Weighed calves for most of the day today and about overheated. It was in the mid ’80’s, I think, but I swear it felt more like the 90’s! I even got to spend half the day inside actually weighing the calves, but I guess I was still wiped out from yesterday. Here it is only…
Category: Dogs
His Job
The last part of the afternoon, we weighed our weaned calves. They’ve been in the corral, at least this bunch has, going through Mommy-withdrawal. That expresses itself in bawling for three or four days… and then they are over it. Before we turn this bunch out on the fields, we weigh them individually. That helps…
Twilight Zone
I was up on the mountain today. For part of it, Victoria and I took our dogs past the old Bar C cabin. I’ve never seen this cabin standing, but over the years, I have watched it lower itself like a grandfather settling in a soft couch. Bit by bit, it disappears into the ground….
Closed Captioning
Somehow I managed to leave my camera in the pickup which went up the mountain with Daniel today. That means no tile photos. I am far from done however, so there is no worry that I’ll miss an “in progress” picture! I am more successful with my “peanut butter” thin set. Thanks for all the…
Labor Day or Holiday?
Yup. Long day. No surprise. Actually, things went quite well, we’re just never too speedy about this… We did have to dig a lot of the neighbor’s cows out of our stuff… but other than that… We were good. I guess it just seems long to me because although we arrived home at 5 pm,…
A Time to Help
You know my English Shepherds, my breed, my loves… The dogs that shadow my life from room to room, job to job. Whether helping me irrigate… Or watching me in the barley field… Keeping an eye on the yearlings… Or assisting in ranch chores… My dogs have quite the life! Lucas and Elsa were purchased…
The Job is Finished
When you take cattle on a new trail… they usually don’t like it. It’s new. They don’t know if there’s a mountain lion around that rock, or they get the whoops!-where’d -my-calf-go-to-now? syndrome, and the ever popular whine of BUTHOMEISTHATWAY! But the alternative was to trail through two other pastures full of cows, so we…
Wordless Wednesday – “My Space”
I know no one wants a Wordless Wednesday entry today… we all just want to go hug Boomer and play STICK. <You must spell it STICK… because Boomer is SOOOOO intense about it… It simply MUST be in CAPS. STICK!> But life on a ranch goes on… steadily… onward. Today grain is being thrashed, equipment…
Boomer
Boomer was a bear cub puppy. Irresistible. Round. Fluffy. Huggable. After the deaths of my two previous cowdogs in a short span of time… he seemed a blessing. Everyone enjoyed him. He was always a *happypuppy*. He even used to help shuck corn! Even the broken leg as a pup didn’t slow him down. I…
Come True
Thanks for all the well wishes for Boomer… He’s still missing. I have hopes still that he’ll turn up. I thought about posting a pic of him tonight… but it felt more like a memorial… and I refuse that answer for now. When I was in middle school I had a black and white cat…
My Breed, Part Two
As this country was settled, dogs trotted alongside the pioneers. Dogs that could warn of strangers, herd livestock, protect children, kill varmints, hunt, and lay on your feet on those cold winter nights in your drafty old soddy. They were simple collies or shepherds… not the fancy show Rough Collies like Lassie. They weren’t English,…
My Breed, Part One
Today I was excused from ranch duties and set free! Fortunately enough, it also was the full day of the Montana English Shepherd Gathering in Red Lodge, Montana. That’s only three hours away! I didn’t quite get as early a start as I had planned, but still managed to spend most of the day there……