So, somehow tonight, the Dragon Lady, Duke and I were discussing life, other students at the HPTC and she said that she had asked a student the phrase “What do you want to do with your life?!”

I then asked Duke if he knew where that phrase came from?  “UUHH?! Sure, No, but I am really sure that you are going to tell me.?…oh how I hope that there isn’t a quiz later!”

Yes, son.  You are correct. So I showed him the 1984 Twisted Sister video of “I wanna rock!”   Neidermeyer of Animal House fame plays the blowhard teacher that asks that very question which directly leads into that classic rock song.  Remember when they actually made music videos and played them on MTV.

I’m not here to tell you that Twisted Sister was/is one of the great rock bands of all time.  However, they have several songs that are still being played by kids (some older than others) today.  They are kind of like the 80s version of the Righteous Brothers from the 60s.  Two good songs and we still like them.  There ain’t no place else that is comparing the Righteous Brothers and Twisted Sister.  But, I ain’t wrong.  It’s all good.

“I wanna rock” and “We’re Not Gonna Take It” being the main two Twisted Sister songs.   Dang, 30 years after the fact and they still get airplay, download sales AND they are still touring.  Dude, if you can make a career of it; well it must have been pretty good.

Who reads this crap?

Speaking of wanting to rock.  I watched a buck nail a doe at 5:48 am this morning.  All the signs were there.  Yes, it was single digit temps.  Said buck was wearing a marker.  I watched him in action.  Like frozen goat porn.  She was standing, ready…..very receptive. He did the head thrown back deal and she walked around with back arched.  But…..other than me standing there, with my eyelids frozen open, I have ZERO (roughly the same as the temp) proof that the action happened.  That blue crayon did not leave one skid mark on her.  I guess the marker was frozen as well.  Which leaves me to thinking that whole deal was probably kind of unpleasant.  Which NOW has me to thinking that the conditions for actual conception were not very conducive in order to have an actual birthing of a goat roughly 5 months from now.   Wait! Wait!   No drugs, no cidrs, no management, no hormones, no AI, rough sex with a frozen blue brick of a crayon in between the two, extremely inclement weather……yep, that rip is settled.  If I had planned it this way……well, no way that could work.  Welcome to the goat world.

And speaking of actual really good music and somebody that I have always liked listening to and only occasionally hear on the radio….W.I.T.H. ever happened to John Michael Montgomery!   Dang, that dude cranked some of the very best country songs ever made, in a short frame of time and then PFFFT!  Like a bank account with goats on feed…..Gone.

“Be my baby tonight”,  “I swear”, “Life’s a Dance” and my favorite of his, “Sold”.  That dude has some of the best country songs EVER.

Congrats to Mr. & Mrs. Phillip Butler on their recent 40th wedding anniversary.  Job well done!

Huge congrats to anybody that can stay married for numerous decades, half a century or more.  It takes effort.  I’m still trying to figure out why I’ve kept the Dragon Lady around for more than 25 years.  All I know is that she is lucky.  I think that I will close at this point as you all sit there, shaking your head and pondering W.I.T.H.  Maybe, I’ll play some J.M.M.  Can’t hurt.

It is wednesday morning which means it is hump day of the week.  But it is also the day that we get over the hump of this frozen stuff….at least for this week.  Tuesday morning, we didn’t have a temperature as it was ZERO.  This morning, a bit warmer as it was 5.  At least it hasn’t been windy.

Checking does this morning revealed a truth that I was kind of expecting.  At least one doe in heat which means that our last AI program was NOT 100%.  There’s a surprise.  I’m pretty sure that I am jinxed when it comes to advanced goat reproduction.  But, I would like to think that the luck would eventually change.  I’m sure that my attitude towards the lack of success and the dealing with doe goats has not helped.  And there has dang sure been nothing to improve my attitude towards either.

I cooked a little dish with taters, corn, etc. seasoned and boiled.  Then I added a cracked black pepper venison sausage.  Pretty good mixture.  Duke had his deer processed into this sausage and summer sausage.  They did a really good job.

Stay warm.

