Baby Jim

  Photo courtesy of The Old Cowboy Archives

Rose

I really don’t remember how long Rose had been with us…..She came here to live with us after our old home raised dog Tee Tee died….Tee Tee was the one we kept from the only litter of puppies we ever raised…..They were sired by Monte and out of Montana Crystal, or Tana.  Tana and her daughter Tee Tee were known as the Gator Girls.  They were a tough pair and both were absolutely devoted to Marie and they would bite a stranger as quick as a gator would.  Thus the name.  Even regular visitors like our long time Neighbor Jack who had seen both of them raised from pups and was a nearly daily visitor due to the cows, was not immune from those teeth.  When Jack knocked on the door he put one hand on the handle to keep the girls from opening it…..

But time passes and ravages us all….and we have an ever expanding graveyard of family members to remind us…..

This week Rose joined those who had preceded her.

Rose came to us from Aussie Rescue and was the first dog we rescued.  I remember having to fill out application and having my references checked and we even had to be inspected.  On inspection Day our Aussies Lore and Maggy were present when the Aussie Rescue lady, Susan, brought Rose to check us out….

I was sitting on the edge of the porch and when Susan let Rose out of her car,  Rose walked across the yard and came over and put her head in my lap to be petted….I asked Susan how long it took her to teach Rose that trick….Susan was mortified and said she guessed the inspection was over as Rose seemed to have made her decision.   Lore and Maggy were introduced and Lore nonchalantly ignored the new comer and loving Maggy embraced her immediately.

And so Rose became part of our pack.  Lore was the alpha dog at that time, which Rose had no problem with even though Rose was nearly twice the size of little Loreal.   About three days in Loreal decided to discipline Rose over some triviality….there was a good bit of snapping and snarling and every time Baby Jim would pull Rose off of Loreal, Loreal would jump up and try to tackle Rose again.  Finally Baby Jim got a hand on both collars and put an end to it…..only to hear that ever the non partisan Marie was vehemently stating……”I won’t have it….she has got to go.” Over and over again….

We only know of one other time when Lore tried to assert her dominance with similar result, except that Marie tried to get in the middle and one of them bit her….. and then life evolved into a tolerant harmony…..Rose had no desire to be in charge and Lore thought she had proven her point.  And Marie became accepting as well and for years after, Baby Jim was heard talking to Rose telling her “I won’t have it…She has got to go.” As he chuckled in amusement….while Marie fed her treats.

While drafting this, we have searched for photos of Rose when she came here….Sadly while we have photos, they are on digital media for which we have no device to retrieve them.  We have stacks of 3.5 inch discs and a small stack of zip drives.  So the oldest photo I can put my eyes on is 2008. And this album has photos of Maggy and Toby who have both passed on as well.

Rose.  She always loved to lay by a fan or ride in the air conditioned truck.

Toby and Rose lying under the kitchen table…..

Sweet old Maggy

When Rose got here she was housebroken and ever the lady and only wanted some attention and affection.  Maggy was head of security at that time and Rose became her back up.  Maggy would sound the alarm and Rose had a camouflage of looking intimidating….but she loved everyone….

She was the first dog I ever had who liked to play with mice like a cat.  She would catch them and then lay them between her outstretched paws and let them try to run away so she could catch them again….fully half of roses Mice escaped unharmed by running under her and out the back when she stood to look for them.   Little Lore used to hate that….she was an intense little cattle dog and thought it foolish to play with mice.  If one escaped Rose, Lore would grab it and quickly dispatch it.  After Lore was gone Rose taught both Toby and Later Dee Dee this game.  Dee Dee had a mole just last week….

This trick brought Rose the only calamity she ever had with us.  She was hunting for mice and ended up Snake bit by a copperhead.  Her head swelled up like a basketball and we took her to the emergency clinic and they pulled her through…

I spied and got the offending snake about two weeks later and had to turn over a 100 gallon water trough to get him but he got his just deserts…..

For years Rose was my nighttime foot warmer….when I got on the sofa and turned the tee vee on as soon as I put my feet up Rose would jump up and lay her head on my legs….she would lay there as long as long as there was a hand on her….

Rose was a lot like my first Aussie, Monte, and I used to tell her that I thought Monte had sent her to look out for me and she would just look at me and lick my hand as if to say “Of course he did, silly.”  When Loreal passed away both Maggy and Marie took it very hard…Lore died in the bed sleeping not far from Marie….And Marie picked out Toby to take up the slack.  Maggy adjusted and accepted Toby, but he became Roses Dog.  We are crazy people….even our dogs have dogs….Then years later when Toby passed away and Devil Dog Dee Dee came here she was adopted and raised by Rose.

