Farm Fresh Blog

Here is my Valentine!

  He is in deep thought about land and leases and doesn't know I am taking his picture.  Other Half is rather elusive when you have a camera pointed at him.  At the moment, he is up to his butt in snow.  I had some snow pictures of he and Oli that I FORCED him to have another agent take, but I can't get my blasted computer to recognize them in the email that he sent, soooooo.... here is one from a couple of months ago. 

We aren't getting to spend Valentine's Day together, but we are spending quite a bit of time on the phone this morning because I'm selling goats today. 

The conversations have gone something like this:

"I have 10 different people who want to buy goats, but I think most of them actually want to EAT my goats and the other half are just TELLING me that they want breeding goats but they are secretly going to EAT my goats too."

There is a long silence.  Then he says, "This is a business, sell the goats to anyone who pays cash. Don't let them negotiate. No deals. Full price for everyone. That guy who wants a deal on all of them is only trying to take advantage of you because you're a woman. Stand your ground. Full price for everyone."

(I secretly want to let them go cheaply to anyone who will hug them and feed them and ruffle their ears. He knows this.)

The first lady on the list lived 30 minutes away.  She said she was en route NOW!  The second guy on the list tried to buy them ALL over the phone.  I told him another lady had first dibs because she called first. She didn't want all of them.  He pushed harder, informing me that I could save myself lots of headaches by just selling everything to him. Nope.  The other lady was promised that if she got here first, she'd have first pick.  The third guy wanted to buy everything but wanted a package deal.  Huh?  He was #3 out of 10 people who wanted those goats. 

First lady arrives.  She has a stock trailer in tow.  Hmmmm . . . serious buyer.  She and Husband expertly select the best of the crop.  I am saddened to see Bubbles go, but know that she is one of the best and I don't "think" this lady is actually planning on eating these goats. They have a good eye for goats.  Pays cash and drives off happy.

Second man arrives - in a mini-van!  He snatches up remaining goats.  I ask him where he plans on putting them. 

"In the van."

Friends and Neighbors, I would have paid money to videotape that.  I sorely wished I had my camera, but decided that was the epitome of "unprofessional" and since for today, without Other Half in town, I was pretending to be the Rancher in the family. So I resisted the urge to run into the house and grab up the Canon.  Instead, I helped him catch and load goats. 

Here are the photos I didn't take that I sooooo wanted to share with you:

#1 - Otis in the driver's seat

#2 - Goat in front passenger's seat staring at me through rear-view mirror

#3 - Goat leaping from Mini-van when door was opened to remove said goat from driver's seat.

#4 - Goats staring at me through rear window of Nissan Quest.

#5 - Otis sleeping under steering wheel.

#6 - Children happily holding goats in back seat.  (They are not going to be any happier than I am if their dad butchers those goats.) 

So now I have money in my pocket and far fewer goats.  I'm a bit sad.  I don't want them eaten.  I know, they're goats.  Goats are born to be eaten, but still, I'm fond of some of them.  Other Half pointed out that if the coyotes ate them, they wouldn't pay for them first. Point well taken.

Briar is in BIG TROUBLE.  She was evicted from the sheep pasture this morning.  While I was busy selling goats, Miss Briar was busy messing with Hulk, the ram lamb we want to keep.  Now Hulk has bloody ears.  Briar is about to be thrown back into the x-pen when not supervised.  She is clearly still too young.  Her lamb buddies are just not as tough as other puppies. They break . . . And tear. And Mom gets pissed.