Tipping Point, page 12
“If Kirk and I aren’t back by about six, please scatter some chicken feed and change out their water. Check for eggs while you’re at it. Don’t forget the roosters. We’ll probably be back before then, but I’m heading to the land registry office in Parry Sound first. I want to see who owns the land around here. It gives us a tactical advantage if we have detailed maps. After that we’re off to the goat farm.”
Five minutes later, Mac and Kirk were in the truck once again, the horse trailer hitched to the back. Within half an hour they were talking to a clerk at the land registry office. There had been no line, so they were served right away. Mac got multiple copies of the maps she needed.
Since things had proceeded so smoothly, Mac decided to grab more of the basic essentials. They filled up the cargo bin again. This time she managed to find the soap base she’d been looking for, so she was content. Finally it was time to track down her elusive goats.
11
PEOPLE STARING AT GOATS
The goat rancher had chickens, too, which pleased Mac. They were Wyandotte, rather than the Sussex she’d purchased from the other farm, though both were good for egg production and harsher winters. She bought twelve, this time only getting a single rooster with the eleven hens. Kirk shook his head.
“They’re going to have to create a new reality TV show called ‘Chicken Hoarders’ just for you.”
“Funny. I’m paranoid, not a hoarder. There’s a difference. I just want to be sure we have enough diversity. Another rooster could make all the difference, despite the difficulties it might cause. Then we won’t have first cousins being mated later on. We can always build a second coop. I’m going to need to start a logbook for breeding.
“Neil having goats is a bonus. We can exchange bucks if we need to, at least for breeding. I think he has chickens, too. Much healthier to be able to swap roosters. Genetic diversity is going to be a serious problem down the road.”
“You know, you guys are the weirdest swingers I’ve ever known. Instead of swapping partners, you swap chickens and goats.” Now Mackenzie did laugh.
She had always liked Kirk. Cameron had tried to date him for a while, but things just weren’t like that between them so they’d mutually called it off. Thankfully it didn’t seem to bother Leigh. It was too bad, though. She hoped to one day have Cam marry someone she actually liked, male or female, though it looked as though Cameron leaned toward men.
Mac opened up the horse trailer and tried to judge how many goats she could safely put into it. Then she glanced back at the little things inside their pens. Maybe they were kids, though. She’d done tons of research on goats, but it was a lot different being next to them, and some were smaller than others. She couldn’t tell most breeds apart yet. She’d been focusing on proper care, and which ones produced the most milk.
While she waited for the farm’s owner to make her way back over to them with the flattened chicken boxes, Mac grabbed her notebook from the glove compartment of the truck, and jotted a few notes for herself about the chicken feeders they were using. She wanted to make things as simple as possible for everyone. Then she went back to the goat pen where Kirk was watching them romp.
“Neil said he moved twelve goats in that trailer, but I have no idea what size they were. Can we fit that many, do you think?” Kirk shrugged.
“Probably. You said you were planning to get that other kind, too, right? The ones with the long hair?”
“The Angora, yeah. These could be the Alpines, but I’ll have to check. I don’t even know if they’re fully grown. They seem so small. Milk goats can give up to six litres of milk per day. The math just doesn’t seem right.” Rose reached them just then.
“Those Alpines will do a little less than that. I’ve got Saanens if you really want good milk production, but it depends on your needs. Are you looking to sell the milk, or is it just for your family?”
“We’ve got four of us on the property, and we were planning to get more than one goat for milk, so four to six litres from each one might be more than we can use. I also want to make lots of cheese. I particularly like the lower lactose part of the deal. I love milk, but lactose doesn’t love me.
“What’s really important to me is genetic diversity. I want to be sure that whatever goats I get, none of them are related to one another in any way, and I want enough to keep the ranch going for a while so I’m not line-breeding.” Rose nodded her head.