In advanced years Rose would lay in the floor and wrestle and play with this bundle of fur and teeth….Dee Dee would grab Rose by the collar or her ear or her neck and just run along side her, as Rose always accompanied me on evening chores.  Rose accepted this and it carried on to the end…As Rose got older and more infirm we tried to stop the behavior in Dee Dee but she had difficulty changing and finally came to understand what ‘don’t hurt her’ meant.

Like all our aussies Rose loved to ride in the truck….didn’t matter where to or how far…she just wanted to ride and preferably with her head in my lap.

About two years ago we found some lumps on Rose and took her to the vet….They gave a grim prognosis and offered to do several thousand dollars worth of exploratory surgery and chemotherapy on her…..with no promise of improvement.  I asked if she was in pain and they said probably not yet and that they didn’t expect her to go six months….Two years later she bagan to decline…A tumor in her udder blew up….not the one in her neck that they thought would take her out….but she was still vibrant and alive and enjoying life.  Then she began to slow down and other symptoms began to show….A daily aleve seemed to push back the pain and she was running and playing….then trouble urinating and discharges…..but she was still so happy and loving, just at a slower pace….last week her eyes began to dull and then Thursday she became extremely nauseous .  Marie called me to tell me how sick she was, so I called the vet and came home early.

Knowing this was coming and knowing how bonded Dee Dee was to Rose we had begun searching for another Aussie.  I had hit all the aussie rescue sites and then suddenly BARK right here near home had a registered Aussie.  We had not dealt with BARK and had to go through their application process.  We wanted Dee Dee to have some time to adjust….We got approved but not soon enough…..I could not have Rose suffer unnecessarily….

When I got home Rose came to greet me and put her head in my lap and wagged her butt feebly.  I asked her if she wanted to ride and she headed for the door….She spent her last hour riding in the truck with her head in my lap…I did okay until we headed home and I nearly wrecked the truck because I could not see.

On Friday I buried Rose, but I dared not let Dee Dee know because she was as distraught as I , and I am sure that if she knew she would have dug her up.  Dee does not like to Ride like the aussies, but she tolerates it….and she was by my side all day Friday and Saturday.

Saturday afternoon we got the new Aussie Apache and they are bonding better than I had anticipated.   But that is another story and I can already tell that Monte and Rose have sent this dog to take care of me and Dee Dee…..He is just a few months older than Dee Dee and I have already told them both that they have to outlive me cause I am not sure I can do this again.

Stewart and Dancehall Dixi and Palladin Perkins and I made a foray down to Pocahontas State Park on the day before Memorial Day 2012.

STEWART AND DANCEHALL DIXI

It was quite warm and the may flies have come out in numbers and the horse flies are beginning to be bothersome.  But we slathered on a good bit of bug dope for equines and rider alike and we pressed on.

I did find a small gathering of seed ticks settled in for dinner at the area where the top of my boot had been.  I put a little vicks on them, waited a couple of minutes and easily wiped them off.

Perkins is wearing a good coat of mineral oil with tea tree, cedar and peppermint essential oils mixed in.  Not a magic bullet but works as good as the twenty dollar stuff.

THERE IS A TWO TREAT FEE FOR MY IMAGE

This was our first trip to Pocahontas.  Since it was a place neither of us had been to and it is not too far away we figured we owed it to ourselves to visit.  Easy to get to once we get to an interstate.

We found nice broad trails that would be well suited to driving horses as well as riding.  Most were graveled or sandy or had crush and run on them.  Most of the ones we rode were thru the woods and so they were shady and cool.

Most streams were culverted and there were a couple of nice wide bridges.

We only saw two other horses but did see a few hikers, joggers, dog walkers and bicyclists.  All were handled with aplomb by both riders and mounts.

of course below was our usual view of Dixi,,,,

OUR NORMAL VIEW OF DIXI

That little mule walks like a big walking horse.  She does not take big steps but she takes a lot of small ones .  She just scoots right down the trail without being in any hurry at all.  Perkins and I were either trotting to keep up or Stewart and Dixi were waiting for us.

JUNIORS BUG HAT FITS OK

Perkins gave Dixi Juniors old bug bonnet.  Fits her okay.  Ears are a little long but they were long on Junior too.

We only rode the southern side of the park.  there are supposed to be a lot more trails on the other side of the road but by the time we had done the 7.83 miles and came around to the trailer we were all ready to cool off and go home.

