On June 19th, Phil and I packed up our things and headed out to the Bighorn Mountains near Buffalo, WY for the 2019 North American Packgoat Rendezvous. The location was beyond lovely, but it was COLD!!!

Even from far away, Marc Warnke’s big, beautiful Alpine goat, Merciless, dominates every scene he’s in. 

Finn and Sputnik looked good too, even if they’re not quite as impressive as Merciless. 

Nancy Clough gave a talk on goat first aid while Nan helped a little from the sidelines. 

This year’s Rendy was much smaller than the last few years, but it was an excellent, dedicated group. 

Nan helped one couple hitch their goat to a cart for the first time. “Sprite” gave the first ride to his delighted owner, Connie.

Although he’s not quite as good looking as Sprite, Connie decided that her husband Robert was better trained. 

Sputnik modeled the Sopris Lumbar pack saddle system while Charlie Hackbarth of Sopris Unltd. modeled an amazing pants/shorts combination that not many people can pull off.

The rocks and trees around the camping area were amazing. Nan set up an obstacle course using a variety of natural landscape features. 

Finn shows everyone how brave packgoats are around umbrellas. 

Sputnik demonstrates dominates the teeter-totter obstacle. 

A lot of folks had fun playing teeter-totter with their goats. 

A fun time was had by all and we’re already looking forward to next year!

I’m finally catching up to June! One Sunday afternoon, Phil and I sat on rocks so the baby goats could climb on us and fight over our laps. What a riot!

I think Pluto is egging Buster Brown on. “Get Phil! Get Phil!” 

“Not the hat!”

Yeti wants in on the action.

It was sometime in early June that Yeti discovered his love of laps. To Yeti, an open lap was an open invitation!

Is that Cupcake peeking over Phil’s shoulder?

Thor is such a beautiful goat. I love his facial markings. Thor is friendly, but he is not an outgoing extrovert like his brother Yeti, being quieter and more content to sit in the background… or in a pile of hoses.

It’s the triplets! They are trying to figure out if all three of them can fit in Phil’s lap at once.

Mocha says, “Are you sure there isn’t room in your lap, Phil?”
Yeti says, “I was here first!” 

Brownie found an open lap just across the way. 

But soon Brownie was usurped by Snowball. 

And of course Yeti has to come check out the lap action too. This lap may be currently occupied, but you never know when it might be vacated! 

When baby goats whisper sweet nothings in your ear…

…it TICKLES!!!

I just love Snowball’s smile. 

As soon as Snowball hops down, here come Brownie and Yeti! 

“I got goated!” 

Brownie and Yeti already had enough lap time. It’s Thor’s turn! 

Oh, look who found another lap to climb on! This little Snowball could melt anyone’s heart! 

Early June was right about the time when Yeti’s facial markings began to darken and take shape. They’re very pretty! 

“Got an itch! Got an itch!”

Uh-oh, where did all the other goats go? The other babies tend to notice when their moms take off to graze, and they’ll hop down from our laps and go after them. But Yeti gets so caught up in human interaction that he doesn’t notice when everyone else leaves. 

I forgot I took these photos on May 29th–the actual day of me and Phil’s 20th anniversary. So much has happened in the last six weeks that I don’t actually remember this day, but it looks like it was quiet and relaxing. 

It’s July and I’m still posting photos from May. I need to get with the program!

The weather in May was cold, wet, and magnificent.  

Since little Mocha is the smallest of TinCup’s triplets, we like to make sure she gets her share of the milk two times a day. 

I’m looking at these photos taken six weeks ago and am amazed at how much Thor and Yeti have grown! They aren’t little babies any more! 

Sibling rivalry: “You can’t come up here, Mocha!”

“You get down too, Yeti!” MY rock!!

Yep, it’s Thor’s rock, alright! 

He sure is a cute King of the Rock!

Meanwhile, Cupcake and Brownie prefer climbing on Phil over climbing on rocks.

Pluto has become quite the faithful guardian. When baby goats were born this year, he stopped roaming the county and started sticking close to home and to his duties as protector. He also declared himself the protector of our magpie population. The mom and dad magpies do not approve.  

All six kids on the fallen log! 

Snowball is such a little angel goat. 

“Run, babies run!” Look at all those ears flapping!

Buster Brown and Cupcake were getting so big by mid-May that I decided to have a baby goat weigh-in. Have you ever seen such an adorable baby goat-in-a-bag?? 

Cupcake was cute too but a little more squirmy. 

They weighed in at around 23 lbs. each and then we enjoyed some cuddle time on the basement couch.

May 15th was a beautiful day and the kids arrayed themselves in the afternoon sunshine on the back stairs. 

But they were eager to leave their basking to go for a walk! 

New life plays in the place where Jet’s memories are buried. His grave is mostly covered with rocks now. I expect we will finish right about the anniversary of his death.   

The lightning-struck tree appears to be doing well. It bears a long scar from top to bottom. I hope it lives on for many more years to tell its story. 

The gravel pit at the other end of our property is also a fun place to play! Take a close look at flying baby Brownie. Wheeee!!!

At two weeks, brownie’s horns were just starting to show. He’s a beautiful baby and loves to snuggle. I think this one prefers the company of people to other goats. When we walk, he stays close to me or Phil even when the other goats run off. 

Laugh it up, Cupcake! 

Two handsome boys!

We call Snowball our “angel goat” because she is so soft and pretty and white. Her hair is so fine it’s like dandelion fluff. 

Cupcake on a stump.

Thor on a log. 

Thor’s other side on a log. (Love the polka-dot!)  

Thor and Yeti on a log. 

Cupcake’s log!

Mocha and Snowball took a moment to plop down together in the grass and rest for a few minutes during our walk. 

