Playing With Sticks...

Border Patrol

doing their job...patrolling.

Border Patrol...

Everything must be inspected

observed and evaluated

Boys. football and Border Collies

All just doing their jobs.

Are We Dry??

Sunday I checked out the creek with part of the farm dog team.  Don't know how I got away without the hot peppers but it made for a little calmer exploration.

The elderberries bloom along the creek's edge.

You can tell the creek is low. It is fed by three wet weather springs and two full time springs. I have not seen the creek this low in a very long time.

Tried to capture the water skater

but only his shadow is clear.

Normally I travel up the creek so it remains clear.

This day we traveled down and stirred the silt.

The Borders were having a ball.

Lil tries to catch the water skaters

but never gets one.

There was rain all around us Monday.

We were blessed with one tenth.

Katching Up With Ki-Anne

as she runs,

and as she watches.

Playing with a new ball with the Borders.

Same ball later, not quite as red.

My Ki-Anne, frayed collar thanks to Junior.

That's my girl!

Something's In The Garden...

Strange scratches by the creek...

could it be ole Three Toes walking the valley again?

The Borders are sniffing the garden,

they know a strange animal has been here.

The smell remained,

but the strange critter was gone.

Before Daylight...

I was awakened by the dogs, thank you, you worthless pack of mutts!!  I am sure they were after some critter but I did not check.  Coulda been skunks, armadillos or 'possums. They are really moving closer since it has been so dry.  I guess they are staying closer since they have discovered the eating is easier near the houses.

I so wished I had a camera the other morning.  The boys, a Jack/Rat and a Rat terrier, had an armadillo on the run, one on each side, yapping their brains out, snapping against the hard shell,  while the possum in armour kept on trotting his escape route.

The Borders approach these warm-blooded tanks a little differently...if you are sensitive to violence, stop reading now!  They work as a team, flip the armadillo, go for the soft underbelly and proceed to tear it apart.

You may think this cruel but farm life is cruel.  It is a battle...against the elements and animals who threaten the livelihood of domesticated animals and humans that have tamed this spot of earth for their own use. 

The reason armadillos are so unwanted is the danger they bring.  Danger, you ask??  They dig tunnels which can break the leg of any large mammal that is unlucky enough to step in.  They dig up plants, not on purpose, they are looking for grubs and bugs.  Armadillos also carry leprosy.

Sometimes farming isn't pretty and it's certainly not a job for the faint-hearted.  It is a way of life. You either love it or your hate it...there can be no in between.

I Missed The Eclipse...

but I was mooned.

in more ways than one.

The great frog hunt is a recurring event around the water garden.  Squig keeps thinking, this time I WILL catch that frog.

That elusive frog must first be flushed outta hidin'.

The hunt is on!

Squiggy is sometimes joined by Lil

if she can leave her stick unattended.

The day grows light.

Squiggy-zero

Frogs-one.

That will not deter the Squiggster,

tomorrow night,

same time,

same channel.

Past My Bedtime...

Just had to do this post! First night game this year. We played Cedar Ridge. We won!!!!!!!!

Final Score 30-us, 0-them.

It was awesome! Andrew got the first touchdown and they were playing full field. It was at least a fifty yard run. You could see him kick into gear and leave the guy behind. His second touch down was not so easy. He was weaving and dodging and running! This old lady almost fell off the bleachers. The whole team was awesome...D and O.

~

I hope I can sleep after all this excitement. The rain seems to be doing the team good. I am still fussing about those white uniforms. Buy stock in laundry detergent and bleach, with all this rain I am sure it must be going up.

~

Playing football with the two Border Collies is paying off. They rarely let Andrew through without taking the football so it is great training.

~

I shall go and try to relax enough to sleep and will catch up on all your posts tomorrow night.

Goooooooooooo, Mighty Mites!

The Cows Are Out!!!

Trees and limbs have been on fences since the ice. We have been working but there was a lot of damage.


This morning the cows were out, heading up the road. Horses usually scope things out and make a plan. Cows are not so conniving. They follow their nose and they follow the leader. The leader decided to follow her nose up the road.

Thanks to our glorious American Border Collies and surprise help from our Jack/Rat Terrier, they were rounded pretty quickly.

Maggie is a heeler.

Lil, the short-haired is a head girl.
Squiggy is a barker and chaser but he was right on their tails...no fear. One well placed kick can kill a dog. Lil got one kick but she is fine. These two ladies herded and held these cows in a bunch while my wonderful hubby fixed the fence


I am sure you are asking, where were you? I was on the back side of the camera, plus I was hubby's gofer...go fer this, go fer that.

Thank you, Maggie, Lil and Squiggy for making our job a lot easier.