Red Pony Farm: A journey in motion

Short Pigeon Visit or Colorful Scooby Snack

This is not the one that visited. There was no band on its leg. This I know for sure because it let me get way too close before waddling off bobbing its head and looking at me with those beady rat like eyes. Yuck! I am not a pigeon fan. They are very much like rats in my mind. Nastiest bird next to a Sea Gull. I guess it's just because of the scavenger flocks you see in cities and on some farms. We had a flock one year in Standish when I was kid. I got lots of target practice that year with mom's .22.

Last nights pigeon visitor was bobbing around in the arena sand. I followed it, got way too close to it. Wondered if it was injured somehow. It was not fluffed up like an sick bird should have been. So I charged at it. This did make it take flight for about 100 feet and then it landed again in one of the paddocks. Tired maybe? Long flight off alone, misdirected somehow? I let it alone. I figured it would rest and be off again on its trip to some city where there are more french fries to eat.

It stayed a little too long:

Scooby found it this morning. It let him get too close too. For some reason Sparticus didn't eat it. (Too fresh--he's used to eating his fowl a bit more aged?. Maybe. He was already full? Not a chance. That dog had hold an amazing amount of food. Shucks I've seen him swallow pieces of meat bigger than that pigeon whole.) What ever the reason, while I was off in the woods trying to follow where I saw him disappear with it in his jaws, he circled back to the cabin and buried it right at the edge of he rock Dan is making a base for the front steps with. I knew it was there only because he was so adamantly guarding it from Bear, and even tackled him when he got too close. Then I looked and saw the tell tale few feathers strewn near some scratch marks.

My concern it that there was something wrong with the bird and eating it could make Scooby sick. I think I will dispose of it some other way. Why would a pigeon in its right mind / body let us get so close?

Maddy was right!

Sparticus has learned how to open the refrigerator door! We went out for a couple of hours this morning--he wouldn't dare try this during the night. He has tried taking things off the counter and gotten caught at night. He is very clever. He once pulled a glass dish off the counter and broke it. After that he always picks them up carefully in his teeth and sets them on the floor to clean them out--no more lapping them while they are still up high. I pulled a chair over in front of the fridge thinking that it would deter him if indeed he did get it open himself the other day while we were out. I was wrong! We came home to find the refrigerator door open several inches against the slightly moved chair, and this mayo jar on his dog mat. It must have been an easy target sitting at the edge of the door tray. He hadn't had time to go back for a second item luckily--the scallops and salmon were still there. I am on my way out now to shovel the snow out of the kennel. I've been trying to be nice, letting them stay in but until I can get a lock on it--I am picturing him ripping a whole in the door when he tries to open it after it's locked and gets determined. I can't believe his tongue reaches the bottom of this 32 ounce jar!

Guilty

Somehow Sparticus opened the refrigerator. I don't know if I maybe didn't get it closed completely after I fed he and Bear or if because the little plastic strip under the door had come off and I hadn't put it back, so, maybe he was trying to get something under it and it popped open. But, somehow it happened. He still looked guilty when I put the remnants of the containers back on the floor in front of him this morning to take a photo of the crime scene. He ate all the spicy shrimp chowder and the tub of Parmesan cheese. He also lapped up most of a quart of soy milk, the rest of it soaked into his mat--lovely mess. 

He didn't get into the draw with his food in it. The turkey necks were untouched. Almost as if he knows he will get those anyway. I'm glad really, he would have tried way too hard to fit all of them in his little tummy.

Sparticus Found a New Bed

Scooter has been hanging out with me too long. Now is catching on to the "I hoosied it" game that usually costs Dan a bundle in tools and nifty gadgets. This one isn't going to work out well for Scooter though as this soon to be Shrimp Net has already been hoosied or rather ordered by a paying customer.

The Slab was poured but has been mulched with hay and covered with a tarp as temps have dipped below freezing (20 degrees f. last night). The town approval has not been given although the Shop Building really large garage has been ordered. Code enforcer guy told us we could put in the slab first because there was likely not going to be anything to stop the approval but in a worse case scenario we could build a really big garage he laughed. So anyway last night it was about 25 degrees F after the sun went down and Dan brought his work into the cozy little cabin in front of the fire--along with lots of sand. When Dan went off to bed Sparticus decided it made an excellent dog bed. Even better apparently than his western saddle pad behind my recliner. The rusty pole on a tire with hangers is a hanging Post. Dan hangs the twine (netting)from it to hold tension as he sews the pieces of twine together into a big shrimp catching funnel.

