Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Grenny the Mule

Grenny the Mule
Wood Sled
Breaking Trail
The Wood-Sled Trail
Would Rather Ride Than Work
Waiting to Unload
It's one of those sapphire-blue-sky days that electrifies all the white snow. From my rocking chair at the fire, I watch snow scatter in a great white gusts lifted from the pastures and pond by a swirling wind. Snow dust eddies like a current in a stream, flowing out the driveway to wash across the road and train tracks. It's the coldest day I've experienced in Elmira, but still 10 degrees above zero.

Grenny the Mule helps keep the house warm.

Todd has our big male GSP, Grendel, hitched to the wood sled. We admittedly grew lazy this winter and have used our truck, the Blue Goose, to haul wood from the horse barn to our west-side porch. But the battery is dead so we have to haul it by hand. Todd built the sled and Grenny becomes our mule to power it.

Walking alongside Grenny, Todd lifts up on his harness. Mostly this is to keep the nose of the sled up, so it doesn't become a snowplow. The dog-mule pulls the majority of the weight, managing several loads from the horse barn to the porch.
Working on the Ranch

The sled is a plow of sorts, packing a wide trail that curves across the pasture. Packed snow doesn't swirl with the wind, but it it makes a fine track for the wind to follow as it chases snow dust toward the house. It reminds me of the sort of tracks pioneers would have made on their ranches before modern machinery and Model-Ts. I feel like Ma Ingalls standing on the porch watching Pa and his mule work.

Bobo is having none of this old-fashioned business. After trotting down the trail after Grenny, she realizes that he's mule-minded. He's not interested in playing; he has a job to do. Bobo stands by the car as if to say, look if you guys aren't going to play, let's go for a ride. She's not into this pioneer work.

Grenny waits patiently while Todd unloads and stacks wood, which is not typical behavior from the dog. But in this moment he's a working mule and he waits. I wonder how many other chores we can devise for Grenny as he and Todd head back for another load.

Back inside the wood-warmed house, I settle into my own work and listen to the winds howl, knowing we have enough fuel to get through this cold snap.

10 comments:

  1. Love this! I had a malamute, many years ago, that would have loved this job.

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    1. Thanks! Did you know that some sled-mushers cross huskies with German Short-haired Pointers? Look up Scandinavian Hound. Can you imagine a cross between Greeny the mule and a malamute? :-)

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  2. Dogs love having a purpose... doing a job... being of service. The snow you sent me lingers. Your words swirl and create eddies in my evening. From one Ma Ingalls to another...

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  3. They, do and you can see it in Grendel's demeanor...he's got work. If we were kids we could go find those forts and play Little House in the Big Woods! Have a lovely evening with our shared snow.

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  4. What a great dog! I sure hope he got a special reward for all of his hard work.

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    1. His reward is to spread out by the fire he helped to fuel!

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  5. What a wonderful dog and such a big help. Hubby has been bringing in wood by the armload each night, a few trips from the pile. And I've been keeping the stove going as we aren't fixing the burst heat pipe until the weather is warmer. It's working out fine.

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    1. I failed to wake up last night to stoke the stove! Last night was supposed to be the worst of the cold so I think we made it thru. If only I could teach Grenny to get up at 3 a.m. and fan the flames on more wood! Stay warm!

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  6. aawww looks like you have some very helpful dogs there.
    I've had enough of winter for sure.

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    1. Oh, Marsha I hear you on that account! Looking forward to lilacs!

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