Dog With A Need For Speed

·         Bran the black and white Border Collie loves speed...Bran loves the growl of the tractor would spend all day riding in the farm truck but Bran's overwhelming passion is the four wheeler . Bran is a dog with attitude, he is intelligent belligerent, disobedient... and adorable.   Sitting on the fence line motionless he will watch every movement of the sheep in the pasture, with his nose firmly pressed up against the chicken wire and his eyes fixed on the strutting Tom, Bran will supervise the turkeys and when the cows are slowly making their way from the barn to the pasture he will risk a punishing kick in retribution for trying  to "save" the last drops of creamy milk from a warm udder . Bran will sit for hours overseeing the seemingly aloof herd of visiting alpacas, head in the air barking wildly he will rout the visiting Canada Geese and just for the sheer fun of the chase he will harass the horses grazing in the field....from  a safe distance, from the secure side of the fence, close enough to intimidate, far enough away to be beyond harm. Bran can sulk like a rebellious teenager, nose to the wall and ears pressed tightly to his head. He can plead, head cocked, eyes following every move and he can be as deliberately defiant as an unruly child. Tiger and Shy the barn cats have no fear of the dog, when mousing is slow, the birds  are no longer nesting in the beams and the evening meal hasn't yet made it to the cats bowl, the two ginger tom siblings looking for a diversion from the hunt,  bait Bran. Seductively they lie, just beyond his reach, tail gently twitching to attract his attention knowing that the dog will be unable to resist and confident that the game will be over with a well aimed swat from a sharp claw and an indignant meow.

·         As our equine boarders, warm and snug in their stalls  tuck into their breakfast, the ranch team gets to work on the morning chores. A rattle of keys sends Bran straight to the four wheeler ready for the hay run out to the pastures. Before Greg has the trailer loaded,  the black and white collie is already in position, head cocked, ears pricked and tail waving like a banner perched on the front of the quad. As the key turns in the ignition Bran is poised, ready and eager to ride, butt up into Greg's face, nose pointed into the wind, the faster the quad takes the bumps the faster the tail wags, the sharper the turns, the more the dog bends and weaves like a surfer riding the white waves. Occasionally Bran will take a tumble, like a rubber ball he bounces to the ground with indignation and without hesitation scrambles back up onto his vantage point on the front of the quad. Clearly, bouncing off the quad may not be recommended for our canine friend's well being and with Bran's safety at risk, Greg went to work inventing a deluxe carpeted surf board for the dog with a need for speed which sits squarely between the plastic steer horns on our customized red neck quad. The new appendage to the quad not only keeps Bran a little safer, it multi functions !....Tiger and Shy have a new comfortable carpeted cat nap spot for those cold Winter nights.

·         Well, while the East Coast is suffering a deep freeze, the heavens have opened over the Pacific North west. The rain started to fall yesterday and hasn't yet stopped. No strangers to initiative, we recognized the potential advantage of the constant downpour and, since our barn washing machine took early retirement , since the horse blankets were really in urgent need of laundering, and since water from the sky was not in short supply, we improvised and our new hi-tech wash system was conceived. Spin drying is a little more of a challenge....but a gate sheltered by the barn is a convenient drying rack and there will be no utility bill. Greg's a happy rancher !!! Tight wad....who...Greg?

Time for me to get this entry posted, take care, keep safe and dry. M