When I went to pick up our photography entries from the county fair this afternoon I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this picture of four year old Ari and Mame's three day old buck kid had garnered not only a blue ribbon, but also the "People's Choice" award. 

Now I will have a "matched set" to hang on the wall because in 2008 a picture of then four year old Bekah and Allie's one day old buck kid won a blue ribbon and a "Most Representative of the Fair" award.  

Guess there is just something magical about a four year old child with a new goat kid.  Don't know what I'm going to do for an encore next year.  Guess I'll have to borrow someone else's cute child.  :)

For the past two years, only my goat pictures have garnered me ribbons and this year the trend was broken by the picture of Sophie stocking the goats.

I am a very proud momma today!  My six year old daughter is following in my photography footsteps with some very early success! 

We both entered two photos at the county fair this year and we were both thrilled to found out today that EVERY photo received a FIRST PLACE ribbon in its category!

How can I put this nicely....  I hate hoof trimming day!  Short of bucking a couple tons of hay, it is the one chore that always leaves me with a sore back!   It should be done every 4-6 weeks but I have to admit I've been known to let it go longer than that.

But after a week of temperatures in the high 90's this morning was so much cooler that I no longer had any excuses left.   I always start with the does and today was a pretty typical day with even the friendliest does protesting and struggling a bit.

I took a brief break after finishing the does, and then with aching muscles and a bit of trepidation went to work on the boys.   My dread however turned to astonishment as all the adults stood still with barely a murmur of protest.   In fact, they seemed to be almost waiting in line for their turn.  Something that has never happened before!  

When I got to Mojo I decided that he might still be small enough at 5 months old, for me to hold in my lap and the minute I sat down he crawled into my lap and laid there just like a sleepy puppy.   I didn't have to restrain him at all while trimming his hooves, and when I was finished he was content to continue laying in my lap soaking up the attention.  Sure wish I could have gotten a picture of that.

I gave all the boys some extra attention for their good behavior, and then headed to the house for a shower (I love my boys - but they are bit odoriferous!) wondering if I had just been in the twilight zone!

Shortly after dinner this evening we heard terrified screams coming from the goats pasture.  I rushed out on the back deck that overlooks the pasture and all I saw was our buckling Mojo screaming his little heart out.   No other goats were in sight until I started talking to him to calm him down, and the rest of the herd started back up the hill from where they had been grazing out of sight.

My guess is Mojo was napping when everyone else wandered off to eat and when he woke up and didn't see any other goats around he panicked.  Mojo is not quite five months old so it was definitely a scary moment for him, especially since none of the other goats were answering his calls.   This little incident, while amusing,  was a good reminder of just how important companions are to herd oriented animals.