Well, Echo's puppies are due Wednesday, according to the first tie date. In case you haven't seen it, I've started a separate blog for the puppy updates and stuff. There's a link to it along the right (just click on Echo's belly) or go to KPR Pups.
Will be finishing cleaning out my storage unit today. It's nice that it's only a couple of miles from here, and if I wasn't being furloughed so heavily, I would probably keep the unit for several more months. But ... I'm cleaning it out and will just jam everything into my storage building and work on that piece by piece.
Going over to Janie's today. Susan will be coming by and showing us how to slaughter and butcher some lamb. I am quite interested in learning how to do this myself, and do it properly, and will be taking photos and some good notes. I'll put it all together and post it for those that would like to see it.
Got pix of Echo's belly to post on the puppy blog ... and then Kirk is due here very shortly to help me move that stuff out of my storage ... gotta run.
Jodi
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Friday, February 26, 2010
The Downside
There is a downside to country living.
I am living alone in the middle of nowhereville.
I fought off a migraine most of the day today. There was no one around. Not a soul. Thank doG for my black curtains in my bedroom which kept most of the light out. But ... I had no one to cry on. No one to feel sorry for me. No one to hold my hair while I puked. No one to tell me to quit being a baby and get my ass up and do something useful. Nothing. And the wind blew all day.
And I'm tired. I slept half the day and I'm exhausted.
I can see why people blow their own heads off. I thought about it today.
How's THAT for a whiney post? I'm getting good at these.
I am living alone in the middle of nowhereville.
I fought off a migraine most of the day today. There was no one around. Not a soul. Thank doG for my black curtains in my bedroom which kept most of the light out. But ... I had no one to cry on. No one to feel sorry for me. No one to hold my hair while I puked. No one to tell me to quit being a baby and get my ass up and do something useful. Nothing. And the wind blew all day.
And I'm tired. I slept half the day and I'm exhausted.
I can see why people blow their own heads off. I thought about it today.
How's THAT for a whiney post? I'm getting good at these.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
What is that?
A fun little game ... hopefully I'll try to do this once a week ... perhaps Monday mornings.
I'll post a close-up of something ... or just an obscurity ... and you all have to figure out what it is.
We'll start with something easy.
What is this? (You need to be specific.)
I'll post the entire photo when someone guesses what it is.
I'll post a close-up of something ... or just an obscurity ... and you all have to figure out what it is.
We'll start with something easy.
What is this? (You need to be specific.)
I'll post the entire photo when someone guesses what it is.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Psychedelic, man ...!
Well, I didn't go to the trial today. I told myself this morning that I was going to get something done around the house.
Myself didn't listen.
Farted around on the computer this morning, then made plans to meet Janie and Kirk for lunch. Decided to be a dork and bring my camera with me, considering I still had Kirk's awesome lens and wasn't done playing with it yet.
So on my way there, I took a picture of a place right down the street from me. I love row crops. Corrugates. (I learned a new word today.)
Here's K&J.
I'm sure Janie loves it when I do this. Janie, you're a beautiful person, and I love you.
Your husband ain't too bad, either. ;-)
Took some pictures of stupid stuff in the restaurant. Learning how to use this camera.
After I left them, I ended up stopping for a beer on my way home at one of the local watering holes. They have some Christmas lights hanging up inside the bar, and for some reason, I started taking pictures of them and messing with the settings.
Prepare for a lot of boring photos. I'm putting these up so I can look back and see what I did. Kinda cool, though. There's just a lot of them. I'm not into editing the photo after you take the shots. I like making the camera do the work. So here I go ...
Hmmm ... light-writing? I read about this on the internet one time ... so I started playing ...
Myself didn't listen.
Farted around on the computer this morning, then made plans to meet Janie and Kirk for lunch. Decided to be a dork and bring my camera with me, considering I still had Kirk's awesome lens and wasn't done playing with it yet.
So on my way there, I took a picture of a place right down the street from me. I love row crops. Corrugates. (I learned a new word today.)
