It is pretty common that somebody starts to tell a story around the Kelln Kompound and it goes like this…”Now don’t put this story in your blog.”  Or, I hear, “Please don’t tell Kelln that we ran out of gas 10 miles north of OKC ( a city with a thousand plus gas stations) on I-35 within walking distance of a truck stop.”  I like these kind of stories and I am actually fairly good about not repeating stuff until given the OK.  But, I’m not putting that crap in tonight’s episode. Instead…

     I love the fact that some showmen and breeders are willing to load their goats up and drive to get an opinion.  Even though there is a chance that they won’t like the opinion.  Had one here tonight.  This cat had a prospect that he wasn’t sure to cut or show.  I’m glad he brought him.  It was an honor. The goat wasn’t perfect, but he needs his nuts left in him. I am SURE that this goat will probably make another mile or two for another opininion, but I offered cash to leave him.  On the right genetics, this one will be fun to see what happens.  If I had 100 does, then I would offer a pile of cash.  Names like Pfeiffer, Mock, Helms, Gallagher, Hutto, Hummel, even a low rent bastard like myself could use a buck like this.  Why? structural integrity, soundness, hip, true muscle and rib shape.  Plus, a cleaner than most, but not all pedigree.  What I really want to know is, what about the wethers bred like this one?  Where are they?  I bet they show up at some time.  

     21 years.  Yes, 21 years that I have been married. That is half of my life that I have now spent married.  Good decision.  Best decision of my life.  Yes, Kela is 23.  Do the math.  If I would have gotten married at the time of “Oh, snap, are you serious?”  I wouldn’t be married today.  Sometimes, things need to mature.  Myself included.  Has it been easy?  Nope.  Nothing dealing with me is easy.  Has it been worthwhile?  Obviously the answer is yes or I would have done something different.  And the fact that Tammy hasn’t kicked me to the curb means it was worthwhile on her end.  The weird thing is that in the past year, we have discovered our best marital toy–a gator.  We just get on it and go look at stuff, gather goats, check fence, pop a top, etc.  We seem to enjoy it.  We might have a kid or two and normally a Corgi on it.  I didn’t want to buy a gator at the time, but looking back, it is pretty cheap device for marital bliss.  I don’t have any good stories involving the gator, but I can tell you for a fact that the Kelln’s like cruising around together on it. Don’t tell anybody, but we might actually kind of like each other.  21 more years.  I don’t know about that.  I didn’t think that I would make it this far. 

    Now back to the goats.  I liked the band the Traveling Wilbury’s.  Look them up.  They are a bunch of no-name SOBs without any music industry credentials.  In comparison, if it was a band of goat jocks, it would be Glen, Izzy, Bryan, Mikey, and Poe.  I would be waiting in the wings with Big I, to see if they needed a harmonica or bagpipe player.  If you haven’t heard of the Traveling Wilbury’s before, you will need a diaper when you see the actual talent that was in that band.  Off the charts.  

     Don’t tell anybody, but life could be worse.  Of course, if it was any better, people would call me BOB.  Spell it forwards and backwards..it is the same.  BOB.  It would be a cheap tattoo on your butt. A “B” on both butt cheecks, bend over and it spells BOB.   

     Don’t tell anybody, but I still don’t like does; I still like good show animals;  I love a good song. I love a smoking hot chick that I have been tied to for half of my life.  Don’t tell her that I am the lucky one.  

     That time of year is finally here.  The time to go shirtless.  Camo shorts, cap, shoes, maybe socks.  This becomes my attire after 6 pm on weekdays and most weekend days during the warm months.  I can soak up some sun, let the ever increasing waist line hang out and show off my legs that make a lot of birds feel confident about their own legs.

     The shorts have to have lots of pockets.  Places to hold banders, syringes, vaccines, pliers, empty koozie, whatever I need to manage these lovely goats.  Speaking of banders, I banded a set last night.  Two of them still have nuts.  I’m going to watch them a day or two longer.  Might even get a 2nd opinion.  

    Well, I just realized that it is May 15.  It is anniversary day and I remembered without anybody telling me.  Now, I just need to remember to tell the Dragon Lady–Happy Anniversary.

