A Border Collie Birthday

Farm Buddy has been sure to tell me, remind me, nag me, suggest and demand, for at least two weeks, that Kelsey get her day of blog fame seeing as how it's Kelsey's fourth birthday today, June 11th.  And no, I am not late with this post because I work nights and my life runs on DancingDonkey time, not eastern standard time.  It is still Kelsey's birthday according to DancingDonkey time.

Kelsey (aka, Kelsey-Bird, The bird, Squirrelly-girl) is not an easy dog to photograph, at least not for my very slow, battered old camera that has taken all the photos on this blog.  If I had a fancy camera that thinks quick enough to get good action shots, Kelsey would be a great subject.  She is the true epitome of Border Collie and is the living example of nearly every Border Collie stereotype ever uttered.  A quirky, intense, driven, hyper, sensitive and sweet little creature who, as long as she is awake, is always moving.  Even when she appears to be still, she is in fact a bundle of live wire ready to take on any job, be it chasing frisbees, corralling cattle or moving sheep.

Kelsey has been on the farm just over a year now and she loves it.  She wasn't cut out for the stress of herding competitions and life in a big, busy kennel with little personal one-on-one time.  She has thrived with the responsibilities of  farm work and frisbee combined with having her very own person and a place on the couch.

She has also been good for the boys, who both adore her.  Tanner, especially, likes Kelsey and the two of them play all the time, in their no-touching-or-wrestling-allowed BC way.  Tanner loves to play, but he doesn't like playing with most dogs because they want to touch him and that is not allowed in the BC Book of Rules and Regulations.

I think this is still my favorite picture of the Border Collie Brigade, it just sums them up so well.  That is Tanner on the right and Scout on the left and Kelsey, of course, always looking for a job.

Happy Birthday Kelsey-Bird

Security Breach

Now that the snow has finally gone, the toys have reappeared.  I gathered most of them up the other day, which was a Border-Collie-Security-Breach of massive proportions.  I was informed, in no uncertain terms, that each and every toy was fully and completely accounted for already and my interference was not appreciated. 

Each and every toy had to be thoroughly inspected and placed in a new Border-Collie-Approved position.  Such positioning might appear arbitrary and random to us humans, but I assure you, it is not.

The security status remains on high, orange alert.  The Dancing Donkey Farm is at Def-Con 3.

In light of this massive breach of security, Tanner has asked me to review all of the rules applying to all toys.  He has even been so kind as to dictate said rules so that there will be absolutely no confusion about them.  Hopefully this will prevent any further security breach emergencies. 

The Rules

Part 1.  No toy or perceived toy shall be moved, dislodged, misplaced or otherwise handled without the express permission and instruction of the Border Collie (heretofore known as the BC, Security, Investigator, Judge, Jury, Executioner, etc.  AKA Tanner, AKA Farm Manager, AKA The Boss).

Part 2.   No toy or perceived toy shall be be played with, used for games, or otherwise handled by any other creature residing on this farm or on any other property within this solar system without the express permission of the BC.

      

       Part 2a.  No permission of such handling will be granted by the BC now or ever.

Part 3.  Definition of a toy:  Any object that the BC has deemed to be a toy.  This includes, but is not limited to:

• All balls, jolly balls, basketballs, footballs, or any spherical or semi-spherical object or ball-like substance that can be kicked, thrown, chased, bitten, etc. 
• Frisbees, Frisbee like objects, or any disc shaped substance that can be thrown, caught, bit, etc.
• Selectively chosen sticks retrieved from the woods by the BC for the sole use and entertainment of the BC.  

      Part 3a.  If in doubt, all determinations are to be made solely by the BC at his discretion.

Part 4.  The BC expressly prohibits any equine, especially and particularly donkeys, from handling, sniffing, touching, or interacting with a toy of any kind at all times.

    

       Part 4a.  Acceptable donkey toys consist of such useless, pathetic items as traffic cones and bits of old garden hose.  The example below illustrates highly illegal and forbidden activity.  Looking at and casting a shadow upon a BC approved toy is NOT allowed.

Part 5.  The utilization of any toy is the sole purview of the BC.
    
       Part 5a.  The BC will decide each day which toy will be utilized for that day and all other toys shall be ignored until such time as the BC decides to change toys.

• Any human chosen to throw or kick said toy must be able to differentiate between toys.  The throwing or kicking of the wrong toy will be punished via a Border Collie Stare that will fully and completely convey to said human the full extent of his/her failure along with the puzzlement of the BC as to how the said human could be so totally lacking in  basic intelligence.  

Part 6.  Failure to comply with any of these rules, or any other BC rules not listed here, constitutes a severe breach of security and can not be tolerated.   A breach may result in any or all of the following:

• The toys will be moved by the BC into Ultra Secure Storage, the location of which will be known only to the BC.
• Any human attempting to contravene these rules by allowing or encouraging any other creature to play with toys, especially and particularly donkeys, will be subjected to a Border Collie Stare of such soul withering intensity, that said human will know absolutely and completely the total futility of his or her existence.  Furthermore, said human will also have to live with the pure, unadulterated guilt of his/her betrayal.

Part 7.  These rules are subject to change without notice and at the sole discretion of the BC. 

• It is the responsabilty of each individual to know and understand all BC rules at all times.  
• Ignorance of the law does not exempt one from the law. 

 We thank all of you for your attention to these vitally important security measures.