Wordless Wednesday: Sweltering Summer Dog Walk

It's too hot to ride my horses (111 F heat index) so the dogs and I had a nice walk.

 

 

Rooster is so regal and handsome!

Best buddies - except when Cricket pesters Rooster

Dog lead dog

 

Just the prettiest, cutest border collie on the Earth

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

Wordless Wednesday: Doggie Antics

 Oh look, more videos of our dogs :)

Rooster was extremely excited that our beloved Wildcats beat the chickenhawks on Monday night!

Little dog + deep snow = adorable

 

Until next time,

~ Buzzard ~

 

Wordless Wednesday: A New Love

I'm pretty much obsessed with this little girl...



Oh ya know, just chillin' and being adorable



I wouldn't come when called so I got left outside with the beast (aka Rooster)

 



Trying to decide whether or not to attack a piece of mud on the floor

 

 



What's going on here?!



I am not a fan of the sheep barn....yet

 

It's quite cold outside, can't I just pee on the floor instead of going outside?

 

Don't fret - I still love Rooster the rodeo dog with all my heart. He's my big fluffy, red dog. Kind of like Clifford but probably eats a lot less.

 



His normal sleeping position

 

Smile!



This is what happens when you try to get a close face shot of an attention-loving dog.



What a sweet, sweet boy

Does anyone else treat their dogs like children?!?

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

Caring for Our Animals in the Polar Vortex and Arctic Temperatures

Ok - so it's not quite arctic out there but the polar vortex has knocked the temperature/wind chill down to -7 and I qualify that as pretty damn cold. In the wind and snow, it's important for the Ninja and I to make sure our animals are well-cared for and as comfortable as possible.

In extreme cold [ahem, polar vortex], all of our horses are blanketed during the day and night. We also have shelter for them to get out of the wind and snow (although I have seen them stand in a snowstorm several times instead of the barn).

My handsome compadre, Doc.

What I wasn't expecting when I went out to blanket and feed horses yesterday morning was for Rooster (the dog) to chase Rooster (the horse) and another horse through a fence. Resetting and wiring panels was not on my agenda, nor was trudging after two horses through drifted snow with a feed bucket [that's a great workout, for anyone interested]. 

Buzzard = not impressed. Check out Friday and Rooster enjoying their [temporary] freedom.
It didn't last long. They are both fine, no injuries after a romp through the fence, btw.

Rooster looking quite dapper in his winter gear

We increase their hay ration during really cold snaps because hay helps produce body heat. Most of the time during the winter, our horses have several hours access to a large round bale of brome hay. However, right now, we're feeding square bales since I can't get the truck and trailer out of a drift - wishing I had 4WD right about now!


See? Rooster could be in the barn but chooses to stand behind a bush to get a windblock!

In addition to blanketing, providing shelter and extra hay for the horses, we also have to make sure they have plenty of water. Because horses prefer warm water in the winter, we have a water tank with a heating element in the bottom. If we give cold water, in addition to an increased amount of hay, we could end up with colicking horses - which is no bueno - so the heating element keeps the water warm to the touch and keeps the horses drinking as much as they want. I tried to take a picture of the steam coming off it but my iPhone photography skills must not be up to snuff.

Our watertank with the heating element - there was steam coming out of the tank!

Hopefully, those two don't tear up my horse blankets!

When it's this cold, we let the dogs sleep inside at night. And we I spoil the crap out of them with fluffy dog beds, lots of treats and playtime. Look at my adorable, fluffy companions - how can I tell them no?

Rooster and Cricket - frenemies for life. Seriously, Rooster is not digging the fact that Cricket keeps attacking him during his naps and has taken up residence on his dog bed.

How are you keeping your animals warm during this super cold winter and the polar vortex? Let's hope this is the last occurrence [although I highly doubt it].

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

 

Random Smattering of Life and the Last Stella Chickens Were Kidnapped

Yeah, yeah it's been three weeks since I last blogged. I don't have any excuses - I've been busy and just never got around to it. But y'all are important to me so I'm going to commit to one post a week - even if it's just a picture of horses, the Kansas prairie or this adorable little fart-bucket:

His name is Rooster. #RoosterTheRodeoDog to be more specific.

Last week was busy - we got Rooster, the Kansas FFA Convention was in full swing and rodeo season officially started for me. Wahoo - summer is officially here!

And since we're talking about cool things - check this out:

Oh hey, Tre Walker.

 

That fella right there is Tre Walker - linebacker (#50) for the K-State Wildcats, ag business major and one of the nicest guys I have ever met in my life. No lie. He was the special guest speaker for the third general session of the Kansas FFA Convention and that guy can motivate and inspire an auditorium full of young folks in about three seconds flat. I may frame this and put it next to my photo of Rodney McGruuuuuuder.

 

Some sad news - whatever evil varmint got the first eight Stellas returned a few weeks ago and claimed the last two. It had to be something small enough to get through a hole the size of a softball - it drug my little Stellas out the top of a door. #mean. 

 

So, in short, we no longer have any chickens. A lot of folks have said, "just buy some more." But if I couldn't protect the first little chicks, why would I want to bring more home to the same doom? I think we will wait until next year until we can retrofit the chicken coop to be more protective of the little chickies.

 

So that's my life update for the past three weeks. The upcoming weeks will be full of more rodeos, puppy days, grilling (beef, yum!), a trip to Washington state and hopefully some lake time.

 

Until next time,

~ Buzzard ~