What did you do today?

[Nanno]

Ill be thinking about you while Im out not shoveling and enjoying the sun shine

HA! We enjoyed the sunshine today. It dazzled brilliantly on the glittering new snow. It's beautiful out there right now. In fact, I think I may go out and see if I can snap some fun photos of our goats playing in the white drifts. They seem to be having a blast out there today. Everyone is out together and they're all chasing each other and butting heads as they bound through the chest-deep snow. They stand on their hind legs to eat the drooping pine branches they couldn't reach before and they come out looking like abominable snow-goats as the laden branches dump showers of snow over their heads and backs.

Finn is a little better today. He's dotting that foot down when he walks now. We took all the goats for a walk up the road and Finn gamely came with us, sometimes hopping on three legs, but usually limping along. He even picked a few fights with some of the other goats so he can't feel too bad. The foot is staying packed with fresh snow, which I'm sure is very good for the swelling and for keeping the wound clean.

[Taffy]

Today I am leaving our sunny 50's green spring weather and heading to snowy Colorado for a week to visit my Mom. Am I crazy or what?! Today is the only day snow isn't predicted for the entire time I'm there! I already going through goat withdrawal, too!

[Nanno]

We're getting another blizzard right now! It's supposed to snow from now all the way through the weekend. My fences may be almost completely buried before this thing is over.

With that in mind, I finally made the plunge and spent some money on a couple of varmint guns so I can back up Daisy if the coyotes come around. The ridiculous thing is that we now have a Ruger 10/22 that we can't shoot because no one has any .22 ammo available--doomsday hoarders keep snatching it up in preparation for the zombie apocalypse. The guy I talked to in the hardware store gun department said one of his customers boasts about his 80,000-round stash, yet he keeps buying more. He could spend the rest of his life at the range and still not use up all that ammo. You know, he probably could have paid off his mortgage instead. Unfortunately, all these hoarders are making it difficult for the rest of us to shoot our guns. I wish they could see the foolishness of this situation. If revolution happens, we won't be able to fight "the man" if all the ammo is concentrated among a handful of paranoid geezers who probably can't remember where they buried it.

I also bought a Smith & Wesson .223. These guns come standard with a 30-round mag which is now illegal in Colorado. The gun shop had to sell me the gun without the magazine, and wouldn't you know... everyone is out of 10-round mags for the .223. So now we have two guns we can't shoot!

But here's the funny bit... I went into our local gun shop this afternoon to look for what I needed, and while he didn't have any 10-round mags for a .223, he did have a 30-round mag kit that was perfectly legal. Apparently there is a big, glaring loophole in the Colorado law. I bought the "kit" and assembled the magazine in about 30 seconds. I've been laughing about this all day. You know, no matter how hard they try...

I really do love Colorado despite our stupid gun laws. The people here are very libertarian-minded. Our legislators mistakenly thought we were liberals (after all, we were the first state to legalize recreational pot!), and they voted in all these gun laws thinking the public would embrace them after the Aurora theater shooting. Instead we recalled two of our senators and threatened to unseat several others in future elections. The best bit is that these recalls couldn't have happened without a strong showing from our local DEMOCRATS who have no interest in gun control. I love it! Several of the legislators who voted for the laws are now on committees to try and get them repealed. Nearly every sheriff in the state pledged not to enforce any of the laws, partly because they know the laws are unenforceable and partly because they fear backlash from the people who elected them and who they have to deal with on a daily basis. The whole thing is such a circus, and I for one am enjoying the show despite the inconvenience.

[Dave-Trinity-Farms]

You can buy bullets online pretty easy. The shipping is extra but at least you will have a few. A few places to try. Gun shops, outdoor/sport stores, Walmart. OR if nothing else I can pick some up here and ship em to ya.

