I’ve got more good friends than the law should allow.  Like Ricky Bobby in Tallagega Nights, I’ve got friends, like Cal Naughton Jr. that would help put out the “imaginary” fire.  There is a not-so-old proverb about a “good friend will bail you out of jail, but a best friend will be sitting in the cell next to you saying “Damn!  That was fun!”  I have some of those kind of friends also.  Better yet, I have a couple, that would be smart enough to stay back and help me clean up the mess later.  

      This livestock deal will make you find your best friends and those that are just along for the ride.   There are some that just want your help–regardless of cost.  There are those that understand that money doesn’t necessarilly turn one on.  Then there are those that truly become friends.  When there is a problem, two things are consistent, the common denominators that get in the way–money or ideallogy.  Money, which, in my mental midget mind, is the easiest thing to handle.  If it is a dollar issue, well then, it is easy to fix.  If it is an idealogical issue, well, money doesn’t fix that.  

       I consistently get asked, “Why do you have partners on bucks?”  I can answer this question very simply.  Numbers.  I don’t have enough doe numbers to justify owning the caliber of bucks that I like.  Therefore, I like to partner with like-minded people.  It takes numbers to prove a buck.  So, therefore, I partner.  Maybe, I shouldn’t.  

       I don’t put hardly any stipulations on those that partner on bucks with me.  I just expect to be treated fairly.  I hardly ever care what they do with the doe kids.  The wether kids, that’s a different story.  If they want to sell out from under me that is fine.  Let those buyers find their next buck for them.  I pay more than fair prices.  I very rarely whine.  If the kids look the part, no whine at all.  Plus, we get results, year after year.  

      We normally feed wethers that are bred very similar to the bucks we are using.  I plan on continuing that path.  I like to buy wethers privately and I like to sell them privately as it is easier for everybody involved.  Get the good ones into good hands for a fair price and be done.  Sure, some breeders would get more at auction, some wouldn’t,  but they all get a guarantee that they will get fed and shown properly.  In turn, they get results.  That, my friends is worth a pile.  

      Sometimes, it would be easier if I only bought for Duke.  I’d just by a couple of wethers (and would gladly overpay to not have to eff-around)  and keep 3 or 4 wethers that we raised.  I wouldn’t spend near the gas, motels, food, tickets, etc. that I do now.  If I saw a buck I liked.  Well, I’d just keep it to myself. It would just be easier.  I don’t need to buy for numerous kids.  I am happy getting serious about one.  Sometimes, you just need to mind the gap.  I don’t owe anybody much, if anything at all.  

      It is a challenge trying to raise goats, help others raise goats, buying goats and helping others show goats.  I don’t need to do it any of it.  I like to help others but I don’t have to.  I don’t need partners on bucks.  It is difficult trying to decide where to look for wethers or should we just keep what we raise–or both?  I sometimes buy from some, just to help them out.  Sometimes, they don’t realize that and it causes problems later.  Building a herd in a year or two is hard to do–regardless of cash.  I don’t care how big a breeder, they will all tell you that it takes genetics and feeders/showmen.  You can buy genetics, but it is hard to come up with the truly proven feeders/showmen.

      It is sprinkling on this fine evening.  Not enough to help, but at least it smells good.  There is a chance for more tomorrow.  It probably won’t.

   But, maybe, just maybe….

     Yes, it is that day again.  Thursday.  More specifically, things that bounce Thursday.  And on this bouncy evening, I am currently watching a professional doe at work.  B20 is a professional doe.  She is out of Kela’s original kid crop back in ’06.  She is a paint doe that is sired by Harley.  These Harley does are way good mothers.  They literally go into labor for less than an hour, then go to shooting out kids.  There is a grunt and a long sustained groan and then things get all SQUISHY and plop there is a live kid.  She immediately bounces up and around and licks the kid clean.  Then she bounces around and lets it nurse.  And when it comes to udders, these Harley daughters get squishy, real squishy.  It’s a good thing that I don’t have them waiting tables in tight clothes, cuz these girls would squish right out of their boulder holders.  

