Jack Russell Story

A wealthy old Gentleman decides to go on a hunting safari in Africa, taking his faithful, elderly Jack Russell Terrier named Killer along for the company.


One day the old Jack Russell starts chasing rabbits and before long, discovers that he's lost. Wandering about he notices a leopard heading rapidly in his direction with the intention of having lunch.

The old Jack Russell thinks, "Oh, oh! I'm in deep doo-doo now!" Noticing some bones on the ground close by he immediately settles down to chew on the bones with his back to the approaching cat. Just as the leopard is about to leap, the old Jack Russell exclaims loudly, "Boy, that was one delicious leopard! I wonder if there are any more around here?"


Hearing this, the young leopard halts his attack in mid-strike, a look of terror comes over him, and he slinks away into the trees. "Whew!", says the leopard, "That was close! That old Jack Russell nearly had me!"


Meanwhile, a monkey, who had been watching the whole scene from a nearby tree, figures he can put this knowledge to good use and trade it for protection from the leopard. So, off he goes, but the old Jack Russell sees him heading after the leopard with great speed and figures that something must be up.


The monkey soon catches up with the leopard, spills the beans, and strikes a deal for himself with the leopard.

The young leopard is furious at being made a fool of and says, "Here monkey, hop on my back and see what's going to happen to that conniving canine!"

Now the old Jack Russell sees the leopard coming with the monkey on his back and thinks, "What am I going to do now?" Instead of running, however, the dog sits down with his back to his attackers, pretending he hasn't seen them yet, and just when they get close enough to hear, the old Jack Russell says...

"Where's that damn monkey ? I sent him off an hour ago to bring me another leopard!"
Moral of this story...

Don't mess with the old dogs... age and skill will always overcome youth and treachery- BS and brilliance only come with age and experience.


This delightful story came to me by email from my wonderful friend Opal. I hope you enjoy it. I have no idea who the original author is or I would happily give him/her credit. If you do happen to know who wrote this please post it in the comment section so I can give credit where credit is due. For now the author is Anonymous.



Life is a journey...enjoy the trip.
Mary E. Robbins and the Hairballs
Robbins Run Ranch: Living the Dream With Our Pomeranians
307.788.0202

Ouchy whining, April 12

Ouch, I hurt. Did chores today. Dumped all the waters and rinsed them out and refilled them. Fed around 125 pounds of feed. Went into town with David for fuel and fowl feed.

My arms hurt. I didn’t make the hip hop abs or oxycise, or the walk around the driveway loop. I did the red exerciser and elliptical.

Life is a journey, enjoy the trip.
Mary E. Robbins & the Hairballs
Robbins Run Ranch: Living the Dream With our Pomeranians

307.788.0202

Munch Munch Munch April 11th

Grazed a good bit of the day. Not an all out binge. Grazing, couldn’t seem to find what I was looking for. Then it dawned on me. I needed hydration. I started drinking more water and the urge to graze eased off.

You’d think I’d recognize that by now, but it is still a process.

I did do my red exerciser, at least that's something

Life is a journey, enjoy the trip.
Mary E. Robbins & the Hairballs
Robbins Run Ranch: Living the Dream With Our Pomeranians
307.788.0202

Wow, Talk about Sore: written April 10th 2008

Woof baby; I was sore when I got up this morning. I hit my workout pretty hard yesterday, for my level. I thought I had drunk enough liquid, but I was wrong. Yeow-ouch, muscle spasms in my back and legs. Made for a rough night. Yes I am drinking more water today. Made sure my calcium intake was up too.
New Vision International has Citrus Flavor Essential Calcium that works well for me. Usually I put a scoop in about a liter of water and it will ease off the knotted up muscles.

Watch the electrolytes when you are working out or changing your body composition. As in losing fat! If you ever really jack them up. As in get to low on any one of them, the results are vicious. Vicious as in major muscle pain, then death if you get too low. Too high isn’t good either, balance is the key.

Unfortunately since I did jack mine up years ago I do not metabolize calcium or potassium well. Years ago I did some very inadvisable diet and training regimes and nearly destroyed my body. Really jacked my immune system.

First I started getting ill, major league ill as in pneumonia and bronchitis each year. Then it went to around every 6 months. Then it was sort of get over it and come back down ill again.

