30 Years

Thirty years ago, give or take a few months, I did the bold thing and asked a guy out on a date. It was for an Amy Grant concert, and he said yes. 

Well, the day before the concert, this guy said he couldn't come because his grandmother was sick. It broke my heart and while I took a friend with me, the concert wasn't the same. 

Fast forward thirty years, give or take a few months, this same guy made good on breaking our initial date. We had second row tickets for Amy Grant! It was a spectacular concert and Rob, you're forgiven. 

Working Dog

Teddy is coming along as a working dog. He's learning to jump into the mule and ride with us. The goats he easily herds, but I've noticed if he doesn't know where to take them, he just makes them go in circles. 

He hasn't tried to herd the bigger animals yet, but I do think he's going to have competition with Dandy. Poor Dandy is bossed around by his ladies constantly, he just looks for someone to boss himself. All Teddy does is bark at him and Dandy doesn't understand why the little fellow makes that sound. 

It's been a long week already, but I think Rob and I will have some fun tomorrow!

The Chickens

There's not much to say about the chickens other than they're doing their job. We've still got all sixteen: five Rhode Island reds, five Plymouth barred Rock, and six black beauties of undetermined breed. 

Now one of the black beauties I've named Sidewinder. She was born with a deformity where one side of her is bigger than the other. Other than that, she's completely healthy and produces eggs like all the others. But, she moves in arcs, not straight lines. 

Somehow, the other black beauties have decided they all need to walk like this, so sometimes it's difficult to determine who is the true Sidewinder. The other hens can walk normally, and do, but sometimes they're all just winging it!

Day Late

I apologize for forgetting last night's blog. We have added Sunday rehearsals for our play, and that through me completely off schedule. That's ok, you haven't missed much. 

This weekend, it was time to hose the cows down with fly spray again. Normally, we wait until they're in their stall where they can't run away. Since the summer heat keeps continuing, they don't use the stall as they prefer sleeping under the stars. So, Rob and I hitched up our Kawasaki mule, put a spray bottle each in our hands and went after the task cowboy style. The only rules to this game is to not hit them in the face. Remember that. 

Coorie, Flora and Maesie gave us no problems. Brogan, not the brightest bull yet, kept looking up thinking it was rain. Fiona made us chase her quite a bit. But Ciarán, she kept facing us. Yep, she knew we wouldn't hit her that way. She took a little maneuvering with Rob and I flanking her on foot. Can you even believe she tried to use her baby Callie (who wasn't getting treated because of her age) as a shield?! We kept at it though and got it done. Now, after the fact of course, she's thrilled the flies aren't landing on her. 

Mango

Of all, and I mean all, of our animals, Mango is the one who requires the least bit of attention. He's happiest when he's found a tiny hidey-hole where no one knows where he's at. On his more active days, he can be found literally climbing the walls and testing out the highest heights of the house. You'll have had to be a guest several times at our house to catch a glimpse of Mango. He's not shy, he just decides when to make the first contact. 

Speaking of contact, Mango prefers solo time with either Rob or me. He will either go to Rob for petting and I'm supposed to not notice he's there, or he'll come to me and Rob can't look in my direction. It's just what he prefers and it seems like a reasonable enough request. It's quality time, not quantity time. 

Lastly, he is the animal who needs to be brushed the most, but hates being brushed. If there are tangles, we have to hold him down and take his wrath (claws) to get them out. Otherwise, the hands of his human pets can remove any loose hair. Have a great weekend!

A Rare Look

Usually, Rob and I are always together. So if he's gone, so am I. Well last night, he left to help out someone who had a flat tire on the road and I got to see what we usually miss. 

Yep, I'm chopped liver. No, even chopped liver would get more attention. Alas, the older pups were anxiety waiting for Rob's arrival. 

Teddy, however, was sharing my lap with Flurry, so it wasn't lonely on my side of the couch. Yes, I've got a huge lap, that's not the point. So laughing!

Wisdom

Maturity doesn't always come with age, neither does wisdom. Both seem to happen at random and one day, you realize you know better and no action is better than reaction. 

I'm seeing this with my animals as well. I've always been used to dogs and cats in my life and how they mature whenever that light bulb goes off. I'm learning the cows and goats have their own maturity moments. I'm still waiting on the donkeys. It seems every week they do something that makes me question if they'll always be overgrown children. 

The wisdom comes from me though. I'm to the point (finally) where they're going to do what they're going to do and if I leave them alone, then maybe they'll figure things out themselves. 

Oh, and my mom says I never mention the chickens or the cats anymore. They're all doing great and I'll grab some pics of them here soon. For now, another pic of the kids!