What did you do today?

[goatzrule]

Imagine if the pack goats had these horns. Scroll down to the picture of the ibex.
Ibex horns

[MadCatX]

awesome!

[Nanno]

IT'S RAINING! IT'S RAINING, IT'S RAINING, IT'S RAINING!!!

We've been so sad and dry all summer, and that huge fire has been burning southwest of us since late June. Our pasture shriveled up and died sometime in May, and the hopeful shoots of grass that cautiously poked up in April were crunchy and brown within a few short weeks. Cracks appeared as the ground retreated under the parching sun and wind, and even the grasshoppers and flies died off before they could proliferate.

But a week ago Sunday we got a real gully-washer. Then yesterday we got a steady downfall for almost an hour, and today it's raining again. Our pastures took on a faint greenish tinge after the first downpour, and then last night after the rainstorm the grass popped out like it had been waiting just offstage for a grand appearance. As we walked on the new carpet of green, I saw that the grass blades were all still bent over because they had only just popped up from the damp soil. Today the blades unfurled while new, curled shoots poked up around them. It's like magic, and it smells magnificent outside.

[DownUnder Gal]

"Gully-washer" - I love that term, never heard it before Nanno. I'm so glad that you've finally got some rain; it's hard to picture crunchy brown countryside where you live because when I visited everything was so lush and green - almost tropical.

[goatzrule]

RAIN COME THS WAY!!!!!!!!!! We are so dry too, it rained a little bit a few days ago but we need a massive rain.

[blackie's maiden]

Sold off some more of our goats...down to selling nice does and doelings. Drought so bad here, our usual hay source said he didn't even bail this year. Hay will be very expensive this year if you can find it at all. A little heart broken today. Hated to see some of them go to auction today.

[goatzrule]

How terrible! I'm so sorry. We are selling our best kid in three years of goat breeding, not because of the drought but it still sucks.

[Nanno]

No one baled hay in our area this year either--even the folks with water rights couldn't bale hay because so little water came off the mountain to irrigate. All the ditches were dry. We're getting rain now, thank goodness, but it's almost certainly too late to get a hay crop unless the rain keeps up all month and the can bale in September. I'm sorry you're having to sell so many goats. I'm worried about finding good homes for mine this year. People aren't really buying right now.

[Taffy]

I wish you folks lived closer to me in Washington. We've already put up 3 premium grass hay cuttings with one more cutting to go.

[Mike]

I am sorry you had to sell off some of your goats!!  Really a huge bummer!!!  I hope you guyd can get some rain sooner than later.