Rainy day Tuesday.....

I was supposed to go to a seminar on handling animals in disasters, but I woke up a bit too late to get all the chores done before the start of the thing an hour and bit's drive from here at UT in Knoxville. I've got goats telling me they want to kid, so who knows when that is going to happen, but the look is sure in their eyes and I don't really want to spend the day away from them. Those long suffering looks that convey the weight of the world- oh my! If I had their worries I'd be a goat- which I am anyway, I'm a Capricorn, born on December 25th. Don't worry about the birthday thing, I got over that a long time ago- in fact, I'm telling folks not to get me Christmas presents, or even birthday gifts, any longer- I've got all I want. I don't need any more 'stuff'. Except for maybe a new AI kit (artificial insemination) so I can use all those dead frozen billy-goats in my nitrogen tank. Or a preg-tone ultra-sound machine.
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Bucks are an essential part of a goat farm- either you have them or you don't- some of them can be quite amusing as babies, but absolute lothario's as adults. Take Chicago for example- he's a sweetie pie, but bucks are 'supposed to' have gone out of rut this time of year- yeah, right. Everyone else has. The weather says otherwise for Chicago. It is still colder than dammit and we are carrying water because the hoses are frozen. My pregnant does like to waddle right up to me when I am carrying two full buckets- and who's got his nose stuck up where we won't mention in polite company? Yep, himself. (Gee, maybe they want me!) So we all do this circle dance around me a couple of times until I get around the behinds of some of them and make a dash to the portable water trough. So I smell of 'au d' buc' for a while- and I also use the same barn clothes over and over again until they stand up in the corner by themselves. This conserves water as there is no need to use the washer so much if I do it this way. Sometimes I venture into Newport to the feed store, or just up to get gas at Jack's Market, in my barn clothes- I earned that badge of honor, by golly!
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I could put him in the buck pen, but he is still in rut and we don't need 'fighting boys on parade'. Their dominance dances (ahem!) can get quite rough, but it is also amusing to see who the 'bitch' is from day to day. So, Chicago runs loose for now and takes the girls who are the closest 'ladies in waiting' up into the woods to browse a bit-
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It still looks like rain, but then it always looks like rain here, unless the weather changes- which is usually about 15 minutes between changes.