Happy Halloween!!

Much to Harley's dismay, he wore the Halloween collar for a picture just for y'all.  I had to bribe him with a treat.  Cause you know, rough and tough cow dogs do NOT wear holiday cutesy costumes!

Have a great day!

Lax Security

Talk about sleeping on the job!  Who's on gate duty here?

Maybe they are faking.

Gonna let an intruder think it's okay to enter the yard, then pounce!

Ummm, okay.  How is our stuff not hauled away?  Ah Ha, I bet Pepper is at attention, patrolling the fence line.

I hang my head in shame..........

Buckin' the Babies

After we gathered and sorted on Saturday, we bucked the calves on Sunday morning.  Just like their bigger counterparts, we use the dummy.  We buck them young to see if there is any potential.  If they don't show any at all, we go ahead and send them to the sale barn.  Don't want to feed them longer than necessary.

This year's calf crop did really well.  Had some awesome ones, few crappy ones and a bunch of good ones.  So we were pretty pleased with what we saw.  Here's a few videos... **No babies were hurt in the making of these videos.**

Some we will not buck again because they showed us enough the first time.  A few others will be tried again in a few months.  And a few other ones will be headed to the sale barn.  It's better to get rid of them now before I get attached.  It doesn't take long when they are right outside my back door.

Look, I already found a new friend...

This was the first day of weaning.  The husband put out hay and returned to find this.  Husband just shook his head.  Lil guy was eating out of my hand!!  Good thing he bucked well.  I get to keep him a little longer.  Gotta love the babies!

It's a Crying Shame

They are a lot better today.  There was actually a silent minute outside earlier!

Catchin' Cows

We finally managed to catch our cows and calves at our lease place this weekend.  The day started with several delays.  First we had a bad tire on the trailer.  Figured it best to change it now rather than after it's loaded down with cows.  Then one of the guys that was going to help out called to say it was raining at his house so he wasn't coming.  Well, that took away a spare trailer we were planning to use.  Once we finally left the house and made it down the road a mile or so, we realized we left Harley outside.  We turned around in a plowed field and came back to put him in the house.  FINALLY, we got on the road.

Met Rent-A-Husband in the small town near our lease.  Dropped our trailer and left him there.  Our cattle spook very easy and we had to get them caught.  Thus no new faces or trailers allowed until we had them penned.  Got to the lease and it was still dry.  Called the cattle up and managed to get all but one caught.  She actually jumped out of the pen and kicked over the Husband's head gettin' the heck out of there.  So we let her stay. ;o)

 Neighbor's cows were watchin' the goings on.

I hung out with the cows as the Husband went to get the trailer and RAH.  No major issues sortin' or loadin'.  Got two trailers full and left some penned to get on the next trip.  Took everything we had on to the house.  Once home, we sorted what we had penned there, bulls out to pasture, Mojo in his pasture, couple calves in the lot by the barn, cows in the arena.  Then unloaded everything in it's appropriate place except the calves.  We thought we may be able to beat the weather and buck them that afternoon.

Husband and I went back to the lease to grab the last cows.  RAH took the calves to BW's house where we planned to buck them.  As Husband and I pulled into the lease, weather was taking a turn for the worse.  Got backed up to the pen and the bottom fell out.  Husband told me to get in the truck, he could load by himself. So I jumped in.  He came back soaking wet.  Had to put the truck in 4 wheel drive to get to the gate.  I jumped out to get the gate cause the Husband had to pull out onto a highway and get off the road.  In the time it took me to open/close the gate and run to the truck, I was drenched!  Water was running off my cap.  Not a dry spot on me.

We drove thru the storm to BW's place.  Got there and it wasn't raining.  BW gave me a jacket cause I was freezing and we went down to the arena.  As they all got out to look at the arena, the bottom fell out there!  We decided not to buck the calves and loaded them back up.

We took them to another set of BW's pens and left them there for the night.  You know what, as soon as we unloaded them, it stopped raining.  Didn't rain another drop!  The Husband and I drove back home and unloaded the cows we had on our trailer.  Finally got in the house a little after 8pm.

Sunday morning we went back over to BW's to buck the calves.  Stay tuned...

What's The Box?

I always get questions about the "box" on the bull's back when I post buckin' pictures.  I happened to take a great picture showing exactly how it works.

First we call the "box" a dummy.  We use the dummy on young bulls that aren't rider ready.  We begin bucking with the dummy as soon as the calves are weaned.  Of course, they come in different sizes and weights.  Mostly it simulates weight on the bull's back.  But is also allows the flank to be pulled off.  See below....