[Charlie Horse]

Regarding .22 ammo, there's something fishy going on there. Supply and demand has not worked and it has been 3 years. By now all the other gun and ammo prices have long since returned to normal or even a little cheaper. Except .22. Much of the buying frenzies are caused by political angst. For instance, the ATF (cant remember where they appear in the constitution) are thinking about banning green-tip .223, which is the stuff I like. Its gone. If you could win 50K for finding a case of it anywhere in the country, you'd still fail. It was 400/case and now, unobtainable. As for magazines, load up. Government *WILL* attack guns through ammo and magazines in the future as sure as taxes will rise. I got piles of the things long before the panic (He who panics first panics best). You do not want to see what California has done to geld the AR15. Its hilarious! 5 round magazine that barely sticks out of the well. And to eject it (snicker) you have to stick a bent paperclip into a hole on the eject button (rolling laughter)! And they don't allow more than 2 scary black items, such as flashlights, lasers, folding stocks, sights etc. per gun. If you think Colorado isn't going there, I'm not so sure. Remember, government's power is rooted in one, and only one thing: Monopoly on violence. They don't like the ability to resist. The doomers will be proven right eventually (though .22 isn't quite the resistance's best bullet choice).

[Nanno]

Thanks Dave, but I don't think I need to buy anything online. There are dozens of gun stores in Pueblo and other nearby towns. I'm sure someone has .22 rounds. My own tiny local store even had some this morning, but I was a few minutes too late. By the time all the snow melts and I'm ready to start shooting, he should have some more in. I'll just leave my name and make sure he keeps a little back for me. I can also get some from my dad in a pinch.

I hear the manufacturers are cranking out more ammo than ever, but demand remains at fever pitch. I wish more stores would, as a customer courtesy, limit the amount of popular ammo one person can buy. Some folks are buying cases upon cases of it and then selling it online for three times what they paid. "He who panics first panics best" might be a little bit true, but I think it's best when people don't panic at all. If everyone quit hyperventilating and only bought what they actually could actually use, there wouldn't be these shortages and falsely inflated prices which do nothing except fuel more panic.

Thanks for mentioning the proposed M855 ammo ban, Charlie Horse. The BATFE, as usual, is out of control. Time to pester my Congressmen again! Our representatives have the power to stop this garbage, but it's up to us to let them know what we want.

[deschutes dawn]

We have the same type of thing going on at work (Sportsman's Warehouse). We used to have ammo out on the shelves on Thursday mornings after our shipments came in but it was such a circus from retirees and hoarders stripping the shelves we now ration what gets stocked throughout the week. We also limit how much a single person can get at one time-mainly .22 and .223. We also have problems keeping in .38 and .380 shells, which of course, is what I need. One good thing is I am much, much better with a bow than a gun and arrows are easy to get!
Although I don't like crossbows personally, they are very accurate and the bolts are always available. Might be another option for you, Nanno. One more thing, we sell blowguns and darts and the people who use them for varmits love them!

[michael]

Where do these people get the money to spend thousands on ammo? If they got some goats they would have milk and cheese when the shelves are empty, and all that excess cash would get put towards hay which would give the farmers more money, be good for a healthy economy. Goats solve all problems!!

[Nanno]

With all the snow around my place lately, I thought it sure would be nice to see a little rain, so I put up Charlie Horse's latest banner. =)

Thanks Charlie Horse!

Yesterday I shoveled a lot of snow! I had to dig out my woodpile. I've been splitting a lot of firewood lately. Pac-Man has been earning his keep lately. I hitched him to the sled and had him hauling water and stuff out to the goat pens these last couple of days. He also hauled the shovel and kitty litter down to the end of our driveway where Phil got the tractor stuck. I thought he'd run from me after I made him work pretty hard yesterday, but instead he was in my pocket all morning as if he wanted to do some more. Good boy! This goat drives really well too! I was able to do all the work without Phil's help. I was able to walk beside the sled to steady the load and Pac-Man went right on ahead. He has some steering issues when he wants to follow the other goats, but he doesn't balk and I never had to go out front and lead him.

In other good news, Finn's foot is doing much better. It bled some again yesterday (I think another goat stepped on it), but he's walking on it now, and this afternoon I watched him leap three feet up on a wall and do a ninja flip off it. Like mother, like son! He's still limping, but that foot must feel pretty good for Finn to be pulling those kind of moves.

[IdahoNancy]

I love that banner. All the banners are great but I can relate to the raining one. My goatie boys have taken on some awful weather elk hunting. It never seems to discourage them, they just keep marching along.