Swimming Chef

The two legged kids have been swimming all summer, lessons and guard start.  The young man that has been running the pool and the programs the last couple of years is a real hunny, and we wanted to do something for him.  When asked what would be a useful prezzy, he requested a book of recipes. 

Easily done.  Baas was in charge of pulling all the recipes together, and Ellie May did the artwork for the cover of the notebook.

The Goat Warp

I have decided there is a Goat Warp between my house and Susan, dear Susan's. 

Kinda like a time warp, but it involves goat behavior and health.  They leave here with or without one set of issues, and arrive at her house with or without another. 

Exhibit A:  Ren.  The most obnoxious biddy we have ever had here.  Bullied every goat in the doe yard, and every person that walked in the doe yard.  Used to head but the two legged kids as she walked by them.  Just coz she could.  She pulled ears and bit the four legged kids.  She was the biggest toot.  Gets to Queenacres Boot Camp, and never makes a wave.  Susan thinks i am making up the stories about the bad behaviour.

Exhibit B:  Snippy, aka Cut & Shoot, aka Snippage, aka Snippity Do Da.  Heads to Susan's for Freezer Camp, is in perfect health.  No problems.  Arrives at Susan's and falls apart at the seams. 

Exhibit C:  Legacy.  Legacy had been on a downhill slide with a known health issue, so we brought her here, thinking we would care for her in her decline.  In the year that we were graced with her presence, i almost never saw evidence of her problem.  She did very well here, until she had a run in with Sancho.  Which is a story for another day. 

Exhibit D:  Moon Pie.  Has had no health issues.  I have been watching everyone for evidence of mineral deficiencies, as we know we are having  trouble as a result of the drought.  Have seen no problems in Pie.  Take her to Queenacres for breeding yesterday, and she steps out of the carrier and promptly gives us plops instead of berries.  Then, as i am on the way home, Susan calls and says Pie has gone down in her pasturns, one of the signs of mineral deficiency.

Exhibit E:  Lace.  Ren had always been herd queen.  Ruled with an iron fist.   During Legacy's tenure with us, we shipped Ren up north.  Although Legacy is one of the wisest and greatest equalizers i have ever known in a herd, Lace decided she should be the Queen of Everything.  Lace made Ren look like a marshmallow.  Lace would run everybody out of the barn if she wanted quiet time.  And if she was  munching in the manger when there was alfalfa hay, she would fight any of them off...from inside the manger.  Lace and Legacy went head to head every single day.  It was awful.  They hated each other.   And Lace was a pig in a goat suit.  Any treats that came out of the kitchen were hers, and she did not have a discriminating palate.  She didn't care what it was, she would eat as much as she could, so no one else could.  Lace has been at Boot Camp for about a month.  I saw her yesterday, and as soon as i walked into the yard, she and Legacy started loving on each other.  Susan says they are like that.  Says that Lace is extremely picky about her treats, and at alfalfa time, waits for the others to get their fill, then steps in to eat what is left. 

I am telling ya, people, there is a Goat Warp in the Universe.

And it keeps sucking my goaties in.

Man O'War

Susan dear Susan sent me a picture of Splendora's grandaddy at her age.

Now we know where the ears came from.

Doesn't he just look like he is gonna be a big burly buck?

Well, trust me, he is!!!

Very appropriately named, very manly Manny.

Bomb Shelters

How do you survive a heat wave when all you have to wear is a heavy fur coat?

You dig a nice deep hole, and then every time you go back to it, you dig a little deeper, to get to the cool dirt. 

Kinda like flipping your pillow to the cool side, i suspect.

Ralph started this one back in June.  His July 4th Hot Dog picture was taken when he was in this hole.  It is in the loaf shed in the sweet gum pen, so when he is in this hole, he has a view of the entire doe yard and barn, buck yards, and most of the chicken and brooder yards.  From his vantage point, he can relax and yet still remain on duty.

The second shelter to turn up gives the boyz a view of the entire pasture, staying out of the sun, yet remaining on duty.

From this picture, i suppose you can see why i got Jed a T-shirt that says:  You know you are a redneck when people passing your house confuse it with Jim Ed's Used Cars and Appliances.

This one turned up next.  Jewels is inspecting the den that goes way under the house, and affords sentry view of the road.

