Strong River Valley Observer

The Valley's Trusted Unreliable News Source

Valley Artist, Lily of the Valley, to Release Album

by “Stretch” DeTrooth

Strong River Valley (SRV) Records has been doing work lately. They are a brand new record label located here in The Valley. Bubba Swompz was the first artist they signed, and he is doing big things with his album “Valley Born & Bred.” Now, SRV Records has signed their second artist- Lily of the Valley. Her single “Dad Bod Pride” was released on all the major platforms last Friday, and her debut album “Wife/Mom Life” will be released tomorrow! I was able to catch up with Lily this week, and I’ve included some of our Q&A session below.

Q. Your actual name is Lily Williams. Where did Lily of the Valley come from?

A. Well, that’s a fairly new nickname for me. I have lived in The Valley my whole life, but I’ve always just been Lily. I started doing a few gigs here and there in and around The Valley a few years ago. I had a couple guys start calling me Lily of The Valley one night, and it just kind of stuck. They probably had no idea that the lily of the valley is actually a poisonous plant. That’s pretty funny. Now, that’s what all my fans call me. I like it. But, to my husband, family, and friends, I’ll still just Lily.

Q. How long have you been singing?

A. Oh, I’ve been singing since I was a little girl. I’ve loved singing as long as I can remember. I grew up singing in church and pageants. As I got older, I also sang in the school choir and show choir. In college, I’d go out with my friends, and I’d always end up singing karaoke. After getting married and starting a family, I would just sing in church occasionally, but 4-5 years ago I started singing in local restaurants and parties when I could. My family and friends started pushing me to do an album about a year ago, so I’ve been working on it for about a year. I’m so happy to share it to the world.

Q. What artists have influenced your musical style?

A. I love me some country music, so most of the artists that I’ve looked up to are country singers. I grew up when country music was actually country music. Shania Twain is probably my favorite artist of all time. I also love some Reba and Wynonna Judd. I like Gretchen Wilson too. Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood are a couple younger artists that I really like. I also like Aaron Tippin, Collin Raye, and Johnny Cash.

Q. What is your debut album “Wife/Mom Life” about?

A. I’m a wife and mom to 3 wonderful kids, and our life is crazy like most families these days. I wanted my album to be relatable to other moms, wives, husbands, and dads. The album is about the everyday struggles and things us busy moms and wives have to deal with, and I tried to put a fun twist on it. I think I’ve put together a good album with some good, fun songs. It’s for all you moms and wives out there!

Q. What is next for you Lily?

A. Nothing is going to change on the mom/wife front. I’ll still be taking care of my family and animals, and living this crazy wife/mom life. I won’t be going on tour anytime soon. My family takes precedent over everything else, and that will always be the case for me. We’ll see what happens with the album. Hopefully, people will like it; I’ve put a lot of time and effort into it. Y’all check it out on Spotify, AppleMusic, YouTubeMusic, and more!

Black Panther Sightings in Strong River Bend

by I. B. Lyon

Black panthers are controversial creatures. Many people say there is no such thing as a black panther, and there are definitely none in The Valley. Other people swear they’ve seen one, and they say they’re absolutely real and they live in The Valley. Evidently, they are real, and there is one roaming the Strong River Bend (SRB) area. There have been multiple sightings by five different people recently, so I set off to investigate the situation.

I called the MS Dept. of Wildlife, Parks, & Fisheries, and I talked to their big cat expert, Ima Kouger. She has been with the agency for 25 years, and she’s been studying big cats for many years. Kouger said, “We do not have black panthers in MS. I know people swear we do, but there is no such thing as a black panther. They are not a species or sub species. Of course, there is the Florida panther that has a tan colored coat, and its range is in south and central Florida. But, the black panther is just a myth or urban legend.”

I also joined 2 black panther sightings/stories Facebook groups. To be honest, I didn’t gain much from these groups. People would tell stories of seeing a black panther 25 or 30 years ago, and they would have no pictures. Also, people would post pictures of black house cats, and try to make them look bigger than they actually were to fool people into believing they were panthers. After a couple weeks, I left the groups, but I did have some really good laughs in those couple weeks.

After talking with Ms. Kouger and perusing panther Facebook groups, I set out to talk with the Valleyans that have supposedly seen the big cat recently. I tracked down all five people, but two people declined to be interviewed. The three SRB residents that I talked with were adamant that they’d seen a black panther. All three people managed to get a picture of the cat.

