Sheepish

My family likes sheep. Firstly, they taste good. But they're also mostly quite pleasant and friendly, even if their intelligence is slightly at a lower level than one could wish. Since they're in the tropics my family raises tropical sheep, which resemble goats. My dad is working towards his goal of a flock of over two hundred, at which point he can continuously supply various purchasers with fresh lamb. Dee-lish!

My sister Susan is raising some goats (not sheep), and emailed me recently to tell me about her billy goat, Billy. He is a terrible brat and pees on people and escapes out the fence every day and she's very proud of him (but not for those reasons). She is the only person he loves and he likes it when she combs his beard and coat. Here he is in all his goatly splendor:

Apparently they also rescued a friend's dying calf and named him George. George can barely walk even though he's a month old, so the joke is to say "George is running away!" when he manages to hobble a few steps.

What can I say? My family is a highly interesting and entertaining group of people!

Lake Pearrygin Days

Last summer Braden and I camped at Lake Pearrygin with a great group of people (mostly family of our good friends Lance and Amanda) and (as usual) had a grand time.

We started off with a four hours' drive through the mountains and plains and desert and forest... All right, maybe not QUITE plains. Although we arrived at the campground near the middle of the night, long after everyone else had already set up and gone to bed, Lance was wonderful and helped Braden pound stakes and erect the tent, haul our bags, etc. Since it was pitch black, I helped by shining a flashlight on the activity while swatting large bugs.

Here's our home-sweet-tent in the daylight:

This is the al fresco living room by Amanda's parents' RV, complete with wood fireplace (and marshmallow skewers!). We hung out here most of the time when we were eating or relaxing:

There were a lot of various activities, such as swimming, water skiing/wakeboarding, sunbathing, hiking, canoeing... Here's me early one morning, heading out in the lake.

Here's Lance building a campfire, of course (vital for any camping experience):

Becca eating licorice glamourously:

Amanda's dad being Sous Chef for one of our breakfasts (I never really found out who the Executive Chef was...):
Our camp mascot and water sport lifeguard:


THEN. During a mountain-bike ride (did I mention that was an activity option as well?), Braden hit a deep rut and was thrown from his bike. After skidding to a halt on the ground, it became apparent that he had lost a good deal of skin on the way:

He was the celebrity of the campground for a day or so, since shirts were not such a good idea (they stuck to the raw skin), and it was like a really bad train wreck: you couldn't HELP but stare. Here he is with a small crowd of admirers/commiserators (including Dusty, who's taking pictures!):

Jude seemed quite fascinated as well...

But maybe he's just amazed at the way his daddy can polish off a bag of Jelly Bellies!

Yep, all things considered, quite an enjoyable experience! Of course, I'm not the one who lost significant amounts of epithelial tissue on the trail...

Beachfront Mandate

One fine summer's evening last year we went to visit my aunt and uncle at their home near the beach. The family decided to take a stroll after dinner, and we all ended up near the water on a smallish stretch of grassy area. Then we came upon THIS:












Seriously? I don't even own a dog! Maybe I'd rather just pay a fine...