Back to Basic Living

As I’ve mentioned in the past, Bernie and I are pack rats and rarely throw anything away. Sometimes this works in our favor. A few days ago I mentioned to Bernie that it would be nice to have a few benches in the yard. Just a few places where we could sit in the shade and enjoy the day. His face lit up as he remembered a pile of old lumber he had stored from over twenty years ago. And within a few minutes, we had two of these in the yard.

He pulled out some logs from the pile he had cut out of trees that fell around here and nailed a piece of treated, near petrified, wood on the top of a couple of them for the seat. I just love these benches.

After being penned in the run for a full week, my poor chickens were begging to get out and free range. It had been several days since we had seen any sign of chicken hawks, so a few days ago, I began free ranging the chickens again. So far, so good.

Friday morning we had an insurance agent stop by with papers for us to sign. I did not give a thought to the chickens being out in the yard, until Mr. Insurance got ready to leave. I stepped out on the porch as he was leaving, and spotted Duke, way up on the hill - at the exact moment that Duke spotted Mr. Insurance. I didn’t like the look on Duke’s face.

As Mr. Insurance opened his car door, Duke was heading toward him. “That’s a big chicken right there”, Mr. Insurance commented, resting one arm on the opened car door, and one on the roof of his car.

“Yes, he is. Well you have a good day.” I told him. I was praying he would leave before Duke got to him.

Duke was within 20 feet at this point, and now he was going sideways toward Mr. Insurance.

Mr. Insurance excitedly exclaimed “Ah, look at that! He wants to go home with me! Don’t you boy? Do you want to go home with me? Yes, you do! You sure do! ”

I did not have the heart to tell Mr. Insurance that what Duke really wanted to do was pen him to the ground and peck his eyes out. Instead, I quickly got between him and Duke and said “Um, you better get on outta here now.”

Mr. Insurance chuckled and as he got into the car and was closing his door, he said “Ah, big boy. You can’t go home with me. You big boy, you.”

Duke was glaring at Mr. Insurance and clearly annoyed that I had prevented him from teaching Mr. Insurance a thing or two about how much he wanted to go home with him.

As Mr. Insurance drove off, smiling and waving at Duke, Duke beat his wings furiously and let out a few crows I’m certain they heard in the next county.

Duke is not a mean rooster. But, as spring gears up, he is a rooster that is full of testosterone, and he is a rooster that is on edge from all the recent hawk activity. For the foreseeable future, I will be certain Duke is penned up when we expect visitors.

Those of you with protective roosters will understand Duke’s attitude and behavior. Those of you without, well….. just let me say that if you see a rooster coming at you sideways, going home with you is likely the furthest thing from his little pea brain. And, unless you want to get up close and personal with an angry roo, it’s probably best not to baby talk him. You really may want to get on outta there.

The chicks are getting so big. Look at this one’s size next to mama.

I suppose we’ll soon know if we have any cockerels in the mix. I’m still calling each of them “she”, but this Duke looking thing has me worried.

Get a load of these Duke feet!

The gray legs on this one tell me this is a Phoenix mix - perhaps even a full bred.

I love my Phoenix chickens. The pullets are pretty, sweet little girls, and they are good layers. The Phoenix cockerel is absolutely beautiful, with a sweet disposition. I think Bobby Lee is a fine specimen.

Phoenix roosters are small and, in nature, size matters. Bobby Lee is second in command to Duke. And, while Bobby Lee is very attentive to the girls, he clearly understands the limitations his size inflicts on him. When there is danger, Duke is the one that will stand to challenge it. Bobby Lee is the one that will herd all the girls to safety - and stay there until Duke let’s him know the coast is clear.

I do love my roosters. And their body language tells me they have no interest in leaving me - at least not to go home with an insurance agent.

Bee Free,
Penny

The chickens have had a tough week on the homestead. Duke is still our hero for pinning that big chicken hawk down to the ground on Monday, but even a super hero like Duke can’t be everywhere at all times and on Tuesday, we lost one of the Silver Leghorn pullets to a predator.

I initially suspected a feral cat may have gotten the pullet. We have found a few stalking our flock in the past. I found what was left of the pullet in the woods and it appears she was eaten where she fell. The feathers off her back had been pulled out, and that section was eaten, and there was nothing left to the neck except bones. After talking with several people who have had a lot of experience with various predators killing their chickens, I’m almost certain the culprit was a chicken hawk. The pullet weighed around 6.5 pounds, which is quite heavy for most chicken hawks to carry off. When raptors kill something too large to remove, they will eat it where it is killed.