I talked with Billy Ray Pheline first. Pheline said, “We were hanging out at the Strong River a couple weeks ago, and it was around dusk. We were getting ready to leave, and we heard something splashing in the river a ways off. We looked and that thing was swimming in the river. We couldn’t believe it! We watched it for about 30 seconds, and it got out of the water and ran off. We were able to get a picture of it drinking water before it ran off. Unbelievable! I didn’t believe in them, but now I do.”

Billy Ray Pheline’s photo

Next, I was able to catch up with Khitty Jones. She said, “Recently, we’ve heard our dog playing with something in the back yard at night. We tried a couple times to see what it was, but we never saw anything. 3 nights ago, we finally saw what Buster was playing with. It was a black panther! Our jaws hit the floor when we finally saw it. Evidently, Buster and the panther have formed a friendship, and they like to play at night. We were able to get a picture before it ran off into the woods. It was so neat!”

Khitty Jones’s photo

Last, but not least, I talked with Jagwyre Black. Black said, “We’ve had a problem with a fox or other critters getting our chickens at night. But, we haven’t lost one in a while, and I wondered why because we haven’t changed anything. I think I figured it out. I’m pretty sure a black panther has been hanging out by our barn and coup, and I think it’s protecting our chickens. I know that sounds crazy. I saw it one evening by the barn, and I setup a game camera. Believe it or not, I was able to get a good picture of him about a week ago. People think I’m crazy, but it is what it is.”

Jagwyre Black’s photo from his game camera

At the SRVO, we just give you the facts, and let you decide. Do we have black panthers in MS and in The Valley? We’ll let you decide.

Mack at the Track: Season 2, Race 2 9/21/24

by Mack Speed

We had a great night at The Track Saturday night, and we had a big raucous crowd. I think it might’ve been the biggest crowd we’ve ever had. I noticed car tags from Warren, Attala, George counties and more, so there were some people that drove quite a ways to watch the SRVMRL.

We only had a couple small parking issues, and I think it was some out-of-towners that’ve never been to The Track. So, my parking guys are getting better, and all those Powerpoint presentations are paying off. Also, some people that didn’t make it to the first race of the season a couple weeks ago were very complimentary of the new bathrooms.

We had a ton of fans tailgating outside The Track. I noticed that most people are tailgating in groups according to their college football teams. So, we had the Ole Miss crew with their fancy chandelier and their catered food. Of course, they were dressed to the nine. Then, we had a lot of MSU fans tailgating together, but they all seemed to be a little down. Maybe it has something to do with their football team this year. You’d hear the occasional cowbell ringing, and then you’d hear a Hotty Toddy chant break out afterwards. We also had a gathering of USM fans. One group that really surprised me was some LSU fans; I guess most of them drove up from South MS. They were a small rowdy bunch. We even had one LSU fan dress up like Coach O, and he kept yelling “Geaux Tigahs.”

Rusty Moore and his sportsbook was popping! The sportsbook is setup in an old deer hunting shooting house. We just cut off the 4x4s on the corners so it rests on the ground. Maybe we’ll be able to get a little nicer one in the future. But, Rusty had his hands full, and that dude was busy. I’ve had multiple people complaining about his money lines; I’m sure he’ll get better with time. I think we’re going to have to ban racers and their family members from betting on the races. I think we might have some questionable wagers on the race Saturday night, and I have reason to believe one was the family member of a racer. I’ll conduct an investigation to find out.

The races were great this week. My boy, Dale Earnhardt Speed, won yet again. But, he did have some competition in this race. Juan Pablo Logano pushed him pretty hard and finished a close 2nd. Ricky Harvick was pushing Juan and Dale pretty hard until he had an engine issue. I’m hoping these boys will continue to push Dale, because it’s been a breeze for him since day one.

Now, to the main race. We had some controversy this week. Tony Johnson ended up winning the race; he stayed clean and ran a good hard race. But, Jimmie Stewart and Jeff Petty were going at it big time. Jimmie started bumping him on lap 1, and he really didn’t let up all night. It was almost like Jimmie didn’t care about winning the race; it looked like he just didn’t want Jeff to win. I guess Jimmie was trying to send a message that he didn’t like an upstart like Jeff winning the previous race. Luckily, Stewart and Petty didn’t get into a physical altercation after the race, but they did have words that couldn’t be used in Sunday school.

Also, Jimmie Stewart’s brother placed a big bet on Tony Johnson. That seems fishy, so we’re going to look into that. We’re probably going to have to ban racers and their family members placing bets on the races.