     It’s kind of funny that most of my favorite does are out of Harley.  Because if they were biker chicks, riding on the bitch pad of a Harley, they would be squishy while things would be bouncing as they headed down the road.  

     Speaking of Harley’s.  There was a time that I was trying to purchase a ’91 Harley Fat Boy.  I was serving a sentence as a public school teacher so therefore I didn’t have any money.  But I wanted a bike.  It just didn’t happen.  I had a WW II german helmet with deer antlers bolted to it.  I didn’t have a kilt yet, but could have came up with one.  And I wanted a t-shirt especially made for me riding a bike.  My dream was to be riding a bike while wearing a kilt and that antlered helmet while wearing a black t-shirt that read on the back “Don’t laugh, I teach your children.”  I’m pretty sure that shirt would be a top seller.  

      My baby brother had a Harley for awhile, then he got married and the Harley got sold.  I’ve got a cousin that built his own custom bike with wicked cool 3-D paint and uses a Harley engine to power it.  This cat can build anything and just happens to also be a gun dealer.  Oh yeah, he also has a Hummer (like the actual Army hummers), with machine gun mounts and the machine gun to mount.  It is safe to say that I/we/heck everybody that knows him, would consider him as a “cool cousin”.  

      How come I don’t have a bike now?  I got old.  I have goats.  And those 7 years at Fairview had me living on a rock road that would kill a bike.  However, I actually looked at a deal just a couple of weeks ago.  A friend of mine, who is a former FFA dad from Waynoka, who just so happens to have a son that works for me, showed up at the store on his trike.  It is an actual Harley trike that is completely tricked out and ready to roll for two.  He is even having a trailer custom built to fit this trike.  He and some other buddies of his are actually doing the ultimate Harley trip this summer and are headed to Sturgis.  

     I will probably go to Sturgis someday.  But I’m wearing my kilt and I’m taking a halter broke goat with me.  Of course, she will have to be a direct descendant of Harley.  It only seems proper.  

     Hey Schneberger,  if I was trying to buy 1/2 interest in a buck prospect, I would probably try to name that thing “Squishy”.  While we are at it, pick another Chive term for me to use, cuz you owe me a dollar for every time that I use it.  Squishy, squishy, squishy, squishy, squishy, squishy.  

      I just hope you all aren’t going back and counting.  Squishy, squishy, squishy, squishy.  

       The day after and I am dealing with the residual of an online auction.  All good problems to have and I am happy to deal with them.  Sincerely, thank you for all of the interest in our goats.  It is nice to see a plan come to fruitition.  Thanks to all those that inquired, looked at, bid on and bought our stock.  Truly, humbley, thank you.    

      Got a story for you.  As you all know, we have more than our share of characters that are associated with us.  All great people, but some of them (myself included)  can get a little sideways and sometimes things come out of our (my) mouths that maybe aren’t expected or proper.  But sometimes, you hear something from someone that you didn’t expect it from.  

     Let me set the scene.  Had a recent visitor to this piece of paradise. A lady, who is a family friend and an excellent livestock person in her own right wanted to look at kids.  She comes from a stellar family, raised properly and she, her husband and kids are all pillars of their community.  Good people.  This family is trying to decide if they want to get real serious showing goats and how to go about it.  I was on good behavior–camo shorts, sneakers, actually had a shirt on, NO beverages.  She doesn’t and after last night, I didn’t need any/very many more.  She asked to look at the babies in the kidding barn.  Sure, let’s go.  

