Yello!

I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me they are the role model for being alive. ~Gilda Radner

Our farm dog recently had an unfortunate injury to his paw that led us to make a sort of funny analogy. Nearly two weeks ago, Turner – our Border Collie/German Shepard mixed farm dog – somehow managed to cut the pad on his front left paw on some ice or something around the farm. He is Francis’ right hand man, helping to guard the cattle from going out the gate when Francis feeds them and just making sure all the animals stay in their rightful places around the farm. We consulted the vet and were advised that stitches probably would not successfully help the cut to heal, but rather the foot should be bandaged to help Turner remember to stay off it and let the wound heal itself. So Francis played doctor and fixed Turner up with a bandage covered by a sock and wrapped with heavy tape. Turner has been slowed somewhat but is getting around pretty good using only three legs. Much of the time, though, he has taken to staying on our back porch resting in warmer surroundings. Although his bandage has been removed, it still is tender enough that he avoids walking on it. Yesterday, Francis and Jesse were out in the pickup tending to a cow that was having problems calving. On their way back to the farm they decided to buzz on by in the pickup down to the sandpit to check things out there. Turner’s habit (when he’s well) is to follow the pickup when it goes south because that usually means Francis is checking on cattle or doing something that Turner can help with. Soon after the guys got to the sandpit (about 1/2 mile from our farm) they were surprised to see that Turner had followed them, running on his three legs, just so he could be there with them in case they needed his help. When Francis told me this story, I had to admire Turner’s love and devotion to think that he would want to be there so badly he would run so far, all hobbled by his injury. I asked Francis if he was on crutches and saw me driving by… would he also run 1/2 mile in such a condition just to be with me or to see if I needed his help??? 🙂 I guess you probably know what the answer was! So when you hear the saying about a dog being a man’s best friend… you know, it’s probably true!

Christmas, my child, is love in action. … Every time we love, every time we give, it’s Christmas. ~Dale Evans Rogers

Christmas has come and gone at our house with much anticipated cards and letters from friends and family, the usual good food to eat and holiday gatherings. I surprised some with unexpected gifts and was surprised with some pretty cool gifts too. It’s been great having the kids home for various lengths of time over the holidays. We had a white Christmas and continue to get a bit more snow about every other day. If it warmed up enough to take the bike out that would be OK with me, but I don’t expect that to happen anytime soon. I took a couple of cute pictures of the animals over the holidays – Mika, as “Santa Paws”, in the Mrs. Claus outfit that Kalie got her and Jenna’s kitten, Boots, as he snuggled up under the Christmas tree. The stockings photo shows the Christmas stockings I made for the newlyweds and their pets. Merry Christmas to everyone and Happy New Year too!