I think I've learned more about life after three years in the country than 15 years in NYC.
10. Don’t butt heads with anyone who has bigger horns.
9. The grass is always greener when someone else cuts it, bales it, and totes it over to where you’re already lying down.
8. Better the same old milking hands every day than getting used to a whole new set of callouses.
7. If you’re not sure about something, go ahead and taste it. You can always spit it out.
6. The manure may pile up in the winter, but it keeps the barn warm. Sometimes it’s just one sh*tty trade-off after another.
5. If there is someplace to stand around and do nothing that is higher up than the current place you’re standing around doing nothing, it’s worth the effort to move.
4. If everyone else is running away in the same direction, join them now, ask questions later.
3. Getting mud between your toes is not as poetic as people make it out to be. Better to stay out of the rain in the first place.
2. There’s no better pillow than someone else’s tummy.
1. Fences are mere suggestions.
I feel like you could probably teach a class on how to make a great blog. This is fantastic! I have to say, what really got me was your design. You certainly know how to make your blog more than just a rant about an issue. Youve made it possible for people to connect. Good for you, because not that many people know what theyre doing.
You are my new favorite obsession. I guess in reality I am more Farmer John then Josh…since I do all the farming out here….but Josh I could watch your Model walk every ten minutes and it would NEVER get old.
I intend on poacking it with me outside to watch any time farming gets me down…turning compost piles, cleaning stalls, throwing bark on muck and planting rows can get discouraging at times…LOL
Best,
Sabrina
BRENT AND JOSH – I AM SO THRILLED YOU ARE
HAVING A SPECIAL TONIGHT – MISS YOU GUYS!
MY HUSBAND AND I HAVE A VERY SMALL FARM
WITH CHICKENS,DWARF GOATS AND A VERY
SPOILED MINIATURE POT BELLY PIG WHO THINKS
SHE IS A DOG – I REALLY FELT BAD WHEN YOUR
PIGS DIED BUT I KNOW IT HAD TO BE DONE
LOVE YOUR SHOW AND KEEP THEM COMING AND
PLEASE DON’T LET THE GOSLINGS ON YOUR
PROPERTY
LOVE YOU BOTH
I’m a big fan of the blog and your books. I just wanted to let you know that I featured your fabulous Blaak Cheese on my blog. http://thechefrepublic.com/?p=1078 Check it out!
Cheers,
Arielle
Wow! Im a big fan of the show, I’m 11. I just love goats. I have 2 goats. I have tons of animals. I like to watch the show with my family and hearing about whats going on.
Hey Guys…..
Did you decide on a T-Shirt design ?? Christmas is a coming, It would make great gifts. Oh Yeah…Got my muck boots, just need the T-Shirts to go with them now….
Maybe even Sweatshirts tooo…Beekman Hoodies…Yeah, that’s the ticket…
Hi Josh,
This is funny, makes me want to go read your book again, which was hilarious and bittersweet.
Write a sequel to “Bucolic Plague!”
Hi Guys….
All I have to say is Im so inspired to buy my own farm someday!! Goats, Chickens, maybe even a couple of Llamas and oh yes piggies…ha
Your show rocks!!
Cheers from Cali!
Nona
Being a goat owner everything you said is so true. They are such a fun and unique animal. People that say goats have no feelings or personality have never owned a goat. They are a riot. I spend many hours with my goats either playing or just sitting there and watching them.
Hi Josh and Brent, just want you to know I love your show, I have watched each episode at least 5 times, I raise goats, pigs and all other kinds of livestock and it is fun to see someone else doing the same. You guys are a riot. Wish you the best, hope you are getting along better, it is difficult to see you argue on the show, hope things get better. Will be trying to get out to your Harvest Fest in a few weeks, live in North Central Massachusetts, long ride, but I am looking for ward to going. Hope to see the new series soon. Diane Sicard
I just tuned into your show and now am recording all episodes…so enjoyed!!
I have been goat tending and raising my own livestock (chickens, dairy cattle and beef cattle) now for the last 10 years. Out in the middle of nowhere SD….(that is the state). Sadly, I lost my husband a couple of years ago and found that keeping on with the animals was my best therapy! Its hard but its all that much more rewarding! Good luck with your venture and I enjoy.
p.s.