Here we go again!   Another arctic blast.  I have never wanted to live in the Dakotas or the frozen tundra of Canada and these blasts remind me why.  And to top it off, Tammy’s favorite son forgot to drain a hose yesterday.  Guess who got to bucket water this evening?  Not me.

The wethers are warm and once again I am reminded why I did not breed any does to kid until sometime after Groundhog Day.

We planted a little bit of wheat back in August.  We had good moisture at the time and therefore got a stand.  And since then, it hasn’t gotten a drop of rain on it.  And the forecast doesn’t look good.  So, I let Duke open a gate  yesterday and turned cows and calves out on it.  Might as well get something out of it.  The doe pasture is smooth.  They have even eaten the turnips.  Not just the tops, but the globes as well.

Congrats to all of the winners at Denver last week.  From all accounts, it sounds like there were several good ones on the top end.  Denver just isn’t a show that we budget into our schedule.  It makes very little sense for an Okie or Texan to haul a good one up there unless you are committed to winning it.  If you aren’t a ch or reserve division, then those goats get shoved out the door, into the cold and then hauled off.  We just try to make sure we have some ready for our county, Woodward District and OYE.

I’ve got a crew of boys that think that they want to try the Dairy Foods CDE.  And when you have over a 100 kids in class, you make it into an event.  So, we went shopping and bought a pile of cheese.  It has been an educational event thus far–for students and teacher alike.  I didn’t realize that I knew what Ricotta was…but yes, I recognized it as the stuff in lasagna.  Gouda—as in it ain’t very gouda to taste or smell.  Feta is now forevermore known as Foot cheese as it smells like a dirty foot.  And the surprising one is Swiss.  I’ve had it on sandwiches but not by itself.  I now refer to it as BOB cheese as it reminds me of a Bucket Of Butt.  And no, we don’t have any Fomunda cheese.

Blue or Bleu cheese is just what I expected–funky.  My Dad loves high quality bleu cheese–Cashel and Maytag are two that I have heard him brag about.  I like Muenster.  The kids love sharp cheddar, Provolone and queso fresco.  They were amazed at the hardness of Parmesan and the softness of Mozzarella.  A couple of these kids may need a laxative after the 15 different varieties that they tried multiple times sets up.

Sunday afternoon was very nice.  So I spent it helping a student with some steers, checked in on another one that was washing heifers and some other kids that were working barrows and gilts.  Tammy and Duke helped me with some beginning goat showmen.  Then I came home to trim hooves on some doe kids for an old pro.  I would say that it is about to get busy, but dang, lets be real.  It stays busy.  I don’t know if I get anymore done, but I seem to stay busier.

Stay warm.  Take care of the stock.  Keep calm.  And have a good one.  Oh yeah, and a better tomorrow.

Yes, we are living in the year 2018.  But, in rural NW Oklahoma, internet still comes at a premium.  Unfortunately for those few of us that live south of Fargo, OK…the internet doesn’t work real smooth.  For some reason the Hughes net hook up sucks donkey……  I meant to say that the Hughes net system doesn’t work very well…ever.  I pay for this service, but just because there is not an alternative.  If we lived 5 miles East or West, we could have something other than this crap.  If you ever have a choice, this Hughes net deal is NOT the way to go.

I had really good stuff to write on here until I had to deal with this crappy internet service.  Was there a goat show this week?

Have a good one and a better tomorrow.

I watched until sometime into the 4th quarter.  At that point, my advancing age, the clock and no real desire to stay awake let me fall asleep on the couch.  I did not watch the ending of the football game.  I woke up before 4 am and miraculously, the game was airing on one of the many espn channels.  So, although I did not see it “live” , I have watched the game.  And here are my thoughts.

1—The minute Alabama was picked as the 4th team in the playoff, I should have been all in and bet on them.  No doubt that they would win.