I appreciate everyone coming out to The Valley Motor Speedway Saturday night! We’ll see you again on Oct. 5th. Let’s have the biggest crowd yet.

Valley Psychiatrist Diagnoses New Mental Illness

by Ben BeEssen

Dr. Siggy Froyd is one of the most cited and respected psychiatrists in the U.S. He is the Director of Clinical Psychiatry at the Strong River Valley Regional Center (SRVRC). He has diagnosed 3 mental disorders, and he’s regularly cited in psychiatry journals and magazines. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a living psychiatrist with a better resume.

Froyd began focusing on adolescent psychiatry about 5 years ago. He realized American youth were suffering from more and more psychiatric issues, and he wanted to do what he could to help with these issues. Much of Froyd’s work has recently been focused on gender dysphoria among adolescents. He’s published many articles and papers on that issue. But, Froyd looked around the past couple years, and he observed a phenomenon that he felt needed his urgent attention.

Froyd said, “Last spring when the weather started warming, I noticed adolescents continued wearing hoodies in the warmer weather. I thought that was interesting. I continued observing these adolescents into the summer, and many continued to wear hoodies in 90 plus degree heat. I was baffled by this behavior, and I felt this needed to be examined further.”

Froyd organized a group of 3 of his trusted psychiatrists to begin a study to look at this issue. The study was able to observe 284 adolescents over a 12 month period that ended last month. After 12 months of observations and a lot of work by his psychiatrists, Froyd was able to diagnose a new mental illness- climate dysphoria disorder (CDD). Froyd and his team published a paper in the Journal of Adolescent Psychiatry, and now CDD is a recognized mental illness.

Froyd said, “It made no sense to me why these adolescents were wearing hoodies in the muggy hot summer weather of The Valley. There’s no way I could do it. My team and I observed that the adolescents continued wearing hoodies into the fall and winter, so they were wearing these hoodies year round. We wondered if maybe the hoodies were possibly made of light, breathable material, but they were not. The vast majority were cotton like the hoodies of old.

Froyd said, “We talked multiple times with all 284 of our subjects, and we observed all of them for at least 12 hours. We then organized all the data, and we found that we’d discovered a new mental illness. We published our findings in the Journal of Adolescent Psychiatry, and it’s been getting a ton of publicity. Currently, there is no clear cause for CDD, and there is no treatment plan for it. Also, it doesn’t harm the adolescents; they can always remove the hoodie or not wear one to begin with.”

Froyd said that parents dealing with kids with CDD have a couple remedies for the illness. He said parents could simply not buy hoodies for their kids, and they could remove hoodies from their kids’ closets when the weather begins to warm in the spring and summer.

Some Valley parents I talked with were glad to learn of Froyd’s discovery. One parent said, “I’m glad to know about this. I was worried about my son wearing a hoodie in 95 degree weather. I thought he was a complete moron, but now we know that he probably has CDD. I was worried, but this makes me feel a lot better. I will probably cut off the sleeves of one or two of his hoodies; they will be his summer hoodies. He’ll be looking like Bill Belichick, but that’s ok.”

Dr. Froyd and his colleagues will be working on a treatment protocol for CDD in the coming weeks and months. The SRVO will be here to bring it to you once it’s released.

Valley Prep Flag Football Gets off to Rough Start

by “Stretch” DeTrooth

Valley Prep is one of the premier private schools in MS. Their academics are top notch. It’s a very expensive and exclusive school, and they have very stringent admission requirements. They send multiple kids to Ivy League schools and some of the top universities in the country each year. Their athletic programs are a bit lacking though.

Valley Prep has a small enrollment, so numbers for football has always been an issue. In addition to low numbers, losing has been an issue for Valley Prep football too. They have won only one game in the past 3 seasons. This spring, the injury bug hit the program, and they lost 7 players to injury. A few of the players were not going to be ready to play this fall. After the past few years and the fact this fall was going to be a struggle, Valley Prep shut their football program down late this spring.

Coach Lane Freeze and many of the players were heartbroken about the program being shut down. Coach Freeze approached the administration the week after the program was shut down about starting a flag football program. He had already talked with most of the players, and they were on board. The administration thought it was a good idea, and they gave Coach Freeze the go ahead to start the program with only one caveat. If the first season goes well, he has to start a girls program too.

Coach Freeze said, “I had to do something or I was going to be out of a job. I probably could’ve coached girls junior high basketball or volleyball, but I’d rather dig ditches wearing a ski jacket in Saudi Arabia in August. Flag football is going to be a much better fit for our guys. We’re not very fast, athletic, or physical, so the flag game is a much more natural fit.”

