A Cowdogs Advice

Grip up, America!

Spring

In Between

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Around here, it seems we are in between.

 

 

Spring has officially begun, but there is no guarantee it can be taken seriously.

 

 

Just over a week ago, we had nearly three feet of snow!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then a few days later, it was sunny and warm; almost all the snow disappeared.

 

 

Tomorrow it is expected to be cold, drizzly and snowy. Again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We continue in between winter and spring. It is neither and both.

 

There is new grass showing in protected spots, and early tough tulips sprouting faster than the deer can eat them.

 

 

There are iris, chives and daffodils left alone by the deer.

 

 

Fewer wild turkeys come around now, but I’ll bet they all come back in force with the next snowstorm!

 

 

The ice is still on the pond, though not so solid I can walk on it. But I did take a dip in the creek and it was invigorating!

 

 

 

 

 

 

This old cowdog has observed much of this life is in between.

 

 

At times I’m in between dinner and snacks – and I loudly remind the boss to shorten that long dry spell!

 

Sometimes I can’t decide between the couch

the floor,

 

 

or my bed.

 

There is a lot of adventure in the space between young and old.

 

 

 

In between starting a big job and finishing it.

 

 

 

Sometimes we are in between the valley and the mountaintop.

 

 

And in this life, we are between heaven and earth. We live this life with joy, happiness, fears and failures – but I know where I’m going.

 

 

Oh, it is a beautiful world here for a little Heeler, especially in the wild unfolding of this season.

 

 

But, like the song says, I’m homesick for heaven.

 

 

In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. – John 16:33

Joy

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Just a few weeks ago, the meagre sun could not pull the temp above zero,

yet for a few days now, we have melting going on!

 

It is hard to believe everything can change so drastically, but isn’t this is a picture of life?

 

 

And as winter turns loose its frosty grip, I have this good feeling – it must be pure joy, rising like the temperature. Following kindness and hope then, I’m aiming for joy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not that I don’t find plenty to enjoy any old time – darkness, cold, storms, struggles – I still count it all joy.

I am a Heeler, after all. 

 

 

 

 

 

Being a Heeler, I know about joy.

I suffer, as do most cowdogs of my kind, from irrepressible Joie de Vive; I don’t speak French much, but I’m told that means “delight in being alive.”

 

 

 

 

 

It means we find happiness,  jubilation, humor, glee, JOY in everyday moments and in everyday.

 

Sometimes in this life, it seems as if we are on the slickest sled on an icy slope, picking up speed, fast and out of control! 

 

It is a merciful thing, I suppose, that people don’t know what the future holds. Might as well just look forward with joy, I say.

 

It may be hard to look up with anticipation and insist on optimism. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just take a lesson from the Heeler, and count it all joy.

Chew on these truths like a good bone:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Attitude is the difference between an ordeal and an adventure.

 

Smile – there are a whole lot of problems out there in the world that aren’t yours.

No one is responsible for your happiness except you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m searching, and what do I find?

I find joy when I go out, light a bit earlier now, and smell the fresh air one more morning.

 

I laugh with joy at the antics of the wild turkeys, staging their spring courting dances in my yard – and I usually even resist the urge to herd them, and let them have their fun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I find joy in a hundred little things –

the rooster crowing early,

The sun rising a little further north behind the high hills, a different glisten on the melting snow.

A fresh bone, a new treat, even a cat that wants to play with me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The uplifting music the boss plays – sometimes I sing along!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boots and paws with more mud than snow and ice. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Open water on the creek, no need to chop ice anymore.

 

 

Birds singing spring songs. Pussy willows threatening to burst open as the first new sign of life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh, I know we will still have a couple of winters before we see green grass and a truly warm sun,

 

 

but in it all, and all the storms life throws my way, this little cowdog will find joy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even if I have to dig for it.   

 

 

 

                                      This is the day which the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                           Psalm 118:24

 

There Will Be Mud

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So much can change in a week! heavy snow a week ago, raining everyday now, and now we have mud – and plenty of it.