      She didn’t say anything bad.  I just wasn’t expecting it.  We walked along and she looked into each pen of couple of day old kids, she stopped at the end pen.  The pen contained a doe that had recently had QUADS.  All 4 were laying in a group, head to head, snuggled up together comfortably.  Three of these kids are blonde headed and the fourth is black headed.  She looked down, chuckled and said, “Wow, three blondes and a black.  Hhmm.  Sounds like a really good night at a strip club.”  I hurt my neck as my head snapped sideways.  There actually wasn’t anything wrong with what she said, it just caught me off guard for a second.  I laughed and then my mind went to whirring.  I don’t know yet if there is a buck prospect in this group of quads, but if there is, he’s already named– “Night Trips”.  Unless he’s a bonafide great one and then it will be “Spearmint Rhino”.  I was told once about a place from a friends wife that was called Spearmint Rhino that was supposedly a great….uhh….I think I’ll just stop.  

     I am excited for all that bought goats from us last night.  If the bucks perform half as good as I feel that they will, then things will be stellar.  I’m still trying to figure out exactly where everything is going, but so far, it looks like this group got really good homes.  The residual of this sale should be felt for awhile.  It’s starting to look like this Rumour Has It buck might be worth using on some more does.  I like it.  

      And on a positive note, it looks like the Dragon Lady is going to live.  She managed to get pneumonia and has acted/sounded like hammered dog turds for the past couple of days.  

     It is real hard to put in print the sounds that have come out of my mouth the past couple of hours.  Most of the sounds have been un-intelligible.  Some are happy sounds and the rest just weren’t meant for children, mothers or grandmothers.  Let’s pick a few words.

HUMBLED–Thanks to all the calls, texts, emails, etc.  I will be honest, it can be a pain in the ass, but this deal makes me go “Bpth”.  

DELIVERY–At this point in time, I only know where 3 lots went.  But it is obvious that a person could make deliveries to the midwest and make it worthwhile.  

        Well, let’s quit jacking around–WHERE DID HE GO?–Well, he stayed in Oklahoma.  Lot 3 is going to Kay County, Oklahoma to Rick Barnthouse.  Mr. Barnthouse came and looked,  and obviously liked what he saw.  He will name him and decide when semen will be offered.  I applaud the purchase.  Speaking from experience, it hurts to do something like that, but when you know it’s right, hit it and hit it hard.  James and I wrestled with what to do, (sell him, keep him, syndicate him, etc.)   but we are tickled that this dude is going to get used and marketed.  Look forward to this dude’s offspring.  I willl GUARANTEE that this dude will sire some serious stuff.  This goat is way good and it is geting ready to be fun. 

CAPTIVE–For all of the breeders that want to keep your genetics captive,  keep them.  I spent several years and a shit load of dollars trying to buy what I wanted.   Several breeders cashed some checks on does from me, but nobody wanted to turn loose of the right buck.  I  tried and tried hard.  In 2009, once the right one was in front of me, I was DUMB enough to bow out of a partnership on that buck.    In 2010, a few breeders allowed me to buy several bucks.   I bought Joe Dirt, Freak On A Leash and Rainman.  Luckily for me, I didn’t buy in on that buck in 2009,  but instead  I bought in on the person that bought him.  Basically, in true KELLN terms, pick a four letter word that starts with the letter F.  I effed up, but it will work out in the end.  You can cash my check now, or somebody else will.  

HELMS—Yeah, in the goat business, it’s a word.  And Joe Ed is cooler than Kenneth.  This crap doesn’t happen without Kenneth’s foresight that “well dang it, this crap might be fun”.  He will tell you that all of this doesn’t happen except that I showed up with my entourage.  Which at that time consisted of Tammy, Kela, Duke and my dumb ass.   I think that I was 4th on the list of the people that mattered.  Actually, I am sure where I rank.  Without a doubt, thanks to Kenneth for having faith in us and most of all, installing an ultimatum.  “Just make sure that you bring these goats to the Lone Star Elite. ”  Thank you for enforcing that rule.  Which brings me to myself.  We’re coming back to the Lone Star Elite (RUSM), let’s get the Texans to come to the Champion’s Choice Jackpot.  Same money.  Come on.  I bet Gallagher will have his troops ready.  

