation.  This isn’t a first for me.  Remember, I served a 15 year sentence teaching ag.  Parents get retarded and can’t seem to focus at times.  Some get it, some don’t.  Even though my own kid has NOT had a grand at the State Fair or Woodward District or the Lone Star Elite or OYE, various parents think that they need to tap dance around to “improve” their standing and get “first” pick.  Parents putting pressure on others that their offspring needs to win.  It wasn’t fair to Helms to try to figure out who gets what, it damn sure isn’t fair to me as I’ve been doing it for FREE.  Looking back at our results the past several years, it looks like I have done a helluva job spreading the wealth.  

     I’m not mad.  Some might say that is a first.  It actually makes it easier for me.  I can focus on Duke and his goats.  I don’t have to write huge checks and wait on people to pay.  And find pen space for the wethers.  And, Helms will get to cash bigger checks.  

      Helms and I have dealt with each other for a lot of years, so there is no reason for he and I to get mad about it.  So, they now get their chance.  The wethers that I want and like will be available for sale–starting next week at the Lone Star Elite and the Helms/Book sale and then Eldorado and Norman.  I’ll bid just like the rest of them.  I’m sure that I won’t be able to afford all of the wethers that I want, but I would like to think that I have a little better knowledge of the genetics than most. 

     Pfeiffer probably does it right.  Have a bunch of sales.  No private treaty.  Let the bidders fight it out.  Hope the good ones end up in good hands.  

     And after the sales, I’m pretty sure that I will be out west, flipping rocks, looking for some skinny bastard that looks like he will feed.  Except, that there wasn’t very many skinny goats this time.  Hhmm?!

      It is going to be a good Saturday.  Maybe, no wind.  Now, that would be a first.

I hope that the rest of my weeks of being self-employed are as busy, productive and fulfilling as the first week.  Physically–I’m sore.  Mentally–refreshed.  And to answer the next question….No, it has not been profitable. Yet.  But I hope it will be.  

I hope that tomorrow (Friday) is as fulfilling as I think it will be.

I hope that the Rumour babies that are due in June look as good as the March/April set.  

I hope that B.A.B.s is as good as everyone tells me she is.  

I hope that Joe Dirt, Rumour Has It and Rainman click with the newly added doe genetics.  I hope and I’ll bet that it does.  Heck, for that matter, I’ve already pushed all in, so I guess that it’s pretty obvious that I’m not cocky about it, just real confident.  

I hope that we aren’t done seeing some rain.  

I hope that the doe kid market is really strong this summer as I have a butt-load of really cool doe kids.  

I hope that everybody else enjoys life as much as I do.  I realize that I am lucky to be here, lucky to have a strong family, lucky to chase opportunities and hopefully, I stay hopefull and lucky.  

And, for those of you that have a mental image of me being self-employed and have texted asking…..Yes, my daily attire does involve camo/army shorts, HIGH quality comfortable shoes, shirt optional (depending on who is here) and consumption is down.  I’ve only had two Mt. Dews in the past week.  

     I apologize to all of you that are needing a fix of info from this little blog.  I’ve been a tick busy.  It has been hard to keep up with a blog or checking the chive for the past week.  This self-employment deal requires some time.  It also requires some record keeping.   I’ve recently heard stories of some ag teacher complaining/emailing about reports due.  Well, he better stick to careertech reports, because reports in the real world get a little more serious.  Sometimes, you have to priortize and decide which stuff HAS to be done, which needs to be done and what can wait.  

     We had several days of 100% chances of rain this past holiday weekend.  Guess what?  Those weather people were RIGHT!  And we totaled .3″ out of that 4 days of guaranteed rain.  It did drizzle, a slow stream, like a wether goat with a urinary calculi problem.  You just wanted the stream to cut loose and flow.  But, not to complain, that 3/10ths is way more than we had.  Plus, the wind hasn’t been howling like a gutshot comanche on an old John Wayne movie.  

     Speaking of weather.  It was a perfect evening to sit at the baseball field at Fargo and watch a summer league double header baseball game(s).  Windows down, kicked back, watching some sub-par baseball. Of course, Duke thought it was a little creepy that Braden and I parked the ’93 Chevy van next to the foul pole on the left field side and watched the second game from that vantage point.    Shattuck won both games 17-1 and 18-2.  CLOSE!

      The Dragon Lady and Audra took my mom and Audra’s mom to the tipsy artist tonight. Tesha Bruce and Randi Sweet also attended.  I haven’t been invited to a Tipsy Artist event–(seems like I could fit in).  It is obviously big fun as Tammy and Audra have gone twice and are ready for the next one.  The paintings that they bring home don’t look as bad I would do.  

