Happy Anniversary, Cody!

The perfect end to a good day! Cody and his pack mates enjoy ice cream in honor of his 6th adoption anniversary. Thank you, Wendy Auzqui, for finding this good boy for me, and thank you, Jo Woodbury for allowing me to buy him. He has taught me so much.

And thanks, Wendy, for taking this special photo of Cody and me when we first met at your place.  

Green Garden Spider on Purple Thistle

And sometimes I take pictures of something other than sheep, dogs, and landscapes.  Today, when I picked some purple thistle, I unknowingly brought home a guest.  This tiny (about 1/2 long) green spider came with them.  

I have the utmost respect for those photographers that specialize in macro photography.  Getting some tiny critter to sit still while you focus is really a challenge.  This little guy also refused to sit on top of the thistle, and presented his (or maybe her) posterior to the sky while he tucked his front end under the thistle head.  That's why you see mostly his abdomen and the back part of his cephalothorax.  Maybe he's just shy.  Who knows.  

Anyway, I captured nice, crisp pics of his several parts...just not all in one photo.  😞

McGraw Bdog #2

Last weekend felt like fall is just around the corner…and dog trials are back underway after the steamy summer recess.  Meg and I spent September 6-7 at Maci and Peg McGraw’s McGraw Bdog #2 trial at their place in Cross Plains.  Held on their beautiful, wooded field, the trial featured competition in the Open Ranch, Nursery, Ranch and Novice classes.  

It was Meg’s first trial outing since our trip to Colorado, and she was pretty excited.  Her first run was erratic, but by the second, on Sunday, she settled enough to earn a fourth place with a score of 81.  

The weather on Saturday was cool and rainy, with handlers in jackets for the first time in a long time.  Sunday was a perfect day, though; short sleeves were comfortable, but we weren’t sweating.  The hospitality and camaraderie were warm, and it was a great outing.

Here are a few pics of the competition.  

Meg especially enjoyed her role as the “exhaust dog” that made sure the sheep went where they were supposed to after their runs.  She quickly learned what the job was, and hardly needed any direction (except to make sure she didn’t start her “work” too early!).  Moving four sheep at a time wasn’t hard for her, but she did have a new challenge.  The Dorper ewes were in an open exhaust pen.  When they grew tired of waiting, or wanted different grass, they tended to move out into the back of the trial field.  And there were about 60 of them.  That’s five times the number that Meg has handled in the past.  She was very brave, though, and faced them off and put them back in their pen.  Then, when I asked her she moved the entire flock from the exhaust back to the setout pen, keeping them in a nice, tidy bunch the entire way.  I was very proud of her.  And, I can’t wait for the rest of this fall’s trials.  

Thanks so much, Maci and Peg, for an excellent trial.  And thanks, too, Les Hale for judging, and to all those who helped scribe, set out sheep and pitch in where needed.

Dark Days

These are dark days.  This past week’s events have left me drained, as well as deeply saddened.  As we prepared to mark the 24th anniversary of 9/11, two horrific events took place the day before.  On September 10 at about 12:30, a 16-year-old shooter with a handgun wounded two fellow students at Evergreen High School in the Denver suburbs, then took his own life.  Though Desmond Holly’s motive at this time is unclear, it was reported that he was radicalized by some extreme network.”

At about the same time, a 22-year-old armed with a high-power rifle fired a single shot and assassinated Charlie Kirk, a 31-year-old conservative, Christian, political activist who was attending an event on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.  The assassin, identified as Tyler Robinson from the small town of Washington, Utah, is in custody and has reportedly confessed.  It is unclear at this time if there were others involved in the murder.  

My heart breaks for the families affected by these and other politically-motivated acts of violence.  Rhetoric from the media and individuals with differing views is certainly partly responsible.  When people who hold opposing positions or opinions are characterized as “animals, fascists, nazis, racists and dangerous,” along with other epithets, there are those who feel they should be “eliminated,” and feel justified in taking such action.  We have to change our hearts and we have to change the dialogue.  

As terrible as the events of 9/11/2001 were, they brought us together as a people and as a nation.  We need to get back to that unity, and to address together the mindset that is present in so many places...that anyone who disagrees with us is the enemy.  The only enemy is the mindset itself.  

The Not-So-Long, Not-So-Hot Summer

 

We made our way back to Texas, stopping whenever possible at county fairgrounds, rodeo grounds and other dog-friendly (and inexpensive) locations.

This pic is from the county fairgrounds in North Platte, Nebraska.  Beautiful grass; the dogs loved it, but when it was time to go they loaded up in a heartbeat.

We arrived home to find our upper and lower stock tanks going around the spillway and down the draw-down tube.  (Thanks, Allan, for the photos)

While we were in South Dakota, we had heard the terrible news about the flash floods that claimed so many lives in the Texas Hill Country in the Kerrville and Hunt areas.  We received a significant amount of rain at the farm, but thankfully not so much as to cause the kind of damage experienced along the Guadalupe River and San Saba Rivers.  Our hearts break for the families who lost loved ones and property in this devastating flood.  

