Michael,

The last week or so I’ve been going on very short trips, since I just had a big (successful) operation. After my Boulder doctor back in July recommended an operation which would leave me with limited mobility for the rest of my life, I asked for a second opinion. One of the names was Dr. Shandra Wilson After talking to her, I found I could be mobile and fancy-free a couple of months after a rather complicated (7 1/2 hours) surgery, which has a very, very low failure rate.

The operation, performed on 8/30 at the CU Hospital in Denver was 100% successful. I lost about 10 lbs in my 6 days in the hospital, and I’m trying to gain it all back. And I’d like to gain strength, too. However, for the next 2-3 weeks I’m limited to short (1/4 mi or so) walks with forgiving friends.

I decided we should go on a tour of the nearby Haystack Goat Dairy. We invited my hiking buddy, Chuck, who is an outrageous gourmand of goat cheese. His wife Esther refused to come because she hates the stuff. (To each her own, but too bad for her.) We drove out towards the small volcanic plug that sticks out of the prairie just north of Boulder and circled for a while till Katie spotted a truly minuscule sign pointing to the farm.

While we waited for the little tour and tasting to start, we patted the nannies and kids, but stayed away from the bucks, who exuded a powerful musk. The sign on their pen exclaimed: “Don’t get musk on your skin or clothes!” The best part of valor here was avoidance. I think Chuck was a little alarmed that Esther might get a whiff of musk on himself when he got home, and have to camp out in his backyard for the rest of his life, so he stayed at an even wider distance than I.

After viewing the milking and cheese-making areas, we partook in a tasting of 5 different kinds of cheese. Beth & I bought two small bricks, and Chuck filled up a bag with 6 or 7 different kinds. Katie patted about a dozen more cute kids who nuzzled up to the fences for their individual pats, and we headed home with pleasant tastes in our mouths and memories of strange and interesting scents, odiferous smells, and goaty aromas.

Haystack Goat Farm

–rakkity