Well, between helping Victoria with new little Matthew over in Kaycee, and working at the library, there’s not been much “ranchlife” to write about. Not that the guys aren’t going crazy doing the normal hectic springtime work, but I just haven’t been a part of it. I’ve put you off the past few days with…
Tag: dogs
Surprise Me
A few days ago, when we moved some cows, I took Lucas along. Always my “short go” dog, I hoped it wouldn’t be too much for him. We did some work on foot, turning the cows through the open gate, encouraging the last few lost calves along, hoping for momma to come back and retrieve…
Minute Movie: “Swish, Dally”
So… it’s not really “swish” , more like “swiss”, but I figured “Swiss Dally” might conjure up something entirely different than my fat little dog chasing a cow! Some people might spell it “Pssst”, but I have no “p” in my little command. “Sssssss” looks snaky. Anyway… here’s a little Minute Movie from last week……
Romance of the Horse Trailer
Dally came in heat and was standing last Sunday. Last time she had pups was in 2012 when she was bred to Bubba, a big, dark sable from Shoshoni, Wyoming. Then there was the trip last year to Idaho, where Tank, inexperienced gentleman that he was, refused to breed her although she flirted as much…
Cows Know
Even though I had spent a great amount of time driving to Billings and back, I made a decision Sunday to take another drive. Dally was in standing heat, and, I thought, it’s now or never… so I made plans to drive south this time to a stud dog near Shoshoni, Wyoming. A couple of…
We Are Here
There is a heaviness, no, a solemnity, about new fallen snow. Glaringly white, made tolerable by squinting even with sunglasses, it lays quietly across fields and fences. Character lines around my eyes can be blamed on this brilliance, more exist now than ever before. The exurberant sense of new exploration fights against the sobering blanket. …
Minute Movie: “Snow Day”
We woke up to 4″ or 5″ of pretty white snow… and a few more inches by 10 am, and a couple more by noon… When I ventured out to haul more water and feed to my coop ensconced chickens… my yardstick read anywhere from 10″-16″. The girls were happy to have me replenish their…
Reposted for Elsa
I know I said I’d post pics of my scarf tonight… but I always glance through my older posts (links are found on the right sidebar)… and, honestly, I think this is one of my best posts EVER… So I’m reposting. Sometimes, the best words come only once… Missin’ you, Else… *Originally posted February 17,…
Advantage
One of the basic things I believe you should teach your dog is patience and calmness. Calmness around livestock is a great quality to have… it’s easier on your dog… and your cattle. While I’ve let Eden go along on some trail drives, I haven’t really WORKED her. She’s followed the other dogs and had…
It’ll Be Fun
Thanks for the encouragement on my pastel work… I’m excited to keep trying it! I had pastels a LONG time ago, and just remember how the yellow would be covered in black, or the orange had green on it, because I kept them all thrown in a box together! I didn’t like that! In fact,…
Tricky
This occupied my morning… Since I’m stuck with posting from my ipad tonight, I’m only going to share the end result. This is Mace, he’s Lucas’ half brother. I didn’t quite capture him… He needs width between his eyes, a blockier head, SOMETHING! But since this is my first attempt with pastel pencils, I’ll give…
Great Walk
After the normal routine of feeding cattle and chopping ice, the guys went snowmobiling for fun, and I decided on such a NICE sunny day, the dogs and I would head out for another shot at snowshoeing around the fields. It was much easier this time as I used my dad’s old fashioned bear paw…