George was not happy about Jewels invading his space, and quickly came and reclaimed it before Jewels could take over.*

I didn't finish taking the pictures before George came back...had wanted to put a yardstick in the hole for perspective.  I tried to put it in with him, but George wasn't too impressed.  I think you get the idea, though.

This is how the boys are surviving the heat.

Here is how Ruby is surviving...

*While Ralph is the more muscular of the two boyz, George is the dominant one.  George does a lot of trash talking, and Ralph is very subservient, to the point of dropping his dinner if George says so.  George holds this sway over Ruby and Maka, as well.  Jewels, however, is another story. 

When we have plenty of milk for the table, we give the extra to the animals.  About a week ago, Ellie set milk out for the boyz.  Ralph started drinking, until George came up and growled at him.  Ralph backed away, and George began drinking.  Jewels then came up and stuck her nose in the bowl.  King George then growled at Jewels, who promptly nipped George's nose and gave a word of warning.  Guess which 125 lb dog backed away and watched quietly while the 12 lb (...ok, 15 lb) Queen drank her fill?

Duck Rodeo

Isabell and The Bobs went for their first swim in the big pond yesterday.

As you can see, the drought has all but claimed our pond.   These guys are standing up in the middle of it.  Jessie and Owens took up permanent residency in the pond across the road two months ago.  I suspect it is spring fed, as it is the only pond around here that still has water to speak of.  Even the creek down the road, that is prominent enough that the entire area is named for it, is dry.  First time i have ever seen it run dry.  This is the same creek that floods and blocks us in at two places when we have lots of rain. 

Isabell and Bob spent about 15 minutes in the pond, then decided they were done.  They were bobbing and weaving all over the pasture, so we had a Duck Rodeo to show them the way back home.

Wish we had audio for this.  Just Whirled Peas lots of honking and quacking.

 Moon and Lance were waiting patiently to hear about the big adventure, once they got back home.  Apparently Sparta didn't care one way or the other.  He is still kinda in a snit about being separated from the girls, anyway.

For the record, the pool water is changed EVERY morning.  Ducks are just as filthy as chickens.  Actually, most of what winds up in the water is soil--they peck at the ground and then go get a drink, and deposit the soil on their bills from the pecking.

Splendid Splendora

Meet Splendora.

She is Splendid.

A little needy, but very, very sweet and loving.

And the ears just kill me.

Splendora is an Andy/Dosidoe kid, litter mate to Veribest, and we can't wait to see what she grows up to be. 

She has a reasonably quiet disposition, unless something is on her mind, and then she can be quite vociferous.  Time will tell whether she turns out to be a no nonsense milky girl like her mama, or a drama queen like her Aunty Pie.  Could go either way at this point.

She is especially dear because she doesn't seem to have any aspirations of flight. 

Unlike others who shall remain nameless.

It's Still Hot

Weeellllll. Guess i am not becoming as technologically advanced as i thought i was.  Getting reports that the picture i posted under this title wasn't downloading.  Gonna have to get back to ya on that. 

In the meantime, just know that it is still hot.

The heat really zaps me, so am planning my days around my naps. 

Go outside for a round of chores, come in and pass out. 
Go back out to fill mangers, come back in and pass out. 
Go outside to feed the dogs, come back in and pass out.

And in addition, the UV rays are frying my brain, or at least causing some kind of heat sink that is slowing down synapse function.  Can't stay vertical long enough to compose a couple of paragraphs for ya.

The other part of the problem is the Summer Bizzies.  Averaging three trips to town a day the last 6 weeks, getting everyone to their appointed activities.  The Gas Nazi is coming unglued at the seams.

Will make it up to you about the second week in August, though, when i will finally be able to reveal one of the time consuming projects happening in this house.  Will be worth the wait.   (I'm SOOOO excited!! <<giggle giggle>>)

How about i leave you with a couple of pictures of one of our survivor chicks?  I believe these are called "Golden Lace Top Hats" aka Polish.  I saw some of these a couple of years ago and tried to get them for Ellie, but was out of luck.  Turns out there were two in the straight run we got from Susan dear Susan.  They move faster than i do, so don't have the shot i want yet, but maybe you will still get a laugh from their silly headdress.  Chickens aren't really my thing, but these are quite beautiful, even if all you can see is afro and beak.

                                          

It's Hot

It is really, REALLY hot here. 