We had our usual good time and all came home safe and sound.  Goodness knows the Va State Police were out there doing their part to keep us all safe.  And they all had plenty of customers.  blue light specials every couple of miles..

This may sound silly to some folks.  But I took a vacation.  At 63 years old I took a week off from work and went somewhere I wanted to go to do what I wanted to do for the first time ever.

I have scads of vacation time built up….in fact I lost some this year because I did not take enough time off, even though I take most Fridays off.

But old habits die hard.  For the last 25 years or so I have taken the week after Thanksgiving off and it gave me about eleven days at home to synchronize the cow herd and try to get an AI service on as many of them as possible.  My vacation week was the hardest working week of the year for me as I put the whole herd through the chute multiple times during that long week.  In addition I was with the cows 18 hours per day checking for heats to determine when to breed each cow.  Not complaining….it was work I enjoyed and was pretty good at.  Cows, horses and dogs have been a big part of my life ever since I can remember.

We sold the cow herd nearly three years ago now and for the last two years I don’t even remember if I took a vacation because I only have three pet cows now.

But last fall I took a Memorial Day weekend trip with Stewart to Stem North Carolina for a big fund raiser ride. That report is elsewhere on this blog.  We had such a good time that we planned on doing it every year.  Alas that ride is no more for reasons unknown to me.

So quite a few months ago Stewart came up with the idea of going to a park and camping and riding.  Originally a bunch of us guys were going.  James River State park was selected as the venue.

http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/jam.shtml#trails

A date was appointed where all four of us were available and Stewart started making reservations.  I announced in a January staff meeting that I had put a week of vacation on the staff calendar during the month of May and half of my coworkers nearly expired from shock.  We managed to pull them through it without any long term effects.  Although one refused to believe it and was still e-mailing me about appointments and calls this week as late as last Friday.

We actually only went for three days.  I did chores around here prior to going and tried to make it easy on Marie to care for the stock while I was gone.  In the days when I travelled as part of my work Marie ran this place by herself with a little help from Jack, my late neighbor.  But when I started living at home and working locally, I promised her that I would try to hold up my end for a while so she could take a break.  Until last Memorial Day weekend I had only missed two days in 16 years of doing the daily stock chores, and both of those were days when I had a surgery and was knocked out in the recliner.

But it was three days that matched our anticipation.  By the time we left, the ranks of attendees had been thinned to just Stewart and I.  But Stewart had declared that if he died he wanted his hearse to drive through the place before he was interred.  I was just about as resolute, but too cheap to pay for the extra hearse ride.

We had been planning and stockpiling goods since the inception of the idea.  Stewart is a veteran camper and had a lot of gear.  Not camping much since my retirement from two years of olive drab, I had only the essentials.  As certified old farts we both had Doctors appointments on Monday.  Mine was my quarterly Rheumatoid Doctor.  After the doctors we met at the local Walmart and we purchased the perishables we needed for the trip.

We were going on vacation and we figured there was little need for us to go to a distant and foreign place and impose suffering and hardship upon ourselves.  We planned on riding, fellowship and fun and good meals.  To that end we bought double redundancy in food supplies.  We had a week’s worth of supplies and planning and we had to try to eat it all in three days.

The weather forecast was not favorable…..but we decided that neither us nor the horses would melt in the rain and as long as there was no lightening we would ride and feast.  We set out undeterred Tuesday morning.  The drive was uneventful with little discourse as we were both driving and pulling our own trailers.  About two and a half hours later we turned in near the James River and it was up in flood and rolling and roiling muddily.  I knew there was a trail along the river and I hoped it was not under water.

Upon arriving at the check in our reservation packets were there waiting on us although there was no one at the station.  We found the designated camping area and pulled in to see it totally vacant.  Stewart and I got out and looked around and studied our paperwork and decided that there was no assignment and we selected where we wanted to set up the trailers and where we wanted to stable the horses.

We were impressed with the facilities, both human and equine.  The camping sites were nice with power and water at each site along with a permanent fire ring with a grill and a lantern hanger and picnic table.  The stalls were fabulous and Perkins came to love his, even though he did not like being shut in there alone at first.  Here at the Poor Farm, the horses have separate stalls, but they can see and reach each other.  There, the walls were at least seven feet high and Perkins could not see Loretta and that bothered him a little ……until I gave him some hay and grain.

Bathouse was as nice as it looked.

The stalls were very nice.