 

Two years ago, I was new to the north, and believed we’d had 86 seasons in the short few weeks I’d been here!

And I was right – same thing this year.

 

So today I’ll share again my observations and enjoyment of the current season.

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

I don’t remember the desert being quite so capricious in it’s weather.

 

There is an essentially new experience for me, in all its glory – there will be mud.

Now the desert I remember, certainly had its share of moods. The Sonoran desert is cold at night, but  blistering hot with the sun-up.  I had some pretty hot paws when I was lost!

 

And there was a lot less water.

 

 

 

 

So this mud season is something new.

 

Only a week ago, we had a major winter blizzard, and over 2 feet of snow here at the ranch. Mom got the 4-wheeler stuck, and had to walk to the barn for a couple of days until we got plowed out. Sometimes she didn’t even let me go along.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, I totally disagreed with that, since this is part of my job. But I’d get high-centered in the deep snow, just like the ATV!

 

So I stayed inside, and watched out the window to make sure she made it OK.

 

 

I do get vocal, growling and grumbling to let her know my dissatisfaction when human decisions overrule the Heeler in charge!

 

 

 

 

 

Now, in just a week, most of the snow melted again and we have serious mud. I find this odd form of dirt intriguing, annoying, inviting and terrifying.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So here is the good, the bad, and the ugly of mud, from a cowdog’s point of view.

 

 

The Good

 

I hear it is good for your skin, and does feel good between my toes. Until it dries there, of course, and I need it cleaned out – I hate that!

It captures the melting snow, slowing the run-off, saving the precious moisture in the ground.

 

 

 

 

 

It can be shaped, sculpted, stamped. I think we could make mud-puppies out of it!

 

It slows down everything, perhaps forcing its victims into taking notice of the burgeoning Spring.

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are rivulets of run-off – cold but good for wading, and lots of new smells!

 

 

 

The Bad

 

It clogs up boots, tires, hooves and paws.

It slows down everything, and something is going to get stuck.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It swallows up gravel, even from roads that have optimistically poured tons of rock down to keep away mud.

Around here, there are a lot of dirt roads, and this time of year, it is pretty generous to even call them roads.

 

 

Thaw the ground, add a little rain or snow, and it is all muck again.

 

 

Coats, pants, boots, gloves, fur coats and paws are constantly dirty, no matter what.

 

The Ugly

Getting stuck. At the very least, someone has to get out and turn in the hubs, or maybe dig or push.

 

 

 

Getting a boot sucked off. I made the mistake of laughing when this happened, but mom did not think it all that humorous.

If every mile is two in the winter, every mile is five in the mud season. It may be worse than that two feet of snow for passage.

 

 

 

 

We also have gumbo – a particularly slimy kind of earth, slicker than a hound’s tooth. While it is hilarious to watch someone try to walk in this stuff, it is in all ways an infuriating material.

 

While I’m not crazy about this dirty goo in my new world and avoid it when possible, but I will charge right through when I need to, like when I discovered whistle pigs down by the barn that needed chasing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But I notice that a week ago we were nearly snowed in, then it was gone. Then we have rain and more snow! I think this mud season won’t last forever either.

 

 

 

 

 

Time goes fast. This is a good season to relax on the porch, plan the garden, chew a good bone, dream about the long summer days. 

 

I saw a robin today. We’ve heard cranes.  I will watch little boys who love mud, and have a hundred ways to find joy in the jello soil.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We will have rain all week. Still, soon enough, the mud, too, will be gone.

 

I’m Out of Words

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We are almost to mid-May, and I’m bringing you news of another big blizzard this week!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now I’m a dog that loves snow, and the fresh stuff is great for rolling, cooling and cleaning, but

Even I am a little tired of it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is the cruel and wild vacillations that wear me out.

Sunday it was nearly 80 degrees, Monday it never hit 40, and snowed all day! 

 

 

 

I’m out of words!

