The New Guard

As you know, Bumble and Bea have been the most amazing dogs ever.  But they are now 8 years old.  Life expectancy for Great Pyrenees dogs is 10 - 12 years.  So far they have been incredibly healthy.  But you never know from day to day what will happen.  So we have been casually looking for some new puppies.  Our thinking was, since Bumble and Bea are so wonderful, maybe they could train up the next generation so they would be ready to serve.  J called the breeder we got Bumble and Bea from and they had 2 females they were saving for someone but they never came to get them.  So they said they were ours if we wanted them. 

At 4 1/2 months old they are a month and a half older and a good deal bigger then Bumble and Bea when we got them, but just as wonderful so far.  After a 45 minute ride stuffed into a crate together in the back of a pickup on curvy roads they were a little puny feeling when we got them home.

 Bumble was close to the barn so we thought we would show her what to expect and maybe she could greet them.  The barn is not a natural place for Bumble to be and she was very uncomfortable and just wanted out.

 I pulled one of the puppies out of the pen but Bumble still was not the least bit interested.  We left them in the dog pen and J added Junior, one of the bottle goats from a couple of years ago.  Junior wasn't too thrilled but the puppies took to her right away.

 After a couple of days J then turned them out into a bigger room in the barn and added the nanny with the tiny baby.  They stayed there a couple of more days.

 The the big day came yesterday.  We got the rest of the herd up in the small lot next to the barn and went to open the door so the puppies goats and dogs could all mix.  But the door wouldn't open.  J pushed and pulled and tugged and cursed  then hollered, "Get Back!"

 There was a snake caught up in the roller at the top of the door.  We worked for a bit but couldn't get it out so I said to save it for when Mike came later.

 We had puppies and dogs to monitor.

 There was a lot of inspecting.

 And examining.

 And sniffing.

  And they even paired up some.

 The puppies tried to play but Bumble and Bea weren't too interested in that.

Update on Tiny, she is growing and doing fine so far.  

 Mike and V showed up and we let Mike get to work on getting the snake out.  Success even with the Gang Of Four (this year's bottle goats) hovering around his feet.

 And no Mike, you can not have a puppy as payment for the snake removal.

They have a job to do.
Looks like we will have to expand the goat herd after all to pay for all the extra dog food.

Almost forgot my best picture.  Mike said I could label this one, "Me, when someone says, 'Dinner's Ready.'"

Little Surprise

J was coming up through the field after having moved a bull and ran across this little surprise. 

 This nanny had aborted back in February.  We sold the billy goat February 24th.  If she got bred on the day we sold him she shouldn't kid until July 24th.  This was on July 18th.  The little thing was too weak to stand.

 So J caught the nanny and I held up the baby.  It nursed great.  But it was too hot to leave out in the sun all day.

The cattle trailer was handy so J put the pair in there for the the day.  By the afternoon the little thing was up and moving around on its own.  J has since hauled the pair to the barn but I haven't had a chance to check in on them yet.  Had she decided to kid somewhere other than in front of the gate we might never have known anything about it.

Enough Finally

J has been enjoying stopping by the blackberry vines several times a day for little snacks.  It has not been possible for me to pick many for anything else. 

 Until Tuesday, there were finally enough for me to make a pie.

Homemade crust and delicious blackberry filling.  Too bad it is just me and J here to eat it.

Family Outing

We had some wonderful company Saturday, M and V came to go riding. 

 It has been awhile since we have had 4 horses out at once.

 J helped M with some adjustments on Hanks tack.

 V rode her old friend Jessica, J was on Brother and I rode Pep.   After a few minutes in the barn to make sure all tack was ok,

 we headed up to the arena for a little warm-up.

 V and M didn't stay completely focused on the horses though.

 But J gave Brother a workout.

 Then it was off and around the farm.

 J was the official gate opener.

 All the horses behaved themselves, more or less. (couple of spells out of Brother with all the excitement of extra horses)

   I think M liked checking on the heifers.

  Pep and I made it to the front at one point.

  But usually she was tagging along in the back, way back.

 It was a nice 2 hours ride.  Jessica did her signature roll afterwards.

While everyone else just ate.
M might be ready for a real trail ride after this.

Just Kit Sunday #121

"Green eyed Kitty, lovely Kitty, 

Strolling slowly toward the sun."

Granted the cattle guard was slowing him down some.
Apologies to Sugarloaf for changing up their lyrics slightly.

First Trail Ride, Finally

Tuesday morning we had a substitute farrier shoe 3 horses.  Tuesday afternoon we hit the trails. 

 Since it was the first trip out for the trailer too this season, J had some tire work to do.

 We made the short trip to Horse Heaven and after a few adjustments J and Brother were ready to take off with me and Hank.

 The biting flies were pretty bad so J resorted to caring a branch to wave them off Brother's head.

 We saw a few wild flowers along the way, milkweed,

 yarrow,

 black snakeroot,

 and mountain laurel.

 We also ran into some wildlife.  This deer acted a little like someones pet.

Then off into the sunset.  A pleasant way to spend the afternoon with horse and husband.

Thistle and Rose Bush Progress Check

Hank was my partner Sunday as we went around the farm checking on how the spot spraying of thistles and multiflora roses was going. 

 Because I don't like seeing the thistles I somehow didn't really take any pictures of them.  But I was able to see close up one on the bulls J got from Nebraska last winter.  He was pretty uppity when he arrived and again when I helped (hid while J did the work) J get him up to turn out with the cows.  He must have been use to riders on horseback because on Hank he wasn't the least bit scared of me.

 This section was full of rose bushes and thistles last year.  J had to make several trips through with the back pack sprayer.

 Lots of dead bushes.

 Looks like J's hard work paid off.

 The goats are trying to do their part.

They eat the tops and blooms off the thistles.  Only there are too many thistles and not enough goats, so I am still spot spraying for now.