Monday, August 23, 2010

Stella Trains the Trainer


No, don't scroll down for any pictures of me fetching or should I say retrieving a ball?Stella has NOT grown thumbs..yet. What she has done is to get me very well trained for after meal ball throwing sessions. The little sprite brings the ball, tail up and quivering, bright eyes shining and hopeful. She then drops it and tucks it discreetly between her front legs, still not quite ready to give it up. When she is, that little needle nose rolls it in my direction. If the obvious hint is not taken quickly, you can be sure a throaty bark will follow. Stella's bark is not loud, it is very deep and gravely. She has the Morgan Freeman of dog barks. It's at that point the training magic happens. I pick up the ball on cue and roll it or toss it. This is repeated until one of us tires. If it's Stella, she trots her retrieved ball past me like a greased pig and hops in a bed. If it's me, I walk away knowing a little dog is standing there, nosing a ball with a very disappointed look. Sometimes she brings a different ball hoping that will entice me back. Most times it does but other times Stella gets a training bonus. I put a little peanut butter in a feeder ball just to get some tossing relief. Keeps her busy for at least 10 minutes. Who is training whom? Terriers almost universally love to play ball. The problem is they aren't always too willing to give the ball back. Stella is no different. A game of ball is part fetch, part keep away and almost always fun.

In fiber news, well, there is none. There have been BIG changes in the studio this weekend and none of it is quite ready yet for public pictures. Next blog posting!

In farm news, the horses busted down the fence. Or should I say Boo did and everyone but Dandy followed. Dandy alerted me with his screaming that all was not right. He was frantic since his herd had left him. Gene got to work on the fence while I haltered the upset boy and took him with me to attract the other 4. Worked like a charm. They were a half a mile away munching dried up grass. I grabbed Cooper and the other 3 followed back to the property. Fence is fixed. It was actually a goat induced failure. They managed to break the ground wire, rendering the fence shock less. Boo must have figured this out over days actually. The fence charger still clicked so I wasn't alerted until the great escape.

On weather news, we went from hot to downright cold. Temps this morning are 37 degrees F and yesterday, it creeped up to a mere 68F. Perfect day I might add for just about anything outside, like fence fixing! ;) Today, it's supposed to climb to the 90's by mid week. UGH! Give me back my 60's! Of course the colder day gave us a clear beautiful evening last night, sweat shirt cool, bat filled and washed in moonlight.

10 comments:

Michelle said...

What a stunning nighttime shot! Please share how you managed to capture that!

Judy said...

Great post! I get to read about your neat life that you have living with animals away from a town. Thanks for sharing.

What an outstanding night photo!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful moon shot. And of course Stella's antics are such a joy to read. Summer seems to be ending early this year.

Theresa said...

Evelyn, Not quite done with summer here. It could end right now and go to an early fall as far as I'm concerned.

Michelle, I just shot it. I use a Nikon coolpix and did nothing special.

Judy, I often feel my life is quite dull. Noisy but dull.

Thanks all for comments on the pic. I was surprised they came out. I do like the way the flash illuminated the closest tree. The view is from our front porch.

Valerie said...

Love the Stella antics. Our animals do train us (she typed with the cat perched on her knee awaiting dinner..)

Love that last evening shot...I swear I hear crickets and cicadas when I look at it!

LA said...

I have a mental picture of you with one horse in tow tempting the other horses to come on home!!! Now, if you could "train" Stella to herd.... Great night time shot! The moon will be full tomorrow night; I may try to get a shot!

Theresa said...

LA, Well, the D man did make it possible to grab Cooper easily by his fly mask, but as far as who had who in tow. I would say Dandy had me in tow while he whinnied at the top of his lungs while we looked for them. He wasn't actually impolite considering the circumstances, but I never would have put up with it had it been an average work-a-day leading around. The youngsters I never would have taken out as they forget manners over excitement.
I'll be watching the moon for a few more shots assuming it stays nice and clear like last night.

Leigh said...

Gorgeous photo! I can't believe you're down in the 30s already! We're getting down in the 60s at night, (which is cool for August here.)

Stella is obviously a charmer! And too cute to resist, of course. :)

denise/deBRAT said...

well once again i have caught up on your life! I fell behind a couple of months and have now spent an enjoyable hour reading about Stella and all of her fur family adventures. The weaving, the bear -oh my- and well all the rest. You may feel your life is boring but to me i so enjoy reading of your adventures and "seeing" in my mind's eye and some via pictures, the animals, the view, the cold, the mud, and oh the fiber projects! Thank you for sharing your life with me/us.

denise/deBRAT in tampa bay florida where it has been well over 90 for months and months and months!

Theresa said...

And Denise, it is always nice when you do stop by. Good to "see" you!