Mackerel and The Baas came by to pick up a couple of bales of hay a few minutes ago (i guess they didn't pick them up enough last month or something,) and Mackerel helped Ellie unload 500#'s of feed from the Farm Buick while they were here (Thank You Mackerel, hunny, for letting me abuse you yet again.)

I wasn't outside but about ten minutes, and i didn't do anything but point and give orders.

By the time i got inside i was drenched and dripping in sweat.

I walked in the house, and wilted into a chair.  Ellie May walked by, patted my hand and said,  "Hell will freeze over before Texas does, Mama."  Truer words....at least it feels that way this summer.

Couple of days ago, i overheard an older lady from somewhere up north correcting a younger woman from around here, telling her that "Ladies don't sweat, dear, they glisten." 

Obviously those fancy broads from north of the Red River got some kind of special dispensation from our Maker on that issue, 'coz down here, we sweat.

Gumshoe

It is a well known fact that i will walk a mile out of my way to step in a wad of bubble gum.

I hate bubblegum.

I don't chew bubble gum.

I don't let my children have bubble gum.

It grosses me out to find it in the trash when it hasn't been encased in paper first.

I really hate bubble gum.

The Crew thinks this is very funny.  When they are finished with their gum, they offer to stick it directly to the bottom of my shoe so that i don't have to worry about making a trip.

Yesterday, they came to help process peaches, and brought me a happy day prezzy.  I love prezzies, truly i do.  And this one is priceless.  I have now been pre-disastered, so i no longer need to worry about watching my step in parking lots and playgrounds.

There are three wads of gum there, all lovingly chewed, just for me, and the background of the shadowbox is all sticks of gum.

They are all so thoughtful.  Is it any wonder i love them so?

Sweet or Salty, Possibly Nutty Toffee Brittle

There are two casesof peaches in my kitchen waiting to be processed, and while rounding up my recipes for peach pie filling and peach salsa, i stumbled across this recipe.  Haven't made it in a while, but think i might throw some together to say thank you to The Crew for helping me slipskin today. 

I have seen lots of versions of this recipe, and am sure you have, too.  Mostly i am posting it because my copy is floating loose in my canning binder, and if i loose it, i will know exactly where to replace it...here!

The beauty of this one is not only that it is a quickie, but how versatile it is.  I have made it with saltines (my favorite,) graham crackers, and even used a generic ritz cracker one time.  It can be topped with any kind of nuts (we prefer slivered almonds or pecans) or chips (chocolate being the go to chip, but addition of peanut butter  or butterscotch chips changes it up a bit,) or both, or you can leave them off.  Here we go:

Line a cookie sheet with foil, then spray the foil. 

Place crackers or cookies side by each on the pan.  If you are using nuts, put them on top.

Bring 1 cup of butter and 1 cup of dark brown sugar to the boil, then simmer a good 5 minutes.

Pour the butter and sugar all over the crackers (and nuts if ya got 'em,) then pop the whole thing in a 350 oven for 6 - 8 minutes or so--you'll know when they are done.  The smoke alarm will go off.

Take them out of the oven, and cover the whole thing in chips.  Or not.  But if you do, let the chips melt, then spread them around.

Let them cool and break into pieces, just get them off the foil as soon as you can handle them.    If not, you'll be sorry.

Think i'll just go make some of these babies right now.

Small Town Life in East Texas

This weekend we went down south a bit to a 50th Anniversary gathering.  The groom's mother was in attendance, and i am still awed by what it must feel like to attend your son's Fiftieth Anniversary.

When asked what the secret was to lasting that long, the bride replied, "Hang in there."  When the groom was asked, he said, "Don't p*** off the cook."  Am thinking they are both right on the mark.

Boo and his bride drove up for the day, as well as my favorite uncle, Uncle Willard, and his lovely companion.  They missed the reunion last month, so i was extra glad to see them. 

I got to sit in on Paul Adeen and Uncle Willard reminiscing about their youth.  They told stories about living in a house in which Bonnie and Clyde had held a hostage, and about their dad helping pull B&C's car out of the Sabine.  Uncle Willard remembered seeing the train come through carrying John Dillinger's car on a flatbed, and the ag teacher taking them on a tour of the prison in Huntsville, and how much of an impression the electric chair made on him.  They talked of the sense of community that they felt, and how people looked after and took care of each other.  Their mother, a widow raising eight boys, nursed the sick and dieing, and then neighbors would share whatever they had with her to help feed all those boys.  They talked of the neighbor with a truck picking everyone up and taking them to the town square on Saturday, and how they "operated out of the back of the truck" all day, going to the movie for a nickel, then having an ice cream cone for a nickel.  Except for their brother Randy, who would spend a nickel on himself, then go to the 5&10 and spend the other nickel on a present for their mother.  These boys are now 74 and 81, and they STILL call him a suck-up.  I treasure those moments, and feel blessed to have witnessed them, and hope they don't mind me sharing.