We went about setting up camp.  Did not take long as Stewart is an old pro and has a penchant for organizing things and has a methodology and a routine.  All I had to do was try to follow  directions.  Pretty soon we were set up and decided to have a little lunch and try to go for an afternoon ride.  We had a nice lunch of pre-prepared foods and soda.   Then we tacked up the horses and rode out.  The rain had held off and the skys were rolling clouds in and out but we decided to chance it.  Turned out we had a beautiful ride and it did not rain until after I had crawled into my blanket in the van.  Rain on the roof put me right to sleep.

The trails were absolutely beautiful.  There are three albums of photos from this ride at my webshots photos site and they are on my wall at facebook as well.  The albums all start with James River State Park and one is trails, one is facilities and the third is bill of fare.  All of these photos need to be viewed in large format to truly see the beauty.

http://community.webshots.com/user/pdfangus

https://www.facebook.com/pdfangus

The terrain is varied from long flat level stretches of nice wide trail to curling descents and inclines and most of it is through beautiful southern hardwood forest.  I was surprised to find more than a few white pines interspersed through the forest.  When we were on the Branch trail in particular the air was fresh and fragrant and I never did discover the exact source.

The first afternoon we rode the southwestern part of the park and managed to make our way to the river trail and hoped that it was not under water.  At Dixons landing we encountered some folks who were actually trying to fish in the roiling river.  I don’t know if they were successful or not but the river was way up and rolling on by.  Fortunately the river trail is high enough that it was not flooded and we embarked upon it.

Long flat ride of nearly three miles right along the river for the most part with alternating grass land and marsh on the other side.  A soaring eagle watched us for a good part of the ride.  Close enough that we could see his white head and tail as he circled above us and the river and marsh.  We rode 6.54 miles and found our way back to camp.  We hosed off and cared for the horses and put them in the stalls.  Perkins went to munching hay and took a good drink of water.  That was a relief because Perkins is usually finicky about water and on day trips seldom drinks til he gets home.  Marie says it is because he is partial to the pond water pumped in fresh daily here at the Poor Farm.  We have a solar pump that pumps water from the neighbors pond to storage tanks here for the livestock.

We washed up a little and then began supper preparations.  I think Stewart and I both surprise each other at how well we cooked and managed to get things done together.  For the first evening meal I grilled Steaks and made a fresh garden salad with mixed lettuce I grew here and Stewart fixed potatoes with butter and sour cream and chopped up green peppers and onions for the salad.

After a nice meal we cleaned up and put away and tried to bear proof things.  Checked on the horses.  Got Perkins some more water and hay and then after a nice shower, I hit my air mattress and crashed and burned to the sound of gentle rain on the roof of the van.  Stewart said he was wakened about 3:00 AM by the horses making a fuss.  He went down and checked and all was in order.  I never heard a thing.  I woke about four and turned over and went back to sleep until it started to get light.

Stewart started coffee and we tended the horses and then we got some fires going.  Five cast iron frying pans and one boiling pot can generate a good breakfast.  Omlettes, country bacon, fried potatoes with peppers and onions, fried apples, toast and sausage gravy and plenty of hot coffee.

After this lumberjack breakfast we cleaned up and stowed stuff and tacked up and set out for a morning ride.  Perkins had consumed at least seven and a half gallons of water during the evening and morning.   Our plan was to ride a few miles and come back for a light lunch and give the horses a break and then ride off again.  This is what we did and we had a nice morning ride on more beautiful trails.

The weather was beautiful and there were no bugs to bother the horses or the riders and we had a delightful ride.  We rode six or seven miles in the morning before finding our way back to camp.  Along the way we found a pretty little mountain stream and Perkins had a big drink of water.  This is something he never does, so my worries about him drinking went away.  We untacked and hosed the horses off.  I put Perkins hobbles on and just let him graze.  We had a light lunch and relaxed for an hour or so.  It was so peaceful to have practically the whole park to ourselves.  We ran into a couple of rangers a time or two and they said that on weekends the place was packed and that we had picked a good time to come.  We ran into a few guys doing maintenance and construction work.  We thanked them all for their work on this beautiful park and told them how much we were enjoying it.

We rode back out and did another six or eight miles in the afternoon.  I am guessing at the mileage by breaks but know we did 14.54 miles on Wednesday according to the GPS.  Stewart and I are not speed demons and we enjoy just ambling along and enjoying the beauty and seeing the sights and talking a bit.  We saw numerous deer, about a thousand squirrels, tracks from all kinds of wildlife.  We did not see any signs of bear.  But at one point the horses tensed up and were watching to the left and we did not see anything.  But there was a loud crash in the woods that sounded like a tree falling.  We concluded that it was sasquatch and had a light hearted discussion of, if we saw him should we shoot him.  After a discussion of laws and regulations and possible legal actions, we decided that if we could drag a dead sasquatch out of the woods it would be worth it.  That is just the kind of silly fun we have when riding.  We might retire and become professional sasquatch hunters.  We can not do any worse than the existing sasquatch hunters.  No one has found one dead or alive yet.