So we decided to meet at Wingers.
Here's K&J.
I'm sure Janie loves it when I do this. Janie, you're a beautiful person, and I love you.
Your husband ain't too bad, either. ;-)
Took some pictures of stupid stuff in the restaurant. Learning how to use this camera.
After I left them, I ended up stopping for a beer on my way home at one of the local watering holes. They have some Christmas lights hanging up inside the bar, and for some reason, I started taking pictures of them and messing with the settings.
Prepare for a lot of boring photos. I'm putting these up so I can look back and see what I did. Kinda cool, though. There's just a lot of them. I'm not into editing the photo after you take the shots. I like making the camera do the work. So here I go ...
Hmmm ... light-writing? I read about this on the internet one time ... so I started playing ...
And I started to learn to control it ...
The sign of the devil ...
Figure 8s...
Ok ... enough of that ...
Bacon. He didn't much feel like playing today. He was enjoying snoozing in the sun.
Saw this hanging in one of my trees. Anyone care to guess what it is? I don't have a clue, and have never seen anything like it.
I wonder if it belong to this little guy.
Here's my buddy, Jag.
Somebody at the other 1/2 of the brownies.
Neatly.
After I was done messing around at the house (burnt some trash ... putzed around ...), I decided to take Jag for a walk. Grabbed a beer and my camera and headed out. Here's one of my neighbors behind my house.
And just looking at the scenery ...
This is my next door neighbor on the west side.
My house ... closer up ...
The neighbor up the street has some sheep.
And while I probably should be drooling over places like this ...
It's places like this that intrigue me ...
I love this thing. I want it ... whatever it is.
Look how cool this is ...
I'm bummed I didn't see the little bird on the roof when I was taking the shot. I would have done this differently. Oh well.
Part of the walk home.
This "thing" is in my "west" next door neighbor's place. I know it probably has something to do with putting hay in the loft or something. I just think it's awesome. The sky was amazing.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Dog Available
Purebred, registered, 1 year old, male, neutered male available for adoption. Currently located in Moscow. Will be in Nampa after the first week of March.
He was Male #5 in THIS litter.
If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at knottypineranch@gmail.com or call 208-412-6107.
Jodi
He was Male #5 in THIS litter.
If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at knottypineranch@gmail.com or call 208-412-6107.
(Photos courtesy of his current owner.)
Jodi
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Stiff Competition!
Border Collie Videos Westminster Kennel Club <--- Watch the action here!
Ok ok ... no making fun of the judge ... or her butt, ok? Keep it clean.
Your winner:
16
Ch Borderfame Signature
Breed: Border Collie
Sex: Dog
AKC: DN 10633702
Date of Birth: December 09, 2004
Breeder: Helena Fitzgerald
Sire: Borderfame Touch O Light
Dam: Ch Borderfame Mystic Dream
Owner: Dan Black & Dionne E Butt
Photos: Breed judging
See where it says: "Breed: Border Collie"?
Click on Border Collie.
Twins!
Don't you all want one of these? That movement! The lovely flowing hair! I'm so jealous!
Ok ok ... no making fun of the judge ... or her butt, ok? Keep it clean.
Your winner:
16
Ch Borderfame Signature
Breed: Border Collie
Sex: Dog
AKC: DN 10633702
Date of Birth: December 09, 2004
Breeder: Helena Fitzgerald
Sire: Borderfame Touch O Light
Dam: Ch Borderfame Mystic Dream
Owner: Dan Black & Dionne E Butt
Photos: Breed judging
See where it says: "Breed: Border Collie"?
Click on Border Collie.
Twins!
Don't you all want one of these? That movement! The lovely flowing hair! I'm so jealous!
Monday, February 15, 2010
Exercise Induced Collapse in Border Collies
I've seen this in several places and thought I would share it here in case you haven't seen it.