2—I do not know one person that went to school at alabama.  I know and or have met Auburn grads, lots of Georgia grads, Tennesse, Arkansas, Florida, LSU, Ole Miss, Miss State, etc.  But in all of my travels, selling online, judging, going to Wal Marts and doing business in numerous quick stops across numerous states, I have yet to meet one actual student or graduate of the university of alabama.  Nobody.  But yet, they sell lots of merchandise.  Same phenomena as the large amounts of the u OF o stuff sold in Love’s, Atwoods and Wal MartS in the great state of Oklahoma.

3—Refs–dirty pool–no0000?!  RUSM?!  That doesn’t happen.

4—-I do think that Saban is an unreal (UNREAL–as in hard to believe it is all real) coach/ recruiter.  And if you don’t like alabama, well, they are still loaded–this year, next year and I could probably coach them to a CFP in two years as they have that much talent stock-piled.

5—All of these sports talk shows are now trying to decide if Nick Saban is the best college football coach ever.  I can answer that—NO.  I mean NO!!!!  Who is?  Bill Snyder of Kansas State.  He has won during two different stints at the worst football school of all time.  He has no big time recruits, but consistently wins, graduates players, sends players to the pros and…and….every other big time coach will agree with me.  Bill Snyder.

I respect what Nick Saban has done.  I was hoping that Georgia would win.  I don’t know if the refs were playing dirty pool.  But in the end….I really don’t care as the sun came up today, animals still needed tending, I had a job to do and it was just a game.  But, I do feel for those dawgs.  The future looks good for UGA.

Congrats to Allyn Goodson and her mom.  They took a red angus heifer to Denver and showed.  They had a reserve division in the junior and open show.  I know that they both hoped for a darker shade of purple banner but dang.  Gigi the red angus heifer has now been champion at WW district, res. champion at OYE, grand overall at the State Fair of Ok, throw in a banner at the jr. nationals and now a couple of res. divisions at the National Western.  People, that is consistency.  I bet that Allyn and Gigi are not done.

Duke and I spent time in the barn tonight discussing feed labels, protein, roughage, fiber and fat.  He may not beat your kid but he at least knows why we do what we do.  It is my experience that if a kid knows why he/she is feeding what they are told to feed, then those kids follow instructions better instead of just dumping some feed and calling it good.  Duke’s dad managed to stick him with a couple of common wethers.  And we have made the decision that they need to be fatter like what the cool kids are doing.  But, we are not used to feeding shine and dyne.  But we will figure it out, probably about April.  You would think that as fat as I have gotten in the past six months that I would know how to fatten a wether.  I do, but I don’t think that a lack of exercise, several cold beverages and a high carb diet is good for a show wether.

People, here’s what I know.  This won’t take long.

Play hard.  Work harder.  Love better.  Laugh always.  Respect whenever.  Try.  Try again.  Do it right.  Even if you have to do it again.  Take a moment and explain why it is what you are doing and why you are doing what it is.

Why?

Why not?!

Have a good one and a better tomorrow.  Here’s to nothing but horseshoes and shamrocks to all of you clowns that take the time to read this stuff.

While in Phoenix, I posted on the socially transmitted disease known as Facebook a pic of Joe Dirt and that he had passed.  So, this isn’t new news.  However…..

I was standing outside the goat/sheep barn at the ANLS talking to a cool goat dude from Colorado.  Lance Jaegers is a parent/ag teacher/ goat breeder that purchased a Joe Dirt son from me about 5 years ago.  Not a high dollar deal, just a real good goat that has consistently bred for them.  They have built a productive herd around these Joe Dirt genetics.

While talking to Lance, I asked him if he had seen any kids out of the high selling buck in our 2016 online sale.  That buck was a Joe Dirt x Rainman.  I had heard reports that the kids were really good and had done some winning in Arkansas.  He allowed that several of that bucks kids had hit a lick or two at the Colorado State Fair.  Cool deal!

As we were talking, I got a text from Tyke.  “Dirt is no more.”         Deep breath and bit of moisture in the corner of an eye….damn!  We knew it was coming.  Old age, no teeth, etc.

About a month and a half ago, I asked Tyke if he had an empty pen.  He said that he did.  I told him to come get Dirt and keep him there.  This was a two-fold deal.  One–I knew that Joe Dirt would get better day-to-day care with Tyke’s crew.  And two–I knew that the end was near and I didn’t want to be the one to haul him off.

