Joker's Tree - Farm Photo of the Week

This is Joker, he is one of the Boer bucks on Shiloh Prairie Farm. He is a little over two and a half years old now, and he has been on the farm since he was about six months old. Joker's hobbies include eating zucchini, tomato taste tester, acting macho for the girl goats on the farm and chopping down trees with his horns. He is not very good at chopping down trees though, he has been butting, scratching and working on chopping down this old Walnut tree for about two years. He wanted to be a lumberjack but nobody wanted to pay him by the hour, even if he does just work for zucchini.

Goats Steal Landscaping Jobs

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
People Destroying America- Goats Steal Landscaping Jobs
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Colbert Report Full Episodes 2010 Election March to Keep Fear Alive

Sally from The Two of Us blog told me about this hilarious segment on The Colbert Report.

Pssst! I Need to Talk to You

Blackie the buck pleads his case.

"Pssst, yea you, come over here a minute. No, I don't want a kiss! I need to talk to you man to ma..err billy goat. I haven't had a girlfriend since last fall man. It is just cruel and unusual punishment I tell ya!"

"Excuse me, yea you...with the camera, this is a private conversation! Stop eavesdropping! She is the one that locked me in here, all while she was spouting off something about no kids in cold February, I would have to wait. hmph! I let the does worry about the kids. You wouldn't believe how many baby mammas I have! "

"Let me out, pretty please. That is the latch right there, just unhook it. All the pretty doe goats are right over there. See the red headed one? She has been flirting with me ALL DAY! I could get to those pretty girl goats if you would just let me out?"

"I would get it myself, but I don't have thumbs and using my horn just is not working."

"Oh you're not going to let me out? I thought us guys were supposed to stick together? Well, if you scratch my neck I guess I won't be mad at you. Yea and leave that smell on your hands...the girls LOVE it!"

Leaf Carnage

One night this past summer there was a thunderstorm. The wind blew, the lightening flashed and the rain poured down through the night but the storm was gone by daybreak and the morning brought sunshine and blue skies.

It was at that time I also realized that the tree beside our big feed pen had fallen to the storm. I really hated to lose that tree. It had provided shade for me and the goats when I had to trim hooves or work them in that pen and it's fork gave me a place to set a water bottle up high away from curious goat lips while I was outdoors.

I don't think the goats would miss that tree though, truth be known I think they played a part in it's demise by eating the bark on one side of it's trunk making it weak to the wind of the storm. I figured it was only fitting to let them finish what they started. So we piled the leafy limbs high in the pen and opened the gate.

LEAVES!!

The goats rushed in and started stripping and tearing all the leaves from the fallen tree, it was brutal. They didn't waste a second or a leaf.

They competed to see who could stuff the most leaves in their mouth the fastest and the tree limbs got more bare by the minute.
Blackie the buck didn't think it was fair that the girls got all the fresh leaves. He stood up on the fence with sad eyes and whined, "ahh...ahhh" as he watched the the leaves disappear like candy in front of spoiled children. A friend took heart to his complaints and gave him a hand so he could get some tasty leaves too.

The leaves never really had a chance, I mean just look at that face! It was total leaf carnage and in no time all that was left was a few stripped bare branches and a lonely tree stump.