I Am Not A Stinky Pants! We Need a New Vet!

Kinsey has been running around here calling me "Stinky Pants". Sometimes at night I smelled so bad she shooed me from the bedroom. Because she thought she saw more yellow spots in the snow she decided I might have a urinary infection, I've had that before.

Away we went to the vet. Kinsey found this vet when my predecessor, Lakota Sunrise, was fading with old age and Cushings Disease. At the time she thought he was a Godsend. Personally, I've never liked the place.

Kinsey had said she thought it might be a urinary tract infection. They took me in to get a urine sample and then we waited for the doctor and the results. So, the vet came in and said there was nothing in the sample. He asked what the symptoms were and Kinsey did her best to explain. He looked at my teeth and said maybe it was bad breath because I have a lot of plaque. Kinsey stuck her face in my mouth and said no smell there. Surely if it were plaque it wouldn't come and go. Next he said maybe it was my ears. Kinsey says I have the sweetest smelling ears on the planet. Then he said I was overweight.

With that I could see Kinsey start to sizzle with annoyance. She is very fussy about my weight, believing that any dog owner who allows their dog to become overweight is cruel. Kinsey asks "How much did she weigh?" The vet looks at the file and says "We didn't weight her". Normally, that's the first thing a vet does. Then I got weighed and came in at 48 pounds. The vet in self defense says "She's been gaining with each visit". Yeah, like the first visit I weighed like ten pounds because I was a puppy. This is maybe the second time I've been there as an adult. The average weight of a female Australian Shepherd is 40 to 55 pounds. I'd say 48 puts be about dead center.

I will admit when I put on my winter coat it makes me look much beefier than I am. But, if you put your hands on me you can feel my ribs. Also, I might put on a pound or two in winter but so does Kinsey and it melts right off with the snow.

Even though the urine test showed no sign of infection the vet says I can give her antibiotics to take. Which he did. I was barely back in my car crate before Kinsey says and I'm quoting here "This is bullshit! This is all wrong". Then, apparently, a light bulb goes off and Kinsey takes my collar off and smells it. It didn't smell so good. A stinky collar could cause intermittent stinky. Lots of times I sit out in the snow and rain and I'm sure the thing gets wet.  We drove directly to Pet Smart and bot me a new collar.  And, I'm stinky no more!

Our next stop was back to the vets to see if we could get our money back because there was no way Kinsey was going to give me those pills. In fact she still can't believe the vet gave them to us. The vet Kinsey thought he was would have said "I can't find anything let's just keep and eye on things".

In conclusion let me just say, I am not a stinky pants!!! And, I want a new vet!!!

Meanwhile Kinsey continues to be obsessed with her painting project. You can check in on her progress at Following My Art


©Kinsey Barnard

Pinkham Creek Picnic-Kinsey Tangles with a Wasp Nest

Today Kinsey and I had a little picnic at Pinkham Creek. Kinsey some times likes to pick up a Subway sandwich and go to some peaceful place after running errands in the village. Pinkham Creek is one of those places. The weather has cooled off a little so it was quite pleasant. I could jump in the creek to cool off if I got too hot. I hear Kinsey complaining about the Subway sandwiches lately. She used to think they were pretty good. She thinks they're watering down the dressings. She complains a lot these days about prices going up and quality going down. Me, I'm just a happy camper.

Getting cool in Pinkham Creek

When we got back this afternoon Kinsey needed to clean the drain pipe at our pond. The pond is about 3/4 of an acre and the drain pipe is about 15 feet from shore so she has to paddle a kayak out there to get the job done. I swam a couple of strokes over at Pinkham Creek but I'm none to fussy about this swimming thing yet. I just watched Kinsey paddle around from the shore.

A funny thing did happen. After cleaning out the drain pipe Kinsey cruised along the shore picking up dead cattails floating on the water.  All of a sudden I see her flailing around swinging the paddle about and generally acting like a madwoman. Turns out she practically stuck her hand into a wasp nest that was embedded in the bank. Those wasps came flying out after her and she really got her knickers in a twist. Nearly, turned that kayak right over. Luckily she didn't get stung. She's kind of allergic to insect bites. One summer a bull hornet bit her and her hand swelled up like nothing I have ever seen. We had to make a quick trip to the Urgent Care place for that one.

