Made a few miles this past weekend, saw several different sets of goats, including my own in the daylight for a change.  I have a spring in my step as my set and Tyke’s set are the best wethers I have seen in the past month or so.  Schoovy is already trying to talk Tyke out of a couple.  We’ll find out how strong Tyk’es resolve is.  We’ll have most of them at the labor day Best of the West sale.  The rest will sell in the Duke’s Up sale in October.

     My drive to work was considerably shorter today and on better roads.  I actually stayed at the new place last night.  There is still a pile of equipment and animals to move, but the end is in sight. 

     Its a new week, that will bring new changes to our house.  Duke will start in a new school on Thursday.  I got a better drive to work.  Tammy now has a longer drive to work. 

     The posts for the wether pen are in.  I tried driving them in with the loader on a tractor.  It picked the tractor off the ground.  So, I paid the fence builders to bring their skid steer with a post driver on it to put them in the ground.  Maybe the best $100 that I’ve ever spent.  Not the funnest, but the best. 

    Speaking of money well spent, I called a moving company and got a quote to move furniture.  They wouldn’t have to pack boxes or crap like that.  Just get the big stuff and move it.  They estimated $1,500 to $2,000.  I finally caved and told them to come on Monday.  They moved beds, couches, fridge, tables, chairs, dresser, desks, 2 deep freezes and a gun safe.  It took 6 hours and only cost me a $1068.  Moving the gun safe is worth several hundred on its own.  I tipped the workers well.  Money well spent.  I would have spent that much in fuel, not to mention I would have tore some crap up and been in a real pissy mood. 

      I’ve been working at Fargo until 10 or 11 pm.  Then driving back to Fairview, doing chores and crashing on the couch that the Dragon Lady won’t let me move.  Get up and do chores early in the morning.  Clean up, turn the security cameras on and head to Woodward to work.  Leave work and head to Fargo to do more work, clean up, pen building, etc.  I’m getting too old for this kind of schedule.  However, the lack of time to eat and the physical activity may help my pants fit better.  Not to mention, that I’ve been drinking way more gatorade and water than I am used to.

Damn hot! Got the wether barn moved today. Tried to build the pens, but I keep bending posts, and I’m driving them by hand. Tried pushing them in with the loader. Bent the heck out of two and gave up. Regroup tomorrow. The only people making any money during this heat are A/C repairman and beer stores.

I despise painting, staining, home repairs, etc. Therefore, I have kept busy outside trying to do things to improve our newest purchase. Tammy, my Uncle Jim, and various other friends and family have painted, stained, etc inside the house. I write the checks, do any heavy lifting that is required and stay the hell out of the way.

The fence builders are to the part of fence that will be the hardest. There is a steep slope down to the pond, therefore, they can’t drive the skid steer along with this slope to drive posts and dig post holes. There are also numerous trees in the way. I pulled out my decade old poulan cheap ass chain saw and went to work to help them out. The next hour was not worth a damn as I demolished that cheap chain saw and then got into a wasp nest. Now thoroughly pissed, I got in the pickup and headed to Woodward.

I went and bought a Stihl chainsaw. Don’t mess around, get the good stuff. They build the best chain saw out there and service them. It wasn’t cheap, but neither is anything else that I do. By the time, I got back and went to work, my left arm was starting to turn red and swell. I knew that I had been stung, but I didn’t realize just how many times those kamikaze bastards had nailed me. I got the tree limbs out of the way. Finished up around there and headed back to Fairview. There wasn’t any wind last night, so Duke and I got rid of a few fireworks.

Couldn’t sleep last night as my arm hurt and was irritating. Today, my left arm looks like popeye. Yes, I am allergic to wasps and bees. But this is the worst that I have ever hurt or swelled. Oh well, another day. I still managed to cut down a bunch of cedar trees, clean up some piles of crap that had been laying for awhile and then clean water tanks back at Fairview.

My Grandpa Duke was a pack rat. He grew up poor, then raised 6 kids, so therefore, he learned how to be conservative. He was a carpenter, farmer, custom cutter and quasi-engineer. Nothing was to be thrown away. Everything had a second, third or fourth life as something else. Just do some Presidential Restructuring and make it work for some other use. The problem is, that crap is still there. My uncle moved in about ten years ago and just started accumulating stuff on top of the shit my Grandpa had left. I’m guilty of a lot of things, but I don’t like crap piled around. It is going to take me a bit of time, effort, beer and cussing, but I will have it like I want it.

If anybody needs any used tires, come get them. I’ve got a bunch.

A common question is: How do I get my goat to have a bigger top?

The first answer is genetics. There is a fairly limited genetic base that handles with a square rack and a wide loin. A purebred wether will probably not ever have the type of top shape that most judges are looking for. When buying a wether, learn what to handle for in terms of top shape. That is the easiest way to have a goat with a big top. It probably won’t be the cheapest, but definitely the best. Some genetics take longer to mature. Talk to the breeder and find out when the goats should look their best. If they don’t know, find a different breeder. Even though an animal has the genetics to get top shape, sometimes, it doesn’t happen.

