Uff da

I shouldn't have wondered what else this month might have in store for us. It has been quite a day – and week.

After working in town Tuesday-Thursday (my part-time job and covering Rick's office for his secretary) and trying to get the loud clunking in my car diagnosed (it refused to reveal itself to the technician – of course), today has been a whirlwind of at-home chores. I got up early to do the vet clinic payroll and review with Rick what he had gotten done on the garden water lines, then did barn chores, chopped thistles, trimmed and swept the front walkway, and worked to complete the water lines. Then I came inside, gathered a load of laundry, went to the basement where the washer is – and spotted a small puddle beside the upright freezer where we keep fruit. With dread I opened the door and found everything thawed. So I hauled all the dripping bags and containers upstairs, stashing what I could fit into our refrigerator/freezer and plotting how much I could use up for potluck dishes and supper (not nearly enough).

While doing all that, I was keeping my ears alert to chicken squawking through multiple windows opened for that purpose. Our next-door neighbor on the east lost one of her two hens to a raccoon Tuesday evening; I chased a raccoon away from the hen yard yesterday afternoon (my chickens had retreated, squawking, into the henhouse), and this morning I learned that last night our same neighbor beat off a raccoon that had grabbed her last hen by the rump and was trying to drag it over the fence. Good thing I was listening, because I did hear squawking, ran down and found a raccoon halfway up the 6' fence of the run! So yep, the hens got shut in early again, and will stay in until we have the chance to turn their run into Fort Knox.

Hens, still safe

Pullets, still safe

Believe it or not, on top of all that the power went out for over two hours late this afternoon. Since I couldn't do much else, I enjoyed the chance to SIT and spin for awhile, guilt-free!

On a more soothing note, my iris bouquet has been opening up to reveal rich, royal purple blooms. My little orchid is not only holding onto its three blossoms, it's developing more flower stalks. And after a long hiatus, my African violet is finally blooming again (unlike the African violets I cultivated at the office, which bloom non-stop thanks to regular feeding).

That's it for May from . . .

March madness

I almost titled this post "Sloppy Spring." It's been wet and grey and cold for days; the ground (including the arena) is saturated and squishy; the covered chicken run alternates between a river, a lake, and a swampland. Ugh. Then yesterday afternoon the snow flurries started, and continued off and on through the night. Nothing stuck, though, until after 8:00 this morning. It's melted now (adding to the slop), but we could get more of the same over the next few nights/mornings. Stereotypical weather for lambing, but none of my girls are close to that yet; I know, because I felt them all up this morning. For some reason, poor Blaise was very lame in her right rear leg/hip. I suspect she got roughed up by someone. I fed her a couple crumbled molasses-rich horse cookies to boost her energy and will check on her again later.

We're very thankful to still have some firewood left to keep the house comfortable. Hay supplies are good, too. The ewes, of course, are getting regular pasture time; without that I would probably run out of sheep hay before this year's crop is in. Having them out as much as possible also keeps the Sheep Sheraton from getting disgusting as quickly, and can't help but contribute to the health of ewes and their eventual offspring. It's hard not to be impatient; I want to see what's 'cooking'!

I'll have to wait for these beauties, too; I'm not digging a hole in the mud to plant them yet. Gotta love Costco's prices – and plants that the deer leave alone! I must admit, though, that I've seen very few deer — and NO mice — in quite some time. Interesting, especially about the mice.

That's it for the first day of March from . . .

We've gone to the dogs

I had a lovely week with my mom, but believe it or not, the only photo I got of her was when we played dominoes for my birthday! (That was a rare treat as Rick rarely plays table games.) Other than that, we didn't really do anything out of the ordinary, mostly visiting and cooking, it was just good to be together.

During that week, Rick looked through the available dogs on the Pacific NW Bulldog Rescue website, the same rescue from which we adopted Dozer, and saw a French bulldog he liked. I have been campaigning to get Poppy a playmate, and although I wouldn't have chosen a brachiocephalic dog, Rick has been bringing up Frenchies periodically and I figured I'd better go with what he was open to. We filled out an application, then texted our contact (from Dozer) with some questions. She texted back that the one Rick liked was already adopted, but she had other options. In a flurry of texts, she told us about a sibling pair of Frenchies that were being surrendered in another state that we could possibly foster with an eye toward adopting one. We said we were interested, and mentally prepared to meet them this weekend. But because of incoming weather and volunteer transport availability, that got moved up to last Thursday night!

Oy; what a day. I got up at 1:45 a.m. to get Mom to the airport in time, came back and tried to sleep a couple more hours, got up for work and appointments in town, came home for less than an hour before leaving for agility class with Poppy, and then drove to another town to meet our rescue contact and transfer two traumatized, tired, soiled dogs to our car for the ride home.

