Weed burning.

Last Friday Brad and the neighbour's dad burned our irrigation ditch.

I didn't help because I find burning ditches too stressful now. Besides I can't run very fast any more. Luckily for them the breeze was blowing unusually from the north. I did drive around by the creek with Brad to make sure everything was out.

I spotted a deep patch of dead noxious weed that was choking off the native vegetation. We set fire to it.

I helped contain it with my shovel, so I did get to have a little bit of burning excitement in the end.

More cows for Wildairo.

Wildairo was so good with the cows we put out with him on Saturday that we decided to put even more cows with him. Here I am moving the cows with my trusty cow chasing stick.

Everything was going along really well until Wildairo ran into the area we were moving the cows out of.

Brad shouted out to me to chase him back out, completely forgetting I had only a cow chasing stick and not a horse chasing stick.

Wildairo slinks past me because he knows he's not supposed to be there.

Wildairo explores.

These two little calves remained behind to watch Wildairo.

I discover Wildairo no longer comes when called so Brad tries the old trick of luring him in with a hand full of hay. The fat Wildairo laughed at his dried offering.

Wildairo gives in and takes a little nibble. It reminds me of Mr Creosote in the Monty Python movie, 'The Meaning of Life'.

But Wildairo still refuses to be bribed into following. We left him alone and after about 10 minutes he realizes he's on his own and cantered back to where he should be.

Wildairo went looking for Dandylyons in the herd but couldn't find her. I was pleased that he worked his way through them without getting them spooked. He called and called for her in his pitifully high pitched voice. Brad and I could see her out in the sagebrush. While looking for their mothers the two naughty calves had found her and decided because she was the only bovine they could find they'd better stick close to her. We got a rope to lead Dandylyons to Wildairo so the big lad would stop fretting. Wildairo watched us go out there and then he spotted her and the two calves. We arched his neck and trotted to where they were. When he approached them he started making these low grunty sounds. Wildairo put himself between Dandylyons and the calves which struck terror in their hearts and they ran of to search for their real mothers.

What is it about Dandylyons that makes horses love her so?

Wildairo builds his herd.

I've been putting off turning any more cattle out with Wildairo. Dandylyons doesn't run because she's too old but the younger cows love to run so I was worried he would chase them and their little calves.

We round up Sparkle, Mini Cow and her calf with our cow chasing sticks.

You can see my stick in the bottom of the picture. I was herding and snapping away at the same time. Mini Cow bolted back to the feeder wanting her dinner not herding. I yelled at Sparkle and got her to go through the gate, where Wildairo was waiting to do a meet and greet. Unlike Echo he's never has been bothered by gateways and was trying to get in the corral. I was yelling at him to keep out so he wouldn't mess things up.

Soon as Sparkle was through the gate she did a huge leap and buck, followed by very athletic double barrel kick and almost turned Wildairo into the headless horse. He was like, "All right, take it easy there little Missy". It's been many years since I've seen Dandylyons pull that move off.

Wildairo showed Mini his snake face and she knew what that was all about. Cows that hadn't been raised with a horse probably would have run off right about now.

Someone's missing.

Dandylyons is taking a break from him and sleeping out in the deep sagebrush where he's too scared to go.

He's looking in the direction of where his comfort cow is.

Wildairo has no intention of chasing the girls or young Mini Me. He was raised as a wild horses and wild horses respect the women folk and their little 'uns. He fondly remembers the 'band dads' and he had always wanted to be one himself.

Wildairo finally gets his herd and is very proud.

He's mine..all mine.

Echo Taffy is no longer a GI mustang, but a civilian mustang.

His title came yesterday. I rigged it a bit to proudly display his name.

He's a horse...not a number! lol. They are insisting on calling his body colour 'black' even though he's obviously a Aubergine (maybe now a mahogany) bay. lol.

These pictures are from last summer.

Notice his 'lucky pinto' sock.

I took a walk.

Today I took a walk to see Echo but first I went to see the birds. I think the ducklings are male and female...oh dear, we'll be over run with ducks soon.

I think if their darker breast plumage is in dots, it's a hen and if the dark looks more like stripes, it a drake. So, according to that, the big one in the back is a girl.

Jet Lag our rooster wanted to take me on. I took some photos of him and it kind of threw him off his game.

One day he rushed up to me to do this war dance and I kicked in his general direction to warn him off and my slipper flew off, so I picked it up and bonked him on the head with it. He didn't seem to notice and I think it's because he has that funny little red helmet on his head.

He's very good looking and he knows it.

Jet Lag rounded up his girls and with a big 'cockle doodle doo' took them off for a peck and scratch about.

I gave Echo some apples.

We have had a major break through thanks to a swarm flies. A few days ago we had a plague of those nasty biting flies that bite cattle, horses and even people. I put Echo in a very small pen so I could spray him, but the spray wasn't all that good and he still had some fly's biting him. He still didn't trust me, so every time he had to itch himself he'd back away so I didn't take the opportunity, while he was distracted, to rush him. I noticed he kept trying to scratch behind his elbow, so I did it for him.

Wow, that an eureka moment for him. In the past no matter what good rubs and scratchings I've given him, he's been too tense and scared to enjoy them. He'd stand with his head high, jaw tightly clenched watching me like a hawk. Well this time was different. I felt the bug bite on his skin and did my thing. His head stretched forward and he just loved it! I found lots of other bites on his body and went to town scratching them for him.

While he was on cloud nine, I took the opportunity to go were no girl has gone before. I gave him leg massages, belly rubs and even found some places in need of itching between his back legs. I even managed to semi-clean his boy parts. (Something that geldings need doing every now and again). He's got no kick to him at all! What a sweetie, he didn't even warn me off or get mad when I poked him with my too long finger nails. I tried to lift his front foot up but he backed up. I didn't have him on a rope because he's got that rope phobia thing going on that we have to deal with.

Today he showed me the mustang way off keeping flies off.

A thick layer of mud.

I gave him a belly rub which he enjoyed but he still kept his eye on me.

On the way home I met Max eating some grass.

Good old Max.