KNOWLEDGE—I have nothing, but  an ass-load of experience.  Here’s what I can tell you.  That lot 3 purchase was GENIOUS.  Why?  I’ll betcha that he pays himself off in the first kid crop.  Next–We shouldn’t have sold any part of him.  But that is how you advance the market place.  You have to make genetics available.  Semen.  Yes. Short sighted.  No.  Available. Not at this time.  Actually not.  

     My thoughts on this sale?  Holy smokes Batman.  This deal went well. Real well.  A sale like this can make these lovely does look a lot better.  Thanks to all the lookers, bidders, buyers and everyone that had an interest.    

      There is no doubt that getting the right buck can change a breeding program.  A person just needs to identify what they need and what they can spend.  Study the genetics and decide if a given buck is the right one to fit your program.  If it is, pull the trigger.  If it doesn’t feel right, then don’t do it.  But, just realize that waiting can cost you money.  

     Bucks are hard to get bought private treaty.  It can be done, but it takes some tap dancing to find the right price, for both parties.  Also, the breeder has to feel like that animal is going to the right home.  Sometimes, parties need to partner.  Maybe, the breeder needs to keep semen/breeding rights in order to make the deal work.  

      Don’t be afraid to be creative.  It doesn’t do anybody any good to have a killer good buck and he is only getting bred to 20 does per year.  They need used in order to prove their worth.  

      A big question to consider, is there any added-value to this purchase?  There are lots of value-added options–some are very visible, some not so easy to see.  Ask yourself questions like “Can the breeder help promote this purchase?”  or “Can we sell semen on this buck?”    Sometimes, it is better to spend a little more jack and get more “free” publicity.  Likewise, there is NEVER anything wrong with finding one in the bargain bin, hiding underneath a rock, just waiting to be used on the right does.  But those don’t come along very often.  

      Is it better to buy an older, proven buck or a young buck prospect?  

      My rules for buying bucks.  

—-Have a genetic plan.

—-Answer your own questions.  Are you hoping to make keeper females, wethers or bucks?  Have a plan and be ready to realize that your plan was bass-ackwards from what you orignally thought.  

—-Ask yourself, “Is this purchase about making money or making better goats?”  Most of the times it is either or.  Rarely, is it going to be both.  

—-Have a budget.  But be prepared to blow the hell out of that budget when the right one hits you.  

—-Be prepared to partner on a buck in order to make things work economically.  Have an idea ahead of time, who will be a suitable partner.  Then if the need arises, hit them up.  It’s best if the other parties don’t need the buck in the same time frame as you do.  

—-A goat breeder CANNOT have too many bucks.  

Have a good day and a better tomorrow.  

     Thanks to all the calls and visitors about the goat offering that we have on April 1.  This modern marvel technology that I call an iPhone has just about locked up.  I don’t know if I have been talking to more serious buyers or not, but the etiquitte of the calls, emails and texts has definetly improved the past few days.  If you have questions the next day or two, call me and if I don’t answer, then please leave a message.  I will call back.  

      I probably should have just left these December kids locked up in the barn on chips, but I like to watch animals walk and I assume that everybody else is like me.  (Thank goodness that most are not like me as that would make for a lot of screwed up people).  So I kicked their rears back outside into general population.  I have noticed that lots 1 & 2 are acting a bit sore.  I think that they have been handled so much that they need a break.  On the flip side, that crayon eating, window licking one-balled wether is starting to act like he has a functioning brain.  

     A person in NW OK needed to just stay locked up inside on this fine Sunday.  The wind was just relentless.  It was brutal.  I got a lot done outside today, but I had to constantly change gum as it got pretty gritty after awhile.  

