Even soggier June

 On the first Saturday in June Cheeky and Arabica boarded the F-150 

 for a trip to Little Falls

 and the Mid-Minnesota Goat Show.

 The other goats were intent on socializing

 but our girls stuck to themselves.

 Cheeky experienced the boredom of a superstar waiting to perform.  Had there been a TV in her hotel room, she would have tossed it off the balcony.  

 The girls did OK for their maiden show; in the first ring Cheeky came in 2nd and Arabica 3rd (out of 8 competitors).

 In the second ring (with the sight-impaired judge) , Cheeky placed 3rd and Arabica last.

In Barb's absence, the remaining girls were ably attended to by guest milkers -- friends Rick

 and Adam.

 A substantial amount of the girls' milk gets turned into cheese, and smoked cheeses are popular with the members of Barb's CSA.  She recently devised a nifty new smoker that features a fire pit and length of buried pipe

 that conveys the cooled smoke to the kettle grill, where the cheese takes on the apple-wood flavor without melting into goo.

 The enterprising inventor toasts her success with a Leinie's Summer Shandy.

 

 Steve continued to bike the Munger Trail regularly

enjoying the adjacent scenery.

 Even before the solstice storm, water levels were high. 

 On one outing he shared the path with a young bear

 who leisurely meandered back into the woods, but hung around the same stretch of trail for hours.

 After the rains of June 19 & 20, much of the trail was under water -- and Duluth was a disaster area.

 (Flood photos from the Duluth News Tribune website:

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/)

Closer to the Farm, Lakeshore Drive in Moose Lake was under water

the bridge between Carlton and Thomson destroyed

and Scanlon's River Inn now in the river.

On June  20 the Farmers had to go into Duluth to pick up Barb's brother Dave and sister-in-law Brigitte at the airport.


The drive that usually takes 40 minutes took 2 and 1/2 hours as many of the streets on the way were destroyed or blocked by rubble.  They had to wend a very circuitous route up the hill 

and past the flooded mall to the airport.

The normally blue waters of the harbor and bay were brown with silt.

Even several days later our neighbor's corn field was a lake

and nearby Spring Lake was higher than we've ever seen it.

The township quickly repaired damaged roads, including Pioneer Lane at the spot where the F-150 got stuck.  (It was rescued by two neighbors with large tractors.)

The reunion scheduled for June 22 went on as planned, though visitors had to brave waters still standing on County Road 5 to reach the Farm.

Can you tell which visitor is from Minneapolis and which from Baton Rouge?

(The two photos above courtesy of Randy & Nancy Trocke.)

What are the goats looking at so intently

with their ears in "Caution!" position?

It's a monster -- Lila & Lyle's dog Sophie.

Eventually Kona worked up the nerve to check out the alien at closer range.

The Butt Heads (Burrito, Pingado and Macchiato) were the first to be weaned and now occupy their own area apart from the girls.

They are so named because they love to butt each other -- and the Farmers as they try to deliver hay, grain and water with minimal bruising.

Leaving their horns on, though meant to be humane, proved to be unwise; the guys are very skilled at poking those sharp points where they don't belong.

Big Mac is the worst offender; he loves to sneak up behind people, insert his horns under any loose clothing, then fling his head backward.

Taco, the smallest of the boys, recently joined the frat house.  They also have access to the larger pasture of Nibby and Mr. T, who manage to tolerate the youngsters, so long as they don't get too close.

The kids are enjoying the lush vegetation encouraged by the recent rains

as are a doe and her fawn (mostly hidden by the tall grass), who often wander close to the Boys' Club.

Turtles have been emerging from the pond to lay eggs on the lawn

or just enjoy a constitutional past the house

while the feral kitty continues to wage her war against gopherdom.