Another Fabulous Disaster

The babies are angry!

2011-10-31T12:15:00.000-07:00

One of our family projects is raising bottle calves. My daughter loves it, we make a little money, everyone is happy. Usually. When new babies come in, they get two bottles a day, and they eat grain. As they get older we cut them back to one bottle, and then cut them off completely. This morning seven of the fifteen calves didn't get the morning bottle they are used to and we had a minor rebellion. Calves can throw hissy fits to rival any toddler. Bottle calves are seriously lacking in respect of personal space. They have no problem crowding around, stepping on toes, and ramming you in the rear with their cute little fuzzy heads. As I was walking back to the barn with the empty bottles, I swear every other step I was violated by a calf. I hope they forgive me soon

Klink the Wonder Dog

2011-10-20T17:18:00.000-07:00

I first met Klink in a Wal-Mart parking lot. A tiny little Hispanic man had a box full of puppies and a sign that said $25. I didn’t need a puppy, and I really didn’t want the extra responsibility at the time. I had a toddler, and my marriage was pretty shaky at the time. Then an incredibly chubby little fur ball jumped up on the edge of the box, and toppled the whole thing over. When he stopped rolling, puppies were scattered all over, and he was laying at my feet. My daughter turned on her best begging skills. It turns out that I am just a big softy, and Klink came home with us.

I took our new puppy to the vet the next day and received a big surprise. The vet looked Klink over and gave him a clean bill of health. He then asked if I knew what breed he was. I had no idea, I thought he probably had some German Shepherd in the mix. Imagine my surprise when Dr. Haworth told me that Klink was a wolf hybrid. The good doctor knew the little Hispanic man, and had just given Klink his shots a week before. I’m ashamed to say that my first reaction was of fear. I just knew that our sweet little butterball was going to grow up into a viscous animal. I asked the vet to find him a new home. Dr. Haworth told me that I should really give our puppy a chance. We were already deeply in love with Klink, so I did just that.

I went home and told my husband what I had learned. He was thrilled to find out that we had a wolf in our house. I went to the internet and spent hours researching wolf hybrids. I educated myself on the special needs Klink would have, and the special challenges we would face with him. He is by far the most intelligent dog we have ever owned, but he is also extremely stubborn. He can pick up a trick in no time, but no amount of begging or treats will convince him to try it if he is not in the mood. He picked up on house training right away, but anytime my sister brought her dog over, Klink would pee on her dog bed.

I really got the puppy for my daughter, but it became very clear that Klink was my dog. He adores my little girl, and he is very protective of her. Klink will put himself between my daughter and anything he deems dangerous, and will herd her in the other direction. One day I took them both to the lake, and Klink stood between her and the waves, as if he was afraid she was going to get hurt. But when he felt like he was off duty, he was by my side. At night he sleeps right beside my bed so that I can reach down and pet him. At one year old, Klink weighed 120 pounds. He has put on a little more height since than. The problem is that he thinks he is a lap dog. He starts out sitting beside me on the couch, but slowly snuggles closer and closer until he is on top of me.

While we have known all along how special Klink is, my neighbors were not so convinced. He does have a habit of serenading the neighbors at night with his deep wolf howl, and when he smiles at you, it does look a bit scary. Recently, Klink showed everyone just how wonderful he is. A new family moved in across the street, a very busy single mother, and her five young children. The mother had to rely on babysitters to watch the children at night while she worked. One night around 11 PM Klink was involved in one of his favorite past times, sitting on the couch looking out the window at the street. Suddenly he started barking loudly at the window, and then ran to the door asking to be let out. I took him outside, and he ran straight for the street. Our neighbor’s three year old had let himself out of the house and was sitting at the edge of the street. Klink started herding the little boy back into his yard. We called his mother and she came immediately. Our neighbor is terrified of large dogs, but she walked up and gave Klink a huge hug. Our dog is no Lassie, he didn’t find Timmy in the well. But he is still very special to us, and seems to enjoy being called Klink the Wonder Dog.

We went to the rodeo last night

2009-07-31T10:51:00.000-07:00

I hadn't been to a rodeo in probably 10 years, but I thought Miss Priss would love it. She did. My husband had no interest in going, so we went with my sister and his mother. My favorite part was the Native American dancer. He was probably 10 years old, and he put on quite a show. He did the hoop dance, dancing with rings in the center of a circle of fire. My daughter loved all of it! She wants to be a bull rider/calf roper/bulldogger/barrel racer when she grows up.

Every day is a holiday

2009-04-07T13:25:00.000-07:00

My child can turn any day into a holiday. Last night she walked into her room and saw me changing the sheets on her bed. She LOVES clean sheets! If it was up to her she would have fresh sheets every night. LOL When she saw what I was doing, she ran into the living room to her daddy. "Daddy do you know what today is? It's clean sheet day! Happy clean sheet day Daddy!" She is a funny little girl!

My daughter is amazing

2009-03-25T20:26:00.000-07:00

Even when I am having the worst day, she can cheer me up. Today we were driving home and she started to tell me a story. "Mommy, do you know that I have a monster? He is really big, and he goes under the ground and takes you anywhere you want to go. And you ride in his mouth. But you don't sit down, you stand on his tongue. Did you know that? And you take off your shoes so your feet don't hurt him." It was adorable. I had to call her Daddy so she could tell him the story. Her imagination amazes me. I am so incredibly proud of my little girl.

I just did something stupid

2009-01-26T09:53:00.000-08:00

We have an ice storm moving in, but I really needed to run into town for a couple of things I forgot just in case we loose power. We hadn't gotten any precip yet when I left the house, but before we made it to town five miles away, the roads were getting slick. I didn't even go all the way into town. We turned around and headed home. I knew better than to go out, but convinced myself I could beat the storm. Not a smart move.

I am so worried about Wade today. He drives a truck, and is still 150 miles from home. His company is really good about not sending them out when the roads are bad, unless there is something that just has to be done. I'll be anxious until he pulls into the yard.

Living in BFE

2009-01-13T13:16:00.000-08:00

I love that I live in a town of about 60 people. I love that I know every single person within a 5 mile radius of my house. What I don't love is having to drive to three different towns to get a prescription. My husband went to our doctor this morning in a town about 30 miles away. He didn't have time to go get his prescription, so I offered to do it. I drove the closest town, about 10 minutes away, and the pharmacy didn't carry what he needed. I had to drive an hour in the other direction to go get his medicine. It has been a frustrating day.

My brother is home!

2008-11-23T20:30:00.000-08:00

I love having all of the family together. My brother is in the Air Force, and he only gets to come home a couple of times a year. Chey loves having her two cousins to play with. This time Justin brought his brother in law and his girlfriend and son. They fit in just like part of our family.

I am tired of painting

2008-11-13T09:35:00.000-08:00

When we bought this house, we knew that it had to be painted. I was excited about how good it would look when we finished. I just expected a little help to get it done. And I can't even be mad at my husband for not helping. Between work, and recovering from his wreck he just hasn't been able to. I guess I need to just suck it up and finish so I can move on to another project.