My suspicion that it was likely a chicken hawk was further confirmed yesterday. We were sitting in the living room when Bernie looked out the window to the back yard and shouted “Somthing’s going on out there!” He no sooner finished his sentence when both of us were headed out the door. We got to the backyard just in time to see one my poor Golden Penciled Hamburgs being attacked by a chicken hawk. We scared the hawk off, and the hamburg ran under Bernie’s barn shed. There were feathers everywhere. Duke was in the front yard with the new mamas and baby chicks and he was fussing something awful. It took some coaxing and a long stick, but we finally managed to get the hamburg out from under the shed. She was pretty shook up, and a little short on feathers in spots, but she was fine.

I was quite unnerved by the whole thing, and even though it was only around 4:30PM, we herded up the chickens and locked them in their run. About an hour later, I heard Duke fussing up a storm, and ran outside - just in time to see a chicken hawk sitting by the run fencing, staring at the chickens and scaring them half to death! Thank goodness the run is covered with chicken wire.

Spring is a wonderful time of year and it is refreshing to see the new life it brings. Babies in the wild are certainly a sign of spring, and with them comes the need for their parents to feed them. Chicken hawks are no different. They are naturally looking for food. They are hungry, and so are their babies. It is an especially dangerous time for free ranging chickens. They are easy prey, and pretty much everyone and everything finds a chicken meal quite tasty.

As you know, I had a few issues keeping my chickens penned in their run. It was not an easy decision to allow them to free range, but the consequences of keeping them penned were worse than the prospect of losing a few to predators. Now that there are especially vulnerable baby chicks to worry about, the risks are even greater. If you’ve followed this blog for any time at all, you know I am pretty attached to my chickens, and I tend to be a bit over-protective.

I’m not really sure what we are going to do in the future. This weekend, I plan to keep my chickens penned in their run. I know I can not keep them in there forever, but after such a stressful week I think we could all use a break. Four hawk attacks in five days is a little more than we can handle right now.

Predators are always going to be a threat when owning chickens. It’s just a fact of life. Every living creature must eat. But I’m not raising chickens to be a dad-gum smorgasbord for all the wild animals in the county.

I wish I could clone Duke. He’d get the message across. No doubt.

Bee Free,
Penny

It’s been a while since I posted. I’ve been wanting to get pictures of the pups to show how big they are getting, but for some reason the only time I think about the camera is when they are sleeping. I’ll work on that this week. In the meantime, I’ve heard from enough of you to know that I should bring you up to date on what’s been happening on the homestead.

We took the pups to the vet for booster shots this afternoon. Dolly is now 20 pounds, and Diesel is 18! Not bad for a little runt. He’s really catching up with Dolly. These little puppies are a source of constant joy to us. It’s hard to be in a bad mood around them. Diesel and Dolly can make everything all better.

And I really needed Diesel and Dolly last night. I went out to candle the eggs under my second broody and I dropped one and cracked it. And it bled. And I cried. I am so upset with myself. I just can’t tell you how badly I feel. I’m not touching those eggs again. But on an up-note, I do believe the three eggs I candled before that were all fertile and filled with baby chick beginnings. They were mostly dark as I peered through them. I guess we’ll know in about two more weeks…..

Bernie found a nest in the far corner of the garage with fifteen eggs in it. Sneaky little hens. Most of the eggs had frozen and cracked. I’m pretty sure they’ve got another nest somewhere. Ten eggs a day just doesn’t add up when I’ve got 20 hens. I guess I’m going to have to do a little chicken stalking and find their secret hiding place.

Bernie somehow managed to hurt his shoulder. He actually injured it several months ago, but it’s gotten worse over time and it’s now to the point where he can hardly sleep through the night. I believe I can count on one hand the number of times he’s been to the doctor in the past 10 years for any type of illness or injury, but he actually agreed to go to one about his shoulder. And he was referred to an orthopedic specialist. His appointment is next week. In the meantime, he hasn’t really been able to do a whole lot, and he’s actually doing more than he probably should. He’s still chopping, splitting, and stacking wood several times a week. We kind of underestimated how much wood it was going to take to get us through the winter. This is the first winter we’ve had our wood burning stove and heated exclusively with it. The good news is that the wood is free. The bad news is that it takes A LOT of wood to get through a winter! Especially when the weather has been so unusually cold for so incredibly long. But have no fear. My man can handle it. With one arm tied behind his back - or flopping uselessly by his side.

In closing, I’m going to include a recipe for a Chicken Potato Bake that is super fast and super good. I found it one evening when I just could not think of what to fix for supper and I decided to search for something quick and easy. This one fit the bill. The original recipe wasn’t quite creamy enough for us, so I modified it a bit. I’m sure a lot of you I-Always-Make-Everything-from-Scratch people will get the shivers reading this, but hey - sometimes a person just feels a little lazy and wants a calorie laden meal for comfort. This is the meal for that person. And it only takes about ten minutes to assemble.

