....and here we are-

-nearly at the end of this particular chapter of the bizarrely fractured fairy tale of the Alaska goat community.

The five people expelled were not members, according to Heather Fair. The reason being-and one she testified to in court, as well as to the membership itself: There was no secretary at the time.

No secretary, no processing of memberships. She stated this numerous times, on tape. And in print. And in court.

So then how did we get expelled for cause, if we weren't even members?

And how did people get expelled that weren't even members? As in, the club had not receive their membership applications on the 27th. And what about the person who had their money returned, no explanation-and no letter about being expelled? Yet, subsequent email includes their names......because????


Well who knows!

It will be whatever they cooked up between January 8th and now.

Which leaves the very sticky issue of the other people who supplied completed membership application forms and cash at the January 8th meeting. What are they doing about that?


Don't forget, that's the meeting where Heather Fair has testified that the voting took place-but no one else witnessed it. Seriously. They had to have met in the parking lot, or left to go to some other place to count ballots-if they even did that legally. The board acted to rig the elections in the first place, by expelling people they didn't want involved in the club. Or at least that is a very logical conclusion, based on the events.

The $260 in cash submitted to, and accepted by then President Laura Manary (and acknowledged by both Laura and Heather Fair, by the way) has been held by Heather Fair since. She admitted she still had the money in court on June 15th.

Now, the club has listed a handful of new members once the club website was updated on June 16th. But they have not acted on all the applications-only a very few-evidently those who pass the sniff test for membership. Some may not even know that they are listed as current members, either. The reason I say that is because Heather Fair testified in court that just 7 ballots could be counted on January 8th at their mystery meeting that no one else knew about. Now they have 13 or 14 members on their website.

It could reasonably be argued that the club has *knowingly* defrauded us individually for the funds, since they have had nearly seven months to return it. They have not.

I could see where this could become a bit of a hot potato for the club itself....will they be drug back into small claims? Will someone contact the Better Business Bureau? The Human Rights Commission? No one is saying anything that I know about.

I did give the President a few days to get their poo in a pile and issue me a refund check.

In the meantime there is the very sticky matter of the judge's decision......who knows what is going to happen with that-but I plan on taking action to recover my dues regardless. The club may find itself so busy in court defending their actions, that they have no time to continue thrashing members of the community.

One can hope, anyway :)

How many times around that tree can we go?

So, a few days back I sent my notification to the Alaska Mini Goat Cache, as posted below.

Imagine my surprise when I received the following email:



Dear 2011 Member or Membership Applicants,

It has come to my attention many people have been posting on various
public forums, requests, demands, and notices for a return of their
money submitted to the Alaska Mini Goat Cache for 2011 membership.
Per Article 3 of the AkMGC bylaws, “any member in good standing may
resign from the Club upon written notice to the Secretary. The Club is
not obliged to refund any dues to the resigned member.” If you wish
to make a request for a refund, or a resignation of your membership,
please do so in writing with an original signature and effective date,
and mail it to the Club’s address. Please include a detailed written
explanation for the resignation and/or refund, so that I may pass it
on to the Secretary for presentation to the Board of Directors.
Please understand that the Board of Directors have lives outside their
Board positions and will review any resignations or requests as soon
as reasonably possible.

The Club’s address is:

3060 N. Lazy Eight Ct.
Suite 2, PMB 103
Wasilla, AK 99654

Thank You,

Rayna Fritcher
2011 AkMGC President



A very curious fact is who the email is addressed to: Rachel Peterson, myself, Margie Buckwalter, Tina Judd, Mike Pendergrast and Lisa Stevenson.

Crud, they can't even get their numbers right, lol!! In the case of myself and the other four people expelled, we are neither members, nor applicants. We are just members of the public, and this pitiful excuse of a club has squatted on our money for nearly seven months. I responded:



Rayna, I find your email rather puzzling, on several fronts.