I too make goat soaps and sell at the local market. I just chuckle watching all your conflicts and triumphs…I’ll be watching faithfully
Deb
Watching your show is a joyous event for me. Having grown up on farms, but now living in the city, I am reminded how much I miss the country life. You bring back those memories and make me yearn for all things home grown. The talents you both posses are incredible and I appreciate the vulnerability you display in trying something new, while using the skills and knowledge you’ve gathered to date. It takes guts (or dare I say balls!) to try so many new things in front of the whole world.
Your relationship is uncommonly sweet, understanding and forgiving. I can see why you are still together ten years later. Thanks for sharing your experience with the rest of us. It is delightful.
Hello Boys,
My daughter introduced me to your show just a few weeks ago. I was instantly hooked. I loved watching the marathon and seeing the entire season. I’ve already read The Bucolic Plague and I am not myself These Days. Just starting Candy Everybody wants. Josh, I need to hear how you got from I am not myself to Brent. When is the next book coming. Your story is absolutely compelling. You need to fill in the missing piece. (of course in your spare time…) Plus I love Brent and want to hear more about him too.
My daughter has always been a rustic girl in the city and you have inspired me to teach her how to can tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables. We will be working hard at it all Labor Day weekend.
Thanks for the entertainment and the inspiration.
Pat
I am a huge fan of your show and have been recommending it to everyone I know! My daughter gave me the Bucolic Plague book and some of your soap for my birthday and I was thrilled! The book is WONDERFUL! We live on a cattle/sheep ranch in Texas therefore I can relate to some of your situations but I love the top 10 things I’ve learned from goats!! It is so true!!
Best of luck to you both and keep up the good work. You have many many fans!!
I know you are crazy busy, but I have a funny bit to pass on to you.
Amazon.com delivered Bucolic Plague yesterday evening. I squealed with delight, tore open the box and went to fill a glass with wine and my bathtub with bubbles. (I find the bathtub is the best place to read) Having started reading as the tub was filling, I sank into the froth while enjoying the tales of 5 poopie kidlets. The bubbles reached my chin and I shut off the water and settled in. Your story drew me in completely. I was just getting to the part where Brent meets you on the street when I heard a goat bleat. I looked around, sure that there were no livestock in my bathroom. Then another goat bleated…and another. I was wondering if you had put sound effects in your book when I realized that I still had your GoatCam up on my laptop next to my bed. The Beekman Goats were just calling for their dinner!
Anyway, it made me smile!
Thanks for everything you all do…
Your #1 fan Leigh
Hi Josh, Brent, Farmer John! I was first introduced to your show by my friend Jeanie, another vendor at our local Farmer’s Market. I thought ok I’ll give it a try, well I’m hooked!I love you guys so much that a few weeks back I made my husband take me for a ride out to Sharon Springs, it’s just an hour away for us.We visited your store where I bought soap, cheese and your book.I’m lov’in that book, it’s great! Josh you remind me of myself in so many ways, I wanted to be a clown in Barnum Bailey Circus where my true personality could come out.I drive my kids crazy when I turn into a clown every so often.But it’s fun!I too make goatmilk soap and have a small business but wanted your soap as a memento.I raise my own goats and love them like Farmer John, they are my babies.I’m planning on coming back for the festival and am hoping to meet you, can’t wait!
Susie
Thank you for sharing your beautiful seasons. One of the drawbacks of beach living is the lack of seasons – no brilliant fall colors and no spring thaw. I especiall love your beautiful snows.
Can’t wait for Season 2.
Hi Josh,
I read your book The Bucolic Plague on the 3 hour trip home from taking my daughter to college today. It made me laugh and cry both. It also kept me from missing her so much right away. We grew heirloom tomatos together in raised beds this summer. We love your show and have ordered some soap. If I know my Michaela she will have everyone in the dorm buying goat milk soap!
Josh – I purchased your latest book as b’day gift for myself and I saved to read today – laughing, crying and thanking the “powers that be” for your sense of humor, insight and ability to relate a good story! I am really enjoying this birthday book!
Brent – I checked out Rabbit’s website – you do indeed have some great talent there!
