Well, the mosquitos have been out with a vengeance the last couple of days.  Last night I picked a heaping ice cream pail of cherry and grape tomatoes. I think that for ever tomato I picked, I ended up with 2 mosquito bites. They were literally swarming and running right into me. I have bites all over my arms, neck, and back. Since I avoid chemicals as much as possible, especially around food, I just had to grin and bear it. I at least did my good deed for the night and donated blood. Too bad it wasn't for a more purposeful reason. This morning they were equally bad, and apparently they were attached to my shirt when I came in from my animal chores. I got bit twice while brushing my teeth. Needless to say, they are both now feeding the septic system.  I hope that they will go back into hiding again with this heat wave that is building. I may not mind the heat as much if it means less mosquitos. Well, time to relax for the evening. Good Night!

    Well, this morning I was doing a thorough cleaning of the goat house with LOTS of help. I had just finished bringing the last wheelbarrow load out, when a car slowed down on the road. I didn't recognize the man, so I figured he was just turning around in our driveway since that happens alot. He proceeded to park and came up to the gate. He was very well dressed in his Sunday best. He asked if I was missing any goats. I looked behind me since the goats had been running around the yard following me and weren't in their pen. I saw all four of them, so I said no. He said he was the trustee for his church and that he had gotten a call from a church member saying there were some goats running around in the cemetary next to the church. He asked if I could come catch them. I said I would try, since Bud knows a guy that lives a few doors down from the church. I figured they might be his goats. I stuck my large dog crate, a collar, and a bunch of horse treats in the truck. I told Katy to get in, and went to the church a couple of miles away. 

     When we got there, he motioned for us to pull my truck down behind the church. We saw the goats right away, and they ran into the woods as soon as they saw my truck. There were five of them. Katy and I proceeded into the woods to follow the goats. How they could run through the green briar so fast was beyond me. I have several deep scratches to prove how nasty the stuff is. We followed them into someone's yard and they were all standing next to a gate. It was quite apparent that they lived there. I went up to the front door to ask if they had goats. Finally a lady answered the door holding her baby. She said they did have goats, and that she would send her son out to round them up. I said that we could help him. Katy and I tried to approach them, but they were not very tame. They jumped up on a car and jumped right over the fence, of course not into the pasture that I think they were supposed to be in. We waited and waited, but the son never came out. We decided to go back through the woods to the church. The man had come back out as soon as he saw us getting into my truck. I told him that we weren't successful rounding up the goats, but that they belonged to the people that lived through the woods behind the church. Since we went through the woods, I don't know which road the people lived on. It was one of two roads. He was going to try find that house after church and talk to the people about keeping their goats penned up. He wasn't so amused that they were eating the flowers and plants at the graves in the cemetary. He thanked us for trying, and we went on our way. 

    That is the second time someone has come over and asked about stray goats within the last couple of months. I guess we are going to be known as the goat rescuers around here. When it comes to animals, I will do as much as I can to help out. They are just an important part of my life.

I have had many friends that have been commenting that I needed to keep a diary or write a blog of all of our happenings on our little farm. I have decided that with today being a rainy day that it would be as good a time as any to start. Please bear with me on this since I have never done something like this before. There is a lot to learn, but it should be a fun way to share all the happy, sad, fun, scary, and crazy experiences that we encounter. Please feel free to check back often as I figure out how to post pictures and change things around on here. Welcome to a glimpse into our fun little world.