It shouldn't happen to a dog !!

It shouldn’t happen to a dog !! Mr. Bran had been living in doggy extacy..The team were fence building and he had  (retrospectively thinking….for want of better judgement !!) been invited. There they were, the formation eating team under the leadership of matriarchs Gimpy and Bandit.. and there he was, out in the open field, nothing between him and them but grass. Dad and his young volunteers too busy to keep even a cursory eye on him.. He was SO in charge, the sheep, head down concentrating on the most important thing in life..eating. There he was, keen, mean.. a potential killing machine ….NOT. Gimpy raised her head, beady sheep eyes, like lasers she zoned in on the prowling dog. Her front leg stamped the ground in warning…Bandit, not far away and up to that moment enjoying an extended lunch felt her cohort’s tension and her gaze fastened on the suddenly under pressure and not so confident Border Collie. The waiting dog, previously poised and ready to pounce tried to break the eye contact without totally conceding power to the sheep. His eyes wavered, he glanced away, ears flattened against his head.. then cautiously glanced back. They WERE still watching, and no one knows better than poor Bran how a Gimpy or Bandit “T Bone” at ramming speed can hurt the body and how the flock disrespect hurts the self esteem. If he faced the other way and pretended he wasn’t really interested…would the girls forget he was there ?…slowly he rotated his body in the deep grass, discreetly he turned back but Gimpy and Bandit stares were relentless. Discretion proving the better part of valour and courage not being high on Bran's personality profile, the fainthearted pooch prudently crept away tail between his legs and head low leaving the girls to continue grazing totally unconcerned by  his presence in the pasture. Next time they will respect your authority Bran, next time,…maybe !!

Young Sophie got to drive the tractor, with just the occasional kangaroo hop, lurch and grind of gears our young WOOFER had her first driving lesson. The Sophie smile never faded as the big green monster growled it’s way across the pasture  (surprisingly, Greg no longer uses the farm yard...the corner of the barn has a bad habit of jumping out and hitting the tractor bucket !!) Well done Sophie...next challenge the backho !!

Edward continues to have a go at anything, quiet and confident, our “Cool Hand Luke” just gets the job done. Edwards time with us is drawing to a close and we would like to thank him for all the projects that he has helped the team to achieve during his time with us.

We would like to welcome Jeff to the ranch family, he appears to have integrated well over his first two days. Now clearly aware of how to use a shovel and wheelbarrow ( which is always a plus around here !!)  it was time to move on to a more challenging project. Frustratingly for Jeff, the nails and staples refused to co operate with him…must be duff nails ???  ( no blame policy called into effect !!) but tomorrow is another day and there is always another box of nails !!!

Happy to see Carla back from her sojourn to the big city, good to have you back and sorry you missed the demolition. It's good to restore the girl boy ratio balance in our favour ( well,...I take 2 votes !! smile)

Quick update . We are working with a wonderful local author Renee Riva to write a heartfelt children's book telling the story of Quest the Shire Horse and Gertie the confused goose. It is going to be a hard cover with wonderful illustrations and beautiful shiny pagesWe are excited to hear it may be published by Christmas...so let us know if you would like one to slip in a Christmas stocking !!! ( see our "Forsaken Love" page)

Well, time to go, another cooler day out there.

Take care, keep safe, M