Catching Up

Missed the last couple of days. Thursday afternoon we had rain again--.28 inches. On Friday morning I did another head count on the geese and found that Lucky was missing. There is a very serious predator out there somewhere, and it or they have picked off all of the "leadership" of the geese flock. At this point, only one Chinese goose and 14 Canadians remain, plus Ralph, Jr., our only Muscovey duck.

Rain and Horses

Keeping in mind we live in a drought area (a desert, really), the thunderstorm we had yesterday was a doozy. It only lasted 20-30 minutes, but we got .30 inches of water in our rain gauge. Of course, when it was over, it felt like a wet blanket...a hot, wet blanket.

Today is trail ride day. I am meeting a friend in the mountains to ride the trails for 2-3 hours. It takes about 40 minutes to trailer my horse there, and another 40 minutes back, so it will take a good part of the day. However, since we are starting at 7 a.m., I'll be back home by 11:30 or so. It's supposed to be 101 degrees today, but we will probably be back before it gets above 95. Egads.

Walk the Dogs

As I was walking the dogs on the Sandy Creek Riding and Hiking Trail (1-mile trail around the ranch), I was thinking how happy it made me to be walking with my dogs: Spike, Ghost, Shadow and Lui. Spike is 12 now, and Ghost and Shadow will be 11 in October. They are getting old. It's very sad to think one day they will no longer be running along, sniffing, peeing and generally having a good time just being dogs.

Here's a picture of Ghost & Shadow in the snow.

Lui Learns a Lesson

Yesterday, as the dogs and I were completing our 1-mile walk on the trail that goes around the ranch, Lui, our Belgian Malinois, ran after the geese and set them flying. I yelled at the dog (bad dog) and he took off for home. This morning, as we made the same circuit and were nearing home, the geese took off again. Lui, three steps ahead of me, turned to look at me as if to say, "I didn't do it." I guess he learned his lesson.

Old Goose

Disaster! I went out to feed the critters this morning and noticed a lot of white feathers on the road in front of the pond. The geese were milling around the area, and I did a head count. We have three white geese: Lucky, a half-Canadian, half-Old Goose; Rickette, a Chinese goose formerly part of a quartet: Ricky and the Rickettes; and the Old Goose. The Old Goose is missing!

The Old Goose was our first goose, given to us by friends several years ago. This goose was the protector, first of a flock of 6 Mallards (gone now), and then of the Canadian goslings and their parents. The Old Goose was a fixture on the ranch and will be sorely missed.

We have a preditor on the ranch stalking our fowl. First, it got two of the Rickettes, then it got Ricky (a great loss also) and now the Old Goose. I still can't believe it.

Spike

I'm trying to teach Spike to climb his new dog stairs. Spike is our 12-year-old Yorky. It's becoming difficult for him to jump up on the bed now, so I bought him a stairway for dogs. It has 3 steps that he should be able to jump up on to reach the bed. Up 'til now, Spike would huff (a small bark) in the middle of the night and I would get up and give him a lift to the bed. If I say, "Do you want a lift?" he hunkersdown and waits for me to pick him up. But I thought it would be easier for him if he had his own stairs. Better for me, too.

He doesn't like them. In order to get him to use the stairs, I have to entice him with a small treat. He hasn't yet "got it" that the stairs are his way to get to the top of the bed anytime he wants. I'm going to have to work on this.