Arriving back in camp we went through what was becoming our routine.  Cared for the horses and cleaned up a little and then started some supper.  Cheeseburgers and Hot dogs with all the fixings, baked beans, fried potatoes with green pepper and onions, fresh garden salad with Kens buttermilk dressing and a couple of golden beverages.  That cheeseburger with good cheese and tomato and onion was delicious.

Clean up and stow the food.  Catch a shower.  Check on the horses again.  By now every time Perkins sees me even glance in his direction he is nickering at me to bring him a treat or some grain.  Old boy knows an easy mark when he sees one.  Then we made a campfire in the fire ring mostly to burn the burnable trash and a few sticks that Stewart had been shaggin back to the fire ring with every foray outside the camp site.  We sat and chatted for a while until the fire made me so sleepy I nearly fell out of my chair.  I hit the blankets and was down for the count.  I awoke once during the night and listened to see what had awakened me.  Hearing nothing, I rolled over and was gone until first light.  Stewart was already up and fussing with a crow that had perched over his trailer and awakened him with its cawing.

Checked on the horses and Perkins started nickering as soon as I emerged from the Van.  I don’t feed in the morning at home, but it did not take him long to acclimate to two meals a day.  He tried to hide it but I could tell he had laid down in the stall that night.  He had some flakes of shavings stuck in his sparse little mane and a few on his belly.

Breakfast the first day was so good that we did the same thing again the second day.  It was even better because we remembered to slice a tomato for breakfast.  We had a hot dog left over from dinner so Stewart sliced that up and added it to the morning potatoes.  We did not have any sausage gravy the second day.  We had sausage but decided that too much of a good thing might spoil us so we just finished off the bacon.

After enjoying another feast and while we were cleaning up and breaking camp, I threw down the gauntlet for Stewart.  I said that when we do this again we have to come up with some different menu items so that we would not be one trick ponies.  All morning and ever since we have been discussing future culinary possibilities.

We decided to strike camp and have most of the stuff ready to go.  Then we could take a morning ride and have a light lunch and then head home.  We put away most of our stuff and packed up.  We figured out what we would have for lunch and fixed it and so that all we would have to do was pull it out of the cooler and eat.  We got packed up and then tacked up and rode out about 9:30 or so.  Guessing at times as my cell phone did not have a signal and I use my cell phone for a watch.  Stewart is on Verizon and he had a good signal.

We rode nine miles and it may have been the prettiest day of the three.  Mild temperature, nice breeze, no bugs and back on the beautiful trails.  What was interesting is how much the horses bonded with us during the short stay with close association.  Perkins seemed to not be just looking for treats.  It seemed he actually enjoyed my company.  Given the choice he would rather hang out with Loretta but he liked me too.  Being home today he has nickered at me several times and after he ate supper tonight he came and put his head over my shoulder.  Stewart says that Loretta has been the same way since he has been home.  Maybe when we retire and become professional sasquatch hunters I can spend more time with my horses.  Marie suggest that any more time and I will have to move em in here with Dee Dee and Rosie.

While we were eating our last lunch, we turned the horses loose to graze.  I put hobbles on Perkins just to be safe.  We thought Loretta would stay with him.  We had already cleaned the stalls but left the doors open.  We spied Loretta going into Perkins stall and Stewart went down there to get her out and Perkins was in there as well and they were both munching on hay I had left in the rack.  Perkins had not seen Loretta in over three months, I would guess, but the two of them are fast friends.  I told Stewart it looked like she was going to have to come live at my house.  He didn’t think it was too funny….

Got home and Marie had some excitement as well.  There had been a big black snake curled up beside the house.  Marie was trying to keep miss nosy Dee Dee from fooling with it and hurt her back picking Dee Dee up to get her into the house.  Marie said the snake was as big around as her arm and she was afraid it would hurt Dee Dee.  I am on stict orders to be on snake patrol now and the dogs must not be let out of sight.

Dee Dee and Rosie did miss me.  When I was walking down the Driveway from putting Perkins in the pasture, Marie let the dogs out to greet me.  Dee Dee was a black streak running down the driveway to me.  Rose was trotting along behind after she howled her welcome home howl.

It was a great time with a great friend, at a beautiful venue with beautiful weather and good food.  Nothing busted.  No tragedy befell us.  Everything went just like we hoped.  Some have opined that it is as close as I am likely to get, when I say it was like three days in Heaven.