Leo and Gracie are intact 11-month-old French bulldog siblings and Gracie is in heat, so that complicates things as they must be kept apart for now. The rescue pays for their neutering surgeries and other expenses while they are in foster care, and we provide love, routine, training, and exposure to new things for evaluation. They were from one of the last litters produced by a reputable breeder known to our contact and sold together as puppies. Last month, the breeder happened to drive past their current residence and saw the pups outside in sub-freezing weather without shelter, food, or water and promptly confiscated them. Normally the breeder would have taken responsibility to rehome them herself, but she is dealing with a dying father so contacted the rescue.

Poppy is being a wonderful hostess, interested, friendly, offering them toys, trying to get them to play, and letting them follow her around when they are less sure of us humans. So far they haven't responded much to her overtures (much to her disappointment), but hopefully that will change. They are definitely getting more comfortable and warming up to us in just two days; today they showed interest in toys for the first time. Below are photos from Thursday night to tonight; Gracie is in the mint harness, Leo is in the black one. (I have some cute videos but can't get them loaded right now.)

To close, I have to turn the spotlight back on Poppy. This morning I heard a rustle near the front door when I stepped out to get firewood, and thought I saw a gray form huddled behind a pot. I called Poppy over, and she grabbed a RAT.

That's the dog saga for now from . . .

Ch-ch-changes!

Yikes; it's almost October! High time for a catch-up post; I've been BUSY.

Weatherwise we are still warm and very dry, even though the days are rapidly getting shorter and a bit of fog sometimes appears down in the valley. There is a good chance of rain in the next day or so, which would bring welcome dust relief at least. Then, after a couple cooler days the temps are to soar back into the 80s next week . . . in October. 🙄

Blog reader Tim commented that he'd like to see Poppy doing agility. Class members have switched around recently so it took a bit to find someone who would video us, but we did get some of our work recorded last Thursday night. This isn't our best run, but I'm really pleased with her willingness and attentiveness!

As home, as usual, it's easier to capture her in repose:

While Poppy and I only do agility class once a week with a smattering of training here and there at home, I've really been stepping up the frequency of Stella's training. In the middle of the month I signed up for an online training challenge because I hadn't been able to coordinate a lesson with my favorite trainer since January, so of course said trainer texted me the very next day with a date that did work. That's okay; the more help I can get with this hot little number, the better!  

I'm also getting training in a totally new direction – caring for and propagating African violets! Blogpal A noticed my mention of having my little plant repotted, and contacted me with some advice. Considering that she grows, shows, and is a judge of African violets, you could say she is eminently qualified. 😉 So I asked for her help with the African violets that live at the office (not mine), and have since collected the needed supplies to restart some crowns and start some leaves to try and save these. (The two with blooms were my boss' grandmother's and so have sentimental value.)

On Sabbaths, I've been picking up my dear 90+-year-old friends for church. The wife is now in a care home but the husband is still managing at home (but lonely); both are very frail so time together is precious.

I continue to find new ways to use my ever-growing rye sourdough starter. These cinnamon rolls turned out pretty but weren't good enough to repeat the effort; some other recipes definitely ARE keepers:

I have been harvesting our prunes over the last couple weeks. Some were shipped to Vermont as a house-warming present, some were shipped to my mom as a birthday present, and some went to my boss; the rest (of what I've picked) filled these two dehydrators:

The single red bell pepper I've gotten from my deck garden pot was harvested yesterday for stir fry; I don't know if the little ones still on the plant will have time to mature. Tomatoes are coming at a steady pace, and I continue to harvest basil as needed.

I'm still working on my big spin/ply project, combining colored singles with a fine black single:

Rick hauled home five more tons of second cutting orchardgrass hay today from central Oregon. We got the trailer unloaded (the bales are 100# so we're all bushed); the pick-up is backed under shelter so this "green gold" doesn't get rained on. We need at least another five tons before we're set for the year; not sure yet when and where we'll get it, but do have it sourced.

The Better Mousetraps are still doing their jobs well in the tackroom. I do feel bad for the cute little creatures, but can't have them destroying the tack and sheep suits in there.

Speaking of sheep (suits), BIG changes are coming for the flock. Recently someone contacted me about acquiring some fiber pets. Since Boomer wants to be friends and I haven't had any interest in him as a potential flock sire, castrating him so he can be someone's loving little fiber grower is the perfect solution. But who else could I part with? The buyer and I finally settled on yearling Berlin and retiree Sarai; I will be delivering the three of them in mid-October. Parting with some sheep means there is room for a few more, so I plan to put together a breeding group this Sunday. After Boomer leaves I will add his dam to the group; a friend is bringing over her dairy-cross ewe for Spot to serve then, too. Bridget won't have months to get around to breeding this year; Spot has reservations with another small breeding group in WA sometime in mid- to late November. He's going to be a busy ram!

Sayonara to September from . . .