So a word to the wise. Take care of your body. Give it the nutrition it needs. Get off your butt and move, but pay attention. Moderation and balance is the key. Yes you can train for a marathon or any sports, or dance life and take care of your body. If you neglect it. You may not notice it for a while. But it will break down. Been there done that, you won’t like it!

Working your way back, if you survive the crash, is hellish. Yep that’s the word, hellish. Mentally, it’s a labyrinth filled with mental landmines to work through. Emotionally it’s swings from determination, to desolation. Physically it’s slow and painful. Spiritually it’s purgatory.

No you don’t have to believe me. No you don’t have to take care of your body. It’s up to you. If you want to go on the tour thorough hell that I’ve been through, have at it.

Take care of yourself. Mind, Body, and Spirit, the total person.

Ok, I’m getting off my soap box, for now. Lol.

I went for my workout plan again today. So far so good. I’ve been trying to keep it real. Breaking it up throughout the day. I’m determined, I’ve put together a 1 through 30 countdown chart. Not 30 days, 30 workouts. My workouts are broken down into components. I’ve changed my focus from marathon training to fitness training. I’ll tackle the marathon later, besides the fitness training is laying the foundation.

My 30 workout challenge is as follows:
Red exerciser 10 minutes
Walk outside: driveway loop, or ridge loop (between ½ mile and 1 mile)
Elliptical 5 kilometers
Oxycise Level 1
Hip Hop Abs following the workout.

My goal is to lose 3 inches off my waist, and 3 inches off my hips. I have the rest of my measurements as well so we’ll see what happens. I should lose at least the 3 inches.

At the end of 30 workouts I am going to take my measurements again.

Then the plan is to step it up a level and do it again.

I was pretty happy with just getting through the first hip hop abs workout. Whoo Hoo. A couple of months ago I tried that and it knocked me out for around 3 days. Today I’m sore but not knocked out. I’m going for it again tonight.

Life is a journey, enjoy the Trip.
Mary E. The Hairballs
Robbins Run Ranch: Living the Dream With Our Pomeranians

Arf, I am a Stiff Sore Puppy this Morning

Ok I’m a sore stiff sore puppy this morning after working out yesterday. Not as sore as I am stiff though. I’m going to get on the elliptical and loosen up.

It’s a gray overcast outside. The weather channel on my desk top is threatening another winter storm. Ugh. I know the moisture will be great for the pastures. Yes here comes the BUT, I love days like we had yesterday. Calm for the most part. A little breezy, warm (not hot) sunshine. A delight of spring. Cold wet and blowing is not my cup of tea. Best get over that little attitude…lol.

I did get oxycise done yesterday. Whoo Hoo… made it through the red exerciser, elliptical, and walked the ridge route. Didn’t make hip hop abs. Made some headway on my office, snapped a few puppy photos. They are too cute. Took care of the young ducks, Put the pups outside in exercise yards, took them back in when evening rolled around. The way the weather looks outside today they aren’t going to be able to go out and play. They are such cute little hairballs.

Fed and watered the kennels. Fed the chickens and geese, gathered eggs. Did human laundry, and dog laundry. Returned some phone calls. Worked on the whelping house a bit more. Worked a bit with Veretekk, New Vision International, and Trilogy/Healthy Pet Net. Participated in a conference call at 6:30, very interesting, Trilogy has a new facial and body clay coming out that looks wonderful. I love their pet products already. So do the dogs. I can really see a difference in them when they eat it. The way they look, the way they act, their coat texture. Wow.

Ate dinner after the conference, Did red exerciser while in conference. I crashed after dinner. Didn’t have anything left. Serious case of the bobble head. As in head bobbing can’t stay awake anymore. Fell asleep in my chair. Didn’t get some correspondence answered, I’m shooting for it today.

I’m pretty excited about a project Al Turnquist has put together for Jag Team Members. Got to get my office in order, Taxes done and all that then I am jumping in with both feet. So to speak. Lol.

I have learned so much from Mentors/Jaguar, When I think back as to how I got started with it and all the hurdles it’s truly amazing.