  Photo courtesy of The Old Cowboy Archives

                 The New Puppy

  A  few weeks ago now we lost Marie’s little dog Toby.  Toby was supposed to be a miniature Australian Shepherd, but Baby Jim’s own theory was that he was a cross between a nomadic wanderer and Sylvester the cat.  Toby was a rescue dog that came to the Poor Farm from Georgia via Aussie Rescue.  Marie saw his photo and that was the dog she wanted.  It was up to Baby Jim to make it so.  He did and Toby became an erstwhile member of the Pipe Dream Farm staff, eventually. 

 Toby spent the first year or so with us trying to find a way to get to Pittsburg or some other foreign and exotic locale.  For a long time to venture outside, he was required to be on a leash as unfettered he would simply head down the driveway and take a left on Old Ridge Road.  As an Alternative he would sometimes continue straight through the woods and cross the Smith Farm and as a breathless Baby Jim pursued alternately calling and cursing,  Marie would drive around to Coatesville Road and pick him up there.  It was not that he didn’t care for the hospitality of Pipe Dream Farm.  He just had places to go and things to see.  Baby Jim said he apparently had the wanderlust gene.  The folks who had fostered him before his arrival here said that they had experienced several explorations of the far flung reaches of their suburban neighborhood.  He had originally surfaced in a pound somewhere in Georgia after being picked up for vagrancy, with eye problems and a full complement of worms including heart worms. 

 In later years, Toby had better resisted the urge to leave.  He had become comfortable with sleeping on the bed and eating regular and he learned that Marie was a soft touch for treats.  He would occasionally look down the driveway but apparently gave up on his quest to see Tahiti.  He would however take out after the hounds that run 365 days a year in our locale.  If Toby spied them he was off to drive the marauders away from his home with 25 lbs of vicious intent.  Baby Jim does not think any of the hounds ever noticed the danger they were in as they continued their single minded quest in pursuit of the quarry of the season.  Apparently something is always in season here, because the hounds go on forever.  This weekend it has been the spring fox hunt with nary a horse in sight.  Just hounds and pickup trucks.  It was supposed to be Thursday and Friday and Saturday but it started on Tuesday and dogs will still be alternately on the trail and looking for something to eat, sad looks, anything really, can you spare a quarter, have you seen my truck?, for the next week.  

 But we digress.  Toby fell ill.  At first it was occasional incontinence for which he was always ashamed.  Pretty rapidly the lethargy set in and then he lost his appetite.  Marie would cook chicken or beef for Toby and shove a nice TV dinner in front of Baby Jim.  Finally he (Toby) quit eating and was in obvious pain and Baby Jim took him on that last ride in the truck.  The young women in the Vets office were somewhat unnerved to have an ornery looking 250 lb old man standing in their midst with a little dog in his arms with tears rolling down his cheeks and barely able to speak.  Thankfully Toby was not aware of where he was, he hated the vets office, and soon it was over and he was interred with the great company of those who had preceded him here.

 Baby Jim missed the little rascal terribly but was glad that he no longer suffered.  Marie was heartbroken.  Even Rose went through a grieving process but she did benefit from the increased attention and not having to share her people.

 Eventually Marie started dropping hints about a puppy.  Baby Jim had become accustomed to the dogs that came here with a layer of civilization already installed.  There has not been a puppy here since Maggie came to live here.  Maggy was a shy and quiet type and she had Lore who was a year or so old at the time to raise and train her.  Our Aussies have always raised and trained the young ones.  Maggy grew to be an 85 pounder who was as meek as a lamb unless she thought one of us needed protecting.  She lived a good long life with us and we buried her in 2008. 

 But…… then someone, whom Baby Jim previously had thought to be a friend, called and advised him of an Aussie Puppy in the local pound.  Baby Jim stopped by on his way home from work.  For one who has been thought of in many areas as a mean old SOB, Baby Jim does not do well in that environment.  A hundred dogs in cages all clamoring for their people, or any people, or just a little love and attention.  He tried hard to shut it out and not look at the faces…….Then the lady opens a cage and deposits a black ball of fur that is all feet and tongue and energy and love in your arms.  Once you have your face licked and your arm peed on you are pretty much committed.

 A few minutes later, Baby Jim opened the front door of the poor house and put the pup in and closed the door and went out to retrieve his gear from the truck.  He returned to the house to find Marie with her face buried in dirty stinky pound puppy hair.

