Goaty Goats

I'm sitting here, but I'm not really sure I'm awake.  Yes, I went to BINGO last night.  I really wanted more than anything to fall asleep on the couch at 7:00, but everyone seems to be shorthanded.

I arrived at the Patch early to scan the time travel area for errant tennis balls from the shooting gallery  and to check for keys.  You see the day before when I jumped on the tractor with a load of kids, there were no keys.  Hey ..... who took the Time Travel special blue tag?

I raced to the barn, grabbed one set and got back in time to take 65 school kids on the short trip through the corn field.  Whew!!  I was out of breath.  From there, they went straight to the Hay Ride, whose key had also disappeared.

This time I wasn't as lucky and the key didn't work.  I ran back to the barn again and got every single key on the board.  One was SURE to fit.  It was the third one.  I was exhausted by 9:30.

Time to feed the goaty goats.  These babies are raised near Atwater California for milk production.  Truly babies, these guys just want to eat and get petted.  Another jaunt to find the paddock padlock key (you have to keep everything locked up around here) and I went inside to check the water.

These guys are so funny.  In two seconds, I had two with their front feet on my butt.  The third was chewing the back of my shirt.  FEED ME!!!  Of course the alfalfa wasn't good enough.  They wanted grain.  

That's when I got the call to head back up front and do the meet and greet for the next bus.  Seems there's never enough time to take pictures.

Once the school kids have listened to the educational Barnyard Squares and ridden everything, they are ushered to the front tent.  Parents are shooed out the door.  They actually cause us MUCH more trouble than the kids.  

Every single one (the kids that is) get a 6-9 inch pumpkin on their way out the gate.  We finally breathe a big sigh of relief they are all gone.  Time for cleanup and a slow afternoon.  So slow I actually had time to capture some of the flowers.  

These cosmos are planted everywhere, along with millions of mums and sunflowers.

Every barn and building is surrounded with them.  It's just amazing that they all grow.  Of course this WAS once a dairy, so the soil is pretty healthy.

I spent the afternoon giving lunch breaks and trying to take a load off my feet.  At 4:00 I raced out the gate, drove home to feed the puppies and made a beeline (still covered in dust and dirt) to the Elks Lodge for Bingo.

I was pretty rummy ... not a good thing when you have lots of people trying to steal from you.  It just amazes me they are so brazen.  An entire pile of Bonanza game tickets disappeared right in front of my eyes.  Of course I didn't see who did it, but I was pretty sure I knew who was at the table.

I had the guys walk around looking for anyone filling out fifteen tickets.  There's one thing about Bingo.  The regular players don't like cheaters.  In no time at all they knew who the culprit was.  Luckily, she did NOT win.  Can she play those cards next week?  Not a chance.  We change the colors on those cards every week.  Those orange ones are now locked away and won't be played for the next YEAR!!  

Completely exhausted, I fell in bed at 10:00.  All too soon, it was 4 in the morning and the puppies were up.  One thing for sure ... this is going to make me the strongest old lady in town.  I'm off again, determined to sit more than I stand!!