After Kinsey was done fooling around in the kayak she played a little "frisbee" with me. It's not really a Frisbee but it's like one and I love to play with those flying disk things.

Yee Haaa 

Gads I'm good looking

All in all a pretty darned nice day.

Ciao For Now
Molly Montana

©Kinsey Barnard

The Blackfeet Nation Montana My First Road Trip

May 27, 2014 was the day that my first ever road trip began. Kinsey Barnard, fine art photographer and my mom, is no stranger to road trips in the motorhome. Me, well, I’m a road trip virgin. Not only was this a momentous occasion for me but for Kinsey too. This would be her first road trip since Lakota crossed the rainbow bridge. She just couldn't seem to face the idea of traveling without him. They had shared so much on the road together.

It took Kinsey forever to get Clementine, that’s the motorhome, road ready. First there was the de-winterizing and then there were the systems checks. Gotta make sure no pipes got froze, the water heater works, the refrigerator works, the water pump works, the range works, the microwave works, the john works. Gads, there’s a lot of stuff the old gal has to do. We even took Shakedown Run to Glacier. Then there is the packing and provisioning.

When you live in a place like Montana, where the temps can go well below zero you pretty much have to empty your RV for winter. Then in spring you have to pack it all back in. Kinsey whizzed back and forth, in and out of the house so many times I got dizzy just watching. You shoulda seen the amount of food she packed away. Our trip was to last a week. She packed up enough food for a month! I really shouldn’t say anything because a love of good food is one of the many things we have in common.

Finally, the big day arrived. Kinsey had chosen St. Mary, Montana for our first trip. St. Mary is located on the east side of the Rockies on the Blackfeet Reservation. Many people are not aware that when they are at St. Mary they are guests of the Blackfeet. People are mainly focused on the entrance to Glacier National Park. Kinsey is no great fan of the US National Parks because they don’t allow dogs on the trails. Lucky for me, if a place doesn’t allow dogs she doesn’t care to go there.

Bright and early, maybe more like 9:30, Kinsey hooked up Shadow, that’s our little Ford Focus tow car, and we were ready to rumble. What was the first stop we made? The grocery store! I should be careful here, the stop was for cookies for me. From the Flathead, the road you take is 2 East through the Marias Pass and over the Continental Divide. The creeks were rising that’s for sure. Everywhere along the way water was gushing down the mountainsides. We stopped along the Middle Fork of the Flathead River for a picnic. The river was screaming. Kinsey had stopped here several times with Lakota but said she’d never seen anything like it.

Clementine and Shadow at the Northfork of The Flathead

There are two ways you can get to St. Mary. You can go through East Glacier taking 49 over to 89 or you can go the long way round by going all the way into Browning. Browning is sort of the capital of the Blackfeet Reservation. From Browning you go north on 89. There are length restrictions on 49 so if you are in an RV you’ll probably want to take Browning route. Kinsey's first time she accidentally got on 49 before she realized she shouldn’t be and there was no turning back. At that time, the sign advising the length limitations was after you were already at the point of no return. Let’s just say it was one of her more hair raising adventures. Glad to have missed it. Anyway, the drive over to St. Mary was nothing short of gorgeous.

Through the windshield 89 north Blackfeet Reservation

We got into St. Mary around two and checked into the KOA. Kinsey doesn’t usually stay at KOA’s but it’s still early in the season so there weren’t too many people. The other large park is up on a hill and the wind blows up there like nobody’s business. The first order of business was to go over to the Duck Lake Lodge and pick up a recreation permit for the Blackfeet Reservation. You need one of these if you plan to fish, hike or camp on the Blackfeet Reservation. The road to Duck Lake has some good vantage points for viewing Chief Mountain, a sacred mountain to the Blackfeet and an endless fascination for Kinsey.

Chief Mountain from the Blackfeet Reservation

After picking up the permit we drove around the area a little. It wasn’t long before we found ourselves on a road that said we needed to be either a Blackfeet tribal member to pass or have permission. There was a number to call for permission but it was out of service. Did Kinsey turn back? Oh, no, not that princess of the road less traveled. She figured she’d ask for permission if someone stopped us, nobody did. We passed a few vehicles and Kinsey gave the single finger wave. If you know the wave you’re pretty much accepted everywhere out in the country. Be careful though, don’t use the wrong finger.

