See the sleeping kittens.
Aren’t they cute?
Why are they sleeping in trash?
I wonder… why is that?
Could it be, no… they would NEVER get into a trash bag and wreck havoc in the office, now would they?
Not cute little sweet kittens!
Bad kittens, bad….
I know some people farm with a rigid schedule of early to rise and early to bed and all that. That works good for some folk, but, we’re just not 5 am morning people here. When we are up at 5 am, it’s because we haven’t gone to bed yet.
Nope for us, it’s the crack of 9 for the most part. And that means we’re often finishing up chores a bit later in the afternoon…er… evening.
Sometimes, even in the dark.
And I love it. The farm is so delightful in the twilight hours. It’s usually cool, especially wonderful on a hot, musty day. The animals are full of grazing and eager for a good scratching and can be led easily to their barns. The chickens are already in their roost, all softly cooing and occasionally moving a wee bit. There are night bugs dancing around lights and crickets serenading their pals. It’s a very special time.
All the barns feel different, they glow from the little lightbulbs inside, casting these warm, welcoming streams of light into the dark twilight. Those without light are usually lit by the moon’s glow. You don’t miss the dust and dirt, the manure and disheveled day to day look. You just see golden straw with a sparkle of moonlight, and hear the soft breath of contented livestock.
I like walking through the back pastures and seeing the stars fill the whole, wide sky with a show that is better than any planetarium. I like to sit on a wire spool table and just lay back and watch it all from the best seat in the place. I like to just lay there and wish on shooting stars and wonder if they will come true.
It’s so quiet and almost spooky, yet familiar and comforting. Cody goes quietly into his barn and turns around so he can get in a last minute goodnight nibble with his soft velvetly lips. I think he likes me. His pony kisses are worth a pot of gold to me. I give him a good scratching behind his ears and under his chin and he blows a soft contented sigh of pleasure at my face before he turns around and goes to find a soft bed in the hay and straw for the night. I love to watch him circle around in the dim light, like a big dog and then grunt a little breath and lay down. It’s a ritual that just feels ageless and it’s only been a few weeks.
The dogs runs back and forth in their yard, trotting all over and giving any passing haunt a good stiff bark to let them know, they are on duty. Moths dance around the screen porch light and to hear the door slam, it means we’re all done and it’s time to call it another fantastic day in our little homestead paradise.
I love night chores.
Pin It
I’m pretty sure that we have a new boy in the house.
He hasn’t had his official renaming ceremony or Jessy photoshoot, but judging by Maggie’s huge smile and Evee’s approval as an equal in big time dog wrestling matches, I would say his trial period is pretty much coming to an end.
Meet Ratchet. Maggie’s new main man.
This is the new name that she would like him to adopt. His previous name was Solider, and so we’ve been calling him Solider Ratchet and he doesn’t seem to mind at all. He just loves all the attention and hugs and play time and treats and such that Maggie is heaping on him. He’s one very very happy boy.
Ratchet used to live down the road at our neighbors. He was Miss Julia’s son Rob’s boy for awhile, but Rob had to find him a home and so he came to live at Miss Julia’s but he wasn’t really fitting in with their dog Buddy. So he was kinda floating, and mostly had to stay outside in the kennel. Which he didn’t mind and all, but he was really an indoor family dog.
When we lost Gypsy and Dingo, we considered getting another dog. But it was too soon. We just weren’t ready. I told Maggie, it was her turn and her decision, since Jessy has her Evee and I have my pony! (gg) Two dogs would be fine. Evee really has been acting a little weird and just not right. She needs a dog friend. She missed Gypsy badly, you can tell. She went from a pack of three to a lone gal and well, she just wasn’t really happy.
So Maggie thought and thought. At first she wanted a lab. A big goofy chocolate lab. And God dropped a beautiful young lab boy in our lap! Our friends Peggy and Meryl had a niece that needed to find a big 8 month old lab pup a new home. And we went and met him and oh my gosh, he was HUGE and just well, not right. Too big, too goofy, just not the kind of dog she really wanted. So we had to say no.
Time passed. Maggie did some research and she thought she would like a Corgi pup. We have a friend with corgis and they are herd dogs, and we like those and smaller for sure than the lab… but all around us, no pups. No rescues, no older dogs, and the very few we did find, were just tooooo expensive or difficult to adopt. So that got put on the back burner.
But all the time, there was Ratchet. Well, Solider. (gg) Waiting.
I thought he was adorable, and the right size, and calm yet energetic, a young dog, seemed to be good with kitties and all, and needing a home. At first, when I brought him up, Maggie was not sure. So, I didn’t push, it was to be her decision.
