My granddaughter Crystal is here this summer; here she is at riding lessons with Porter, a 28 year old Arab gelding. He's a wonderful horse for a first-time rider!
Monday, June 27, 2011
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Friday we had an enormous dumpster delivered to our farm. Actually it is only a 10 yard dumpster but it looks huge to me; it was placed on the new gravel turnaround I had created with gravel from the local quarry and our new front loader (with help from Shorty Fender, our neighbor who has a bobcat with some kind of magic leveler on it.) The local quarry which is actually only a mile from our farm has been a godsend for folks around us - we order gravel to make driveways, to fill in basement foundations, to help keep the barnyards dry - and now we understand it may be a source of sand for fracking operations in North Dakota. Locals are of course up in arms at the prospect.
But back to the dumpster. Jim and Crystal spent much of the day sorting through 30 years of miscellaneous hardware, flowerpots, scraps of linoleum, old doors, lumber, etc. and making decisions whether to keep or toss. Lots tossed, I'll admit, but the 'keep' pile seems pretty healthy to me.
I had hesitated whether to mention that we have 2 peachicks - both are still thriving after 10 days so we're hopeful that they will continue to grow. They are in the milkhouse right now, in a cage with a heatlight. There were about a dozen or 15 peachick eggs under one of the broody hens but today in our frenzy to clean, clean, clean we decided to toss them. I don't know why they weren't fertile but they weren't...either that or they got chilled somewhere along the way. I've noticed a very fat garter snake in the henhouse lately but don't think that had anything to do with the eggs. At any rate, the pigs were happy to be the recipient of these goodies.
Trouble's pups are all gone now but for one who leaves on Tuesday. They were a very fun litter - friendly, active, smart - and we are fortunate that our friend Cory is co-owning one of them with us.
Now we can focus on Birdie's puppies - Crystal is a great puppysitter and cuddler - which really is wonderful for all concerned!
But back to the dumpster. Jim and Crystal spent much of the day sorting through 30 years of miscellaneous hardware, flowerpots, scraps of linoleum, old doors, lumber, etc. and making decisions whether to keep or toss. Lots tossed, I'll admit, but the 'keep' pile seems pretty healthy to me.
I had hesitated whether to mention that we have 2 peachicks - both are still thriving after 10 days so we're hopeful that they will continue to grow. They are in the milkhouse right now, in a cage with a heatlight. There were about a dozen or 15 peachick eggs under one of the broody hens but today in our frenzy to clean, clean, clean we decided to toss them. I don't know why they weren't fertile but they weren't...either that or they got chilled somewhere along the way. I've noticed a very fat garter snake in the henhouse lately but don't think that had anything to do with the eggs. At any rate, the pigs were happy to be the recipient of these goodies.
Trouble's pups are all gone now but for one who leaves on Tuesday. They were a very fun litter - friendly, active, smart - and we are fortunate that our friend Cory is co-owning one of them with us.
Now we can focus on Birdie's puppies - Crystal is a great puppysitter and cuddler - which really is wonderful for all concerned!
Saturday, June 4, 2011
I was recently reminded that my blog had been pretty quiet lately so I'm taking a minute to send Happy Birthday wishes to our Solo x Ruby puppies who just have turned a year old.
Thanks to Susan for this picture of Noche' - we share ownership of this feisty young gal; Susan's been great about getting her out and about to obedience, agility and herding lessons.
and to
Sally for sending along this picture from Montana of Tilly and her friend Wally. I'm so fortunate to have had you folks find me and choose a puppy from this combination!
In other news, the puppies from Trouble begin to leave home this coming week, lightening the puppy responsibilities and giving me some time to spend with our girl Una who has been getting the short end of the stick she says. We have Birdie's puppies coming along to also help fill in that time!
The chickens have been growing and growing and will be ready for their final adventure on June 20! Now how much closer to free-range can you get, guys? We did see a fat garter snake in their yard yesterday; I think it may be a mother snake full of babies - I doubt they'll be around long in that yard though.
Yesterday we hatched out 2 pea chicks - they're hard for me to keep going though - so we'll see how these fare. The piggies are growing well and have made themselves a sort of nest in the duff under the pines in their yard; as with most of our pigs, they have interesting and delightful personalities making it difficult when the time comes to part with them. Chuck Draxler brought over 6 big hefty steers a couple weeks ago - Trouble has been working with them to get them dog broke for our summer clinic and trial. She loves and is good at it!
Thanks to Susan for this picture of Noche' - we share ownership of this feisty young gal; Susan's been great about getting her out and about to obedience, agility and herding lessons.
and to
Sally for sending along this picture from Montana of Tilly and her friend Wally. I'm so fortunate to have had you folks find me and choose a puppy from this combination!In other news, the puppies from Trouble begin to leave home this coming week, lightening the puppy responsibilities and giving me some time to spend with our girl Una who has been getting the short end of the stick she says. We have Birdie's puppies coming along to also help fill in that time!
The chickens have been growing and growing and will be ready for their final adventure on June 20! Now how much closer to free-range can you get, guys? We did see a fat garter snake in their yard yesterday; I think it may be a mother snake full of babies - I doubt they'll be around long in that yard though.
Yesterday we hatched out 2 pea chicks - they're hard for me to keep going though - so we'll see how these fare. The piggies are growing well and have made themselves a sort of nest in the duff under the pines in their yard; as with most of our pigs, they have interesting and delightful personalities making it difficult when the time comes to part with them. Chuck Draxler brought over 6 big hefty steers a couple weeks ago - Trouble has been working with them to get them dog broke for our summer clinic and trial. She loves and is good at it!
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