I’ve had a right eye that got damaged back in the 80s.  I haven’t had 20/20 vision for decades.  And now that 2020 is upon us, I don’t think that I want 2020 vision.  I can’t believe some of what I am seeing, nor some 0f what we can’t see.  It is hard to believe that some are this stupid.  Yet, others are letting these dumb bastards lead the way.  What?  None of this makes sense.

Yeah, I learned to judge with one good eye.  And I like to handle kids/lambs with one hand.  I don’t mind handing a prospect off to somebody I trust.  Otherwise, I’m fine by myself.  I’ve done it before.

I had corn and taters that were dang neart blown out of the ground from the winds yesterday.  Peppers that got their leaves wind burnt.  Never seen that before.  Today, a plague of small grasshoppers, like I’ve never seen before.  Hunh?!  Of all years, 2020 should be a garden year.  The struggle is real.  Sevin dust didn’t work.  Malathaian here we come!  Man that stuff smells.

Weaned a set of goats.  Got some news on the ground.  Have a good one.

This wind!!  I’ve seen windier days but this one ranks near the top.  Unreal.  It has been a day not fit for man nor beast.

No rona or riots in this part of the world.  I guess the wind kept us safe.  Peace be with you and you.  Let’s all pray that our country can get healed up from this mess.

Friday morning, I drove to Elgin, OK.  Some will say that is the capitol of the Oklahoma FFA.  After seeing their new ag building, it would be hard to argue.

I piled into a vehicle with John Lastly and Cody McElhaney.  We headed to DFW and caught a plane.  Yes, we had to wear face masks.  We landed in Sacramento, CA on Friday evening.  Here is a quick word from the now wise.  Just because you are in California does NOT mean that you should rent the convertible Mustang.  John nor I are large people.  However, Cody is 6’2″ish by 225#ish.  It was fun to drive but getting in & out was a chore.  Lots of grunts & growls.

Also, we weren’t prepared for curfews and almost no dining in.  Oh well.  No matter.  After putting our names on the hour & a half Texas Roadhouse wait list, getting turned down from at least 4 other dining places, a bit of racial profiling and we still ended up back at the Texas Roadhouse for steaks, salads and biscuits.  Wait? What?  Who in the hell would call those heavenly morsels a biscuit.  Cody, that’s who!  And he likes those “biscuits”.  Wisely, he got several to go.  They came in handy the next day.

First stop..Galt, CA.  Home of J&J Livestock.  Excellent stop.  I could write a lot about a quick visit.  Excellent ag family.  Each has their role and their favorites.  But they ALL work!  Goats, sheep, chickens, a few cattle, alfalfa, several ACRES of garden, vegetable stand, etc.  This firm understands all aspects of this industry.  Sales, breeding, presentation, showmanship, service-after-the-sale, feeding, management–all of it.  The buck line-up was impressive.  Really cool to see a bunch of name brand bucks.  It has been a couple of years since I had seen Dirty Rain.  And yet there he was, in excellent shape for an old dude.  IQ is a unique specimen.  Cool looking, impeccable structure & build with plenty of muscle.  And Split Decision has the absolute most bad-ass set of horns that I have ever seen on a goat.  I mentioned a European mount when his time comes.  Justin made it clear that it would be a full head and cape mount.  I couldn’t argue.  They don’t sell juice often on these bucks, but you might want to pay attention when they do.

As good as the stock and the adults were to deal with…..that pair of kids were the highlight.  They are going to be fun to watch grow up in the stock show world.  They are an integral part of the operation, aren’t afraid to work or talk stock.  WICKED AWESOME!!  Excellent program.  I’m very glad that they had time to let us take a look.  The Burns family are legit.

Then, we folded into that convertible Mustang and headed south.  The central valley of California is one of the very best ag producing regions in the history of the world.  Flat, fertile and irrigated.  I’ve never seen anything like it before.  Almonds ( some use the L, some don’t), walnuts, peaches, cherries, corn, alfalfa, veggies, rice, etc, etc, etc.  We drove that Mustang like it was rented.  We made it near Porterville and followed the directions that Jim Brem had sent via text.  We made the turn, found the green dumpster and drove through the orange grove.  Yes, an orange grove.  The Brem Livestock firm raises goats in an area surrounded by citrus groves.  I love orange juice!!!!!!  My favorite drink….you would be wrong if you said anything other than orange juice.

