Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Jessie

Yesterday, I was standing on the porch watching Jessie.  We depend on her so much, and over the years (she's ten) she has stored all manner of information that allows us to practically talk to her in plain English.  If you were to follow either MM or me around for a day out here on our farm,  JOTOLR, you would simply be amazed at her knowledge and abilities.  It's more than incredible. 

If the chickens are out, we holler, "Jessie!  Chickens! and she comes a-running.  If the cows need to be moved, we holler "Jessie! Cows!" and by golly the cows MOVE.   If there's a rabbit in the garden, we holler "Jessie!  Rabbit!" and she flies to the rescue, hunts down the critter and dispatches it.  She's always there for us, no matter what the need.

But one of the needs is...as a Pet.  Something to love and "pet."  She is MM's constant companion.  And so many aspects of this Border Collie are unique, including her fur which invites us to riffle our fingers in its depth; her nose which faithfully tracks MM down regardless of where he goes; her eyes that gather all manner of clues--whether it's our hand signals as to where to find something when she's 3/4 of a mile away, or the crow making a racket overhead; her all important tail which telegraphs her joy and reflects ours as it wags when we laugh and talk to her. 

She's an all around dog that over many years has become the go-to force on this farm.  As I've said before, when we want something done, on this farm we call Mighty Dog!






5 comments:

  1. Elora -- your words paint a lovely picture of Jessie's personality while your photos give us attractive pieces of her physical attributes. I would say she is an intellectual amongst the dog world (and maybe the human world as well). Good training -- I am sure you and your husband contributed to this. -- barbara

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  2. Barbara,

    You are so right! MM gets all the credit for being the guiding light for Jessie. And, what a bullseye description! You called it: an intellectual of the dog world. She is that! She's a very serious dog. Her sense of humor only comes out when she's chasing a stream of hose water or a bee (believe it or not!) when we say bzzzzzzzz! She goes bananas! Otherwise, she's all business.
    Thank you again for your lovely comments. I had a few moments yesterday to browse your blog and I love the additions you made lately. But it's always a lovely menu of topics to enjoy and ponder!
    Elora

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  3. One of the things I regret the most about being away from home for our volunteer times is that we can't have a pet and do this. A couple of years ago we lost our cat that had been with us for 12 years. While cats aren't my favorite pet Jackson was a part of the family. I want a dog and we talk about it in passing, all the while knowing that the time isn't right for that. I'll just enjoy Jessie vicariously! blessings, marlene

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  4. Hey, Marlene!

    Great to hear from you! Loved your quotation today! Hope you've gotten some relief from the heat as we have. What a GREAT name for a cat! And I thought "Spike" was a good one (ours)...I used to think I was just a "cat person" but when all our cats went on to other lives, I couldn't believe how I could have ignored dogs all that time! I now consider myself a "dog person" although I do love cats, too. It's just that right now, I'd rather have the yard full of wild birds and Cat = Zero Birds.

    Hope all goes well!
    Elora

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  5. Lovely pictures! Border Collies are so perfect for many jobs on the farm. Our Dan's chief job seems to be to make sure John keeps moving.

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