      Speaking of locked up, Duke’s blue merle corgi, Ammo and Kela’s tri-color corgi, Sasha were locked up like two dogs f……

      On another note, I slipped over near the Texas line for supper on Saturday night.  Brooke had killer good noodle salad and baked beans.  Somebody had smoked some good, not great, but good baby back ribs and bologna.  But, the brisket was really edible.  I think Tyke must have smoked the brisket because it was really good.  I mean, maybe, the best brisket that I have ever eaten.  That recipe needs to be locked up, if the smoke-master can remember it.  

      Funyuns are kind of a wicked not-so-food item.  When I was teaching, I didn’t allow funyuns to be eaten in the ag pickup.  They needed to be locked up so that I couldn’t smell them.  I also don’t normally eat funyuns if I am going to be dealing with anybody.  But, I like a funyun on occasion.  And that occasion is tonight.  

     Thursday is becoming my favorite day.  The day before was HUMP day.  Tomorrow is friday and everything gets better on friday.  But, Thursday has things that bounce.  Both of my brothers can dribble a basketball better than I, but neither are as good at things that bounce as I am.  I like it.

       Contracts–If I need to sign one to show a goat, I’m out.  Goats–contracts–they don’t bounce.  

       I like walking into the kidding barn and hearing that unmistakable “spulunk” sound of a fresh kid hitting the ground.  First time doe and she drops a pair of twins on her own, bounces around and goes to cleaning them, then hovers over them to let them nurse.  My friends, I don’t care what business you are in, but if the females bounce to do their job, then things are good.  

      If a doe won’t produce at this piece of paradise, I cut the tags off and haul her ass to a sale barn.  I don’t want to help propagate the world with common goats.  It’s hard enough to raise a good one and dang neart impossible if there isn’t a good momma around.  Let me reiterate the fact, for the 2nd day in a row, that if they can’t raise them, get rid of them.  No welfare plan here, because it doesn’t work.  

       I know that I gripe about does, but I really likey a good one, that does a really good job of raising kids and if they are really having good kids, well, I get a little bit of bounce to me.  

       I likey auctions that are entertaining.  I didn’t have time to watch the retired doe auction, but it is very apparent that several people eat crayons.  How about that deal?  We can’t have a good sale at OYE, but they can sell the hell out of them in a retired doe auction a week later.  Looks to me like there is a viable market for those that truly want to sell their does.  

      It is a Thursday evening, and I have a bounce in my step tonight.  The governor showed up and blessed my goats tonight.  The goats HAVE to be worth more since the governor touched them. Maybe, just maybe, he will actually run for office when the time comes.   

      What happened to the band Restless Heart?  Those dudes made some killer good music.  And then, pfft, they were gone.  ?

       You never know when life is going to show up and bounce something off of you.  Sometimes, you can see the ball coming at you, but you can’t move quick enough.  And then, it bounces off of you.  Do you squint?  Or do you bounce up and get ready for the next one?  I can tell you without a doubt, that on this Thursday evening, that I am going to bounce up on Friday morning and try to sort all of this out.  I have a wierd habit of letting some big decisions be decided by the next song. And, it has worked out very well for me.  Well, on this Thursday evening, that next song was “Rockstar” by Nickleback.  I really like that song.  It makes me bounce.   And I am going to have to find a way to make this deal work as the next song was way good also.  

     If you can’t have a good time and help somebody else while doing it, then don’t bother.  I may seem like I don’t like something, but if there is a good time to be had, kids to help and well, something bounces, I’m all in.  Unless, it is a check that bounces.  Then, I don’t want any part of it.  

       Now, for the fun part, rewind your thoughts as to what gave you happy thoughts of things that bounce.  Dirty.  Just plain dirty.  

     Today, March 26, was the first due date for our next set of kids.  Bred to be after OYE but still in March.  This morning–nothing.  Got home this evening.  Nothing.  An hour later–1 kid.  Three hours later–two does had dominoed and we had 7 kids.  Yep, do the math.  That would be 7 divided by 2.  3 on one–4 on the other.  

