Cat Napping

Okay, how about DUCK napping?

Can ya see that?  They are all tucked in and snoozing on the pond.
Aren't they cute?
Musta been up partying all night.
Can't believe i managed to get the shot withought waking any of them.

Uh oh.

Ya don't think they are dead, do ya?

Mikey: Candidate for MIT

Mikey is no rocket scientist.

There is a reason he is enrolled in freezer camp.
Gonna get him the T-Shirt, and everything.

Mikey seems to have trouble with the concept of field fencing.
These days, we are pulling his head out about twice a day.

The youngest faction of The Krew came for a visit last week, and all the children were running around outside. 

At some point, CBear came into the kitchen, and very calmly and politely asked, "May I please borrow your tool bag?"

Now, my tool bag is one of the few things that i get proprietary over.  I have lost untold numbers of hammers and pliers because others don't seem to respect tools the way i do.  I even bought a big pink tool box full of pink handled tools one time, thinking that others would be humiliated to be using such girlie instruments.  Didn't work.  They all disappeared piecemeal, including the box.

Additionally, i am no spring chicken.  Been around the block.  I am smart enough to know better than to hand off an arsenal to a pack of munchkins under the age of 12.  Especially when the PTF (Petite Delicate Flower) is involved.  Might walk out there to find the boy-childs trussed up to the side of the barn. 

So i asked. 
"CBear, what do you need the tool bag for?"

He replied, "One of the goats has his head stuck in the fence and we are trying to get it out."

This can't be good.

I go out there, and sure enough, Mikey is screaming bloody murder, and Jethro and The PTF are working away at the $200 a roll field fencing with wire cutters.

Of course i tried to be calm, cool and collected, but i think i might have shrieked.

How do you explain to a couple of small men (and The PTF) with tools in hand that a stranded doe or the big bad buck would be worth tearing up the fence, but a freezer kid that does this twice a day requires a different tack?

I opened the wire a tad and grabbed his little horns (Mikey's, not the munchkin's) and yanked him out of there.  Didn't even take any hide off. 

The munchkins were very disappointed in not being able to perform a procedure of some kind.

Mikey was much relieved, until about 4 hours later when he was hemmed up again.

Our fencing has taken quite a beating this week.


 

Containment Issues That Lead To Happy Thoughts

Ya know we have a visiting buck.

Ya know that i have ALWAYS had a soft spot for Ditto.



I want Moon back.




Susan SWEARS that Ditto is a sweet and gentle buck, the lowest key buck in her herd.

Let me just tell  you about Ditto.

Moon and i have a great relationship.  Lots of face time.  We get practically nose to nose, and talk to each other.  I scratch the spot he can't reach behind his scurs, and he gives me kissy lips.  I like to believe that he enjoys this pastime as much as i do.  Moon occasionally sneezes during our talks, but they are usually small, controlled sneezes, usually to punctuate a thought, and he almost always turns his head.

Ditto and i have been making friends the last couple of weeks, gaining mutual trust, etc.   However, it would seem that Ditto left his good boy manners back at Queenacres.  The other day, we were standing at the fence, finally having our first real face to face...practically nose to nose...talk, and in the big middle of it, Ditto gave a HUGE, very BUCKLY goatie sneeze.

Goat snot, AAAALLLLL over my face.
Couldn't even see out of my glasses.



I have NEVER been slimed like that, before.


So there is that.


Now, we all know why Ditto is here.
He has only one job, and he has set out to do it well.

I was managing to keep things under control.
For a very short period of time.

HRH The Princess Gidget was bred, and the date was recorded.
Maud was bred, and the date was recorded.

Three days ago, i went out to do the morning barn chores, and Ditto was in the doe pen.
Upon inspection, it was discovered that Ditto took out a portion of fence and a very sturdy gate.
It was one of those days when there was no time for major repairs, so i tied everything back together with baling twine, secure enough to make it all do until i could get a proper fix on things, and then i separated the herd, so Ditto would have no reason to go fence hopping again.  Ditto and the four milky girls were left in the doe pen, and everyone that didn't need a date with Ditto were shuffled off to the buck pen with Lancieboy.  That would be Peaches, HRH, Cherry and the freezer camp kids.

Yesterday, things were fine in the morning.  I had to be away again all day, and when i got home in time to do evening barn chores, i walked out to the doe pen and counted noses.

Hmmmmm.  One nose short.

I looked over to the buck pen, and what do i see?

Ditto, hard at work.

Yet again, a Cherry Bomb.

Couldn't believe it.
Another section of fence was demolished.

I give.

So, we here at Tails Up are back to the "Tigger Method" of family planning.  Once again, we have had to throw open the gate, and hope for the best.

HRH The Princess Gidget Dines

Gratuitous photo day.

Oink

So i am standing in the frozen foods section of a big city grocery store yesterday, and one of the city's finest comes up and stands near me as he peruses the fish sticks and frozen pizza. 

The police officer turns ever so slightly toward me and i catch his name.

Boldly emblazoned in shiny, all-caps gold thread on his perfectly pressed uniform was

BACON

If idda had a camera i wudda gotten arrested.

Goin' On A Bar Hunt....

...Gonna catch a BIG bar...

Got me one over here, fellers!....I think.....



Uh...NOT!! You won't catch me eating any of that...but FROG is good!!

Bar huntin' wears us out.  Y'all holler if ya see somethin' worth chasin'.

For The Just Plain WRONG File

My lovely outdoor kitchen has been commandeered by the Livestock Guardian Team.

I don't remember anything about  Eminent Domain Seizures in their contract, but apparently i was mistaken.

 At least they are granting me access, although i am pretty sure it is only because they know who buys the Puppy Chow.

 I would love to draw the line at toy storage, but am not exactly sure how to make that one stick.