In the early evening we took a walk down the road on the west side of Lower St. Mary Lake. It was a beautiful warm evening.

Lower St. Mary Lake - Blackfeet Reservation

  So far, I’m thinking I’m liking this road trip business. Can't hardly wait for tomorrow.

Be sure and check out Kinsey's new blog The Liberated Photographer.
 

©Kinsey Barnard

Motorhome Shake Down Cruise to Glacier NP

Today's offering is kind of a photo essay.

It's that time of year when we take Clementine, that's our motorhome, out of mothballs. In the Fall she has to get winterized so as not to freeze her parts. She then patiently waits for spring so she can get back on the road.

Yesterday we drove to #Glacier NP to test out some of the equipment. Kinsey decided not to de-winterize the water lines as we are still below freezing overnight and there's no reason to rush. We aren't going anywhere for a few more weeks.

As usual, the first thing Kinsey thinks about when she travels is her stomach so our first stop was at Super 1 in Columbia Falls.

This would be me waiting patiently for you know who

This stop gave us an opportunity to turn on the propane and see if the refrigerator would fire up, which it did not. Kinsey tried a half dozen times but the thing wouldn't ignite. She went out and tapped on the pipes but still nada. She finally said "Oh, the heck with it. Maybe jostling around on the road for awhile will break something free." Away we went.

The day was bright and sunny but still not a lot of people out and about. Kinsey took this photo whilst driving down the road. Smokies she's gonna kill me. Dang I wish I could do it. I might live longer.

The road less traveled but not for long

We pulled into #Lake McDonald which is the first magnificent sight one is likely to see upon entering the park. Once parked Kinsey tried the refrigerator again and voila it fired right up as did the burners on the propane stove. Excellent!

Lake McDonald April 19, 2014 Glacier NP

My awesomely beautiful self at McDonald Lake Glacier NP

National Parks in America don't let dogs on the trails so there wasn't much we could do but walk down the road which wasn't really a problem because there wasn't much traffic. Because of the dog limitations Kinsey gets very few photographs inside the park. She says the park is photographed to death anyway and there is no shortage of wondrous beauty outside the park. I am very grateful for her attitude. It means I don't get left behind.

There were a few stout souls out camping for the weekend even if their campsites where ringed with piled up snow. We stopped in at the amphitheater. The stage was still covered in snow but who needs anyone on the stage when you can sit and look at that backdrop? Awesome!

Glacier Park Amphitheater

 When we got back to Clementine Kinsey tried firing up the on-board generator. It took a little grinding but she fired up and ran smooth as silk.

On the way up and on the way back we were amazed at the amount of water in the Flathead River. The river is already running bank to bank and we haven't even really started the melt in earnest yet. The rafters and kayakers must be in heaven but we could be in for some real flooding trouble if the melt comes on too quick. Once again Kinsey did her one handed, driving down the road picture taking trick. I don't know how she does that. But, I'm not sure I like it.

Flathead River running bank to bank

So, Clementine is partially cleared for going on the road. We still need to drain the pipes of anti-freeze before we can check the water pump and the water heater.  So, far we are looking good! I'm really excited. I've never been on a road trip before. God bless my old mom. She really likes to get out and do stuff! I am becoming more grateful all the time that she is the one who chose me.

Be sure and check out Kinsey's blog The Liberated Photographer

©Kinsey Barnard

Spring storms in Montana very exciting.

Seems like spring IS on the way but man is it making a mess of things! Warm temperatures are melting the snow pack and rain is adding to the run-off.

Poor Kinsey was really having a time of it yesterday. Where she had stacked the snow had blocked proper drainage and pushed the water off down the drive. Then the rain came and tons of water took off down the drive eroding deep trenches. The ground is now totally saturated. The water keeps running and the trenches grow ever deeper. Normally, the snow melts slowly and we don't have rain. It's kind of like a perfect storm break-up.

Kinsey was out trying to figure a way to help divert the water. Problem is, the ground is still frozen and the normal channels are filled with snow and ice. Kinsey took after the ice with pick and shovel trying to dig the channels out. Whacking away she covered herself in ice and mud. The poor dear, I thought she was going to give herself a heart attack from the effort.