       We all know that I despise a mature doe.  But, I acknowledge that you can’t make wethers or bucks without does.  Guess how many buck kids these 2 does made?  How about the magic # of 7.  7 for 7 on buck kids.  That, my friends is a good feeling.  

       The best feeling in this deal is the fact that these two does have always done a very good job raising goats and they are backed by several generations of mommas that have always done a really good job of raising kids for us.  I have Verlin the dairy doe ready to wean her own kids and start raising others.  Schoovy has a couple of dairy does ready to go into service.  But, we MAY not need them.  That is a good feeling.  

      The other part of this good feeling that I have going tonight is having the Dragon Lady on the job.  If there is a baby that needs tended to or a momma that needs calmed down and helped, she’s pretty good.  “Hey, I got a set of quads and a set of triplets.”  I just get out of the way and let her go to work.  Good mommas know how to relate to other good mommas.  And regardless of species, they just need me out of the way and provide essentials.  

      Whatever species that you are dealing with, make sure that you sort your females according to genetic and more importantly, maternal capabilities.  I’ve been around too many cattle, hog and goat operations that were just trying to raise the next great one.  You CANNOT disregard maternal abilities.  I don’t care what species that you are messing with, but if you are having to pull LOTS of kids, do C sections, or you have trouble with them milking, then you need to get better females.  I am a firm believer that if you are doing things right, your cull does should be good enough mommas to be recips.  

      The show stock industry is not directly tied to the commercial industry.  But if you keep core production principals built into your females, then you will always be in business.  You can use males to make your changes.  Keep the females in the middle of the road in terms of bone, pin set and muscularity.  No matter species, make sure that they have good rib shape, good feet and legs, and DO NOT get them TOO level in their hooks to pins.  The leveler the hip, the more birthing problems.  Every doe, gilt, ewe or heifer judge should know this.  Not all keep it in mind.  Keep daughters of good mommas that milk good, tend to their kids and have babies on their own.  Basically, this is the same lesson that has been taught in every livestock production class for a long time.  They were right a hundred years ago and they are still right.  

       Before you go to flushing that rip that was a killer show doe, but hasn’t raised a live kid in the past two years.  Think about it.  Even if you do get a succesful flush out of her, all that you are doing is propagating some more no breeding rips with no maternal instincts.  They might sell good once, but somewhere down the line, they will cost somebody a pile of cash.  It is worse than Vegas.  Why?  It is a sure thing that you will lose.  No chance of winning.  That is a bad feeling.

       I’m sure that we will have a trainwreck or two before we are done, but it is a good feeling when you have some doing their jobs. 

       Tried like heck to leave work in time to make it to Duke’s baseball game(s) tonight.  Had several calls that said that they were on their way to look at the goats for sale.  I detoured quickly as the first one is a younger one that dang sure knows good livestock and I will always try to take care of a kid that is trying to forge their way in any facet of agriculture.  We might have even looked at a goat or two that aren’t on the regular tour.  

      Got ready to leave again and had another show up.  The cost of doing business, I guess.  Luckily, Shattuck won the 1st game without me.  Duke isn’t into swinging the bat.  He has a small strike zone, so he doesn’t have to.  He likes to be walked, steal 2nd, maybe 3rd and then head home on an overthrow.  Whatever works. He is having fun playing ball and is trying to get better, so his parents are all in.  I have a distinct feeling that there will be a baseball game for us to attend in California later this spring.

      I didn’t have internet service on my phone while at the ballpark, but I had a pretty good play-by-play announcer keeping me updated as to the online sales tonight.  Congrats to the Mock family on a heckuva sale.  Of course, I was more interested in the Rumour kids, but they all sold really well.  I like capitolism, therefore, I hope everybody in the chain of events makes money.  Helms sold us Rumour, we sold the semen, Peacock did the flush, Mock sold these goats and I hope the new owners make money whether they use them as bucks or wethers.  As Big I likes to say, “Brother, it’s all good!”  