      Got a full day planned tomorrow of washing, drying, clipping and photoing doe kids for an online sale.  Really nice set of doe kids.  Although, some of you are waiting/wanting/expecting me to have some flying off the handle rant since I quit my job, going to raise goats for a living, kind of life altering career path deal….it’s like prom night and you are just going to have to wait.  Because I don’t have to give what you want right now.       

     Pop, beer, chips and shoes……always spend more to get the good stuff.  There is a reason that the name brands cost more….they are worth it.  No need to half-ass when dealing with these items.  Sprinklers and garden hoses are other items that you should spend more money to buy the good ones.  I don’t know if I have ever told you all the one about the most racist item is actually a sprinker.  Okay.  I’ll just leave this one alone, even though it is clean.  

     Back to the sprinklers.  There has never been a better made sprinkler than the original tractor sprinkler.  Covers ground, thoroughly wets it, decent coverage area and the wind doesn’t mess with it.  

      One of my all time favorite TV deals was the Saturday Night Live skit involving Will Ferrell and a cow bell.  That skit is a cultural classic.  Personally, I think Will Ferrell is a genius and he knows how to use the media to his benefit.  If you didn’t see the video of the Drum Off on Jimmy Fallon from Thursday night, well, you need to.  It involves Will Ferrell and his doppleganger–Chad Smith–drummer from the Red Hot Chili Peppers.  It’s funny.  

       I also watched a killer funny video of why to drive a Chevy SilverAdo instead of a Ford.  I won’t post the link as it isn’t appropriate for anybody’s ears.  But it’s dang sure funny.  

      Random change of pace.  I have been a subscriber to the Purple Circle magazine for several years.  Gary Cramblett and his family put this magazine together when they aren’t chasing goats.  One of the things that I like to read is Dr. Bo Brock’s monthly vet advice/stories column.  I have never met Dr. Brock, but I like his articles and I know of a lot of people that drive to Lamesa, TX to get his help. Tammy showed me this article and I thought it was a good read and would post it here.  

“Leonard

I had worked on Leonard’s horses since they were eight years old. Now, as I approached the two geldings from across a field of West Texas clover, they were twenty-eight. Leonard was a crusty old codger who’d been a cowboy in Borden County for seventy-five years—it was all he’d ever known. His wife had died the previous September after they’d spent fifty-five years together, raising cattle and living off the land. Their ranch house they spent their lives in got water from a windmill and electricity from the sun and wind. Their lives were as fulfilling as any I’d ever seen.
This trip across the clover to catch the two old horses was bringing tears to my eyes. These geldings had spent their lives serving Leonard and his wife, and they both had worn out at the same time. It was time for them to be put to sleep.
Leonard had stayed back at the barn. He had his arms draped over the top rail of a pipe fence and his hat pulled down over his eyes so we couldn’t see the tears streaming down his cheeks.
Dr. Emily Berryhill had come with me to the ranch. She was the intern at our clinic and hadn’t been around long enough to know the history of Leonard, so I filled her in as we ambled across the field to catch the horses. I looked over and saw tears in her eyes. Emily hadn’t seen this side of the gruff cowboys who come to our clinic—the side that cries when his favorite horse is at the end of its life. She was now experiencing it firsthand.
Leonard had arranged for a neighbor to dig a hole under the only tree visible for miles. The plot was the perfect place for these two old geldings to be buried—it was their favorite spot to spend the day. From it, they could see their barn and get back to it in a hurry, if need be. They could watch the cars pass on the county road in the distance. They could see the cliffs of the canyon to the west and watch the hawks ride the updrafts. These two critters loved to be in the shade of that tree, and that’s where Leonard wanted them buried.
It’s an awful job, killing a man’s best friend. All of the memories of rounding up cattle and the stories of how those horses had gotten Leonard out of tough spots filled my mind as we laid the second one to rest in that hole. My trip back across the clover field to say good-bye to Leonard was a long one. I dreaded seeing his wrinkled eyes filled with the memories of how much he loved his horses.
We came through the last gate and hung the halters on their hook in the barn. I patted Leonard on the back and told him it broke my heart for him to have to say good-bye to them but assured him that it had been the right thing to do.
He looked up from under his hat, and the emotion of twenty-eight years of friendship ending on that day poured down his weathered cheeks.
“I’ll be to town in a couple of days, and I’ll get you paid, Doc,” he told me. “Thanks for coming out here and doing that.”
“You owe me nothing, Leonard. I couldn’t live with myself if I charged a man to kill his best friend.”
“But you drove seventy-five miles to get here, Doc,” he said. “I gotta pay you som’in’.”
I paused and thought a bit. Experiences like this one are why I dreamed of being a veterinarian when I was a kid. I get to work with the salt of the earth, people who understand the bond between people and animals. It’s the essence of what veterinarians do, and it has nothing to do with state-of-the-art equipment or making money. I kept those horses happy and going for most of their lives, and I was a part of laying them to rest when their days were done.
Leonard appreciated that. He knew that taking care of critters from start to finish was simply what the local veterinarian did.
“You’ve been paying me for twenty years, my friend,” I said. “This one is on me.”