Primarily your plea for more time to address the question is most confusing. The club had no troubles with rapidly expelling me on December 27th, just hours after I paid my dues on line:

“I hereby lodge formal complaint against the following parties for violations of the AKMGC's objectives, purpose and bylaws: Suzanne Nevada, Lisa Stevenson, Margie Buchwalter, Tiani Heider, and Rachel Hecker-Peterson. Ten dollars times 5 complaint fee equals fifty dollars deposited pending swift review, response and action Signed Heather Fair. 12-27-2010”

Surely you are not suggesting that the club is entitled to keep my money for the over six months it already has? Since the club has accepted new members since January, according to testimony from Heather Fair, then it was certainly capable of refunds at any date since then. Additionally, you have had our money, complete with addresses since January 8th, so there is no excuses about contacting us individually either. Or are you saying the club is happy to keep our money, but keep us out?

If you (the club) can act within hours to expel people who are not even members, then you can refund the money within a day or so. You either step up to the plate and return the monies you are keeping for whatever leverage you think it gains, or you face the consequences. No excuses.

To which I received this response:



Considering that 2/3 of the 2011 AkMGC Board of Directors is different
from the 2010 AkMGC Board of Directors, I feel my request is reasonable
and polite.

If you wish to receive a refund for money you submitted for 2011 AkMGC
membership to the 2010 AkMGC Board of Directors, please follow the
instructions in my original e-mail.

Thank you,

Rayna Fritcher
2011 President



It took Rayna two days to come up with this response, which I find laughable at best. The SINGLE difference between the two boards is ONE PERSON. OMG, they sure feel we are stupid, don't they?

Shame on you, Madame President. Just shame on you. I saw your face in court when it seemed that your statement about the "no meeting" that took place on December 27th statement that you made to the membership might be read into the record and accepted by the judge. Panic much, there? The deer in the headlights expression on your face sealed any remaining doubts I might have had about your complicity to dupe the public. Heather then promptly stated for the record that she had the minutes of that meeting-right at hand. Not supplied in her response to the court, naturally. Naturally.

I am not as stupid as Heather Fair would have you believe, Madame President. You have been tooled, but good, and now you are as guilty as she.

What you did (deduced from logic) was this:

You had all forgotten that applications accepted through the website and PayPal were automatically members-according to your own bylaws.

When a bunch of us joined on the 27th, you held an "executive meeting" of the board to cope with it. Totally throwing out state law (and bylaws, and RRoO) which say that board meetings are only advisory in nature...and that ALL meetings must be noticed for any business to be conducted. But what the heck, Heather Fair did it anyway, and convened the meeting-remember, she stated in court she had the minutes and that the decisions for expulsions were unanimous-crafted the response and booted out the five people she felt most threatened by.

Now Heather was forced to argue two points about membership....first, by stating over and over again (at the Jan 8th membership meeting and on the clubs' Yahoo group) no new memberships could be "processed" because she was not the secretary. Period. And then by arguing that the action to expel the new members was also valid. OMG.....how ironic!

If there was no mechanism to accept new members at all until the results of the January 8th meeting and balloting took place (which evidently occurred in the parking lot of the Windbreak Cafe after the regularly noticed time) then your idiotic expulsions are worthless. They mean nothing since the people expelled were never members.

Seriously, you guys need to get your story straight.

What has happened in practise, is that the club has held onto my money under false pretences.

You have defrauded me of my funds.

And you plead with me to wait? Because your club officers "have a life"?

Best laugh I have had in a long time, Rayna. The only life that little fiefdom of yours is going have, is whatever Heather Fair manipulates you into having, lol

Six ways from Sunday.....or, on it goes!

We'll have to revisit the time line, one more time.....old territory, but worth repeating because recent events have left the author confuzzled.