Even though on one on earth knows what this mutt is…..she can pass as an Aussie as a puppy…… and there might actually be some little bit of Aussie in her pedigree but it is too late to care.  She is more likely a cross between a starving hyena and a manure spreader.   Nothing is safe from those needle teeth.  Not shoes or pants legs or even poor Rose.  Rose is such a great dog and accepted this new trial with grace and aplomb.   She tolerates the chewing, and jumping and stealing and wrestling and outright adoration.   Right now there is a large black fuzzy dog lying by the feet of Bay Jim and nestled up to that is a small black bundle of fur, asleep thankfully but chasing something in her puppy dreams.

 Her name is Dee Dee and she knows her name already but often still chooses to ignore those who don’t use it appropriately.  She must be kin to Marie as she is strong willed and determined to do things her way.  But unlike Toby, she took all of five minutes to claim title to her new address.  She is still exploring her new realm and finding new things to chew on.  She knows what “NO” means but has serious backslider tendencies.  She knows the kitchen counter is the source of Maries Treats.  She knows she has to sit to get a treat from Baby Jim but will snatch one out of Maries hand in an airborne leap of unbridled enthusiasm.  Rose can still seek refuge by getting up on a sofa or her table bed by the window.  But only because Dee Dee prefers not to get up there.  She can jump up because as Marie was doing dishes one evening she found that Dee Dee had jumped up in a chair and onto the kitchen table to make sure Marie had cleaned everything off.  Maries solution is to warn and chastise Baby Jim to push the chairs all the way under the table.

 Baby Jim is too old and infirm to run and play with her.  Mostly he fears that he will step on her or take a fall trying to avoid stepping on her.  Some think a fall has already been narrowly averted, but he aint talking.  He has been observed lying on the ground wrestling with her however.  Dee Dee is still not a big fan of truck riding, but she does not get car sick as so many puppies do, and she is going wherever her Rose goes, and Rose loves to ride and is also happy that she can now once again lay her head in Baby Jims lap to be petted in transit.

We have finally joined the twentieth centuary here at Pipe Dream Farm.
Of course it took us 12 years into the 21st century to do it but that is the price we pay for living where we do.
The major step we took is that effective today we have DSL at the house.
I got it hooked up today and it is nearly as fast as what I have at work and I only signed up for the slow speed.
I still do not have it competely registered but it is working as evidenced by this post.

When I try to register it gets to an error page and it tells me to call customer service. I did yesterday and got put on hold so long that I finally was disconnected by the robot. I figure I will wait til next week when some people come back to work from the month long vactation of ThanksChristmasYear.

The thing is working, and that is what matters to me. Of course just getting it was an adventure in and of itself. I got a card in the mail a while back that said internet service was available from the phone company. Checked on the computer and sure enough it said I was eligible. Saw a phone guy working at the switch box on the corner a mile down the road and asked him and he figured out that I was eligible. There are only two other houses between me and that switch so I figured no way I could get service. The guy told me that I was on the edge but that it should work okay.
So far it is great. Boss says wait til I get the bill before celebrating……

I ordered it over two weeks ago. Then few days later a guy came to the house and did something on the box outside and told Marie we should be good to go. yeah right.
he was assuming that I already had the DSL modem which was supposed to be shipped.

I called centuary link and told them I had no service. the guy started asking questions about the modem….
I told him that it would be easier to answer his questions if I actually had one…..He told me when one had been shipped…..I told him I did not have one….

He said I will ship you another one. waited a week and still no modem….called again….another guy tells me that records show we have shipped you two and that one has been delivered…..

I asked him if he could explain why I was calling then? He apologized and said he would overnight one.

Yesterday two were delivered by UPS and I refused one and took the other…. don’t know where the third one is……

but anyhow I am now able to use the computer at home again….
Of course the laptop just lost its portability…..as that is what is hooked up.

A poor boy can’t win for losing.

Still battling the ribs….yesterday was pretty rough….today has been pretty good….but then the only thing I have been allowed to do today was unload three hundred lbs of cattle pellets and the supervisor was right there telling me how to do it…..It does not hurt to pick up a bag of feed or a bale of hay as long as I go slow. It hurts to toss a pad of hay. Had the boss doing that today. It hurts to push a button on the car radio or adjust the heater controls or reach in certain directions. I can push myself like when rising from sitting or standing but I can not reach out and pull. I will turn loose quick.
Spent the rest of the afternoon hooking this thing up and quasi watching football and napping on the heating pad.

Yesterday I had about decided to relent and go to the doctor….I did call them the other day and they said they did not have an xray tech on duty and to go to the ER. I am not going to the ER for something that happened two weeks ago. I don’t have an emergency….just a pain….If it had punctured a lung of a bowel or a kidney, I would be dead by now so I don’t think it is any of those…..I think I just tore muscles or cartalidge…If I can keep from sneezing it should be okay.

