I’ve been trying to figure out what to breed which does to whatever buck.  I really don’t like kidding any in December, I refuse to kid in January and I guess that I will breed some to kid the first of February.  The rest–end of March to June.  Decisions. Decisions.

One can’t sit inside and think today.  No, the weather is great here in paradise.  But the roofers are here and it is a bit loud around the house.  Roofers, window replacers and hail dent repair specialists have been booked solid since the end of May when that hailstorm shredded Fargo.  During college, I worked a few jobs stripping roofs and nailing shingles.  I learned real quick that was not a career that I wanted to pursue.  There is money to be made in that line of work and I respect those that do it.  But it isn’t for me.

As the sun came up this morning, I sorted a few goats off that are going to get a free ride to the sale barn.  Namely, the dairy goats buck kids and a barren bitch that hasn’t bred in the past 3 years.  Time to punt.  Once, I had them sorted, a couple of does decided that they needed to pair off on opposite sides of a panel and just beat the living hell out of it.  For NO reason.  These does had literally just been together.

If you were to put me on the pitching mound in Fenway Park, hand me a baseball and ask me to throw a strike, it probably wouldn’t happen.  But, if you put me in a corral, hand me a rock and ask me to drill a an object 60 feet away that is destroying a panel for no apparent reason….well, I turn into a cross between Greg Maddux and Roger Clemens.  Precision with heat.  STRIKE!!!!!

I just got done soaking a wethers feet in buckets of epsom salt.  I don’t know if it will work, but it can’t hurt.  The stupid things that we do for a show animal.

This has been an unreal July around here.  It got hot but not like it normally is.  We were dry but not like it normally is.  It started to turn brown and get crunchy and then it rained a bit.  And now July 31 showed up and rained and rained and rained.  As I look in the rain gauge on this first day of August, there is 4 inches of rain.  And it came straight down, nice and easy.  No wind and no feeders to clean out.  The ponds are full, the grass is green, the ground is soggy and there is going to be hay made in the near future.  I don’t know how much rain that a sesame crop needs but I don’t think much.  This stuff is going to think that it is irrigated.

I should have posted this weeks ago.  Mix 1 packet of Prohibit with a 500 ml bottle of Valbazen.  Shake vigorously.  Give 1 cc per every 25 pounds.  Refrigerate what you don’t use.

I’m getting ready to attend part of a near-worthless event.  These conferences can be a waste.  They could put everything into one e-mail and send to the teachers.  But, no.

Lately, I’ve been pretty lucky.  First off, I got that Gator in to Deere before the warranty ran out.  Next, it wasn’t a u-joint but the transmission.  Dang!  That means that we are going to be without the Gator for a bit.  But, at least it was still under warranty.

Next.  I had an online equipment sale a couple of weeks ago.  I put the old 4 wheeler on there.  Duke found out and did not like it.  He allowed that if I sold it, I needed to buy a new one.  So, I bought the old 4 wheeler back.  Now, I don’t have a Gator so the 4 wheeler is getting used everyday.  I got lucky there.

I got lucky enough to be asked to judge a jackpot in Georgia.  This was a top notch show.  Lots of buckles given out.  The show management was superb.  High quality showmanship was on display.  And lots of really good goats.  The hospitality and respectfulness of adults and kids alike makes me feel lucky to have the opportunity to judge a show such as this one.

The top end of these goats being shown in Georgia are good.  And these goats were bred in several different states.  Okie and Texas bred goats were common.  But there were also top end goats that were born and bred in Georgia and South Carolina.  With the internet and the advent of coast-to-coast livestock delivery services, good livestock are liable to be anywhere.

I was also lucky enough to meet somebody that works in the Atlanta airport that was halfway polite and decent to deal with.

And it isn’t every year that you can end the month of July with below 90 degree temps and an inch of rain.  Horseshoes and shamrocks!  I feel lucky!

Tammy got home Thursday evening and I leave on this Friday morning.  She had a good trip to California.  She was pleased to go to the set of “The Goldbergs” where Kela is now working.  She also got to meet Billy Idol in some random club.  And yes, he did get up and sing a few songs even though he wasn’t there to perform.  Of course, Kela had to explain to her who Billy Idol is.  They also made it to a Dodgers game.  I have yet to make it to a big league ballpark this year.  Or for that matter, there hasn’t been a fishing trip either.  At least she had a good trip with the favorite daughter.

I saw a video on Facebook of a goat that got its horns hung up on a high line wire.  To any goat breeder this surprises none of us.  It was enjoyable reading the comments about the poor little goat.  As I watched them trying to rescue this goat, I knew that the goat would live through the ordeal.  Why?  Because it was a spanish looking cross.  If it was an actual good goat, it would have already been dead. But the common one, nope that one will always live.

