Early Snow Pt. 2

The snow continued on and off all night. When I took Maggie out at 7 on Saturday morning, our world looked like this:

The front sidewalk was at least clear.  But the snow was deeper than last night—and it was still snowing.

The road looked clear, too.

Could a gimpy old woman and her elderly border collie be able to golf-cart out to feed the barn-cats? The driveway was clear, so we could go down it to the road if we had to.

Chloe was able to go out on cat-patrol. If a small cat could do her chores, maybe Maggie and I could do ours.

Having a basic grasp of physics ("Stuff slides down hill"), I figured I could go around the front of the house and turn down the hill in the side yard. This is how it looked when we were at the top of the hill (picture of snow on dogwood limbs taken while Maggie made a comfort stop): 

We carted past the dogwood and the big maple. The going down was pretty easy. Twiggy, Spotz, and Sherman were waiting for us, and they were soon fed. (Skippy had already been to the house to eat; Wilbur was no doubt holed up somewhere.)

While I fed and watered the cats, Maggie guarded the golf-cart and looked back at the way we'd come.

We left tracks from the big maple on down.

We proceeded toward the road, so we could get the newspaper before we went in. It was clear to the right . . 

. . . and to the left. The paperbox is to the left at the top of the road. No traffic was in sight, so we started up the road.

The snow hung heavy on the pasture fence across the road.

Hard to believe that a railroad—the old F&P—used to pass in front of the old Novelty depot across from my mailbox.

After getting the paper, we started up the driveway for home.

The snow-covered crape myrtles that I planted years ago provided a photo op.

So did the big oak tree.

I think Maggie was impatient because I was stopping so often. Taking pictures isn't part of our daily routine.

So, having accomplished what we set out to do, we headed for home.

~

Maggie and the Eclipse

"Me and My Mommy View the Eclipse"

by Maggie, a geriatric border collie

Some of you who've read this blog for a long time will remember I used to post when I was younger. If so, you remember that I decided to be a kennel dog when I was about a year old even though my mommy had bought me to be a house dog. A couple of months ago, after a decade of being a kennel dog, I made a career change and became a house dog again. A few months ago, I had to have surgery on my ear, so I got used to being in the house while I recuperated.

I don't stay in the house all the time. I make Mommy take me outside. She has to use a golf-cart because she can't walk good so I walk beside it. She keeps me on a leash because she knows I might slip away if she wasn't watching. Anyhow, Mommy said were going to see an eclipse. I wasn't sure what one was, but it involved going outside. Once we were out, Mommy looked at the sky but she said there were too many clouds.

She said the eclipse might be behind these clouds.

 I looked around but I didn't see anything.

I did see some blue sky toward Smith Mountain, but she said that the sun wasn't over that way.

She said the eclipse was taking place behind these clouds, so we were missing it. I still couldn't figure out what it was.

Before long, Chloe saw us looking at the sky and decided to join us. 

I like Chloe better than the house cats because she doesn't mess with me the way certain house cats do. She doesn't try to take my toys like Alfreda does or smack me like Arlo does or—Oh, I guess I'm getting off-track. Anyhow, Chloe and I sat down to wait for whatever Mommy was waiting for.

Waiting for the eclipse was boring, so we took a little nap. 

After we'd napped for a while, I asked Chloe what an eclipse was supposed to be, and she said it was when the moon blocked out the sun, but the sun still shone around the edges. "It looks like the end of my tail," Chloe said, and held up her tail to show me. 

I thanked Chloe for her explanation. "You're welcome," she said. "Always glad to help out a good dog."

Back up in the sky, not much was happening. Mommy said she could see a little sliver of sun every once in a while, but I didn't see anything.

Chloe had some cat-work to do so she left, but I had to stay with Mommy. Finally Mommy got tired of waiting too.

I don't see why she couldn't have just looked at Chloe's tail. It would have saved a lot of time.

~

A Dog For All Seasons

A book recommendation.

If you've ever owned—or been owned by—a border collie, you'll love this book. I'd ordered  A Dog for All Seasons months ago but only recently got around to reading it. I'd been on a memoir reading jag lately, so this memoir by Patti Sherlock fit in nicely. It's one of the best books I've read this year—and I've read some doggone good ones.

Basically, the book is a memoir of Sherlock's sixteen years with her border collie, Duncan. Here's an  excerpt. 

I'm on my second border collie now. My first was Abby, who'd been dumped on our farm in 1991 when she was about six months old. Abby, who died in late 2004, was my introduction to border collies. Abby was the smartest, most loyal dog I've ever owned.

I've blogged numerous times about Maggie, my second border collie. I wrote the following in a blog post about Maggie when she was a year old:

When I got her, I was still mourning my old border collie, Abby, who died a year earlier. Maggie had some big paw-prints to fill. When I went to the Parkers' farm in Bedford to look at puppies, a border collie who looked like Abby bounded to my car and greeted me warmly. I knew then that I had to have a pup from this dog. And I got one. 

Maggie was the easiest pup we've ever brought into the house. She was quiet the first night (and for all nights thereafter) and was easy to housebreak. She never chewed up anything that wasn't hers—except the tub-scrubber. From the first, she knew she was my dog. 

I should have known, since she was the biggest in the litter and had huge feet, that she'd grow up to be a big dog. And she has. 

Maggie is a smart—maybe too smart, independent, and take-charge kind of dog. She loves water, be it in bathtubs, creeks, or puddles. We had to add a tub to the kennel so she can soak whenever she wants to.