I’m not going to tell you that Joe Dirt was the best buck ever.  However, I will tell you this.  I have dealt with cattle, sheep, pigs and goats over the past 30 years and Joe Dirt was just damn Good Livestock.  He wasn’t extreme, he was just extremely good.  And he made them good.  His genetics are going to last.  He was a breeder and made his opportunities count.  That dude settled does.

The only problem with Joe Dirt was that Tyke and I owned him.  That means he had access to about 50 does per year except when there were bucks like Rainman, Rumour Has It, FreakOnALeash and others.  So he got to see 20-3o per year.  Yet, he always had offspring in the hunt.  This is why we let Dirt do some traveling in 2016.  And as a result, Dirt daughters will keep proving his worth for years to come.  He loved his trip to California.  The Burns family took care of Joe.  He enjoyed the comforts of Big Bob May’s trailer.  Pat Lyon’s produced a buck or two while he used him.  And for some reason, Dirt really liked, I mean REALLY liked staying at Tom Kester’s.  Joe Dirt talked more about his stay there than anywhere.

Joe Dirt sired grands and reserves at state fair wether shows.  He sired lots of class winners & premium sale wethers.  He sired lots of competitive doe kids–class winners at OYE and Tulsa.  He sired very, very few shitters.  His daughters are still producing.  There are bucks working in top shelf herds.   Dirt did it all and all while working in a couple of small herds.

Regardless of species, I wish that every livestock operator has the chance to work with a breeding piece like Joe Dirt.  When the goal is to make good livestock, animals like Joe Dirt never go out of style.

The only problem with Joe Dirt, is actually not a problem.  He came along just a year too early. Right before the photo craze hit the industry.  And we didn’t have that wicked cool glamour shot to show the multitudes how great he IS.  But, in the end, we didn’t need a cool pic of him.  He just worked and made damn good livestock.

Here’s to you Joe Dirt.  Cheers and job well done.

I like to listen to Lynyrd Skynyrd.  Some of the best songs that ever were written were performed by that group.  You cannot argue!  Sweet Home Alabama, Freebird, Gimme 3 Steps, etc.

While at Phoenix, we stayed at the Embassy Suites downtown.  Excellent hotel that is undergoing a remodel.  The rooms were good, staff was great, the ANLS discount prices were really good and the bartender was one of the best that I have dealt with.  And no, I didn’t spend much time or money at the bar but that dude is a professional.  Those of you that were there know who I am talking about!

As good as this hotel was/is, they were not prepared to be like Skynyrd.  They needed to play that Lynyrd Skynyrd song, “That smell.”  OMG!  You could tell when the hog showers arrived.  JEEMINY CHISTMAS!  It was brutal.  Wood chips in the lobby.  The elevator smelled like hog crap.  The smell permeated the air of an otherwise fancy lobby, elevator area, bar and restaurant area.  OH, OH that smell!  It was brutal!  The hotel even went and bought a couple of those boot brushes to put outside the front doors.  But NO, the hog heads couldn’t use them.

Here’s the deal.  I used to like feeding a show pig or two.  My show pig resume is probably better than yours.  As a teacher or a parent, when it comes to showing pigs, if you want a measuring contest, I can compete.  And when compared to the current crop of hog showers, jocks, parents, etc.  I am damn sure better at NOT, let me repeat, NOT stepping in hog shit and then tracking it into every place.  DANG!  Change shoes, clean your shoes, wear slick bottomed boots so that you can scrape the shit off of your shoes.  For the love of GOD, do something to keep That Smell out!

This was a group effort to smell like this.  Goats and sheep have an advantage.  They have a dry, clean turd to deal with.  Cattle poo can stink but every cattle shower has a shovel and a turd fork close by.  They don’t constantly walk around in it and then track it to every restaurant, hotel, bar, etc.  Hog showers can use the same turd forks and clean up.  But they don’t.  My goodness, it takes 12 people per hog anymore.  Make one of them use a turd fork and pickup turds so nobody has to walk in it.