Chicken Potato Bake

Ingredients:
1/4 cup dried bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste

1 egg, beaten

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts halved

1/2 package frozen potatoes O’Brian, thawed (about 12 ounces)
10 ounce can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cup grated Pepper Jack cheese

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Combine bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper on plate.

Place egg in small shallow bowl; beat well.

In a medium sized bowl, combine potatoes, soup, milk, sour cream, and Pepper Jack cheese; mix well. Pour into a 13×9″ glass baking dish or something similar.

One at a time, dip the smooth side of a chicken breast in egg, then in bread crumb mixture to coat. Place, coated side up, on the potato mixture. Repeat with remaining chicken breasts.

Bake for 45 - 60 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked and potato mixture is bubbling and brown around the edges.

Bee Free,

Penny

I mentioned in my last post that I was making a chicken saddle for one of my over-mated White Faced Black Spanish hens. This is a picture of her back - I’m holding her on her side so Bernie could get a picture of it:

She not only has a bald spot, but her usually beautiful black feathers are rather battered.

And here she is wearing her new saddle:

She really strutted around, showing it off

Just look how proud and pretty she is in that new saddle

I wrote a little page on how I made the saddle, if you are interested in viewing it. The saddle has stayed on very well for going on 24 hours now. I’m quite pleased. So pleased, in fact, that I am making six more for my other battered hens.

By the way, I cracked the Small Fry egg this morning. It had no yolk. Frugalmom asked if I weighed it. Yes I did! It didn’t even register on the scale at all - and anything that doesn’t register is considered a Pee Wee. But it sure was cute!

Small Fry eggs and Chicken Saddles - they both make me smile.

Bee Free,
Penny

I had a little surprise waiting for me when I went to check for eggs today.

Just look at that cute little thing! I have no idea who laid it. I’ve heard that new layers will sometimes lay itty bitty eggs, but this is the first one I’ve ever found that small. Many people call them wind eggs - and a few other adjectives for passing gas. I think that’s just way too crude for such a cute little thing. I’m just calling it a Small Fry. I understand these tiny eggs typically have no yolk. I’ll let y’all know about that when we crack it open.

We’ve also started getting large eggs.

We don’t get them very often, but it’s always a nice surprise. We usually get small to medium eggs, and I’ve got no complaints about that - it’s just fun to find something different every now and again.

A couple of the hens now have completely bald patches on their backs from Duke’s affections. I’ve read about chicken saddles, but never really gave them much thought. After seeing all the damage Duke is inflicting, I’ve changed my mind and decided to make one and see if it works. A chicken saddle is simply something that fits over the hen’s back to protect it from the rooster’s spurs. To start, I’ve decided to make one for the White Faced Black Spanish that Duke is particularly fond of. Her back is pretty bad. I’m almost finished with it and plan to put it on her tonight. She’s my test case to see if this will really help. If it does, we are going to have a bunch of stylin’ chics around here.

In the next couple of days, I’ll post instructions for making the chicken saddle, pictures of a hen wearing it, and the results. If all goes well, we’ll just have a little Chicken Saddle Fashion Show. Keep your fingers crossed……

Bee Free,
Penny

I had planned to take the pups out to romp in the woods this afternoon and take a few pictures of them. But it’s snowing and cold right now, so I settled for snapping a few shots of them in the house. I have to tell you, that was not easy. Getting on the floor around here results in being bombarded in puppies. I did manage to get a few shots of them when they didn’t have their faces right in the camera.

Everything is a chew toy to them - especially to Dolly.

Diesel likes to chew on Dolly best of all.

And I included this last picture so you can see Diesel’s eyes - they are really pretty, and depending on the lighting they can be blue, green, or hazel. Mostly their just adorable though and this picture doesn’t do them justice.

Last night the pups slept all night long. Unfortunately, we didn’t sleep much at all because we woke up every hour on the hour thinking “They’re going to want to go out any moment now.” When we got up at 5:30AM we had to wake them up to go outside and potty. They are really doing great with the potty training. And I’m keeping my fingers crossed that sleeping through the night wasn’t just a fluke.

Just a quick update on Duke’s frostbitten comb - the smaller back points have fallen off and that portion looks extremely healthy right now. He still has three larger points that are black, and they look to me as if they will fall off very shortly. But don’t feel bad for Duke. He has a heaping pile of self confidence and isn’t even slightly fazed that his comb is messed up, or that he has black backhoe grease all down his neck, or that his tail feathers look funky. Duke is nothing, if not self confident.