University of Minnesota - EIC in Border Collies
"An exercise-induced collapse syndrome similar to the EIC syndrome in retrievers has been recognized in Border Collies and may be called Border Collie collapse (BCC) or exercise induced hyperthermia. It is most common in dogs used for working stock but has also been seen in dogs training for agility or flyball competitions and in dogs repetitively retrieving a tennis ball. Affected dogs are normal at rest and seem healthy but become abnormal after five to fifteen minutes of strenuous activity, particularly in warm weather. Some dogs will develop a stiff, stilted gait with short strides and others will become wobbly and then collapse. Some dogs develop a balance problem or are mentally abnormal during an episode, and a few dogs have died during collapse.
This syndrome has not yet been well characterized so we are uncertain whether this is a metabolic, muscular or nervous system disorder. Affected dogs are negative for the dynamin 1 mutation causing EIC in Labrador Retrievers.
If your dog has had 2 or more episodes of collapse we would like your help as we try to describe the syndrome and search for the genetic cause. Please take the time to fill out the questionnaire and send us a DNA sample and pedigree from your affected dog. If you have a video of your dog having an episode we would like to have the opportunity to view that as well."
University of Minnesota - EIC in Border Collies
"An exercise-induced collapse syndrome similar to the EIC syndrome in retrievers has been recognized in Border Collies and may be called Border Collie collapse (BCC) or exercise induced hyperthermia. It is most common in dogs used for working stock but has also been seen in dogs training for agility or flyball competitions and in dogs repetitively retrieving a tennis ball. Affected dogs are normal at rest and seem healthy but become abnormal after five to fifteen minutes of strenuous activity, particularly in warm weather. Some dogs will develop a stiff, stilted gait with short strides and others will become wobbly and then collapse. Some dogs develop a balance problem or are mentally abnormal during an episode, and a few dogs have died during collapse.
This syndrome has not yet been well characterized so we are uncertain whether this is a metabolic, muscular or nervous system disorder. Affected dogs are negative for the dynamin 1 mutation causing EIC in Labrador Retrievers.
If your dog has had 2 or more episodes of collapse we would like your help as we try to describe the syndrome and search for the genetic cause. Please take the time to fill out the questionnaire and send us a DNA sample and pedigree from your affected dog. If you have a video of your dog having an episode we would like to have the opportunity to view that as well."
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Ballet in the Sky
Yeah ... I'm relaxing today. Taking lots of photos. Not doing much of anything.
Kirk called me earlier. He was headed out to go pick Janie up in Oregon. Said the sheep were out and were all hanging out by the haystack and asked if I would come round them up. So Echo and I headed over there. I bought my camera because I figured I'd drive by the lake and see if I could find any hawks to take photos of.
Two houses down the road.
As I approach the Naf's, I can see things don't look right.
There shouldn't be sheep on the left side of the hangar beyond that fence line.
The guy in front of me probably thought I was nuts -- taking photos while I was driving down the road.
Yep, sure makes for a pretty (although out of focus) photo when there's no fences involved, eh?
Busted! (Quality of these photos suck because I was still bouncing around in the truck through the moon surface that the Naf's driveway is.)
And you're busted too!
I really wanted a photo of some nice weeds, and look at the awesome bokeh I got! I am such a good photographer, aren't I? I really should raise the price of my lessons.
On a more serious note, I love this photo. There was a day when I never thought I would be able to do this with Echo, and I just love everything she has turned into. Grace, beauty, maturity, and style all wrapped in one. She was being very patient with this little lamb while keeping her eye on the entire flock behind me. I am bummed the photo is slightly out of focus. I might blow it up anyway.
We gathered the sheep from the other side of the hangar, joined them up with the ones on the haystack, and are now bringing them up the driveway to put them in through the large gate instead of trying to put everyone back in through the manger.
They need to be behind the fence on the right side.
I let her leave behind that one injured ewe. I'll take her around the other, shorter way.
So precious...
I messed with the lighting on this photo a little bit so I could pull the detail out.
Twins.
Butt Bokeh.
More Butt Bokeh. Quite talented, aren't I?
Bored yet?
