Friday, February 15, 2008

Friday "Round-up"


The Bag Lady has been incredibly slack this week as far as her blog is concerned. The Cowboy has been home, so they have been catching up on chores that were put off either because two people were needed, or because of the extreme cold. There were also a couple chores that only the Cowboy can accomplish because the Bag Lady is afraid of heights. He had to shovel snow off the roof of their living room and clean the chimney on their woodstove. He also had to take the bale-fork off the loader in order to plow snow. The Bag Lady can’t even undo the bolts holding the bale-fork in place. She would be able to get the bale-fork off (if by some miracle the bolts were removed), but there is no way she could get it back on alone. Her method of dealing with the snow on the driveway is to drive the loader up and down in order to pack the snow down. In her mind, it is much more important to be able to feed the cows than to have a clear driveway. She has a 4-wheel drive truck, so the snow would have to be quite deep in order to trap her.

The weather has gone from that insanely cold minus 54C to a promised high today of plus 4C (roughly 45F). The Bag Lady is definitely not complaining. She will be quite happy if the weather stays mild for the rest of the winter. She has had enough of the cold.

Yesterday morning, her dog (the Princess) tried to rid the yard of the evil birds, as usual, but she was also quite distraught about the moose that was bedded down out by the driveway! She barked and barked, but is experienced enough to know not to get too close. Moose are rather cranky critters, and have put the run on her more than once. A moose is quite capable of killing a dog, or at the very least, wounding it severely, so the Princess keeps her distance. Rather than chase the moose, she will annoy it to the point where it finally gives up and leaves!

This morning she had yet another invader in her yard. She almost knocked the door down in her haste to get outside this morning and scarcely waited for the Bag Lady to open it before she was tearing down the driveway in hot pursuit….of a stray cat. The Bag Lady really must give that cat points for persistence. He belongs to the neighbour a quarter mile down the road, and divides his time between the Bag Lady’s place and her mother-in-law’s place a mile on the other side of the neighbour. The Bag Lady isn’t sure how much of his time he actually spends at his own home. And she fails to understand the attraction here. Both of the Bag Lady’s cats are neutered males, so there is no opportunity to do what comes naturally…

The Bag Lady has heard that there is also another cat in the neighbourhood, but this one is much more dangerous and worrisome than the stray tomcat from next door. Apparently this one visited a place a couple miles down the road and rid them of their pet Pyrenean Mountain dog! For those of you not well acquainted with dog breeds, the Pyrenean Mountain dogs are very large dogs, standing roughly 30 inches tall (at the shoulder) and weighing between 100 to 125 lbs. The owners heard a disturbance in the night and arose to discover that a cougar had killed their dog. This worries the Bag Lady, not only because of her own dog, but because there will soon be calves around her place.

But there are always wild animals around. There are coyotes, and wolves, and occasionally, bears. Many years ago, the cowboy’s father shot a bear that had been bothering his cows. The bear had climbed a tree, and when he was shot, fell to the ground. Father was astonished at the cows’ reaction. Bellowing and roaring, they attacked that bear carcass and literally stomped it and tore it apart until there was nothing left! Father just shook his head and went to the house.

The Bag Lady hopes you all have a great weekend, and don’t encounter any wildlife…well, unless you are looking for it…


13 comments:

Leah J. Utas said...

Cows stomped a dead bear? Oh, my. Never turn your back on a cow.

Rather unfortunate about having a cougar around. Bad for the calves, bad the pets, and ultimately bad for the big cat.

the Bag Lady said...

dfLeah - it is definitely not a good thing for anyone that there is a cougar around. The Bag Lady hopes he moves back to the mountains....

Anonymous said...

Wow, hope the cougar goes back from wherever it came.
Plleeease take pictures of baby animals when they appear! :-)

Missicat

the Bag Lady said...

missicat - have no fear; when the babies start arriving, the Bag Lady will be compelled to post so many photos, you'll be begging her to stop! :)

Crabby McSlacker said...

You have the best animal stories!

The bear and cow thing is just amazing.

And there's something that cracks me up about the stand off between the barking dog and the moose trying to catch some shut-eye!

The cougar is scary though. They've been a problem in our area too, and have even killed a couple of joggers over the past few years.

(OK, not in our IMMEDIATE area, but, like, in the same state. They still scare me).

And sorry to miss your great photo from yesterday--too cute!

the Bag Lady said...

Thanks, Crabby! The cougar scares me, too, mostly because they don't discriminate...everything that moves is fair game!
Very little surprised the Cowboy's father, but when he saw what those cows did to that bear carcass, he was amazed.
The Princess is quit bossy, so it really pisses her off that the moose just laughs at her!

Scrumpy said...

You are like Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman or something. I love reading your blog because all of this every day ho hum stuff to you is like an adventure novel to me! Wonderful post.

the Bag Lady said...

SB - that's very kind of you to say - the Bag Lady might soon have to start making stuff up, though!

Of course, a different way of life always sounds more glamorous to someone who isn't living it. The Bag Lady sometimes dreams of living in a place where it's always warm, and she doesn't have to worry about slogging through the snow to feed cows, or make sure the waterer isn't frozen.

But then she remembers that every place has its' drawbacks. At least up here we have no snakes (except the odd little garter snake), or bugs big enough to carry off a small pet! She knows she will never have to deal with a hurricane, or a tsunami. There have been very destructive tornadoes around here, but they are rare.
She is glad you enjoy her little stories, though :)

Leah J. Utas said...

Hello again, dfBag Lady.
I'm playing with my new avatar and came back to test it here.
And also because I like hanging out at your blog because I miss the farm and for a few minutes each day at your blog I'm back on one.
And, um, I can't shake the visual of those vicious, bear-stomping bovines.

Reb said...

Oh, I hope the cougar goes back to the mountains on it's own too! Unfortunately if it is finding easy prey where it is now, it may stick around.

Watch yourself out there as well as your animals kiddo.

the Bag Lady said...

dfLeah - the avatar looks better now! And I'm glad you like hanging out on my blog!!
Yes, it is hard to believe those cows would do that... guess they wanted to exact a little revenge.

Reb - believe you me, I do. I hate to let the dog out when it's dark without knowing what's out there, but sometimes it can't be helped.

P.O.M. said...

Never a dull moment for the baglady.

I'm sure hoping to encounter some wild life soon- wink wink.

the Bag Lady said...

POM - you go, girl!! Hawaiin wild-life...woohoo!