 

 

The boss says we’re planting trees today – that should be a real pleasure – slipping and sliding, freezing fingers and paws under a few inches of snow, even as it melts in today’s sunny 70 degrees!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And this at the end of Be Kind to Animals Week!

 

Maybe I can find a patch of sun and dry ground, where I can lay to oversee the work.

Or I’ll direct from the porch.

 

 

What can I say but this:

 

 

Carry on!

A Good Friday and a Better Sunday

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                                                                                                                                                                                                 This post may contain affiliate links

 

A long time ago, there was a sad, hopeless Friday, that turned out to be a good Friday after all. And then there was a better Sunday.

 

This cowdog has been reflecting on Good Friday and Easter. Good Friday – it is a simple, pleasing  name to me. It sounds so pleasant from this side of the cross, but the day was anything but positive way back when it came into lasting importance. We still know it today because of the enormous price. Good Friday is the day when Jesus was known to have been crucified and died. That afternoon was the saddest time ever in history, before and since. The one who came as Messiah to save the world, hung on a cross, said “It is finished”, and died there between two thieves.

But it wasn’t over. He was buried in a tomb, wrapped in a hundred pounds of linen and spices, and enclosed by a massive boulder that weighed maybe 2 tons. But Sunday morning came, and his friends found the grave open and Jesus gone! And then they saw the risen Christ, and everything that had been foretold for centuries was proven true. The resurrection on Easter morning was the celebration of all time, giving people a way back to God and heaven. I don’t see how it could get better than that.

 

This cowdog thinks about the true reason for Easter on Good Friday afternoon, when the sun clouds over, and certainly on that bright Sunday morning at “sonrise”. Seems like we’ve slipped a long way from that, into a lot of candy and bunnies.

 

But this is also a celebration of Spring and the renewal of life. This year, the ranch is buried in a week of fresh snowfall. There was bare ground and new smells, teasing us all with the promise of gardening, green grass and warm sunshine.Until the heartless winter returned.

 

 

 

I would like to be getting tired of mud by now.

 

 

 

 

We won’t be doing a doggy egg hunt, I guarantee that, but a lot of people do celebrate with the family canines.

There is nothing wrong with another day to celebrate with dogs, I say. I like the idea of an Easter basket. And look, bunny cookies for me.

But remember, no chocolate bunnies for your favorite canine!

 

 

I helped Sprout dye eggs; they turned out so beautiful, and they were mostly brown eggs from our own hens.

 

 

 

Then we had fun throwing the used egg dye out on the snow after. It was so pretty!

 

 

Mom does not dress me up in ridiculous outfits. This cowdog would only chew them up – I think my beautiful speckled red, white and blue coat looks just fine.

 

But if anyone can pull off the look, count on a cowdog to rock it. What about this great idea?

Mom found this funny look for Easter.

It is too late to order an Easter outfit, thank goodness, but this is the season for raincoats

https://amzn.to/37ed01S

 

 

and life jackets, too:   https://amzn.to/3xuT3yv

 

 

 

 

I don’t like dressing, but I must stay it is nice to keep my coat dry. I don’t like mud in my paws at all, but I draw the line at wearing boots!

 

 

And while you’re at it, get ready for gardening with these handy tools.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course, Easter is about the risen Lord, not a basket, or eggs, or bunnies. It is a time to reflect and to celebrate.

 

Here is A Ladysmith List of my favorite ways to celebrate Easter:

  1. Go to church [I went to church accidently once, but that is a story for another day]
  2. Walk in the awakening country and enjoy Spring. Maybe this year, we’ll go sledding instead!
  3. Get together for a BBQ or Easter dinner [ I vote for Ham]
  4. Have an egg hunt [ limit the dogs – with our noses, we will find them all first]
  5. Have a picnic – again, maybe a snow party instead!
  6. Play fetch or Frisbie – or make snow angels!
  7. Go see an Easter Parade
  8. Reflect on Good Friday and Easter
  9. Remember the real reason to celebrate this day

 

 

 

Remember what the angel reported on that day: “He is not here, for He is risen!”