Have a good day.

     It can be hard to decide when and how to sell a show animal.  There are two concerns–1)  As a breeder, you want to get your animals into the hands of people that will work at trying to make an animal look their best.  2)  You would like to maximize income.  Ideally, you could do both, but not always.  Personally, I would rather take $2,000 for a wether and get him into a really good home instead of getting $5,000 from some place that is going to half-ass one and not do it right.  

     I’ve got a set of March born Rainman kids that look good.  I’ve got another set of wethers that will be ready to sell next week.  Do I put them all online, pick and choose who gets what or just have an open door private treaty sale?  Then, how do you decide who gets what?  Decisions. Decisions. Decisions.  If this was my livelihood, I would be trying to maximize income and all would be available at auction.  But, at this point, it is to cash-flow this operation and put good goats into good hands.  

     Doe kids–that is easy.  I’m keeping most of this set of kids, but will probably part with 1 or 2 of them that are twins/triplets as well as a buck prospect later this month.  

     Monday is here.  This means an extremely busy week is over.  We had a large time Saturday evening.  Lots of food, people and beverages.  Throw in some home-made ice cream and cookies and I am now a little fatter than I was.  I tried to keep up with the new college grads, but that didn’t work out too good.

     Had several out of staters here this weekend to pick up goats.  I’ve got to figure out when and how to sell wethers.  The March kids are weaned and pounding feed.  There are several really good wethers in this pen.  The trailer load of new arrivals need to be sorted through.  There is a nice set in this pen.  I’m going to study goats this week and decide when to start selling.

     There is buck semen selling online today.  Yes, there is 3 straws of Rumour Has It semen offered on there.  

    I hope everyone had a good mother’s day.  Have a good day and a good week.

     There has been several adventures this past week.  Just going to work has been an adventure.  I’m short-handed and it has been busy.  Good problem.  Delivering balers has been an adventure.  Trying to trade for off-colored equipment has been an adventure.  Taking care of goats is always an adventure.

     I ventured out on Thursday evening to go look at a set of goats.  I took the popper in the back of the pickup, prepared to buy 4 or 7 head.  But no.  I ended up having to borrow the breeder’s trailer to get the fleet home that I purchased.  At least I didn’t call Tyke and have him bring a gooseneck.  Now the adventure begins.  We came through a wicked rain storm on the way home.  We missed the hail.  But we also missed supper.  I hadn’t eaten all day and no restaurants were open on the way home.  Worse, the Allsup’s that I stopped at had lost power for an hour or so.  They didn’t even have a corn dog, burrito or chimichange in the heater case.  When have you ever gone into an Allsup’s when the hot box wasn’t full of warmed nitro-laced joys of a somewhat food product?  Well, this was a first for me.  A crappy little sandwich out of the cooler box, a squirt of mustard, glass of tea and I was on the road again.  

      I got home in the am hours.  Had to leave the goats on the borrowed trailer since I really didn’t have a pen ready for that many goats.  Friday evening finally came after an adventurous day at work.  Tyke, Tyler, Duke and I sheared, wormed and unloaded this pile of wethers.  I only broke one set of clippers and dulled several sets of blades.  A few cuss words, no beatings and the work was done.  

      Now the adventure really begins.  What am I going to do with all of these wethers?  All I know for sure, is that there are premium sales ahead for some lucky kids.

It is party day.  Time to get the smoker rolling and the beverages on ice.  

     I am not much of a worrier.  I wonder a lot, but I don’t worry about it.  I don’t worry about things that I can control–I do my dangdest to control them.  I don’t worry about things that I can’t control–I live with them.  The weather can piss me off, but I don’t worry about it.  I try to prepare for it and then deal with it.  