I would have taken pictures for y'all, but first thing Paul Adeen said to me when i got to town was, "Sure hope you left your camera at home."  Seems Paul had been unaware that Boo had been sizing him up for the "oversized load" banner, so Paul got surprised and Boo got busted.  Several comments were made in agreement with my take on things (except that the sarcophagus is growing on Paul,) and no one took me up on my offer to remove pictures and/or stories, but i decided to reign it in this time anyway.  I guess we are all okay with ourselves, we just don't want any evidence.  (Note to Paul and Boo:  In retrospect, i am feeling much less guilt about the "oversized load" picture.  Am considering it payback for years of "square boozie" torture.) 

Bits and Pieces

Off to another family gathering this weekend, this time to celebrate a 50th Anniversary.  Isn't that wonderful?  I am so amazed that two people can live together for that long and not kill each other.  Or at least cause bodily damage.

Uncle Boo will be there, so let's see if there will be a "finger in the nose" picture to share, or if i finally shamed all three of them into cease and desist.

Note of interest:  When digging the hole the other day, it was noted that at 6 feet deep, the ground is BONE dry.  This is whatcha call a drought, fellers.

Because we are all scurrying around trying to get out of here, i am going to leave you with these two little tidbits from The Crew. 

Baas has figured out how to make the most amazing breakfast cookie...she took one third of the Granola recipe i shared a while back, added two eggs and a cup of flour, then baked them.  She has a mess o' babies, so she makes her cookies "family sized," and the ones i saw were the size of hockey pucks (or at least air hockey pucks, <<wink>>) and one of those and a glass of milk was the equivalent of a bowl of oatmeal, if you ask me.

And Breezy stumped me with the following riddle that was concocted in her own little mind:

note:  you have to abandon all discussion of the misleading term "pre-" historic, one of my favorite arguments ;o)



Q:  What do you get when you cross prehistoric man with a Nomad?

A:  Meanderthal

Y'all take care, i'll talk atcha next week.

Say Sister, Can You Spare Some Swedish Fish For a Fellow American?*

It occurs to me that i have only posted one picture of the lovely and talented Chickory Blossom.

This is a travesty for which i humbly apologize.

Chickory B is a Legacy daughter, and mother of The MarAUDer.

And we share a birthday.

She likes alfalfa hay, Swedish Fish, Twizzlers, any kind of fruit or cookie, and me.

She has a sassy personality, is spoiled rotten, the original "lap goat," and i wouldn't trade her for anything.  Doesn't hurt that she has the best teats in the doeyard, either. 

Chickory was a summer kid, and we had a terrible time getting her up and running, but has since turned out to be the star of the doeyard, and my personal favorite.  Chickory and i have a special relationship. 

Because of all the difficulty we had in the beginning, she trusts me completely. 

As you know, we do not vaccinate here, and do things as naturally as we can.  We purchased Lace from a vaccinated herd, and learned just how important it is to do things the way we do.  Lace had NO immune system whatsoever.  The first year she was here, we had a major bout of something every month, it seemed.  During one spell, her rumen shut down.  I had been waiting for the tell tale sign that it was time to do a cud transfer to kick start the rumen, and, in typical goat fashion, she did not give the sign until three o'clock one morning.  I had gotten up and gone out in my nightgown to check on her, not expecting it to be the moment, but there it was.  I was standing there with no gloves or syringes or another pair of hands or anything.  I was deciding who i was going to wake up to help me, and whose jaws i was going to pry open to steal the cud.  I turned around, and there was Chickory, looking up at me with love in her eyes, chewing a wad of cud like it was bubble gum.  I reached into this goat's mouth with my fingers three times to retrieve cud and then inserted it into Lace's mouth.  Lace fought it like a goat, but Chickory just let me reach in and steal her supper every time.  Never fought me, never ran from me, never tried to bite me (and those molars made for grinding branches are vicious, folks.)  She totally trusted me, and let me do what i needed to. 

