Beware of Goats No More

It's the end of an era.

Well, perhaps not an era, but the end of a "season" at our house.

We purchased our first three goats (Tom, Ma and Jolly) in 2004. We were clearing some of our land for pasture and wanted the goats to help clear the brush. They did a wonderful job and it wasn't long before we added five more, then three, then another five or six. Goats have a gestation period of about five months, so we frequently had babies. They reach sexual maturity well before they're a year old, so you can imagine... our goat herd grew by leaps and bounds. This was not without its pitfalls, though. Those who followed my 360 blog saw frequent entries about the ups and downs of raising goats. Coyotes and dog packs are an ongoing problem and we lost far too many kids and young goats to attacks. We also learned about mastitis, mineral deficiencies and many other things that can go wrong.

The coyotes have been especially bad in the past month. Since selling John and five of his buddies (along with Debbie the donkey) and losing Tom in September, we were down to just a few goats. Ma was killed in October and I think that was sort of the last straw. We sold our remaining four goats (Phyllis, Pammy, Samson and Muley-head) and they left with their new owner last night.

Bella, Bella, Bella!

It's been close to a year now since Bella arrived at our house. She was a puppy at the time, probably around four months old. She hasn't changed much in looks as she's grown..... just filled out and lost some of her wrinkles. Fortunately her chewing problem has improved. For awhile there she destroyed everything she could sink her teeth into! Garden hoses, tail-light hookup on the utility trailer, my garden flag, sprinkler attachments, bottles (both plastic & glass), etc., etc. One day she brought home someone's workboot. It provided her much entertainment for several weeks. Of course she never wanted to chew the toys we provided for that specific purpose. What's the fun in that when you can be naughty instead?

This morning I picked up the phonebook to call the vet about something. Guess what? The page with the vet's number on it was one of the pages she chewed up when the phone company left our phonebook lying next to the door last spring! Hmmm... think she might have been sending us a message??

What Halloween Treat Are You?

Here's my contribution to Halloween. It's SO not me!!! Don't get me wrong.... when I was a kid I loved Halloween and have lots of fond memories. My two best costumes were probably my mummy (used Ace bandages and sheets) and my Santa Claus (used a mask from a Santa Pinata). Now I live in the "sticks" and don't get trick-or-treaters, which is fine with me. I don't have to buy all that candy and be tempted to eat it myself! I do put up some decorations in the house (thanks to my daughter supplying them for me a few years ago).

You Are Candy Corn

Your Halloween personality is whimsical, colorful, and creative. You see Halloween as a time to get your creative juices flowing. Each year, Halloween can't start soon enough for you. You tend to go all out for Halloween. You decorate like crazy and always dress up.

What Halloween Treat Are You?

Chicken Romano

I cut this recipe out of a magazine twenty years ago. It’s simple and fairly quick to prepare. I use chicken tenders instead of broiler-fryer pieces.

Chicken Romano

2 to 2-1/2 pounds broiler-fryer pieces
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Salt
Pepper
1 medium onion, halved, sliced
1 bottle (12 oz) Heinz Chili Sauce
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
Grated Parmesan cheese

In large skillet, brown chicken in oil. Drain excess fat. Season chicken with salt and pepper; add onion. Cover; cook 30 minutes longer, basting frequently. Skim excess fat from sauce. Serve sauce over chicken; sprinkle with cheese. Makes 4-5 servings (about 1-1/2 cups sauce).

Woodland Habitat

My least favorite part of working a jigsaw is sorting the pieces to get started. This is especially true with "shaped" puzzles like the one shown here. After dumping the puzzle onto a work surface, I sort the pieces that aren't edges into two trays leaving the border pieces on the table. With irregular-shaped puzzles it isn't always obvious which pieces are edges! I still attempt to sort them, but usually end up working the puzzle from the inside out rather than doing the border first. This one worked up fairly quickly once I got started.

OPINION: A real inconvenient truth (about taxes)

I was sent the following editorial piece in an e-mail and thought I would share it here.

