Monthly Archives: December 2017

Mountain Hiking in Late December??

We’ve had almost no snow so far this winter, and the days have largely been in the 50’s so it’s perfect weather to be out. I’ve had Sox, Westin, and Lightning at my house for breeding purposes, but Westin and Lightning finished their job and needed to go back to their new home. Their owner came to get them today and before they took the boys, we all went out for a little hike and picnic lunch.

Sputnik got to carry the food and warm clothing because he loves carrying the pack. It makes him feel important. He’s gotten to where I no longer need to tie him up to saddle him and load the panniers. Today I didn’t even need to hold his halter while I hooked the britchen! I’m very happy with how well he’s come along despite his huge aversion to being touched, especially near the tail.

Finn has a halo circling each horn. I’m not sure he’s angelic enough to deserve this. Phil has taken to calling him “Grumpenstein” lately because he sulks and doesn’t want to take treats when we make him go out with us. He’s not as bad as last year, but I’m convinced that it’s a combination of not enough work and being in rut season, which he’s convinced he’s still part of. Finn hates leaving “his” girls at home with the bucks.

The camera seems to have caught me during an awkward moment when I was imitating the poor dope smoker we encountered at the trailhead. We’ve seen the old fellow walking around Rye lot lately and he’s done something strange at every encounter. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t drive or own a car. He’s always high as a kite and the cloud from his stinky joint had me choking as we made our way to the trail. We saw him again as we were driving home afterwards. He was still smoking, and he stepped into the road, held his jacket out like a cape, and did a bullfighter imitation in front of our truck. He seems fairly harmless, but I wonder how long it will take before someone accidentally runs over him.

Is Finn singing?

Little Lightning. What a cute baby! Tigerlily is expecting Lightning’s babies in April.

Westin is a very gung-ho little goat. He loaded himself into the truck today and he loves cookies.

Westin also loves scrub oak! He’s making a great lip here!

Beulah Yule Log – A Goat-O-Rama Tradition

As always, what an incredibly fun weekend!! Beulah really knows how to do Christmas up right, and we love being part of it!

The festivities started on Saturday night with the parade of lights. As usual there seem to be more people riding in the parade than watching it. This year we asked the folks leading the parade to please go at a walking pace because last year the fire trucks took off and left us running behind in pitch darkness. They did a great job not leaving Santa and his goat behind this year. In fact, the color guard led the parade on foot, so it went very smoothly. Unfortunately, we forgot the camera so there are no parade photos this year.

Phil dressed as Santa and drove his team and wagon all decked out in lights. I wore my elf hat and threw peppermint candy to the expectant crowds. The goats were very well behaved and we only had one small hiccup at the end when Phil turned to go down the last hill. Somehow the right rein on Sputnik’s bit came unhooked, so when Phil pulled on the reins to steady the team for the steep grade, only the left-hand reins engaged so the goats hooked a sharp turn and ran right off the road and almost hit the church. We pulled out of the parade to fix the equipment failure, but the folks who didn’t know what happened thought maybe our goats suddenly got religion!

Next day we headed back to Beulah for the Yule Log Festival. The goats are an expected part of the event now and people look forward to seeing them. Here we are next to last year’s Yule Log. Every year, a piece of the Yule Log is saved to start the Yule Fire next year. The tradition has been continued in Beulah for something like 65 years now.

As always, folks loved Finn and Sputnik. Sputnik preferred to be fed pine boughs rather than submit to petting, but Finn soaked up any and all attention.

This lovely lady had him falling asleep completely!

The kids were a lot of fun while we were at the lodge. They petted the goats and fed them fresh pine boughs

But once we started on our hunt for the Yule Log, Sputnik got a little testy. The kids especially were crowding in close and touching his flanks, which made him jump around and run into people in front of him. I had to ask the kids to give us space so he could calm down. He’s come a long way for a goat that didn’t used to let people touch anywhere on his body, but he’ll probably never be completely comfortable in a crowd.

This was the warmest year for the Yule Log hunt and we got hot as we searched through the woods. Phil and I were very close to finding it this year, and Phil is pretty sure he even looked right at it and maybe walked over it. But there were lots of logs in the woods, so it was easy to miss! Our goats were no help at all apparently!

But they made up for it by helping pull the Yule Log back to the lodge. It was far afield this year so they had their work cut out for them. The girl who found it got to ride it all the way back with her brother. What fun!

We even made it into the local news again this year!

In Memoriam

This is our first Christmas without Cuzco in over fifteen years. A friend gave me this little figurine last spring after we said goodbye. It’s been sitting on my desk ever since (except when it came with us to Lake City for the NAPgA Rendezvous in June). I decided he needed a place on our tree.

I kept the hood ornament from our Buick and have been hanging it on our tree for a few years now. Cuzco loved riding in that car, so I hung the hood ornament near his likeness.