Duke is currently at home.  Good.  Maybe I can get some work out of him.  While here, he fired up a movie on netflix.  Not a new movie but dang sure a good one.  Dances With Wolves.  I came in near the start and couldn’t hardly walk away from it.  Such a good flix.  I can still remember watching this in the $1 movie theater in Stillwater, OK….by myself.  I loved it.  My buddies were like, “Dude!  I’d have gone.”  Some female friends were like “Who did you go with?  What’s her name?  Why are you trying to hide?”  Seriously, I had a $1 and went and watched a badass movie.  That’s it.  

       After watching Dances With Wolves, I was taken back 3 decades and I still have the same thoughts.  Great movie!   And why in the hell did they use that bad legged Palomino?  Ten bears rode it in one scene, another younger tribal member rode it in another scene.  So much good horse-flesh in that movie and they feature that unsound equine creature.  

         Recently made a trip or 3 looking at stock.  A week or so ago, I ventured to Perry, OK to see a set of goats from IL.  Bid on several, bought one. 

     Then, made a venture into Texas.  Went to Tucker’s.  Not the 7T7 Tucker’s but Lynn & Kelly Tucker.  The home of Pickup Man and another pair of badass bucks.  CLEANEST goat place that I’ve ever been!  Seriously!  I shit you not.  There were very few goat turds in the pens.  And when the hired hand got done sweeping the pens…no turds!  I am not shitting you!   The pens were swept with a broom and dust pan then bagged.  I’m thinking about moving into one of their barns.  This crew is assembling some females to go with their bucks and the facilities.  It should be fun.  Great stop and I am looking forward to going back.  

       After that, we stopped by S&K Livestock.  Way more female goats than I was expecting.  I knew that they had several promotable bucks but I’ll be honest….I wasn’t expecting the badass doe herd.  Really nice set of mature females.  I love visiting with real livestock people.  And this crew is just working to make a $, help showmen and improve their herd.  I love it.  They aren’t spending a pile of cash to jump forward.  Just real people working, reinvesting profits back into their herd and constantly working to move forward.  Thoroughly enjoyed talking to Alex & Ben.  I like a stop that I can see good stock and I can learn a thing or two.  Although, I will be honest, when I asked Alex how Snake Farm got his name, after that, I was constantly looking for snakes.  Good stop. 

       The next weekend found me traveling to Brownwood, TX to pickup sheep and watch numerous sheep sales.  LOTS of sheep changing hands in the parking lots, online sale viewing and live sales.  We bought some nice sheep off the trailers.  They also had a cajun boil going on.  Clayton Washmon and I are ALWAYS down to eat some crustaceans.  Then I walked through the sale barns.  Wait?  Goats?   Reagan Thurman brought a bad female-dog of a doe kid.  No steal there as she brought $10K+.

      Now, it is at this point in the writing that I have a fork in the road.  Should I step away from the keyboard.  Probably, definitely yes but you all know me.  I do NOT care who I piss off.  From Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon, I personally witnessed the BAD and the UGLY of selling livestock and I also witnessed the GOOD!  

      Friday afternoon, I watched a set of NAME brand wether goats being unloaded into their pens.  Oh hey, let’s take a look.  They set the wethers onto the bed of wood chips.  One of the goats didn’t act right.  He picked up his left hind foot and then his right hind foot.  Repeat.  Repeat.  Repeat.  This little wether was in pain.  No doubt.  I’m sitting there looking at this goat, thinking to myself, “Why would these dumb bastards do this to a sale goat?”   As I’m sitting there thinking and looking, a couple of Yankee sheep breeders walk up, look and exclaim, “My GOD, somebody just got done popping the ass on that little goat!”  When the sheep people are calling you out, it ain’t right!  Pick three initials as to who the seller was.  You people can keep spending money with them.  I’m out.  I don’t care how blessed you are.  It’s bad and it’s ugly!  

       However on Sunday.  I had to pickup several ice chests of goat bologna for Tyke.  So, I met the Kester’s at Milligan’s piece of Perrydise.  They were photoing online sale goats.  The Irick’s were also there for Payton’s first online sale presentation.  Tommy & Hayden were working to get spot-on pics and videos of Payton’s goats.  Braden is the best ever at setting goats up for pics and he was on point.  Tom & Kerensa were coaching mom & daughter as to how to help and what to do.  There was a whole village there to help this young goat breeder get her goat offering presented properly.  THIS is how it is supposed to be done!  No deceit.  No needles.  No photoshopping.  No politics.  Just a crew of goat industry people helping a young kid with her projects.  These goats will be offered and sold.  There will probably be a bargain but there are several really good wethers and a cool doe kid.  

     Oh… By The Way… I will be bidding on a couple of Payton’s wethers.  They actually have a chance compared to those over-priced, counterfeit deals I saw south of the Red River.  

      Peace out!   And I hope that the buyer of that goat has a bucket of horseshoes and shamrocks.  They will need it.