Bear Snack

AD & I were sitting on the hill as a sliver of  moon grew brighter in the southern sky. We were drinking beer and contemplating good and evil. AD was lamenting the fact that she could no longer believe due to certain developments in her world, that the nature of humans leans toward good. I believe good can only exist if there is an equal degree of evil to oppose it maintaining the all necessary balance. It is all correct to me and I don't have a problem with the darker side of things (as long as it is far away, someplace else, happening to someone else) easy for me to say I know. This is a test I really hope the God of Gods doesn't need me to prove. I like it fine as a working theory. Anyway along comes Bear with something or other locked in his jaws. He loves to chew things. He settled in near our feet to begin gnawing on this latest treasure. AD caught sight of the round shape of this thing Bear held tightly in his paws in order to get a good grip with his teeth. AD got curious and reached out while she asked Bear what it was. I told AD he wouldn't bite her, that he may just grab his trophy and run off. She proceeded cautiously so as not to spook him and retrieved a painted Turtle shell. As we explored it in the semi darkness we discovered that it contained a turtle drawn up tightly within, and it wasn't hurt. It spent the night in the bathtub except for a couple of short adventures in the bathroom sink during showering. On my way to work next day I walked across the street and let it go in the neighbors pond. The Neighbor said it may have been the same turtle she saw headed up the hill the day before. she assumed it was going to lay eggs in the sand.

Wandering Dog

Bear: Foofy black & white Husky /Border Collie cross. The one in the back in this photo. Dan decided on a whim to take him with him to The Hill [new comers--see Lithos(the Hill)] Yesterday after Raychell's b-day lobster /steak feast. Bear loves riding in the vehicles now that we all go to the Hill together often. However, Bear doesn't like the big excavator, and not everyone was going this time--which he didn't realize when the trip was mentioned. Likely bored and annoyed with the loud machinery, he soon went wandering. I got a call from Dan at about 7:00 and headed over. We had a plan to sit up on the hill and see if we could see fireworks from there. First we spent nearly two hours driving up and down Deerwander and all it's side roads calling and looking. When it got too dark I parked the car at the foot of Lithos and walked up to leave a freshly scented trail for Bear and Dan drove the truck up. We climbed up on a couple of toppled hardwoods Dan had previously bulldozered looking for the ever elusive "other edge" of Lithos. These twin oaks have an enormous root ball (though very flat on the bottom like most up there). We sat there on the horizontal tree trunks at the highest point and watched Eastward for fireworks while calling to Bear. Bear didn't show up. The fire works soon started erupting from 4 different spots along the horizon and we puzzled and speculated as to what towns they originated. I called Raychell who was on the Western Promenade waiting for Portlands display to begin if it were going to. The cloud cover was making it seem iffy. She reported that they had not started and when they finally did 2 phone calls later, we could not see them. We were baffled. Perhaps the fog was too thick. Perhaps our bearings are off a degree or two. After the little colorful splashes of glittering lights stopped appearing we hopped in the truck for the bumpy ride down to the car. Dan waited there while I went home, fed Sparticus and the horses, grabbed my sleeping bag, and stuffed my air bed into the hatch back. I reasoned that Bear would come back to the Hill because that was where he last saw Dan. And I worried that he would try to head on home with several major roadways and the Saco river in his path. I fell asleep hoping I would wake when he arrived and jumped up on the car door as I tried to reach him with some sort of life force connection to guide him to me safely. I woke before daylight--no sign of Bear. It had cooled off in the car and I spread a hastily snatched from the closet sheet across me. It was enough. I rolled over and fell back asleep wondering how long I should lay there before going to make my posters. At just before 5:30 I was startled awake by muddy paws thumped against the glass of the door to the back seat where my face was. Bear looked weary and was ready to go home. He whined and paced waiting for me to get my air bed deflated and out of his way so he could jump in. After a larger than usual breakfast of raw chicken necks and watermellon, all he wants to do is sleep. Too bad Bear, we have trail trimming to do today.

Scooby's Surgery

Sparticus had surgery yesterday. The tumor on his foot was removed. He was a very good boy. It was discovered that he has Hypothyroidism. Two years ago when we attempted surgery he didn't pass his Preanesthetic Panel due to poor kidney function. I changed his diet to raw foods and noticed a big improvement. He still had out of range levels of kidney health indicators according to his lab work. But not enough to cancel the procedure this time. They gave him extra fluids during surgery and he was fine. He sure had to pee a lot when he got home. It was also discovered that his T4 level was very low. He came home with a Thyroid medicine. The tumor hasn't bothered him for some time. Then two months ago it suddenly blew up and burst open like an over cooked hot dog. Nasty stuff. So after several rounds of Antibiotics it had gotten small enough to remove without having to take a toe with it. You can see the top of the new bandage. He couldn't tolerate the blood soaked one he came home with--that they said should stay on till Monday. I couldn't tolerate it either. He was leaving a bloody footprint at every step. I washed the floor three times. He had most of it torn off by the time I came in from chores this morning. I helped him with the rest, and then made him a nice clean dry aqua colored one out of sterile no-stick pads, Vet Wrap, and a few strips of Duct tape to protect it from trips out in the back yard. He is happier now as you can see and after his short walk, breakfast consisting of, 1/2 a turkey neck and a peanut butter sandwich with pain med, antibiotics, and thyroid med slipped inside, he is napping comfortably.