Yes, Tyson handed me an orange the size of a grapefruit.  Kyle handed me his knife to start the peeling process.  And then….oh, oh, oh my, oh… the juices, the flavor…oh, oh.  I told them that a person should probably be naked to eat something that good!   I have no appropriate words to describe standing near a goat pen, eating a fresh orange.   And according to them, this wasn’t a really good orange.  Pfft!  Better than anything that I’ve had.

Once again, a great family unit working to make goats better.  I wasn’t expecting a couple hundred head of does but they had em.  And it was a good looking set of working females.  Very few horns.  Trust me, I keyed into that fact and the value of polled does.  Once again, the buck line-up was impressive.  Actually, scary good.  The Brem firm has been studying genetics and working to make wicked goats.  And they have taken the art of naming bucks to a whole nother level.  I was like, wait, what, oh my.  Legendary.   I’m not sure if they offer juice on what they have, but if they do…if they do…you might want to click that mouse a time or three.

Here is what I learned this weekend.  This California deal is legit.  Everybody should spend a few dollars and a few days to make a trip like this.  I saw some really cool things, talked to some wicked livestock families, enjoyed my travel companions, did not get hit a legendary eating joint, did see excellent stock, learned some stuff, should have rented a Cadillac, will now plan ahead for eating when getting ready to fly in today’s current climate and Buc-cees bbq sandwiches are damn sure worth $5.99.

Most importantly, I realized  a few things.

-Like, how lucky I am to get to do something like this.  Duke and Tammy took care of the home-front.  Thank  you.

-I am an addict.  There was very little beer.  As always, no drugs.  Fresh fruit that felt like a drug.  And I get amped when dealing with great families and excellent livestock.

-And you can call them hot rolls, the best hot rolls ever, heavenly, perfect….no matter, Texas Roadhouse hot rolls with that cinnamon butter smeared all over them are NOT biscuits!!!!!   Somehow, I don’t think that I made a dent in Cody Mac’s vocabulary.  No matter, this was a quick yet fun trip and I look forward to the next one.

And I have still yet to meet somebody that has/had the rona.  IDK.

This could be a really long list but it isn’t.  I’m a lot like that one dude from Cincinnati, and could be easily swayed for one particular item.  A really good item.

I like a really hot day that ends with an unexpected rain shower that drops the temps from 101 to 70 in less than an hour.  I wanted some really good rain but will take what we can get.  Much like that dude from Cincinnati.

I like hauling hay out of the fields.  Round or small squares.  It isn’t fun but there is a sense of relief that we are good to go for another year.

I like people that take pride in their work and well, maybe they put more effort into it than they should.  But when you tell them “Good job!”  They have a sigh that only comes from somebody else noticing the work that they put into that project.  For example, I went to a district stock show meeting.  It was held at High Plains Tech Center.  The lady in charge of lunch did well.  Kabob skewers with fresh fruit–loved it!  Bags of chips.  Sandwiches, each neatly tied in picnic table designed paper and tied with twine.  AWESOME presentation!  Food was way good.  Perfect kind of lunch for a meeting.

After the meeting was over, several of us were standing around BSing.  I saw the lady and said, “Great job on lunch!  It was great!”

She said, “Oh, was it really okay?  I was worried.  I wanted it to be sanitary and thought those wraps would hopefully work.”

“Ma’am, with that group, you could have thrown it all on one platter and it would have been good.  However, the presentation was wicked.”  Mr. Pullan concurred and threw in a  “Yes, that was a great looking lunch and it was good.”

“Oh, Thank You.  Presentation is important and I was worried if it was all good enough.”

Awesome!  No riots in NW OK.  Although there has been some protests.  Which is fine, when done right.

Tonight, Tammy asked if lunch was good.  I told her the story.  Tammy said that lady was worried if it was good and looked good enough.  I said, “Honey, I don’t want to pay $15 for a sandwich lunch but I would have for this.  The fruit was a cool touch.  And the presentation looked the part.  This was free and I would have gladly paid money for it.”

