Labor Disputes

Well, I thought this blog would be done by now, but it seems that we have a labor/management dispute; meaning that Roxie and I cannot decide who is labor and who is management.  The last I saw of her she was disappearing into her dog house after tacking a list of her demands on the door.  She says that until they are met she is on strike and there will be no more posts from her.  It all started when Cheryl Lieurance sent us this photo of Holly curled up in a fleece blanket.  We thought it was too cute not to include in a blog, but when Roxie saw it she got a kink in her tail and her nose out of joint, and now she is demanding a fleece blanket of her own, more jerky treats and her own I Pad.  We are negotiating about the I Pad; however, it looks as if tomorrow we will be shopping for jerky, and more fleece in a tasteful doggie print.  Meanwhile, you are stuck with hearing about what I want to share from our summer and fall adventures. 




 

Holly is a sweet, elderly Beagle who, along with Quirt,
 an Australian Shepherd, owns Mark and Cheryl Lieurance,

of Sperry, Iowa




Fall is such a lovely time to travel, and I
felt like sharing this one of some trees at a rest stop in Colorado.



After almost five days in Arizona I am beginning to recover from the drive.  To say that I do not enjoy driving is like saying Custer didn't enjoy that day at the Little Big Horn.  After pulling the stock trailer through Denver I looked in the back seat, fully expecting to see my guardian angel collapsed in exhaustion, or texting for a back-up.  How do some of you do that every day? We took the trip in four very easy days and stayed at relaxing places along the way--but more about that later.

Summer at the TA was lovely, and we are happy to be going back next summer.  Bob enjoyed all the Cowboy School students, and as I've said elsewhere, the best perks in this business are the wonderful people we have met along the way and the friends we've made. Tomorrow--after shopping for fleece--I want to share a few of the good places we have found to stay with the horses.  If Roxie and I can reach a settlement we might even have more pictures of Wyoming and some of our clinics.  I also have an idea for the blog and your feedback is needed. 

Roxie's Corner:

I read this over Betty's shoulder today.  "Optimism is not about providing a recipe for self-deception.  The world can be a horrible, cruel place, and at the same time it can be wonderful and abundant.  These are both truths.  There is not a halfway point; there is choosing which truth you put in your personal foreground." (Professor of psychology, Sonja Lyubomirsky in her book, The How of Happiness, p.111)

Cow dogs are very good at optimism, so I liked this a lot.   Bets says that I have been remiss about the blog all summer long.  I think remiss means that I have not done her blog for her while she has been goofing off at the TA Ranch all summer. Tonight I will be updating some fun stuff that I did this summer and might even include something for her.  Hmmmm?  Should I ask for a raise? Should I ask for a salary first?  Maybe more dog treats?