It is a beautiful Monday morning here in paradise. No wind. We got a 1/2″ of rain last night & this morning. Duke has a new puppy. Kela is in California. The goats are fed. And with the rain, I would imagine that I will have to use some scour-halt this evening.
I don’t have any problems that I can blame on anybody else. My problem’s are my own. I can’t blame my parents as they did their job. All they did was raise three boys on a way-limited budget & all three boys managed to find their way to find smoking hot wives that happened to be great mothers. Find pictures of that on the chive.
Here is what I know. I know that I saw better goats this weekend than most people have a right to see. Here’s something else. Anytime you get a chance. Take a look up. It’s more impressive at night, but always good. Just look up.
No, they aren’t made out of turtles. They are pancakes made to look like a turtle. One big dollop of batter to make the body/shell, 4 feet, a head and a tail. They look like turtles. My Grandma Schneider always made us turtle pancakes.
Anytime there was a big event, Grandma made turtle pancakes for the kids. For example, when I was a junior in high school, I had to take the ACT test. My cousin Jeff was the same age, so she had us spend the night so that we couldn’t be in to our usual Friday night mischief. Saturday morning arrived, we were well rested and well fed with a breakfast consisting of turtle pancakes, eggs & bacon. Jeff and I headed off to take the mighty ACT test. Of course, this was back in the day when you took the test once, didn’t have tutors for it and actually weren’t very prepared. It was an actual test. We both scored very well. Not because we were smart, but because we were fueled on Grandma’s turtle pancakes.
Today, we ate turtle pancakes. The Dragon Lady cooked turtle pancakes, bacon and eggs. Then, Kela and her best bud, Tara Burchfield left for LA. Yes, that LA. The one on the west coast. Cars packed, walkie talkies charged, tanks full, pockets full of optimisim and heads full of hopes, dreams and goals. They headed west for Flagstaff tonight, sunrise at the Grand Canyon Sunday morning and LA Sunday night. An event like this, and you better be fueled on a turtle pancake.
Sasha, the corgi, knew something was up as she repeatedly jumped into Kela’s jeep everytime the door was opened. Speaking of dogs, Duke has been whining that he doesn’t have his own dog. I told him that he could claim GARP the guard dog as his, but that didn’t fit what he had in mind. So, he and I are headed to texas this afternoon to go pick his new puppy up. Sasha is going to be pissed.
Oh, to be young and unattached. No job, a sorority sister with an empty bedroom to stay in for awhile, and a long damn way from home. It will either work or it won’t. If it doesn’t, we will wish that it would have. I bet it does work out for them. One thing about it, I’m pretty sure her mom will cook turtle pancakes for her anytime she wants to come home.
If you have been doctoring a goat for the runs and you have used the same medicine for 3 days in a row with no improvement, then you better do something different. Get a stool sample to the vet and see if you are dealing with worms, coccidi, some sort of bacteria/virusor a nutritional problem. Don’t keep doing the same thing if it is not working. The extra time spent on checking a sample and the extra costs will be cheaper in the long run when considering the benefits of getting the animal straightened up.
The Dragon Lady and I took a gator ride tonight, looking for firefllies. I have always enjoyed watching fireflies and I especially like it when they hit the windshield. Some parts glow for awhile. A mile south of our little piece of paradise, we found a whole pile of firelies along a waterway. It was really cool. It has been a long time since I saw that many fireflies at one time. Watching this made me think of an age-old question. What is the last thing that goes through a bug’s mind when it hits a windshield?
It’s ass!
Before we went looking at fireflies, we loaded a trailer load of small square alfalfa bales. She drove, I loaded, no fights. I’m kind of flying on one wing after the barn incident, so I didn’t load as many as we could have hauled. But it will be alright. However, a crew from the Shattuck area finished off the field and then came by the house. We then discussed low interest rates and where to borrow money. It is nice to have a lending institution that knows you and says,”Yep, you’re covered.” Unless, you are in the goat business, and they say, “Holy $h!t! For a goat? Yeah, you’ve always paid us. We’ll try it again. Can you get insurance on that purchase?” More importantly, how to save a $. My Dad is a financial genius. But that proper logic doesn’t alwyas apply in this business. Sometimes, you just have to roll with your gut insticts. But those insticts, don’t have income, just expenses. I don’t know if this is right or not, but I have noticed that the less I count money, the more I have. I don’t know much, but I do know that you CANNOT worry about every dollar. You will miss the good stuff worrying about a dollar. Not every dollar is worth it.
Hay is always money well spent. Store it right and feed as needed and it is a good investment. If something isn’t right about it, feed it to open does. And if it goes bad, sell it to a feedlot that is grinding and mixing. They can use it. Like money, and evenings with fireflies, don’t waste it.