Breakfast BARF Style

Yum. Bones and raw food, or raw food with bones in it. My dogs are doing so well on this diet. We started on July 05, 2005. We get the herring free on the water front most of the time in summer. Then just before the herring boats left for the winter we bought 350 pounds for ten cents a pound and put it up in zip lock bags. They have to have the fish served guts and heads included to make sure they get the nutrients they need. I don't feed chicken drum sticks very often. But I forgot to take a bag of herring out of the freezer yesterday. It scared me the first time I feed the drum sticks. I am used to the dogs swallowing the herring whole but the those drum stick bones are fat and 4 1/2 inches long each. They get digested no problem though. When starting out on the diet one has to work up to it gradually as prepared dog food eaters do not have the proper enzyme, bacteria, and assorted tummy and colon flora to do the job. Turkey necks are another staple of the diet. I buy them in thirty pound blocks from the butcher shop for seventy nine cents a pound. They also get liver and eggs once a week. Bear is not a big fan of liver so I got in the habit of breaking a couple of eggs over it so that he eats it. They sure do love meal times now. I don't spend much time on the vegetable part of the diet. They love carrots, squash rind, cucumbers, we have those often enough--couple times a week-- so that it seems to work.

Sparticus had been getting very sickly previous to the change. He had Kidney problems and was acting so old and tired. He plays now!  And he runs for no particular reason. He can follow along on trail rides and cross country skiing--though not multiple trips in one day.  He never could do that even as a youngster. he just isn't made for that kind of work. When I run in the woods he will often take short cuts through the woods on several of the loop trails and I will find him laying in the path waiting for me when I arrive. He likes to conserve his energy. He is a very smart pooch. We adore this dog and the change in him on the BARF diet is very amazing. We are thrilled.

Bears coat improved on the new diet and his weight is easier to control. He used to grow body fat so easily. And now that he's seven that becomes more of an issue. He is a lean mean racing machine now. He should be a sled dog. He can run for hours. He can follow me through exercising 2 horses and then run circles around me in deep snow for another hour and half of skiing like it's nothing.

Hay from Canada is coming today. The hay supply in my neighborhood is dismal. The weather was too wet for first crop and too dry for second. The hay out there is less than nice and its price went through the roof. I am splitting a Canada load with a fellow Vienna Farm Frequenter. 370 bales delivered for 3.90 a bale. They are large bales too. So we are pretty happy. The truck is due to arrive a 2:00. I have some snow to remove first so better get at it--thankfully it wasn't rain last night even though it was just freezing temperature wise all night and could have been easily. It's 40 degrees already this morning--Crazy! I hope we don't lose the little bit of snow we have.

BARF for Scooby

Sparticus ( aka Scooby, Scooter, Spartiluphineous, Scooterific) trotted today for no reason. He also went outside three times! He is feeling better suddenly!!!!!!!

And not because he is on another round of Amoxicillin. I have taken him off the "Crap-co" dry dog food diet. The 30 pound box of turkey necks will be in tomorrow. For two days he has been eating rice and eggs. He is already happy. It may be just that he feels life is worth living again now that meal time is something to actually get up off his mat for. I am very hopeful.

I love this picture of us.  We seem to be sharing the same expression. I am laughing because Scoo is trying to sit up on this little scatter rug on a hard wood floor and it keeps slowly sliding out from under his feet and he repeatedly ends up laying down. The photographer finally caught him before he disappears but he still looks very short.

So, BARF (bones and raw food) is all about feeding dogs the way they were designed to eat. I don't how it will pan out for Spaticus as he doesn't do veggies. We will find something. Bear on the other hand loves veggies. He had Cucumber with his rice and eggs at dinner today.

Bear looks rough this summer (this photo is last year) his hair coat is a mess. Scooter has a tumor between his toes that blows up every now and then and pops open like an over cooked hot dog. I tried to have it removed once but he didn't pass his pre-anesthetic tests. His kidney function was bad. He is on and off antibiotics all the time. He has no energy--sometimes falls over on trail runs and has to be helped home. Now his nose is going bald. Well tonight he was playful and affectionate and tried to climb on top my lap in the giant green chair. I can't remeber the last time he did that. I got teary eyed! I am so excited! It can't be a coincidence.