Herd or Play?

Yesterday, returning the sheep to their pen after grazing was easy. It was hot, and both Logan and the flock were tuckered. The sheep simply followed Logan as he ambled to their enclosure and through the gate. Below is a picture of a job well done.

Today, however, was more exciting and involved a chicken.

Instead of gathering the grazing sheep, Logan entered the barn and discovered a hen. He was in a bouncy, playful mood and started chasing her around. He plays with the chickens often and doesn't want to hurt them, but he was overexcited and kept trying to pick her up. I told him to stop, and the chicken ran off. She didn't go far, though, and Logan continued the game. I finally scooped up the slobber-covered hen, put her in the hay storage room, and gave her some COB (corn, oats, barley, and molasses) to mollify her. She can leave via the open window when she's ready.

I turned around to find the sheep entering their enclosure under Logan's watchful eye. Huh, well, that part was easy.

Vet Visit Anxiety

When you run into your vet while out shopping, someone who you usually see just once a year, and she greets you by name, does that imply that your dog is a bit too memorable?

Logan is perfectly happy to go to the vet's and to see her and her office staff, but he emphatically does not want to be examined or treated. The situation makes vet visits a challenge.

Playmates

Animals can be so entertaining.

Last week I bought a couple bales of hay. Since my back was hurting, I didn't want to unload them, so I parked the truck a short distance from the barn and left the hay in it. I've been feeding the sheep out of the truck the last few days.

My hen, Miss Kitty, is free range. She doesn't need chicken feed, but she enjoys it, so I usually give her some every couple days to supplement what she chooses to eat on her own. The hay was in the truck, so I didn't need to enter the barn to feed the sheep since Tuesday, which meant I hadn't given the hen any chick feed since then.

Apparently Miss Kitty decided to protest. She was waiting for me near the house when I came out this morning and, clucking, followed me to the truck. She was obviously letting me know it was past time to refill her bowl.

In the meantime, Logan, my dog, spotted Miss Kitty. Chasing her from the truck to the barn, he could have easily caught her. Instead, he kept about two feet behind her the entire way, clearly enjoying the game.

He's quite extraordinary. He weighs 60 pounds and is perfectly willing to jump on me without holding back. But with the hen, he's gentle. When he catches her, he nudges her with his nose and even drools on her and then lets her go. She's not real thrilled with the experience, but there are times when she could avoid him but doesn't, so maybe she likes the attention.

I have enough trouble trying to understand dog psychology. I can't even begin to understand the thought processes of a chicken.

Equifest

Weekend before last I went to Equifest, an event sponsored by Olsen's Grain, a local feed and pet food store. Although the gathering primarily featured horses (as you've already guessed from its name), there were numerous dog food companies represented, and almost all of them gave away free samples. I came home with at least two dozen.

Logan is quite pleased. Each time I feed him I add a little dog food from one of the sample bags to his usual food. There's usually enough in each package to jazz up four or five meals.

He gets particularly excited when I open the sack with the untried samples and eagerly waits to find out what new treat I'm going to pull out. He sniffs the small bag while I open it and happily watches me pour a bit onto his regular food. His favorites so far are Taste of the Wild and AvoDerm, although he hasn't turned up his nose at any of them. Logan certainly likes the concept of free samples.

Logan

Wandering Eggs

Well, it's happened again. The two wooden eggs in the laying box are gone. When that occurred several years ago, we figured a bird took them. Ravens are the usual suspects in such cases, so I imagine there's a crestfallen raven out there somewhere.

Wooden eggs (or plastic, but I like the aesthetics of wood) encourage chickens to lay in the laying box. Without that inducement, free range hens tend to lay eggs in a variety of places, sites often difficult for humans to access or even find. One of my previous dogs, Dreamer, used to locate such egg clutches. She would eat one before showing me where they were. I caught on to her methods when I spotted the proverbial egg on her face.

Now I just have to remember where I bought the wooden facsimiles last time because I want to egg on my hen as to where to lay.

Dreamer

Monsoons

Yay! The monsoons have come. Wonderful rain.

Last Thursday, however, the torrential rain, hail, and wind was a bit much. Part of the barn roof came off. Luckily, the sheep are fine, and there's still plenty of covered space for them to stay out of the weather. The fourth picture shows a dead tree that the wind blew over. I'd been thinking about cutting it down, so it saved me some work.

And today, a week later, lovely green grass, not a lot yet, but a good start. I let the sheep out for a few minutes to graze this evening. When sheep get the first lush grass of the season, they can be allowed to eat only a very little to give their rumens time to adjust. My dog, Logan, did a decent job herding them back into the sheep enclosure where they had alfalfa hay waiting for them.

Lambs Really Do Bounce

No pictures, but the lamb is one week old today. While the grown-ups munched their hay, the lamb bounced to the gate and then back to her mother. Then back to the gate to sniff noses with Logan, who wagged his tail at the exchange. Then back to the flock again she went. The young have such incredible joy in everything they do.

