We've had some really cold weather without snow and the lake froze up super smooth. There has been a group of 10 people out ice-skating the last couple of days. How festive. They have one of those kites that people surf with and sail with (kite-surfing), but with ice skates. Kite-skating I guess. Looks like fun. But I don't know how fast I would want to go on ice skates, ice is not as forgiving as water.
Reena had a lesson with Norm Close yesterday. She was a crazy mouthy mess. Its hard when you go to a clinic or a new trainer and your dog slides backward because its a new place, sheep, etc., so you can't work at the level you are at. Frustrating. I'm guessing everyone has this problem, maybe not. I know Reena doesn't have a whole lot of natural instinct. She actually 'learns' it from repitition and firguring out what is expected of her from experience, so a new place, etc., I think she loses some ability. That she hasn't been worked but a handful of times in the past year, yeah, that too. I would LOVE to find a field to rent next spring and put some sheep on it. Or pay off debt? Hmm.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Ice aquarium
A rarity around here, it was sunny out today, so I took an hour or so off at 2 pm to take a hike on the back side of the lake with the dogs.
This morning was the first day the whole lake was iced over. It was so cool, I wish I had a camera to share. I was hiking around and could travel ON all the creeks and channels along the edge of the lake, and there are alot. I could explore places I usually couldn't. And the ice was perfectly clear, I could see everything. It was amazing, amazing. All the vegetation under 2 feet of pure glass ice, like another world I got to visit. All the frozen channels were this labyrinth of glass pathways leading through brush thickets and 5 feet tall reed canary grass. While under my feet was a special world.
I walked out on the lake too. Along the edge the ice was perfectly clear, but out alittle further the wind had made the ice white. I saw a smooth ice patch out deeper and wanted to see through there so I walked across a strip of white ice. When I got to the other side of it I saw a couple of fish darting around....uh oh, not so much ice. Crack! Yikes. I start hustling back and the cracking followed my feet. An especially freaking feeling when you can see down perfectly into the 4 feet of water you are standing on.
Later, upstream one of the creeks feeding into the lake, there are a few beaver dams and faster flowing water so the ice wasn't as thick. I smartened up and got back on land. Both Roy and Reena eventually fell through and got a bit of a shock I'm sure. It was only a small creek I knew they could swim out of so I wasn't worried. Good for them to learn that not all ice will hold them up and to learn to discriminate the difference.
Reena kicked up 3 hen pheasants and a ruffed grouse. I was thinking I should bring my shotgun out on our next hike. The natural pheasant population here is non-existent and I'm quite positive these were released by someone. Fist time I have seen any all year. I doubt they have the smarts to make it through the winter. It would be great if we had a self-sufficient population but the habitat just isn't extensive enough. But, most people up here won't give up and many keep trying to convince me I need to release some each year. I keep telling them it's not something I will do for several reasons. However, a few people in the valley do it on the sly on their own. Then people see a few pheasants each fall and think, see we have a small population. We just need to help them out by releasing a few more.
This morning was the first day the whole lake was iced over. It was so cool, I wish I had a camera to share. I was hiking around and could travel ON all the creeks and channels along the edge of the lake, and there are alot. I could explore places I usually couldn't. And the ice was perfectly clear, I could see everything. It was amazing, amazing. All the vegetation under 2 feet of pure glass ice, like another world I got to visit. All the frozen channels were this labyrinth of glass pathways leading through brush thickets and 5 feet tall reed canary grass. While under my feet was a special world.
I walked out on the lake too. Along the edge the ice was perfectly clear, but out alittle further the wind had made the ice white. I saw a smooth ice patch out deeper and wanted to see through there so I walked across a strip of white ice. When I got to the other side of it I saw a couple of fish darting around....uh oh, not so much ice. Crack! Yikes. I start hustling back and the cracking followed my feet. An especially freaking feeling when you can see down perfectly into the 4 feet of water you are standing on.
Later, upstream one of the creeks feeding into the lake, there are a few beaver dams and faster flowing water so the ice wasn't as thick. I smartened up and got back on land. Both Roy and Reena eventually fell through and got a bit of a shock I'm sure. It was only a small creek I knew they could swim out of so I wasn't worried. Good for them to learn that not all ice will hold them up and to learn to discriminate the difference.