But when they had to do something and put him up on the local radio station list for a new home, I asked Maggie if maybe we couldn’t give him a little sleepover trial run. Just see. And she totally agreed with that. I mean, it’s nice, we know all about him, he’s been in nothing but good loving homes and he has a just sweet disposition. If he would get along with Evee and play nice with everyone, it might be a win win situation for everyone. So Monday afternoon, he came home with us.
As you can see, Evee is perfectly fine with him and adores him already. She trots after him all day long. They run and romp out in the dog yard like puppies. In the house, they are either laying together, chewing rawhides together, or engaging in big dog wrestling matches in the living room. He’s clearly stronger, but she’s faster so they each ping off each other’s abilities and it’s very funny to watch them play. He’s been a good gentleman, doesn’t mind his dog crate if we have to leave, (Evee is also crate trained, so it’s fair) and he really enjoys snoozing with Maggie in a bed she made for him next to hers. He’s been learning tricks with Maggie and she is just so thrilled with him. She’s saving up her egg money to buy his a super fancy colorful collar and nametag. I’m thinking it’s pretty safe to say that he has a new home. The sleep over was over two days ago! Haha…
He’s not perfect, he’s got a little penchant to want to mark things, inside and out and we’ll have to work on that. Although, the last day or two, he’s been really good inside, so I guess that means he’s happy and content that this is his new marked territory. And he’s a fence climber, if given the chance. He did it twice that first hour or two he was here. But in his defense, he was unsure and nervous about being here and just wasn’t getting the whole sleepover thing. Maggie was quick to come to his defense and inform me that Evee was less than steller in a few dog issues and sure, I had to agree, but we had to make sure that he would be safe. Our street out front is busy and with big truck traffic, etc. So we made the decree that when they were out in the yard, they needed to be watched over. And that we would strengten the section of fence that he could climb and make it more challenging.
That being said, he’s been a perfect gentleman since. In fact, I was really impressed… yesterday, he and Evee were out in the yard, playing and wandering about, exploring and all the sudden they both realized that a pair of hens were just on the other side of the fence. Eating fallen apples. Close. Right by the area that he had climbed easily. Both dogs were focused and then I saw him look at the fence and size it up. I was in the kitchen, washing dishes and was just about to hollar, when I thought, no, let me see what he does. I’ll be darned if he didn’t look at Evee and then just sorta huff a bit and walked off, with his little lady in tow, off to go and romp. He self-governed his urge to chase those hens and climb that fence!!! It was wonderful.
Of course, the romantic in me would like to believe that he made the choice to stay with Evee, and with us, and have a lovely home with all he desires. Of course, the realist in me probably believes that he just wasn’t interested in a chase and would rather go and pee on some other new tree in the yard. Haha… but, whatever the reason, he made the right choice and that was worth a huge amount of hugs and pats and atta’ boys and a chewie! I think he’ll get it all down just right. He’s a smart boy and is pretty mellow. We’ll just have to be dilligent and watchful, and make good situations for him to make good choices. That’s what dog training is all about.
If you’re wondering… he’s definitely got a lot of scruffy terrier in him… he’s got some coarse facial and foot hair, and has that cute terrier ear and face thing going on. He’s chunky, almost like a little pit bull in him, just the way his chest and body is put together. Yet, I would say he has a good chunk of Heinz 57 black dog mix in there as well. Evee loves his tail, which is ALWAYS wagging. He’s a big happy boy.
We’ve decided, in fun, to call him a Norwegian Black Terrier. Not to be confused with a Norwegian Brown Terrier, because those are really rare. He just looks Norwegian. Haha… like he should be some scruffy fishing boat dog with ice on his scruffy beard and snout and surefooted as he protects the haul of herring. We told a visitor that asked what he was, that he was a Norwegian Black Terrier and she was like, Oh, really, that’s neat… HAHAHAHA…. Maggie smiled at me so big. I taught her how you can bluff stuff like Scrabble words and such as long as you are confident in your delivery. We, of course, told her that, no, he’s just a mixed breed fella, but still, we giggled over the NBT breed and I wouldn’t be surprised if you see a very funny webpage in the near future extolling all the breed atributes and history of the Norwegian Black Terrier… It just might be a homeschool assignment for a new dog owner!
Afterall, the Norwegian Black Terrier was especially bred during World War II to climb into docked German UBoats and then whack the sailors into submission with their strong happy tails!
Didn’t you know that? See, you learn something everyday!
Pin It