A Dog's Life...Is Really Busy

When I fed Logan this evening, I realized he had not come inside to eat this morning. In fact, I'd hardly seen him all day. I thought, well, he's been busy. Then it occurred to me that that statement might seem odd to some people. But he really has had an active day.

He loves to run along the fence line when vehicles drive by. The few times I glimpsed him today he was either racing cars and trucks or panting after he'd won the match. I heard him join in community dog barking several times. And there seemed to be a fair amount of activity at one of the neighbor's for him to observe and enjoy.

He is not a sedentary dog. He has plans. He has things to do. He is busy.

Humans, Dogs, and Happiness

Domesticated animals don't have a choice about where they live, be they dogs, cats, sheep, horses, etc. I think about this issue sometimes with regard to my dog, Logan. His previous people turned him into the Humane Society. I adopted him and took him home to Wilhoit. He had no say in anything that happened to him.

Of course, this is the nature of humans' relationships with other animals. We can't communicate fully. We do what we do. I wonder occasionally, though, if Logan is truly happy here. I think he is. I hope so.

Today was one of those times that I'm sure he's pleased with where he's ended up living. I was sitting outside on the deck reading. Logan was doing his own thing somewhere on the property. I heard barking and looked up to see him running along the fence, paralleling a dog on the other side.

Then a cowboy (an actual one) on horseback rode out of the national forest and down the road. I lost sight of him for a minute or two. He returned, driving three steers ahead of him. He herded them through an opening in the barbed-wire fence back into the national forest. At this point, Logan was beside himself with joy. He got to bark at a dog, cattle, a horse, and a cowboy. Wow!

The cowboy rode back onto the road, dismounted, reattached the barbed-wire fence to close the gap, checked his saddle, and remounted his horse. He and his dog headed down the road. Logan sent them off by racing along the fence, barking and wagging his tail until they were out of sight.

Successful Herding Technique

Today, for the first time, Logan herded the sheep successfully into the sheep pasture without touching any of them. This is an important achievement. I'm very proud of him.

In the past, he has used body slams and has occasionally grabbed hold of a mouthful of wool. Since the adults are sheared now, that last isn't an option.

At one point, he was standing in the open gateway, and Sierra the Younger was facing him, standing about four feet away. He was barking at her, trying to get her in. She turned and looked at me as if to say, "What's he thinking? We can't go in until he moves. Silly dog."

Routine Maintenance

I checked the oil in the truck the other day. It's a 1977 Ford F100 and has a lot of space under the hood. Thank goodness because Logan decided to get into the act. Ranch dogs have a lot of duties, but this is bit much.

Sheep Riding -- I Don't Recommend It

I met a woman who was looking for baling twine for a large project she's working on. I told her I had lots and lots (and lots) of baling twine, and she was welcome to it. So she and her son visited today.

The sheep kept up a lively conversation with us while we were bagging the twine. When we finished, I asked if my visitors would like to go in with the sheep and meet them. They said sure.

As I was unchaining the gate (yes, there is both a latch and a chain -- sneaky sheep), I glanced away to tell my dog, Logan, to stay. At the same time, Gimli, one of the rams, pushed against the gate, apparently thinking I was going to let the sheep out to graze.

That's when things got really interesting. Logan charged towards Gimli. Gimli lunged for freedom. I tried to block the ram and shut the gate. Gimli rushed forward, somehow ending up between by legs. Considering the ram is tall and wide, I ended up straddling him, backwards, with my feet not touching the ground and him heading off to graze.

Now, Gimli's a gentle ram, but with Logan in the picture, things could have got pretty scary if he decided to chase the sheep. I managed to slip to one side and roll off of him. Unfortunately, I landed at the edge of a pile of scrap fencing. Luckily, I only scraped one elbow on the wires, although I think I may be a bit sore tomorrow. Falling off of a moving sheep onto hard ground isn't the most comfortable thing to do.

My visitors managed to shut the gate before any other sheep escaped. By the time I got to my feet and got hold of Logan, who thought the entire event was terribly exciting and was eager to play some more, Gimli had returned to the gate. I opened it; he trotted in. I pushed Logan away and latched and chained the gate.

Do I offer guests adventure or what? My visitors felt bad about what happened. I told them it wasn't their fault. Logan was to blame, with a sizable contribution from Gimli.

Gimli

Tablet (Card) Weaving

I designed the ivy pattern on the band pictured below using 40 cards. It's woven in 10/2 cotton.

One side of the tablet-woven band

The other side of the tablet-woven band

After I finished weaving it, I set the cards on a table. A couple days later, the stack of cards fell to the floor. I picked them up and put them away. Apparently, I missed one. Logan didn't.

