Fuzzy Blogging on Friday–Mom Cooks Outside

Posted on June 24, 2011 by Dayphoto

The moment Mom comes outside and lights the grill I know good smells are going to be coming forth soon.

Boomer gets really excited when the grill gets lit he says in his former life he always—A.L.W.A.Y.S. got to have some of whatever was being cooked on the grill.

That doesn’t happen here.

Dad would be upset if Mom cooked our dinner on the grill.

Mom would probably do it if we begged really hard, but she says she doesn’t know how to make canned dog food burgers.

Once the grill gets to going Boomer steps right up and goes and sits right next to the grill. He pokes his nose up high in the air to catch as much of the smells as he possibly can. He looks sort of stupid, but hey, each to their own.

I mosey on over to the patio rocking chair and set myself down behind the chair. That puts the chair and Boomer between me and the grill. Boomer says I should move in closer just in case someone trips and drops a steak or something.

I’ve found out if you sit too close to the grill you will get yelled at —like—“Get Out of THE WAY! Move! MOVE! You are going to trip someone!” You know stuff like that. I don’t like to be yelled at, tell me once that’s enough.

Mom came out and put the meat on the grill…but only after telling Boomer “Move Boom, you are in the way and going to get burned.”

See, what did I tell you?

Boomer moved back to the rocking chair, now we were both sitting by the rocking chair.

Mom put on the meat and cloud of white lovely smoke filled the air with fumes of such delicious proportions that both Boomer and I started to drool. Mesquite smoke and grilling meat. Yummm! Sniff! Sniff! Slurpppppppppp!

Our mouths began to water and our ears perked right up as the meat sizzled and popped over the glowing coals.

Boomer whispered to me that he thought we ought to rush the grill and see if we can grab us a hunk of meat or two. I sure gave the thought a serious consideration for several minutes.

But Mom is very suspicious of begging dogs; she always has a watchful eye on us just in case we want to poach a hunk of meat or so.

Boomer thumped his tail on the ground and gave her his most sincere look. He had to work at not looking like he was begging but just really interested in what she was doing. I had to look away, Mom would know what I was up to and besides I only have a short stump of a tail so I can’t whack it on the ground.

Then everyone was there, handing their plates over to Mom walking around laughing and talking, I told Boomer we had better get out of here or we are going to get yelled at.

Boomer said he wanted to stay a little yelling never hurt anyone.

I headed over to my dog house, I know if I’m suppose to get something Mom will bring it over and scrape it out in my dish. I do NOT like getting yelled at!

Suddenly there was a sort of cash sound, the tickle of silverware falling and a little child crying.

I looked for Boomer just sure as anything that he was right in the midst of the mess. But he wasn’t.

He has slipped way over to the other side of the patio and was just laying there watching everything.

Then I heard Mom saying about not a problem there is lots more.

I waited.

Boomer walked over to where I was waiting.

Then Mom showed up with the spilled food, scraped it out in our dishes.

We too got to go to the cook out.

Fuzzy

Delta County Water

Fuzzy Blogging on Friday ——-Coyotes!

Posted on June 17, 2011 by Dayphoto

Boomer and I were down on the equipment hill, the other night. We were scouting around looking for anything of interest. Dad goes out around mid-night to change water so we like to go with him.

It was a moon-lite night, with a big old huge round moon hanging in the sky almost over-head. We left Dad picking up and moving dams and trotted on over to equipment area. My eyesight isn’t as good as it used to be, I have dark areas where I can’t see anymore. The vet said there were cats a racks growing on my eyes. There had better NOT be cats on racks in my eyes…grrrrrrrrr, growl!

Anyway, because it’s a little hard to see I decided that I didn’t want to chase bubbles in the ditches, Boomer wanted to smell what he could and I knew there were rabbits and squirrels living over there so off we went.

Things were going on pretty well…we found lots of cool odors out there, saw that the bunny family had made a home in Dad’s roller (they were too far in for us to get a good look at them), found that the squirrel family was hanging out in the leveler, and that about 40 million mice had scampered all over the place.

We didn’t bark or anything like that…barking with Dad always gets us yelled at “FUZZY!! Boomer!!! That is enough! You Dogs don’t need to be barking!” So we don’t!

We were having a really great time when suddenly over the hill 6 coyotes came running right at us! They were between us and Dad! We didn’t have any warning; they were just there lean, dark, shaggy and mean looking. Quickly I grabbed Boomer by the collar and drug him behind the stack wagon. I whispered to Boom that we needed to get to Dad fast and asked him if he could see Dad.

Boomer whispered back that he could see and hear Dad but Dad was busy picking up the tubes and setting them down so Dad didn’t know the coyotes were close by.