It doesn’t matter what race this lady is…..I just like the fact that she wanted to do the best that she could.

I may not look like a fruit eater…..but, I am.  I love fresh fruit.  I would like to pick a fresh orange and eat it as I am driving down the road.  I have goals and they are simple, yet worthwhile goals.  One of these days, I WILL pet a damn Koala.

I like a doe goat that does her job.  And I love a doe goat that goes above and beyond.  Stories yet to come.

I like the stories of common sense prevailing and places getting back to the real world.

I like the feel of a fresh hair cut.  It was getting bad.  Real bad!  I saw THE Chesley Comstock earlier this week.  She told me that I looked like a scary Santa Claus.  Another dude, that has no business telling anybody about their appearance, told me that I reminded him of Captain Caveman.  CAPTAIN CAVEMAN!!!!!!!   Yeah, google that one.  I remember that cartoon.

I have mentioned before that I have hair as coarse as an old-school Berkshire hog.  Well, it is true.  I tried using “hair/beard trimmers”.  Bogged it down.  Wouldn’t cut it.  So, I went to the barn, grabbed the Andis with a #9 blade and the hog hair guides.  I don’t look good, although I may look better but, no matter,  I like how I feel.

I like going on adventures.  I am AMPED!!!   Don’t know what I am going to see, may not see what I am looking for, nonetheless, I am going and there is a chance that I will see what I seek and I like what I see.

GOD, please look out for this country/world.  PLEASE!!  We need help!

People, have a good one today and a better one tomorrow.  Horseshoes and shamrocks for all.

I like that.

I did some plowing.  More than I cared to…but, it is done.  When it comes to farming, I need a tractor to be mechanically sound and I need the AC to work.  I don’t care about the lights or the radio.  Bout 10 this morning, as the sun was starting to shine, the cab started to become a bit uncomfortable.  So, I turned the temp dial down.  No good.  AC was done.

I could see the end, so I plowed on till I was done.  I don’t like farming, but I really don’t like sweating while farming.

My tribe spent the past 3 days at Canton Lake.  I went down Friday night and came home Saturday morning.  I was going to go back on Sat evening, but a couple of does decided to deliver.  So, I stayed home and dealt with them.  There will be writings in the future concerning this weekend of dealing with does.

Farming & does in the same day.  FUN!!   One would think that I got plowed this weekend, but no…..I had too much going on.

I do know this much.  You give me a plate of grilled pork chops, some ranch style beans, fried taters and a croissant with honey……..and dudes, I will plow right through it.

Have a good one and a better tomorrow.

I’ve never owned a Harley or any other big bike for that matter.  Decades ago, I had almost pulled the trigger on a ’91 Fatboy that was in El Paso.  Instead, my brother Jake and I bought a set of Hereford cow/calf pairs.  Good decision as those rips were profitable.  Nonetheless, I still kind of wish that I would have bought the bike.

Tuesday evening found me responding to a book face post.  Halie Schovanec had posted pics, that she had taken, of Chesley Comstock.  Dudes, I literally sat in one place for a bit.  I sat there, just reminiscing at how many AWESOME kids that I have had the honor to deal with on a regular basis.  Yes, I’m getting old.

Halie is doing well and is engaged.  Chesley is raising the bar higher & higher.  She was just named an outstanding OSU grad.  That crew of kids that are now 19-24ish turned out wicked awesome.  And there was so many of them.

Later, I was sitting on my donkey, just watching a movie with my family.   A buddy tried to call about 9 pm.  Oh hell, he’s wanting to talk quail hunting.  I thought to myself, “I’ll call him back in the morning.”

Bout 11 pm, I get a text.  I looked at it, cocked my head sideways, read it again, my eyes watered up and then I responded.  $h!t…….    NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Tonight, I just got on my loader tractor.  Cab-less.  The weather was perfect.  I just needed to move some bales out of the field.  The wind was in my hair…and people, I do have some hair at this point.  That dude in Cabery, IL might want to write some stuff about unleashing hair genetics.  Well, the covid has allowed me to unleash the Schneider white hair genetics.  Salt-N- Pepa is a real thing on this skull.  Chin, scalp, ear, nose…all of the above. Lots of gray hair.