Time’s burning, gonna start a pot of coffee, let the dogs in, get on the elliptical

Later Tater…
Life is a journey, enjoy the Trip.
Mary E. Robbins & the Hairballs
Robbins Run Ranch: Living the Dream With Our Pomeranians
307.788.0202

Beautiful Early Morning Walk with a Special Treat

Wow mornings like this are the reason I moved out here. I took Min Min and Cheyenne for our walk. Instead of doing the loop around the driveway we went up the ridge behind the house, out into the pasture and came back in around the greenhouse. It’s actually a longer walk. I could take Cheyenne off lead out there safely. Maybe I’m a bit over protective but I do not want to walk along the road with her off lead. You never know when some rancher/farmer is going to come by with their dogs in the back of the truck.

Most stay in the truck but I just don’t want to risk it. Not to Cheyenne or Min Min. Cheyenne is around 15 years old now. Min Min is my baby. She turned 5 this year. Our farm cats are actually bigger than she is. I keep her close to me when we are walking. I carried her the last bit this morning. She had pooped out. Actually my legs were feeling a bit like noodles too.

When I walked up over the north ridge I saw that the Prairie dogs had spread over at least 5 acres. I hate to do it but I’m going to have to put a stop to that. I know the other ranchers around would have a hey day with this, but I love the way they talk back and forth.

I looked off to the west and I could see Laramie peak. It was foggy early this morning and there was still a morning haze around the peak.
Then I got a real treat. I heard this wonderful sing song call coming from somewhere. Of course I’d been listening to the meadowlarks all along the way. At first I couldn’t figure out what it was. Then I saw them circling. Hundreds of them in flocks flying in huge circles working their way north towards where I was. There are lakes south of me and ponds to the west and the river runs east and west not too far north of us. There is a creek as well to the east of us a few miles.

I was walking along, avoiding the cactus and gawking at these flocks of birds. They came in low enough so I could see their feet sticking out behind them and the dark tips on the underside of their wings. I wish I’d had my camera or some binoculars at least. But of course, I didn’t. They were Sandhill cranes. Wow I’d never seen them in that close. Usually when we see them go over they are so high they are just dark specks in the sky. This was a wonderful treat.

Here is a link to their call. Such a cool sound. The photo is from the international Crane Foundation’s Web Page. They have more photos there as well.

I saw my first grasshopper of the season too. Could do with out those things; however they are good food for the birds. I’m thinking that if the grasshoppers are coming out I’d best start keeping an eye out for snakes on the southern ridges where the ground is warmed up. Don’t need to step on a bullsnake; nor a rattlesnake for that matter. That’s always a concern when I have my dogs off lead. I walk with a staff, works great as a walking stick but also as a weapon to deal with an aggressive snake if I have too.
With the guineas about we haven’t had near as many snakes in and about. Odds are there are some good sized ones in those prairie dog holes though. Food supply and all that.

The day is zipping on and I’m working on my office mess. I will be a very happy person when I finally have all this stuff sorted, shredded, filed, dealt with. So I can easily find whatever I need in my work day.

It’s quite the job coming back from such a long illness. It’s truly amazing how much mess has accumulated. Wow! One pile at a time.

Puppies are outside enjoying the sunshine. Little cuties. Hopefully I’ll snap some photos this afternoon.

Baby ducks are growing like crazy. Wow! Very soon I’m going to have to move them to a larger confinement. Have to keep them penned up tight so the farm cats don’t eat them.

I’m glad we have the cat population though. They have really made a difference with the mice. Before I got sick, right after we bought the place spring of 2003 we planted 20 or 30 fruit trees. The rodents belted them. Killed every one of the apple trees. No it wasn’t just rabbits. Since we have so many cats around now there are not so many rodents. Still quite a few mice. But the cats do a good job of thinning them out. The birds, chickens, turkeys and such will go for them too given the opportunity.

I do want to get some more turkeys. I would like to establish a flock here. Not the broad breasted ones. Those poor birds are so heavy they can’t even breed naturally. I want something that can live on the range and be healthy. Of course they have shelter and grain but they are able to go wherever they want to roaming around.

It will be good to have the surround fence up. The fowl will fly over it for the most part. Probably not the geese. The guineas and chickens will. So will the Muscovy once they are grown. The point is to have the fence up to keep the coyotes out. It will slow down the foxes as well. Depending on the type of wire used.