The coyotes started milling around sniffing the ground, I hoped not for us. Boom and I waited; it seemed like forever, Dad was still busy. The coyotes started catching the mice, we could hear the snap and the crunch as they ate their dinner, then they started yipping to each other. “I have some, come over here, this is the nest of about twenty…yip! Yip! Yip! Loud they were.

When they started that Boomer and I made a dash for Dad…we didn’t want to be the rest of their dinner!

Whew! We made it just as Dad started up the four-wheeler heading for home. I don’t run like I used to either, but Dad came by and picked me up. As he was picking me up I looked over where the coyotes were … they had vanished.

Good.

Dad said it was a good thing we dogs were close by or we could have been coyote food. I don’t think he realized how far away from him we really were.

Boomer told me later that he was really scared…those animals are big and snarly and wild.

Whew.

He is right.

Fuzzy

Delta’s Country Doctor

Fuzzy Blogging on Friday (Really This is Boomer)

Posted on June 10, 2011 by Dayphoto

Fuzzy Disappears

Yesterday was really hot, so hot Fuzzy and I did anything we could to cool off. First we went down to the canal and tried wading in the water, but it was running way too fast so that didn’t work.

While we were there Fuzzy told me about the time he fell into the canal and couldn’t get out until he got to the next head gate a mile away. He kept thinking Mom would come get him out, but she didn’t.

I guess, how it happened, Fuzzy hadn’t been living with Mom and Dad very long maybe a month or so, not a full two months yet so he was getting use to all the ‘stuff’ around the farm.

Fuzzy loves water and he loves bubbles in the water. The canal is water (huge, rip snorting, fast moving, and thundering water) and the water makes lots of bubbles as it crashes along.

Fuzzy was down at the little slide spot where we all get a drink of water staring transfixed at the bubbles when suddenly a river monster jumped up and pulled him into the canal and tossed and turned him every which way. Many times he tried to swim but the current was way too strong for his 30 pound body.

Mom was working in the yard when she missed him and started calling for him. She told Fuzzy later she looked everywhere for him, but she never even considered that he had fallen in the canal.

Anyway, Fuzzy said he was swept along so fast he had a heck of a time getting his balance when suddenly he was pushed into Shay’s head gate. And that is what saved his life. Once in the head gate he could get his feet under him and climb out. Fuzzy laid there for some time then got up, got his bearings and started walking home. He got there in time for supper. Mom knew immediately what must have happened because Fuzzy was still wet (although not AS wet) and he was exhausted.

Fuzzy said he got lots and lots of petting’s that night and even got to sleep INSIDE!

So here we are on this miserable hot day, the canal was too scary to cool off in, Dad gets upset if we lay in the furrows out in the field and Mom comes unwound if we dig nice cooling holes someplace in her yard.

So we just sat outside on the back step and panted. Our tongues hanging so far out of our mouths we must have looked like old shoes.

Dad felt sorry for us and asked Mom if she and the dogs would like to go for a ride down to the river.

Yippee!

We are going to the river! Fuzzy and I LOVE the river. There is a really cool, shallow spot where we can swim and shade all around, and best of all there are really neat smells down there.

Golly geez the ride down to the river is just wonderful…so much news on the wind I feel like I’m in heaven. Fuzzy and I keep trading sides just so we don’t miss anything.

Once down at the river we all splashed and played for ever so long. Then Mom wanted to take a walk so we all walked on down the road and up the draw to see where Davis cows traveled up to the White Ranch and then on to the Plateau.

The whole experience was delightful!

Suddenly I realized Fuzzy wasn’t with us. I tried to tell Mom. I got a real worried look on my face, wrinkled up my brow, whined a little bit and ran around in circles sniffing the ground. I sat down and tried to beg a little, then got up and wagged my tail end in a sort of sad drooping way.

Mom just said “Come on Boomer, we have to get back to the truck it’s almost time to change water again.”

That really upset me….”Where was Fuzzy, we couldn’t go without Fuzzy!” I whined and squeaked and really tried to tell them I was worried about my wonderful old friend.
Mom said “Come on.” Sadly I did. The walk back was horrible. I would stop off and on and bay —hoping Fuzzy would hear us and come running.

I tried to bay really, really loud because Fuzzy is losing his hearing and doesn’t always know even when the Mail Man comes.

The whole way back was agony. I was so afraid Fuzzy was going to become bear bait I could hardly go back I wanted to go look for him.

After awhile we made it back to the pickup. Mom told me to get in the back. I couldn’t even jump in I was so sad. She had to pick me up and put me in. I jumped right back out. Then she grabbed me and tied me in.

Blackness just descended…I didn’t know where Fuzzy was and now no one was going to look for him.

It was horrible.