And, what was I doing all the while she toiled? Well, I was catching the Frisbee. God bless her, Kinsey would stop to toss the thing each time I brought it to her. I am getting so good. I can catch the thing over my shoulder, running away from it. And jump? My goodness golly, can I jump! I wish there were someone around that could throw the Frisbee whilst Kinsey photographed me because really I do some amazing things that should be captured. Maybe in the better weather.

I did reward her kindness. Whilst we were out some deer came ambling through up the hill. I took off like a rocket when I saw them. Kinsey hollered "STOP!" and I did. I came right back to her. She loves it when I do stuff like that and I love to make her happy.

Molly Montana

Be sure and check out Kinsey's new blog The Liberated Photographer.

FIRST FALL IN MONTANA

I turned 11 months on the 12th. Pretty close to being a year old. Much to Kinsey's chagrin I'm not getting puppyhood behind me very fast. She keeps telling me that Koty was pretty much out of the mischief stage by now whilst I'm still in there pretty solid.

I have not experienced a Fall in Montana or anywhere else for that matter.  By gosh, by golly it is beautiful. Here at the ranch we have aspen, cottonwood, tamarack, birch and mountain maple interspersed with the evergreen trees. It's starting to get real pretty now. In fact last night we got a good hard frost and you can see the colors appear to have burst out over night. Very cool! (No pun intended)

I'm told soon it will be hunting seasons and the mountain will be alive with the sound of gun fire. Not sure how I am going to react to that. The other day we went out and put up the no hunting signs in hopes of keeping the hunters off our property. We don't have any problem with hunters per se but they are not all respectful of other people's property and we don't want to get our heads shot off whilst we're working out there. Well, whilst Kinsey is working. I mostly play.

Kinsey is still sawing and chopping and says she soon will be burning. Yesterday she had to go to the chiropractor to get her back fixed so she could keep on at it. The woman is obsessed I tell you. Maybe I can get her to stop long enough to take some photos of me in the pretty Fall forest.

I did something today that I think scored me a whole bunch of points. Kinsey was cutting the limbs off a downed tree with the chainsaw. I guess she was tired because she was straddling the tree trunk and scooting forward on her butt. I jumped up on the log, walked up behind her and lay my head on her shoulder. Kinsey says; life is all about moments.

©Kinsey Barnard

LEARNING ABOUT THE CHAINSAW

Kinsey has been working in the woods like a mad woman. It's that time of year when she makes a push to get the firewood sheds filled for the coming winter. Poor dear, she is finding that it takes longer every year.

Anyway, she has been doing a lot of work with the chainsaw. I am a naturally curious creature so I have had to learn to keep my distance when the saw fires up.

I've been having trouble getting used to Mr. Toad. That's Kinsey's name for the Polaris Ranger 6x6 she uses to haul wood and tools around the ranch. I think my problem began when I fell out of the thing when I was still a puppy. Whatever the reason, I generally want no part of that Polaris.

Because Kinsey worries she might run over me she has been leaving me in the run when she goes out. I don't like that at all. She's been trying to explain that either I ride in the Ranger or get left behind, my choice. Yesterday, I finally made the connection. I'm still not crazy about the thing but I will get in it a lie on the floor. Apparently, my desire to go with her is greater than my dislike for the contraption.

Why Kinsey does this dangerous work I cannot tell you but she seems to enjoy it. Hardly the sort of thing most girls would care to do. I've got a real stranger here. At least I'll be warm and toasty when winter comes.

It didn't take me long to get the message about the saw. At first she had to tell me to "get over there" when she started up the saw. Now, I just know to keep my distance when she fires it up. The next thing she has to figure out is how to keep me safe when she's felling a tree. One of those trees could fall on my pointy little head and I wouldn't even see it coming. Hope she figures out something good.

It's going to be taking her even longer to get her work done now that I'm here to "help" as I steal her gloves every times she puts them down or her hat or anything thing I can grab. It's a rotten job but somebody has to do it.

©Kinsey Barnard

MY BAD

My bad. I haven't written on this blog in quite some time.

Summer seems to be a crazy season. So many things to do. Lots of work at the ranch, which bores me spit less but must be done. Lot's of company coming to enjoy marvelous Montana. I love company and meeting new people.

We have been back to the Salish Mountains. We found a trail that Kinsey wants to explore further but we weren't prepared to go so far. If we are going more than an hour out she likes to take a larger pack that has enough on board to spend the night in case of an accident. I'm looking forward to checking this trail out. What we've seen so far has been beautiful.