So on December 27th, I joined the Alaska Mini Goat Cache via the web. On the 28th, late in the evening, I got the email from the President that I had been expelled for cause, and they will refund my money. On December 30th (just a couple days later) the President stated publicly that

Quote:
"just so everyone knows there was no secret meeting wthout telling the memebers. No calling to order, no minutes and no report of officers."

EndQuote This was sent to the club's Yahoo membership. And was followed by a message from Rayna Fritcher

Quote:


"I will voice this here and at the meeting: If nothing was called to order and there was no meeting or minutes, then anything voted on at this informal and unannounced gathering is not valid.

Rayna
EndQuote

On January 8th Heather Fair recited the complaint(s) as I previously mentioned. At the time, the relevance of the date escaped my attention, unfortunately. However, in the response to the SCC suit filed, Heather Fair supplied 109 pages (One hundred and nine freaking pages! OMG, and it included over 60 pages of internet postings which had no relevance to the suit, lol) which included the by laws and.....copies of signed statements concerning the complaints. The pages are not dated, and include the signatures of Laura Manary and Rayna Fritcher. Both of whom said that no such meeting took place, mind you. And contrary to then President Manary's claims above, Heather Fair did state under oath on June 15th that she "had the minutes" to that meeting.

So you see that there is rather something strange going on here.....they cannot seem to keep their untruths straight, and what they supplied to the court does not match what they told the membership. Leaving the door wide open for the following speculations here.......

Because here is how it looks on the outside:

The club expelled five people they had personal beefs with. They essentially covered this up by repeatedly stating that new memberships could not "be processed". By dumping the five, and not "accepting" other memberships, they closed their "elections" to anyone not already a member on December 27th. Never mind what the President did in welcoming the "new members" and never mind the bylaws that says a member can vote-with no qualifications as to "processing" or anything else.

In short, they rigged the election.

Now, let's talk about that election. Heather Fair has been adamant that they took place "at the January meeting". Since I was present personally I can tell you that the membership voted to vacate the election process and start over. There were NO VOTES CAST OR TALLIED. Period, end of story, and that is on a number of audio recordings.

However, Heather asserted in court that an election did in fact took place. That nine ballots were cast, and two of which they discarded for various reasons-leaving 7 votes eligible. And that, as of June 15th, the club had 13 members.

So the folks who submitted joined on January 8th? No votes, and not members either. Recall that Heather Fair has repeatedly said that there is no secretary to "process" members. And that there had been no one in the Secretary position since the previous summer. (Yeah, I know, never mind what the previous President said, and the club's bylaws, lol)

Now here we are in June, and they somehow managed to "process" six new members. Despite not having elections. Or a secretary. Or meetings. Oh wait, they did have a meeting-one sometime after 4 pm on December 27th which the president denied. And one on or about the 28th of April of this year-according to testimony. And apparently, maybe one on January 8th where the voting was tallied-presumably at another location after the well publicized (and attended) one at the Windbreak Cafe. Because Heather Fair did avow that elections took place-a number of times, not just in court.

Did you follow all that?

Give it another read, and you'll agree: Heather Fair seemingly (just my opinion, mind you) fixed the election several ways: First, she booted out all five she did not want involved in the club. Secondly, the club did not accept new members-recall that 20 people joined at the January meeting. Third, they tallied previous ballots after the regularly noticed membership meeting.

Since then, the club has not had any scheduled or noticed meetings that have been made public. And it has in it's possession, the money from 20 people who attempted to join. For over six months. Heather Fair testified and assured the judge that the funds were in her possession.

I'll leave you digest all the above....and count on more to come!

Fractured Fairy Tales Rdux, part 3

And thus events get even more confusing, especially concerning the expulsions made by the "club" at the behest of Heather Fair.

Now, remember.....a total of five people were expelled.

Of those five, one was not even a member. Seriously, not even a member at the time!

Margie Buckwalter had mailed in her membership application and a check for dues at the end of the year, and did not hear anything about them for a very long time.

