Rolling Dog Farm Blog

There isn't much left to eat in the way of fresh grass now in the horse paddocks, so we've been taking the horses some hay during their daytime turn-outs. One day last week, though, they apparently had plenty to eat, because I found blind Rosie keeled over, sound asleep, on her pile of hay. Blind Nikki behind her is resting on her pile and about to go over for a nap as well. I've heard of "sleeping off" a big meal, but … actually sleeping on it?

I looked out of the house the other day and saw our barn cat Smoke perched on the side of a stock tank, lapping at the water. Now, this is the kind of thing barn cats do that can give you a heart attack, because your immediate thought is, oh my, what if he falls in? Smoke is definitely what I would call a "professional" at the barn cat business, having been with us for almost twelve years now and having flourished at both the Montana ranch and here at the New Hampshire farm. He's a smart boy, has never been hurt, and generally always has his wits about him.

Notice how he's propped on the edge of the tank, balanced so most of his weight is on the rim or below on the other side. He's hooked his back legs around the edge to hold himself secure. I can't remember seeing him do this before, but obviously if he has, he's learned how to do it safely. Well, as safely as he can, I suppose!

Nevertheless, the barn cat daddy in me had me running outside to shoo him away, though not before grabbing the camera on the way!

Now, he has access to plenty of water around the farm, including a bowl of fresh water at his feeding station in the barn (which I had just refilled, along with the food bowl, the previous evening), not to mention the pond, puddles, goat buckets and more. But we've seen our cats always seem to enjoy getting water in unusual ways over the years, and this was another.

Here's the look I got when he heard me yelling at him:

"Who, me?"

And then, deciding to appease the barn cat daddy, he jumped down and walked off rather nonchalantly:

Since then the tanks have been emptied, and next year we'll add some "ladders" made out of metal mesh so he and the others can climb out if they do manage to go overboard.

Yes, our little old lady Madison is on the cover of this issue, though as you'll read in her story, that photo was from a couple of years ago when I brought her with me on my first trip to the farm in New Hampshire. She's no longer able to roll like that now — her bones are just a little too stiff for that sort of thing!

The newsletter was mailed to our donors in the past couple of weeks, and has generated a very nice response so far.  

Now, every time I post one of these print newsletters, someone (or two or three) inevitably asks why we don't just do electronic newsletters, "save a tree," etc. The answer is because e-newsletters are simply not very effective at generating donations compared to print newsletters. Yes, many people donate online, but it's usually a print piece that motivates them to do so. If we had to rely on e-newsletters to raise funds, we'd have to close our doors. So print newsletters remain the mainstay of most nonprofits' fundraising efforts. People can hold them, save them, set them aside to look at later … and set them aside to make a donation the next weekend. That sort of thing. They're tangible and have a much longer "shelf-life."

Speaking of newsletters, thanks for all the suggestions about making Wilbur and Bugsy a joint cover. However, I'm here to report that the editor is going to pick one little fella for the cover and go with it!

I mentioned in a blog post just a couple of weeks ago how our resident wild turkeys have made themselves at home on the farm, wandering everywhere, including right around the dog yards. Well, the other day Alayne looked out the window and saw a turkey inside the dog yard at the front of the house. Not one dog paid any attention, let alone gave chase. The rest of the flock was just off to the left of that photo, underneath the apple trees next to the dog yard.

This one turkey must have decided there might be something worth pecking at on the other side of the fence, so over it she flew. After cruising back and forth along the fence line, it looked like she might be having second thoughts about where she landed. We could tell some of the other turkeys were calling to her, and we imagined they were saying something like, "Gladys, are you crazy? What are you doing in there?"

And  a close-up of one of those beautiful stands of trees:

(Click on photo for a larger image.)

We've joked in past years about the "barbarians at the gate," and yes, the gate is still up and the cast of characters — though changing a bit over time — is still very much there. The intent, as always, is to get to our meals. In the photo above, that's Dexter on the left, Widget, Wilbur and Holly. This was a partial crowd gathered for lunch. 

This next shot was taken a few days later early on a Sunday morning:

The lunch group from the earlier photo had been joined by blind Madison and blind Sophie. (Holly was on a living room chair, watching from a distance.) They had gathered at the gate hoping for a pancake breakfast, which they heard was being served at a nearby dining table.