I am not saying that I am the best at feeding pigs.  I am not saying that goats, sheep or cattle smell better.  I AM saying that cat shit smells worse, but the good LORD himself taught cats to bury it.  Pig crap smells and smells real bad.  Nobody can argue this FACT!  Don’t walk in it and don’t track it into nice places.  Change shoes or do like your momma taught you and pick that crap up!

If I was the manager at the Embassy Suites (or any other nice establishment), I would have a discount for cattle, sheep and goat showers AND I would charge extra for the smell and wood chips from the hog showers.  Clean that crap up!

OOhh! That Smell!  And everybody knows what I am talking about!  Dang, that smell!

And to change the note to a more pleasant experience.  Tammy, Kela and Duke went to see Ferdinand the Bull with the Greer twins.  It was sold out.  So they went and watched the Greatest Showman.  THEY LOVED IT!  A few days later, my offspring and I watched the new Star Wars.  I liked it.  But it was a formula movie.  Great effects, cool stuff, show the old (Chewbacca, Luke, Princess Leia, R2D2) and really not much plot.  One of the worst Star Wars movies ever, but still good.  And I will watch it again…and again.

However, the marketing effort of the Greatest Showman is wicked.  Very few commercials, promos, etc.  Big names and obviously a great movie.  Their marketing effort was something like this….Dude, we’ve got a great musical.  Don’t spend any money marketing.  Let’s catch the overflow from Ferdinand and Star Wars on sold out nights.  Our show is wicked good.  By week 3 via word of mouth, we will be #3 or better.     Tammy loved this movie, Duke loved it and Kela loved it.  I have not seen it yet.  However, I am sticking to my guns that the best musical of all-time is “Paint Your Wagon”.

Moral of the day–clean your shoes, pick up your shit and listen to some good tunes while doing so.  Words to live by.  Have a good one today and a better tomorrow.

We left on Tuesday the 26th about 6 pm.  Approximately 13 hours later, we pulled into Phoenix.  Several of us drove it all the way.  Some were smarter and changed drivers.

The first thing I noticed about the ANLS, it has changed.  There was a staging area to check-in and then check papers and then get in line to unload.  LOTS more animals–especially gilts.  The sheep and goat barn was full.  The laid back attitude is still there.  It is a very shower friendly show.

Did we go to try to win the show?  Yes–but not the goat show.  The ANLS opened up the Ag Mechanics contest to students outside AZ.  Duke wanted to win it.  He took several projects that were more than good enough.  But, it wasn’t meant to be.  The grand project was a deal from Arizona.  It was good but not near as good as several other projects.  Some used the word “homered”.  Oh well, another learning lesson for the favorite son.  He sold his projects in the silent auction and they sold well.  I am proud of the work that he does.

Now, for the goat show.  We took a Blood Pressure/Joe Dirt wether that I thought was good enough to win a class.  I didn’t get him down into the weight class that he needed to be in.  But he was still in the hunt in his class.  When it got down to the top 5, I thought, “He will either be 1st or 3rd.”  Guess what?  He was 3rd.  And the judge talked him right–elevated in his chest floor, tracks wide on both ends, huge top and rib but he needs to be longer bodied and leveler hipped.  Duke showed him right.  No complaints.  Basically, Duke’s dad needed to send him with a better goat.

The heavyweight goats were good–really good.  This grand of Shroyer’s won pretty easy in my opinion.  This goat was also the champion middle weight at Kansas City.  They chose to scratch him to try to win this show.  Good choice.  This beast looked like a show goat.  We stalled next to the Shroyer family.  I would say that the goat industry better get used to these girls winning–a lot.  The girls are workers–mom included.  And these girls can show.  There is no doubt that there is a large amount of effort being done at home.  Oh and for those that want to whine about people spending huge amounts of money for their goats, this one was cheap.  Real cheap.  He was a cripple as a baby.  I would say that he grew out of it.