Rachel Peterson did the same online thing I did, and paid via PayPal on the same day. A few hours later her money was returned, with no explanation. She did not receive a notice of formal complaint either.

So, those two people were not even members....yet they were expelled. I'd call that spurious, if it weren't so pathetically obvious that a personal vendetta was being played out-with the club itself serving as the platform. Heather Fair then subsequently testified in court that five members were expelled....that, folks, is a lie under oath by anyone's definition.

Lisa Stevenson had the misfortune to have a difference of opinion with Heather Fair over various goat related matters previously-and boom, she was expelled also. I'll just say it was ugly-and Heather Fair through and through and leave you to your imaginations.

Now as to the last person expelled, Suzanne Nevada. Did you know that Suzanne was one of the founding members? You certainly would not think that she is a knowledgeable, capable goat breeder with well chosen and reserached bloodlines, with a degee in animal science and so on and so forth...to hear Heather Fair tell it to others. Suzanne is well connected here in Alaska, and has many long term ties with various organizations and people in the Lower 48, and she is highly respected here for her skill and knowledge. But out she went too, for reasons never specified.

What makes this beyond dumbfounding is the fact that Heather Fair got her start in goats-by purchasing them from Silveraurora. Which is Suzanne Nevada's kennel and farm name. Yes, you read that correctly-the woman who mentored Heather Fair and helped with the numerous special issues with goats is none other than one of the expelled!

Are you thinking this is some sort of bizarre soap opera? I am sorry to assure you that this is not the case-it is, indeed, a fact that truth is stranger than fiction-at least as it applies to the Alaska Mini Goat Cache.

Again-a fact: When Heather Fair testified under oath that five members were expelled, it was a lie. I'm fairly positive that she affirmed this action at least three times to the judge too. It will be on the public record that she did so knowingly. And how can I state that she did, in fact, know this? Because she did testify that that the membership of the club was 7 members as of the end of the year.

I'll let you all chew on that for a while.....more coming :0

Fractured Fairy Tales Redux, part 2...........

So that brings us to December 28th. At about the same time-the 28th or 29th, it was noticed that changes were being made to the club website in rapid order. Eventually, the club online membership form was taken down, and so was the PayPal link. Four other people who had applied for membership were also expelled without explanation: They are Rachel Peterson, Suzanne Nevada, Margie Buckwalter, and Lisa Stevenson. So five expulsions-an important number to remember :)

On January 8th, the regularly scheduled meeting took place. The club officers attempted to (unsuccessfully) change the time and venue but folks were able to nail them to the original advertised date and place. Obstensibly, this meeting is the one that served as the annual meeting for the club, with election results and installations of new officers the main points. I would post the minutes here-but they are long and boring aside from a few salient facts:

Heather made the five complaints herself (serving as Treasurer, Webmaster and Newsletter Editor of the club) and was eventually forced to recite them into the minutes (on several recorders present) thusly:

Quote:
_________________

The following complaint was read by Heather Fair:

“I hereby lodge formal complaint against the following parties for violations of the AKMGC's objectives, purpose and bylaws: Suzanne Nevada, Lisa Stevenson, Margie Buchwalter, Tiani Heider, and Rachel Hecker-Peterson. Ten dollars times 5 complaint fee equals fifty dollars deposited pending swift review, response and action Signed Heather Fair. 12-27-2010”

_______________
EndQuote

This is the same meeting the Heather Fair stated repeatedly that memberships could not be "processed" due to a lack of a secretary, so the applications of the five people "expelled" were not members and neither were the new members (or whatever she was thinking, who knows?). This is also the same meeting that President Laura Manary welcomed the new members, and said that our applications would serve as receipt. (You'd think that they'd get on the same page with that, wouldn't you?)

At this meeting, 22 new members joined-including the five of us who had gotten the expulsion notice. Please note that the date Heather Fair recites is the 27th of December.

The very same day I applied.