My training is coming along nicely. I'll probably have my last private lesson next week. The problem I'm having is; when I'm in a classroom I'm good as gold and the instructor is quite impressed with me. But, the second I get out in the forest I go kookoo. So many wonderful scents. I'm like a kid on crack. :)

In sad news; a young (25 years old) photographer Kinsey thought very highly of both as a photographer and general all around good guy passed away. His name was Patrick Orton. He had an incredibly promising career ahead of him. Patrick loved extreme sport photography and had taken some awesome images of people doing crazy things. He liked to do crazy wild things himself. He liked to jump off things and a couple of weeks ago he jumped off a bridge in Sand Point and that was the last thing he did. What a tragedy. Here is some of Patrick's work. PATRICK ORTON

Below are a few recent photos.

This was the view from the trail we found in the Salish Mountains. You can just make out the peaks rising up in Glacier National Park in the far distance.

I am so darned cute!

This is Red Bird one of my favorite toys.

This is Miss Piggy. She is my most favorite toy. It's Kinsey's favorite toy too because instead of that annoying squeak, that I love , it makes a lowing pig sound. Very funny.

©Kinsey Barnard

I AM SO PROUD OF MYSELF!

I am so proud of myself. For several weeks now Kinsey and I have been working on the long line. Practicing "Wait" Stop" and a whistle recall. The line is thirty feet long. When I'm about two thirds of the way out Kinsey calls "Stop". I'm supposed to stop no matter what and return to her. I'm real good at it when there isn't anything else competing for my attention. The big thing for Kinsey is that I not chase the deer which roam all over our ranch. And believe you me that's a distraction.

When I was really little I just sat and watched the deer. You can see photos of my cute little self in this post Watching Over My Deer Flock back in April. As I grew older, I am now 8 months as of yesterday, I started thinking chasing them would be a lot more fun. Before long I was obsessed with chasing them. I would go absolutely whiz bang nutty. This led to my getting my wings clip as in I lost my unsupervised free roaming privileges.

This morning I had a major breakthrough. We had been out practicing on the long line. When we got back there was a deer on the knoll across from the house. I saw her but tried to ignore that I knew she was there. Kinsey made me acknowledge its presence. She took me over to look right at it. I shuddered with excitement. I couldn't resist. I took off to go get it. At the very same moment Kinsey hollered "STOP!" And I did. I DID!

I was still on the long line but I stopped all by myself before I got to the end. I've never seen Kinsey so excited. You would have thought I'd won Westminster. I know I still have a lot of work to do but this was a real breakthrough moment for both of us. I know I'm going to get then hang of it.

I think my photographer needs a photographer. It's pretty hard to train and take photos too.  Below are a couple of photos Kinsey took of me this week in the flea bane. I like wildflowers.

 ©Kinsey Barnard

I NEED A NEW PHOTOGRAPHER

Yesterday we went for a hike on the Swisher Trail. This is a great trail where I can roam around whilst Kinsey slogs along the trail.

This blog is supposed to be a journal of my journey helped along by photographs of my beautiful self. But, after yesterday's performance I'm wondering about my photographer. She completely forgot to make setting adjustments and took a kajillion photos of me racing around set at 1/125. You can probably imagine what those pictures looked like. Me as a black blur. The ISO was set too high and she had trouble getting me in the frame. I may need a new photographer if she doesn't snap out of it.

Except for the photos it was a great run for me. I got my first opportunity to meet strangers, off lead, coming form the opposite direction. At first I took off to greet them but the other human's two dogs came charging at me and I ran back to the safety of Kinsey.  When the strangers got to us I jumped around and played with the dogs but as they passed by I let them go and stayed with Kinsey. She may be a lousy photographer but she is a great protector. I'm stickin' with her.

We did a lot of whistle and hand signal long range recalls and I came running every time. I'm happy to oblige because it seems to make Kinsey very happy and I get scrumptious treats for it too!

©Kinsey Barnard

See what I mean? This could have been a really nice photo if the shutter speed had been right and she hadn't cut off my head!

Looking down on the trail

Don't you think I'm starting to look grown up? Not six months yet.

