De-Bible Thumping

One step closer ...

There's a bend in the road near my house.  As people drive by, they slow down to safely turn the bend.  It, quite often, makes me look to see if someone is slowing down to come into my driveway.  The way my place is set up now, when you drive up my driveway, you end up almost right at my back door.  It's a little unnerving to have someone I don't know drive in and already be that deep into my property without me knowing who they are or what their intentions are.  I know I am starting to sound like a paranoid Idahoan, but I am a single (for now unarmed) woman, living alone, with one "guardian" dog who is now elderly.  Yes, I can weild a baseball bat with the best of them, and my shoulders are wider than most men's ... but it's still unnerving. 

Enter DC (name withheld to protect the innocent). 

DC brought my gates over ... one for the head of the driveway, and one for the front pasture.  He and his friend measured and took notes and figured out all what will be needed to get everything done and will be back on Thursday night to start on it.  I can't wait.  I'm going to swing by and buy my "GO AWAY! (unless invited, of course...)" signs for the gate tonight. 

Moving on ...

Reese and Jill are doing great!  They are both crate trained and are starting clicker work.  It's so fun watching young pups develop.  The base of Jill's ears all of a sudden moved up to the top of her head and it completely changed her look.  Reese's are still down and pretty goofy looking, but getting there.  Reese is definitely the more dominant of the two pups, and has Echo's built-in bitchiness about her.  Jill is more laid back and happy go lucky and just stinkin' adorable.

I notice that when I go out on the porch, Zip likes to jump up on top of the dog houses in the dog run, then lean on the fence and try to see what's going on over the other side.  So ... I moved the dog houses.  Now, from my bedroom window, I can see who is hanging out inside them and make sure no one is missing.  I'll have to see how it works when the wind kicks up, though.  The privacy fence on both sides probably knocks out a lot of the impact from the wind anyway.

Was just looking through some photos people posted on FB.  The different dog cultures within the same breed just baffle me.  The one that gets me the most, though, is conformation.  The chick in the wool skirt, flat shoes, nylons, blousy-blouse, hair all tied back holding their little yummies out for the doggies to stare at while standing in an unnatural position they've been trained to stand in ... or jogging along with the little skinny dog lead wrapped snugly around the upper part of the dog's neck, handler trying to make themselves as invisible as possible to show off the wonderful "structure" of their little fluff balls doing their fancy "flying trot" with their tails high in the air. Someone please ... tell me ... what are we judging exactly?  Structure of what?  Structure of a dog that can jog around in an arena?  Oh no ... don't say that to those people.  They "know" how to build a working dog -- even though they don't work their dogs.  They don't need to.  No no.  Their dogs will work stock ... heck, they're Border Collies.  And in order for them to work stock, they have to have the right build, right?  Since when does a dog working livestock use a ridiculous looking trot with it's tail up in the air?  It's amazing to me that people don't understand the concept ... at the very basic level ... that you cannot judge a working dog on the way it looks.  Period.  Go to a stockdog trial.  Hell, go to the finals.  Look at the dogs standing around.  Look at the wide variety of "structures" in those dogs.  You want to tell me any one of those is built incorrectly?   Yes, I'm sure the Barbie Collie people would.  And yes, Barbie, that slick coated dog really IS a Border Collie.  Awww ... did you get a little sheep shit on those shoes?  Poor thing.

Now ... go to Westminster.  Look at the lack of variety in the "structure" of those dogs.  Now ... take those Westminster dogs, train them up on livestock for two years, and pit them against the dogs that normally go to the finals.  Hang on ... hang on ... need to grab the CD with the circus music on it...

Sad.

But the working stockdog world is not without its share of ick.  Groupies.  Everywhere.  Tons of them.  I am sure you all know the kind of people I am talking about.  You see a big hat, and you almost want to say to them, "Hey, watcha got stickin out of your rear end there?"  Makes me wonder if the hats ever sit around, comparing notes, and taking bets on the number of people eachother would have to have surgically removed if they suddenly stopped short. 

And what would be interesting to see is which hats gloat about it and which ones don't. 

Here's something else that I found rather interesting.

Rima Fakih  <--- does that name ring a bell?  Nope, it didn't with me either.  Would that be a name you would think of when you think of Miss U.S.A.?  No?  Well, you should ... now.  That's right.  Rima Fakih has been crowned Miss U.S.A.  Not Ms. Universe.  Not Ms. World.  Not Ms. Lebanon.  Nope.  Miss U.S.A. 

Are you telling me that there's NO requirement that Miss U.S.A. does not need to be born in the U.S.A.?  Really?  That's right.  All one needs is to obtain their citizenship legally, and then you, too, can represent the U.S.A.  I wonder if you need to be female, or if transexuals are eligible.  I mean, really, they are legal, too, right?  Rrgh.

Ok ok ... I'll reel it back in.
Back to my place.

I went through a series of about 4 phone calls to find out who my ditch rider is.  I want to figure out how the irrigation system works at my place.  One of my neighbors told me it was flood irrigated.  Another told me it was sprinkled.  There is evidence of both methods, so I am going to try to find out if the ditch rider can help me decide what to do.

I bought Bacon to the butcher.  I get him back next Friday.  Not really into talking about it.  I miss him.  That was one cool pig.  I am going to get more.  Probably two next time.  I'll keep one and sell one (not on the hoof ... I'll raise it and have it butchered and sell it that way ... 1/2 ... whole ... whatever).  Let me know if you're interested.

Taking a lesson tonight with Echo.  Looking forward to it.  Gonna stop and get some Shock Top, and sit and relax and take some photos of people working their dogs.  Should be nice out.  Maybe I'll even take one of the pups with me ...

Later ...

Jodi