Slight Detour: Maintenance Week and Collie Love

It's fix-it week at the Lovestead.

Fix the watering system for the pastures and barn.

Fix the culvert situation in the driveway.

Fix one lawnmower and change oil in the 4-wheeler.

Estimate how much it will cost to fix the 1954 Ford tractor.

Fix Lily's feet, well, actually trim and put on new shoes. Same for Lefty.

So, we'll be seeing Garrett, Tony and John, all masters of their craft.

I'm just hoping that Tony doesn't show up at the same time as Garrett is digging up the driveway.

I've decided to wait until the new culvert is installed to call John.

In addition to their doing their thing, we'll keep moving forward with lawn, painting and garden work.

The weather will be perfect for all of the above.

My only complaint with the first week in May comes in the form of the onset of blood-sucking mosquitoes.

The first hint came Friday night when I could see them landing on the horses.

On Saturday morning, I figured their pickin's on their initial arrival must have been pretty sparse cuz they sure did love my hands as I stood by the road talking to Brian Wood.

By late yesterday afternoon, I could tell that the rest of the horde had arrived and settled in for their supper, namely Lefty and Lily.

Poor things were dotted with bites on both sides of their bodies when I led them up from the pasture.

The May mosquito usually means sudden work stoppages during the late afternoon and evening, as the nasty buggers relentlessly land, sting and suck.

Some people don't know enough to come in out of the rain, but I don't waste any time coming in out of the clouds of mosquitoes once they start eating.

Usually, they're pretty bad around here for a couple of weeks and then probably head off to greener pastures.

I'm looking forward for another set of bugs to arrive down the road in Taylor's field.

Last year I didn't even have to look down the road to see that the hives had been placed for another year.

I saw one honey bee, then a few more and instantly knew the bees were in the neighborhood.

This would be a great week for that to happen with all the blossoms bursting out on plum and apple trees.

In other news, Bill told me first thing this morning that Liam had had an accident last night.

First thing I thought of was vomit or dog logs.

"Where?" I asked.

"Outside," he said. That eliminated my first assumption.

Anyone who's ever owned a Border Collie knows that their speed can often be lightning fast.

Liam turns on the speed several times a day when he decides to play keep-away with Foster.

Bill was taking the dogs for their evening duty when Liam suddenly bolted, daring Foster to start the chase.

In the midst of his high-octane dash, he hit the corner of the garden fence rather than rounding it.

Bill said he hit hard.

By this part of the story, I began examining Liam, soon finding a significant inch-long gouge on the side of his head, down to the meat.

He seems okay, but I'll be keeping an eye on it, washing and maybe dousing it with peroxide to see that it doesn't get infected.

As with anyone, those three dogs are SO precious to us, and, as with human kids, it hurts when they hurt.

The other day, as we were talking about the springtime loveliness, Bill said, "Probably not all people agree, but there is nothing prettier than Border Collies on deep, green grass."

Amen!

Yesterday, one of my Facebook friends, Sarah from South Africa, whom I've never met but may some day, posted a video with an introductory comment suggesting that only if you've owned a Border Collie, can you truly understand the depth of love we feel toward these dogs.

I watched the video and found myself a bit teary, simply because I concur with Sarah and could feel the depth of passion between the dog and his owner.

So, I went looking for the video, found it and decided to post it today.

Border Collies on deep green grass, showing what Border Collies do and why we love them SO much.

Happy Monday. Hope you enjoy the video. Thanks to Sarah for sharing it.