Asher, ever on top of the PBS schedule <g>, tipped me off that a new series starts this week – Texas Ranch House. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/ranchhouse/  He knows all too well I tend to obsess over this series.  At least the Pioneer House, which I watched at least 3 times all through lol! Canadian public broadcasting also produced a similar excellent series with two couples who spent a year on the prairie.  I will reserve my judgement on this one til we see the first episode.  Colonial House was a bust.  Totally unrealistic and in fact scandalous, in part due to their inability to abide by Puritan beliefs and chain of command.  Victorian House was similarly less than stellar – lots of whining.  Ok so WWII House wasnt so hot either…… 

BUT hey, I saw the previews of this one and they have no trees, lots of dirt, baby goats, and a fly infestation come summer.  THIS I can relate to! ; D 

Speaking  of baby goats, we tried our hands at disbudding yesterday.  Words cannot describe this horrific job. Disbudding sounds so innocuous doesn’t it?  Sorta gives one the image of pinching off flower buds from a stem.  Not so.  It’s a euphamism for searing off the horn buds before they grow into lethal weapons. 

Fiascofarm.com tried to prepare us for the task. There is only so much that can be said however and reality was every bit as raw and unpleasant as their description.  First the kids get a haircut around the horn area. That was a piece of cake. We then wrapped them in a towel since we didnt have a kid-holding box. (yes they make these things)  and laid them on a table.  Two of us held the kid while Allen burned off the horns one at time.  All the while Fiasco’s words about brain damage ran through our heads and we were terrified about *frying their brains*.  Never mind the ‘what-in-the-name-of-all-that-is-good are you DOING to me’ squeals they let out.  Wow!  A necessary evil perhaps, but hands down the worst job we have done on the ranch. 

One interesting observation in the whole thing was the difference in the way each of the kids responded.  The does have an awesome mamma and they fought like mad and made a huge fuss. They were appalled (and rightly so) and their mamma consoled them afterwards.  The bucks who came out of our yearling fussed less.  In fact the little guy, whom the mamma hasnt been too affectionate towards, made next to no noise and seemed to just close his eyes and give up.  His mamma didnt even look up when he came back to the pasture.  That was heart wrenching.  It did cause me to make connections with real children however.  I hope we are raising kids who will fight like mad when faced with injustice and who know they can always return to the fold of home for solace.