He Loves Me, He Loves Me NOT!

The verdict is in.  While I feel there was a time that Bogart loved me.

It seems those days are long gone.  Gone are the days of Boggie sweetly following me around the yard, curiously watching my every move.  Oh, those were the days.

Now (well since yesterday), I must be brave to walk through the yard, and always on the lookout for "Big Bad Bogart".  He has gone on the attack.  

It really is quite the site I am sure.  

I can just hear the neighbor boy calling to his mom, "Mom, come look!  I think the rooster is gonna win this one."

He loves me, He loves me NOT...

It is a sad time for me. I am trying to come up with a plan to renew our friendship.  If it doesn't work, I see long days for Bogart living in the dreaded chicken tractor.  Of course then I will have to build Lillie a new playground as she loves life in the tractor.

Thankfully there are others in the barnyard who are beginning to understand me and my lovable quirks.

Gypsy and her "Betty Davis Eyes" follow me from a distance these days.  Gypsy loves to come right up to people.  She assumes all people love horses, especially people who own horses.  I have had to explain to her that that isn't always the case.  While Rodi and the kids love horses, they TERRIFY me.  Oh yeah, like shake in my boots terrified.  It takes every ounce of bravery in me to walk out into that pasture when the horses are nearby.  It seems silly I know.  I am not sure where the fear comes from, but it is there.  I think Gypsy has finally realized that while I love her, I must love her from a safe distance.  She is truly a beautiful horse and when she runs through the pasture with her tail held high it is the most amazing site.  A site I love to watch from the safety of our deck.

Of course her recent distance could be due to her great fashion sense.  I mean it takes a lot of courage to be seen socializing with this:

Yep nothing says fashion like rubber mud boots and an apron worn outdoors.

Do you see the mud smeared on the glass section of the door?  Husker swears he wipes his paws before knocking to come back inside.  I say the proof is on the window.  Seriously that snow-melt has left us in a muddy mess.

I am off to begin my quest in re-friending Bogart.  Any advice would be deeply appreciated.

Such a brief visit

Justice Was Here!

It was only for a week, but Justice came by for a little holiday visit.  Husker was delighted, some of the time.  Justice sort of  rules things when it comes to those two.  She must think that poof of hair between her ears is her royal crown.  That or he is just scared of things taller than him?  

It was quite funny to watch them chase each other around the yard.  Try as he might, he could never catch her.  Her long legs give her quite the advantage.  I never thought I would love a poodle, especially one so large.  Have you ever been around a poodle?  Have you ever gotten the chance to pet a poodle?  SO soft!!!

Alas today was the last day of our holiday fun with Justice, her owners returned to take her home today.  Life is a little on the quiet side with just one furry friend around, but I am okay with that.  Justice will be missed, until her next visit.

Outside the chickens threw her quite a send off party. There were no tears involved, just clucks of pure joy.  They outsmarted her once again. Justice tries to catch those chickens every chance she gets. Good thing I have smart chickens!

Dirty Window (DPP '10-Dec 6)

"Bogart, I will NOT calm down! We get in trouble for playing in the mulch and that big beastly dog gets away with this kind of nonsense?  Bogart!  Are you listening to me?  Do you See this window?"

The DPP '10 - Dec. 3

"Wonder and Awe"

I know, I know... there are so many things "wrong" with this shot.  At the same time there was something very gripping.  This was one of those accidental shots, one I almost deleted. Something stopped me.  It begged to be put on the big screen of my laptop.  The tiny screen on the back of my camera just wasn't doing it justice.

Continuing with the holiday theme, I just couldn't help but choose this picture.  

It is as if you can feel the warmth of the light, the love of His spirit as Husker gazes upward with complete 

"Wonder and Awe".

Update from the Nursery

Our little trio

As you can see the one in the middle isn't filling out quite as much as the other two.  The good news is that we witnessed this cutie pie nursing on Lillie two different times today.  *smile*

And look who decided to open their eyes today!

Another one ready to view the world through open eyes.

You can't really tell in this picture, but even the lil' one is peeking out at us.

All in all today has been a good day in the nursery.  Hopefully they just get better and better.

*Egg Report.... ZERO eggs today.  It is okay though, I am still on cloud nine with yesterday's eggciting day!

Onions

Having a bad day? Need a good cry? Don't want people asking what's bothering you?

 Grab an onion and start chopping.

At least that is what I told a certain daughter of mine today when she had to bury another baby bunny.  Sadly her mama rabbit isn't really loving her new role in life.  This is the fourth bunny funeral this week.  We are doing everything we can to encourage some mama and baby bonding.  I have been searching and searching online for any advice I can find.  The babies will only be 10 days old tomorrow and everything we have read says that they are just too young to attempt formula feeding.    I am really hoping that the three babies that are still hanging in there make it.  One is extra chubby, I think he/she is hogging all the mama time.

It was raining today, and my poor darlin' just couldn't bury this little bunny.  Her heart was just beyond broken.  Rodi to the rescue.  He took care of the baby bunny for his sweet girl, while she helped me chop the onions.  When someone came in and asked what was wrong.  I quickly jumped in and declared "Nothing is wrong, she is chopping onions.  Everyone cries when they chop onions."   To which the reply was "Oh".

By the time the onions were chopped the burial was complete and we were able to move on to the rest of the meal. We She made the most wonderful creamed chicken served over noodles.  I let her be the first to use my new pot, because I am that kind of mom. 

Isn't it a beauty!

So just remember when you are having a bad day, and need a good cry,  grab and onion.  They really can be a great solution.

A Weekend of Smiles and Surprises

What a wonderful weekend!

Remember this?

My sweet little "surprise melon"

On Friday it looked like this....