I thought the res. heavy needed to be reserve grand.  Fault free–good goat that was well presented.  I didn’t know it at the time but this wether was sired by Dirty Rain.  I saw several J&J goats being shown but I never saw the Burns family while in Phoenix.  Congrats to them.

All in all, it has become evident that there are good goats all across this country.  Feeding, fitting and showmanship are found throughout the barn.  No matter where you go, you better have a good one and a good showman and a good feeding and fitting program.  The competition is tough.

Now, for the rest of the trip.  We got unloaded and headed to Denny’s–Duke and I tradition.  The food was outstanding the whole week.  Although, the chuck wagon’s were not at the ANLS this year.  Duke was pissed.  So, I had to take him to Dunkin Donuts every morning for coffee.

La Piñata–AWESOME mexican food.

My Mothers–Turkey pot pie–best in the world.  KC Ferguson had a prime rib sandwich that looked amazing.  He said it was better than it looked.  Great bread and everybody was full.  The waitress was fun.  I told her that I burnt my tongue on the pot pie.  She brought me a roll of scotch tape and told me to “tape it up, crybaby.”

Mariscos El Tiburon–great salsa, huge language barrier which made for big fun.  Although food was excellent, we wouldn’t recommend the queso.  The XXX tostado that KC ate was huge–stacked with shrimp, cerviche, octopus and some other stuff.  The Fergusons, Kellns and Dunkins laughed a lot while we were at this place.

Pappadeaux’s–one of my favorite restaurants and it did not disappoint.

The show day breakfast at the ANLS is a cool tradition.

On Thursday afternoon, we went to OdySea.  Wicked awesome type of aquarium.  Great for all ages.  No they wouldn’t let me touch the penguins and they didn’t find much humor in my desire to eat one.  So, I bought a bag of penguin poop (chocolate covered peanuts).  All the kids and I ate these.  Kela, Tammy and Duke went to an oxygen bar.  They sat there snorting in pure oxygen.  I got hooked up to one of those tensor machines and cranked it until my shoulder was twitching.

On Friday night, we went to The Duce.  This was recommended by a buddy of mine that lives in Phoenix. It is an old farmer’s market that has been converted to a family friendly night spot.  Cornhole, foosball, ping pong, hula hoop contests, DJ playing a wide variety of good music and a laid back atmosphere.  Brisket sliders and burgers were good.  We had a large time there.  Korbyn Ferguson beat Duke in foosball.  KC found him an antique PBR bucket.  It’s a dandy.

On Sunday morning, we dropped Kela at the airport to head home to LA.  Tammy, Duke and I hooked on to the trailer and headed home.  I’m glad to be back but I am missing the climate of Phoenix.  Now, there is nothing but memories and an upcoming credit card bill.

I am glad 2017 is over and look forward to 2018.  Have a good year.

Why did we come home? Phoenix was in the mid 70s and we left there to come home to temps that barely have one digit. Jeeminy! And I know that it could be worse. I feel sorry for the yankees that are dealing with negative numbers.
Phoenix was fun. Maybe not super successful as far as placings. But it was good. The quality was real good.
We just rolled in here at 11 pm. Unloaded. Checked critters. And this will be the first time in years that I have actually been awake for new years.
I’ll have a list of lots of thoughts, realizations, observations, horrible smells, eating places and Phoenix activities at a later date.
Happy New Year! Use a DD or an uber. Be safe.

Dude, I could have done without this 7 degrees crap that we have going on here in paradise on this 26th day of December.  It is butt-ass cold!  There are enough chores to be done without having to deal with this cold as Duke and I are trying to get ready to leave for Phoenix.  On top of the day-to-day, we also have to wash and shear on this fine day as you can no longer shear at the show.  Oh well, that gives us some more dead time while at the show.

I don’t like being gone from the stock when it is cold but at least I have top shelf help staying here to take care of the stock.

And with this weather, Kela is liking LA more and more.  That is one positive of living out there.  There ain’t no 7 degree days or nights.

I hope everybody had as good of a Christmas as our family.  I probably won’t be on here until we get back, so Happy New Year as well.  Safe travels to all.