What is that SMELL?

As I reported last week in this blog, our buck Ranger has come home.

 He did not come alone.

Visitors to Ole Lake Farm will not be tempted to linger in the yard if the wind is blowing in from the goat pasture.  A foul, pungent, malodorous, pervasive, and altogether disagreeable aroma is emanating from those parts.  More specifically, it’s coming from Ranger. 

The reason for this olfactory assault is that if you are a dairy goat, it’s the season for love.  Much like an adolescent youth dousing himself with Axe body spray to attract the girls, a virile buck such as Ranger advertises his manliness (buckliness?) with his scent. It seems to be working too, as Daisy at least was showing a lot of interest in him on Tuesday the 28th.  I take note of the date because the goal here of course is kids next spring.  So, I am marking the calendar for March 27th.  Check back then to see if I am right.

Trouble is, while Ranger’s fragrance may be captivating to the does, to us humans, it is downright repugnant.  Think skunk… well not really, that would be an exaggeration.  A slight one.  It's not as bad as fresh skunk anyway. You know, it’s not easy to describe a smell is it?  Suffice to say, we are not hanging around the goat pen much these days.

Precautions must be taken before entering the goat's living quarters...

You're a handsome lad Ranger, but dude... you stink!

In other Ole Lake news, I screened some of that compost today.  

As it came out of the bin.  I use the rubberized gloves to rub it through the screen

The finished up good stuff, ready to be stored for spring.  There are still a few odd bits in there, but nothing that cannot go through the 1/2 inch screen

Now that is has gotten colder, the shop is closed up and heated.  The cats have moved in and have re-established where the most warm and comfortable places to sleep are.  Recently, Spot and Lily have taken to sharing this prime location in the window.  They haven't done this since they were kittens, about 12 years ago.

Looks pretty cozy to me!

So, that is all from me this weekend.  I suspect you will be hearing from Kevin tomorrow as the busy work of preparing for deer hunting continues.