I just looked at the clock… gotta run…
Life is a journey, enjoy the trip.
Mary E. Robbins & the Hairballs
Robbins Run Ranch: Living the Dream With Our Pomeranians
307.788.0202

Beautiful Spring Snow and Sunshine

It was a beautiful spring day here today. Started out with a solid gray cloud cover, and then snowed. March is getting its last word in, or rather last snow. It was warm enough that the snow melted before the end of the day.

While I was out feeding and watering the dogs it was actually snowing with the sun shining. I had to laugh. I am so glad its spring. Winter has seemed to stretch on forever this year.

How winter can stretch on forever and I can still be behind on paperwork is beyond me. One day one thing at a time. I think I’m going to put in a bit of garden this year. That is the plan anyway.

We bought 15 baby Rouen ducklings just before Easter. It’s been quite the thing to watch them grow. They are 4 or 5 times the size they were when we brought them home. Messy little critters. They have too much fun in that water pan.

Tomorrow I’m picking up 5 more guineas. They are adults. I am going t crate them in the chicken house for a few weeks before I let them loose. Hopefully they will stay here then. I made the mistake of letting some lose too soon last year and they took off and led most of the ones I had already away as well. Live and learn.

It looks like we are getting a dozen adult geese as well. I’m not sure of the breeds yet. I’ll be picking them up in a couple of weeks. I plan on keeping them in the exercise yards between the dog runs for a while. Hopefully the dogs will not scare them to death. I’m hoping they will adjust (both the dogs and the geese). The plan is to keep the grass and weed growth down in the exercise yards with the geese.

I may have found a local place to get some Muscovy ducks as well. If not I found a reputable nursery that sells them.

Truthfully I would just as soon raise the fowl from small birds rather than buying the adults. That way they are attached to this place as home and used to the dogs and our lifestyle.

David and I bought an incubator. Found one that was not Styrofoam. Farm Tek had it. I am anxious to try it out. Our pair of geese is laying eggs. I’m thinking it would be good to smoke some fowl this year. I’ve never tried that but I’ve heard it’s wonderful.

Easter was a relatively pleasant holiday this year. I kept the menu very simple and put a dinner together. Mom, Linda, and Auntie came over. We checked out Mom’s all terrain wheelchair to see if it would fit through the door to the house and down the ramp. It did with about an inch on each side to spare. There is no room to mess about with it, but with care it can be safely maneuvered in and out of the house. It handled the uneven terrain great. I was pleased with the way it handled the hills as well.

I am working on taxes trying to get that entire paperwork bit put together and given to my accountant. Thank God for extensions. I do want that done though. I really do not like having it hang over my head.

Spring Kennel cleaning has been started. I’ve been raking up big yards. I’ll be starting on the smaller exercise pens soon. This winter there was so much snow it was impossible to clean them all out. Ick. I will be very glad to get them cleaned up, sprayed down and another layer of straw put down. The wind whips it out of the runs pretty quickly. But we can get a good layer in the houses, and under the shades. Hopefully this coming season I can have a semi load of gravel brought in, and spread out into the runs. I would prefer pavers then gravel to fill in, but we’ll see what the season brings.

I am feeling better than I have in years. However I know there is no way to do everything at once. Doing a bit each day achieves a phenomenal amount over time. Just a bit each day.

It will be a hair storm here starting in may. I may start on it the last week or so in April depending on the weather and whether the dogs are releasing coat. The hair storm of course is spring grooming. Actually spring vetting and such will be starting this coming week. There are a lot to do so I will be working on them in phases.

Hopefully I’ll get some photos taken as well and start updating my main website www.robbinsrun.com . It’s been way too long since I’ve updated my dog pages. This winter it took all I had just to keep up with taking care of the dogs.

I effectively shut down kennel sales this winter. It will be good to get the photos updated and start placing my happy hairballs again.

The internet business is looking very good for this year. Time management is the biggest challenge at this point. But again it’s one day one thing at a time. Rather than trying to do everything at once. Just one thing at a time will do.

