I love the irony of seeing all this water flowing over top of our barely-producing new well. I wish it would take a hint!
Keep workin’ that tail, Pretty Pet!
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
After he stormed the tractor and was taken captive, Finn defected to our side.
As a trustworthy ally, Phil showed Finn all the controls and gauges so he could operate the machine.
Finn learns how the steering wheel works.
Unfortunately, he doesn’t seem to have figured out which direction he should be looking.
After his failed attempt at driving the tractor, Finn decided to downgrade to a simpler vehicle. This one doesn’t need to be steered. It just goes forward and back. Very easy. Please don’t run over Pac-Man!
Farmer Lois and the War for the Tractor
When the tractor wasn’t occupied by Phil or Nubbin, Lois took her turn in the driver’s seat. It was a good vantage point from which to snap candid shots of the goat castle going up.
It was also a good vantage point from which to snap candid shots of this photographer.
Lois seems slightly perturbed by the full frontal assault being waged on her machine.
“Where do you want me to dump you, Nubbin?”
As more goats arrive on the scene, Lois attempts to deal with the one who has breeched the top defenses and is now making his way boldly toward her lap.
“What do I do if he refuses to leave?”
“I guess I take him prisoner!”
Nubbin lends a hand
I mentioned that Nubbin is the Tower Queen. I did not mention that she is also the Tractor Queen. As those who follow the Goat-O-Rama adventures may recall, Nubbin has a great affinity for trucks. Well, it turns out this gal just likes machines!
While all the other goats sun themselves in the grass, where is Nubbin?
Why, on her tractor of course!
“Check out these hydraulics!”
“Power steering!”
“This seat is not made for a goat. Perhaps I can modify it!”
Turns out Nubbin was modifying that seat in more ways than Phil cared to discover.
Who needs right shoulder support anyway?
“I CAN TO still fit!”
The construction of “Cuzcotopia”

Cuzco is thrilled that Jim got his old shed back into working condition and goes in for an inspection.
Jim instructs Phil on the placement of the top spool.
Phil surveys his handiwork. Pac-Man also surveys Phil’s handiwork.
The Goat Fortress
An outing with the crew
Yesterday we took the goats for a walk around our property. Up to now, we’ve been calling our goats a “herdlet”. But I think they’ve grown beyond herdlet status at this point. With eight goats, it’s now a bona fide herd.
Snickers and Sputnik learned to play “King of the Hill”.
Lilly’s progeny. Aren’t they a colorful crew? They aren’t posing very nicely but they’re all here: Lilly the matriarch, her daughter Petunia, her son Huckleberry Finn, and her grandsons Snickers and Sputnik.
Kids: meet kids
My mom, my sister-in-law Jill, and her kids (my niece and nephews) came to visit on Jill’s birthday. They wanted to see the baby goats while they were still little.
Snickers was the calmest so he got held and cuddled the most. My mom helped Robert hold Snickers on his lap.
Robert tries to engage Finn in conversation, but Finn has the attention span of a typical kid. Lilly seems casually interested though.
Finn enjoyed showing off his wall-walking prowess for my relatives.