Earning his keep

A few months ago I visited the Humane Society looking for a "tough looking" dog to make would-be theives consider other homes. The dog I went to look it refused to even look at me when I said his name. I started walking the aisles. This goofy Coon dog mix begged me to let him out. I really considered that insane, but did it anyway. He was silly, hard to focus and such a puppy. He was skinny as a rail, had tattered ears and did I mention SILLY? I liked him, but wasn't sure. While I was thinking my son, Duncan, grabbed the dogs cheek. It wasn't the kindest of grabs, Duncan was stressed and overwhelmed. The dog wagged his tail and kept "smiling" away. I looked the dog in the eyes and said "welcome to the family".
We picked him up a few days later from the neuter surgery. We renamed him "Moves Like Jagger" He is goofy, annoying and needy, but he LOVES his boy. He kisses Duncan goodnight each night, he let's Duncan walk him in the woods and he is patient when Duncan is overwhelmed. If Duncan says "Jagger" or "Wags" he comes running. His only job is to be Duncan's dog so he earns his keep. He was meant to belong to my boy! He also is a heck of a snuggle buddy and I kind of like him!

Thankful Thursday

While I a obviously Thankful for the little guy perched upon said mare, today's grateful is for
my horse. She turns 18 this year. She has problem hooves, she is a red-head and she isn't a 'snuggler'. Those are things I would NOT change for the world....b/c look at her. She and I had ridden five miles and I come home and she happily excepts pony ride time for Duncan. She is a very sensitive girl. If you were to womp her in the sides she would likely gallop off, but for Duncan....she lets him do it all day and ONLY breaks into a trot when I say so. Even if he is yelling 'trot trot' at the top of his lungs, as he is likely to do often. :D

She is a great mare and I am blessed to have her.

New Kids on the Block

and I don't mean the boy band that should have stayed retired! (nothing personal if you are fan)

This is Luna and Lolli. Luna is the one with the smaller flash on her forhead and Lolli (as in lolli-pop) has the 'tornado' shaped flash. Luna is way more impetuous and funny and Lolli is quieter and more shy.

They are living in a funny little temporary shed within a shed that I built out of scrounged materials! They like it (as you can see). They keep standing on the door, though. Also they seem to think their feed pan is a bed and they both curl up in it. SO CUTE!

I have a new toy!

Called a FLIP video camera!

http://www.theflip.com/products_flip_ultra.shtml

I happened to win it in a RAFFLE! With all the 'bad luck' I was having the last week, this was a happy. There is good and bad news....I LOVE the camera (good news)...I may be addicted to it (bad news).

Here is my very first EVER video.

Look what we found!

There we were, pulling up old dead grass and crab grass to mulch around the daylilies here at the shop.
We went to pull the clump of grass there behind the rock (next to the metal flower) and it came up really easy...and was covered in fuzz?
Hmmm? Well further inspection gave us THIS!
No it's not a magic eye puzzle or a trick. It is....

See the tiny ears, eyes and paws? A whole heap of (five) baby bunnies!

Okay so I was a very good human and didn't touch them or smooch their little heads. I wish I had a night vision camera to catch vids of momma coming to take care of them.

Aren't they friggin cute?

Well we wer

Too proud?

Well, I won't win any builders awards, but on Monday I got fed up with my hens living in a dog crate during the night. My hubby works retail so his help was unlikely if not laughably impossible. I built a hen-hut, by myself. I used two FOUND doors, scrap lumber and all different size nails/screws as I found them in my still unpacked 'tools'.

First I put this lovely roadside door and attatched it to the beam in the old barn lean-to, then affixed this strange left behind green wood to that and fixed the 'hole' where there is a step down in the lean to.

At this point I ran out of nails and went for my screws and came back to the girls checking the place over.

After they had approved the plan and reccomended some upgrades (heat, plumbing) I called my union rep, they called their lawyer..... I was able to get back to work.

I added a nest box put the top half of the side on...added a hinged door on the other end, I called it quits for the night.

They happily slept there the first night, but Tuesday night I found them in their crate. I dragged them out and put them to bed. Paris lived up to her namesake and was as dramatic as could be. Lucy took it like a lady and Pearl fairly enjoyed me holding her, even letting Duncan pat her while I had her.

Here they are on thier roost below their nest box. They are wondering what kind of sick paparazi takes flash photos at eight pm, they threatened a call to the lawyer, but I tricked them. No phone in their new house!

I still need to put a 'predator' roof on. I am going to use an old storm door so they get maximum light. I am also going to put a 'lip' on that cabinet (trash) turned nest box, so they don't roll their eggs out on the floor (Thanks Daryl for reminding me)

I hate to admit how proud I am of myself. It isn't perfect, it isn't going to win any design competitions, but I did it MYSELF!

What have you done to be proud of this week?

Hopefully, I will get to enjoy the last little warm snap this weekend and take my horse out for a gallop.

My little secret.....

I have slowly been coming around to an OLD idea. When I get my land I want a bit of a farm. I LOVE fresh eggs, I love taking care of critters and I am really becoming a 'greeny'. I think our grand and great grandparents had a thing or two (or a million) right. I think things like milk and eggs don't need to be shipped to us from FAR AWAY and that chickens deserve to be running about while they are alive...even if they are to be eaten. Even as a young Animal Science Student my area of interest was animal welfare. They have proven that animals who are 'cared for and content' grow/produce better quality/quantity food.

If you have NEVER eaten an egg a few hours old you don't know what you have missed. So, Monday I travel an hour away to pick up my girls. I intend to get three and am still waffling between getting all of one breed or a mix (including that breed).
The following picture is of a Buff Orpington Pullet (young girl chicken) and this is what my girls will look like. They are going to have to live in a small enclosure here for a few weeks until we get our new cottage/homestead. I hope soon that I will be showing you goodies cooked with food from my own home.

I have also been toying with the idea of a milk goat. Okay, now you KNOW I am crazy...right...well, it sort of 'morphed' in my mind from Duncan wanting a goat and me not wanting to buy hay/grain for an animal that I can't ride, or sleep on my feet at night like the dogs. So, I needed a USE for a goat and started reading. I am amazed at the different people who raise dairy goats and what all they do with the products. Goat milk, goat cheese and goat milk soap to name a few.

So here is a pic of a Toggenburg dairy goat. The one I may be getting is long haired and currently named "Lori" (for now). She is pregnant and not currently in milk, but she has been in the past, so she is an experienced girl. Her owners are only a few miles from the new place and are willing to help me get started.

When she kids (Gives birth) she is likely to have twins and they occassionally have triplets. The kids sire is a Nubian goat. They are very cute little mixes and if I get any girls I will keep one and if they are both boys, sell them to a 4Her.

So I may have to get a second blog....about my growing menagerie.

So my secret is out...I am becoming a 'homesteader' and my love of my home and taking care of my family is blooming into making it a TRUE home where we grow our veggies, eggs and milk. While I am not against raising meat animals, I become too attatched and could not 'do the deed' unless we were unable to get food elsewhere.