Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore...

Today Male Handler (MH) rode his bike to the nearby milk shed (called Griegos, because the owners family came from Greece way back when...) to pick up a round of cheese. 8.5kg worth of cheese (18.7lbs) for Uy1,060 pesos (US$48). The handlers were running low as the last round was bought in July.

Mari and Asuncion, the proprietors, wanted to know why Female Handler (FH) never road the bike to get cheese. Well, the handlers have ONE bike, and FH was consumed with another task, but she did send good wishes and hoped that they were conveyed.

Anyway...that's not what this story is about. Just before turning into Griegos, MH spotted road kill on the side of the road. He was pretty certain it was fresh and it was a fox.

Given his recent challenge skinning, he was keen to try it again.

Thankfully first he brought the cheese home. Had a cup of coffee....thought about how strange it might be to pick up road kill in an area where he knew the neighbors (it's one thing when you're a complete outsider and you can remain anonymous, but when everyone knows you're slightly eccentric, this only adds fuel to that image if caught putting a fox in your backpack and quickly peddling back up the hill).

He waited about 40 minutes until he thought that at least the milk shed would be shut tight until the evening hours...and then he left on a mission.

Three cars passed him while curling the fox into the backpack.  Probably Argentinians anyway...

After arriving home, the fox went into the refrigerator. Double bagged. ...to be dealt with after lunch.

After lunch, the skinning task began....but time was short, so was again bagged and stuck back into the refrigerator. This time three bags because things were getting ripe.

What is humorous is that after all that...MH was grossed out with finding two ticks on the fox. MH hates ticks. He really hates ticks. But he gutted a fox, and really WHAT does he expect to find from a wild animal in early Spring. Apparently not two ticks!

I've got my own red meat

Not to be outdone by the Handlers, but after watching last Sunday’s full day of carcass dismantling, I have been busy this week with my own Tucu Tucu population control. It just seriously wipes me out because like the Handlers, I waste absolutely nothing.

But…secretly I’m just stretching so I can poke Keika because …

…just because…

…I can.

25 meters long!

Did you know that a goat’s small intestine is 25 meters (82ft) long?

Male Handler (MH) was considering using it as sausage casing, but has decided instead to mix it into laap (a Thai and Laotian recipe).

While hearing all the minute details of Tontin’s anatomy, dissection, and subsequent meals over Skype the other day, I overheard mini-Female Handler saying “Mama don’t ask me how I know this but for those people allergic to latex, goat intestines are the alternative material of choice for condoms.”

Uh…ok.

Thank You Tontin

October 16, 2011 - August 18, 2013

A note to MH

Dearest Male Handler,

I miss you. I miss your slaps on my backside. I miss our constant banter. I miss snuggling on your lap.

If I should meet an early demise, I just want to state for the record that I did not eat all the Maria cookies. She's going to blame me like she always does, but IT WASN'T ME!

Love,
Ricky

Family

Family--what a precious thing family is! Male Handler has gone north to surprise his Mom for her birthday. After 32 1/2 hours of travel time, he has arrived, and Mom was quite emotionally surprised!

Female Handler (FH) is holding down the farm, and Murphy's Law has thrown in some challenges, naturally.

Timi was late going into heat by two days leaving the success of this resting fully on FH shoulders. This would probably be one of the last opportunities before spring arrived, and FH wasn't going to miss it.

 Timi is in the foreground and batting her tail. Sonny is in the background getting a good whiff.

Early this morning he suddenly "GOT IT"...and what was required of him. How does this happen? Who educates him? There's no stack of PlayGoats tucked under the hay. There's no 50 Shades of Grey Goats circulating on the farm. Or is this just knowledge in the recesses of his brain and suddenly makes sense when he's physically mature? Timi looks rather large, but in fact she's normal size. Her winter coat is about 3" thick which makes her seem more on the plus size. We sometimes pretend she's a sheep as a scene of sheep grazing in the front seems peacefully pastoral, rather than a goat who will eat every ornamental within a 1 kilometer radius but will thumb their nose at grass. Have you noticed the chances are greater for sheep to be props on the cover of Architectural Digest and slim to none for a goat! I digress...

And we have the vice grip going on...and success. But just to make sure, we arranged for at least 4 events over the course of the day. Sonny was exhausted. Timi was longingly looking for more. 

All indications look good that the goat family will expand on January 5, 2014.

The scene...

This was the setting of her birthday lunch...and Mother Nature cooperated by offering sun, a light breeze out of the northwest, and temps warm enough for the Handlers to actually remove the 4th layer of clothing. I, of course, provided my normal feline entertainment.

She can feel the love...!

Sunday sleep in

The bed emptied early this morning...except for one who decided it was Sunday and what's the hurry...

Evening happenings

Wednesday evening we had a spectacular light show with the setting sun.

Thursday evening was 100% chaos as the western fence had been breached and 8 cows were on the loose in the orchard. Ordinarily having cows nearby would seem like a quiet pastoral scene, but not when they are running in between almond trees full of plump buds.

Male Handler immediately morphed into a banchee. Forgive me for not having a picture of the scene but I was too focused on whether we would end up with a cow in the living room before the night was up.