The red area is pointed at the flank.  You can see the pin running thru the flank.  When the dummy (blue arrow) is released by remote control, the weight of it coming off pulls the pin from the flank.  It automatically releases the flank from the bull thus he will quit bucking.

You may ask "What's the big deal about getting the flank off?"  Well, some bulls or heifers (cause we buck them too) buck so hard they could hurt themselves.  If they come out of the chute and really buck, the dummy is released very quick.  If you don't, they could break a leg or pull a muscle.  So usually, the dummy is only on the animal for a few seconds.  Just long enough for the stock contractor to see what the animal is capable of.

Now they are working on a contraption that would replace the actual bullrider.  Stock contractors are increasingly having problems finding bullriders to get on their bulls for practice.  We need to buck older bulls but when there's no one to get on, it makes for an impossible situation.  But like I said, that's currently a work in progress.

So did that explanation help?

Back to the Bull

Yesterday, the husband and I went to a friend's house to watch/help him buck some young bulls.  I watch and take pictures, husband does all the helping!  He's known for his rough stock and it amazes me how rank his stock remains year after year.  They have some good genetics!

Here are a few pictures from the morning...









See what I mean!  We bucked about 50 bulls and nearly all of them were great.  Can't beat those odds!  The funniest thing happened when the last bull was bucked.  He wouldn't leave the pen so they turned their dogs out on him.  You can't beat a good bull working dog.







Who would have ever thought they would be Jacks!  Those two sure worked hard to get the bull out.  Bullet on the head, Pepper on the heels.  He didn't pay them to much mind, but he did finally leave.  It was too funny!  Bullet and Pepper meant business, that's for sure!

Reclaiming the Blog

Yep, I'm reclaiming this blog.  It turned into a flurry of pound puppy posts.  Even though my life is quiet boring right now, I don't need to make everything on here about my new hobby.  So, I just started a new blog for the doggies.  The husband thinks I'm crazy.  CRAZY over dogs!  ;o)  If you want to keep up with my home finding mission, you can go here....

Now, on to Crazy M news.  Of course it is dog related.  Diesel took a ride to the vet yesterday morning to get neutered.  We had to drop him off early so it was dark when we left the house.  The husband said he would go with me.  Glad he did.  Diesel wouldn't get in the truck.  Husband had to pick his hind end up and push him in.  I sat in the backseat with him.  He was a scaredy cat!  This is a horrible cell picture but maybe you can get the idea.

That's his head on my shoulder.  It was like I was holding a 90 lb baby, oh wait, I was!  He got better as we got closer.

He really liked driving thru town and watching the cars pass.  Never seen so many cars or at least not in over a year.  He traveled very well.  Got him to the vet and he refused to get out of the truck.  Husband had to get behind him and push.  Then he wouldn't go in the door.  Again, more pushing.  Finally, got him checked in.

I went to pick him up by myself.  Husband was at work.  I figured if I needed help, I could get someone at the vet to assist me.  They brought him out in his HUGE E-collar.  But he was carrying his head low and would get the bottom of the cone stuck on the floor.  Then he'd stop dead in his tracks with his head stuck to the floor.  It was funny but I felt bad.  Got him out the door and he decided that was far enough.  He sat down on the sidewalk and pouted.  People were walking past making comments about him being upset with me and poor thing, etc.  I managed to get him down the sidewalk and past the parked cars to the truck.  Now the hard part, getting him IN the truck.  First I took that collar off.  Then I discussed with him the benefits of getting in.  He didn't care.  I put his front paws in the floorboard and hiked his hiney up as high as I could.  He was able to scramble in.

The drive home was uneventful.  He sat in the backseat gazing out the window.

The clinic sent me home with instructions and pain medicine.  He is not to jump, run, get wet, eat much or drink much. First thing he does when we get home is JUMP out of the truck and RUN around the yard.  I tell him he's not following the rules but apparently the rules don't apply to him.  He finally laid around that evening late.  I gave him his medicine and went to bed.  2 AM I wake up to him howling.  I think he was mourning the loss of his boys.  Or maybe it was the coyotes.  Probably a little of both.

This morning I woke to him whining on the porch.  Not whining in pain, whining with a ball in his mouth cause he wants to play.  I tell him he's not suppose to play.  He still doesn't care.  Throughout the day, he's been running, jumping, and whining to play.  It's like he didn't have surgery.  I'm keepin' an eye on his sutures to make sure he doesn't tear one out with all his activity.  We so don't need any complications!

