Catchin’ Some Rays

March 12, 2021March 10, 2021 / Susan Schmidlin / Leave a comment

Our week of weather swings from full sun to gusty squalls, boiling clouds to bright rainbows, loud thunder to spits of hail, snow showers to peppering rain. The dogs have been wet, then dry so many times you would think their pelts would wear out, but they are enjoying the spring weather.

I had just finished my morning chores in the show barn and Mike was out in the bull barn completing his feeding when I spied Jackson the dog.

Jackson was nearly at the halfway point between the bull barn and the show barn. He was tucked up along the east facing wall of the house and soaking in the sunshine while he waited for both of us to get our chores accomplished.

He looked content sitting there. Adding some cool-looking shades would have perfected the look.

You gotta see the pictures! They are posted with this story on SchmidlinAngusFarms.com. While you are there, if there is any online shopping you plan on doing, please go through my picture links. By doing so, I may make a small commission without a charge to you! The commissions help pay for my user charges for this site, Thank You for supporting the farm

He Had A Nice Bed

February 2, 2021January 28, 2021 / Susan Schmidlin / Leave a comment

We had not tethered Butler up last night. The coyotes have been particularly noisy and closer to the barns and house that we like, so we kept one dog free so he could monitor. He did his job well, almost too well because he spent most of the dark of the night barking at unknown threats to us humans.

We found out first thing in the morning what the dog had been up to during his night on duty. Even though Butler had a comfy area to bed down for the night we noticed that he made a bed directly under the Gator so he could watch for varmits. It was not a soft spot that he picked, it was smack dab in the brand new layer of rock that Mike had spread in a smooth layer.

The ‘bed’ that Butler made was a cute divot in in the rock where he scratched out a Butler-sized circle. How he thought that would be a comfortable spot is beyond me, but it works for him.

In All The Wrong Places

January 10, 2021January 7, 2021 / Susan Schmidlin / Leave a comment

Between rain showers, I have been trying to get the cribs filled back up with split firewood so that it dries off before bundling.It’s been slow going.

Getting out to the log deck for a half hour of cutting time, the limit of the fuel in the tank, is the most that I can seem to get cut before another shower or deluge hits. A tankful of cut 16 inch pieces is a Gator full. Taking the full Gator to the barn allows me to work inside from the weather for at least 45 minutes to an hour to work the chunks into 4 inch pieces at the largest and kindling at the smallest. Two Gator loads, if I have stacked it high, can yield a crib full which is half a cord of wood.

The two farm dogs think that my toils make the perfect day for them. They are off leash, away from the county road and pesky felines. They have run of the fields and forest for as long as they wish while still being able to come back to the barn for a visit or a nap throughout the day and they come back often to check in on me or to nest down in a pile of hay.

While splitting wood, I have the bed of the Gator snugged up on my left to grab wood chunks. The splitter table is in front of me and the crib is only one step behind me. The rhythm of grabbing, splitting and stacking puts me into a zen state.

As I was working along, Butler the dog wanted me to know that he was in need of a little attention. He stood patiently between two half-filled cribs until I noticed him. He was only inches away from my legs and in the danger zone if a chunk of wood slipped from the table or my grasp. When I saw him, he gave me that look and I grabbed for the camera.

As I snapped the picture, the song ‘Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places’ popped into my head. All he was hoping for was a quick pet and a few words of encouragement and was willing to stand in the danger zone until I noticed him to deliver said needs. As soon as a photo was secured and a scratch on his neck delivered, he went off to check on his brother or stray rodents or emboldened coyotes outside the barn area. I was left with the splitter running and an ear-worm on repeat in my head.

Not Only The Cat For Company

November 15, 2020November 13, 2020 / Susan Schmidlin / Leave a comment

It was an early morning start for me out in the bull barn. Mike had just finished the morning feeding for the bulls and they were still busy with their heads in the manger.

