Either A Protest Or Just Guarding

March 30, 2021March 29, 2021 / Susan Schmidlin / Leave a comment

We were enjoying a day of bright spring sunlight, blue sky and warming where one could stay out of the breeze.

Jackson, the farm dog, was busy with some very important bones (a gift of a rib cage from a recent elk harvest) while Butler was on duty at the Gator. Even though the Gator was parked for the day in the shop, Butler would not leave the area. He settled in the nest he had made in the driveway right behind the Gator and flattened himself down for a rest or maybe a protest that the Gator was not moving.

He stayed that way most of the day until time for feeding that evening. His time of sticking right near the Gator kept the cats from putting their footy prints on the seats, the birds from dropping their calling cards and anyone from unauthorized usage of the vehicle.

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Riding High

March 28, 2021March 27, 2021 / Susan Schmidlin / Leave a comment

The Gator is our basic means of transportation around the farm. To the farm dogs, Butler and Jackson, the Gator is much more. To them the Gator is home base, a safe place when a cow gets irritated at them for being in their field, or when the calves gang up to ‘play’, or when the chain saw is running.

When we have the Gator parked while we are working on a project, the rig becomes a good napping spot for the dogs. Jackson tends to sleep in the bed while Butler prefers to curl up in the footwell on the passenger side, unless I have some chains or other equipment in the way, then he sleeps around the pedals on the driver side.

When there is a load of hay on the Gator, Jackson wants to be on top of the highest bale. To him, it doesn’t matter if it is one bale or ten stacked into the bed, he wants to be at the top and rides there until we tell him to get off or until he sees something fun that interests him. Squirrels, mud puddles and stray cats come to mind.

Many times a day, Jackson can be found riding on top of bales, in what I refer to as land-surfing. I am sure he would be able to ride a gnarly wave, dude!

Snarfling At Its Finest

March 7, 2021March 5, 2021 / Susan Schmidlin / Leave a comment

It was two weeks ago when the whoosh of snow off the north side of the barn across the river released the piled drifts in one loud and wild slide. With nearly daily rains and warmer weather the pile has been subsiding slowly. The last couple of days with brilliant sunshine and nearly 60 degree weather had the pile shrinking quickly.

The farm dogs, Jackson and Butler noticed the change. Both dogs love snow, they really like eating snow. This pile has been a daily source of snarfling for the mutts. They go out of their way for a bite or two during each feeding time, when we are working at the log decks, or when we walk out of the woods after planting seedlings.

With the huge pile dwindling down to a small pinch of its former self, the dogs and especially Jackson have been making sure they get as much as they can of what most likely will be the last snow before the change to spring and summer.

Little Gangs Everywhere

March 6, 2021March 4, 2021 / Susan Schmidlin / Leave a comment

The ten calves in the nursery field are sure enjoying the warmer weather and the longer days. I have been enjoying this stretch of good weather myself by spending time in the barn across the river, splitting firewood and loading it into the cribs for final drying. With the earlier light in the mornings, I have been able to find between a half hour to an hour of production before it is time for the breakfast feeding in the field.

While the splitter is running, the barn is full of noise from the motor, and the splitting ram and even me as I toss firewood this way and that. The young calves in the nursery field are attracted to the noise and like to come over to investigate.

The calves tend to gang up, giving them more courage than single-handedly. By three’s and four’s they sneak around the corner of the barn to the gates. If the chains are loose and not holding the gates securely closed, the calves like and suck on them. They like the smooth texture and the coolness of the metal. If the gates are open enough to let a small calf through, they expect to be welcomed into the dry work area of the barn with open arms.

The dogs are not having any of it. Jackson and Butler do not mind them cavorting around the field or even meandering near the barn, but they do not appreciate the curious calves getting too close to the gates or god-forbid attempt to step inside. This creates a conundrum for the dogs. They are supposed to protect the barn with me inside, but they are not supposed to upset or bark at the calves. So they do the next best thing, they turn into guard statues and stand vigil by the gates and the corners.

The stillness of the dogs is like a beacon for the calves and sniff around investigating tips and tails of the canine mimes. The dogs try not to move, but the calves are relentless until one dog or another nips, growls or barks to startle the calves. That is when they get into trouble and I threaten to put them into time out.