I am reluctant because last time I hurt the ribs I spent several hundred bucks for them to tell me sorry charlie, they just have to heal….Not much we can do for broken ribs…….Then they had me spend several hundred more dollars to chase phantom spots on my lungs with multiple xrays and finally an MRI, which all turned out to be nothing….Doctor enrichment and milking the insurance system to drive up my insurance costs and yours too….

Was talkin to my cousin today. he went thru college on a football scholarship. He was much faster than I was……I said I don’t know how some of these guys play after a couple of weeks with busted ribs…..He laughed and said they don’t feel anything….on game day…..makes me glad I was slow….I wrecked my body enough without doping it up to wreck it more…..but then I guess that is the price of fame and glory for those guys.

A man oughta do what he thinks is best….John Wayne as Hondo Lane
Jim Tate
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Wednesday 4/21/2010
I began my cattle grazing experiment this past Sunday. Should preface it by saying that I am also using the cattle to clean up the horse lots behind the horses. The cattle on Sunday get the horse lot used during the week.
We are having a crazy week so I have not had time to take photos and document as I would like but will share some observations.
Grass has been slow to grow this spring. Barely reached ten inches at the target of beginning to graze.
Opened the first strip Sunday evening. Three cows just weaned and one bull.
Monday evening it was grazed as if it had been mown and the cows saw me walking to the area and heads went up. A simple call and they came to go to the new strip and the bull led the way.
Tuesday evening the next strip was again mown pretty clean. They left a few buttercups which are apparently pretty foul tasting and reputed to be a bit toxic. Buttercup invaded my place over the last two years and I am still figuring out if and what I want to do about it. The lot currently being grazed is mostly fescue with some clover and seedling vetch and seedling ryegrass.
Went I went to the area the heads went up and the cows called to me and started coming. Sam again was the first thru the new strip.
I walked the strip just grazed. 66 paces long and four paces wide. Roughly 165 feet by 12 feet or 1980 square feet. In walking that strip I counted 18 new manure spreads. Now my cows are not confined to the strips and still have access to the barn and to the main farm
lane and the water lane and shade in the trees. Still I think they spent a lot of quality time and left more manure in the pasture.
I think I will have a difficult time getting the area right for a small number of cattle and rapid spring growth. My area right now is too small and they had grazed it fairly closely, but grass is beginning to grow faster so more grass will mean less area needed so I may be in the right ballpark anyway. My target it to try to give them about 2000 square feet daily. I think by next week I will be close to right.
I eagerly await to observe the regrowth. Was hoping to take photos over the weekend but have to go to Roanoke for a funeral on Saturday and have to dig up a plumbing leak and try to get it fixed on Sunday.

4/22/2010
just a brief observation from last nights pasture rotation.
I changed strips at about 6:30 pm. The cows and the bull came running when they saw me go to the area. 4th day and they are looking for me to open a gate and the bull was last and came running. 1800 lbs of bull even if he is gentle gives you pause as he gallops by you to the fresh grass.
old strip had nineteen manure splashes/piles but they were mostly in the shady end of the field. Heavy fescue over there and it had not been grazed severely.
When I went in to the house right before dark I glanced down to where they were and they had already stripped enough grass that the area had changed color. I think there was grass left but in an hour and a half that had harvested a lot.
hopefully I can work half day Friday and get some photos.
Saturday is Memorial Service for Maries Brother and Sunday have a dig up the yard plumbing project.
4/23/10
Yesterdays strip was again pretty well picked over. Only nine new manure piles so I think they harvested it and went and laid in the trees or in the barn. The Mineral and the fly control backrubber and such are in the cattle stall area of the barn and they go there for shelter and sometimes for shade.
They saw me heading for the area and were there when I got there to open the new strip. I am going to try to set up four new lots this afternoon and plan to make them a bit bigger. They will be harder to measure as they will be more irregular in shape. I think the cows are grazing below the 3 inch desired limit right now. The strips from Sunday and Monday are already showing signs of regrowth and recovery.
The next fields I will go to already have more grass than where we are which is different from when I laid out these first strips.
Should add, that I have not minded limiting them a bit at first for two reasons. One is we just weaned the calves and they need some time to dry off. The second is I wanted them to clean up the last of the hay in the hay ring. I looked at it last night and they have some left but I think they have eaten what they are going to eat. Think I will move the hay ring and close that field this weekend and let it begin to recover.