“We’ve got many distinct lines here, so that won’t be a problem. As you can see, there are hundreds of goats, and a number of different breeds. You could actually cross-breed some dairy goats, too, rather than get all the same kind.”
“That’s a thought. Maybe a buck and two does for each breed. I know that’s a large ratio of bucks, but that diversity thing is a big deal for me. Can you take a look at the trailer to be sure I can transport them safely, and maybe give me an idea how many I can fit in there? I’ll take a couple of trips if I have to. I don’t want to hurt them.” Rose seemed pleased that she’d be selling to someone who actually cared, so she gave what advice she could.
“That’s a three-horse slant trailer, looks like, so I’d say if you’re making a short trip within the area, you’d be fine with taking anywhere from nine to twelve. You could have maybe four different breeds if you wanted. How far do you need to travel?”
“Not too far. Thirty to forty-five minutes. It usually only takes about half an hour to make this trip, but that’s without being particularly cautious. We’re near Rosseau Falls, so we have to drive up and around Lake Rosseau. I’m sure it will still be stressful for them.” Rose appeared to consider it for a moment.
“It can take a few days before they fully recover from being moved. I can give them a shot of oxytetracycline to combat shipping fever if you’re worried about it, but they’ll be with some of their own herd which will make a big difference there. You’ve already got bedding on the floor of the trailer, so there’s no reason you can’t take the lot of them today. It’s only an issue if they’re still weaning.”
“Alright. I want three of them to be the Angora ones. I’ll just be keeping the wool to mess around with spinning and weaving stuff, so I don’t think I need those long-term. It’s the dairy ones I want to be sure I have a long time. We’ll start with some Alpines and Saanens, and if there’s room I’d like maybe a third breed. What would you recommend for the third, considering the first two dairy breeds?”
“We have Nubians and La Mancha. Both of them have high butterfat content in their milk and are good producers, so it’s really a matter of personal preference there. Why don’t we take a look?”
Mac and Kirk wandered with Rose around the different pens. When it came down to a choice, aesthetics were the only things she could go by. She didn’t really like the small ears of the La Manchas, and the Roman noses of the Nubians appealed to her.
She picked out the goats that looked the healthiest to her from each herd. They all had energy and bright intelligence in their eyes, and she had a fondness for animals that had brains. Of course, she knew that would also mean having to outsmart the goats more often than not, but she liked mental stimulation. They would keep her on her toes, much like the ferrets did.
She managed to finagle some milking equipment as part of the deal since she was buying so many of them. It would save them some time and effort.
There was enough room for all of the goats to lie down, including the Nubians, so off they went.
“Wow. You just spent thousands of dollars like it was nothing!” Mac shrugged, concentrating on the road so she didn’t hit any potholes.
“No choice really. I pulled everything we had out of the bank, and I’m investing it in things that will soon be all that really matter. Bank balances are going to disappear, and what use are the strips of plastic we use for cash now?” Kirk looked uncomfortable.
“It’s just that we’ve hardly contributed anything. I feel like a mooch.”
“Kirk, please don’t think like that. It’s a huge relief to me that I’m able to bring you guys to a place where you’ll be safe.
“You being with us is actually a huge help. There’s so much work to be done, but it will be a lot easier with four of us doing it. With just the two of us, things would have been very hard to pull off. It’s also nice to have someone tall in the place. Being short can suck sometimes.” Kirk gave a quick snort.
“I haven’t been your height since I was about ten years old. I don’t know how you manage.”
“Yuk it up. You’ll get your comeuppance one day. Just you wait. You with all your tallness.” They shared a laugh.
“How’s Leigh doing? Why didn’t you tell her she could just grab whatever food she wanted?”
“I did. She wouldn’t do it if she didn’t have your permission. I told her she was being an idiot, but she got all weird about it.”
“You should have said something to me, then. I would have told her right away. I didn’t think I had to. I mean, what was she supposed to do? Just not eat?”