So in less than 8 hours, I apparantly did....what? What violations? What process was used to handle these complaints? What club does this without giving the accused due process? Is it ethical for a person to bring forth a complaint, and then vote on it too? Do boards have executive powers? These and other questions remain unanswered to this day. But I will say I did see her physically squirm when it seemed that the judge might require Heather Fair to detail the contents of the complaints.

It was a contentious meeting, it is true. Over 40 people showed up, can you imagine? This is the same club that Heather Fair just testified had 5, or maybe 7 members on January 8th. And that has 13 members today. This tidbit of information becomes more interesting when Heather Fair repeatedly denied supplying a member list to the new club members.....

But I am getting ahead of myself-more to come!

Fractured Fairy Tales.......Redux

A recap of the sordid saga of Alaska goat community:

It all began for this author innocently enough. I'd been thinking of expanding my presence in the goat industry for quite some time. To that end, I was on Facebook one day last December, and performed an action that is done millions of times every single day there: I clicked "like" on the Alaska Mini Goat Cache page. I found another related page, and liked that one too (this one, the Alliance for Raw Milk local page). Imagine my puzzlement when I was booted from both pages-within minutes of each other. Despite the claims of "Facebook glitches", it became clear that the issue was personal when I discovered that the same person was an admin on both pages. That person was Heather Fair.

From there, I asked on a Yahoo group, what was up with being booted? Seemed like a reasonable question, I am sure you will agree. A flood of denials ensued and then more discussion took place over changes being made to the club website.

Who knew that the question I posed, would eventually toss gasoline on a long smoldering tinderbox? For a week or so, the issue of being booted from pages, and administration of pages, and the ins and outs of Facebook were debated and discussed. At some point, I discovered that Heather Fair had personally blocked me. (If you don't know what this is, trust me when I say that participation in a group page where blocking is allowed, is beyond frustrating) And then of course, so did Laura Manary and Tisa Witham too.

Then, on the 27th of December, after I had gone around to the various websites and joined those organizations I usually join, I went to the Alaska Mini Goat Cache website. I intended to join the club, and did so using the club's online membership application and submitted my membership dues at around 4 pm. A number of other people did the same thing at nearly the same time I found out later. On the 28th of December I got the following email:
___________

Sent: Tuesday, December 28, 2010 10:09 PM
Subject: Formal Complaint

A formal complaint has been lodged against you for violations of the AKMGC's objectives, purpose and bylaws.
It has been found with at least 2/3 vote of the officers to have your membership terminated(single or family) by expulsion for a period of not less than 2 years and re-entry into the club will only be allowed upon receipt of completed application with payment and by 2/3 confirming vote of the club's officers at that time. As a courtesy we will refund any monies paid for the 2011 membership.

Laura Manary
AKMGC President
______________

Just pause for a second here: I was a member for a whopping 28 hours. Twenty eight hours between the time that an officer found the appllication, and they decided to terminate me with expulsion. Any bets as to who made the complaint?

Stay tuned!

Notice to Alaska Mini Goat Cache

On January 8th, of this year at a regularly scheduled and noticed meeting, the President accepted my membership application and welcomed me to the club as a new member.

Since that time, I have seen no notice of new meetings, no newsletter, no information about club activities, and no communication whatsoever with anyone associated with the club.

After attending the small claims court hearing on June 15th and discovering the depths of the malfeasance of officers; the scope of the machinations of the previous board; and the lengths to which personal vendettas are allowed to affect club matters, I am demanding a return of my membership monies.

Based upon the testimony provided by Heather Fair, I do not want any part of this organization.

The club has until June 20th to return my membership fees in full. Should that date pass without receipt of refund, I will go forward with whatever means required to obtain the funds.

Today's the day!