This same scene can play out multiple times during my work time in the barn with the dogs, the calves and me all agreeing that we are glad for the warmer weather and longer days.

Equal Billing

February 14, 2021February 10, 2021 / Susan Schmidlin / Leave a comment

Last week we had the story about Butler the farm dog and his most magnificent nose, the very same nose that had a pile of dirt attached to the top that he totally ignored while I snapped his picture and told him he looked ridiculous. So this week it is Jackson’s turn to look silly.

I’m not sure why, if it is the season or just because, but both dogs have been doing their share of digging in the dirt lately. Butler seemed to start it by burying some really delicious soup bones only to dig them up a short time later and search for a better hole in which to hid them. He does this a lot. His brother is known to seek out Butler’s hidden treasures and steal them the minute they are left unattended or in an insecure location.

Jackson was the digger today and I was able to catch him with a pile of dirt on the tip of his nose. Unlike Butler, Jackson does not leave the plop attached for long. Within minutes he was doing a full body, lawn scrub with a clawing, body dragging, rolling and twisting motions.

It wasn’t easy but I was able to get the dogs back to equal billing with their dirty nose antics.

Roofer

February 3, 2021January 30, 2021 / Susan Schmidlin / Leave a comment

The two farm dogs, Jackson and Butler, don’t necessarily get along with the semi-feral barn cats but they usually tolerate them. That is not always the case, one or both dogs have been known to sneak out to the show barn where we feed the skittery cats and steal any left-over cat food that has been abandoned or chase them around for no good reason.

We don’t like leaving cat kibble out because it just invites trouble. Not only the farm dogs want to get a few morsels but also coyotes, birds, skunks and raccoons are attracted. I try to set out only enough food for the feeding and leaving only the barest of crumbs left to entice unwanted scroungers.

The cats are great for scouting the fence line and small pastures around the barn. They are good hunters and augment their meager kibble meals with bugs and rodents of all sizes. I have seen them drag bodies of squirrels nearly as big as they are across the field to share with the rest of the group.

When the cats are outside of the barn area, they seldom wander wherever the dogs are treading in an effort to avoid confrontation. Butler is more likely than Jackson to decide that the cats need to go and chase them up a tree, into the woodshed or under the shop. It is a hard habit to break. Butler gets chastised for chasing the cats, but he just can’t always resist the urge to make them scatter.

This morning it was one of The Striped Ones that fell prey to Butler’s chasing and ended up on the roof of the smoke house. He would peek out over to edge to see if I was a threat or if Butler was still around. The roofer stayed up there for nearly an hour before deciding that the dog threat was over and it was safe to come down.

Too Fast For Pictures

December 24, 2020December 22, 2020 / Susan Schmidlin / Leave a comment

I carry my handy dandy little pocket camera wherever I go. I have had it in my pocket when I trek into the woods, while I run a chainsaw and during those long summer days bucking hay or driving tractor. I have it during the snowy winter days when feeding cows, planting seedlings, cultivating the riparian areas and when out for a stroll along the county road picking up trash.

I do not keep my phone or my handy camera on me when I am in the river, splashing around and putting up the barriers to keep the cows on my property, rock hounding, or just cooling off. One slip on those slick rocks and my technology (even though it is dated and well worn) would be toast and I would be up a river without it.

Even with my camera within reach at 99.999% of the time, I still miss those wondrous photos that I have come to enjoy sharing with my readers. Like walking up on a herd of elk as they are grazing, or when they run careening around me as they go a different direction than I want them to. I have missed documenting the births of newborn calves since my arms are busy at the working end of the bovine instead of snapping pics, or when tethering a stuck rig to pull it out of a precarious pothole on a slippery slope, or when the bald eagles fly right over where I am working.

Even the other day, I wanted to show how the dogs are behaving this time of year with the two newborns with their mothers in the nursery field. Both dogs are deliberate in their sniffing to find the calf poop wherever it is in the field. They start with the source and smell each baby, sometimes while they are still sleeping. The dogs don’t hurt the calves but sniff them from stem to stern in the hopes that there is a pile around there somewhere. The older calf, NinetyNine, does not like the idea of the dog snooping and will run out of the area rather than get the sniff test. The newborn, Titan, is much more relaxed about the whole thing and usually doesn’t even acknowledge the dogs in their investigation.

