And so, gentle readers, yet another new chapter is about to begin in the odd and unusual life that I call my own. Sometime soon, This week or next, the new member of our family arrives. We're getting a 2 year old goat from some neighbors down the street. They're moving down to the lower 48 and the only other people they could find to take it were more interested in it's culinary qualities as opposed to its pet qualities. Having never had a goat and knowing nothing about them it's bound to be an interesting experience. Up until now my only experience with goats has been from the Woody Woodpecker cartoon show. If that's any indication all should be good. I can feed him railroad tracks, cars, houses and the odd wolf. Somehow I'm guessing they aren't really like how they're portrayed in cartoons, though, so if anyone has any ideas about proper goat care feel free to chime in! See? In my last entry I said I was feeling optimistic and that things would be changing and here it is, not 3 days later and I have a goat coming. It just doesn't get any better than that, does it? I was reminded again yesterday how fast life can get very real up here. I was cutting a tree, nothing unusual except that this particular tree was growing in a gentle arc like a lot of them do up here. They get bent by the weight of snow on them and they end up growing like that. It's kind of an odd site. Anyway, this one was growing over the roof of my porch and was starting to think pretty seriously about falling down and taking the porch with it, so I decided it looked like good material for the fire. Now- Here's the lesson: When you cut one of those bent trees they are apparently under an amazing load of pressure and when the base snaps the little suckers take off like an arrow shot out of a bow. If you've  never seen the trunk of a 6" diameter birch tree launch at you at somewhere around mach 2 you just haven't lived yet! I got close to having it cut down when it splintered and launched about 15' in a direction I really wasn't planning on it going. I felt the base JUST brush my leg as it whipped past. Every time I cut a tree down I get more and more respect for the guys that do it for a living. Anyhow, New goat and renegade tree, I think that's about all that's been interesting in the past few days. Have a good one everyone!