Currently, there are no other flag football programs in the state and The Valley besides Valley Prep. But, Coach Freeze was able to schedule 6 games with other schools, and those schools will use their normal football players. Freeze said, “We were ahead of the curve like usual. Flag football is growing; it’s going to be in the Olympics in 2028. So, I think you’ll see more schools add it to their athletic programs.”

Unfortunately, Valley Prep’s flag football season has started like football seasons in the past. They’re now 0-3 with 3 games left to play. Freeze said, “It’s been a tough start to the season, but these kids are fighting hard. These kids are learning to face adversity head on. I tell them that everyone faces adversity, but it’s all about how you handle it. It’s about attitude and the power of positive thinking. Of course, I don’t tell them the truth. We’re not going to win because we’re not any good; we’re small, slow, and not athletic.”

There has been mixed opinions among Valley Prep parents and fans. One player’s father said, “Honestly, I hate this flag football crap. Valley Prep had a good opportunity to instill mental and physical toughness into these kids by continuing normal football, but they just basically quit when things got hard. It’s just pathetic. This would’ve never happened when I was growing up. If we had only 11, we would’ve played with 11. This is what’s wrong with America; when things get hard, we just lay down and quit. The real men need to stand up!”

I talked with another player’s mom. She said, “I was excited when I found out they were switching to flag football. Now, I really don’t have to worry about my son getting injured. Plus, the whole atmosphere around normal football just wreaks of toxic masculinity, and I don’t want my son to exude that. I hope they never to go back to normal football.”

We’ll see if Valley Prep can manage to get a win, but it looks bleak right now. It’ll be interesting to see if other schools start flag football programs as the popularity grows. The Olympics in 2028 could be the catalyst to get it going. We’ll see.

Mack at the Track: Season 2, Race 1 9/7/24

by Mack Speed

Hello Valleyans! The Strong River Valley Mower Racing League (SRVMRL) is back for season 2. Season 1 was a success, but there were definitely some things we needed to improve upon, and we believe we’ve made some good improvements. We now have restrooms with real toilets, real sinks, and a real feeding trough urinal for the guys. No more porta potties! Gentleman, we ran out of money for multiple urinals with partitions for privacy. So, you’ll have to pee in a feeding trough next to other guys, but at least it won’t smell like a porta potty.

Also, we have good news for you degenerate gamblers out there. The Valley Motor Speedway now has a sports book, so you can bet on the races! After weeks of talks with the MS Gaming Commission, we finally got it approved. Rusty Moore will be the manager of the sports book, and he will also be our handicapper. So, he’ll have odds for each adult race; there will no betting on the junior races. Rusty will also be the money changer, so y’all be patient with him. He has to wear many hats. I expect the book to be a good revenue stream for us in the future.

We had a great crowd for the first race of the season; I estimate that we had over 1,500 people there. Most were from The Valley, but I saw quite a few car tags from outside The Valley. The Ole Miss fans were back tailgating with their chandelier and fancy catered food. Of course, the ladies were dressed to the nine.

I was happy with our parking guys. We only had a couple minor issues with our parking. I held a meeting with a Powerpoint with my guys beforehand, so we were all on the same page. Some people just don’t like to be told what to do.

Now, to the races. The junior race was a bit of a snoozer. My son, Dale Earnhardt Speed, picked up where he left off last season. He won easily. The other junior drivers are really going to have to step up their game if they’re going to compete with Dale. He takes after his dad, that boy can race.

The main race was a pretty darn good race. Jeff Petty won a very close race. Petty came on strong at the end of last season, and he was really pushing Jimmie Stewart and Tony Johnson. Petty just stayed clean and out of the way of Stewart and Johnson; those guys go at each other pretty hard. Petty has the attention of those guys now, so I expect them to make adjustments for the next race.

Thanks for coming out to the Valley Motor Speedway! We’ll see you again on Sept. 21st.

Hopes of Presidential Debate in The Valley Squashed

by I. B. Lyon

The Valley County Election Commission (VCEC) had high hopes of hosting a presidential debate this fall. The Commission had been in talks and negotiations for weeks with the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) and the Harris and Trump campaigns. The candidates had agreed on a date- Sept. 31st. The location was down to two cities- Valley City, MS and Indianapolis, IN.