Amazingly wonderful!

Saturday some friends stopped by.  

The girls had so much fun target practicing with the bows, the home-made one and the store bought, compound bow, too. 

Later Saturday evening I was able to attend a bonfire with the youth from our Church.

 This was one HOT fire.  

When it came time to make the s'mores my sweet Miss R. roasted my marshmallow for me.  

Seriously this fire was HOT!  Notice how she is covering her face?  I was thinking if I had to roast my own marshmallow, I might just melt my contacts to my eyes.  

Love how these girls will subject themselves to such things so that us old people can enjoy a s'more.  Just love 'em!

The biggest surprise of the weekend......

The BABIES!

Seven of them.

What?  You didn't know we were expecting?

NEITHER DID WE!

Carley J bought Fritz and Lillie 2 weeks ago.  We were told Lillie had only been "exposed" to Fritz for an hour earlier that day and at no point before that.  Since Rabbits are pregnant for 30 days we were not expecting babies 2 weeks after bringing Lillie home.  

We are pretty certain Fritz is not the babies daddy.  Ooooh hold the phone, we may have some baby mama drama going on in the barnyard!

Go ahead Lillie, clean those babies.  

When you have a few minutes, you have some explaining to do.

She is doing a great job as a mama.  We moved her cage into the garage where she has built a "proper nest" for her babies.

What a joyful and eventful weekend it has been.  The weather has been beautiful, I am hoping it continues to stay that way for a while.

Oh Those Boys...

Something must have been in the air today...

Tonka, our handsome Zebu, decided he wanted to rumble

And rumble he did.

Jack didn't seem to mind.  It must be a boy thing.

Then there is Bogart, king of hide and seek.  Yes, he is back.   His fun little game was over at about 5:30am when is inner desire to crow beat his desire to hide from the people.

He is quite handsome so I didn't scold him too much.

What I didn't expect, was that he was going to invite the "Hen Squad" over for a party in the limo!

The "Hen Squad" apparently doesn't love Bogart's mini-harem.  I had to be the mean parent and put an end to the "party" before someone got hurt.

I think I hurt Bogart's feelings.  When I booted the big girls out, Bogart left the limo too.  I let him wander for a bit but soon his fun was over and I needed to get him back to the limo.  This little guy is FAST!  My sweet little Kate took a picture of me chasing him... no you will not be privy to such a horrifying sight. 

Even the "Hen Squad" ran for cover, or maybe they were just racing for the best seats in the house to watch "the game".

 Kate did take a nice picture of Bogart and me. His hair looked much better after all that running than mine did.  I declared him the winner.

 It could be the beginning of a great friendship.

A little of this and a little of that...

We were hit by the storm (Nicole) last Thursday and Friday.  She packed quite a punch here on the East coast.  Thankfully we are all okay, animals included.  There were times I thought we were going to have to test our raft building skills though. Good thing I have a boy scout at home, they know how to do those kinds of things, or so I hear.  

The water level has gone down at our place. Life on the island was nice while it lasted. It wasn't all it was cracked up to be though.  Maybe you need sandy beaches to really enjoy an island home?  

"The Girls" are loving life after the storm!  They found their way back to the barn and have to be bribed to return to their coop now.  The cows don't seem to mind the new clean-up crew, but the horses are irritated with the little "feather dusters".  The horses and hens are learning to stay in different areas of the barnyard.

We did have one not so great side-effect from the storm... the electric fence died.  Thankfully we have good, obedient animals who love us and stayed put.  I was very fearful that one or more of the animals would escape just for the fun of it.  I can't tell you how many times I have had to play rodeo round-up while Rodi was at work or deployed.  Maybe they were being good because Rodi was here?  Maybe they were being sympathetic since Rodi is recovering from knee surgery?  They tolerate me, they LOVE Rodi.  I am good with that.  He can have the cows and horses, I will stick with my hen squad.  They happily follow me around, it is as if I have my own tiny, little fan club.

This is Rodi, resting.  *smile*

With our electricity all a mess, we decided it was time to go solar.

It is a beautiful thing.

The animals are all safe in the barnyard and pastures where they belong, and I can sleep without the fear of another midnight rodeo round-up.

BREAKING NEWS:  We have grown in numbers!!!

Carley J is over-the-moon happy to announce she is now the proud owner of Fritz and Lillie! 

This is Fritz isn't he just the sweetest thing?

Lillie was a bit camera shy, but we will have pictures of her posted soon.  She is HUGE compared to our sweet little Fritz.  We were told they were both Rex breed when we called to gather all our information.  Rodi and I think Lillie is a Rex and Fritz is a Mini-Rex.  I will post pictures of them side by side this week.  Then you can let me know what you think.

Lonely Days....

Poor Husker, all alone with no partner in crime.  Up until he was 14 months old he was our one and only canine.  Then we brought Ginni home (a sweet chocolate lab).  Oh how he loved Ginni, well to be honest it was more of a love/hate relationship with the two of them, but he had someone to play with (or torture) all day long.  Ginni had to be re-homed this past July (long story for another day) and Husker was once again our lone canine.  Not for long though...

Justice soon found her way into our little zoo.  Her owners (also a military family) had orders to go to Japan, and sweet Justice was not going to be able to join them.  Husker was in puppy heaven!  Another playmate, and a cute one at that.  They spent hours running around this place.  It was however, not meant to be.  Something crazy happened and Justice's owners ended up staying stateside.  That's right folks, no moving to Japan.  Even crazier, they were able to snag orders returning them to our area.  So after a month of love and play Husker is once again our one and only canine.  Justice will come back for play dates I am sure.  I just feel so sad for my poor Husker pup.  He looks so lonely.