Today, my son is off on his first 'for real" life adventure. For years, he has been asking to go along with the adults on the trek into a friends' cabin in the Petersville area. We've said no previously because of the typical trail conditions-which are lousy at best. But this year, he has gained enough height and muscle to wrestle his four wheeler through the mud, muck, and muskeg on his own. He now knows how to use the winch, the tow rope, and how to cross small creeks. He's right at the age where he's still fearless (every mother's worst nightmare) and yet has the common sense to think through a situation before rushing headlong into it.

He has no idea what he's facing, exactly, but I've been listening to the stories about slogging through the swamps for years....and, it will be four to six hours of very hard work, with plenty of wheelers stuck or swamped and so on. He's outfitted with rain gear, hip waders, a helmet, and plenty of dry clothes. I've asked that plenty of pictures be taken because he's going to want them-whether he realizes it or not :) I'm excited for him, but not half as much as he is!

Naturally the weather has turned off wet. I won't complain because we have been so dry for so long....we seriously need the rain! But it means that they are all going to end up cold, wet, and tired by the time they get to the cabin. Good thing they're packing a lot of groceries for just a couple days....I don't think his Dad really understands how much a growing 12 year old boy can eat in a day, haha!

Also today another matter moves forward-as noted previously in another blog post earlier. You can be sure I will have something to say about the results-if any-that arise from this afternoon's court date.

Oh and to reassure those of you who contacted me provately about several previous blog entries....again, let me remind you that we do live in the USA, where there is this wonderful document called the Bill of Rights. I have the right to express my opinion, really I do. And that is that, as is oft quoted.

It's done, it's done, it's done!!!

Hip hip hooray!

Everything is planted at long last!! As of yesterday, the cold frame is bursting with pots of corn and tomatoes. Heck even the left over odd balls (not counting the two six packs of cabbage? cauliflower? I found in the car today...and why was it in the car?) are in the ground. In about six weeks my new raised bed will be bursting with pumpkin plants, carrots, a couple egg plants, etc. Planted snap peas thickly along a fence panel, and I sure hope they come up! Nothing is quite as good as snacking on those while you are weeding, lol The onions are obviously pretty happy to be in the ground and I have buds on all my zucchini plants-pumpkins too. I put the acorn squash some distance away and it is thriving as well. All in all, pretty danged happy with how things turned out :)

Of course, along the way I discovered that I have a bad end on a hose that leaks something awful, and that the sprinkler I used last year on the main garden is kaput, lol So I now have a spiffy new sprinkler and hose end repair stuff on hand. Despite a short downpour or two yesterday, the sun today has everything dried out-so, tractor sprinkler is going on the lawn and I'll tend the baskets and greenhouse tomorrow morning.

I am especially happy that I don't have the greenhouse as crowded as previous years. This time, there is ample air flow and there is plenty of space for the growth to come. I even have room for a chair so I can enjoy my daily chores there-instead of feeling mildly annoyed about snaking a hose through the pots or accidentally missing watering a plant by hand. I moved the cukes to the back wall and put the melons on the westerly side-and that seems to make them both much happier than before. The cucumbers have tripled in size in about ten days and the melons the same.....they even have buds forming. Found a couple of nice sized green peppers too. The tomatoes are flowered, but not fruiting yet. I am a little behind on those because it took so long to get into there and get them potted up. But they too, are obviously happy and look marvelous.

Now if I could just get the lawn going.........

All that......and more!

When I mentioned in a previous entry that a saga was developing regarding All That, I wasn't joking......things are getting stranger by the minute and I am waiting the Cyclops to make it's appearance to complete this journey through the bizarre :)

As I ponder whether and/or how much to share, I think I will reverse the clock a little and toss out a few tidbits as they relate to All That.

All That is nothing if not persistent in her attempts to "right wrongs", even if she is in error. Thus, her assertions and accusations against various members of the local horse community in the past. No one was spared, especially lay people she did not like. But she was not above vilifying the professionals too.....veterinarians and farriers in particular. The sun shined out the butt of her chosen service providers and she made no bones about it. She was so bad about it, that several confessed to me personally that they would never be able to respond to her property for any reason. Ever. This is how you burn bridges here that cannot be repaired. There are a limited number of horse practitioners and professionals here in Alaska, and it is a foolish person that alienates anyone. I am pretty sure that a check of complaints made against professional license holders here, would have her signature on them. It's a logical conclusion, based on her own words.