Then I heard Dad say: “Jump in Fuzzy, you should be cool enough now after your swim and you nap under the truck.”

Fuzzy was found!

He was never lost!

He was just sleeping under the truck.

I was so happy I howled with joy when Fuzzy jumped into the back of the truck.

Mom laughed and untied me and I kissed Fuzzy all over the face!

Boomer

Fuzzy Blogging on Friday

Posted on May 27, 2011 by Dayphoto

Boomer and Hank Find a Badger

Youngsters sure know how to get in trouble, yep they do. I’m really glad I’m not a kid anymore; some of those lessons young whelps have to learn are just hard.

And the one Boomer and Hank learned is one I never had to learn, ever. Maybe it helps that I have always been an outside dog with an important job to do. I was born and raised a cow dog, I’ve seen lots of things over my years, and some lessons I just didn’t learn b.e.c.a.u.s.e. I used my ol head.

Well, we were all at the upper end, Mom-mom and Hank, me and Boomer and Mom and Dad. We were setting the water for the day, no wait a minute for the first four hours of the day. (That is why the little kids weren’t with us—6:00 in the morning is just way too early for those little mites).

Anyway, we were all up there, I was hanging around the ditch because I well, I like the water. I like to bite at the bubbles in the water and I like to get in the water and splash about. Boomer and Hank had trotted off to the pasture and then I saw them sniffing along moving into the brush on top of the hill.

Wait! I’ll let Boomer tell the story—

Well, you see, we were just sniffing along, well actually I was sniffing along, that is how I travel sniffing along seeing what is there and what has been there, Hank he likes to look about. We work well together I’m the nose and he is the eyes. Anyway, we were moving along when all of a sudden we came up on a flat, black sort of skunk-like animal. Geez, neither Hank nor I had ever seen such an animal before. It really didn’t look like anything normal. Hank said it didn’t look like a skunk and he said it didn’t smell like a skunk. I haven’t seen a skunk so I took Hank’s word for it.

Right off we both, decided the best thing to do was set up a bark….maybe Fuzzy would come over and tell us what this was and what to do about it. We started barking as loud as we could WOOF! WOOF! WOOF! BARK! BARK! HOOOOOOOOOW!

Fuzzy didn’t come, neither did Mom or Dad.

We decided maybe we would stop barking and just go on down the hill and see what animal this was. Throughout our furious barking the animal didn’t even move just kept on digging at whatever it was digging at.

“Shall we go find out what it is?” asked Hank.

I agreed and off we ran to the bottom of the hill and screeched to a stop right where the busy not-skunk was working.

“Hey You” Hank called “What are you and what are you doing?”

The not-skunk stopped his work and looked at us; suddenly he showed us his very sharp little white teeth and growled.

WHEW! That was startling. Hank jumped back with a squeak and I backed up hurriedly because I was just about to put my nose on him and give a good sniff.

“I’m a badger” he growled.

Suddenly the badger turned around and took off running as fast as his legs could go.

We learned that Badgers can run real fast.

Both Hank and I filled our lungs with fresh air and gave the Badger a huge blast of barking. I was hoping Fuzzy would hear and come, I forget that Fuzzy doesn’t hear very well, still I was hoping.

We broke into a trot, barking and baying as we followed. Then the badger was gone.

Just gone.

I had to start sniffing and snuffling along until I caught his scent then I followed him to a hole in the ground.

Hank took over at that point, he started digging and pawing at the hole cause he wanted to see where the little guy lived. Dirt was flying everywhere. Sometimes so thick I couldn’t even see Hank.

Suddenly the badger appeared and grabbed Hank’s ears with both of his paws and started pulling Hank’s head down toward his mouth. That badger was so mad he was hissing (did you know badgers can hiss, well they can, and they can also get really mad. REALLY MAD!).

That badger threw both Hank and I into Panic Overload, we both hit reverse and starting throwing up dirt in an effort to get away. I looked back once and that flat little stubby legged monster was still coming after us. We both yelped and ran all the way back to Fuzzy and our people. Scared the living tar out of both of us!

As we tore our way out of the sage and Chico brush (Hank was leading the way) I decided that I wasn’t going to ever mess around with a badger ever again. I was running so fast I ran right into Mom, she didn’t laugh either. Dad said for Mom-mom and Mom to go up the hill and see what scared the dogs so bad.

When they got back they told Dad there was a rather big, mad badger up there digging out a hole so they figured us dogs must have stirred it up.

Thats when Fuzzy told me badgers don’t truck being messed with, ever.

I told Fuzzy I don’t think I have EVER seen anything with such LONG claws, Hank he just shivered and hung right by Mom-moms side until Mom-mom said: “Move. Hank! I can’t even bend over to get a siphon tube.”