Nighty-Night All

After chores I sometimes stand in the dark at the back of the barn, or the East End as the former owners called it, which is way in the back as my barn is 240 feet long. The piney ridge looms large over the farm and when the moon rises it is really spectacular with the spikes of the tall pines silhouetted against the white light. No light tonight, not even any stars. The sky is a soft grey, looking like weather is coming. I drove to work today in light snow and it continued most of the day. We might get big snow this weekend. I have a full load of hay coming, 200 bales of the last second cut Mr. Postma has, for $700. The new elevator motor I need costs $350. The tractor parts I need to continue the restoration of my 8N are around $300. I can't have the motor and parts both, so we'll continue to stack by hand and keep working on the tractor. I only know of two other people who farm at my school, and they do Christmas trees. Smart people. I have to work hard to get all this money back at wool shows. You can imagine why I scoff at people who buy commercial yarn and cheap wool roving from big outfits to spin or dye. You will only see my own wool and yarn from small sheperds like me at my booth. Billy Goat is doing fine. I had to make a decision this morning - leave him home or carry him to school. Matt was teaching all day at his facility and I was concerned about stressing him too much at just two weeks old. If I took him I would be sneaking and hiding him all day, or leaving him in the van where he would be very lonely and probably scream his head off. Did I tell you the story of the time I took Fiona to Voorhees High School in New Jersey? I had her in my old BMW, in a crate, and would run out to the parking lot every two hours with her bottle. She was very, very tiny. I went out to feed her and two security people were waiting for me at the car. Someone had reported livestock in the parking lot! They were very nice and suggested I bring her to the ag room. Now the ag room consisted of just a handful of kids who talked about farming. They called themselves FFA, but didn't know that meant Future Farmers of America, in fact, one denied it when I asked! Anyway, today I left Billy Goat at home. I filled his belly before I left, early as I had a meeting before school started, and told Holly to take good care of him. I knew if any of the other dogs came near Billy Goat that Holly would jump in, but I worried about Holly being a little too motherly and chewing on him. I worried all day and flew home without stopping anywhere. I opened the door of the apartment and there he was, tiptoeing around, doing his little dance. I made his bottle quickly and he drank and drank. I think he was better off for staying home with his friends. I wish I could put him in the hay mow with the other adorable babies, but their mothers might butt him around, or he could fall down a hole, or the mothers could push him down a hole. If I can just keep him alive for another two weeks until Kim comes from Canada to pick him up, I'll be thrilled. I sat in the hay mow and watched the baby goat circus do their performance on the tires. OH, they are just so cute.