More Four Legged Angels

This blog is going to the dogs!  Really, nothing has been going on around here.  I took the day off to take Diesel to the vet.  That's another post all together.  Don't worry, he's fine.  Just a few less man bits on the place!  Anyhow, I had all afternoon to fill while waiting to pick him up so I, of course, went to the humane society.

Have to share the pictures of the angels I dealt with today.  First we have Farah.

She's a very sweet girl.  One you could just sit and pet all day long.  Then I had Vergammelt.  I have no idea who named this guy!

He's so scruffy but has a great personality.  Next was this shy lil girl.

She is very quiet and timid.  But again, such a sweet girl and loved the pets.  Then I found this guy in his blue bandanna.

He enjoyed hiding from me while I tried to capture his essence!  Come on!  Help me out here!

Okay, another one of my favorites.  This is Crash.

He loves the ball.  He'll sit for you and wait for it to be thrown.  He's loads of fun if you are looking for a active pet.

Then there was Bonnie.  She's another one of my favorites.

Talk about a great family dog.  She's house-trained and been around small children.  She's super sweet and sat next to me just soaking in the lovin's.  Some family really needs this dog.  I only got this one picture cause she wouldn't get far enough away from me to take anymore!

And lastly, we have Jake.  He was a hard one to get a good picture.  He either was at the fence looking at the other dogs or right next to me.  This was the best I could do.

After almost 3 1/2 hours, this was all I got accomplished.  I get frustrated that I can't get more done while I'm there.  Just seems like I should be able to do more.  But again, I play with each doggie to make their time outside of the kennel worth their while.  Oh well, I need to be happy with what I am accomplishing.  Now all these guys and girls have nice new pictures on the website.  Come on adopters!

Before and After Shots

So you get an idea of why I am so invested in this project.

This is Droopy's picture on the adoption site right now.

How sad is that!  The dog has such a great personality and no one will see that with him in the cage.  I know the employees at the shelter have tons of work that they can't spend time on pictures.  That's why I'm so glad I can help out.

Now I can add Droopy's good pictures to the site and hopefully it will make some person just run up there to give him a forever home.

Day One of Volunteering

WOW, that a way to spend my Columbus Day Holiday!  What can I say about my first day?  I was a little nervous before I got there.  Sounds silly but I was.  Arrived after lunch and got all suited up in my apron.  Leash-check.  Walk card-check.  Poop sacks-check. Treats-check.  List I made of dogs needing picture taken-check.  Ink pen-check.  Camera-check.  Okay, I think I'm ready to head out.

I walk into the big dog kennel first.  Seems like there were more big and medium dogs that needed their pictures taken.  So many sweet faces.  I find one at the top of my list.  Get the leash on Cruz.  Then we head out to the play pens.  I let the dogs run around the pen and play while I try to take pictures.  It's a hand-full with some of these guys!

Anyhoo, here's Cruz...Very sweet dog.

After Cruz, I picked out Oreo.

Oreo loved a good pettin'.  Again, awesome dog.  After Oreo, I grabbed Mocha.  She's a BIG Anatolian girl.

Look at that colored tongue!  I think she just enjoyed being out of her kennel.  After Mocha, was Droopy.  Let me just say, Droopy put a smile on my face.  He's awesome.

Droopy played more than any of the other dogs.  He chased after balls.  Played tug a war.  Howled at me.  He was just a hoot!!  I don't know why this lil boy hasn't been adopted yet.  He's absolutely adorable!

After Droopy, I snatched Opie out of his cage.  This guy is a Terrier and something.  He wouldn't sit still long enough for me to get any real good pictures.  I really need to try for another face shot.  It's a face only a mother could love!

And finally, last but not least, here is Wheezer.  A rambunctious lil boy that needs lots of play time.

When I got him in the play pen, several employees/volunteers said, "oh, you got Wheezer.  You have your hands full."  And they were right.  There is a reason no one has been able to get a good picture of him.  He goes 100 miles an hour.  But you know what, you stay calm with him and eventually he calms down too.  I managed to get some great pictures of him.

I spent about 2 1/2 hours there and only managed to handle 6 dogs.  But I didn't just want to take them out and snap a picture and put them back.  They needed time to run and play.  And it was so fun and fulfilling.  I'm headed back on Friday since I'm off from work that day.  Plus the Husband said he would start going with me on the weekends to help.  How awesome is that!