Up to that point, Susan and others had teased me for how spoiled Chickory was.  That nite, i decided that it was okay, and i will always keep a spoiled goat in the barn. 

Or a couple.

(*Yes, we watched Treasure of the Sierra Madre recently.)

Osama Bin Llama

Osama went to meet his Maker today. 

And it didn't take a team of Navy SEALS. 
Just one cranky old man with a shotgun. 

He crashed hard and heavy, and as his final tweak, went down sprawled out up against the main gate to the pasture. 

After we dragged him over to the side so we could open the gate, we went in the house to prepare for the deed.  I looked out the window, and Sancho had come up to see what was going on, leaned down to give Osama a sniff.  I knew it was truly time when Osama pinned back his ears and tried to spit but couldn't.  Went out with his boots on.  He may not have been able to give the donkey what for, but everyone could see that he was ticked, nonetheless.

He was lots of fun while we had him.  Gonna miss that freak.

Having a hard year. 

The MarAUDer

Is this the face of an instigator?

Does this look like a ninja goat?

Could this possibly be a troublemaker?

I thought not.

We're Having a Heat Wave, A Tropical Heat Wave......

What did you have for the Fourth of July? 

We had Hot Dogs.

Oh yeah, and Roasted Llama.  We hear it is quite the delicacy in South America.

Let Freedom Ring Y'all

<<singing theme song>>

Annoying Man, Annoying Man,
If he can't Annoy you, no one can....

<<key change>>

Annoying Man, Annoying Man,
He drives you crazy with out a plan...

We join our story with Annoying Man and his trusty sidekick Obnoxious Dog--oblivious to the fact that it is a national holiday in which we honor our freedom and independence, as well as the nineteenth anniversary of my indentured servitude--jumping on the bed, disrupting my quiet reverie and Stephanie Plum mystery, insisting that they are both starving.  This is unusual because......????

At the same time, in another room....Grumpy Girl is trying to break down the door to the solitary bathroom in the Custome Cave.  Cranky Man, hearing the commotion, descends on the scene in a hail of rocks and dust to proclaim the bathroom his lair (well, he has to have a throne somewhere,) dispensing with the citizens of TUH by assigning various chores and other tasks of torture. 

As the citizens scatter, i emerge from my quiet, comfy corner and allow them to wait for the sustenance that will give them strength before performing their appointed tasks.  I prepare a full breakfast, including protein, potatoes and macadamia nut waffles with coconut syrup, because i am....Permissive Mom.

To be continued.....(when something good happens)

Whodunnit?

I just wanna know which one of you snuck into my brooderhouse with an air compressor last nite and inflated my ducks!!!

Isabell and The Bobs doubled in size overnight, and their little winglets are twice as long as they were yesterday. 

And why did you do it to the ducks, but not the chickens?  They are the ones i want to move on out!

Who is responsible for this??

Ellie May's 4H Poultry Story: Epilogue

So there you have it. 

Ellie worked long and hard on that story, and was rewarded with a first place medal for the district judging.  At the awards banquet, she also received a trophy for livestock judging (i forget the particulars,) then received the Silver Star award (only one recipient each year.)

Jethro received the Clover Kid award (one recipient each year for the kids that are active but ineligible for contests due to age) and the Outstanding Camper award.  He got that one for bravery.  At the summer camp that year, they had a contraption set up that was about three stories high.  They would strap the kids into a harness, have them climb up the three story ladder to a platform, then would sort of swing them out over the lake.  It was very scary looking.  I wouldn't have done it.  Jethro, being his mama's child, didn't want to do it.  The story I heard is that the kids and adults in his group spent a lot of time talking him into the harness and up the ladder.  He tried to back out before they swung him, but the signals didn't reach the operator in time, and he went flying.  As he was sailing out over the lake, he screamed, "I HATE YOU ALL!!!!!!"  I was mortified when i heard this, but the leaders assured me it was not a contemptuous scream, and they all understood he was just scared, and had laughed about it.  Several months later, Jethro conceded that it had been kind of fun, but he had no desire to do it again.  That's ma boy!

Note:  There was a fingers in the nose picture in the award picture series.  Uncle Boo strikes again.