Shortly after we returned, we made a tentative decision to breed Dutch and Meg if she comes into heat late this summer.  She is almost 4 years old, and has never had pups.  The advice of breeders is for females to have pups at about this age, and we think a mating of these two would produce outstanding pups.  So….we’re waiting.

Another thing on my to-do list was to get more sheep.  We sold our ewes and lambs in March, and have been woefully unpracticed since then.  I visited the Hamilton Livestock Commission in hopes of finding some suitable working sheep to use until we pick up more Katahdan-Dorper ewe lambs from Paul Holland in the fall.  Tracy in the Commission office asked their livestock inspection officer to show me what sheep were available.  Turns out, the livestock inspector is none other than Than Foote, a local rancher who had years ago leased our farm for grazing (long before John and I built our house and began spending significant time here).  

None of the sheep available at the auction were what I was looking for, but Than made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.  He runs several hundred head of sheep and goats on the family ranch, which is only a few miles from our place (past Jonesboro and out toward the small community of Pancake).  Than said if I would feed them, I could borrow some sheep from him and return them when I no longer needed them.  

Dutch getting acquainted with the Sheep Sisters

Such a deal!!!  A couple of days later, John and I picked up 17 head of mixed-breed ewes and brought them home.  The new Sheep Sisters are a diverse lot.  Three are all-black; two are black-headed mostly-Dorper; several more are Katahdan-Dorper cross, and a couple more have Barbados Blackbelly blood.  Most are young ewes that have just weaned their first lambs, but four are older 3-5 year-olds.  They wasted no time getting acquainted with their new home, and the dogs wasted no time getting in some "sheep time."  

Even Rue got into the act.  Her 13 years and leaky heart valve have slowed her down, but they haven't dampened her spirit or her desire to work.

Even Cousin Rosie got in a bit of herding, then cooled off in the water trough.

The sheep are fun, and quickly learned that when I call “sheep-sheep-sheep” there will be treats in their sheep shed.  I usually don’t need a dog to bring them in at night, and they often show up on their own in the late afternoon.  We are blessed! 

On July 23rd, John and I made a quick trip to Fort Worth for me to get fitted for a new pair of contact lenses.  The appointment went well, and we especially enjoyed our lunch at Pacific Table in the University Park area.  The Ahi Tuna salad was extra special, and the creme brûlée was probably the best I've ever had.

In early August we were blessed with a few unseasonal but much-appreciated showers.  We were also blessed to celebrate Rue's 13th birthday on the 5th,

and Meg's adoption anniversary on the 16th.  Of course, Bluebell was a big part of both occasions! 

Everybody loves celebrations!

John has been working on several woodworking projects, but was slowed down a couple of weeks ago when he got a little close to the spinning blade on his joiner.  We've progressed from the emergency room to heavy bandages on the first two fingers of his right hand to little more than bandaids, thank goodness.  He's now back to work on several other projects.

And speaking of projects...we're in the middle of a big one.  A couple of months ago, after consulting with the Joneses, we decided to fence the house pasture for goats.  The heavy brush and weeds are choking out much of the grasses on top of the mountain to the west and south of the house.  John and Allan have spent countless hours and much $$$ cutting, skid-steering and spraying, but the brush is winning.  Hopefully, some goats will thrive in this area, and will bring back pasture instead of a thicket.  

We put up the new 4" x 4" fencing on top of the original barbed wire.  Allan has also reinforced the fencing around the raised garden beds east of the Little House, and we're in the process of re-fencing our yard.  Here is the last of our rail fence ready to go to the burn pile.

We should be finished soon, and hopefully goats will join us before long.  

We finished out the month of August with dear friends Terry and Pattie Meyers.  Terry helped John move the hay out of the coastal field, and Pattie and I spent time with the dogs and sheep.  We had a surprise on Saturday morning when I discovered that overnight our flock had grown from 17 to 19 head.  One of the ewes had delivered twin ram lambs...totally unexpected since we thought none of them were bred.  

It will be interesting to see if others will follow suit.  

Pattie joined me to watch the dogs work, and to spend some up close and personal time in a small pen with the ewes.  The purpose of this exercise is to allow the dogs and sheep to spend time in close proximity with each other, and to decrease the anxiety that each might feel.  If the dogs and sheep are comfortable with each other, all should be more relaxed and better able to work as a team.  

Cody and "Spot" had a silent discussion; Cody won

At age 12, Cody has seen it all and has the presence to prove it

Moving the sisters to the small end of the pen; Meg lends moral support

Terry and Pattie's Mo didn't work sheep, but had a good time with bones and toys and her Bagley Pack friends

 

Meg and Dutch teamed up to wish everyone a Happy Labor Day.  The cooler temperatures and showers were a fitting end to what has been a much more pleasant summer than usual.  Fewer 100+ degree days and some rains were a welcome change. It was a wonderful weekend, and a fitting end to what we consider summer, even though the calendar says there are still three weeks left.