I am still losing weight. The last time I checked I had lost 16 pounds. I’ve started walking our driveway loop. Min Min, Cheyenne and I walk it several times a week. Min Min (my furry heart-orange pom) is looking better too. She had become quite round through the winter. Cheyenne is very round as well. (my old friend border collie)

I’d been training on the elliptical, was up to 10 k a day (a bit over 6 miles) and thought I would be able to do the half marathon (a bit over 13 miles) the end of may. If it was on the elliptical I could. However it is between 6000 and 7000 feet elevation on mountain road or gravel trail. Walking the driveway loop clued me in pretty fast that the elliptical was not going to get me ready for that race. The steep uneven terrain is much more challenging than the elliptical. I am continuing with the elliptical however. It is a good conditioning workout. It will just take me longer to get ready for the half marathon. Next may (2009) I should be ready.

I could have completed it this spring, but I would have had to really push it and train to the exclusion of everything else. At this point that is not something I want to do. It’s been challenging enough to take care of my kennels while I was ill for so long, then through the recovery time. I refuse to neglect them to compete in a race.

Frankly health wise it would be better to build slower. Give my body a chance to become much more healthy and strong through the process. Rather than breaking it down for idiocy.

I am truly looking forward to not carrying around this fat. He he, it is truly a pleasure to watch it come off. The pants I’m wearing now were a bit snug in December. Now they are so loose that I have to cinch them up with the drawstring. For the first time in my life I’m not fixated on food. I am actually enjoying cooking again. I haven’t enjoyed that in years. I’ve been tweaking recipes, changing them to whole wheat, and less sugar, and so on. Both David and I feel better for the changes in our food. I made a beef barley stew this evening from scratch. It was yummy. One of those things that I kind of pull out of my head. I do think I’ll start writing down my recipes though, so I can remember what I do from one time to the next. Who knows maybe I’ll write a recipe book sometime.

Life is a journey, enjoy the trip.
Mary E. Robbins & the Hairballs
Robbins Run Ranch: Living the Dream With Our Pomeranians
307.788.0202 USA Mountain Time

Snap Crackle Boom Pop...

For all of you living in the USA… Happy 4th of July. Firecrackers, bottle rockets, sparklers, things that go boom in the night sky. Barbecues at the beach, lake, Oceanside, park, etc. It’s a huge party day. I may go to a fireworks display this evening. Although if I climb the hill behind my house and kennels I can see fireworks going off in the night sky for miles and miles. Truthfully I do like a closer look, but it is a phenomenal view from that hill. It can be a little willy going up there at night. But generally isn’t a problem if you take a couple of big dogs with you. The coyotes and other wildlife come in pretty close at night. Usually they will leave you alone unless they are rabid, or some big cat that has decided humans are easy prey.


I saw a beautiful red fox the other day. I drove to the little post office and it was running along the side of the gravel road, then it dashed across. Of course I didn’t have my camera. So the only picture I captured of it is in my mind’s eye. Beautiful bright red fox.

I am still grooming Poms as fast as I can. Hair flying everywhere. I started doing something I said I would never do. I started doing summer cuts on the hairballs. Their undercoats are so heavy that they are walking around in the equivalent of a heavy down filled coat in 100 degree temps. Happily some are blowing their coats of by themselves, so those will only need a basic brush-up, deworm and toe nail trim… I’ll probably do a bit of a hair trim too… that’s what I have been doing.

I haven’t been messing with the scale much. I got on and it said I had stayed the same. I know I’m getting smaller because my clothes are getting looser. My body composition is changing. Burning off fat, and building muscle.

Fat takes up 5 times the space of muscle, on the flip side muscle weighs 5 times as much as fat does. Sound like a no win situation.

It may sound that way but it’s not. You need muscle to function. Fat is merely excess fuel stores. It doesn’t help you to function unless you are out of fuel. I can feel my abs getting stronger, across my back and shoulders, my arms. When I flex my arms you can see the muscles moving, even with the fat layer on the outside.

Hopefully my skin will draw up as my size continues to decrease.

I really want to be able to walk a marathon. I want the physical capability to do that, and actually enjoy the day. Not a torture test.

I want to be able to ride a century in a day as well. When I am actually able to take a vacation I want to take a bicycle tour, and be able to enjoy the ride.

I am sooooo not interested in the waif thin stick figure bobble head doll nonsense. I have no desire to be weak and lightheaded. What a boring way to live.

I want to be able to enjoy being physically active. I can already feel my strength building. I took a look at a picture my husband took of my dad and myself standing side by side. I was pleasantly surprised to notice that I could see changes in my body and face already.

