The Most Wonderful Time of the Year. . . .

Not Christmas . . . .My new Favorite Day of the Year is (drum roll)

MEAT DAY !!!

Cosmo is also a Fan

I am looking forward to consuming my beef AAA Grass fed Bar Pipe Herford. :)

Anyone need any ground beef??

How Billie Got her Groove Back

MY worst nightmare is to have to watch chick flicks all night in a house full of women.  . . .  There I said it and I'm not even ashamed..
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At least I thought that was my wost nightmare. . . .

Meet Gus

Sorry pal, it's minus 12 outside.  Gus is a 10 month old Kelpie, I hope he works out for me but as many of you know if he doesn't. . . . . . . . . . . . .well I just will not blog about him any more.  Gus was delivered to me Via Louanne's dad from Texas.  Alas it is not quite as warm here as it was in Ft Worth.  It's :http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/76102  But it is Sunny.

Koko

Koko is my Llama, I have resisted blogging about him due to the politics that are inherent in the blogoshere.  However, at this point,. I am confident that Koko is a good thing.

After some uncertainty the sheep and Koko have finally bonded up.  More times than not they can be seen lounging around together.  So long as Jed is not and @SS when he goes to get the sheep Koko seems fine to allow the interruption to the flock.

He is ever watchful however.  Jed doesn't seem to care.

Sweet MOTHER OF GOD !!!

http://www.youtube.com/user/EpicMealTime

i HAVE NOTHING TO ADD !!

Chores. . . .and Odyssey . . .

If you have Cows, or you are a cattle rancher, then this blog is going to be boring and a waste of your time.
I . . . .However . . . . .Do not.  In fact when asked to do chores, I am genuinely excited to do so.  The chores aren't particularly special and not all that difficult, except they are different for me, completely our of my normal routine.  I would like to mention that I think I would prefer to do chores when it is not -30.

This was the weather as I left this morning to do chores.  I have to admit I didn't exactly get to it lickety split this morning.  I kept sitting on the couch, drinking coffee and hoping. . . praying it would warm up. Alas, it  did not.  So I bundled up and headed down the road with my not so willing partner.

I am confident that my "Australian Kelpie" would have preferred the weather in his native land .  But, he's stuck with me.  We were not the only ones upset about the weather, Feeding the bulls in the morning is a funny thing, they are fed grain, and as I get there with their pails of grain they stumble up and roar and moan much like sleepy, grumpy teenagers.

The pails of grain the bulls are fed are unfortunately, not exactly, ready made.  That task is also part of the morning chore.  

After mixing a little of this and little of that into the hopper  I then roll a bunch of grain to arrive at a specific weight.  The only really exciting part of this activity is when I get to jump into the grain bin and shovel it closer to auger as it clears the area immediately around the spinning screw of death I am reminded as I do this of ASTAR

Blogger wants this sideways, I don't know why.  this is the final step after I have made the morning brew.  It doesn't really show in this picture, however, I have made a contribution to this chore.  The last time I had to do chores, the chute was propped up with a shovel. I have to confess that this seem a little to po'dump for me so I rigged it up with a cable so you could direct the chute more accurately.  This was a little self serving because I never made it in time before the shovel fell and grain would shoot all over the place.  

After the grain has been mixed up you need to bring the bulls down to the feeders, and when I say you, I mean  Jed.  If you look closely at this picture, you'll notice Jed is looking over his shoulder as if to say:  

 "REALLY ??"   Unfortunately, I really did mean it especially when he got to the top of the hill and thought that was far enough.  

It wasn't.

I sent him further.

SO after the bulls have been fed their grain the really fun part begins. . .

I KNOW RIGHT !!! I wouldn't let me drive this either. . .that being said as I climb into this I feel myself being, not so slowly, transformed into a little boy.  I need to use this bad boy to roll out some feed and some hay.  I say this with a very pubic admission that I suck at this. 

Driving the tractor? I got that. 

Moving snow? I got that

Rolling the Bales????  Not so much.  

You see, you need to grab these stupid things pretty close to center or you are left with a pretty big core of crap in the end.  Oh yeah, and you need to ensure that you roll it the right way behind the tractor, or you just turn it into a giant snowball behind you.  Then you end up dropping it and driving around to grab it the right way.  Who knew they rolled and unrolled a specific way . . . .needless to say, I didn't. 

