After getting a halter on Fergus for the first time three weeks ago, we did the Happy Dance in anticipation of his feet being trimmed at our farrier’s next visit. Fast forward to yesterday evening…
…and a brief quiz for you. Can you tell the difference between this picture:
And this picture? Hint, look at Fergus’s ears and eyes and where Don’s left hand is. Big, big difference.
Let me tell ya a couple of things. First, a lot happened between those first two pictures. (I put the camera down for a bit in between.) Second, a good farrier, a.k.a Shorty, is worth his weight in platinum. Thanks, Carson!
We’ve been picking up Fergus’s feet without incident since the end of April, and he’s been quite fine with it. What we discovered yesterday is that Fergus isn’t comfortable with people he doesn’t know, and that’s understandable.
Each time Shorty initially tried to pick up Fergus’s first front foot, Fergus got up on his hind legs and/or got himself away from Shorty and Don. Fergus had a bit of a wild look in his eyes and seriously wasn’t having any of it. While Bernard and Ellsworth each have had their moments, it has never been like this.
As Don and I were looking at each other in desperation (and I was thinking to myself that this wasn’t going to happen), Shorty was amazing. Patience, soft touches, soothing words.
Then I saw Shorty softly put his hand over Fergus’s eye. Fergus almost immediately calmed down. Shorty asked Don to cover Fergus’s eye on whichever side Shorty was working and…
…success! Fergus just needed a bit of a blinder! Okay, fine, I’ll admit it. I shed a tear or two of happiness.
Meanwhile, I looked over to see that Bernard had untied himself from the fence and was debating whether to take himself for a stroll to avoid his own foot trimming…
…and was happy to see that Nigel was okay with a dust bath as long as Fergus was within sight.
When the fourth foot was done, Fergus seemed to fly away as soon as his halter was removed…
And now seems to be walking with a new spring in his step. ♥
We just love a party. And, since we truly enjoy and appreciate every single one of your comments, we can’t help but have another contest to celebrate our 150th post today.
One lucky, randomly chosen winner will receive a Morning Bray Farm 100% cotton Hanes tagless t-shirt.
Since it’s a party, we’ll make it super easy for you. To enter our 150th post contest, simply leave a comment on this post. The contest will close Wednesday at 7 p.m. (Mountain time) and we’ll announce the winner on Thursday.
Thank you all for the smiles you bring to our faces each and every day. ♥
Not a one of us has had a second of regret for adopting Fergus and Nigel in April.
In fact, Don and I have had repeated conversations about how thankful we are that one became two.
And, while some things never change… like Bernard chewing or sucking on everything he can get into his mouth…
…Don couldn’t help but notice a change in Ellsworth after Fergus and Nigel’s arrival. Understandably, Ellsworth was often quite focused on his place in the hierarchy and not on us. Therefore, Don felt he had lost his buddy.
Until yesterday.
Don got his buddy back.
Hallelujah and amen.
Everything just takes a little time to work itself out.
There are a few things that set Kassie off. Each time the air conditioner shuts off is one of them. If you listen, you might hear a high-pitched whine coming from the unit… we’re sure that’s what she’s barking at. Why this sets Kassie off and not our other dogs, we don’t know.
We do know that Kassie doesn’t like new or unknown things. No kidding… she once barked incessantly at a very large mushroom she discovered in our backyard in Maryland.
Do your dogs – or cats – have strange things that rile them up?
Suni’s name is pronounced Sue-Knee, so we call her Soon for short. When Suni’s around, Don and I always ask each other, “How soon?” The answer is always, “Pretty soon.” She’s so pretty. ♥
Here’s a fascinating fact: 70% of all the world’s fruit is pollinated solely by bats. Isn’t that amazing?
I took these pictures on safari in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda.
Egyptian fruit bats are known for roosting in very large colonies. There were thousands of bats in this cave.
Egyptian fruit bats are unique in using echo location, which means they use the only form of echo bat location that is audible to the human ear. As we walked through the forest to the cave, I remember suddenly hearing the bats as we approached. The noise inside the cave was deafening. Of course, had I been blogging at the time, I would have taken video to share with you.
Females typically give birth to only a single baby each year, and offspring usually stay in the same colony with their parents their entire lives. Can you see the baby with its momma in this picture?
Egyptian fruit bats have a wingspan that averages two feet and a body length of around six inches. I found their faces to be incredibly dog-like. I’ve been told their fur is very soft, and their wings feel like pantyhose.
Every now and then we find Kassandra Dee studying a toad with quiet intensity.
Thankfully she knows better than to mess with them, because biting one will make her very sick.
If only she would learn the same lesson with skunks. Thanks to Carson for these next two shots. Just look at the ‘tude – from both the princess and the toad!
Carson has the patience of a saint when she’s working with the boys, and she’s a great teacher to me.
I was thrilled on Saturday when Carson wanted to work on clicker training using the chucker. Even Nigel got into it.
It didn’t take but a few minutes for Fergus to catch on.
He was all too happy when he realized if he touched the glove, he was going to get one of the peppermint candies Aunt Linda brought for them. I was all too happy when I saw first hand exactly how clicker training works and how it’s going to help us with other things, such as getting Fergus to lead.
Of course, Carson was practically accosted by young Bernard once he realized she had peppermint treats.
Peppermint treats or not, the boys wanted to be wherever Aunt Linda was, and I had fun being able to take pictures of Carson taking pictures. When does that ever happen?
Nigel is so close to letting us really touch him.
Of course the boys enjoyed their butt scritches and took full advantage of the fact that Aunt Linda was doling them out.
This was the first time for Carson to see Fergus and Nigel since the day after they arrived at Morning Bray.
They’ve come a long way since then.
Carson loves spending time with the boys just as much as we do. We think that’s super cool.
Bernard couldn’t agree more. I so wish I had gotten a picture of Bernard wrapping himself around Carson. She said she felt like she was being squeezed by an octopus. Mind you, Bernard doesn’t do that to just anyone… only the people he loves. ♥
Morning Bray Farm 