      Worrying and getting pissed are not the same.  I could worry about a water line breaking.  Or I could be pissed that a water line did break.  Lately, neither happened.  Tammy found a leak in the yard on Sunday evening.  Monday evening, I dug it up.  Sure enough, two tree roots had put pressure on a T and cracked it.  Since, we don’t live near Perry, I didn’t even have the option to call a plumber to fix it.  So today, I went to multiple hardware stores to find some slip couples, a T and some glue.  Oh, I also bought a cap in case the rest of this crap didn’t work and I could then just cap the line until a later date.  Anyways, I cleaned the hole out and got all of my supplies out.  By the time I did this, there was Tammy, Duke, his grandpa, myself, Wyatt Kelln and Tyler Gaisford standing around the hole.  I cut the old stuff out, glued the new in and then waited to turn the water on.  No cussing, no screaming and only a couple of beverages.  Yes, there was several Kelln’s and a Gaisford standing around a hole watching one person work.  Just like a bunch of county workers–Now, mind you, Tyler and Wyatt “work” for the county.  I haven’t covered the hole yet, but so far, no leaks.  No worries.  

     In the goat industry, you can worry a lot.  Worry about how many babies each doe will have.  Worry about how good they are.  Worry about how the weather will affect them.  Worry about the feed.  Worry about hay quality.  Worry about how much they will sell for at a sale.  Worry about stones.  Worry about judges.  Worry about weight breaks.  Heck, you can worry yourself into losing weight.  Not me.  I’m gaining.  Now, I might be pissed at any and all of the above.  But I won’t worry about it.

     I don’t worry about if I bought the right one or not.  I buy the ones that I like and then somebody has to outfeed, outshow or just be luckier than us.  All of the aforementioned happens, but we are always still in the hunt.  I don’t worry about keeping the right one for Duke.  If it isn’t the right one, well, I will wish it would have been.  

     If you are raising goats, you can’t worry about the cost.  Decide on a budget, find the one and then pull the trigger.  It will either work or it won’t.  If it doesn’t try again.  If you are selling goats, then you can’t worry about what they bring at a sale.  Either sell them or don’t take them.  If you take them home, then it costs you more–feed, time, risk, etc.  You have to let somebody feed them and show them.The true genetics will surface and they will be back as buyers next time…along with others that want to find a cheap one that will feed.  Two people bidding and oh, snap…you now have a sale.  

     I sent some nice goats to the Pick your Poison sale this past weekend.  I have had calls wanting to know what they brought and if I was disappointed that they didn’t bring more.  I understand how this crap works.  1–I don’t have a steady Texas market.  2–I wasn’t there.  3–It wasn’t my sale.  4–I let them all sell and go to new homes.  I am way happy.  Could I have sold them for more money in an online sale?  Most likely, yes.  Would I have expanded our market?  No.  Sometimes you just have to turn your head and do it.  I am tickled that the goats sold and went to new homes.  If you can’t sell goats for a $1,000 plus dollars and be happy or profitable, then you need to be in a new business.  I just hope (not worry) that these goats went to good homes.  

     I have a set weaned.  I have another set still on the does.  There is another set due in a week or two.  Am I worried?  Nope.  I do hope that all goes well.  But, I bet that there will be some speed bumps and potholes somewhere along the way.  Do I want these to sell high?  Yes.  Am I worried.  Nope.  If they don’t, I will just feed them and not go buy anywhere else.  And this is why they make a cold beer.

“Don’t worry, be happy!” –Bobby McFerrin

If you are in the neighborhood on Saturday evening, we will be smoking meat and emptying cans for the aluminum recycling business.  

     It is getting to be that time of year.  The time to start buying show goats for Okies & Texans.  I’m really not in the mood to start, but I better get that way.  I’ve looked at a few sets. Might have even bought a set or two already, but you’ve got to move quick because somebody else will.  I don’t like buying when they are 4 weeks old, but you do what you’ve got to do.  I need to look at some more goats later this week.

     I’ve been studying the calendar, trying to figure out which sales weekends in Texas I can make. You have to maximize which sales/farms will have the best goats at the right prices combined with how it fits into a work schedule at home.  Balancing that with a couple of Oklahoma sale dates and when I am going to sell the goats that already reside at my house.  I look at some of these and think I might just stay home and feed these.  It would be a heck of a lot easier to just have a couple for my own kid and be done.  

