Limbs all in a row after high winds.
Pens going back up after wind
Wind is a metaphor in the scriptures. Like a "great wind", "winds of fire". I personally like the wind of central Oklahoma. We have beautiful wind farms not far from here. Lovely graceful wind milkers, thirty stories high. They reap an electrical harvest from "the invisible" just passing by.
But, a pleasant breeze becomes a menace at speed and destructive at high speed. Yesterday, we received the "wild wind"! In the first pic I haven't moved the limbs. The wind lined them up on the ground. Neighbors lost roofs, barns and carports. Training stable nearby lost their roof. No horses injured unless they were hurt in the crowd of folks pulling up with their trailers to haul their treasured equines to a safer place. I like horse folks, they spend so much on trailers and horseflesh, it eases my mind that I'm not profligate in my spending on my dog hobby.
In the second picture I was already don't cussin' and hollern' and sweatin' as I've moved the pens back. Calmed down enough to take the pic. See the pine tree on the far right. That's where the pens ended up all stacked like an accordion. I'd had the dogs in the house so no one got squashed. Pure luck having them in as I normally would have left them out even if I'd seen the storm coming. In this case is came up so fast and was over so fast no thoughts or planning were necessary or possible. The pen walls are fine. The connector thingies are all twisted and I had to use new but all is well. Had to take them apart a piece at a time to get them in position to put back together. Not easy work for an old fat man.
So what's the good news? We also got a rain storm with the wind storm. A solid inch of rain. Now you folks in the wet parts of our country might laugh at our measly inch. But we're so dry an inch is a mile to us. I think I can see the grass taking a green hue. Not sure but maybe. Plus a break in temp. May be over a 100 today but probably not a 110. Ten degrees is a lot. If you'd have told me I'd look forward to 90 someday I'd have said your were crazy. I really look forward to a 90 degree day.
See Mr. Muskrat. Bad dude dead now.
Before I finish up with Belle news let me introduce Mr. Muskrat. He's not cute, he's not cuddly, he's a rude dude. He invaded my big pond in the dark of night. He didn't ask permission. He didn't offer to pay rent. He just moved in and began to make holes in the banks and in my dam. He spit in my eye and threatened the health and loveliness of my two acre water feature. My predatory nature took over. No more Mr. Nice Guy. I read up on muskrat lore, I studied muskrat love, and I bought some traps. I situated my traps in the proper places. Then bam snap wham, and crash. Four "muskies", as us wilderness men call them, were dead, dead and deader. But I got more. More time, more determination, and more traps. I will go on till ever last one of the muskies is "luv'n no more" in my big pond.
It's about 35 days till the nursery nationals. I'm open to any suggestions for last minute preparations.
Let's see. Will she stop? Got to have a good stop. Yep, she stops. Even stops on the out run. Which is nice, if you've got to redirect. Nope, she's not ready for the running redirect, not yet.
Does she come up. Yep, she comes up. Strong enough for western ewes. I don't know. I can't know till I get there. I can't go early to run her anywhere. I think she will be able to. But a little tension is a good thing right.
Does she take her flanks. Yep, she's spankn' in her flankn'. We struggled a little together at first but I am pleased with her willingness to take the whistle.
So what else? Is she used to a spotter on a horse. Nope, not seen one that I know of. Plan is to do that before we go. Is she used to pulling them off a spot by another dog? Not sure. She's worked around other dogs and I think she will ignore them. Time will tell.
Will she handle the altitude? Don't know. Will she go in our heat. Yep, she'll got longer than is good for her.
What else? Suggestions are welcome.
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