Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Paying it forward

It's itchy season. We've all just about had it with the bugs. We're doing our best to cope by scratching each other's itches. I scratch Hank, Hank scratches George, George scratches Alan...



...and Alan stands at the end of the line looking adorable.


Post-processing: 1. Crop; 2. PW's Colorized action 3. MCP's High Def Sharpening action at 41%; 4. PW's Dim the Lights action at 51%, except on Alan

I have no picture to show you of the complete grooming chain, but this might help you get the idea:



I really should enlist someone to photograph this scene, as it must be seen to be believed. As it happens, a very special guest will be visiting the 7MSN this weekend who is pretty handy with a camera. Maybe I can enlist her?

33 comments:

  1. Alan is SO cute with his head laying on George. Your drawing cracked me up! LOL Wonder who your picture taking friend might be?

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  2. Oh, very nice photos! I love your sketch of the complete grooming chain. It has been really buggy here, too, and my horses do the same thing! :)

    Your blog is wonderful. I was wondering, though, how you find the time to take such good care of so many animals and write such great blog entries about all of them - and all on your own, right? Between work and the rest of life, sometimes I feel like I struggle to keep up with the chores, and I barely have time to ride! (But don't worry, I love the farm life and wouldn't give it up for anything!)

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  3. HA! very good drawing. I am sad when the first frost kills my flowers but I do not shed a tear when it kills those darn skeeters!!
    signed
    Theresa in ALberta

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  4. I love what you did with these photos, Linda. The blue's can be a real problem in photography and I'm often trying to downplay them. Such a nice alternative in your images.

    Scratch on!

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  5. Paying it forward. What a lovely concept. Awesome drawing Linda, can't be gifterd at everything can we ;) And enough suspense already... who's the lucky guest?

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  6. Great photos, Carson. I'm looking forward to seeing the chain of events next week.
    Enjoy your weekend.
    Best always, Sandra

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  7. Happy, time is one thing I've got plenty of - probably because I telecommute.

    Sigrid, I have a fear of jinxing my guest's travel plans by announcing her name yet. Y'all will find out soon.

    Sharon, these high-contrast sun/shade shots will be the death of me. I haven't used PW's Colorized action much, but it's moving up to the top of my tool box.

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  8. I love this! It would be tres cool if your guest could photograph that scene. Can't wait to see!

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  9. Great pictures, great title too. The drawing...cute. Around here when the humans aren't available for a scratch there's a lot of grooming going on and they will stand head to tail and swat for each other. Soon the bugs will be gone, we've just got to hang in there.

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  10. I love the drawing and hate the bugs too. We have had a terrible fly problem here this year. SWAT on the boys has seemed to help. One of our horses was suspected to have Pigeon Fever but thankfully it was reaction to a bug bite. I feel for your boys and the bugs.

    Can't wait to see who the mystery guest is and please try to enlist them in photo shooting.

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  11. The mosquitoes down here in the Mesilla Valley have developed a taste for Off--not a good thing, since they carry such awful diseases.

    Love your sketch--hope we see more of this unexpected talent! Happy scratching.

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  12. Love, love the cowgirl hat and boots! You could make a new saying..... "the family that scratches together, stays together"....Does Wynonna just watch you guys with a didaining look while you scratch away?

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  13. Nancy, Wynonna's too self-absorbed to notice. Her coping strategy is to bury her snout in the straw in the back corner of her pigloo so the bugs can't find her.

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  14. Love the diagram, and hope you get a photo, too!

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  15. I like your drawing! I think a family portrait would be great! My guys are all rubbing their butts against the fencing lately. Seems like we're constantly mending it now. Can't wait to see who the lucky guest will be!

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  16. Looking adorable can be very demanding.

    Wonderful drawing, is it to scale? :)

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  17. Hey cowgirl, dig those boots in your illustration! :)

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  18. Breathe, I can only wish that my butt were that little.

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  19. I love it! Now if only you could teach Alan to scratch you gently, you would have a complete circle! You are very lucky to have a stay at home (I mean ranch) job. Looking forward to more pictures.

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  20. Such cuteness, how do you stand it??
    I thought we'd have lots of bugs on our trail ride last weekend but there weren't any!

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  21. I LOVE the schematic. Now that's teamwork! I'm sure your friend will be amenable to the idea, as long as she gets lots of burro hugs in exchange for the daring feats of agility you'll be asking her to do behind the scenes. *smile*

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  22. colleen from nc8/24/10, 9:33 AM

    love your pics and posts!!! i do have a questions about your chickens. we have 1 rooster and 3 hens at the barn. got the chicks the start of spring.have not seen any eggs...untill last night. a back stall that is not used with a corner feeder. ok about 2 dozen eggs in there white and brown. ok now for my question.
    1. are the eggs ok to eat..dk how long they have been there

    2. how often do the lay eggs

    3 and can the same chick lay a white and brown egg.

    what a chicken rookie i am. can you help please

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  23. LOL that picture made my day.

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  24. Colleen,
    1. I think I wouldn't eat those eggs - some of them could be a few weeks old.
    2. My girls are each laying 5 or 6 eggs a week.
    3. I don't think so.
    Have you checked out the forums at
    http://www.backyardchickens.com/ ? There seem to be a lot of people over there with way more chicken knowledge than I have.

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  25. Lol, that diagram is so funny!!! We're having that here too, everyone is itching like crazy, tearing my fences to pieces.... I'm flyspraying twice a day to no avail. Yep, I'm with you, I'm about over the itchy season already.
    Can't wait to see who your special guest is :)

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  26. It's a circle of love. :)

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  27. ...and will the photographer be hanging by her heels from the edge of the barn roof??? If so, I want a picture of that!

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  28. I have been involved in a three-way (!) grooming chain where I got groomed as well. What a privilege to be included... love :)

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  29. Hmmmm...I am trying to guess the Mystery Guest as it isn't me. Pioneer Woman?

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  30. You are such a HOOT!! Love the drawing!

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  31. not only are you a great photographer but a great schematic artist too!

    you know I love your blog and pics but I may just have to quit stopping by if you keep bragging about your good weather and your farm fresh food on your twitter feed :) (hee hee)

    seriously....you share the visual beauty with us....I just wish there was a way to send that cool 64 dry degrees down here!

    PS: you and Carolynn (that's my guess) have a blast but don't get into too much trouble....

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  32. Those are great photos and your diagram is the cherry on top! lol.
    How DO you get all these great photo ops??

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  33. Yikes...the itchy-ness is just starting here. We have used fly parasites on our farm for more than 10 years now (for the horses and the llamas) and it really, really does make a difference. I haven't used fly spray yet this year...ahhh. But our nights are dipping in the mid 40s so that is helping a little.

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