11/6/10

Aut-Win, Speed Dates, Storm

 We continue to enjoy the subtle colors of Aut-Win,
 naturalist Larry Weber's term for that season
 between the bright leaves of fall and the snows of winter.
Our sandy soil is full of new burrows
as badgers, skunks, woodchucks and other critters 
 dig in ahead of the coming cold and drifts.
 The goats are taking advantage of their last opportunities to play outside.
 Kona surfs on the truck topper that provides shade in back of their pen.
 Cowabunga, dude!  Heads up for a gnarly Neptune Cocktail!
 What are Dream, Alba and Mr. T staring at? 
 It's Ada
 and Desiree, visiting for a bit as they await their rendezvous in Kettle River with
 Mischief, one of Dodger's bucks from last spring.
Dreamy's Desi has grown considerably since she left in July of 2009.
The visiting girls were quite peppy 
 and enjoyed racing up and down the driveway. 
 Daily walks with the home team
 always included some tussling and head-butting
 but truce was arranged for a common raid on the blueberry bushes. 
 Mr. T remains addlepated in the heat of the breeding season
 slobbering sweet nothings in the ear of any doe who approaches. 
 Lassi, however, is destined for a tryst with a different swain.  She boards the Goatmobile
 for a trip to Kettle River and a speed date with
 the handsome and debonair Mischief. 
 Two more visitors arrive to console Mr. T:
 Jellybean
 and her mom Sugar.
In the midst of all these romantic whirlwinds, we experience what the National Weather Service dubbed
 According to Meteorologist Paul Douglas, "it was certainly the strongest storm ever recorded over Minnesota and the Upper Midwest, probably the most intense storm ever measured between the Rockies and the Appalacians.”
 This "land hurricane" brought the lowest bar pressure ever recorded in Minnesota.
 Wind gusts over 50 mph toppled the trellis in front of the house and scattered stuff everywhere.
 Torrential rains overwhelmed the barrels into which the gutters drain,
 but luckily for the basement, the rain eventually turned to snow and the house stayed dry.
 We got far less than the 7+ inches recorded a little further north 
 and all of the snow had vanished by Halloween
 in time for the goats to go trick-or-treating.
(Thanks to Photoshop wizard Dale Connelly of the Trail Baboon blog, who supplied the girls with costumes.)
On Nov 2 Barb volunteered from 6:00 am to 9:30 pm as an election judge at the Blackoof Town Hall.
She's happy to perform her civic duty, but would rather be out herding goats.