Meet Merle!

merle

meet merle

Hi, after moving into our home my husband was ready to add to the family. Meet Merle!

Merle is a beautiful Blue Heeler. By far Merle is my favorite pet ever in my adult life. We have had many dogs over our married life- Kevin is a hunter; hunting dogs and yard dogs. It’s Merle who has captured a huge part of my heart. He’s supposed to be a yard dog. He joined our family when he was just 6 weeks old. He’s now 8 months old. His job is to assist my husband with the cattle. So eventually Merle will be assigned to the great outdoors- our 80 acre backyard.

This morning during our walk down to the pond, Merle was running circles around me. The above top image you will see him jumping over the cattle grid effortlessly. The pond is sectioned off to keep the cattle away from the cabin and pond deck.

merle pond

In the next coming weeks, Kevin will be training Merle to herd the cattle. He will be helping Kevin a lot, those bulls are quite big (1,000 lbs) and mean at times. Cows are not light weight either!

Take care.

Best Wishes,
debra

Oh My Dear!

oh my dear
Oh My Dear!

Hi, my dear was on his way to work when a young deer crossed his path. It wasn’t the deer’s day. I’m being silly I know, but rutting season is just around the corner. As you can see, my husband had a bad start to his day. After taking the images I was thinking of ways to avoid hitting a deer.

1. Pay attention to the deer marked crossing signs on the side of the road.
2. Slow down when you are in areas known for deer. Deer run in groups, so when you see one there’s usually another one or two near by.
3. Be cautious of the time of year and time of day. October – January is rutting season and the deer are on the move.
4. If you do see a deer, honk your horn. One long blast can scare the deer out of the road.
5. Should hitting a deer be unavoidable, don’t swerve. Apply your brakes and stay in your lane.

My hometown is approx. 20 miles north of Lawrence. I drive to Lawrence 5 or 6 times a week. Kansas City is where my husband drives 5 days of the week. Between the two of us, we are on the road lots! Our track record is for each car we own they will get hit at least once by a deer. I just can’t hit one in my new car! Well I’ve had it two years now- still new to me.

Be careful and be cautious when you see the deer crossing signs.

Best Wishes,
debra

Cattle Round Up!

Just the other day my husband, Kevin said- “I would like to retire when I’m 55”. These past couple of years Kevin has increased the herd size of his ladies (this is what he calls his cows- LOL). So this means Kevin will not be retiring, just working closer to home!

A couple of weeks ago we helped move some cattle to our pasture. There was six of us helping. The top image is just before the trailer gate was opened for the heifers to unload. After the unloading was complete, I saw Kevin at the railing watching the cattle. Rarely do I get pictures of him and I could not resist taking this shot. Even though it is of his backside, I like it. He’s watching his dream!

Moving Cattle
Moving Cattle