All That used to laud praises upon the horses she owned, which she detailed at length on her little chat group. Having seen these horses in person, I can attest that they did, in fact, exist. So it was with great puzzlement when all learned that her youngest horse (a strapping QH/TB type) had been put down due to hoof issues. I kept my thoughts to my self about the decision, but horse owners know this is a painful, difficult thing to do. That left the senior fellow who was seemingly going great guns on a mash diet. After our falling out, I didn't hear anything about her horse for many months. Imagine my surprise when it was relayed to me that All That put down the old horse. On her property. And butchered him on the spot. And into her freezer he went-steaks and roasts of no doubt tender horseflesh. And yes, she did indeed consume his remains-and has even bragged about doing so.

I'll wait while you fill the barf bag-I know I threw up a little in my mouth at the thought. Now, I have actually eaten horse before.....and would not have any compunction against eating it in the future if I was starving. The point being, if I was starving. But All That was surely not, since they are employed by the State-who is generous indeed with wages. I can't get around this one at all....she ate her pet. Euww! Most horse owners I know who cannot bury their beloved equine friends on their property, either dispose of the remains at the landfill, or arrange to have a local dog musher harvest the carcass for their dog team. Now, owning 20 acres surely meant there was enough room, right? And if not, surely they had the money to dispose of her pet at the dump, right? And if not, surely she knew mushers willing to help, right?


Wrong on all counts, sad to say. So that chapter of her animal husbandry closed and she continued on with goats.......If you peruse her website, you will find many walls of text, explaining in great detail everything. And I do mean everything. But what she does not confess, is her atrocious treatment of goat industry professionals-such as, calling the president of a national organization a liar. In print. On a public forum. She has jumped into the larger pond that is the US goat world, and left behind nothing but the lingering impression of what a whackjob she really is. From the various organizations who sanction shows, to those who record dairy information to judges, appraisers and other professionals (many of whom have become experts in their chosen fields due to many decades of effort) and breeders-none are spared from her scathing assaults. The private emails fly and speculation ensues and while they'll take her money happily enough, most are trying to stay under her radar. Privately, she has become something of a joke, in a "tsk tsk, oh my" sort of way-but a joke nonetheless.

Would that her goat endeavors here in Alaska be a joke also, but alas, they are not........


More to come. But you knew that, right?

Progress!

Yippee! There is progress on the garden! The main garden is planted, thanks in large part to the efforts of my niece. Everything that is remaining in the greenhouse is potted up, and the extra tomatoes and corn await attention in the cold frame. The raised bed is nearly complete too, I only need to add the little brackets and then I can spread the dirt and think about planting. Loaned out the tiller to our good friend and neighbor and it quit on him.....hopefully the problem is still under warranty and I'll hear about that today with luck. Aside from the cold frame, I have pumpkins and acorn squash to get planted, and peas and spuds if possible. And yes I am well aware I am very late with those two, lol

Also last night, I picked up two turkey chicks....these are for eating this fall. And, I have five more ordered to arrive at the end of the month too. Those are Sweetgrass, a very hardy bird that breeds true and is thrifty-not to mention very pretty. Hopefully they will all survive the shipping and then brooding and I will end up with at least one tom and two or three hens to winter over. Crossing my fingers on this one, because turkey chicks just aren't easy to raise. Very fragile when they are young! Another gal has chosen the same breed and number (from a large combined order) and between us we can hopefully establish the breed here in Alaska. A little genetic diversity is not a bad thing :)

As to the goat world....well, things are happening. And won't you all be entertained when I can lay out the story! But you'll have to wait because it has turned into a saga of epic proportions, haha!