Can you tell if this is going to un-roll or do I need to grab it from the other side??

This is what I am looking for. . . .Did I mention you need to plow the snow out of your way so that it; WILL ROLL. .

Anyway, that was pretty much the end of morning chores, in the evening, the bulls need to be grained again and It takes considerably less time to do evening chores.  Tomorrow morning, I need to all this again, plus, I have a couple of fences to fix.  The cows have made their way into the stacking yard and so I need to close down their buffet.

Jed can hardly wait.

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Shrinkage ?

Many things shrink once they have been wet.  Generally this is true with cotton, (the fibers are stretched and stressed in fabrication and want to return to their natural form once wet) It also occurs n wool  (though there are many theories; one seems to be that the lanolin that is naturally present on a sheep is processed out, and this lanolin is believed to allow the water to shed of the sheep) It also may be true that this can happen to Kelpies???

Meet Jace. . . Jed's Smaller, and Not yet Sheep wise doppelganger.  I am pretty sure that name isn't staying. For a long time I toyed with  " Turd",  but think I might have settled on "Roo" He is a 1 yr old and is just getting his first taste of sheep.

Time will tell.

The Post that should have been. . .

Make no mistake this is not a Disney story, not a story of good triumphing over evil, and not a story of a boy and his dog against the world (though we'll get to that).  This past weekend the Field Finals for the ASDA were held just outside of Beiseker, or Irricana depending on your perspective.  They were a lot of work to put on with the other souther members, however, they were also a ton of fun.

Day one of the trial started with the novice class, Jed I have intermittently run in this class predominantly because it is not available at every trial.  Our run wasn't great it could have been better and I learned that the pen gate is not a delicate door to be subtly closed lest you upset the livestock.  In fact when the judge called time as it was swinging to close costing me my ten points I learned you need to "dig in" , "sacrifice the body" and pen like you mean it.  We came a close second to Anita and her dog.  Then came the intermediate, this draw of sheep was a little heavier and were unable to finish our drive, thus losing all of our points finishing once again in second this time behind Doug and his dog Meg.  No one finished their drives that, day in the Intermediate. The pro novice class proceeded as expected and the heavy sheep got the best of many a dog. I have run in the Pro-novice but was thankful that I hadn't.

Day Two was a pretty long affair, with Open, Pro-novice,and Nursery Running first.  That meant lots of set out for Jed and I as well as other volunteers.  When the time came for Jed and I to run in the Intermediate, I didn't have a good feeling.  Jed had been a little grippy setting out and my temper was shorter then it needed to be for success.  I made a few mistakes handling him during the run and the sheep were quite heavy, eventually frustration got the better of the both of us Jed thankfully gripped off and I was able to stop yelling at him like an idiot.

Now comes the Disney part, or lack there of. ..  . I have stolen these photos from Wendy's Blog. . .

See this Kid . . .I love this Kid, Really I do. However, this kid Joey, (Wendy's Nephew) is at this point in the trial, standing between Jed and I, and my first ASDA buckle.  I was way ahead of him after the first day but given how we had just run; I was not confident. The two us managed to make it around the course and Jed was able to overcome my many handling errors to squeak out a win.  I mean it SQUEAK it out !!  Oh Yeah !! he's 8.

Jed and I may have looked confident but after the show Joey had just put on at the pen thankfully he didn't get it, but he was really really close) I was doubly nervous and just triedto keep Jed on the course and not grip off.  So, as much I hate to be the villain in this story of the defeat of the little boy and his dog I am quite happy that the trial ended up like this.

from left to right:

Jed and I Novice; Doug Finseth and Meg Intermediate; Pam Boring Pro-novice; Carol Nelson Nursery; Georger Stambulic Open

Congrats to all of us and Thanks to the sponsors and volunteers 

Thanks Wendy for the photos !!

Annoying isn't it?

See previous post.  A "friend" of mine who reads my bog and who is also a "Facebookian" Constantly, and I do mean CONSTANTLY posts things like:
 "OMG BEST NEWS EVER. . . . ."
or
 "YOU 'LL NEVER BELIEVE WHAT JUST HAPPENED !!!"
and of course my favorite that I have previously blogged about

"WORST DAY EVER"

frankly . . . .  GO AWAY !! let us know what's happening or SHUT UP !!