You may remember that I’ve mentioned I thought six of my hens were in molt. Well, I talked to my cousin Julie (who has had chickens forever) and then emailed her some pictures of them, and she informed me that my hens are not molting. They have “rooster tracks”. In other words, my roosters are pulling/ripping their feathers out during mating. It really breaks my heart. My little Phoenix hens are bald as apples right now. They all look just awful. After talking with Julie and reading her email, it doesn’t sound like there’s much I can do about. I can trim the roosters’ spurs so they are not so rough on the girls’ backs, and I probably will, but it won’t help with the bald heads. If chickens are in your future and you plan to get roosters, you may be interested in learning with me. I’ll let y’all know how it goes.

It’s snowing like crazy right now. The chickens are in their coop, the puppies are sleeping like babies, the cats are still pouting, the woodstove is pumping out heat like crazy, and Bernie and I are happy to be living here on our homestead.

Bee Free,
Penny

Diesel and Dolly haven’t been allowed outside without being on a leash until today. Today was a big day for them. They have finally learned to come back to us when we call them, so they were finally allowed to run around without being on a leash. And it was the perfect day for it. It snowed! And Diesel and Dolly LOVE snow. But before they were allowed to take off on their own, Bernie had a little chat with them and they promised to mind us. Diesel shook on it.

Diesel is so tiny, he has a hard time keeping up with Dolly. At first, she spent time with him and kept him close by.

He followed her around for a while, but kept looking over his shoulder to make sure we were following.

Before too long Dolly ran off without Diesel.

I don’t think I have one picture of Dolly without snow on her nose.

They played for quite a while, but it was quite evident when they got cold and decided it was time to go inside. Diesel sat in the snow, shivering, and looking up at us. Bernie had to pick him up and cuddle him to make sure he got warm.

And when Dolly had enough she simply hauled tail straight to the house. She even climbed the stairs for the first time ever!

Diesel and Dolly really love the snow, but I’m not sure they’ll care for the ice we’re supposed to get tonight. I am absolutely positive that Bernie and I won’t care for it - especially at midnight when we do the puppy poop run with them. And the poor chickens don’t care for any of this weather. They haven’t left the coop all day. I took them a few special treats during the day, but even that didn’t seem to help their mood. Puppies aren’t as moody about the weather as chickens.

Diesel and Dolly ended up getting sick over the weekend. By Sunday night they had pretty bad diarreha and we were a little worried about them. We took them to the vet Monday morning and learned they have a bacterial infection in their intestines. The good news is, the antibiotics the vet gave us for them started working right away. They slept so well last night that we actually had to wake them up to go potty at midnight and again when we got up at 5AM.

These little pups are doing great. I’m sure everyone thinks they have the smartest, sweetest, cutest pups in the world, but we really do. Seriously. You’d think so too, if you met them. They wouldn’t let you leave until you agreed. Diesel and Dolly are like that.

Bee Free,
Penny

My sister and I have always been close and while we have a great deal in common, we differ greatly in others. Take organization, pack-rattiness (I may have made that word up), and clutter management for example. My sister’s home is very organized and clear of clutter. She doesn’t have a pack rat gene in her body. If she hasn’t used it, worn it, or eaten it recently, it gets thrown out. She has begged - and I seriously mean BEGGED - to come into our home to organize and de-clutter it. It just slays her that we will not permit it. Her eye begins twitching when she visits us and gazes upon the mass of clutter in our home. We are very attached to our clutter and we’ve accumulated boxes and boxes of it that we store in every nook and cranny of our home. You just never know when you’ll need that t-shirt from high school or when that broken toaster will come in handy.

I tell you the above to explain how very happy I was to find a box full of dog food bowls, waterers, leashes and collars. When the last of our dogs passed away a few years ago we didn’t plan to get puppies anytime soon, but we knew we eventually would, so I packed everything dog related into a box and stored it. Finding the box was a-whole-nother story, but find it I did! And after washing it all up, setting up the feeding area, and strategically placing the waterer, I believe we are prepared. The only thing missing is the puppies. And tomorrow that will be remedied. Yay!

So, in a nutshell, the clutter of that box of dog items and the pack-rattiness of saving it all these years actually aided in the organization we accomplished in setting up for the arrival of the puppies. So take that, sistah! Besides, it’s called “frugal”. We are just very frugal people around here.

With all the below freezing weather we’ve encountered this year, Duke’s comb has suffered significantly from frost bite. I’ve mentioned this before, but thought I would post a picture for those of you who may have never seen frost bite on a chicken’s comb.