 

NEW BEGINNINGS - CRATE TRAINING

The passing of Lakota Sunrise was the end of an era. The best era of my life so far to be sure. But, now there is Molly Montana and a new chapter begins. This blog will be turning into a journal chronicling Molly Montana and our life together. From a puppy to wherever and whatever life leads us.  Oh, I won't be able not to throw in a rant every now and again but this blog will mostly be stories about Molly Montana and the roads and trails we travel together.

I'm finding that I can't remember a lot of things about Koty's puppy days it was so long ago, either that or I've got early onset. I can't recall things like crate training and house training. My memory is that Koty didn't require any of that which I doubt is correct.

First let me just say, egads, I also forgot what a life changer having a puppy is.  She will require house training as well as crate training. Molly is a blank slate and the responsibility of raising her properly weighs. If a dog doesn't turn out right it isn't the dog's fault ninety-nine percent of the time.

It's hard to imagine but Molly has only been here four days and five nights. It's seems a lot longer. Especially, the nights. I've set up Koty's crate in the bedroom and Molly is barely a fly speck in the thing. Too big a crate is not productive for training as puppies are loathe to sleep in their own excrement. If the crate is too big the puppy can just move to the back to do it's thing and have room left with clean bedding. Molly certainly agrees with that theory.

The first night Molly went right in the crate. Once I closed the gate. She started howling and never stopped until I let her out the next morning. I am not a person that does well without at least eight hours of sleep. I hadn't slept Friday night because of the impending trip to Three Forks. Saturday night was spent in a strange place, no sleep there. Sunday night I spent with a howling banshee in my bedroom, no sleep there. I was wandering around in a fog. Have you ever been so tired you couldn't sleep? That's where I was. I tried taking my usual naps and nothing.

Koty's crate clearly needed a partition and I didn't get it in the crate until Tuesday. I cut a piece of plywood to size, drilled holes in the top corners and lashed it to the side of the crate. I used those zip tie things. I stuffed pillows behind the board to keep it stable. It worked like a charm as far as the soiling was concerned but the howling continued unabated. I read an internet article on crate training that suggested one salt the crate with treats and sure enough Molly went right in for those treats and she howled her head off as soon as the gate closed. Mama Mia that girl has lungs!

One thing is apparent, Molly and I had one thing in in common, we are food motivated. As far as I can tell Molly has never meet a treat she didn't like, me either! I began to think Molly was playing for treats. She wasn't focusing on the message.

I started looking for a new strategy and found it. This one played to her mind and emotion instead of her tummy. It made a lot of sense to me. I decided to give it a go. I put Molly in the crate and myself to bed. She immediately started whining. I let her go on for a few minutes. Then I told her "Enough!". When she kept on I got up and left the room soundly closing the door. I went to the living room couch and waited for her to stop.  When she did I slipped back into my bed. No sooner did my head meet the pillow than Molly began flexing her vocal chords. This went on half the night and finally I got up from the bed, and with no thought to puppy training experts who say use a stern voice, I simply said as sincerely as I knew how "Molly, I'm leaving this room and if I do I'm not coming back".  She immediately stopped. I slipped back into bed and we both slept until it was time to let her out. Crazy as it may sound that is exactly what happened.

Uh Oh! Busted!

©Kinsey Barnard

LAKES & SNAKES MONTANA HIKING

The weather in our neck of the words was perfect today. Mostly sunny and in the seventies. Really perfect hiking weather.

We hiked to Lake Hagadore and Martin Lake . Hagadore didn't have any water. The grass and cattails were about six feet tall. I had a dickens of a time blazing a trail. My nose was working in over drive because I kept coming upon nests in the grass that various animals had made.

From Hagadore we hiked over to Martin Lake . It wasn't much of a hike actually, maybe five or ten minutes. It is a pretty little lake. I bet there is good fishing here. The near the shore there were a bazillion fingerlings swimming around. I tried my luck at snapping some of them up but wasn't quite fast enough and came up empty. My most favorite thing in the world to eat is fresh caught fish. I'll take mine sushi!

On the way back we came upon a snake right in the middle of the trail. At least I thought it was just one. But, imagine my surprise when the snake took off and split into three! Look at the photograph and see if you can find the three heads. It's a snake puzzle. :) The snake puzzle has disappeared along with the photo but here's a snake.

Until next time........