Sunday Stills - Something hot

This one was tough since it has, once again, been cold and wet.  We had a brief warm day early in the week and Tanner got hot enough to want to lay in the creek a bit.  When summer comes round, I always make sure to hike near water so he can cool off.  He does not like the heat and really suffers from it.  I have toyed with the idea of shaving him as my vet suggested, but I have never quite summoned the courage.  Maybe this year.

The only thing really hot other than the wood-stove (which did not photograph well), that I could find was my kitchen stove.  

I tried.

A Shadow's Footprint

I thought this was kind of an interesting thing.  I am sure this must happen regularly, but I have never noticed it before....Do you see the tree shape in the ice here...

With the crazy briefly warm/super cold weather we have had, at some point the sun reflected back off the ice on the pond.  At the same time the shadow was darker colored so it absorbed some of the sun and melted faster than the white ice...

leaving a lovely tree-footprint in the snow.

I think it is also interesting that, because of the angles and sun position (that is my guess anyway), this is the only tree in the pond that made a footprint.  I hope I am not the only one who thinks this is really cool:)  There has to be some silver lining to Mother Nature's crazy fickleness after all.

An Allergy Sufferer's Guide to Spring Horse Grooming

Part 1.  The Problem:

Part 2. Protective Apparel 

Part 3.  Choosing the Right Tool For the Job.

Part 4.  Effective Utilization of Tools

Part 5. Optional Accessories 

Part 6.  Getting Out the Big Guns*

Part 7.  The End Result - clean horses in the mud

*For anyone wondering, this is why I love my grooming vacuum.... 

I very rarely actually replace the bag in my horse vacuum, I just empty the bag between horses.  The above pile was one 5 minute vacuuming of Tessa, the cleaner one. 

Joining In

Like a lot of other bloggers, I have been wondering what or if I should be posting anything right now.  Mary Ann summed it up by saying that, "Yesterday's events in Boston make blogging this morning seem like a selfish indulgence".  I have been thinking about that all day today.  My initial response was to agree, but now I am not so sure.

I have found the blogging community to be very warm, welcoming and supportive.  I know that the blogs I read are just a tiny portion of what is out there and I am sure there are plenty I don't want to know about..  Regardless, what I have encountered are people who care deeply about their animals, their farms, their friends, their family.  They have room in their hearts to care about other people's animals and families as well and they want to share all of that through their blogs.  Is that really so self indulgent?   It may feel like it on the surface, but I don't think it is.  I think it may be part of the backbone of our society.  

Is it wrong to want to step away from the pain and horror that is reverberating inside of any caring person right now?  To step back and enjoy a beautiful picture of new lambs, to take a moment to appreciate a long awaited birth, to have a chuckle at a Border Collie's obsessions.  I don't think so, because those who can step away for a moment, are the ones who can come back later, renewed, able to carry on and help when needed.  

For myself, I know that there is nothing that I can do for the people of Boston right now.  Aside from sending them my prayers and good wishes, I can do nothing other then offer my own little bits of brightness.  My obsessive and wonderful Border Collie, my beautiful horses, my sweet and cuddly donkeys.  My stories and anecdotes that, hopefully, bring a smile and lighten a load.  It is all I have to offer right now to counterbalance the ugliness and pain in our world.  And so I do.

I hope that some of you will join me on your own blogs in offering some little bit of goodness and light.  If you do not have a blog and would still like to share something, send it to me at aerissana at gmail.com and I will post it here where we can all join in and spread a bit more light.

Interaction

Mel asked me if Tanner has moved closer to the donkeys and if they get along.  This is actually a fascinating question, at least to me it is:)

When Ramsey was born, Tanner was very respectful and would not come anywhere near Emma and her new baby.  Now that Ramsey is a bit older, Tanner still keeps his distance, but it is back to the preRamsey distance, which is just outside the barn.  The only time he has ever ventured into the barn while the donkeys are in it was when I tried to sneak a jollyball in there for them.  Tanner, of course, knew immediately and started plotting.  He waited until they were distracted by breakfast and then sneaked in, like only a BC can, to rescue the ball.  If I tie the ball up in the air where he can't reach it, Tanner sneaks in and around the barn whenever the donkeys are outside, trying to figure out how to get it down.  When the donkeys are in the barn, he sits and watches, all easy nonchalance, waiting for his chance.  I can distract him with something else, take him for a walk, leave him with Farm Buddy while I am away at work and the next day (or month or year) he is right back waiting for his chance to save the ball from donkey predation.

Tanner is wary of Emma and stays well clear of her.  Ramsey is wary of Tanner and stays well clear of him.

Tanner and Emma will sniff noses, but only of there is a fence between them.  Even though my fence is just a strand of electric wire, well above his head, Tanner is very aware of where it is and what it is.  It is a boundary that horses, donkeys and cows are not supposed to cross.

Border Collies are fascinating, wonderful, neurotic creatures.  Watching Border Collies and donkeys interact is amazing, frustrating, puzzling, humbling and absolutely priceless.

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. 

Sunday Stills - Hand Tools

I ended  up skipping last week's challenge because it was 'trains'.  There are some tracks about 40 minutes from here, but I didn't want to drive and for the life of me, I could not come up with anything train related at home.  This week was right up my alley though.  I cannot remember more than 2 or 3 days of my entire life where I have not used some kind of hand tool.  Some of my very earliest memories are of working in the garden as a child, hoeing weeds.  When I was very young, we lived on a small farm and grew all of our food.  Maybe it is just as well that the extremely wet weather kept me from pulling out too many tools and ending up with a gazillion photos.  I limited myself.

It was hoof trimming day at Farm Buddy's.

  

This drill built half my house, all of the decks, the woodshed, most of the barn, hung all the sheet rock...the list goes on.  The drill and the saw it sits on are two of the most useful tools a girl can have.

Bonus points for old tools...my favorite splitting maul, I bought in an estate sale....

 and the hand carved wood vise on my antique woodworking bench, built in 1886.