During all the sniffing, I tried to get a picture of the dogs in action but they were so quick, all I got was shots of the cows, babies and a tail or nose of a dog as they air plow their way this way and that.

Foiled Again

December 18, 2020December 16, 2020 / Susan Schmidlin / Leave a comment

Mike happened to find a clutch of apples still hanging on the one tree in the orchard that still had leaves on it. The tree was old when we purchased the place more than 40 years ago, it has the very early transparent apples on the main trunk and two varieties of winter apples on grafts, filling out the other 2/3rds of the tree.

We think the one winter apple is the Jonathan variety with a mostly red color skin, while the other variety of late fruit is solid green, lighter in color than a Granny Smith. The red winter apples that were still on the tree had been hidden by the last of the leaves and when they finally gave way, Mike used a pole basket to harvest the apples before the birds swooped in to finish them off.

Mike has set the apples in a bucket for me to take to the barn on my next trip out. Instead I picked out an apple each time I walked to the barn for chores and ate it for myself. morning and night for the last three days I had enjoyed the very last of the apple crop. Some were very tiny and not fully developed, a couple had bird pecks already, but I was enjoying the fruit. I saved the biggest one of the bunch for last.

But when I rounded the corner on that last day, I found that I had been beaten to my own game by Jackson the farm dog. He had his head plunged deep into the bucket and was eating the last apple while still hidden from his brother! He did not want to be foiled as he was spoiling my plans.

Wandering The Woods

December 11, 2020December 9, 2020 / Susan Schmidlin / Leave a comment

This is the in-between time here on the farm. We are not yet into really winter weather and a little too cool to be considered fall, the mushrooms are still popping up in the forest although at a much slower pace than a month ago. I have been trying to get into the woods each day while this in-between time holds along with my mushroom buckets and farm dogs to keep me company.

Even trying to take a picture of the canines while we go a-walking is a difficult task because they are moving constantly, trying to out-smell each other to find new animal trails, dens, or whatnot.

I’m not just on the lookout for the mushrooms, I’m also trying to persuade the large herd of elk that our woods are not hospitable. I tried to count them as dusk fell at the farm, I tallied 45 with more in the tree line where I saw movement but could not get an accurate assessment.

Along with the scouting dogs, I carry a loud whistle (gifted from a dear friend) to toot at odd intervals as I walk the paths. Part of the hillside has had significant elk damage as they have torn through the foliage on their way to the grazing/hay field at the bottom of the hill. With the grass stunted by the cooler weather, we need to keep as much of the grazing available for our cows. Hunting season cleared out a couple of the animals, but since the end of the regular elk hunting seasons, the group has come back to forage in earnest.

I know I cannot keep the critters out all together, but while I take in the beauty of the forest, I can do my part to put a damper on their damaging ways and get a few mushrooms as I roam.

Plotting The Next Move

November 25, 2020November 23, 2020 / Susan Schmidlin / Leave a comment

During the thick fog of early morning I was able to get some wood pieces sawed. Light rain had started and appeared that the wetness was going to continue on through the day so I moved the wood into the barn with the Gator.

Starting up the splitter I worked through the Gator load and stacked the firewood into a crib. The Jackson and Butler were busy doing their dog-thing by running around. They would come back to check on me every so often just to run by and make sure I was still working away.

About an hour into the splitting, both dogs figured I was about done with the load because they both showed up from wherever they had been scouting. They plopped themselves down on the muddy driveway of the barn and watched. Their backs were toward me so they did not really care what I was doing but they were watching the log deck to see if any chipmunks were brave enough to show themselves. And they were watching the field to see if a coyote showed up, or perhaps they were hoping the stray cat that likes to hunt mice along the fenceline would be up for a good chase.

The two dogs with their familial spots, the ones that are not exactly the same but near enough to see the combined ancestry, sat side by side. Both looked left, both turned right, both happy to sit and wait for some fun and their next move to come along.

Schmidlin Angus Farm

Registered Black Angus Cattle and Humorous Farm Stories

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