Pongo had a rough first couple of days. It took him about 48 hours to finally start getting up and walking on his own. Phil or I would go out every hour or two and give him a bit of physical therapy in the form of standing him up, supporting him as he shuffled along, … Continue reading A Rocky Start →

Look who’s into campfires now! Rocky Balboa starting hanging around the campfire for the first time a few weeks ago and has spent more time at each subsequent one. We have to watch him because he tends to be a fire walker when he’s not too busy inhaling the smoke. Ah… good ol’ Rocky Mountain … Continue reading Rambo and Rocky’s Mountain High →

I know a lot of folks are happy to escort 2020 to the door, but Phil has been saying that 2021 will saunter in, look back at 2020 and say, “Here, hold my beer!” The first week of 2021 certainly proved exciting for me! In almost 42 years of life I’ve never once had to … Continue reading Welcome 2021, or “Kids, Don’t Try This at Home!” →

Phil and I headed back to one of our favorite goat packing destinations for our annual “goat vacation” this year: Utah! We started out near the town of Ferron, home of our friend Herb Flower who was the guide and host for the first week of our trip. In Ferron we met up with several … Continue reading 8th Annual Hassey “Goat Vacation” – Utah: Day 1 →

As I look back on 2018, I see a year of contrasts: Joy and Sorrow; Gain and Loss; Triumph and Tragedy. We started the kidding season early with Skeeter and Blackbird arriving February 1st and providing endless entertainment on long winter nights as we practically turned them into house goats. We’ve had a lot of … Continue reading Reflections… →

The ultimate destination for our goat vacation was Taos, NM. We rented a nice cabin through AirBnB which turned out to be perfect for bringing our goats. It was in a farming area with cows in the pasture next door, and there was enough area in our yard to tether the goats out when we … Continue reading Seventh annual Hassey “Goat Vacation” Day 3: The Cave and the Overlook →

I turned the goats loose after breakfast and Sputnik soon settled himself on a sunny little perch on a mossy rock. This morning I waited until the llama saddling was well underway before I began packing up my goats. But it didn’t matter. Soon my goats and I settled back down while Alexa and Gayle wrestled with Tuvoc … Continue reading Multi-species pack trip: Day 3 →

Okay, get ready for a boatload of photos! Our first full day in Utah, Herb took us to explore some of the Morrison Formation. This type of desert landscape is all over Utah and consists of mostly purple and white banded hills with rocky outcroppings. Herb informed us that here be dinosaur fossils! The steeper bits made … Continue reading Exploring the Morrison Formation →

Phil and I decided to attend the North American Packgoat Rendezvous in Island Park, ID this year, so we packed up Finn and Sputnik and headed out on a Monday morning. The Rendezvous wouldn’t start until Thursday afternoon, but Phil and I wanted to stop for a couple of days in Utah on the way. … Continue reading Two Days in Utah →