Cool, crisp mornings are starting to become the usual, only meaning one thing: fall is here. For me that means the last goat shows of the 2013 year, and the beginning of breeding season. Last week, I attended the Colorado Boer Classic in Keenesburg, Colo., for my last Boer show before National Western Stock Show. Being a busy week, I didn’t have as much time to prep the does as I would have liked, and ended up doing most of my washing, clipping and blowing at the show. This was my first time attending this show, and I was surprised at the number of exhibitors from other states. The show…

Hands down, one of my favorite times of the year is fair time. It’s the time when 4-H and FFA members get to take the projects they have worked so hard at to a show, and compete against their peers. I love seeing the passion and drive in these youngsters. They reach the barn early to feed and make sure their animals are comfortable, and then they begin prepping for their respective shows. I love watching the kids push their hogs down to the wash racks, and laugh as their pigs shake their heads and shower them in water. It only takes a second for the hog to grab the…

The rain spatters my windows as the tears spatter my cheeks. This wonderful journey has come to an end. It was not something I was expecting, nor something I was ready for. Unfortunately, death is a part of life. But this one was one of my hardest goodbyes. On Saturday, July 21, I lost the sow that started it all for me. She had turned six in the beginning of March, which is pretty old for a sow. This was her seventh litter. The stress of the farrowing, her old age and the heat was more than her body could take, and just one day after farrowing, she was ushered…