• Friday-What'sUP September 26 - 12:15 pm

Grazing for food in the snowy months, here in the Keweenaw isn't as hard as you'd think! Having the feed brought out to you is better than walking around trying to find something to eat. Ashley Byykkonen has found a few furry friends that seem to be waiting to be fed and enjoying their moment in the spotlight! If you've ever taken notice when seeing cattle in a snowy pasture, they usually have a trail or two that they all follow through the snow. You can make out several in this top shot. In the second photo, Bud the goat has made his trail right to the source of food and looks to be asking Pumpkin, the pup inside, to let him in. Now that's a different sort of peeping tom!

Today is the "wearing of the green" day, St. Patrick's Day, so don't forget to don your Emerald colors as you head out into your day! With the white still covering our ground UP North, it's the closest we're going to get to seeing green for a bit yet!

Happy St Patrick's Day to all our friends and family in the UP...Slainte!

Wonderful photos! Goats always appear a little possessed, with those strange pupils set side-to-side in their eyes. I've eaten goat as a child but never had the chance to raise one. Dad always said we would buy a goat to mow the lawn all summer, then eat him for Thanksgiving. Living in a city precluded the goat-as-mower plan. Thanks, Helen, for the reminder. I am wearing -- **gasp** -- an organge shirt today. Will change promptly.

Neat pic of the cattle in the snow :) It instantly reminded me of the time there was a blizzard in the late spring...so my aunt brought the newborn calves into her house. I still chuckle when I think of my aunt, housing calves in her mud room. I imagine that clean up couldn't have been too pleasant ;)

Morning all! The goat and the dog are so cute. I like the cows best in little pink trays from the grocery store, though. Ouch! Did I say that? Happy St. Patty's Day everyone!

I remember 3 kid goats rejected by their momma jumping onto the kitchen chairs when brought into our house during a blizzard in April. Easier to clean up after than calves! Dainty little critters. Goats would rather eat your bushes and shrubs and flowers than grass, they're browsers rather than grazers. We had a fence they would climb through until we guarded the fence with two strands of electrical fence. they'd push through either one single fence but the solid one slowed them down until the electrical one discouraged them.

These cows remind me of a very old breed of cow found in ancient Europe.This breed of cow was called a Cohen cow. Due to the high nitrogen content of the grass these cows ate,they produced a somewhat green tinted meat.As most people found this objectionable they were replaced by more popular breeds.A few remained on the smaller islands off Britains western coast,the emerald isles.As we know some of these islands were used for leper colonies.So now you know why we call them lepercohens,or as spelled today leprechauns.

Morning All.
Happy St. Pattys day.
--username-- I believe you are puttin out a bit of Blarny there Laddie. Enjoy the day everyone.

Growing up on a farm as I did, every cow, bull, and calves all had names. Dad had Hereferds and Angus. The Hereferds were so docile and sweet. Our daughter was in 4-H and FFA, and showed Guernseys. Cattle were probably one of the original "pankers" in the snow.

Good morning everyone,
These photos are absolutely adorable! They put a big smile on our faces. Thanks.

If there is one U.P. town that perhaps should be recognized
on St. Patrick's Day, it would be Manistique. Their high school
teams are called the Emeralds. So I assume there must be some
Irish connection tho I can't see what. I know "Hoholik" is a long-
established Manistique family name, but that seems about as
much Irish as LeFave and Lavasseur which I kind of remember
being other Manistique names. The name can't come from local
products like limestone and recycled paper. Maybe the name
comes from the green-tinged waters of Kitch-iti-kipi nearby?
Anyone know?
Oh, and thinking of Kitch-iti-kipi reminds me to mention how
much I enjoyed the contributions of others yesterday to the list
of the U.P.'s Top 7 natural and manmade wonders. What a neat
idea some inspired 6th grade teachers around the U.P. had when
they asked their students to compile such a list.

When I was a yungun out on the farm many years ago I had a pet goat that we called Billie. I tried to teach him to pull my sled ande make him a sled goat but he had a mind of his own would take off in any witchway he wanted to.
Sometimes he would sneak up behind me and butt me in the butt, ouch. We had to watch him when we opened the door to enter the house or he would run into the house and jump up on the table. Needless to say Mother wasn't very happy.
We also had a nanny goat that we used to get milk from. She was a a lot more gentle and was a family pet.

All the talk about nameing the animals we raised for food reminds me of eating dinner at my in-laws shortly after they had butchered a beef. My wife was the oldest of seven. The other 6 were brothers. As we were eating, one of the older brothers said "Pass Spot", causing the 2 youngest siblings to burst into tears!
Happy St. Patricks Day.

Therese, it is perfectly fitting for you to wear orange today if you are Protestant. Then you are a member of the Orange Irish.