It is no different here at home.  Duke’s best wether is fighting some crud that we can’t seem to get rid of.  It is taking its toll on the goat and us, mentally.  However, the common little turd wether that always has his head stuck in a panel every morning, nope, that turd never gets sick, the shits, fungus, etc.  Its always the good ones that have issues.  Regardless of species.

State Fairs are ramping up across the midwest.  Good luck and have fun.

I know, I know.  It’s been a few days since I’ve made it to the keyboard.  I’ve been busy.

Judging from the phone calls and texts the past week or so, there is still a demand for high quality bucks that are ready to go to work.  There are a lot of bucks out on lease.  Several breeders are doing this and it just makes sense.  A smaller breeder can lease a quality buck for way less than owning him.  And if a breeder has a buck that isn’t being used, he might as well collect a little income while helping another breeder.

My family has been scattered across the globe.  My parents just returned from a trip to Ireland.  Lots of cool pics.  Tammy has been in California with Kela.  Duke and I have put on a lot of miles but haven’t been anywhere.

I did get lucky this week.  The gator started having an issue.  It felt like a u-joint was going out.  Duke and I took it John Deere to get it fixed on the 26th.  Guess what?  The warranty expires on the 28th!   However, I am already for them to get it fixed.  We are lost without that thing.

Another school year is rapidly approaching.  Not all of our projects at home are finished.  It is a high probability that some won’t get done.

And while Tammy has been in California, Duke and I managed to let some of her chickens get eaten by some predator.  Six in one night.  It will be okay because it was some of her terrorist chickens, not her pets.  Have a good one.

This one will be short.  I spent Thursday evening with my youngest brother.  I spent Friday with the middle brother.  At any time that you think that I am opinionated….well….you need to meet the other two.  Especially, when we are all together.

I am real fortunate to have two younger brothers.  We are all three different but stronger values, you will not find.  It is not an accident that our parents raised three boys that are all still married to our first wife.  Cheers to mom for the lessons of life but even bigger kudos to dad for lessons learned. Dude, we’ve all got hot wives that are GREAT mothers!  You know what, I’m almost done.  Tammy and I have already successfully raised one kid and we are getting close to the end of another one.  Sit back and watch the rest of these kids. It’ll be good stuff.

Years ago, I met a guy with the last name of Kuhl.  I first thought that his nickname was Cool, then I realized that he was another damn German with a Kuhl surname.  That Kuhl dude is how I came about Mike Halfmann (another damn German) and the 911 genetics….which is where Rainman came from.  Kuhl!

The Woodward Elks puts on a helluva rodeo.  It is a big one and draws a lot of people.  They work year-round to promote this event.  It is a big deal for NW OK.  I like a rodeo but it isn’t a big thing on my list.  However, while doing the John Deere gig, I dealt with the Elks and the rodeo a lot.  And several customers were big into this rodeo deal.  So, I paid attention.

One of the really cool things that takes place to kick-off rodeo week is the longhorn drive.  They literally drive a herd of about a 100 head of longhorn cattle from north of Woodward on hwy 34, cross the river bridge, then cross the railroad tracks and take a left onto Main St. Woodward then they head east down Main St. at noon.  The streets are lined with onlookers.  LOTS and LOTS of kids with parents and grandparents.  Dude, it’s pretty cool!

I have seen this parade before.  One of my favorite customers and a cool dude in his own right, Cody Sander, is the boss that owns and ramrods this drive.  He and his crew take these longhorns to numerous rodeos in the midwest.  But, I did not realize that the Dragon Lady had not witnessed it.  So, we went to WW and ate a late breakfast at the Polly Anna cafe (always looking for an excuse for a blueberry pancake).  Then we went to Boiling Springs State Park.  Why?  I found out that she had never actually seen the “boiling springs” of the Boiling Springs State Park.  I hadn’t been there in years and I am glad that we made the stop.  Hunh! It was still cool.

Then, we ventured back to WW and grabbed our spot to see them drive these cattle right into town.  I don’t care how many times you’ve seen it…it’s still cool!  I felt like a little kid as I got to wave at several of my friends that were horseback with this herd.  There was at least one past OK state officer riding.  Six to seven foot wide horns coming within inches of…dude, it’s cool.

As we left, I thought about all of the kids that were making memories.  For some, maybe a lot of them, this is their connection to agriculture.  That isn’t a bad deal if they google cattle drives and learn about how this part of the world was built.

Every town should have some cool event that ties back to their heritage.  It makes it cool!

