Yes, ditzy Daisy came into her own on Saturday for Mark. And pleased he was. With Slim about to move cattle down into our canyon, they have been working hard to repair fences to keep his cattle from mixing with the somewhat wild stock next door.
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Daisy and Brou alerted us to this stray and I caught her with the new camera's zoom; red-handed with a mouthful of our pasture grass. It was Daisy who chased the stray back down the road at 15mph ahead of Mark in the Ram, a mile and a half back to the fence line. Mark was pleased and surprised at her willingness to help out. She would return to him at intervals and go out to search again at his suggestion. The wily cow had given them the slip at the last moment, doubling back and descending a steep arroyo bank leading to the creek which neither of us would tackle on a good day. These creatures are amazingly agile despite their bulky appearance.Tired but still not willing to hitch a ride back in the truck, she ran all the way back behind the truck. Brou was quietly waiting on the front porch for them. We had been warned that his nearly fatal bout with parvo-virus would leave him without his original stamina and perhaps he wisely realized that. Normally Mark would put him in the back of the truck but had taken off without him this time. Brou was noticeably bummed out about this oversight, too.
Daisy seemed to fully understand and enjoy what new heights of esteem she had just achieved on her own and was unusually chipper and responsive for the rest of the day. Maybe this will be her Renaissance!
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This is another heads up in case I disappear for a while. It would appear that we are entering into another techno cluster-bung zone. We had not just one but BOTH generators fail on us in the last 24 hours. I am typing on borrowed, limping generator time at the moment. Tomorrow will be taken up with carb, fuel line and filter maintenance. Gee, I can hardly wait. The components are very efficiently squeezed into a space roughly the size of large Coleman coolers and we are a couple of big people with equally big fingers and hands ... and with little patience and finesse left. Wish us luck, please. If it works, I'll be back in no time flat! If I'm not, don't panic yet.
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20 comments:
You need more than luck living way out there...you need to cheat a little too!
I saw a guy on Leno Friday night that lives out that way someplace and he talked about having solar energy for heating water and making electricity. You need to check on that and then rob a bank for the needed cash.
Here's his blog:
http://www.dougfine.com/
Hell, they never find you!
I'm proud of Daisy...my kind of dog!
Mushy, what are the chances? I just linked to Doug last week. Wow, didn't realize he was an O-T-G celebrity! Surprised he answered my e-mails then - seems like a genuine, decent sort of fella.
Ms. Daisy is still strutting around today with that cocky euphoria. I sure hope it is a turning point for her, one far, far removed from her old life. I will relay your comment to her - what the heck, they seem to understand these things better than we suppose.
Lin, yes, yes, yes to that needed luck for you both.
Sounds like Daisy is going to learn to work them thar beasts to your satisfaction.
Give her and Brou a hunk of steak for dinner tonight.
And you and Mark better have one too, what with having to face the monster with only phat phingers.
Solar and wind seem like a good idea for your place.
Congratulations to Daisy. Keep up the good work girl.
Solar! Solar! Told you so Told you so! he he he
from the masked e-mailer
Go, Daisy! And best of luck with your generator issues!
Wish us luck, please.
Luck wished, in massive quantities! And good on Daisy! She looks like she has a bit of Border Collie in her (to MY eyes, anyway), so it might be the genes finally lighting off...
Has it ever occurred to ya that dogs are a lot like kids? Encouragement, reward, and all that...
Good doggy! They do like to have jobs and feel responsible, dogs take pride in their work.
Moose, solar and wind will definitely become a more viable option if we move up top. This canyon blocks out a lot of wind and some of the low winter sun.
I will pass on your attaboys to Daisy - she will eat it up!
Cat, thanks for the phat phinger best wishes. So far, the generators are winning though. glum
I think I will give the pups a large fat rind from a roast I just did. I will have to cut it in two to avoid fights though.
Anon ME-mailer, the solar would be even better up top, you know.
Thank you, Christina, hope you sending some lady luck from Vegas because it looks like we are going to need it!
Buck, the vet's place said that she had 'some cattle dog' in her but we weren't sure if that was as much sales job when trying to find a rescue dog a home on a ranch. Oh well, it worked and she's here to stay.
We keep saying "It's a darn good thing we didn't have kids" 'cause these critters are SPOILED! That would have been the big thing they all had in common, I do suspect.
dirtcrashr, it sure worked in Daisy's case! Third day after and she's STILL got, I dunno, that air of confidence and comfort about her. It is marvelous to see. There's hope!
I still think ya' need a little Diesel generator, for the kind of extended run you folks require. Those little Yanmar-brand Diesels have a pretty-good track record around here, anyway.
Sorry, didn't mean that to sound "bossy"! Hell, it's Monday---too early in the week for bein' nice!
I'm just spoiled as hell with my "piped-in" electricity, here in outer-suburbia!(And if I had the means to, I'd dump it all in a minute for somewhere even MORE secluded! Wouldn't have to move far, but it just ain't "in the cards" right now!)
Bruno, even with the price of diesel lately, that's a tempting option. Better still, if the gas patch would honor the ranch's original gas tap arrangement, we could run a natural gas-powered generator and almost have a normal life out here.
It IS too early in the week for being nice - AMHIK.
Are you sure you're not just feeling like us - dreading a move again? The thought of moving is a little daunting these days for us even if it IS a great idea.
Good work by Daisy and good camera work.
Pat, I'm thinking that I should print out all the comment kudos that Daisy has received this week and hang them at dog-height for her. She's been eating this attention up!
Hilarious about the dogs and the cow. Love it. My old pug chases some goats once in a similar way. Too much fun to watch.
And I'm with Mushy on the solar thing. Hasn't that technology advanced to the point where you could get rid of the generator? I mean, gas prices being what they are.
FHB, a goat-herding pug? I'd have bought a ticket to that event myself.
We've got enough solar panels already ferreted away for a good start. It's some of the other components which run a little pricey to get a real system going. The project will be postponed now until we decide on moving up top.
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