Most times it is the bug catching black kitten, Shadow, that comes out to work along side of me as I bundle firewood. This morning however it was Butler the dog who came out to see what I was up to.

Butler may have wanted attention, or he may have been hungry. When he meandered out to the bull barn, he walked right past me as I was wrapping and he began to snoop around the manger. Sure enough, he found a slice of apple the bulls had missed and he ate it quickly.

The bulls could only watch from behind their bars as the interloper noisily chewed and swallowed their treat. Butler continued to hand around the barn for a while, but grew bored of the process and did not find any more slices when he snuffled his way through the left over hay. He took his leave to find other forms of activity which left me hoping the cat would be coming by shortly to keep me company.

Judged

October 16, 2020October 15, 2020 / Susan Schmidlin / Leave a comment

I am used to getting the stink eye now and again. It happens in the barn when I am slow to chop up apples for the cows or when my ‘complainer’ cow doesn’t think I feed her nearly enough. It happens in the house when everyone else is raring to go and I am not quite ready. It happens in the landing when I would much rather continue working on my current project than do some other farm chores that someone else feels in more important.

On this day, I had the Gator loaded with empty racks and tubs that I wanted to take across the river to the barn. I thought I was ready to go, but needed to head back to the house for something. When I got back out to the Gator, Jackson the dog was waiting somewhat impatiently in the bed next to all the racks and tubs. He was definitely giving me the stink eye and wanting an explanation about my actions of making him wait to go for a run.

I apologized profusely, but Jackson wouldn’t have it, he wanted to go not hear about my less than stellar attention to his needs. Rest assured I have been dutifully chastised and will try to do better in the future.

The Thanks I Get

August 20, 2020August 19, 2020 / Susan Schmidlin / Leave a comment

It was a warm morning of cutting up 16 inch pieces from the log deck I’m trying to work through. I wanted to save enough time to get the pieces that I had gotten cut split into appropriate sizes for bundles before all the equipment had to be shut down for the day because of fire season.

While I had my back turned to all my hard work, Butler the dog decided that the nice layer of wood chips I had made would make a very comfortable napping spot. Even with all the noise of the splitter and me chucking pieces this way and that, Butler dozed on.

That’s the kind of thanks I get around here, if everyone is comfortable that must mean I have done my job well.

Critter In There

July 14, 2020July 13, 2020 / Susan Schmidlin / Leave a comment

About the story from 7/10 about the riddle, we have been getting some really good guesses in about how many bales are in the hayfield we are currently working on. Get your guess in before time runs out, we hope to have a total by tomorrow. Good Luck!

Butler the farm dog looks very calm and meager. Looks can be very deceiving. When he gets a scent of a ground dwelling critter, especially something tasty like a gopher, he goes nose deep and more.

While Mike was fluffing the hay field, Butler had found a scent and started digging between wind rows. Every round of the field Mike would shout at him to quit making holes where we needed to drive. Each round, Butler would pull his head up for a moment to acknowledge the hollering before going back to digging.

Dirt was flying, the activity could be seen from across the field. When Butler finally stopped he had dug a hole that was big enough for him to disappear into. We don’t think he ever caught up with the critter but we are sure he scared him.

Before we could drive around the field we had to fill in the hole. Good thing we always carry a shovel on the Gator for just such emergencies.

Watched During Production

February 9, 2020February 7, 2020 / Susan Schmidlin / Leave a comment

I wanted to get several cribs of wood stacked and into the garage for final stage of drying while I’m away from the farm next week. Every available minute between other tasks around the place have been devoted to the barn across the river where the splitter is set up along with several empty cribs.

During one of my sessions while I was dutifully splitting away, I looked up to see Jackson (he is the frantic, wild-child one) peacefully stretched out on a piece of cardboard that had fallen off the top of the drying cribs and was flat on the cement floor. He had such a sad look on his face, and he was framed by the slats of the wood crib. It made him look like a sad sack that was stuck in prison.