Ellie May's 4H Poultry Story: Part III

After I stitched up Cherry, I became known as something of a chicken whisperer.  Friends would call me if they had a problem and I would tell them how to fix it.  One day I got a call from some friends that had a chicken with a broken leg.  I grabbed the medical bag and went to their house, and got to work.  I moved the bone back in to place and then splinted it with Popsicle sticks.  I remembered in horse club how they had told us that if a horse has a broken leg the horse would have to be suspended.  I figured it would be the same with chickens.  I mad a sling out of an old pair of boy's underwear, and suspended the chicken so there was no weight on her leg, then put food and water within reach.  In about one month the hen was healed and laying eggs again.

I had many other interesting experiences this spring.  One of our goats, Ren, had a hard time giving birth to her triplets.  I had to reach inside her to find the last one and pull it forward so my mom could get it the rest of the way out.  It was sad because the baby was dead and one of her two surviving kids got stepped on and died.  After Ren had her babies she was too weak to get on the milking stand and I had to milk her on the ground.  Mom and I would give her medicine every day and she was soon all better.  Ren's remaining baby was very sassy.  Ren gave good milk and Mom and I made lots of cheese, lotion and more from it.  (rerun here, sorry guys, forgot she told this story)  Also this spring, one of my brother's rabbits rejected her babies and all but one of the died.  He gave the bunny to me to take care of and I named the rabbit Stewy.  Since our cat had kittens the day before, I took the bunny to her and got her to accept it with her litter, and the bunny to nurse on her.  The bunny was thriving and growing for a couple of days, but was smaller than the kittens and got squooshed.  One other thing I did was when one of my chickens died, I dissected it and found out why it died, so that I could keep it from happening to my other chickens.  We had been loosing birds from a meat pen, which we usually didn't have trouble with.  Ellie asked, "Mom, can I have a scalpel?"   I said, "Um, okay, just don't use it on your brother."  She came back in the house about half an hour later and told me that the heart and lungs were underdeveloped.  After researching, she determined that we had a feed issue.  Changed the feed and quit loosing birds.

I have had a great time in 4H so far.  I have learned many things that help us every day on our homestead, and these experiences keep leading me in directions I never thought of.  For example, I recently tattooed my first goat kids, so maybe next year I will take a try at disbudding.  And Mom and I just got a microscope and are learning to examine our animals for internal parasites.  I have learned how to count Haemonchus contortus parasite eggs and to identify coccidia in goat samples, and will be learning about chicken parasites and protozoa next.  She now does about half of the fecal exams around here, and is able to identify parasites in all of our animals.  Doesn't mind running the slides, but isn't wild about collecting the samples.   I am also learning what medicine to treat the goats with to get rid of worms and other disease.  There is so much to learn, and I can't wait to find out what is next.  Some day, I might even be a vet!  Well, she got over that one.  But she has since spent a lot of time studying herbs and their medicinal uses. 

I was working on Part III the other nite when the storm hit.  I had loaded a series of pics Ellie May had taken of one of her broody hens and her chicks, that included hatching chicks and some antics as they grew.  Sorry, but it currently takes me about half an hour to load each picture.  Am just going to save that for another time. 

Will share this one, today, though.  Ellie's story had some great pictures and captions, am sorry i lost them.  Whirled Peas.  At the end of the story is a set of pictures in storyboard, like a cartoon.  We had this vile rooster--nobody liked him and he was just plain mean and aggressive.  He was a Black Crested White Polish, and Ellie originally named him Edgar Allen Polish.  When his true personality came out, i started calling him Crazy Eddy.  In the storyboard (captions in red,) the first picture is of Crazy Eddy attacking Ellie as she is walking by minding her own business.  Crazy Eddy makes his challenge.  The second picture is of Ellie grabbing him by his tail feathers.  Ellie May exacts her revenge.  The third picture is a very contrite Eddy in Ellie's arms, with no tail feathers.  Don't mess with the Chicken Whisperer.  

Ellie May Presenting Edgar Allen Polish

Truth of the matter is that Eddy with no tail feathers was a couple of days after the first two were taken.  The dogs don't kill the chickens, but that doesn't mean they don't smack the ones that need it.  When the roos get out of line, the dogs pull out their tail feathers.  Takes them down a notch or two until they grow new ones.  Apparently Eddy spurred the wrong dog.  We finally had enough of Crazy Eddy, and turned him into sausage.  Everyone cheered the morning i fried and served him.  I expected a major production when i went to butcher him, but oddly, he was very quiet, and didn't put up a fight.