VCEC chairman Tucker Lemon said, “We submitted a great proposal to the CPD, and we had high hopes we’d land the debate. But, in the end, the CPD and the campaigns chose Indianapolis over The Valley. This would’ve been huge for The Valley, but it is what it is. I talked with officials with the CDP after we were told we would not be hosting the debate, and they lined out the reasons we were not chosen.”

In our discussion, Lemon explained the reasons to me The Valley was not chosen. VCEC was going to use the Valley City Civic Center as the venue, and it only holds 500 people. The Trump campaign said that it wouldn’t hold enough people, and the optics just wouldn’t be good for him. The Harris campaign said that there would be too many people in a live audience, and they would not do a debate with a live audience.

The VCEC wanted me, I. B. Lyon (yours truly), to be the debate moderator. But, the Trump campaign said I was too liberal and couldn’t be unbiased, and the Harris campaign said I was a radical conservative. Maybe I shouldn’t have posted so much on social media about my Libertarian views like legalizing recreational marijuana. And, I have shared a few Joe Rogan and Tucker Carlson videos recently. Sorry VCEC and The Valley.

Additionally, the VCEC proposed a unique format where the candidates would sit at a round table for the debate. The Trump campaign insisted both candidates have to stand at podiums. The Harris campaign insisted that both candidates sit in nice padded chairs with no table. Evidently, Trump wanted to be able to show off his signature Trump branded red tie at the podium, and Harris didn’t want her Hillary style pants suit to be hidden by the podium. Additionally, the VCEC put a clause in their proposal that uncontrollable laughing and repeating phrases multiple times wouldn’t be tolerated and would be muted. Evidently, this was frowned upon by both campaigns as well.

Lemon said, “We were very disappointed we were weren’t chosen, but we’ll try again in 4 years. We learned a lot through this process, so we’ll be better prepared next time. As the VCEC chairman, make sure you’re registered to vote before Nov., and make sure you show up at the polls and exercise your constitutional right to vote.”

Valleyans, even though we were beat out by Indianapolis for the debate, make sure to tune in at 7:00 pm on Sept. 31st to watch the presidential debate. Hopefully, that will be us in 4 years.

Local Clothing Company is Thriving

by Emma Embellischer

It’s always great to see a local Valley company doing well, especially in this economy. It’s tough for local clothing and retail companies to thrive these days because of Amazon, Wal-Mart, and other large corporations. But, the Valley Dungaree Company (VDC) is doing great right now, and the future looks even brighter.

VDC was founded 2 years ago by Valleyan, Levi “Blue” Denham. Denham had worked in retail most of his life, and he’d most recently worked as a manager at Factory Connection. He had gotten burnt out working long hours, and he had been wanting to start his own clothing company for a while. He comes from a family of Valley farmers. His dad is a farmer, his grandfather was a farmer, and his older brother is also a farmer. Denham had always seen his dad and grandpa wearing overalls, and he always wore overalls when he helped out on the farm.

Denham decided a couple years ago that he was going to start a clothing company that sells overalls only. But, his company was going to be different. Denham said, “I wanted to market my overalls to the masses, not just men and farmers. Also, as someone that cares about the planet and sustainability, I wanted to source my materials from sustainable plants/materials. After doing some research, I decided that I was going to use bamboo to make my overalls. Luckily, I didn’t have to go far. I was able to find a farmer in the Valley who owns many acres of land covered by bamboo, and he allowed me to harvest free of charge.”

VDC has really taken off in the past 6 months. His storefront on Main St. in Valley City is doing great, and he also sells a ton of product online. Denham uses Tiktok and Instagram to promote his overalls, and he has thousands of followers. He has also used a couple well known influencers to peddle his overalls, and that has helped too. He is now shipping overalls to shoppers all across the world. There a couple features that set Denham’s overalls apart from other brands.

Denham said, “First, my overalls are super soft and lightweight. They’re not rough and heavy like a lot of jeans and overalls. It’s almost like you’re not wearing anything at all. Also, we offer our overalls in different fits including regular, tapered, and slim. This has helped us appeal to many different types of people including teens, hipsters, farmers, and more. We also offer shorts overalls, and the ladies love them. We’ll remain flexible and adapt as styles change, so we’ll probably offer more in the future.”

I talked to a couple proud VDC shoppers. One young hipster male said, “I love my VDCs! They are so soft. I have 3 different pairs, and I love the skinny fit. Plus, I feel good about wearing them because they’re made from sustainable bamboo.” One Valley farmer told me, “I’m done with my Liberty overalls. They ain’t got nothing on Blue’s VDCs. They are so soft, and they’re also very durable. I’m hoping he’ll ask me to be a model for him, but I ain’t gonna hold my breath on that. Haha!”