So happy you guys made it thru ‘The Year of Sacrafice”! Josh, love the list – so true.
oh one more thing….Farmer John melts my heart. I love his big heart and gentle ways with the animals. What a sweety!
Watched back to back episodes & now I can’t stop spreading the word about you two! I can so relate to both of you but maybe I lean a tad bit more towards being more like Brent wishing I had more of Josh in me. I would love to have the bucolic life you have! One day, maybe.
Can’t wait to watch more. Are you guys out on DVD? Is there a whole other season I missed? Thanks for the fun.
Josh -
Thank you for sharing your fantastic list!!! I found myself genuinely smiling as I read your “goat-ism’s”!
Thank you for the pick-me-up!
(We love your show, too!)
Best wishes to you, and Brent!
P.S. I posted a link to your list on my Facebook page…….wanted to share the giggles with my friends!
Terri
josh, LOVE your list! i grew up in a little town in the adirondacks, and spent many barefoot, bliss-filled hours at the horsefarm down the road from my gram’s house. it was my own “bucolic” experience, and would trade my urban existence in CT in a minute, if i had the wherewithall to do so. there is NOTHING like the peace of nature. haven’t read your book yet, as i am presently unemployed (downsized) and what i make collecting doesn’t even cover the bills, but, as soon as i get some doh reh me, trust me, i’ll be hotfooting it to Borders to get it! LOVE YOU GUYS!!! your show has kept me going these many months and looking forward to the new season unless the local cable company shuts me off……..lol!
Terri
Josh, I just bought your book and read until 1AM laughing the whole time. Now I’m suppose to be working but instead I’m reading the blogs and watching the goat cam. Good thing I work from home.I would love to get some goats but it requires a differnt fencing than the barbed wire kind we already have. I need something to maintain the growth around my farm. I have been telling all my friends and family about you guys, so you should get a few more viewers from TX.
My husband and I LOVE your show!! I never knew I could ever love a llama as much as I love your diva, Polka Spot! I admire the 2 of you a great deal, what you are doing is hard work and you do it with such style in rain boots no less! Thank you for letting the world in on your lives and this exciting Beekman 1802 endeavor!
Cheers to much success!
Emily
I can’t get enough of you two! (also farmer John) I am a wife who doesn’t like to clean, or cook.(My husband wants to marry Brent, I’m afraid)I am inspired by both of you. I am trying to clean like Brent, and cook like Josh.( do you guys sell a product that can make this possible?)
Hi Josh and Brent,
Your 10th anniversary show made me cry (and not for the first time!) My sweetie and I had our 10th anniversary this year, too. I love the show… and I can’t wait to see what happens in season 2.
To Josh, I had already written Dr. Brent to tell him how much I love ya’ll and yes it is a word here in Tennessee. I was raised on a “had to” farm, everything we raised, we had use it at Greasy Creek, Ky. My daddy was a coal miner so Mama mainly took care of us, the cow, the pig, the chickens and the garden. The cow was for milk, butter, buttermilk and cheese. I cried for Porgy and Bess and now that I’m grown, I will not let my husband kill anything on our farm unless it is suffering. We are both doctors and must work to support OUR FARMING HABIT. We love ya’ll so much. Keep up the great work and if you ever need any old time recipes or advice, just call JoMama.
Hi Guys! My husband and I discovered your show not long ago on Planet Green and now we tape every episode on the DVR. My sister also comes over to watch them with us; we all love how you combine the humor of adapting to a new environment with the joys and difficulties of loving someone who is very different from yourself. One of the most touching moments was during the wedding ya’ll hosted, when Brent looked at Josh and said, “I know you’d hoped that our wedding would be the first one at the Beekman.” It’s little things like that, that show your deep connection to each other. Keep working through the frustration, keep listening to each other, and always take time to hold hands. That seems to work in my marriage
A hearty hello to Farmer John, Polka Spot and all the girls!
Hum… And so what is it you are doing with the male goats that can’t “give” milk? What about the female baby goats – Do they get to drink their own mother’s milk? What happens to the adult females when they can no longer be impregnated in order to have babies in order to “give” milk? I think these are some very important questions that unweaned humans might want to know the answers to…