During noontime breaks, when you’ve been working since 4:30 AM, you find the closest shade and take advantage of it! And around here, sometimes trees are scarce. Pickups aren’t! It has been HOT and DRY! We cringe when thunderstorms approach, dreading lightning and the wildfires they bring. The wet spring brought tons of grass, but…
Category: Dogs
Just In Case…
Heading to the bog…. Lucas at the end of the day… tired boy! Just in case you’re under the impression that there is only one working dog on this place… Lucas was along for the trip to the mountain too! Unfortunately, he’s badly worn his paw again, twice losing his boot on earlier small gathers. …
Tired and Muddy
It has been a year since Butcher’s Foothills Elsa has come to live with me onthe ranch. At first glance, she was small but quick, slightly nervous, definitely prone tobarking in situations that make her nervous, lost, looking for love, and willing to pleasesomeone since she had left her Oklahoma home. Within this year we have gone…
He’s *Famous*
It is with great pride I announce that Rimrock Lone Firelight… aka Lucas… is now pictured in a national magazine. RFDTV – The Magazine has done an article on “Ol’ Shep” and of course, it is about English Shepherds! Lucas’ mom, Honey, is featured, but good ol’ Lucas has a couple of pictures and a…
Another pup
I had to run to Thermopolis the other day… a town of 4,000 or so situated on the Big Horn River where the World’s Largest Mineral Hot Springs flow. It was a run for baling twine sent from Riverton, another hour away from Thermop. It takes me about 1.5 hours to drive to Thermop and…
Elsa at work
Elsa at work The Bounce. Keep ’em moving. Going in for the bite. Get around, Elsa! Note my shadow… I wanted to post a few pictures of Elsa at work. She has learned so much since she arrived on July 2 of last year. Many times those first few weeks, I wondered if she was…
One more time…
Once again, we were on horseback today. This time to gather the steers off our BLM lease ground. We will be selling them on Monday, so we have to gather, retag, and weigh them. Today was a big gather, though 2 weeks ago we also gathered this pasture and brought home our cows and calves. …
D revisits puppy soccer
When the pups were small, we played a game I called “Puppy Soccer”. It encouraged their chasing skills and was extremely fun to watch. I videoed it once and put it on YouTube. You can find it there or search my blog for it. I wondered if D would remember it… Dally has played it…
D dog
I’ve only met my English Shepherds…well, I’ve met two 8 week old pups…but my pack are all I know personally. The internet has been an amazing resource for learning of other English Shepherds. And between the 12 I’ve met, their ability to take things in stride has been remarkable. D came to us at one…
D’s story
When Lucas and Elsa had their litter last November, one puppy stood out due to his coloring. Drifter, as I called him, had a drift of white snow on the right side of his face. Not simply a wide blaze, a bald face, atypical in English Shepherds. Among the four males in the litter, Drifter…
Whew…
The view from above…Elsa rests at my feet during a break on a long day of gathering. Never far from where I am, this is typical Elsa. If I’m on horseback, she’s at my horse’s back end on the left side…95% of the time. I didn’t teach her that, maybe that’s where the shade always was! …
Photo of “Cuteness”
A couple of weeks ago I wrote an entry about “Cuteness”. Lucas and I attended school for the last time this spring, and once again, we had the pleasure of listening to kindergartners read. This time the weather was cooperative and we managed to be outside among the shade of playground equipment. “Cuteness” was her…