I will return to our regularly scheduled blog later this evening. . . .it is not a Disney story.

thanks for visiting

The Horror. . . .The Horror. . . .

for those of you who have seen this movie you can understand the significance of that line.  It has been pretty eventful around here and I have photo'd much of the action.  So I will wade through the photos and post them as I get the time.  Here is the first installment.

The other day as I was working on the Truck. .  . .yep that will will be another post.  Anyway, as I was working on the truck I noticed that Jed was not interacting with the other dogs.  He was just sitting over by the picnic table minding his own business.  This isn't really that unusual as he often needs his space from the tards.  When I was finished working on the truck I called him in for dinner.  At this point I noticed that he had encountered a Porcupine.

Jed is ridiculously strong and kind of hard to handle, also he is unbelievable tolerant and tough.  I called Doug and Judy to come up and help me de-quill him and Billie's sister was also here so the resulting drama took about 2 hours.  Here is just a sample.  The following video is graphic and I have not stripped the sound.  the voices you hear are Niki, Doug, Judy and Myself.Also note that we were not aware we were being recorded and thought only photos were being taken.

Video Removed Billie didn't like it

Yes, I will find the porcupine 

Happy National Finals Day !!

Those of you who know me . . .know that Sunday is Meet the Press day .  It's nerdy but I like it.  However, Today was also National Sheepdog Finals Day.  Today us little hats were able to watch the finals Via live Webcast.  They were spectacular, with some amazing displays of dog and Stock-man alike.  I had planned to have people over to enjoy the trial, eat semi-tasty food and generally enjoy the trial as a group.  For a multitude of reasons this was not to be.  I still Made Breakfast tho . . .and here it is.

Turns out !!! Not only do Real Men EAT QUICHE  the also Make it !!

Pretty Straightforward Cheddar, Red Bell Pepper, Asparagus, Shrimp, and Smoked Salmon

I like to Blind Bake the Crust. . .Yep that's Tenderflake I Do make my own Crust but not for stuff like this. 

Then spread the ingredients in the bottom and pour enough beaten egg with just a bit of cream over the works and enjoy.  I think I baked for about 40 minutes. Sorry to those who made my Salmon dish and used my typically innacurate time instructions.   

The stampede. . . . . no not that one

This was going to be a video of Jace showing all, how fantastic he is. . . .Careful attention was taken to remove audio:

There Faye, and Chris,  . . . .now get back to work ;)

Not your Usual Fare. . .

So anyway, I am going to be at a wedding today so there will not be a Dinner recipe for Saturday, and likely not for Sunday either.  So since I was late last week  I decided to be proactive and prep a recipe in advance.  So, without further preamble, here it is:

Spinach Chorizo Frittata:

Okay, so there are a few more ingredients, here we have some feta, an onion, mushrooms,spinach and of course, some chorizo.  I like to start by parboiling the potatoes, this helps them cook a little faster and gives them a better crunch makes them crisp up a little nicer.

Did I mention this recipe is a little type "A" of me.  Whilst the potatoes are being parboiled you can start chopping the rest of the ingredients up and getting them ready.  I pretty much chop everything up to about a quarter inch dice, that's me and you certainly don't need to go that far.  

the smaller you chop everything the nicer it will mix together for the filling but that is totally you choice.  Once the potatoes have finished remove them to a cutting aboard and slice them about a 1/4 inch thick.

be careful, they should be a little mealy, and of course they will be a tad hot

I just like this picture it doesn't have anything to do with the recipe.  Next you are going to place the pottoes in a single layer and line the bottom of a cast iron skillet.  Now, you're going to be tempted to futz about with them, DON'T  !! Leave them to form a crispy coating because when you flip them over that's the last time you are going to touch them.  

These are sort of what you are looking for nice and crispy they will hold up nicely when you add the egg.  Now about the egg, I like to use about 6 eggs for the filling and when I say you need to beat the hell out of them I really mean beat the hell out of them.  

The more you beat them the more more light and fluffy your frittata will be.  Also, some people add cream or milk to their eggs that is completely a choice at this point, I don't like to but I will add any sore of spices at this point that I feel like.  I don't add salt but I will add pepper and the cheese to the egg mixture.  Once you have the eggs ready we are ready to put it all together.  

