“August, with its great stacks of giant clouds”

is celebrated in a poem by Mary Naylor

which also includes the line, "August, remember Richie playing with the goat?"

Richie didn't come around, but Barb was out playing with the goats several times each day,

letting them trim the front pines

and luring them out to the back pasture

for the luxuriant late summer growth.

Lumberjacks that they are, they still prefer to manage the woodlands.

Cajeta with a mouthful of pine pitch.

She's a real cutie, but she inherited a headstrong nature from her mom, Alba. 

Her half-sister Momo plays Queen of the Mountain.

Dream shows off her new bra, designed to support her enormous udder.  Look for her on the cover of the next Victoria's Caprine Secret catalog.

Taco is the least aggressive of the Butt Heads.

His brother, Burrito,

is not afraid to challenge Mr. T

giving Niblet a respite

from the unwanted attention he otherwise receives -- as in having his heinie used for a scratching post.

Meanwhile, Burrito sneaks in the back of the Gentlemen's Club to sample Mr. T's hay.

The other pair of brothers -- Pingado and Macchiato -- are the real trouble-makers, ready to poke their horns into anything that approaches their area.

Here Ping tries to open the front door of the Gentleman's Club

and Big Mac is his usual vocal self.

This jewel-like arachnid is spinning a web in the corner of the Club.   We think she's trying to spell out, "Some Goat."

Feral kitty waits patiently for her fresh milk

and Bubba watches all the action from the comfort of his cool house. 

This year the Farmers attended to the grape vine before the raccoons could strip it bare.

Barb turned the takings

into a winter's worth of yummy grape jam.

She'a also using her new press

to experiment with new kinds of goat cheeses.

The apple harvest from the front yard trees

should be abundant.

While "ant" Barb put up supplies for the winter

"grasshopper" Steve was off exploring

bicycle trails in Moose Lake

and hiking paths around the area.

Chicken of the woods fungus proliferates -- but it doesn't look tempting enough to bring home for dinner.

Summer entertainments continue, including the Highway 61 Folks Festival

and of course the grandest of them all -- the State Fair

with its beer gardens

butter heads

and crop art.

This year's crop artists were unusually political;

Some of our favorite entries concerned the two constitutional amendments that will be on the November ballot, forbidding gay marriage and requiring voters to show photo IDs.

There were big vegies

cholesterol-laden treats

and clever works of fine art, such as Pamela Valfer’s “Roadkill Quilt: Baby Blanket.”

And there were lots of people --

lots and lots of people.

The Farmers were happy to get back to sparsely populated Blackhoof Township, with its great stacks of giant August clouds.

Even before the middle of the month, hints of seasonal change were starting to appear,

with the wooly bears already predicting a mild winter.