The Goat Chronicles....

As most of you know, Ty and I were raised on ranches and have spent most of our lives around cows and horses. Well now we can add goats to our repertoire. How this all got started was that Ty works with a guy in Abilene who raises Boer goats. Ty had told him we needed something to mow the weeds down around the place, and this guy was actually looking for some pasture to put some of his goats on while they are breeding back. Long story short- we made a trade- lawn mowing for pasture- and off to Abilene we went to pick up the goats on a Friday afternoon.

We have had the goats for a week now and to say the least it has not been boring. In this short time we have patched fence, retrieved escape artist goats (who crawl under the fence), and rescue goats from getting their heads stuck in the fence- some of them more than once (we have one that's up to 4). Thank goodness they are gentle, if not a little spoiled, as it sure makes it easy to do stuff with them. All it takes is a can of feed and you can pretty much get them to do whatever you want them to. Trey has sure enjoyed having them around and would feed them 4 or 5 times a day if we would let him, not to mention he thinks he needs to go swimming in their water tubs. And if he can't swim he seems to think that his trucks should- in fact I had to rescue a dump truck this morning which managed to get up and over the fence and into the water.

All in all though it has been a good deal and fun for us to have some livestock around again. We should be bringing our horses back from New Mexico this fall when we go to help Ty's mom work cows- that'll just add more fun to the mix (which we're very much looking forward to.) Ty and I actually are starting to feel like country people again and are shedding the city slicker as fast as we can. I've added some pictures and stay tuned for more.

They like to be near you... here they are hanging out with Ty as he ties fence.

Obviously there's plenty for them to eat.

As you can see- typical goat behavior. No cars to stand on- trailer will work fine. At least we don't have the African goats that climb trees!

Ahh..shade.

Our little goat herder- Trey thinks it's great fun to make them go where he wants them to (or rather chases them to).

Fun with New Friends!

A couple of weekends ago some new friends of ours here in San Angelo, the Reynolds', invited us to the Cotton Festival in Miles for the parade. We had a great time hanging out with them and watching the parade and checking out the booths at the festival. I didn't get pictures of the whole parade but I managed to get a few of Trey and his new friend Brenna. They had a lot of fun waving at everyone in the parade and picking up candy. Brenna's sister, Addie, was riding on the 4-H Shooting Sports float. (Sure made me miss my old 4-H kids in New Mexico.)

Look...a tractor's coming!"

"See-I told you." (You'll notice that Trey has a nice busted lip going on, he got tangled up trying to crawl out from under the pickup where he'd been "helping" his dad and crashed in the driveway. Little boys with their bumps and bruises....mine seems particularly prone to them.)

Brenna (on the right) and Trey were impressed with the big tractors.

They sure had fun waving and saying hi. I think that Trey said hi to just about all of the tractors and 4-wheelers.

No parade is complete without candy. Karri Anne (Brenna's mom) has the whole candy thing under control- she brought bags for the kids to put their candy in.

Eventually though Trey had to go hang out with the guys and went to sit with Ty and Daman in the pickup.

After about four days of rainy and gloomy weather we sure did enjoy the sunshine, even if it was humid. After the parade we went and walked around the booths that were set up and then had lunch at a great little Mexican food place in Miles. We really enjoyed the day with the Reynolds' and look forward to doing more together soon.

Playin' in the Mud

After two days of being cooped up in the house because of the rain, Trey and I needed to get out and get a little fresh air. It's a good thing that he has a pair of rubber boots because I don't think I would be able to get his shoes clean otherwise!










We didn't stay out for very long- but I think he had fun...

Our Little Monkey

Well- as most kids will- Trey has discovered that trees are for more than just shade. I snapped some shots of him trying out his "monkey legs" while climbing the mesquite tree in the back yard. He did pretty good for his first time out.

These two are my favorites.

My Salvaged Rose Bush (Among Other Things)

Taking advantage of the cool and rainy weather I stepped out to snap some pictures of my rose bush and some of the other wildflowers that we have blooming right now.

We inherited the rose bush when we bought the place and the poor thing was pretty scraggly looking. I trimmed it up a little bit, and low and behold with the rains we have been getting it started to put on some new growth, and against odds put on buds. Despite the grasshoppers I actually have some blooms! It had rained earlier this morning and there were still some drops of water on the petals which made for some neat pictures.









Some of the other things that we have blooming around most would consider weeds-mainly for their ability to cause stuffy noses. Either way I thought they were pretty.......

Our "Neighbors" Came to Visit

We had some visitors over the Labor Day weekend. I was in the kitchen making cookies and happened to look out the window and spotted our local white tail deer right at our backyard fence. Needless to say I was trying to find my camera and be quiet so that I could get some shots. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get outside because I didn't want to scare them off. Ty and I counted a total of 8 with 5 does, two fawns who still have their spots, and a young buck. It was pretty neat and reminds of us of how lucky we are to be back in the country. However, since Ty made a trip to back end of our property over this past weekend with his chainsaw to clear the brush out of the fence I'm pretty sure that they won't be back for a while. That and he fixed the hole that they were coming through. Apparently they had quite a trail!

It was kinda hard to take pics out the window and through the rose bush and tree, but somehow I managed to get it done!

As for Ty's fence fixing- not only because it was something that had to be done- we're getting ready to get some goats to help with the weeds and undergrowth out in the pasture. We should be picking them up this weekend so stay tuned for more on that...

Trey's Antics

As promised here are some pictures of Trey's latest antics. It's a day to day thing with him, and you never know what he'll be up to!

The Many Faces of Trey...

Happy


Hmmm....


"I'm helping unpack- really."


"I look like I could save the world!"


Oops- caught by the fashion police- or maybe this is the uniform for fishing in Texas?!


Before we left Midland, Trey and Ty had the idea to make a fort out of our sofa pillows. (I'm still not sure who had the most fun.)






We found out that it's been was a wet August for San Angelo this year. Not only have we needed the rain, but some have been enjoying it more than others....

"Ahh...real mud."


"It's kinda sticky...."


"Who said you have to be a pig to be happy in the mud?"


We're praying that everyone gets the rain that we know is really needed!

And then there was Football.....

"This big thing goes on my head?"


"oomf- I guess I was supposed to catch that one huh?"



Too bad I didn't have my camera outside when he climbed in his power wheels with his football helmet on and said, "Now I can go crash!" He promptly ran into one of the oak trees in the front yard.


Just a good one that I liked.


Hope you all enjoyed looking at them as much as I enjoyed taking them!