Louis Jenkins wrote a wonderful prose poem, "Time Marches On," that captures the speeding of the seasons by cataloging events in northern Minnesota that “all have passed”:
Wrong Days in Wright, Rutabaga Days, the Eelpout Festival, The Hardanger Fiddle Association of America Meeting, the Monster Truck Challenge.
At MeadowWild Farm, the march of time is marked by goat shows.
On August 31st, Barb attended the Alpine goat show at the state fair, cheering on friends Kärin and Brian
and visiting with other goat enthusiasts
while Steve indulged in way too much state fair food
and sampled more Minnesota craft beer than was prudent. After all that fat and alcohol, he needed a nap
and awoke to discover that he had been awarded a purple ribbon.
Harvest Fest took place the following week at Duluth's Bayfront Park
featuring various exhibitors and vendors
a farmers' market, and -- most importantly --
the Goat Ladies of the North
showing off their caprines and conducting demonstrations of milking and hoof trimming.
Chandra seems less than impressed by the neighboring Nigerians.
The goats have been a very popular part of Harvest Fest for years now.
Then two weeks later came the Bluff Country Classic Dairy Goat Show in Caledonia, MN.
(marvelous painting by Mary Thompson)
(marvelous painting by Mary Thompson)
Barb showed Cheeky
while a helpful Donny conducted a less than cooperative Eclipse around the ring.
Friend Brian's Electra and Ember did very well in the stiff competition.
(Photos courtesy of the Bluff Country Classic Dairy Goat Show Facebook page.)
It's late September
and Red Oak Lane is showing some color.
The neighboring garden of friends Tom and Gretchen is spectacular, as always.
Spider webs continue to proliferate
as do the gargantuan spiders.
The girls take advantage of the gorgeous fall weather to browse the meadows while they may
or just practice goat meditation.
Mojo surveys his domain from the topper
and is occasionally joined by Amigo for a tap dance.
The boys love their daily outings
and the opportunity to munch outside their usual boundaries.
Dustin monitors the world from his front window
until it's time for another nap.
MeadowWild farm is still in Aesop ant mode.
Barb converted grapes from the front arbor to juice that will ultimately become jelly
and apples are getting ready to harvest.
To thwart the ground squirrel vandals, Barb constructed a new smoker system.
She dug out the fire pit they had filled in
and used a flexible drier duct to direct the apple wood smoke
to the kettle cooker
where it is then cool enough to flavor her famous mozzarella cheeses without melting them.
While Barb is anting at home, Steve is grasshoppering by bike along the Munger Trail
on forays between Duluth and Moose Lake
or by foot through Jay Cooke State Park
which is still being restored after the devastating flood of 2012.
