July 5th, 2010 Oxcart Ride

Soundtrack: All Because Of You
Artist: Christian Marsac

Me and My True Love: An Ox Cart Ride

The Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond

A Scottish folk song.

By yon bonnie banks and by yon bonnie braes,
Where the sun shines bright on Loch Lomon'.
where me and my true love were ever wont to gae
On the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomon'.
O ye'll tak' the high road and I'll tak the low road,
An' I'll be in Scotland afore ye;
But me and my true love will never meet again
On the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomon'.

'Twas there that we parted in yon shady glen,
On the steep, steep side o' Ben Lomon',
Where in purple hue the Hieland hills we view,
An' the moon comin' out in the gloamin'.
O ye'll tak' the high road and I'll tak the low road,
An' I'll be in Scotland afore ye;
But me and my true love will never meet again
On the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomon'.

The Iron Ox

After the ox came the horse and after the horse came the tractor --- as first choice for farming the land.

I went to the Oklee Centennial Celebration to see Orlin Ostby's ox Pum, but the closest thing I could find was a tractor-pull in the alley off the end of main street --- and an inflatable jumping toy in the likeness of a blue ox. I was too late. Someone said the ox had been there and was the biggest animal she'd ever seen outside of an elephant at the zoo!

Pum and Ostby retraced the 400-mile Pembina trail as part of the Minnesota Sesquicentennial Celebration in 2008. I'm sorry I missed them here at the Oklee Centennial (so close to home!). Hopefully I'll catch up with Orlin and his ox Pum at some later date.

Grandkids Go for an Oxcart Ride

Scout the Ox is a little over 8 months old now. He pulls the cart like a champ, however he doesn't overlook an opportunity to head for the ditch to grab a few mouthfuls of grass. Get-up is mastered, he knows whoa but doesn't always do it. He needs a lot more work on gee and haw. In general he is more responsive to touch --- to push --- or to pull than to verbal cues. He does very well staying with the program --- if I'm walking near his head or shoulders.

Photos taken on July 2, 2010

Cat and Dog Table Turned

Le Magasin Pittoresque (Paris, 1834)

Sophia Puts on the Dog

Kitten and puppy play. This kitten was orphaned by the mother cat and put onto a dog nursing puppies. The dog pictured is not one of its littermates.

Cat Fools Dog

19th Century Children's Book Illustration
Artist unknown.

Our Doggy New Kitty

Sherry went to be with our daughter and the new grandbaby and came home with a new kitty. "Sophia" makes it into the Ox and Dog Blog because she was an orphaned kitten raised by a dog --- along with three puppies.

Eeee-ow!

Sophia spies a big, hairy hidebehind.

Harry the Hidebehind

 

When loggers failed to return to 19th century logging camps, the hidebehind (C. silvestris palinensis) was sometimes believed responsible for their disappearance. Although large enough to drag its human prey to its lair, it was capable of quickly hiding behind trees when someone looked in its direction. This illustration from the book Fearsome Critters (1939) looks a lot like Harry.

Yoke Gets Finished

Putty nail holes (Yoke is made from used lumber).

Sand.

Oil.

At the End of the Rainbow.

photos by sld

Oxcarting

Scout in fine form.
photo by sld

 

Temporarily abandoned beside the road is this boat on steel wagon wheels, one of which had come undone. Judging from the (black) sign, the wagon wheels, and the spelling,  I suspect it may belong to one of the German speaking Amish families who live south of us.

Scout gets another break at water's edge.

 

Home again, Hannigan.

photo by sld

Yoke Headlights

Upcycled Bicycle Reflectors

(up·cy·cle [uhp-sahy-kuhl] Where old products are given more value not less.)

(Video #1 of 2) Hip-hop. . . .Back to the Drawing Board

Watch closely. One of the neck pieces drops out of the yoke surprising the ox. After the camera stopped his head went down and the yoke and the red strap ended up in a tangle around his head. Oh boy, was I glad he wasn't a horse! He stopped and waited for me to sort things out. I had made the neck shafts removable so I can widen them out as he grows. I see I'll need to pin them in place in the meantime. The next video will show a calm Scout as I get him harnessed up again.

video by sld

(Video #2 of 2) Re-Hitching the Oxcart

After the yoke falls apart and the whole mess gets tangled around the ox's head, he stands calmly while I get him reharnessed. He's such a good sport!

video by sld

View from the Oxcart

My first ride on the cart.

Oxcart: The Preferred Mode of Transportation. . . .

. . . .When Getting There Was Half the Fun.


Basque Ox-Team c. 1884
Source Unknown

Labrador Retriever?