You know those really cool action shots people get where ... as the dog is running away across the grass, like chasing a ball or a frisbee or something ... the photographer focuses on their back foot and they get a really cute shot of nice pink paw pads? Yeah? Well, ummm ...it doesn't work quite the same way with working stock.
Bokeh!
You, too, can be this talented ... for a small fee.
Ok ... on to the ballet. Remember I said it's windy today? Well, it's gorgeous out (despite what I said earlier). The sun is shining, temperature is about 50, and the wind is blowing at a bit better than a "breeze." The hawks are loving it. They jump up from a tree branch, just stick their wings out, and start dancing. It is so awesome! They're everywhere. Here are various photos I took on my way back from the Naf's via a short stop in Marsing for soda. Colleen (or whoever), please feel free to identify these. I'll number them. The first one is at the beginning of this post. (And it's the photos that are numbered, not the birds. There is more than one photo of the same bird in most cases.)
#2
#3
#4
#5 (obviously, 3, 4 and 5 are the same bird ... looks like he's missing a few feathers on his left paw.)
#6
#7
#9
#10 (different set)
#11
#12
#13
#14
#15
#16
#17
I wish I had a big honkin' lens for this camera. Oh to be independently wealthy ...
More later,
J
Kirk called me earlier. He was headed out to go pick Janie up in Oregon. Said the sheep were out and were all hanging out by the haystack and asked if I would come round them up. So Echo and I headed over there. I bought my camera because I figured I'd drive by the lake and see if I could find any hawks to take photos of.
Two houses down the road.
As I approach the Naf's, I can see things don't look right.
There shouldn't be sheep on the left side of the hangar beyond that fence line.
The guy in front of me probably thought I was nuts -- taking photos while I was driving down the road.
Busted! (Quality of these photos suck because I was still bouncing around in the truck through the moon surface that the Naf's driveway is.)
And you're busted too!
I really wanted a photo of some nice weeds, and look at the awesome bokeh I got! I am such a good photographer, aren't I? I really should raise the price of my lessons.
On a more serious note, I love this photo. There was a day when I never thought I would be able to do this with Echo, and I just love everything she has turned into. Grace, beauty, maturity, and style all wrapped in one. She was being very patient with this little lamb while keeping her eye on the entire flock behind me. I am bummed the photo is slightly out of focus. I might blow it up anyway.
We gathered the sheep from the other side of the hangar, joined them up with the ones on the haystack, and are now bringing them up the driveway to put them in through the large gate instead of trying to put everyone back in through the manger.
They need to be behind the fence on the right side.
I let her leave behind that one injured ewe. I'll take her around the other, shorter way.
So precious...
I messed with the lighting on this photo a little bit so I could pull the detail out.
Twins.
Butt Bokeh.
More Butt Bokeh. Quite talented, aren't I?
Bored yet?
You know those really cool action shots people get where ... as the dog is running away across the grass, like chasing a ball or a frisbee or something ... the photographer focuses on their back foot and they get a really cute shot of nice pink paw pads? Yeah? Well, ummm ...it doesn't work quite the same way with working stock.
Bokeh!
You, too, can be this talented ... for a small fee.
Ok ... on to the ballet. Remember I said it's windy today? Well, it's gorgeous out (despite what I said earlier). The sun is shining, temperature is about 50, and the wind is blowing at a bit better than a "breeze." The hawks are loving it. They jump up from a tree branch, just stick their wings out, and start dancing. It is so awesome! They're everywhere. Here are various photos I took on my way back from the Naf's via a short stop in Marsing for soda. Colleen (or whoever), please feel free to identify these. I'll number them. The first one is at the beginning of this post. (And it's the photos that are numbered, not the birds. There is more than one photo of the same bird in most cases.)
#2
#3
#4
#5 (obviously, 3, 4 and 5 are the same bird ... looks like he's missing a few feathers on his left paw.)
#6
#7
#9
#10 (different set)
#11
#12
#13
#14
#15
#16
#17
I wish I had a big honkin' lens for this camera. Oh to be independently wealthy ...
More later,
J
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