One of the kids that I was looking forward to seeing while in this current “shag” mode was Chancery Bruce.  One, she would look at me in the eyes to make sure that it was me.  But she wouldn’t have said anything until she heard me speak.  Then, her eyes would get big and for fear that her grandmother reads this, I won’t type what she would have said.  But she would have told me that I looked bad.

The Bruce family are friends of ours.  Hell, they are friends of anybody that has ever met them.  Brandon the Bruce has been mentioned on this blog MANY times.  Chancery was the best of all of us.  Nobody ever said a negative word about her.  She looked like her mom, acted like her dad, was ornery like her grandparents and had the work ethic of all of them.  The only thing that Chancery didn’t have was a line on a resume with a big goat win.  That would be my failure.   She made premium sales and did very well but I never got that right one for her.

I’ve got several stories but there are 2 that keep rising to the top.

The first one is that I did not want to ride that wagon down the ramp at the American Royal.  I mouthed off about it, she heard it and then Chancery is the one that didn’t let me back out of it.

The second one comes from the month of May in 2017.  Duke & I were getting ready to make a run into Texas.  Chancery texted me.  “Dad needs a vacation from farming.  We need a vacation from Dad.  Can you please take him to Texas with you?”

We did take Brandon the Bruce on a trip with us.  We were well behaved.  Just Duke, Brandon and I.  It was a great trip.  Great Trip!

Such a cool spirit that is no longer here.   Just one of those bad timing car wrecks that is really nobody’s fault.   But Damn!!!

Great, great family that has always stepped up to help others.  All I ask, is for you people to say a quick prayer.  Or a long one.  The Bruce family is the kind that always helps others.

I may have to stop typing.  I don’t think keyboards work well with moisture in the keys.  This deal is kicking my ass.

Prayers for friends!

Yes, there was a holiday yesterday.  Memorial Day.  I hope all of you took a moment to ponder over those that have given all for this country.

It was also a goat holiday for me.  It was the first day in a while that I did NOT drench a doe goat.  The doe that I induced 14 days ahead of her due date had babies.  Yes, there were triplets and yes, two of them are still alive.  It has been touch and go trying to get momma up & going but she is starting to eat and is also getting up on her own.  I don’t have a lot of patience with anything, much less a doe goat.  This ordeal has tested me.  Hopefully, it will pay off with two healthy babies.  Unfortunately, both of the babies are…you guessed it…..doe kids.

Here’s to rain showers and holidays.  Have a good one.

This post is probably going to be horrible.   Just a bunch of stuff to give old turds in Nebraska something to read.  Here we go.

Since I first found my footing in Stillwater back in 1989, I have been a fan of the radio station the KATT, Rock 100.5.  I have fond memories of working in the OSU meat lab during the summer months with the KATT blaring from the radio.  A lot of meat can get cut while listening to Metallica’s “Enter Sandman”.  Currently, my pickup(s) don’t pick up the KATT in Ellis County.  There were, however,  certain locations, on hilltops, near Waynoka and Fairview that I could get the signal.  They have had a pair of disc jockeys, Rick & Brad, that have been on the air for decades.  I love to catch Rick & Brad theater.  Some are funny while occasionally some are wicked funny.  Nookie Green & Redneck Pickup Lines are a couple that I will never forget.  And on Friday mornings, when they spend 30 minutes ahead of time, warning you to get the kids out of the car before Rick & Brad Theater airs…..

I enjoy the driving days when I get into range of the KATT.  I change from XM to 100.5.  TwoFerTuesdays are awesome.  But, my all time favorite thing on the KATT is when the now ancient DJ Greg Zubek announces a song by the band RATT.   He has a deeper, hippy sounding, cool while smooth delivery that would make you believe that he has been backstage at a LOT of concerts and knew where to get some good stuff before it became medicinal.  “Here’s ya some Ratta-tat-tat on the Katta-katt-katt.”  Typing it does not do it justice.  I love saying it but it’s wicked awesome when you hear Zubek say it over the airwaves.

