Weather or Not

Ten days ago we had flooding in the low places in light jacket weather.  This morning we woke up to 28° and a hard frost that looked like snow.

Whatever the weather, the animals expect to be fed twice a day.  They wait patiently at the gate until we appear.

For the past several weeks Herb has been doing most all of the feeding, but today I joined him with the camera and the four dogs.  (Bonnie and Kara are staying with us while Kara gets over the winter crud.)  Jet was first through the gate into the pasture with the cattle, but like a gentleman, he waited for sister Bonnie.

When Herb dumped the hay over the fence for the cattle, Jet and Bonnie raced over, sure there was something tasty.  Sure enough, Bonnie found a "poopsicle!"

Then Bonnie ran back to Siobhan and me to see if Siobhan had left her any grain.  Dream on, Bonnie!

Royal and Ebby really got into their breakfast.

Shortly after lunch it started to snow and kept on all afternoon.  The cattle hung out at the water cooler in one big mass of furry warmth.

The snow fell in vain for a couple of hours, with nothing to show for all that effort.  Shortly after 4:00 Siobhan gave a loud moo.  There she was, standing at the gate, reminding us that it was time to eat again.  Inside, as soon as I got up Jet twirled in circles, ever excited to go out and feed.  And so we did, all over again, weather or not.

Jet Is a Canine Good Citizen

Jet and I have spent the past six weeks going to an AKC Canine Good Citizen class every Thursday evening.  Tonight we had a test to see if he passed . . .

Jet had to walk on a loose leash, sit, lie down, stay while I walked 20 feet away, come when called, wait with a stranger while I disappeared for 3 minutes, have his feet and ears handled by a stranger (the examiner), be brushed by the examiner, walk among a crowd of strangers making lots of noise, and come close to a strange dog.

As you can perhaps guess from my face, Jet passed his test!

I had a test to pass, too--I had to promise to fulfill a list of responsibilities toward Jet.  A Canine Good Citizen deserves a human good citizen!

While We Were Away

I left the beginning of May for Texas and didn't get home until after Herb's graduation on the 10th.  It seemed like the farm had "put on the dog" to welcome me back home and celebrate Herb's graduation and Mother's Day all rolled into one.

The Knock-Out rose had knocked itself out putting on a splendid display.  Jet and Bonnie seem to think that the round bench covering the old cistern was put there just for them.

We think Joe Palmer of McKinnley Excavating and his hard-working crew did a fabulous job with our patio!  And now that winter is truly gone, we intend to enjoy it for the rest of the summer, especially with the nice umbrella that Kara got me for Mother's Day . . .

. . . and the tiled dolphin fountain on the back porch that Herb got me.  The puppies think it's theirs, too, and they keep splashing the water out!  I'm so glad they're enjoying our back yard!

Pretty Please

Can you tell it rained on March 31?

He's not a big, bad wolf--just a naughty, digging puppy!  And I'm not a little piggy, so all Jet said was . . .

"Pretty please . . ."

(Note the front paws level with the handle on the door.)

"Pretty please . . ."

(Note the reason I don't bother to clean the glass doors much.)

". . . Let me come in!"

And all I said was, "Not by the hair on your chinny-chin-chin--or anywhere else, for that matter!"

Pure Joy!

This is another Ketchup Post from March 29 when Jim and Monique brought the grandkids for the afternoon and evening for some Ketchup birthday celebrations.  It was the first time Eden has been here that she could take in everything going on around her, and what caught her attention was Jet and Bonnie.  There's just something about babies and puppies that make a perfect combination!  If anything illustrates Pure Joy, it's Eden's face!

Eden spotted the puppies out in the back yard . . .

. . . so we brought them up on the back porch for a meet-and-greet with her and Mama.

Eden was speechless with surprise and delight.

She looked at each of us there to see if we saw the wonderful, delightful, joy-bringing puppies!  And she brought back to each of us the joy of that lovely combination of baby + puppies.

Pure Joy!

My Life As a Farm Dog, by Jet

Hi, my name is Jet, short for Zephyrhill Jet Stream.  I'm a Shetland Sheepdog, otherwise known as a Sheltie.  I'm going to obedience school with Mommy, and my homework is to write about a typical day in my life.

 So here goes . . .

We live on Zephyr Hill Farm, so I'm a farm dog.  I'm also Mommy's special dog, which means I get to sit on her lap or be on the couch with her.

Hero is Daddy's dog.

And Misty is the Livestock Guardian Dog that lives outside and takes care of the animals.  I'm a little bit scared of her because if she thinks I'm doing something bad, she chews on my neck.

My most important job is RUNNING!  I love to run!

Sometimes I run at the chickens and bark, and then Mommy yells, "Jet!  Leave it!"  So I do . . . after she yells a few more times.  Chickens are just SO chase-able!

When I go in the barnyard I like to play with Rascal, the barn cat.  Her brother Sterling doesn't like to play so if I see him, Hero and I chase him.

This is Siobhan.  You say it "Chivon."  It's an Irish name.  I like being named after a fast wind!

I'm scared of Siobhan because she charged me the first time I ever went in the barnyard.  Today she's being nice . . .

... but I don't quite trust her!

This is the milking parlor.

Almost every morning Mommy milks Siobhan in there.  I like Siobhan better when her head is held tight!  I get bored in there, though, so Mommy lets me explore the barnyard.

This is Ebony, another cow.  You can see why she's called Ebony.  It means "black," like Jet!

This is Macree, Siobhan's baby.  I'm kind of scared of her, too, even though she's little because she runs and bucks sometimes.

When Mommy gets all lovey with her cows, I keep my distance.  See me?

That's me back there.  But I'm not jealous because Siobhan doesn't get to sit on the couch with Mommy!  Ha! ha!

Here are two more cows.  One is a steer (that's Sir Loin, in front).  I bet you can guess why he's called that.  The other one is new, and he's a bull.  His name is Royal.  He has a ring in his nose.  Ouch!

Off we go into the pasture, and I do my job again--running as fast as I can!

I see Julie the pony and Brandy, and I go after them.

It's a good thing I can run SOOOO fast . . .

... because here comes Brandy right behind me!

Julie loves to get the horses running.

Woo-hoo!  A race!  There I go after Hero and Angel and Julie, and here comes Boudin, the other steer.

I run with the horses all the way to the other end of the property, really far away.  Then I hear Mommy calling me, "Jet!  Come!"

So I come running as fast as I can because then I get cheese!

I admire Hero.  He's older than me and he can teach me a lot.  Sometimes I walk next to him and just look up at him.  He's my friend--except when he has a rawhide bone!

I love being a farm dog.  Whenever I get to go out and help feed the animals, I jump for joy.

But you know what?  All that running and jumping gets me tired (yawn!) out.  So then I'm happy to follow Mommy into the study and lay down next to her while she works on the computer.  Then after supper I lay on the couch with her and fall asleep after my busy day.  I think being a farm dog is a wonderful life.  I wish every dog could be like me!