........Getting to Like You, Getting to Hope You Like Me

If you haven't read yesterday's post, go catch it first, or none of this is gonna make much sense.

You can run, but you cannot hide!

Acckkkk!!!!!  LITTLE HELP HERE!!!

Time out, give it a rest.

Round TWO....ding ding ding

Really?  Is all this necessary?

Lance breathes a sigh of relief as Becky the Bad enters the scene.

Pssst...sneak in here, Lance...he hasn't figured out where the door is, yet.

Finally, an accord is reached.

That new boy is VIGOROUS!!! He 'bout wore me plum OUT!!

Don't EVEN think about it, Buster!!

So close, and yet so far.....

You sure this fence will hold?

At the end of the day, the boyz share their supper.

All's well that ends well.....
Right?

Getting to Know You, Getting to Know All About You.....

So here it is, breeding season again.

Didn't we just do that?

This year is kinda a new experience.  Moon has been rock steady for us all these years, but, as previously mentioned, it is time to toss a little chlorine in the gene pool.  This year, we have a "lease buck," here on very friendly terms.  Okay.  Ditto is all about being friendly right now.  But i meant that Susan has graciously lent us the buck of my choosing for the duration of breeding season.  When all that is done, we will send him back home, and try a milking season with no bucks so that i can turn every drop of milk into cheese for both our families.  Gonna be real busy next summer, so don't expect much out of me except for yummy delicious cheese.

Ditto and Lancie Boy kinda had a car crash introduction, so i tossed Lance in with the girlz until everyone got used to each other through the fence.  Unfortunately, Lance is a lovin' muffin of very little brain, and twice the size of my girlz.  He seemed perfectly content in with the herd, but doesn't have very good manners, and is too big to bully into line.  Even for Becky the Bad, if you can imagine that.  Ren might have been able to pull it off, but, too late for that.

They have all had a couple of days, and the initial curiosity has worn off, so i decided it was time to try to meld the buck pen again.

This, like all my breeding plans, was a Happy Thought.

Ditto was lookin' for a Love Slave, and Lance wuddn't havin' any.

There wasn't any sparring, as would naturally be expected, just a whole lotta chasin' and courtin'.

I finally walked away--couldn't stand it any more, and there was WAY too much testosterone being exuded for me to get in the pen and separate them.  After about 10 minutes, i didn't hear any songs of love coming from that quadrant, so went back around the corner for a look-see.

They had gone to their separate corners and laid down. 

Lance was by the fence, and when i tried to love on him, my affections were spurned.  He was just plain ticked at me.

Round two then commenced, and as i watched, i thought perhaps i should put a doe in there to take the heat off of Lance. 

So i go in the house and check my records, because this year (don't fall over, Susan,) i have been keeping track of who was in heat, and when, partly because i need a tad more control than the Tigger Method of Breed Planning (just throw open the door and hope for the best) affords me, and partly because i need to do a drive-by breeding with Splendora, taking her over to Queenacres for a rendezvous with Manny.

When i have a look at the "Hot List," i am chagrined. 

Give ya three guesses as to whom the next doe up to the plate is.

Can you say "Cherry Bomb?"

Just my luck.

Let me just state for the record that THAT ain't gonna happen on purpose.

Next closest At Bat is Becky the Bad.

Good enough.

I drag her into the buck pen, and voila!  Ditto ignores her like she was the dorky girl with braces, coke bottle glasses and pigeon toes at the prom (Oh!  Wait!  That's Cherry!)

Ditto continued to chase Lance around, and Becky mosied on over and stuck her head through the fence to eat from the smorgasbord in the south field.

And after all that trouble to get him here.

**Sigh**

Eventually, Ditto realized that there was another goat in the pen, and started harassing Becky, instead.

Now, the ol' girl iddn't known as "Becky the Bad" for nuthin'.

Pretty soon she gave him the slip.  Managed to stay in hiding long enough for Ditto to smooth down his feathers and catch his breath.  She then led the boys out to the buck pasture and everyone had a browse.

By the end of the day, Ditto and Lance were enjoying a somewhat tenuous truce, but truce none the less.

Tune in tomorrow for the pictoral version of this story.

Goodnight, Moon

We do so love our Moon Man. 

But his work here is done.

At least for the next couple of years.

Gotta get a little chlorine in the gene pool, 'coz there ain't much left in the back yard that Moon hasn't been party to in one way or another.

Moon headed to Queenacres today to serve as "clean-up hitter" over there, and perhaps be part of the starting lineup next season.

This is Ditto. 

I have had my eye on Ditto since he was a pup, and am very excited to have him join us this year.  Can't wait to see what his babies look like.

He is such a laid back guy, am thinking it is a good swap, although i am gonna be missin' Moon's lovey dovey ways.  But Susan promised to give him face time, so he will be alright.

The girlz weren't too sure what to think about this big buck getting turned loose in their pen...there was a lot of closing of the ranks and herd moving from one spot to the other while Ditto tried to impress them all with his manliness.  Even the Bob's came to see what all the ruckus was about.

Finally, they settled into position with a fence between them.
Never mind that there is a big wide gap in the fence immediately to the right of them, there was a piece of fence between them, and that was all that mattered.

George was completely displeased to have an unknown chasing his charges around, and was in the kid pen voicing his displeasure, with Ralph backing him up.

Finally, everyone kinda settled down and the girlz went in the corner to whisper about the new guy, so Ditto took the opportunity to go over and talk trash to Moon.

Moon was like, "Hey!!! This is SOOOooooo UNFAIR!!!!  They won't let me anywhere NEAR those girls this year, and here comes this stranger and they just throw him right in there!!!"

After he and Lance had a chance to say goodbye, we loaded Moon up in the back of Susan's truck, and sent him on off to his new Love Shack. 

You're my Booger friend!!