Is there any feed additives that will make their top bigger? Legally, no. There are several things out there, but none of them will improve muscle mass to a large degree. Feed additives like grand goat will not work miracles, but there may be a little bit of a “pop” from it.

Will exercise make my goat heavier muscled? To a certain extent yes. But it still has to be there genetically and phenotypically. Exercise will harden one and make their muscle more expressive.

Clean water, a proper feed ration and a daily exercise program will help promote muscle growth and maximize genetic potential.

Showmanship is very critical in terms of top shape. Whether showng on the chain or the brace, a good showman will improve placing. Know how to set the goat for looking at the profile. Also, know how to set the animal for when the judge is going to handle him. They aren’t always the same. Head and neck back combined with shortening their body up will make one handle wider. Yes, it may make their loin handle shorter, but that is the trade off. A good brace, either on the chain or not, will greatly improve an animals chances of handling with some muscle. Likewise, poor showmanship can make a heavy muscled goat handle like a common turd.

I’ve had a lot of calls the past two weeks about goats not pounding feed or going to creep like a person wants. It hasn’t mattered what brand of feed they were feeding. A lot of it has to do with the weather. When it is hot, sometimes they just don’t feel like eating a pile of feed.

Show wethers that are weaned and have been taken to a new home the past month, can be real finicky right now. They have gone from eating with mom, to creep feed, to somebody’s elses pens, to a new type of feed. Stress, change of address, change of feed, change of water, etc. Then everybody wants them to eat a pound of feed, twice a day. It is best to back off, give them a lesser amount, let them clean that up, then build them up to the desired amount. It is good to let them think that they might be hungry for a day or two. It might take a week or so, but their appetite will build to where they are eating what they need to be. Also, clean their feed pans out. If they are leaving some feed or fines are building up, clean the pan out–daily if need be.

A lot of times, people are just too antsy. Some goats just won’t goat to creep until they are ready. I’ve got a set here that hasn’t been eating much creep, but they have been eating with their moms. The past week, they have started pounding creep feed like it is going out of style. Its hard to bloom a baby goat without a pile of hands-on management. Sometimes, it takes patience. And that is something that I don’t have a whole lot of.

in Oklahoma, but I’m not sure that is a good thing. I need to go to work for a little while. The process of moving looms ever larger. School is just around the corner.

If you’ve never floated the Comal river, then you are missing out on a little piece of heaven. AWESOME!! Crystal clear, cool water and clean. No cans, bottle or disposable cups allowed. No trash. Big Bill and I had to improvise in order to have a cold beverage, but we are good at that. Tube chutes, new friends and even met some of Kela’s friends from college. Small World.

On the other hand, the Schitterbahn is a true modern marvel. The rides are pretty cool. But the amount of people is staggering. You better like standing in a line, being in close contact with people in a confined environment and spending money if you attend there. Go early, then get out. I would rather be kicked in the crotch, then have to go back there on a crowded day.

We made it out to Gruene for a nice evening. Drove home through Fredericksburg. Ate a killer Reuben, then left the women and children to shop. We drove over to Harper to pick up the wethers we bought from Roy Sanders’ online sale. The goats were as he described them. Good pair of wethers.

Now back to the real world.

Awesome!! I’ve been here before but it is awesome. The Comal river is a little piece of paradise and it is in the Guinness book of records as the worlds shortest river. But it might be the best. We floated it twice today. We did stop at Coopers in Llano. Always great. Oh yeah. I don’t know if my phone works or not.

I normally don’t like to go on vacation. You have to find somebody to do chores. You have to make sure stuff is done at work. What happens if something goes wrong? What if an animal gets sick? It is just easier to stay home and do the work yourself.

This year is different. I have been looking for this day for about 8 weeks. I have a meeting at the store this morning, unload fencing supplies and then I am out of here. There will be a river, a water park, BBQ and not much else in my near future. The phone may get to stay in the pickup.

Work has been extremely busy this summer (that is a good thing). Throw in a busy goat schedule, trying to schedule carpet/fencing and moving our operation to the west and this summer has mentally kicked the crap out of me.

Got a guy that is going to stay here while we’re gone. He can take care of all the goats, the dog, the cat and he knows the phone #s to all the local vets if there is a problem. The place will be in good hands. We just have to make sure that there is plenty of Dr. Pepper in the fridge.

One thing about moving is it will cause you to hemorrhage money from your accounts. Pay for this, pay for that, we need this and we need that. And we are still weeks away from actually moving. Might have to sell some goats to help pay for this deal.

On the other hand, I did meet with the fence builder yesterday. I’m going to put up 11 strand barbed wire fence for the outer perimeter. I looked at other types, but I know what I’m dealing with on this fence. The builder wasn’t going to be as high as I thought for taking out old and putting in new.

If you are going to be purchasing fencing supplies, I can save you some time. Just call County Line Supply at Vici. They were cheaper than every place else that I priced and they have everything in stock. Wire, t posts, corners, line posts, braces, gates, nails, steeples, cllips, #9 wire, everything. If they don’t have it, they will get it.

Flooring people are supposed to start on Monday. I’ve already paid for the flooring. But the installers are going to want money. There goes some more money out of that account. Maybe, I need to sell some aluminum cans.