Look at me– we’re more than halfway through June and I’m still trying to get our May photos posted! Jim and Lois stayed for a few more days after the China Anniversary Bash and we had some lovely walks in the green, green meadows.

Finn is such a buddy. “Pet me, please!” 

Little Buster Brown. He was so little and cute back then! He’s still cute, but he’s fast turning into a big, strapping young man! 

The evening light was magical and we walked down to visit Jet’s grave. Phil and I have a tradition of stopping by there each day when we take our walk and placing a stone or two apiece. It should be completely covered in beautiful rocks by the end of summer. 

At two weeks, the kids were just getting nimble enough to jump onto this big rock which Phil and I like to call “The Baby Goat Rock.” 

The also discovered this wonderful fallen log! 

Jim loves to entertain baby goats and they do find him very entertaining! 

Jim and I went horseback riding down Clennin Road and back. 

Afterwards, Jim had a lot of fun trying to get a “selfie” with Skokie. 

Skokie was quite the ham. 

May 29, 2019 was me and Phil’s 20th wedding anniversary. I can’t believe it’s been two decades! Phil and I have officially been married for more than half our lives now. We were reflecting on this upcoming momentous occasion back in March and wondering how we might celebrate when we decided to look up whether the 20th anniversary had any special designation. It does! How many people know that the 20th anniversary is also known as the “China Anniversary”? Phil and I have had lots of theme parties over the years, but never a Chinese party! And to top it off, 2019 is the Year of the Pig!! Bring it on!!!

We borrowed an extra-large pig roaster from the church and enlisted the help of some local friends to supply and prepare the pig. 

We reserved a large pavilion in one of the local parks and decked it out. 

Then we donned our Chinese garb. 

I even wore (very badly done) makeup for the occasion. Remind me never to try this again! 

And invited all the friends and relatives. Phil’s parents flew in from Massachusetts. Phil’s mom shunned the Chinese garb in favor of the Hawaiian clothes she wore for our first wedding celebration.  

Phil’s Aunt Marianne and Uncle Steve came from Arizona wearing their Mandarin best. 

Keep rockin’ that fu manchu, Steve! 

Ah, sisters… Lois to Marianne: “Marianne, what did you do??”

Phil rang the gong and it was party time! 

My parents enjoyed the cream cheese won ton appetizers. 

Alot. 

And then it was time to bring on THE PIG!!!

Do not be fooled by the blackened appearance (it was a black pig)–this critter was absolutely DELICIOUS! Many thanks to Brian and Janette Hastings for supplying, butchering, and roasting the hog. This pork was amazing!! 

My dear friend Tiffany was the Maid of Honor at our wedding 20 years ago. On this day, she and her mother Marian were kind enough to bring all the Chinese food from Kan’s Kitchen in Pueblo. 

The cake was incredible. And it even tasted as good as it looked! 

There were many fun costumes on display. 

And after the feast, the festivities began! 

Phil’s dad is an expert piñata handler, having practiced extensively for our wedding feast 20 years ago. He has not lost his touch.  

There were a few close calls…

…but everyone got a whack at it. 

And no one went home empty-handed. 

After the party, the family and out-of-town friends were invited up to our house for some extra fun, which largely involved holding baby goats. 

The day ended on a beautiful note. 

After a brief taste of warm weather at the end of April and early May, the snow came back for a last word on May 10th. 

The kids could not have been more delighted!   

Phil’s parents were in town, and Jim couldn’t wait to get out and play in the snow with the other kids.

Thor helped Jim build a snowman. 
Brownie and Snowball helped too. 

Jim thought maybe Mocha would like to stand on top of the doghouse. Mocha wasn’t too sure of the footing, but the experience left ideas in her brain. A few days later she was the first kid to scale the top–a feat she alone could accomplish for at least two days before the others figured it out.  

Cupcake says, “Wheee!!!” 

The kids could not get enough of Jim. They all loved him, but Brownie and Snowball were especially enamored.   

Brownie posed for a glamour shot. 

Not to be outdone, Yeti posed for an even better glamour shot!   

And then Thor blew them all out of the water with his striking pose! 

“Up? Up?”

Laughing, leaping Yeti and Thor! 

Little Yeti attends one of Phil’s work meetings in the office. 

TinCup takes a break in the warm, sunny gravel with her three kids around her.  

TinCup’s kids took their first walk on May 3rd. Poor TinCup looks a little ragged with that old winter coat still clinging. Thankfully she’s gaining weight now that she’s had the kids. 

Little Buster Brown is one of the stoutest kids we’ve ever had. His build and personality remind me a lot of Finn. 

Run Cupcake!!!

This has been one of the greenest springs we’ve ever had. I look out the window and feel like I’m in Switzerland. 

After the first day or two, one of Snowball’s ears started folding back against her neck along a crease it had when she was born. It got worse over the following few days and soon the inside of her ear felt hot and weepy. She kept scratching at it with her hind foot. So I put a cardboard tube on the inside, a short piece of a paint stick on the outside, and duct taped them to her ear to unfold that stubborn crease. I thought it would straighten out in a day, but it ended up taking three days of wrapping before the ear stayed stiff on its own. It still has a funny little fold near the back, but at least she can hold it out now and the air can circulate inside.  

One day I found all six babies curled up inside the small doghouse. What a fuzzy little pile of cuteness! 

Phil and I love to bring the kids into the house in the evenings to watch movies with us on the couch. Cupcake and Brownie have been some of the most fun. They play and play before the show starts, but then they’re both content to settle down and sit quietly when the film starts to roll.  

Brownie makes friends with one of our stuffed goat toys. 

“Oops!”