Dr.Bob (Harry's Vet) believes Happy Harry's Landseer Newfoundland mother must have been bred by a Labrador Retriever --- this picture would certainly support that hypothesis.

Wading in the Water: A Special Reward For the Ox

After a hot, humid, and buggy day Scout the Ox enjoys wading in the water.

Bugs!

Biting insects are a general nuisance to the ox when yoked to the oxcart. Scout's on the way to the pit to go wading.

Scout Pulls Like an Old Hand

Ox training on ox cart.

Scout the Ox's New Yoke and Cart

Ox cart and ox yoke.

How To (or not to) Make an Ox Yoke, Part II

Making My Single Ox His First Yoke

Addendem: These two videos will give you an overview of the basic skills and tools you might use to make an ox yoke. It was my first yoke, made on a whim with available materials. It served its purpose as a training yoke for an empty cart, and I learned some of the basic principles of yoke design --- first hand. Even after lowering the hitch points they were too high — under load the yoke tended to roll back. The narrowness of the yoke seat (from side-to-side)was criticized. However, I fail to see a problem with that. The dairy-calf has a very narrow neck. When the yoke didn't tip back, it distributed the weight evenly on the sides and top of the neck; it had no tendency to tip to the side, or to waggle.

Making the “bow” from two straight pieces joined at the bottom with a throat piece I deem as a success and I would recommend it to anyone interested in making a non-traditional yoke. It’s not rocket science, but there are a lot of dynamics at work in a properly functioning yoke. For anyone with a good set of tools and some basic hand skills I’d say — go for it! That there is some formula that must be followed for making an acceptable yoke is getting stuck on tradition — in my opinion.

That is not to say that there is anything wrong with the traditional ox yoke. In fact, if you have an ox for historical or re-enactment purposes — that would be the way to go.

My second yoke is also experimental in nature and can be seen here: http://storybrookeripples.blogspot.com/2010/08/did-you-hear-jailhouse-yoke.html

At this point in time (September 12, 2010) I am very pleased with the way it functions. You can leave your observations, critiques, or opinions by clicking on “comments” under any one of my blog entries. I’d be happy to hear from you.

How To (or not to) Make an Ox Yoke, Part I

Making My Single Ox His First Yoke

Addendem: These two videos will give you an overview of the basic skills and tools you might use to make an ox yoke. It was my first yoke, made on a whim with available materials. It served its purpose as a training yoke for an empty cart, and I learned some of the basic principles of yoke design --- first hand. Even after lowering the hitch points they were too high — under load the yoke tended to roll back. The narrowness of the yoke seat (from side-to-side)was criticized. However, I fail to see a problem with that. The dairy-calf has a very narrow neck. When the yoke didn't tip back, it distributed the weight evenly on the sides and top of the neck; it had no tendency to tip to the side, or to waggle.

Making the “bow” from two straight pieces joined at the bottom with a throat piece I deem as a success and I would recommend it to anyone interested in making a non-traditional yoke. It’s not rocket science, but there are a lot of dynamics at work in a properly functioning yoke. For anyone with a good set of tools and some basic hand skills I’d say — go for it! That there is some formula that must be followed for making an acceptable yoke is getting stuck on tradition — in my opinion.

That is not to say that there is anything wrong with the traditional ox yoke. In fact, if you have an ox for historical or re-enactment purposes — that would be the way to go.

My second yoke is also experimental in nature and can be seen here: http://storybrookeripples.blogspot.com/2010/08/did-you-hear-jailhouse-yoke.html

At this point in time (September 12, 2010) I am very pleased with the way it functions. You can leave your observations, critiques, or opinions by clicking on “comments” under any one of my blog entries. I’d be happy to hear from you.

Mountaintop Experience

Hey. . . .this is pretty steep! Don't ya think?

 

Surveying the land.

Better view over here.

I'm on top of the world.

King of the Hill

Harry and Scout Exploring the Shoreline

Ox and Dog
6/13/2010

A Day at the Beach

 

Ox and Dog

 6/13/2010

Midday Rest, Ox and Dog

Frank F. English,-- Artist, (1854-1922)

Chromolithography by L. Prang & Co. -- Publisher

Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art

New York Public Library

Stephen A. Schwarzman Building

Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street

Midtown West, New York, New York

Child Crossing Kortright Creek in Cart Pulled by an Ox

Five-year old Walter Gildersleeve in a cart very similar to the one at the auction. He is photographed on the Davenport Center (NewYork) bridge over Kortright Creek in about 1900. The Central Hotel is in the background.

an  Ervin Davis photo