Here is the filling ready to be added spread this over the potatoes and then add the egg. Now put the whole shebang in the oven for 15 minutes at 375.  AND . . . . . .

Voila !!

Slice and enjoy.

Here it is. . .

One Fillet of SOCKEYE Salmon

Some Fresh Veggies 

Combine the Veggies with some olive oil and some spices

Diced Tomato, also thrown in with the veggies

some fresh Basil mixed into some butter

Combine the Butter Basil mix with some Panko Bread Crumbs this is the topping for the Salmon.

Next start to sauté the veggies in a large enough pan to accommodate everything, oh yeah it needs to oven proof as well. While the veggies are getting there thing done coat the top of the salmon with the panko and basil butter mixture to make a crust.  After 3-4 minutes you can carefully place the crusted Salmon on-top of the veggies and place in a 375 degree oven for 10-12 minutes.  Depending on how thick the Salmon is, it shouldn't take any longer than that.  If, you like, you can also fire up the broiler for a minute or two just to really give the crust a crunch.  

Serve with you Brown Rice and enjoy.  You can add some cold butter to the juice in the veggies pan and make a bit of a sauce dress over the rice .

Yeah . . . .Yeah . . it's Saturday??

Ok so I know there should be a recipe Saturday but it turns out I have company coming for dinner tomorrow night so what  I was making myself for dinner tonight is going to made tomorrow for guests. So until tomorrow when I publish the whole recipe you'll just have to survive on this teaser. . ..

Happy Birthday !!

For many of the stock dog folk that read this blog they will no doubt be shaking their heads for the remainder of this post.  It is the "Do Do's " Birthday short for "Dumb and Dumber",  "Retard" and " The Baby".  Actually thats not true there birthday was on the second, but they're dogs and as yet show no signs of reading.  We decided to celebrate it this morning - though I believe every day out here at the NCR is a celebration for them.

Ok. . . . .  What are we doing??? 

Jed wasn't exactly sure what all the hullabalo was about but he was happy to sit with the boys because, something, smelt good, really good. 

This is the Do Do's Birthday cake it comes from Bona-pet-Treat, Emily has fashioned more than one birthday cake for us and I think she does a really fantastic job.

  

For a cake made out of peanut butter, Bacon, and Cheese . . . . Yep it Stunk to high holy heaven.

Now. . .it's not Jed's birthday his is in November, and I would never think to denigrate him with singing and a cake; he's more of a steak kinda guy however I couldn't leave him out totally, so...

He was more than happy with this cookie and frankly he finished it slower than the other two took to finish half a cake each.

As a Side note there will be a recipe tonight for the blog as it is Saturday.

Once Upon a Time

Once upon a time there was a blogger who blogger who blogged frequently, however, sporadically.  It seems lately this blogger has really, really dropped the ball.  I have not blogged in a long, long time.

Frankly, there hasn't been anything to blog about.  Actually, that's not entirely true, from the preparation of the handlers dinner to some additional dog food creation and dog trialling.  Amongst all this activity, I have neglected to Blog.  Something I do all the time and will give me some material for my Blog is a recipe.  I am going to try and blog about something to eat every Saturday, it may not be the best recipe, it may not be the fanciest recipe, but I will try to get one up.

So without further ado here is the first entry.  And brace yourself . . . .IT'S a SALAD !!!

I don't know what to call it I had some baby spinach and some left over cooked corn from the other night and some tomatoes from the handlers Dinner. And of course, I always have bacon (GOD I LOVE BACON )

So, here is is:

1 Cob of BBQ'd Corn Kernels Removed

1 English Cucumber

2 Tomatoes

1 Apple (slightly Tart)

2 Hard Boiled Eggs

4-5 Mushrooms 

Baby Spinach

Cut or slice everything up, I am a little anal when it comes to this prep part, small pieces means even distribution !! Toss everything together and then let's not forget. . . .

 

Dice and brown some bacon and remove to a paper towel.  Drain off all of the bacon grease reserving 3 tbs to make a dressing.  IN the same pan you browned the bacon, add three tbs of some kind of Acid, I mean, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, whatever you have on hand.  I had some Fig vinegar and it was delish-  whisk the vinegar into the oil and add some Dijon mustard, salt and pepper to taste.  Dress the Salad  crumble the bacon on top and serve immediately.

As a side note some goat cheese would really have finished this nicely along with maybe some sliced strawberries.