Logan, the Ranch Dog

Explaining Weaving to My Dog - Lesson 1

As I was winding a weaving bobbin today, it occurred to me that I've only done tablet weaving since I adopted my dog, Logan.

My bobbin winder is kind of loud and squeaks. I was just wondering what Logan might think of the noise when he came hurrying up the stairs. He kept trying to sniff the bobbin winder, and I had to tell him to watch out every time the handle reached the down position so that I wouldn't hit him on the nose.

He was quite interested in what I was doing, although a particularly loud squeak sent him to the far side of the desk to find cover. After a minute or so, he returned, though, to investigate further.

Just as I finished, he decided to walk to my other side, stepping across the yarn extending from the cone on the floor to the bobbin. After several confused seconds during which Logan turned twice and managed to get thoroughly tangled, I was able to cut the yarn at the bobbin and then unwind it from the dog.

Next lesson - the loom.

Knitting Needles are NOT Chew Toys

As I said in my previous post, I adopted a new dog, Logan, recently. He's very sweet. He's also very different from Dierdre in many ways. She was about five or six years old when I found her. I had her for almost five years. Logan is two. Untrained. Exuberantly still a puppy. And will chew almost anything he can get his large, furry paws on.

That's where my partially-knitted socks come into the story.

You'll notice the toe of the one on the right is unfinished, yet there are no knitting needles holding the stitches. That's because Logan pulled them out. And then he chewed one to pieces.

These happen to be Crystal Palace bamboo needles. (I usually don't knit with bamboo needles; I find it slows me down. I prefer Addi Turbos.) Anyhow, luckily they come five needles to a package, and I knit with only four double-pointed needles, so I can still finish the socks without buying another set.

This little tale, though, is only the tip of the iceberg. Logan has been busy. And, yes, that is my dining room table that he's lounging on, using it as a vantage point to look out the window. No guilt at all.

Weather, Sheep, Dog, Etc.

The wind has finally settled down. Not that it's still, but at least large, heavy objects aren't flying around anymore. The very strong winds we had through much of May and June were exhausting, both physically and mentally. Almost continuous wind gets on a person's nerves after awhile.

Now it's just hot and dry. We haven't had any precipitation since April, and even then it was a below-average amount. There's a slight chance of rain this weekend.

I didn't plant a garden this spring. Too many things have been going on. I think I'll put in some squash, though; pumpkins would be fun.

I've sheared all but two of the adult sheep, Minerva and Gimli. I'm going to try to shear those two this weekend. I know they're hot, but they were the last ones sheared in the fall, so their wool isn't quite as long. I had delayed shearing because of the heavy winds, so now I'm catching up.

On December 28, I lost my amazing, beloved dog, Dierdre, to degenerative myelopathy. It was an incredibly difficult time. About four months ago, I adopted Logan. He's two and still very much a puppy. He's doing well with the sheep, though, and even behaved pretty decently during shearing.

I'm taking advantage of the hot weather and decreased winds to wash wool. It dries fast in the sun, but I have to be careful that it doesn't blow away (even with less wind). I also have to keep Logan from taking it to play with, which is an even bigger challenge. He'll learn, though.

Donating to a Dog (and Cat) Cause

Exciting news! I've arranged to donate 10% of my sales of hand woven dog leash add-ons and dog collars to United Animal Friends,  http://www.dogcatadoption.com/.

Below is the leash add-on I recently made for my dog, Logan. The second picture is one I made to sell. It's appropriate for a small- to medium-sized dog.

Here's a picture of Dierdre wearing her leash add-on. One end attaches to the collar; the other end hooks to the leash.

Dinnertime

Dierdre and I just fed the sheep. When we went out, they were on the far end of the property. I wanted each of them to have an equal chance at the hay, so I called them. They studiously ignored me.

Then Dierdre gave two sharp barks. Their heads shot up, and they started running towards us. I should have asked Dierdre to handle things to begin with.

Tablet-woven Dog Leash Add-On

A few weeks ago I mentioned I had learned to tablet weave (or card weave). I'm really enjoying it.

I work on an inkle loom.

This system has several advantages over the traditional method of tying one end of the warp to a stationary object, such as a doorknob, and one end to your belt, making you one of the warp anchors. An inkle loom is portable, you can get up and walk away at any time, you can take the loom outside and run in if it starts raining, which has happened to me, to name a few benefits of not being literally tied to your work.

I've been weaving a variety of items, including this dog leash add-on for Dierdre. One end attaches to the end of her leash, the other end to her collar. Blue is a great color for her! Do you think she approves of my work?

For a demonstration of tablet weaving on an inkle loom, check out this youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex2gmUDmZAY.

http://www.earthguild.com/products/riff/rcdweave.htm offers a brief written introduction to card weaving.

For some history of the craft, go to  http://www.academia.edu/1488597/Hallstatt_Tablet_Weaving and  http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1199&context=tsaconf.