      Is a koala a marsupial or is it a koala bear?  Bear or not?  It has all of the koalaifications to be a bear, but it isn’t a bear.  I love that.  I’m thinking about planting some Eucalyptus trees so that I can have a koala.  That probably won’t work in my little piece of paradise.  Why?  Those trees would freeze.  

      So, where do you rank these in your top 10s of cool crap?

–movie–Blues Brothers

–band–Van Halen–with or without David Lee Roth

–music hall–Gruene Hall

–4wd–International Scout

–water resort–Comal River

–car–’69 Camaro

–liquid refreshment–iced tea–unsweet

–favorite past-time–mowing a lawn–Tammy’s–NOT mine

–work–plumbing–NOT mine

     I weaned a set of kids today.  Vaccinated another set.  Moved hay.  Sorted another set of does.  Hauled a pile of great stuff to Shattuck that will be auctioned next week.  Even took a really great air conditioner stand to the auction site.  I mean, if you were looking for an A/C stand, this is the one that you would want.  Some could have it for FREE.  But if it is still there next Saturday, it will be for sale.  

Try not.  Do or do not.  There is no try. 

                                                  –Yoda

                                                              Jedi Master

      Lots of special things happening on this fine day.  First, it is national Star Wars day.  I have been a Star Wars junkie since the seventies.  Kela & Duke, in turn have become somewhat of Star Wars junkies as well.  So today was fitting to be national Star Wars day.  May the 4th be with you.

     Second, May 4 was the first Pick your Poison sale.  Braden & Schoovy hauled goats to Texas.  They delivered an online sale doe for Tyke to a buyer.  They took a wether to be delivered.  And they took my goats to the sale.  If you can’t go yourself, you send top notch help.  They got the goats sold and I am pleased.  They might be bringing an older legendary buck home with them.  

     Most importantly, May 4, 2013 was Kela’s graduation from the Oklahoma State University.  This makes the 3rd generation of Kelln to graduate from OSU.  Tammy and I are real proud of Kela and look forward to her pursuing her career choice.  

      It was a very good graduation ceremony.  Way better than the 1993 model when they let me out.  They opened the march in with the official OSU bagpipe and drum band leading the way.  These dudes were wearing the full regalia including orange, black & gray official OSU plaid Kilts.  They looked sharp.  I am way into good bagpipe music and wearing a kilt.  A professor sang the national anthem and “Oklahoma”.  WOW!! That dude had a set of pipes. The president of OSU, Burns Hargis, does a very good job.  You can tell that he has a passion for the university and is involved in the community.  He isn’t just some old codger.  The students like him and his wife, alumni like them and I am sure donors like him.  

    Speaking of donors, all of the piles of cash that Boone Pickens gave to OSU to build athletic venues has been cussed and discussed.  No matter your opinion, it changed the culture at OSU.  It is really neat to see the way the students have built a lot of cool traditions as a result of going to football games in that new stadium.  The chants, the way they sing the alma mater together, etc, etc.  Obviously, I am born and bred a Cowboy, but it is a really cool atmosphere in Stillwater.  

     Getting goats ready for a sale takes work.  Catch the goats, load the goats in the trailer, drive to Shattuck to Taylor’s heated barn (beings how it is May and below freezing), unload the goats and trim hooves.  That is pretty well where my work stopped.  At that point, Tyke and Big Bill went to shearing.  I watched and ran my mouth.  We have noticed over the years that little goat shearing goes way smoother if I don’t shear.  Everybody stays in a good mood and no clippers get broke.  A big thanks to Tyke and Bill for doing the work last night.  The interesting thing was that Tyke sheared 3 in the same amount of time that Bill sheared 2.  Tyke and the word FAST very rarely go in the same sentence, but he was a blaze of fire last night.

      Now, I will head to my work that pays the salary.  Then, as soon as the Dragon Lady gets off work, then I am going to Shattuck and loading those goats and a few extras.  Then we will drive to Garber and leave the goats with Schoovy.  TravASS and Braden will then take over doing my work for me and take the goats to Stephenville for the Pick your Poison sale that is Saturday.  Tammy, Duke and I will head on to Stillwater for graduation.  Which means that somebody else will be doing my chores at the house for me.  Lots of people doing my work for me.