What he was actually doing was allowing the cardboard to soak up all that extra water he had accumulated while running through the rain and soggy pastures. Once his drying pad was soaked, he moved to a pile of hay that was left in the manger by the nursery cows and snuggled down for a good snooze a lot less wet than when he walked into the barn. His time for watching me as I worked came to an abrupt end.

Since mrssusanschmidlin.wordpress.com is nearly out of data, the complete story can be found at SchmidlinAngusFarms.com. I encourage you to check it out, get your information in on the FOLLOW button spot, and get every story in full color. I would be grateful if you did want to do any cyber shopping to use my links on the stories on that site. By using my links, I get credit for directing people to shop and may make a small commission without any cost to you! Your support helps support the website to be available for the daily stories. Thank you for supporting SchmidlinAngusFarms.com

A Dog Story

February 2, 2020February 1, 2020 / Susan Schmidlin / Leave a comment

Jackson, the impulsive, carefree, wildly enthusiastic one out of our two farm dogs was acting so silly the other day we just had to take a few pictures to document the event.

I had four barrel tubs that were filled with bark and small wood pieces that break off as we are using the splitter to split the wood down into manageable firewood pieces. The tubs barely fit into the bed of the Gator, which is also the bed that Jackson has claimed as his own and he requires that he ride back there whenever possible. We did not think that this time he would be able to ride back there since the bed was full corner to corner.

When Jackson realized we were cleaning up and ready to move over to the house side of the river, he jumped on the front of the Gator, made a quick leap on the seats and up into the bed on top of the barrels. He looked like he was trying to win a game of TWISTER since he had two feet in one barrel and the other two feet were in a couple of other barrels. That looked pretty funny all by itself, but as we began the drive, the filled barrels started to compact. By the time we got over to the house, Jackson was sunk up to his belly and with his feet in separate barrels could not lift a leg to get unstuck.

The excursion didn’t seem to bother Jackson at all and he waited patiently for me to lift him out of two of the barrels before he get the traction he needed to jump off the Gator.

Not Content With Ground Level

January 15, 2020January 13, 2020 / Susan Schmidlin / Leave a comment

Jackson the dog does not make it out the the show barn very often, he is usually banned from the area because he likes to chase the barn cats and steal their food. So it was a rare treat for him to accompany me while I fed the cows and the cats in this barn the other day.

Before we headed out to the barn, I made him stop and look me in the eye. I told him point blank that there was to be no foolishness today, he was not allowed to chase any cat that he came across and by all means he was to stay away from their food pan. He gave me his usual goofy smile and a wag of his tail, he seemed to know what I was saying and I believed he promised to behave.

I was very surprised when he ran right past the pile of cats as I poured their share of kibble into their dinner pan. Jackson was on a mission and ran to the hay stack at the back of the barn where he commenced rubbing along the bales which is one of his favorite barn activities. I went to work feeding the cows and took my attention off Jackson for a couple of moments before I realized that he was no longer on the ground floor. I walked both ways around the tractor and peeked at the cats and their dinner but they didn’t seem disturbed. That was when I looked up to see Jackson at the top of the hay stack instead of the ground floor.

Something up there smelled enticing and he figured out how to scale the pile to investigate. I found him with only his tail sticking out of a gap in the bales. Either one of the cats left him a surprise or there is a rat trying to outsmart the cats. I may have to invite Jackson out to the barn with me more often until I get to the bottom of this mystery.

Since mrssusanschmidlin.wordpress.com is nearly out of data, the complete story can be found at SchmidlinAngusFarms.com with all the pictures! I encourage you to check it out, get your information in on the FOLLOW button spot, and get every story in full color. I would be grateful if you did want to do any cyber shopping to use my links on the stories. By using my links, I get credit for directing people to shop and may make a small commission without any cost to you! Your support helps support the website to be available for the daily stories. Thank you for supporting SchmidlinAngusFarms.com

Schmidlin Angus Farm

Registered Black Angus Cattle and Humorous Farm Stories

dog