This is the last story in the book and is one of my favorite. I think every veterinarian should read it and feel encouraged for what you do for animals and people everyday. I think we forget. I hope that when people read it they will hug their vet and thank them, it is a tough job dealing with the emotions of the job sometimes. thank you all for encouraging me to write the book “crowded in the middle of nowhere” . It is really just a story of the last 24 years living in Lamesa and getting to practice veterinary medicine with the folks that live there. bo”

     If you read through that deal without tears then you are tougher than me.  That or your’e just a heartless son-of-a-gun!  Vets are another deal worth paying extra for.  

P.S.  It’s Memorial Day Weekend.  Thank you to all Veterans as well as those that are currently serving.   We must remember those that serve which enables us to do what we do.  Heads bowed, hats off and GOD speed to all that have served the United States of America.  May GOD be with you. 

       The 1st day after, was kind of eventful.  I had just as much paperwork to do (execept it was my own paperwork).  My phone was just as busy (but I wasn’t talking equipment) and I dang sure wasn’t bored.  I got a lot done, but not enough.  Then about 4 pm, I smelled rain, I heard lots of thunder and I heard two lightining crashes.  I finished welding and came out of the big barn and smelled smoke.  I looked to the East and in a severe drought like this, when you see smoke, you immediately think like Ralphie on Christmas Vacation,  “OOOOHHHH  FUUUUUDDGE!”  Except fudge wasn’t the word that I thought.  There was a fire 1/2 mile East of us and the wind was blowing from the east.  This meant that there was a blacktop road between us and having nothing.  It didn’t look good.

      I called Wyatt Kelln of the Shattuck Fire Department.  He said, “Fargo’s on it.  But Arnett, Gage & Harmon are already in route.  Shattuck will be there to put it out.  Don’t you worry.”  

      In the meantime, my favorite neighbor, Johnny File, pulled up and said, “Do I need to help you move goats or just sit back and watch this crap burn?”  I looked at him, then looked again as I realized that he wasn’t wearing a cap….or a shirt….and now, I was a little nervous if he had anything else on.  If you know Johnny, then, trust me, there is humour.  I realized, at this point, that Johnny had been sitting outside, half dressed, in his wheel chair, when this fire started.  He didn’t give a rat’s ass, but if he needed to do something, “By GOD”, he was ready.  I said, “Johnny, if that fire crosses the blacktop, we’re Effed.”  He said, “Don’t worry about it.  Because as soon as Shattuck gets here, it will be out.  Did I ever tell you about the time that me and my brother’s stole a fire truck?”   No, but you have my attention.   

     He was right.  There was a great turn out of volunteer fire departments…all of the above, as well as Woodward showed up and limited this deal to a couple hundred acres.  But it was evident when the boys from out west showed up.  Wyatt and Tyler drove in a little faster than most would in a 6 wheel truck holdling 2000 gallons of water.  We heard the  jake brakes going off, well before we saw the truck.  Nonetheless, the volunteers had the fire out, with a little help from a change in wind direction.  No loss of structures or animals.  It did burn right up to the blacktop.  Of course, Tammy thought, “What the hell?  One day on his own and he finds a way to start a fire.”  I didn’t do it.  Lightning did.  

      What Tyler?  Yes, that Tyler.  Tyke’s unpaid hired hand that helps with goats, twins, emptying ice chests and has a mustard story.  At least Wyatt and Tyler stopped back at the house for a well earned beverage before heading west to fill up.  Rural volunteer fire departments are a GOD send when needed and at times, an overlooked neccesity.  Thank you to everybody that serves on a volunteer fire department.  And for that matter, thank you to all fire fighters.  Ask my brother Jake, but I have always had a rule about donating to firefighters.  It’s a good thing.