I have measurements on record, and do not plan on measuring until the end of the summer.

I am pacing myself a bit. Actually that’s not quite true I’m working flat out on this kennel and ranch this summer. Periodically I have to take some time to just chill out and let my body rest. I am making an effort to not fry my mind looking at the whole of everything that needs to be done. And at the same time stay on target. Looking at the whole can really overwhelm.

Translated… if you have 100 pounds of excess lard hanging on your butt, and can barely walk across the room. Focus on one step at a time. Small changes. Not a total shock. Build to the marathon… by first getting off the couch. If you can walk across the room do that. Then take 3 more steps. And so on and so on.

Rather than “ I can’t do this it’s too much” ask yourself “how can I do this (whatever your goal may be) and enjoy the process” Live your life.

On a business note. I see pre-launch and brand new-launch this that and the other thing all over the place. Some of these may be great, some may be total crap. Keep in mind that if they are actually new launches or pre-launches. They really do not have a track record. The figures they are throwing around don’t mean much of anything. Yes I’ve gotten caught up in the frenzy before.

Before you add something to your business portfolio ask yourself if this is a program or product you want to represent. Does this program/product/system add to your portfolio or is it a detriment to what you are working for. What is your niche? How does said program/product fit into it. Is it a positive representation of your business.
I work with a variety of programs, and in truth there are some that are going to be trimmed from my portfolio. I’ve been at it with a machete whacking off dead branches, so to speak. Sculpting my online presence. That is an on going process. My business is a growing thing, and like a hedge sometimes it needs trimmed, pruned, watered and fertilized.


I’ve been using Veretekk to help grow my business. Truthfully it’s been extremely useful. I’ve risen in the search engines over the past few months. First I went after my name. Mary E. Robbins, happily I am on the first pages now, in both google and yahoo. I was clear back on page 10 in yahoo and farther back in google. Then I went after robbinsrun, again I’m on the first pages. I am starting after another set of key words now. It’s a learning process. Speaking of which there is very useful training at Veretekk.

Gotta run…
Life is a journey… enjoy the trip… Mary E. Robbins & the Hairballs
307.788.0202 USA Mountain Time

Up Early Full Day Ahead

Wow… June 9th already. 2007 is flying by. Frankly I would like to put it on hold for a while. Kind of stay in late spring. Before the summer heat. Savor it a bit. Dogs woke me up before dawn this morning. I’m pretty keyed into their barking and the different tones. Wakes me up almost immediately. I’m babysitting a friend’s kennel right now as well as my own. So I’ve been on extra alert. She had a family emergency to tend to .

I”ve started the great spring hair off program. Lol… a through brush out after all that winter coat has been loosened a bit. WOW. Can we say hair. Started working on some summer projects too.

Like I don’t have enough to do. Actually in the long run the summer projects I’ve started will make it much easier here in the winter. It’s a heavy snow fence to go up staggered across the north and west. Slow down those snow drifts a bit in the winter. Keep it from piling up so much around the kennels and the house. At least that’s the plan. It won’t stop it altogether but it should help quite a bit. I’m planning on using the snow fence as the large exercise area boundaries as well. Plus it will help to keep the coyotes farther back. Help out the fowl and cats a bit.

It will be a great work out as well. Today I’m seriously feeling the effects of that “great workout” tired and OUCH! It’ll get better. Always gets worse before it gets better. That’s the stage that knocks people out of their projects. Myself included, more than once. This past winter was a huge motivator as far as getting that snow fence up. I was struggling through hip deep snow for months. It was that deep because it drifted across into the kennels. Need something for it to pile up on farther out. We’ll still get drifts but shouldn’t be so much. Some of those drifts were over 12 feet tall. Beautiful to look at. But awful to work in.

I’m keeping cattle off my pasture this summer. That will help a bit too. The grass will still be on the pasture through the winter. Snow will catch and pile in the grass as well. That will benefit the pasture as well.

Whoa Nellie… looking at the entire ranch project is a bit overwhelming. One step at a time. Speaking of one step at a time. I’m shredding paper for puppy bedding. Then I need to get out the door and mow a couple of yards.

Puppies are soooo cute playing out in the yards…

Time’s a flying…
Life is a journey… enjoy the trip.. Mary E. Robbins & the Hairballs

307-788-0202