SNOW BEASTS

Posted on February 13, 2012 by BigFootClub

From where the house sits, during the winter we have a lovely view along the small road that crosses the creek, then rises and curves over a hill.  Any view that is snow-covered is charming, but the road is particularly visible, adding some contrast, along with the trees to the landscape.

This morning, the lovely little Newfoundland girl was joyous.  She must have been wondering what happened to the fun in winter, but today she got to experience her favorite form of winter joy:  Snow!

At every opportunity (every time the back door was opened), she went outside.  When I let them out for the second or third time, Parker walked off to take care of business, and Jade walked toward the view of the road.  She stood motionless, in the kind of stack that you try to reproduce during a show, with her head held high and her attention fully engaged with something ahead.  When I looked in the direction of her gaze from my view, through a window inside the house, a snow plow was coming toward us along the road, spraying a wave of snow toward the side as it plowed.  Jade told it very firmly to “Go away!”  The beast didn’t listen and continued down the road toward the house.  She continued to watch as it passed, trying to make sense of this situation.  In Jade’s mind, there is no doubt that a villain is a beast who takes away the snow!  <g>

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WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO MAKE SNOW?

Posted on February 13, 2012 by BigFootClub

Based on popular folklore, there are a number of ways to ensure that rain comes, but mainly this is by washing your car.  That didn’t work last spring and summer, so hay was scarce and unusually expensive.  Most farmers who had cattle sold enough cattle to get through the coming winter.  Now the coming winter has arrived and is half-way past.  Through December and January, the temperatures were warmer than usual, and the pastures continued to grow cool-season grass at a low rate.  Fresh grass through the winter has a lot of nutritional benefit for livestock, so the cattle fared well.

Eventually the “real” winter arrived.  Flowers that grow from bulbs had begun to sprout.  By the end of January, there were daffodils that were 6″ tall, and later last week, there were daffodils with flower buds near the front steps.  Worry surfaced about how the flowers would be affected when an inevitable freeze arrived.  I thought about cutting the ones with buds to let those open in a vase.  But, by then, I was acclimated enough to the mild weather to forget about the worry.  When the freeze arrived, and we had single digits, I thought about the buds the next morning.  I clipped the solidly frozen daffodil-cicles and brought those inside.

There was another night of single digits, and the forecast grew from wintery mix to an accumulation of up to 1/2″, and the night before the precipitation was to arrive, it was bumped up to 1″.  What that means to people who live in this area who have some familiarity with forecasts and snow is that we are likely to have significantly more than 1″ of accumulation.  It could be anywhere from 2-4″ to 8″, and occasionally even more.  Since human nature allows us to become easily overconfident, this knowledge keeps us sufficiently aware to be prepared.

So, if washing your car is the best way to make it rain the next day, what is the best way to make it snow?

Sell your Expedition!

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HAPPY 10TH BIRTHDAY

Posted on January 20, 2012 by BigFootClub

How fitting that it should be on a Friday!

My bud Parker is now officially 10 years old.  A guy who has been around that long probably has many stories to tell, and a cache of photos to document the history!

So, here is a short “bio” with photographic highlights:

This adventure began over Thanksgiving of 2001.

The Arrival came on Jan. 20, 2002.

The first few months we waited, and waited, and waited, trying to find the name that fit this new member of the Newfoundland clan.  In the interim, we called him “Little Big Stuff.”  His mentor (and Dad) didn’t wait around for a call name to begin the process of tutoring the youngster.  With much to learn for both of them, and all of us, and many adventures to take together, we began to follow the course that lay ahead.  Over the first couple of years, the newest member grew at a very steady but surprising rate.  As with most youngsters, his body grew faster than his ability to make wiser choices.  He seemed to think he was invincible, and that he could do anything that he believed he could do, if he only believed.  (and you thought that the Newfoundland in Peter Pan was Nana)  And, he liked to do everything at high speed!

The next couple of years beyond the approximation of physical maturity continued to be joyful, with not much indication of a change in the use of judicial thought over the initial wouldn’t-that-be-fun reaction.  With now four Newfoundlands, we bought a larger van, a Chevy 3500 Express, and our first tour in the new van was to the 2005 Specialty in Monterey, CA, where Parker met the ocean.  Never in his wildest dreams (and he had some pretty wild ideas) did he imagine that a body of water could be so vast that a Newfoundland could not see the other shore!  He could smell the excitement before he could even see the ocean!  With Greg holding onto him, and Greg is a pretty strong guy, Parker broke free three times.  Actually, he broke the collar once, and broke free twice.

We lost Parker’s dad that same year, and my big, bold, strong boy became a lot less confident for a while.  The adjustment was very hard, for all of us.  Parker began to find himself again, and continued to be the party-boy/entertainment provider for our group.  Where there was fun to be had, he was good at recognizing that.

Within the next couple of years, we lost Brit and Shelby.  Parker became an only child.  He seemed to enjoy the attention, but it was clear that something was missing.

