Tag Archives: farm dogs

Spring is for Working in the Dirt

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We’ve been busy planting, planting, planting around here since the weather improved. The crew’s gardening skills have really taken off this year and they’ve been doing a lot of independent work. It’s a new stage for us when they can manage the tools and plants with little or no supervision. We prepped the trellis fence line for beans and peas and set the seed potatoes out to callous. They should be ready to go in with the onions, beans, and peas later this week–as long as the rain hold off … Continue Reading…

Life with the Red Head…the Cattle Dog Crew

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It turns out cattle dogs have a thing for sharing coffee on the porch! Remember Coal’s adventures at the porch table? Turns out we’ve got another one! I found Red at the table waiting for me this morning while I was making my coffee, all muddy and wet and impressed with herself. Cattle dogs keep life interesting. They’re big time outdoor enthusiasts, so there’s no limit to the muck and mud they’re glad to track through the house. No limit to the wildlife they will chase, dig up, or eat. Remember … Continue Reading…

Farm Work Odds and Ends…the Daily Farm Adventures {119}

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Well, it’s pretty soggy around here. That limits what we can do outside. You can cause a lot of damage to fields and paths by driving through and rutting them up in really wet weather. You can see what I mean in those ruts in the picture below… But there’s still always something to be working on. First, there’s always housework to be done–and these soggy days can multiply that with everyone’s muddy boots and clothes! There’s a constant balancing act on the homestead between the basic housework and home … Continue Reading…

Red’s First Snow…Life with Coal the Cattle Dog

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“Life with Coal the Cattle Dog“…Hmmm…might have to update that somehow now that Red’s with us too. And she certainly doesn’t tolerate being ignored! Maybe “Life with Cattle Dog Chaos!” {smile} Since she’s been with us, we’ve had a false-alarm hurricane, and a for-real Nor’eastern with 3 days of downpours, but this past week was her first really cold snap. The snow started on Saturday and I was the first one up and moving around. Not the normal turn of events around here, but the kiddos have been staying up … Continue Reading…

Another Four Paws…the Daily Farm Adventures {115}

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You know what they say…”Cattle dogs are like chips, you can’t have just one!” So, THIS happened over the weekend… Let’s just skip the hows and whys and get right to the puppy breath, because this face… We named her Red. (Creative, I know.) The kiddos love the name and hated everything else I suggested. She’s a purebred cattle dog, just like Coal. But she’s the red color, where he is considered “blue.” She’s actually a color mix, being mostly red, but some blue that makes her mask and spots … Continue Reading…

Washing the Dogs…the Daily Farm Adventures {114}

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Our dogs live in the house with us. That means they both have to be reasonably clean and neat and not smell like they rolled in dead animal or cow patties on a regular basis. It’s been known to present it’s own set of challenges. {smile} Both the four-feets were pretty wiffy after a walk the other day, and I traced it back to some very stiff, suspiciously smelly sections of their neck and chest. If you’ve ever seen a dog roll intentionally in a pile of mess, you know … Continue Reading…

Cattle Dogs, Sink Holes, and Sunny Weather…the Daily Farm Adventures {107}

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A cattle dog is like velcro to their owner. This is Coal’s favorite place to end the day, laying with me while I read a book in bed… The problem comes when he spends the whole afternoon before that like this… Turns out he’s a big fan of swimming in sink holes. And drainage ditches. And storm ponds. A sheep troughs. And if I complain that’s he’s stinkin’, wet, and dirty, he likes to clean up by rolling in…dirt. With the best of intentions, I’m sure. So I try to … Continue Reading…

Cattle Dog in the Hay…the Daily Farm Adventures {93}

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Ok, Coal the Cattle Dog gets into everything. Why? Because he’ll jump over or climb up anything. Point in case… Mr. Fix-It loves to point out that this is totally and completely my own fault, since I taught him to jump up and over and walk on anything–on command–as a puppy. And now that he’s a great big 1 year old, he pretty much doesn’t hesitate to take on climbing anything. I taught him to jump up on stumps and well covers, over tree branches, and to walk along logs, … Continue Reading…

Summer is Winding Down…

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I know everyone is in back-to-school mode. We don’t go back until the day after Labor Day, so we’re fighting that a little bit. We did get all our school supply shopping done (except for earbuds, I didn’t find earbuds on sale anywhere) and I’m starting to stock up on lunch supplies and snacks for the first few weeks. But otherwise, we are not going into full-school-prep yet. To underline that, our kiddos have been packing up and heading out on “adventures” every day with the dogs. No explanation of … Continue Reading…

Wet Grass, Wet Dogs…the Daily Farm Adventures {92}

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There is just no way to express how WET the grass is at our place in the morning. The dew is so heavy it drips off our metal outbuildings. If you don’t wear muck boots you’re wet to the knees just going out to the chicken house and back. Dark trails run through the grass where you walk and sometimes when the dogs really take off running, water sprays up to either side as they race through. Since Coal is a lot shorter, he gets a lot wetter. {smile} Penny … Continue Reading…

Dogs, Bugs, and Muddy Ponds…the Daily Farm Adventures {91}

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How do farm kids and farm dogs spend the hot, dirty Virginia summers? Playing outside getting hotter and dirtier! {smile} When I finally got tired of this… And this… And this… We headed out for a walk. I needed a break by then anyway. Cleaning floors in our house is almost more futile than doing laundry or dishes. I don’t even get a one day reprieve. {sigh} So I took a break to get some fresh air with the dogs. Along the way we made sure to get pictures of this… And … Continue Reading…

Life with Coal the Cattle Dog

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If you follow us on Facebook or Instagram, you probably see a lot of pictures of my new sidekick, Coal. Our Christmas puppy is growing up fast! He’s 8, going on 9 months old now. He got neutered a few weeks ago, recovered fine, and spends a lot of time out and around town with me. People are always very curious about him, because the breed is not that common (although it’s becoming more so!). For some reason I get asked a lot if he’s a “mini German Shepherd.” Honestly, … Continue Reading…

Have Dog, Will Travel…Gear for the Dog Adventurer

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When I was in college, my Kenzie-dog traveled everywhere with me. Everywhere. And if you’ve read here very long, you know that we take Penny with us when we go hiking and camping. Then there’s Coal, who’s already covered a lot of miles since completing his puppy shots, (please be careful where you take your pup before his/her shots are up-to-date!) with many more to go! If you’re one of our regular readers, you also know that (except for books!) we tend to pare it down to the essentials when it comes to … Continue Reading…

In the Green Grass…the Daily Farm Adventures {87}

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This will be a busy week here at The Lowe Farm. We have Vacation Bible School at church and the kiddos will be in class while Mr. Fix-It and I will be teaching another class. So this weekend we prepped a week of meals, did a lot of laundry, and did a lot of camo painting to get ready. Have you been following us on Facebook or Instagram to see all the #vbsprep pictures? What we didn’t get done, was any mowing! It’s acceptable right now, but by the end of the … Continue Reading…

Yard Birds…the Daily Farm Adventures {81}

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We built a new chicken house (I’ll be sure to get pictures to share soon!). The hens seemed to love it. Then they all shared a dust bath–which cause a hole–which they all decided to wiggle out of. And here we are with free range chickens again. {smile} I’m sure I know who the ring-leader of the escape was. See that black hen there. Her. Definitely her. There’s two small problems with this. 1. They leave piles of chicken…um…waste everywhere. I mean everywhere! And especially underneath of wherever they decide … Continue Reading…