“She said something about getting groceries here. We had a few things with us in the car, but that was gone before the end of the first day, and so she was really hungry by the time we had dinner last night. It didn’t make sense, because whatever groceries we got weren’t going to last long anyway. We weren’t prepared for this in any way.”
“Not independently maybe, but as a group the four of us can do this. Cameron and I need the extra hands. I’ve never given a damn about money. Nobody becomes anything in this world without the help of others. It takes a village, and all that...”
“Well, nobody is raising kids, but I get what you mean. I’m good with electronics and stuff, so maybe I can be a help there. I’d be better at building stuff than Leigh, but she wouldn’t be a visible deterrent with that guy you’re having problems with. I feel like I’m getting the easy part of all of this.”
“Oh, don’t worry. We have almost everything we need now, so that means we’re going to be working right alongside Cameron and Leigh with all future projects on the property. We need to get the garden sorted out, so they can do that while you and I expand the goat pen. What I designed was meant for maybe six goats. I want to triple it.
“The goats will be allowed to graze later on. We’ll also let the chickens out in groups then, but until we get proper fencing up we need to keep them penned at all times. We’ll have to keep males and females separated except for breeding.
“The blackberry and raspberry bushes that surround the cleared section will be a huge temptation for the goats, and they’ll basically clear-cut them so we end up with no berries left. I need to get a fence up inside that perimeter.
“I’ll have to set up the sawmill. I can completely avoid buying lumber that way. Once we’ve got that fence, I’m not going to need to cut down too many more trees. Mostly just for furniture.”
“You’re seriously going to do all that yourself? That seems like a lot of work! I mean, I’ll help with whatever you need, but that’s massive.”
“I love carpentry. It’s not so massive when you’ve got proper tools, either. I’ve got all the toys I need. Everything that’s in the current building is stuff I built, except for what’s obviously store-bought. I didn’t make the mattresses, but I made the bed frames, futon, workbenches, and walls.
“Some jobs can be combined. You’re cutting pieces of the same lengths for certain things, because there are standard measurements, like with the beds and futon. All of them are queen-size, which meant using a lot of wood cut to specific lengths. It’s almost like assembly-line work then, and it can be done really fast.
“I added to that because I made the workbenches the same lengths, too. Gives me lots of space to do stuff on them later, and they’re good for food prep in the meantime. More than one person can be helping in the kitchen area and have plenty of room to spread out.
“I’ve got giant lists of parts needed for assembling things, and then I combined those lists for any commonalities. I’ve pre-cut most of what’s needed for the new building’s interior stuff because of that. I was ridiculously anal about it, but it saved me from setting up over and over again. I just hadn’t done the plans for the exterior stuff yet. There wasn’t enough time.”
“Hey, whatever works. I was wondering what all those weirdly-shaped piles of wood were for. I mean, the steel studs and two-by-fours I could see, along with the drywall, but there’s all that smaller stuff.” Mac nodded.
“The stairs and risers are cut, and all the parts that go into assembling them. There’s a straight staircase as well as a spiral. There are actual kitchen cabinets, rather than what we’re using now, along with the doors and countertops.
“We’ll continue to use the table we’re using now, and the beds and futon, but we were always going to have a third bedroom, so the extra mattress is there. I need to assemble the bed frame that’s pre-cut. We just don’t have room for it with everything that’s stored in there.
“We stuck the third mattress up in the overhead storage, as you may have noticed when you were going through the supplies. Along with the fifty-million cases of toilet paper. I’d tell you guys to use that area for privacy, but I’m not sure enough regarding its safety. Everything we stored up there is light, except for the mattress.”
“We’re fine where we are for now. We can do the camping thing if we need to get away from everything for a night. It might be fun, actually. We’ve only been here a couple of days, so it’s not like it’s been long enough to feel crowded or anything.”
Mac pulled into the gas station in Rosseau to top up the truck’s tank. She wasn’t surprised when the green Civic drove by. It was a small community and Gerry was probably unemployed. For much of the younger generation in the area, cruising was a favoured pastime. There wasn’t anything else to do.