Finally, the search for a new puppy brought Jade home on a plane.  She arrived to an ice storm in the Midwest, and she quickly became the apple of Parker’s eye.  (and he loves apples!)  At this point, he had to learn about puppy teeth from a different perspective, and he had to share his toys.  I asked him to teach her only the good things, which he mostly did, but I forgot about the learning from the other direction.  Jade taught Parker how to “shake the prey”, and she quickly dispelled any expectation about girls being delicate.  She fully submerged herself in being the center of attention, and she loved her new bud dearly and quickly followed his lead in most ways.  Parker seemed to take his job as role model and mentor very seriously.  He continued to teach Jade and others the importance of having fun, and he worked to instill some of his values in his young tutor:

“Life is short; enjoy the water.”
“Celebrate the good things in life.”
“Taste everything that you can.”
“Be patient and tolerant; humans sometimes require a lot of patience.”
“Take plenty of naps.”
“Be helpful.”
“Don’t pass an opportunity to get wet.”
“Find/Put the adventure in life.”
“Walk softly but carry a big Stick.”
and “Be a good example for others.”

Life is a present (and he loves to open presents).  First you get to be the youngster.  Then you grow up to be somebody else’s mentor.  You teach somebody else to open presents, play stick and go for a swim.

He continues to be the family cheerleader and keeps us aware of the important things to celebrate, like Fridays and other holidays, the invigorating nature of a bath, the kitchen, the togetherness time, the adventure of a road trip and the joy of meeting new people.

Happy Birthday Parker!

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WALK SOFTLY

Posted on January 20, 2012 by BigFootClub

But carry a Big Stick.

This story was written on 4/29/06.  I am posting it today in honor of Parker’s 10th Birthday, as this is one of his most memorable habits.

This part of the Ozarks has been very dry.  Grass in the pastures was already crisp under your feet.  Farmers were worried about hay availability and many had begun selling cattle, since the hay that would be available would be very expensive.  However, last Sunday it began raining.  This week, each day has begun an ordinary Ozarks spring morning, followed by an ordinary Ozarks spring evening.  One morning the mist across the valley was so thick that headlights on the road were only visible as they reached the creek near the house.  There is nothing ordinary about ordinary any more, so each day is to be appreciated fully.

Greg had gone to other parts of the farm on the tractor, and since he had been gone for a while, I became curious about what he was doing and whether all of the cows were where they were supposed to be.  Parker wanted to go out with me, so we took a walk down the hill toward the bottomland.  I stopped to replant some flax that was growing outside of the planter, an old watering tank.  As we proceeded along the road, I held my breath a few times as he stepped, just barely missing a big wet pile of cow poop, not fresh, but thoroughly wet from all of the rain.  I wasn’t planning to give a bath this morning.

It has been a long time since there has been water in the creek, even enough for wading.  After at least 3 inches of rain this week, the spring pool had a bounty.  Parker waded in, of course, without hesitating.  He enjoyed getting his feet wet and went from one end to the other.  There were some limbs from a nearby tree that had accumulated in the pool while it was dry, and one of those was a source of joy to Parker as he hauled it proudly onto the bank below the large Sycamore tree.  It was a Big Stick, and navigating it up along the bank among the other limbs was quite an accomplishment.  That felt so good that he went back in immediately and brought up another.  I heard the tractor approaching and knew that there would be a swarm of cows and calves around it, so I urged Parker to come with me back toward the house.  He wasn’t ready yet.  He went back in again and searched with his head under water a few times, then came up with a Really Big Stick.  This one was big in diameter as well as long.  Greg must have seen me with Parker and slowed the tractor, although the cows had decided to remain behind.  Parker had a good grip on his new Stick and came along with ease, carrying it all the way up the hill and into the yard.  He didn’t set it down until he reached his favorite spot in the yard, where he laid down with it underneath him and proceeded to chew on his Stick.  His expression clearly demonstrated the value of his new acquisition.  It was so large that he could barely get his mouth on it.  What a Prize Stick!

The fun spoiler was only a few steps behind, saying “Play with it but don’t eat it.”  Greg had parked the tractor and was walking toward us.  We sat in the swing for a while and visited while Parker sat close to us, in his favorite position, directly in front of me.  The swing can’t swing when he parks himself there, but it was a nice time to enjoy each other’s company.

Greg decided to remove the new sprouts from where a Kentucky Coffee Bean tree had been cut down.  Those trees are survivalists.  This time, he applied Tordon RTU to the area where the newly emerging trees were cut.  It is in an area where the dogs and horses don’t have access.  We sat on the concrete platform by the old barn while Greg cut the trees.  I had a bottle of apple juice, or as Parker prefers to think of it, a toy in the making.  I could bait this dog so well with an apple juice bottle.  He laid next to me, almost patiently waiting for me to finish my drink, rather, empty the bottle.  Roadway came over, seeing an empty lap in need of a cat.  All empty laps are in need of a cat, first cat, first serve.  The bay horses were grazing nearby, and the normally white (grey) Arabian mare decided to enjoy a roll in the mud.  She looks like a grey and white paint horse now.  The birds were very busy and happy.  Roadway decided to lie on the concrete and stretch his belly to get the full warmth of the sun.  Midnight watched from his pasture across the barnyard.

Today is a lovely day in the Ozarks.

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