      Speaking of selling semen, the Cooper girls benefit auction looks like it went really well.  I don’t yet know who bought the semen on our bucks tonight and I don’t care.  There are a lot of religions that do great work in humanitarian concerns.  But let me tell you something, the stock show community knows how to take care of their own.  We just get it.  You don’t have to know the people that need help, just that they need help.  Actually, if you stop and think about it, the livestock community can be pretty religious.  I guarantee you, it’s pretty hard to find somebody in this business that doesn’t respect GOD, JESUS and the star spangled banner, even if your president (not mine) doesn’t respect those things.  Sure, there are a few skid marks in this business, but as a whole, this industry is packed with really good people.  There were so many donations, that one online sale couldn’t handle it all.  There is still going to be live auctions.  Here’s a hats off and a bow to all who donated, bid, bought, prayed, organized, helped, whatever, to help the cause.  An absolute true humanitarian cause.  Thank you to all involved.  Lots of money has been raised, help has been there, but it will never replace their loss.  

      Here’s also to the end of a career of true livestock man.  20+ years in that profession can wear you down.  Tip of the cap to a job well done.  It’s a loss to the profession, but I would imagine that things will turn out well.  And we’ll pop a top when the schedule allows.  

      For those of you that have questions about the goats selling on April 1.  Call.  If I don’t answer, leave a message.  I will call back, but the time depends on work, phone signal and just trying to get through a day.  As Mandy tells me at work, sarcastically I might add, “I wish you would add one more thing to your daily schedule.”  Thankfully she helps me sort through the 8-5:30 stuff.  Of course, if I’m busy, I don’t get myself into much trouble.  

      And if you are calling/texting about the goats that aren’t for sale on April 1.  Don’t call/text yet.  They haven’t been born.  I know that I can be an ass, but it is kind of hard to answer the question “What are you doing with your April born kids?”  I guess I should answer, “Sell ’em, Show ’em or Breed ’em” but when they haven’t been born yet?  

       I don’t have a frosty tonight, or last night, but here’s to all of you that do right by others.  Hopefully, it will pay off when it actually matters.      

      I used 5 days of vacation in order to attend the OYE.  Left before 5 am last Monday morning and got home late Friday night.  Although it was termed a “vacation”, it wasn’t exactly relaxing.  Rolled right into a weekend consisting of washing, shearing, clipping, photoing and showing goats to people.  Throw in moving does into kidding barn and there hasn’t been any down time.  Now, it’s back to work.  

     The physical part of showing is starting to get to me.  it just isn’t as fun as it used to be.  And I’m getting old.  The mental part is really starting to take its toll.  I could gladly go a day or two without talking goats, if people will let me.  But, it just doesn’t happen.  There are times when I dread looking at a text message or email or listening to a voice-mail.  At some point, I just have to prioritize.  I’m obviously going to take all of the calls regarding goats that I am selling next week.  I haven’t seen Mock’s goats, or the retired show does or Walker’s or Simpson’s, etc.  Call those breeders and talk to them about their goats.  They will gladly talk to you about what they are offering.  If I had time to see them or didn’t have my own to sell, I would tell you what I know.

     I apologize if I seem rude, but it seems rude to me to call and ask me.  Especially, ones that haven’t bought goats from me.  What’s the term?   “tire kickers”?  How about the inconsiderate text messages from some random person that you don’t know and they don’t identify themselves?  First, I don’t like texting.  Second, I dang sure don’t like replying to demands from somebody that I don’t know.  What about the demand–“Send me pics of the goats that you are selling online next week.”  Isn’t it common sense that if I am taking pics for an online sale, then you CAN look at them online just like everybody else?  There surely is some sort of etiquette for this.  

I’m actually in a good mood.

Good day and I hope the wind isn’t blowing in your part of the world. Unless, you are Tommy Boy in a sailboat.