My teenagers all went to school wearing orange today. As their Irish heritage is "Orange Irish". They always have a lot of explaining to do for their classmates about the Oramgemen. Their greatgrandmother, whom they remember, was very adamant about not wearing green.

ORANGE TOAST
To the glorious, pios,and immortal memory of the great and good King William, who saved us from poverty, slavery,priestcraft, and knavery, brass money and wooden shoes, who allowed a debtor to walk on Sunday, and he who will not drink this toast shall be rammed, crammed, and jammed down the Big Gun of Athlone, and shot up against the Rock of Gibraltar, and his bones made into sparables (boot nails) for decent Protesants, and a fig for the Bissho op Cork.

Gotta love that Irish sense of humor. Whether Green or Orange, the history of Ireland is fascinating and we can all celebrate today. That corned beef & cabbage is smelling mighty good right now...to be topped off with Irish soda bread.

I guess I followed the Orange Irish today since my boiler suit is bright orange so as to be seen in the water if I tumble overboard. Go Orange??

Hello and good evening to ya all. The pics are absolutley wonderful! Hope all had a wonderful and exciting St. Patty's Day!

La Fheile Padraig shona duit everyone someone is right the orangemen are english protestents named after william of orange, a rather brutal fellow who put countless irish catholics to the sword see irish penal laws improsed by the english anyone who wishes the truth about erie or ireland, rather than english lies i will be happy to discuss it with them. La Fheile ga maith

The goat's name is Little Bud and he was rejected by his mom when he was a baby. I had to bottle-feed him when I got him and now he thinks of me as his mom. We have him as a family pet and not to eat. He eats everything he can get to and runs toward open doors. One time he gently butted my other dog Jewel and she jumped up on the snowbank and wouldn't get down.He likes my dog Pumpkin though.The cows are my neighbors'.
- Ashley Byykkonen

I'm basicly a gentle woman, hard to anger but I did not appreciate "The Orange Toast" on St. Patrick's Day. Thank you Walter.

Hmmm, I have traded my orange boiler suit for a Guiness T-shirt and a green face...

I agree with you Ms. Katie. I also did not appreciate "The Orange Toast". It was uncalled for. Was it necessary to bring this up. What it basically comes to is the Protestants against the Catholic. Keep religion in your home...not on PastyCam.

While I don't appreciate what the difference is between the orange and the green on St. Patrick's Day, I think we all have the right to speak our minds. I think if the green people can speak up, then so can the orange ones. However, the orange protestants were not a nice people back in the day. I don't believe it to be that way anymore though. But I think the Catholics have their rights and the Protestants have theirs. Hopefully they're not acting out against the other and still feeling like it's Catholics against Protestants, but just their beliefs as they are. I'm not Irish so I really don't know the whole deal but I hope they're not trying to act out the old days. Let's keep them there. Religion and politics are not the same in my book and they never should be. We all have the right to feel and think the way we want to. I choose to think that they're all basically good people.

Me thinks thou doest protest too much.
As a casual observer, it sounds to me like Walter, Ms. Katie and Beverly must be Catholic, by their comments. I would say that we should keep religion in the home, not on Pasty, and the other's comments were not meant to be taken personally. Touchy, touchy. It is however, the history of Ireland.
I am neither Irish, English, Catholic nor Protestant, but our corned beef was great!

P.S. I loved the pix!

Just two more cents worth from me...I just don't think a jovial celebration as St. Patty's Day, where everyone is Irish, should have words such as "crammed, jammed, and rammed' and "shot up" included. Isn't this simular to the world's old enemys whether Isreral,Palistine, Slovacian etc.? (sp?!)Peace to all. "Can't we all just get along?"

k j, You go girl. Everyone was just expressing their views on how they grew up. No harm in that and nothing meant by it I'm sure. It's just their way of life. We all have our own ways. None of us mean to hurt or offend anybody by it.

I thought my husband was an Orange-Irishman..the Curtin family were Protestants. (my devout Catholic family was concerned)..I had been educated in Catholic schools and I, too, wondered if it was a good idea to continue the relationship. I thought he was (still do)... the best person I ever met......so in spite of our differences..(I know some members of his family were concerned too) we married. It was a great marriage!!!.......then I found out his Irish family were Catholic...until great-grarndfather fell for a "Scottish Lassy" who change the family to Protestants....my children are Catholic...I am Catholic...... Gary died a Protestant, and my life was fuller because of this experience...I believe God works in strange ways.....if we keep our hearts open......

I am neither Protestant or Catholic...neither orange or green, and I find it offensive to glorify the "crammed, rammed and jammed" King of the past...and look for the good in people not the bad. Am I "touchy, touchy" and do I "protest to much", perhaps. I didn't see the statement in the "Orange Toast" as being said in jest. I believe it was the belief that the people of Ireland had in themselves that took the country out of poverty, and pray that history does not repeat itself. Just my .02cents worth.