I’m still a radio dude.  I grew up catching new tunes on the radio.  Country, rock, whatever.  I still prefer to listen to Okie State football on the radio.  My first memories of major league baseball was catching the Cardinals on some AM station.  And Old Busch stadium lived up to what I had seen on the radio.

Let’s go a little random.  There is currently a geico insurance commercial that involves the band RATT.  This random couple have a home with a RATT infestation.  I like/dislike this commercial.  If I have a RATT band living in my “cellar” ( some of you will get that)—-Well, then, we are having a party.  My dislike is that they keep playing the song “Round & Round” throughout the commercial.  Great tune but they had so many others.  Play some Way Cool Jr.

Speaking of geico commercials.  They also have another pair of home owners that have an issue in a commercial.  Clogging.  Their upstairs neighbors are cloggers.  I hate this commercial.  Every single time that I watch it, I want to kick down a door, choke the adult in charge and kick the plate of spaghetti out of some kid’s hands.  I will NEVER have insurance from this company as a result of this commercial.

And while on the topic of things that I hate…..I don’t know if I have ever mentioned this before.  I hate dealing with doe goats.  Hate em.  I’ve got a few that I enjoy but as a whole……..uoonhh!!

Hay is getting rolled up.  Calves are taking well to grass.  The gardens are starting to go.   Fresh okra, taters & corn are on future menus.  I ate fresh eggs tonight.

We need a rain here in paradise.  I’m older, grayer, fatter and loving life.  If I was any better than I would have to change my name to either Kevin Frazier or Carl Mize.  Not that those two fine specimens are fatter or grayer than I am but they are older and love life.  And either of those studs know where the good eats are located.  I’m in the mood to travel just to meet some cool dudes for lunch.

Peace out!   Horseshoes and shamrocks to all of you.

I’ve hauled a lot of different things over the past decades.  I’ve hauled ass before.  And I have the driving awards from numerous states to prove that I was hauling ass.

I’ve also literally hauled ass before.  We have a really fun story of hauling an ass for Grandma Katherine Urban.  Somewhere, I have a picture of that donkey delivery.

I’ve delivered a puppy from Shattuck to Phoenix which in turn headed to Tucson and then to it’s forever home in Minnesota.  I’ve hauled an ass load of ostriches back in the early 90s.  We loaded a trailer load of pigeons from south of Stillwater and hauled to Billings.

Hogs, cattle, sheep, goats and horses….countless.  And I’m not in the paid for hauling livestock business.

I have dealt with the OG livestock hauler. He is helping a friend of ours get into the business.  Tonight, we loaded a goat headed to Colorado and a goat headed to Arkansas.  Last week, I put 2 different goats on 2 different trailers headed into Texas.  Animals are moved from coast to coast and border to border.

Today, I got up and did chores (I even drenched doe goats..miserable) and then left the house by 6 AM.  I hauled ass to Crescent, OK and loaded 70 cocks.  Well, actually not cocks.  It’s just funner to say that instead of saying that we loaded 70 coming year old Cinnamon Queen laying hens.  I’ve never loaded and then hauled 70 chickens before today.

We brought this load of biddies back to Ellis county and distributed to several families in Shattuck, Arnett and Fargo.  As a bonus, we gathered 11 eggs out of the trailer.  It was all kind of fun.

Hamburger prices are sky-rocketing.  Hard to get a kill date until 2021.  Vegetable plants & seeds are sold out.  People, this is stupid but yet it is great.  I’m all for the rest of the world learning where their food originates.

I do not know if this is part of the evil plan or a kick-back result that they did not see coming.  Trust me, I’m not that smart.  As we move forward with the covid/corona BS, I hope that the general public continues to want fresh meat, gardens and hens that are laying eggs.  From an Ag-Ed perspective, this is what we were supposed to be teaching all along.  I like it.

As he left the house tonight, Uncle Jim made the statement, “Keep us safe from pelosi.”  Coming from one of the smartest people that I will ever know, I think that I will leave that comment in it’s own standing to close out this blog.

“Keep us safe from pelosi.”