We’ll see if Denham can make overalls mainstream. He’s off to a good start. Come on down to Main St. in Valley City and try on a pair of Blue’s VDCs.

Valleyan Forms Unique Real Estate Firm

by Ima Phibber

Donald Buffett is a well known business owner and real estate investor in The Valley. Buffett’s primary business is a body shop, but he also owns a mobile home park, RV park, laundromat, vape shop, and more. He recently formed DG Ventures, LLC, and it’s going to be a very unique real estate investment firm.

Buffett plans to acquire rural properties in and around The Valley that would be ideal spots for new Dollar General stores. Buffett said, “I’ve always had a knack for buying properties at low prices that turn out to be prime properties in the future. I was driving down the road the other day, and I noticed they’d built a Dollar General out in the middle of nowhere. I thought about the person that owned that land probably made a killing. Then, I decided that I was going to start buying property in rural areas that would be prime properties for the next Dollar General. I may be a little late to the party, but I think I can do it.”

Buffett has made contact with the Dollar General corporate office about his plans. They appreciated his interest, but they made no commitments to him and DG Ventures, LLC. Buffett said, “I managed to get through to their real estate guy, but he really didn’t have a whole lot to say. I asked him where they were looking to add stores in MS, and he wouldn’t tell me. I even tried to bribe him with two months of free rent in my RV park. So, I’m just going to have to go on my intuition on this, but I think I can do it.”

Buffett has contacted multiple farmers and land owners in rural areas of The Valley and Central MS, but he hasn’t acquired any property as of the publication of this story. He said, “You know the old saying- Build it and they will come? Well, I’m going to change it up. For me, it’s going to be- Buy it and they will come.”

Buffett’s plan seems to be a tough proposition. The Valley and surrounding areas are already flush with Dollar Generals. I heard they just built one on the moon, but I haven’t verified that. We’ll keep in touch with Buffett and his unique firm, and update you periodically.

Goat Yoga Takes Off in The Valley

by Heeza de Seaver

Goat yoga has taken off in many areas of the country. I guess it’s not enough to just stretch and bend your body in preposterous painful ways. Now, you need to put a small goat on your back while you’re doing it. I don’t understand it, but it’s becoming more and more popular.

Nanny Ridge Farms has been operating a successful goat farm for about 15 years in The Valley. They sell goats to buyers across the country, and they’re well known and respected across the country. In addition to breeding goats, they sell many goat products including goat milk (don’t tell the Dept. of Ag.), goat soaps, goat cheeses, goat jerky, and more.

Nanny Ridge Farms owner Billie Kidd said, “Our retail business at the farm has slowed recently. I think it has to do with Bidenomics and inflation. So, I was brainstorming on ways to get people out to the farm, and I ran across some videos on Tiktok with people doing goat yoga. I thought it was crazy to be honest with you. But, I thought that we could give it a try. Everyone loves baby goats, and you can mix in some yoga. What’s not to love?”

Kidd said, “I didn’t know anything about yoga, so I had to find someone that did. I started asking around, and everyone told me to contact Krishna Theegala. I was told she was the yoga instructor in The Valley. I contacted her, and she said she’d be happy to do some classes even though she’d never done goat yoga.”

Kidd added, “The first class attracted 9 ladies. It was a circus. The kids were kind of freaked out. They’d never had to stand on someone’s back for an extended period of time. I spent 80% of my time chasing the kids, and putting them back on the ladies’ backs. They did better in week 2, and they gotten even better the past couple weeks. Now, we’re up to about 25 ladies doing goat yoga, and I hope it’ll continue to grow.”

After the yoga sessions, Kidd provides cold goat milk along with charcuterie boards with her infused goat cheeses. Kidd said that his has helped her retail business a good deal. I talked with a couple yoga participants, and they love the goat yoga and refreshments. One said, “Honestly, I’m not crazy about the goat yoga. It really doesn’t feel good to have a goat walking on your back. But, the cold goat milk afterwards is so refreshing. I think I’m gonna keep coming back just for that. Another said, “The yoga is fun, and I love the little goats. But, Billie’s blueberry infused goat cheese is the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth. So awesome!”

Kidd said the yoga sessions have been good for the farm. Currently, she only does one session per week, but she plans to add another session as the numbers continue to grow. Never tried goat yoga? Come on out to Nanny Ridge Farms and give it a try. Sample some of the goat milk and goat cheese while you’re at it.