But I'm digressing. A Dog for All Seasons isn't just about a remarkable dog; it's also about a big chunk of Sherlock's life and the challenges she faced with her family and with sheep-farming.

I highly recommend this book—even if you aren't a border collie person.

~

Dog Days of April

by Maggie Mae Mushko

(6-year-old border collie)

Yesterday, Mommy took me for a ride in the truck to Union Hall. Our first stop was at The Brown Place, which used to be called Shady Rest when the Browns owned it in the old days. It is our biggest farm with lots of interesting places for me to investigate. The first thing I did when I got there was get my little orange football out of the truck.

My little orange football is my most favorite toy. I forced Mommy and Daddy to throw it for me until Daddy put it in the truck where I couldn't reach it so I wouldn't lose it while I was running. I have only lost it once in several years—OK, maybe a few times—so I don't think it's fair that they take it away from me. 

I thought Mommy was going to walk with me, but she decided to ride the Polaris, which is an ATV or 4-wheeler. 

Usually Mommy is way slower than I am on a walk, but this time she was way faster. I had to run to keep up. It is my job to not let Mommy out of my sight—well, at least for not very long—when we are at the farm. Finally, I figured out if I got in front, she would have to go slower. That is what I did. Border collies are very good at figuring things out.

I was glad when we came to the creek crossing because it is my favorite place to soak.

When I finished soaking, Daddy came along on the tractor. He had been clearing trails around the fields.

I decided I'd better get in a little more soaking time while I had the chance.

After Mommy got off the Polaris, we walked along a trail by the creek. I stopped and stuck my head in a lot of holes along the creek bank and sniffed. I'm a very good sniffer.

After we left The Brown Place, we went to Smith Farm. I'm glad that Mommy did not take the Polaris. We were able to walk the regular way and I could stop and sniff things. Did I mention I'm a very good sniffer?

I like this part of Smith Farm because there are holes along the high bank. I had to sniff each one.

The trees along the creek bottom were so green!

Naturally, I had to sniff.

Then I had to soak in Standiford Creek. (Once I followed Standiford Creek all the way to the lake and was gone for a day and night. But I am older and wiser now, so I wouldn't do that again unless I had a very good reason.)

Mommy saw a big grapevine in the poplar trees along the creek, but I was not impressed with it. It was too high for me to sniff.

This is the little hayfield beside the creek bottom. I sniffed around in the tall grass but didn't find much interesting. When I started to run a trail, Mommy called me back.  Because it is my job to look after Mommy, I reluctantly returned.

Mommy found a narcissus in the woods on the way to the spring, but I was already halfway up the hill to where the old cabin is and where Mommy's truck was parked. Mommy said that in the old days her grandmother used to walk up and down this hill a couple times a day to get water from the spring.

Anyhow, I had a very nice time running around on both farms. And soaking in the creeks. And fetching my little orange football. And sniffing. All the things that make for great dog days.

~

February Woods Walk

by Maggie Mae Mushko, a border collie

(age 6 years and 3 months)

It was about time! Mommy hadn't taken me to one of the farm since last November. She had some blood sugar problems and couldn't walk very well for a while. But she started low-carbing again, and today she felt a lot better. So we got in the truck and went to Polecat Creek Farm. This time we didn't take Hubert the beagle even though he pitched a fit.

After I got out of the truck, I made Mommy throw my little orange football for a while. Then she put it on top of the truck so I couldn't take it on the trail. So I started off down the main trail toward the creek. I didn't wait for Mommy.

One of the first things I always do when I get to a creek is jump in.

Then I sniff along the bank to see if I can find any good smells.

After I got out of the creek, I walked with Daddy through the field. I saw a big nest way up in a tree.

If border collies could climb trees, I would have investigated further. After passing that tree, we went into the woods and climbed up a steep slope. I saw a lot of interesting trees. LIke this one, which has interesting feet. 

This tree looked kind of creepy.

Here's a closer look. The tree had a lot of holes in it. There's no telling what might be in some of them.

I was tired from climbing the hill, so I decided to rest under the creepy tree and let my tongue hang out.

At the top of the hill, we could see a jump course in a clearing on the next farm over. It's hard to see in this picture, but it's there. Mommy put me on the leash in case I saw any horses and decided to do some freelance herding.

Then we started down the hill. We actually walked on a horse trail that the people next door had cleared. We hope they didn't mind. Here's the trail. The trees to the left are on our property.

Soon we were back in our bottom. Mommy let me off the leash, so I ran around I sniffed a lot of interesting things. I was too far ahead of Mommy for her to take my picture.

Mommy thought this stump was interesting, but I didn't think it was worth sniffing. It's just a stump with a little plant is growing out of it.

This old turtle shell was more interesting than the stump, but not by much.

Soon, I needed to lie down and rest for a bit. This was as good a place as any. Mommy caught up with me and took my picture.

Then I needed to cool off in the creek. Again. Here I'm shaking the water off.

I sniffed around a lot here. The big hole behind me is where Daddy got the tractor stuck last summer.

Soon we started up the trail to the truck. I'm not in this picture because I was a lot faster than Mommy. I remembered my little orange football was back at the truck, and I wanted to get it.

When Mommy got back to the truck, I made her get my football and throw it for me for me to chase. No good walk is complete without a game of football afterwards.

~~~