Reena kicked up 3 hen pheasants and a ruffed grouse. I was thinking I should bring my shotgun out on our next hike. The natural pheasant population here is non-existent and I'm quite positive these were released by someone. Fist time I have seen any all year. I doubt they have the smarts to make it through the winter. It would be great if we had a self-sufficient population but the habitat just isn't extensive enough. But, most people up here won't give up and many keep trying to convince me I need to release some each year. I keep telling them it's not something I will do for several reasons. However, a few people in the valley do it on the sly on their own. Then people see a few pheasants each fall and think, see we have a small population. We just need to help them out by releasing a few more.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Roy has tongue OCD
I'm going to rip that thing out of his mouth. I gave him a rawhide which he swallowed after maybe five actual chews and then sat there for 20 minutes licking his paws. I'm suprised he didn't start chewing them. I was trying to nap. I ignored him until I compulsively anticipated every slurp. If I yelled, him he stopped for a second. Then continued. I tried to think of it as a soft lullabye, calming my nerves.... didn't work, that little fracker. I called him over to see if perhaps he had his unchewed rawhide stuck in his mouth. He still stuck his tongue out every second as I searched his mouth. He couldn't turn it off. On the count, every second. I'd grab it and he'd continue to stick it out there for me. I gave up and he sat next to me licking his chops. Slup slup slup. Not sure which one of us was really crazy anymore.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Time to celebrate
I went to my sisters in Bend for Thanksgiving and had a great time. Saturday was her youngest son's 4 year birthday, awh. Love kids at that age and he was so excited that I was going to be there on his birthday.
My technicians are done for the year, Yeah! Now that I don't have to manage them and it's winter so most WMA management duties are on hold, I get to relax a bit after working so hard for the first year on the job of everything being new. Time to take some time off and party!
But also, since my techs are gone, I have to do the waterfowl migration surveys once a week until the water freezes over. Iwas going to do the surveys this morning at ML because the weather was really nice which is when its best to count the birds. I look out my window and see lots of geese....and a bald eagle just perched in the middle of the lake, must have been on a stump or something. Hmm. I think about getting ready and look at a bit later and no birds! I'm guessing the eagle got hungry and they weren't going to stick around. Last week was really cool cause I saw an immature bald eagle flying over the water harrassing the waterfowl, and I saw an otter on an island eating a big old fish. Fun.
I'm watching NGC about a town of blonde/blue eyed Germans in South America (Brazil). Of 80 families in a 1.5 square mile town, there are 44 sets of twins! Twins everywhere! And everyone in town doesn't know why. One guy thinks its a sign from God, others aliens.
Apparently it started in 1960 after the Nazi doctor Josef Mengele, the angel of death, was spotted in Brazil while living on the run. Sounds more like it. He did alot of crazy, gruesome experiments on pregnant women and making twins have sex at his concentration camps. Apperently learned something. Wonder how he got the Brazilian folks effected, with or without there knowledge? Interesting show.
My technicians are done for the year, Yeah! Now that I don't have to manage them and it's winter so most WMA management duties are on hold, I get to relax a bit after working so hard for the first year on the job of everything being new. Time to take some time off and party!
But also, since my techs are gone, I have to do the waterfowl migration surveys once a week until the water freezes over. Iwas going to do the surveys this morning at ML because the weather was really nice which is when its best to count the birds. I look out my window and see lots of geese....and a bald eagle just perched in the middle of the lake, must have been on a stump or something. Hmm. I think about getting ready and look at a bit later and no birds! I'm guessing the eagle got hungry and they weren't going to stick around. Last week was really cool cause I saw an immature bald eagle flying over the water harrassing the waterfowl, and I saw an otter on an island eating a big old fish. Fun.
I'm watching NGC about a town of blonde/blue eyed Germans in South America (Brazil). Of 80 families in a 1.5 square mile town, there are 44 sets of twins! Twins everywhere! And everyone in town doesn't know why. One guy thinks its a sign from God, others aliens.
Apparently it started in 1960 after the Nazi doctor Josef Mengele, the angel of death, was spotted in Brazil while living on the run. Sounds more like it. He did alot of crazy, gruesome experiments on pregnant women and making twins have sex at his concentration camps. Apperently learned something. Wonder how he got the Brazilian folks effected, with or without there knowledge? Interesting show.
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