She was even less surprised when she saw the car heading back to the station a few seconds later.
“Kirk, Gerry is on his way. I’m going to pay for the gas so we can take off.” As quickly as she tried to move, it wasn’t fast enough. Gerry walked into the store and headed straight for her. Kirk came in behind him.
Gerry sized up Kirk and sneered.
“That your boyfriend, bitch?” The clerk behind the counter spoke up.
“Gerry, get out of here before I give you a lifetime ban. You don’t talk to my customers that way.”
“Fuck you, Jim. Stay outta this.” Gerry walked up to Mac, violating her personal space, and stared down at her.
“You think you can get away with getting me fired? Just wait until I get you alone, bitch.”
“Gerry, you do realize there’s a camera in here, right? And witnesses?” Mac turned to look at the clerk.
“Jim is it?” When he nodded she continued.
“Jim, Gerry here has already been warned by the police and lost his job for harassing me. Could you please call the police?”
“Happy to.” Jim had a smug look on his face. He didn’t seem to like Gerry very much.
“Oh, fuck you, Jim. Don’t you call the fucking pigs on me.” When Jim continued to tap out the number on the cordless phone, Gerry snarled in rage and overturned a stand full of candy bars and gum.
“Hey!” The loud, sharp sound Mac made when she yelled at Gerry was very effective at getting his attention.
“Look you piece of crap. Don’t ever come near me again. A restraining order will be in force, but I guarantee it’ll be me that’s enforcing it. Now get the fuck out of this guy’s store or the three of us are going to start tearing you apart. You’re a puny little shit, and it will not go well for you.” Jim had already come around the counter to keep Gerry from destroying his store. Kirk was standing beside her with his fists clenched at his sides. Gerry cursed and kicked some of the chocolate bars when he slammed the glass door open. The pane cracked when it hit the railing beside it.
Mac didn’t take her eyes off Gerry until his car peeled away from the station. She’d been very concerned that he might take out his anger on the goats or chickens, or even just her truck. Her fingers were stiff by the time she release the handle of her knife. She hadn’t pulled it out, not wanting anyone to know she was carrying a concealed weapon, but it had been close.
She was shaking with anger as she flexed her fingers. Gerry had no idea how close he’d come to seeing her wrath up close and personal. There was a good reason she’d been keeping an eye out for a video camera.
Since they had to wait for the police now, Mac took some pictures of the mess Gerry had left behind. She wasn’t sure if they should touch the stuff, but Jim wanted to pick up the stock from the floor, so she and Kirk helped him. There was footage of what had happened anyway, so she didn’t think it would matter. It was a simple vandalism issue in Jim’s case.
“I’m Mac and that’s Kirk, by the way,” she said belatedly. Jim laughed.
“Nice to meet you. Just not under these circumstances. Sorry I couldn’t get him out of the store sooner. That kid has never been anything but trouble. There’s nothing wrong with the rest of the Newman clan, but that kid’s like a changeling or something. He keeps getting into trouble like this, his dad’s gonna wind up kicking him out. He doesn’t seem to have any friends that would take him in either.”
The cops arrived within fifteen minutes, so they had to have been in the area. Mac smiled when she saw the second one get out of the car.
“What is it with my old friends these days? All y’all are turning into cops!” She smirked until Gilles recognized her and let out a yell.
“Well, what the fuck are you doing here Mac? You back for good, or just visiting? And why the hell haven’t I seen you before now?” Mac just grinned and walked up to give him a hug.
“You know very well I had no idea where you were. You’re as bad as me! Chuck said he lost touch a long time ago, but the last he heard you were in Humphrey.” Gilles nodded.
“Yup. Married, too.”
“Oh my God! It’s a freakin’ epidemic with you guys, all this growing up and shit. So much for hanging out and drinking until dawn, eh?” Gilles laughed.