Saturday was typical at the store. Hardly any activity until about 10:30 then people stacked in there until about 12:30. That afternoon, Duke and I decided to worm, vaccinate and band a set of 5-6 weeks old. I know that some like to band at 4 weeks and others like to wait until 8 weeks. I kind of go with when the goats are ready, and at least 5 weeks old. I do check the signs, but sometimes, that just doesn’t fit.
On Sunday, I sorted some does to put with Rumour. Somehow, out of nowhere, I got zapped on the forearm by a wasp. Oh great. Here we go again. I finished that project and began another–cleaning out the upstairs part of the big red barn. Decades of hay debris, rat turds and other crap that needed to go to a burn pit. There is a small room in the corner of the barn that was orginally the cream seperator room when this barn served as a milking parlor. I was on the roof of this room, throwing stuff down and sweeping the roof off. Suddenly, crack, ouch, ooh, that kind of hurt. The rafter that I was standing on broke. On the way down, I caught my shoulder on the next rafter and slowed my descent. Even though it hurts like hell, it is probably a good thing I caught myself as I probably would have broke the floor and ended up in the basement of the barn.
Anyways, the barn is clean. Rumour should see some action this week and the weekend is over. Have a good day.
that’s good about the show goat industry.
I spent my 4th of July holiday driving to look at goats. The rest of the family was tied up w/ a fundraising deal, so I went with part of my other family to look at goats. Big Bill, Tyke, Braden and I met Thompson to look through a set of goats. We left early.
Another family was there ahead of us. But they were there to work and pick out a goat or two. I just kind of stayed out of the way. I can be a lot of things, but I don’t like to be a pita. (Pain In The Ass) I will normally stay clear and let others do their thing. I don’t want anybody to mess with me when I’m doing whatever it is that I do, and I try to return the favor. Our crew sorted through and then ended back where the other family was clipping doe kids. I parked my donkey on a chair and continued to eat tamales. And talk. Not about goats, just life.
I have known Robbie Sanders for several years. Like a lot of us in this business, he is an ex-ag teacher from a public school. He still teaches, but in a different capacity. He and his family raise a few goats and have been very competitive in the doe shows here in Oklahoma. They’ve gathered some division banners at OYE and are consistently tough to beat. They do a good job and work hard at it. They are also trying to raise some good goats. And I look forward to feeding a wether from them.
What I didn’t know about Robbie, is that he is way into civil war re-enactments. Which actually explains a lot. He has always worn this old hat that looks like it came from the civil war. And he always has this well-groomed pelt of a goatee. Perfect for civil war type deals. When I say that he is way into this kind of deal, I’m talking that he is a colonel in this army and it has led him to earn several jobs in movies. For example, there is an upcoming small-budget pic called the “Lone Ranger” which is coming out to a theater near you, that just happens to have Johnny Depp in it. Guess who else is in it? Robbie Sanders. I don’t know Johnny Depp, but I know Robbie Sanders and he’s got some cool stories about making other movies. Living in tents for a month while filming. He can drop names like Tom Berenger and others. Stories of filming one day as a part of the south army and the next day as a member of the north army. And then trying to make sure that you were in the same spots, both days of filming, so that you could be fighting yourself when the film is all put together. I just sat there, listening and asking questions. He’s got a passion for it and I love it. It turns out that the Sanders family has been in a commercial on OKC tv….with one of their show goats in the commercial. I haven’t seen it, but Mikey has. I asked Robbie what that gig paid. He said, “The family worked for free but the animals charged a lot.” Awesome.
Now here’s the rest of the story. He’s really good at clipping does. And his family knows how to get hair popping and help him. They work as a team. And when I say that they are good, I’m talking he’s clipped lots of does that ended up taking pictures with banners and some that they wished would have won. The scary part is that he’s an ex-ag teacher, therefore he doesn’t know exactly what to properly charge. Why? Because he spent decades clipping/shearing animals for free and trying to make them as good as possible. Which basically means that he doesn’t charge enough! I don’t know exactly what he charges, but I’ve heard rumours. And I guarantee you that there are people out there, that aren’t as good, that make way more money than they do. But, because there is a passion for doing it and continually getting better, he’s happy. I bet, that it all pays off in the long run.
Now that I have put this out there, don’t go trying to hire him because you think he might work cheap or work a miracle on your little project that hasn’t been worked with enough. Don’t dis-respect anybody like that. But, if you’ve got a well-presented animal that needs that little extra flair that’s been missing and you are willing to make it worth his while, I highly recommend him. Maybe, if you need a pointer about the getting hair popped right or if you don’t need a doe clipped, but want something interesting in your day, stop and talk to Robbie and the rest of his clan. They are in it for the right reasons. And that is the kind of stuff that makes this stock show deal a great place to raise kids. Here’s to you, and others like you, that don’t mind working to help others.