The following aren’t my words but I agree with them.

They aren’t entitlements.  

Get it straight:  Welfare, Food Stamps, WIC…ad nauseum are not entitlements.  They are tax-payer funded handouts and shouldn’t be called entitlements.  Social Security and Veteran’s Benefits are entitlements because the people receiving them are entitled to them.  They were earned and paid for by the recipients.  

I kind of feel the same way about my doe herd.  Some of these does have earned their right to anything and everything around here.  A couple have lost their teeth and should be at a sale barn but nope they earned the right to hang around here and live in luxury.  These does are getting their veteran benefits.

While others haven’t earned it yet but they are the does that stand around screaming or get in the way or tear stuff up.  They are the ones that make me want to not have any does.  They just want their welfare handouts.

It is time for us to process does but I don’t want to do it by myself.  Duke is gone till later in the week.  Tammy and I do NOT need to work goats together.  So I’ll wait on Duke.  We will vaccinate, worm (valbzaen & prohibit mixed together), give multi-min and a copper bolus for every goat on the place.  We might even trim some hooves.  And as I look at the upcoming forecast, it is supposed to get hot 100+ for several does in a row.

A lot of times, I feel like I am writing a weather report and/or a food review.  In the spirit of that I did eat at a Five Guys burgers yesterday.  Really good burgers, great fries and you better be hungry–large portions.

you just gotta…

….say  “What in the hell?”

….shake your head NO (real quick, definite side to side motions) to make dang sure the auctioneer does NOT take your bid at 7,8 or 9K!

….shake it NO again….maybe as a defense mechanism or as a spasm from the previous time.  Either way, your checkbook feels safer.

….love the sound of young quail.

….ask “Are we the only people in OK that did not go to a Garth Brooks concert this weekend?”

….go home with an empty trailer.

….ask “Why?  LORD, why do I have these animals?”

….realize why it is that you have these animals.

…..cut a deal with a young kid just because you want to see them succeed in the livestock business.

….find a new BBQ sammich place.

….tell stories as you are heading down the road…or sitting on a bucket….or leaning on a pickup bed….or

This is kind of fun.  Tesla is blaring on the speakers.  No wind outside.  I bet a bunch of you all can send me some of these follow ups….

Have a good one and a better tomorrow.  I will.

What?  July 12 isn’t a holiday.  Well hell!  It ought to be one.  I had a great day.

I listened to Christmas music in July.  Why?  It came on the iTunes shuffle and it was Mariah Carey and it sounded good and I like it and I let it play and it was the song, not the video.  You should do the same.

I had to go to OKC early this day.  For a Dr. appointment.  Not mine.  But I had to drive home.  The medical deal was top shelf.  They acted like they actually wanted to be a help.  Class act organization.

So, while sitting there, waiting, I searched some musical acts that I have been digging for a bit.  Volbeat was one of the bands that have piqued my interest.  They have had some cool tunes on the radio for the past year or three.  So, if they have had a radio song, then they probably have a good catalog that didn’t make the radio for  3-5 years.  Guess what?  These dudes are wicked!  Harmonicas, banjos and BIG, BIG guitars with vocals that you can understand and they can bring it.  I mean bring it!

I like finishing tasks.  I get a rush out of scratching the line off of a sticky note as DONE!  Earlier this year, the wind was EFFING WICKED!  It was the night that the big fires started (my problems are small, compared to others).  The backyard fence blew down.  Duke set metal posts and welded the frame.  Then we screwed individual boards to the frame.  It ain’t done, but it is really close to being done.  Brandon the Bruce asked me how it looked.  I replied, “If you are drunk or blind, then this is one good looking fence.”  Otherwise, pick a four letter word.  Haaaa!!!  Not that four letter word.

While driving home from OKC, I rolled a lot of stuff through my brain.  I like good tunes, good livestock, good fun, hard work and accomplishing goals.  Tammy and I have identical goals and none of them involve money.  I like our kids a lot.  But, she REALLY likes them!

I constantly question my involvement in the stock show game.  Personally, I would like to limp away and leave this goat game to the ass clowns and cheaters.  But, every time I have doubts, kids show me the path.  The stock show game is great.  Adults EFF it up!  As a whole, the kids get it.

Here’s to a holiday that ain’t a holiday.  If you are about improving the stock and raising kids, I cheer you.  If you are just about the wins and the dollars, I’ve got a list of words for you.  Some are four letters, while others require a finger.  Maybe one, maybe two.

Turn up the tunes!   Be thankful for what you have.  Shamrocks and horseshoes to all of you…except for a couple of ya.