Scout the Ox Meets His Match

When dogs are presented with a mirror they don't seem to take notice of themselves. I was curious as to whether Scout the Ox would take notice of himself.

Babe the Blue Ox Pavilion: Minnesota History Center

Head to the Then Now Wow exhibit's new "Babe the Blue Ox Pavilion" for hands on history and a live performance. Watch a world premiere play about Paul Bunyan and make your own Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox to take home. Free with History Center admission.

Dates: Dec. 28, 2012, Dec. 30, 2012, Dec. 31, 2012

Time: noon to 4 p.m.

Fee: $11 adults, $9 seniors and college students, $6 children ages 6-17; free for children age 5 and under and MHS members.

Minnesota History Center Link

Scout the Ox Picking Wild Rose Hips - Funny!

Scout the Ox supplementing his all hay, winter diet with wild rose hips. (Rose hips contain more Vitamin C than oranges!) That ox tongue and those lips were really made to do the job. As you watch remember that rose bushes are thorny affairs.

Oxen on Parade in Boston, Massachusetts

Regular parade on Washington Street.
Leslie Jones, 1886-1967 (photographer)
Date created: 1942 (approximately)

 Courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection
Some rights reserved

There's a lot to see in this archived photo! The camera man, Leslie Jones, worked for the  Boston Herald-Traveler newspaper, between the years 1917 and 1956, so likely the location is Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Notice the diamond willow whip handle and the horn knobs. The oxen appear to be wearing shoes.

This photo is the correct size for a standard computer screen. It would make a nice desktop wallpaper-background.

Leslie Jones Photo: Yoke of Oxen

Man with team of oxen hitched to wagon. 
Eastern United States
Photographer: Leslie Jones,  (1886-1967)

Courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection

 License: Some Rights Reserved

Free desktop wallpaper, oxen. Free desktop background, oxen.
Fits widescreen monitor.

Smiling Teamster with Yoke of Oxen

Farmer with team of oxen pulling empty hay wagon.

Eastern United States

Photographer: Leslie Jones, (1886-1967)

Courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection

 License: Some Rights Reserved

Free desktop background: oxen. Free desktop wallpaper: oxen.

Fits standard computer screen.

Southern Teamster Hauling Logs With Oxen

Logging with oxen in southeastern USA forest.
Teamster's name, the location and date are unknown.

 Link to original archived photo.
USDA,
Forest Service,
Southern Research Station

Training the Ox to Back-Up for Hitching

Gee or Haw, Back, and Whoa are commands used while hitching or unhitching an ox to a log for skidding. I have a number of trees to move from a wetland. This makes for a lot of repetitions which are great for training. At this stage of his training I'm asking the ox to make at least two steps back each time he hitches. He is accustomed to responding to the reins for left and right turns, and for stopping. So backing a few steps with a sustained tug on the reins comes fairly natural for him. I use a standard nylon cattle-halter without a cinch-chain, bit, or nose-ring, and as you can see in the video he is very responsive to that.

A Double Yoke of Oxen

Double Yoke of Oxen
Seaford, Delaware, USA  c1910
Published by W.H. Hall of Shipley & Hall

Sleek Yoke of Oxen

Sleek Yoke of Oxen Pulling Loaded Ox-Cart

This is an unidentified photo, from an antique glass negative "found in a barn." My uninformed guess is that it could be a load of sugarcane in the ox cart. Anyone care to venture a guess at the region where the photo may have been taken?  Click on "comments" below to share your thoughts.