Just about every goat farm that I have visited, there have been goats with the shits. I am sure that it has been spread by moving goats from farm to farm as well as people tracking it from farm to farm. I’ve tried several medications this summer. Some prescription, some not. Some chemical, some herbal based. The best recipe that i have used is as follows:
–2 ccs Baytril–IM, in the muscle
–3 ccs liquid Albon–orally–not all vets carry it, but can easily get it.
–1 SMZ tablet–orally–small sulfa pills (about an inch long) available at any vet. If it is a small goat, 5 weeks or younger, break the pill in half.
This seems to dry them up, in a fairly quick time frame. Most, of the time, I have only had to administer once. If I do a 2nd day, I don’t use the Baytril, just the Albon and smz tab. It won’t cure every case of the shits, as it will depend on what is causing the runs.
Those people that I live with have returned home from their extended vacation/contest trip to Orlando. The highlight was that the legos which were ordered by Duke at the huge lego factory store also arrived today. Another week or so and Kela heads to LA. Big fun at our house.
The house was in good order. They actually dirtied it up more by coming home. I can survive on my own if I need to.
I am not going to type anything inflammatory tonight. I will keep it low key. Tomorrow is Independence Day. Take just a few seconds and think about what that means. Take a deep breath. Give a nod to GOD that you live in the US of A. It isn’t about fireworks, hot dogs and turtle races. It is about the fact that people earned the right for us to be able to race a turtle, pop a blackcat or go look at good goats. This is our Home. GOD bless, be safe and stay flexible, but not limp.
Sometimes, when trying to write this word-of-the-day (BLOG), it is hard to interpret how the readers will take what is written. Sometimes, when writing it, I know that there will be some crap stirred. Other times, I don’t expect to receive any feedback. Like last night, or a couple of posts this past week.
As somebody that is involved with sales on numerous levels, I think it is important to understand the MARKET. I have gone back and re-read several of these posts and I don’t understand why most people would have a problem with what was written. Of course, as I have written before, if the shoe fits….(think of Al Bundy trying to help you find the proper shoe that fits). Now granted, the last line that gives the Sesame Street address might get somebody to thinking of who lives there. Well, it isn’t just goat breeders. I’ve been around the livestock business a long time, so there are numerous breeders of various species that reside there.
The CRITICAL post was pretty self explanatory. Everybody should analyze their program, themselves and their surroundings. I am constantly evaulating my operations. What did I do wrong? What can I do better? Was I in control of that situation? What do I need to do to improve? Even if I don’t work to fix something, I know the problem. Then, sometimes, I try to work around it. A lot of the time, the problem is me. Now what? Well, it isn’t because I’m bi-polar. They have medicine for that. I don’t even like to take an aspirin. I know that I need somebody to be an advisor, but there is a chance that I will only kind of listen. I admit that I could use a marketer.
The HOME ALONE post was facts that I have learned over the past couple of decades working with kids. They will find success where they can. I wasn’t aiming at anybody, but if Al Bundy has a shoe out….. try it on. I don’t want to teach again. Why? I am now paid to deal with that kind of crap. Last that I checked, public school teachers still aren’t paid enough. Ask me in 6 years if that was a good post. I bet that I will say that it was a productive one. If not, I will wish that it would have been.
Interpretation is all in the mind of the reader. I mean, how many different religions can interpret the word of GOD so many different ways. Then, there is your supreme court that has hell interpreting the constitution, the declaration of independence and the bill of rights. It says, “In GOD we trust”. But they leave GOD out of the decisions. How often do you think those judges(court, not stock show judges) were wishing that they had a milligan? Everybody needs a mulligan, a do-over, a let’s fix this and get it right kind of deal.
Not to seem bi-polar, but can somebody explain to me the insects this year? Jeeminy crickets, we had a wicked blizzard at the end of February. Then had multiple late season freezes in April & May. Shouldn’t that have wiped out some bugs? There are flies all over the place and the grasshoppers are big enough that you duck before they hit the windshield.
Sesame Street. You bet. You might have to be of a certain age to understand it. But every episode ended with “This episode was brought to you by the letters D & A and the numeral 1”. Of course, back then, Bert & Ernie were straight and tickle me Elmo was just a red, furry puppet. Whatever happened to Oscar the Grouch? Does he still live in a can? Nope. He is kicked back drinking bi-polar medication out of a can and probably has a word-of-the-day (blog). Speaking of puppets. I kind of liked the muppets. Gonzo, Fozzy, Animal and the rest of the gang were fun. But, I wasn’t trying to interpret anything into what they were saying.
Stay flexible, but not limp.