Happy Anniversary to the Senior Handlers

Through thick and thin...50 years! That is cause for celebration. The Handlers celebrated in absentia, a hemisphere away.

Two goat forelegs and butternut squash on the barbie. The pumpkin seeds toasting in the pan at bottom left were later sprinkled on top of a mixture of red bell pepper, homegrown tomatoes, and lengua de vaca ("cow's tongue," a tangy green that grows wild in the almond orchard).

 But where's my special dinner?

 For me?!?!?!

 I get to lick the cutting board clean! BONUS! (Please don't cringe, Female Senior Handler...)

  Hmmmmm, maybe I'll go clean the grill...

Pure bliss...

Happy Sunday. Happy Anniversary!

Sharing my kill

I caught a perdiz comun the other day. They are the common bird all over Uruguay and nest in the tall grasses. It's been awhile since I've done that. I now remember why....

...the feathers really drive me insane. They stick to my tongue and are hard to get off.

In the spirit of generosity, I gave that dog a wing.

You'd think it was Christmas by the way she acted.

 

That ought to be worth a few brownie points...An extra bit of love perhaps?

Thanks Shawn and Bill

The handlers have some good friends, Bill and Shawn. I particularly like them because they never tire of scratching me.

On Bill's first trip (he's made three!) back in June of 2011 , he brought the Handlers tomato seeds. Female handler (FH) started two varieties this year. Actually she's started them EVERY year since she first acquired them, but this is the first year they have taken off. And given that it is fall, the tomatoes are on their last gasp, but they are going out strong.

The Green Zebras are particularly prolific and large.

 But the Brandywine aren't doing bad either!

The garden is being prepped for winter. Bamboo and an old steel bed headboard and footboard are in place for receive plastic to finish off the coldframe once the tomatoes are done. But getting the bamboo set up and anchored was another story. That dog kept walking away with the bamboo, no matter how long a piece it was. But after hours of this, she finally decided a nap was in order and collapsed in the pathway.

Morning has broken...

April 15th View of the Blood Moon

Blue star Spica to the left in the constellation Virgo

Update on the damage from the extratropical cyclone

The extratropical cyclone that hit this past weekend apparently did do some damage at the farm. We have this giant willow at the north end of the property. It's probably 50 years old. The goats love it for the shade, and of course the leaves.

Yesterday as Male Handler (MH) was fertilizing a couple of almond trees at the end of the orchard, he took in the view of the giant willow. Typically you can see the green lush grass underneath.

Here is the giant willow in early spring (2011).

Yesterday though something made MH do a double take. The tree seemed to have expanded exponentially.

 Upon closer look, it had become THREE trees.

Now that's some split!

The leaf cutter ants were working the tree. Ironically, this tree had a huge leaf cutter nest in the crook which might have lead to some decay. The ants would bring in leaf material....traveling great distances from another tree, across the ground and up the willow tree to their nest in the crook. Even with the tree now split in three with no crook, they were STILL traveling up the tree.

Chochi thinks she has died and gone to heaven, and it aint so bad....

Timi is just plain dumbfounded and unsure where to start, but in any case, it's going to be a good eating day!

Extratropical Cyclone

According to IMFIA (Instituto de Mecanica de los Fluidos e Ingenieria Ambiental or the Institute of Fluid Mechanics and Environmental Engineering) at Universidad de la Republica Uruguay, Uruguay belongs to a region of the Southern Hemisphere affected by severe convective activity. In addition there are frequent and intense cyclogenesis events.

In other words, the storms are pretty incredible.

We got socked with an extratropical cyclone yesterday. We've had them before. Yesterday's was just a wind event, but ... enough to send me flying on occasion. Walking against the wind was a challenge. I didn't make much headway for all the effort. Keika, who is the lightest of us felines, didn't stand a chance out in the open. That dog was just plain scared most of the day. The wind howled all day, and the gusts were enough for the Handlers to wonder if the roof would hold.

The good news is that roof held. We had no damage. It was a good opportunity for the trees to shed some dried twigs, and there were enough downed willow branches that the goats were content to do clean-up duty.

Just another weekend in the Southern Hemisphere...

Demolished toys

Female Handler finished a project last night, using up the last of some cotton cord. The tube that held the cotton cord was supposed to be for me.

I wasn't interested in it last night.

This morning...this is what I find.

What the heck!

Did that dog floss with the rest of the tube?

Restless Dog

This dog cannot sit still. My tail is not to be wrestled with. While I may be laying on one paw, I still have the other ready for a left punch.

Living harmoniously...for the time being

That bump on Nostras' nose would be compliments of my right paw and a snagged claw. Ooopsie!

The time is NOW!

Last year, if you recall, we had to cajole Sonny into being the Billy that we all knew he was capable of being. He was still a bit small, and there were times that he just couldn't get the hang of things, which included getting a hold of his mounting partner.

This year things are quite different. He exudes "Billy"... And he knows it.

With the days getting shorter and the cooler weather earlier (it's just plain muggy right now), the girls went into heat yesterday quite unexpectedly. Chochi was the first. Characteristic of all does in season is the rapid wagging of the tail (called flagging - yeah, no kidding. "Hey Dude, over here!"). But Chochi also gets a tad pissy. At first Female Handler thought it was the mosquitoes brought in by recent rains that were bothering her, but then the light bulb went off. Welcome to Fall, and mating season!

The Handlers calculated out a potential due date in early September, and that's a schedule they can work with. So as Marvin Gaye suggests...Let's get it on!

And Sonny did.

I will spare you the details, but here are few shots of Sonny.

Sonny is smelling the pheromones

Sonny's beard and much of his forehead have a yellow tinge. This is dried urine which he has sprayed on himself, and the preferred musk for men goats.

Have you ever wondered why it is called the "natural spray?"

Only a mother could love that profile