OPINION: A real inconvenient truth (about taxes)
Wednesday, Oct 15, 2008

By Warren Stephens

I have never written a column in one of our newspapers and really had no intention of doing so, but after watching the debate last Tuesday night I feel compelled to put some facts to paper so that readers can make an informed decision about this election. Given the dearth of facts in the current debate, this may not be my only foray into writing for publication! I want to make sure I make the proper disclosures about who I support in this Presidential Campaign. I am the co-finance chair for Arkansas for the McCain Campaign and an ardent free market capitalist. I believe social issues are best left to individuals and while I have strong beliefs about them, I will not interject them into my choice of a candidate. Economics and taxes, on the other hand, are NOT subject to interpretation. Supply and demand curves are real and they work. This column is an attempt to put facts in front of you, particularly as they relate to taxes and the "fairness" of our tax code.

Senator Obama is proposing a tax increase for small businesses and the top 5 percent of tax paying Americans. He says that he will give 95 percent of Americans a tax cut and he and Senator Biden say it is fair and the "patriotic duty" of the top 5 percent to pay more. Again, full disclosure, I am in the top 5 percent and probably the top 1 percent. The facts, as to who pays taxes, paint a different picture and, for whatever reason, Senator McCain will not use them. The tables below really say it all:

_______Share of total_________

Top 1 percent Income Taxes Paid

1990 14 percent 25 percent

2000 21 percent 37 percent

2005 21 percent 39 percent



________Share of total________

Top 5 percent Income Taxes Paid

1990 27 percent 44 percent

2000 35 percent 56 percent

2005 36 percent 60 percent

Source: Treasury Department, October 2007



These statistics are from the U.S. Treasury Department and they reveal a startling and seldom talked about FACT. The top 1 percent of wage earners in this country pay 39 percent of the income taxes paid, while the top 5 percent pay 60 percent. That's right, 60 percent of all income taxes are paid by the same people on whom Senators Obama and Biden want to RAISE taxes. What is more, the percentage paid by this group has increased since the so-called Bush tax cuts. This is a real inconvenient truth for the Obama Campaign.

In 2006, the lower 50 percent of wage earners had 12.5 percent of the income and paid 3.0 percent of federal income taxes. The 2006 statistics also reveal that the top 5 percent of U.S. taxpayers paid $616 billion in federal income taxes which was MORE than the remaining 95 percent of taxpayers' total of $408.1 billion. Our system could hardly be more weighted to having the wealthy pay more, yet that is precisely what Senator Obama proposes. I will reluctantly accept (for now) that in our society the top wage earners will pay more (in percentage terms) in taxes, but if Senator Obama wants to raise taxes, he should say so. As The Wall Street Journal has been saying, you cannot give a tax cut to people who do not pay taxes. Senator Obama's plan is a redistribution of income from those who pay taxes to those who do not. It is nothing more than the granddaddy of all welfare plans and voters need to know it. For Senators Obama and Biden to couch this issue as one of fairness and a "patriotic duty" is an attempt to deceive the American public as to the facts.

I am not afraid of Senator Obama becoming President because he is a bad person. Rather I am concerned about his policies and their effect on our economy both in the short and long term. Higher tax rates will discourage investment and capital formation and that is not good for anyone.



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Warren Stephens is president and CEO of Stephens Inc., one of the largest investment companies off Wall Street, and an owner of Stephens Media, which publishes newspapers in nine states, including Arkansas.

October iPod Roulette

It’s been awhile since I popped in the ear buds and escaped from the world through music. Rather than picking and choosing, I opted for a round of iPod Roulette. My only disappointment was not having any jazz come up. Overall, a pretty good session! Of course the YouTube clips are not necessarily the versions I listened to.

1. Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan) – I think Dylan is a great songwriter, but don’t always like listening to him sing. This is one of his better vocal performances, in my opinion.
2. One of These Nights (Eagles) – Okay… so I can’t hear the Eagles anymore without thinking of Quid! This is from their early stuff, which I prefer.
3. Can’t Get Enough (Bad Company) – One of those groups I rarely think about, but do enjoy a few of their songs.
4. My Sweet Lord (George Harrison) – I’ll be honest here. George was always my least favorite Beatle. This IS one of his better songs, though.
5. Bring the Rain (Mercy Me) – This group has some of best Contemporary Christian Music out there and this song never fails to lift me up.
6. Crazy [D-Influence Mix] (Mark Morrison) – I’ll never forget the first time I heard this. I’d bought the CD (back before I had iTunes and could get singles) for another song (Return of the Mack). The whole family was in the car when I popped it in the CD player the first time and the look on my husband’s face was priceless! NOT his kind of music!!
7. Love Bites (Def Leppard) – Decent classic rock.
8. Misunderstanding (Genesis) – This song is from the Duke album. I love the whole album, which tells a story when played in its entirety, but it’s apparent that their sound was starting to go “pop” at this point. My favorite Genesis is from the early 70s (Selling England by the Pound).
9. A Medley: For Sentimental Reasons, Tenderly, Autumn Leaves (Natalie Cole) – Her voice is almost as smooth as her father’s.
10. Respect (Aretha Franklin) – My version is from the Blues Brothers 2000 movie. It’s a little different from the original, but still classic Aretha!
11. Mainstreet (Bob Seger) – One of those songs I can’t help but sing along to.
12. Misty (Johnny Mathis) – From the movie Play Misty for Me (or did the song come out before the movie? I have a couple of versions on my iPod including an instrumental.
13. Dude [Looks Like a Lady] (Aerosmith) – Other than their song Dream On from when I was a teenager, I didn’t appreciate this band until I was in my 30s, I like lots of their stuff now.
14. Sweet Love (The Commodores) – One of those guilty pleasures. I love their smooth voices!
15. Symphony No. 40 in G minor K. 550 II: Andante Con Moto (Mozart) – A pleasant way to end my iPod Roulette session.

Jenny's new baby

Meet Jenny's new little boy! He was born on Wednesday and I took these pictures yesterday afternoon. He's the fifth donkey born in our pasture and Jenny's fourth with us.

Vampires & Werewolves!

My life has been busy! I haven’t had a lot of spare time in the past two weeks, but what time I’ve had has been spent in the company of vampires and werewolves. Yes, I finally decided to read the Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer. I started Twilight on a Saturday night and turned the final page in Breaking Dawn eleven nights later. Despite the late hour that I finished the last book, I wasn’t able to sleep. The characters and their lives kept playing through my mind. I love writers that are able to make me feel that way about their characters. I knew from reading The Host earlier in the year that I liked Meyer’s writing style and these books were equally as good. I miss Bella, Edward, Jacob and all the rest. At least I have the movie to look forward to!

Esther, our rottie-girl celebrated her 9th birthday this past Monday! No party hats for her. She wouldn’t have been any happier to wear one than Betty was, so I decided I wouldn't torture her. She did get to have yogurt on her food that morning along with lots of extra treats during the day. Here’s a picture of her playing ball last week. Still in pretty good shape for an “older woman”!

We have a new baby donkey! It was born yesterday, but I haven’t had a chance to see it yet. I’ll try to post a picture and details soon.

At the Winter Feeder

I recently came across this poem in a book of devotionals and was quite taken by it.

At the Winter Feeder

by John Leax

His feather flame doused dull
by icy cold,
the cardinal hunched
into the rough, green feeder
but ate no seed.
Through binoculars I saw
festered and useless
his beak, broken
at the root.
Then two: one blazing, one gray,
rode the swirling weather
into my vision
and lighted at his side.
Unhurried, as if possessing
the patience of God,
they cracked sunflowers
and fed him
beak to wounded beak
choice meats.
Each morning and afternoon
the winter long,
that odd triumvirate,
that trinity of need,
returned and ate
their sacrament
of broken seed.

John Leax is the Poet-in-Residence at Houghton College in Houghton, NY.