The front of his comb is unaffected. He’s still a good looking boy, don’t you think?

The rear of his comb has the frost bite. It’s mostly on the tips of his comb.

The dark stuff on his feathers is grease from the back hoe. When it rains, snows, sleets, etc. he prefers to go under the back hoe for shelter, rather than in his coop. I’ve tried explaining how the coop would be better, but he doesn’t listen. Boys will be boys.

I’ve been slathering a triple-antibiotic cream on his comb each evening and it was starting to look much better - but then we had another Arctic blast and the high temperatures didn’t get out of the 20’s for a while. His comb is looking rather bad again. I hate to think of it, but I may end up having to dub it.

Chickens with large combs and wattles are more susceptible to frost bite. Some people believe that applying Vaseline to the combs and wattles will prevent frost bite. I’m certain it won’t hurt, but I question it’s effectiveness. Believe it or not, this is actually a very controversial subject among many chicken owners. All I know is that the antibiotic cream I am using is petroleum based, and it did not prevent him from further frost bite. None the less, frost bite can be a very serious issue. The necrotic tissue can cause an infection, making the chicken very ill, and possibly even resulting in death. Dubbing is sometimes the only alternative. It involves cutting off the comb and/or wattle. Some people routinely dub their chickens as a preventative measure, and some with Show Chickens are required to dub them.

Personally, Duke and I are both very fond of his comb and wattle, so we are both hoping that dubbing is something neither of us has to experience. His wattles are fine, so that won’t be an issue. I’m keeping a very close eye on his comb for any sign of infection. At the most, I am hoping I only need to remove the affected portion, which is close to the back of his comb. I guess we’ll cross that bridge if we get to it. If the frost bite doesn’t get too severe and there is no infection, he will likely lose the black tips. They will just fall off when completely dead. That is what Duke and I are hoping happens.

Tomorrow is the big day! We will leave early in the morning to pick up the puppies. I’ve tried my best to prepare Elvis and Priscilla, but they are in a state of complete denial. They refuse to even discuss it. But they are fairly adaptive cats, so I guess they’ll learn to deal with it when the puppies finally get here.

And if you thought I bored you with peep pictures when we got the chickens, well……..

Bee Free,
Penny

We awoke this morning to a thermometer that pegged out at a whopping 2 degrees. I know that many of you are suffering far colder temperatures than that (I read it was -40 somewhere in Minnesota yesterday!), but I have to believe that 2 degrees is cold by most standards. At 10:30AM, it was 9 degrees. The chickens have two outside waterers, and I’ve been rotating them every hour or so to make sure they have some water to drink today, should they venture out.

Yesterday our chickens awoke to the first significant amount of snow they have ever seen. It was really only a dusting. But they were not impressed. While they have seen snow before, they had never experienced ground completely covered by it. Normally when I open their chicken door, they come barreling down their chicken plank at full speed, running in all directions. When I opened their chicken door yesterday, however, not one of them came out. I peeked inside and found an opening covered in chicken faces with eyes as big as saucer. After two minutes or so, a brave Phoenix started down the plank, but she high tailed it back inside before reaching the ground. It took a while, but a handful eventually made it out into the yard. Around 9AM I noticed six chickens in the yard, and all the others stayed in the coop. Even though it never got above freezing yesterday, the sun eventually melted off the snow in their run. But the chickens remained in a fowl mood (pardon the pun) for the entire day.

We have no snow today, but the majority of the chickens are staying in the coop. It’s just too darn cold out there. Chickens may not be the sharpest knives in the drawer, but they are smarter than most people give them credit for!

Last night I was attempting to squeeze some hair ball medicine out of a tube to give to Priscilla when, quite suddenly, the tube bottom sprung a leak and squirted a 5 inch long blob of sticky, nasty hair ball medicine on the top of Priscilla’s head, over her ear, and down her neck. I would say she was unhappy, but the truth is she was furious. Priscilla does not like anything to drip, plop, or ooze on her. I learned that when she was sitting on my lap one morning while I was eating breakfast and a minuscule drop of egg yolk landed on her head. From her reaction you would have thought it was acid. And she wouldn’t even look at me for the remainder of the day. That cat can carry a grudge like you would not believe.

At any rate, I immediately grabbed Priscilla and wiped off as much hair ball medicine as I could. Then I wet a paper towel and tried to wash it as well as I could. You can not imagine how incredibly angry she was with me. I could barely get her to look at me the rest of the night, and when she did, she would give me the stink eye. Elvis got tired of her complaining about it and eventually decided to try and help out:

“Oh, wait a minute. I missed a spot.”

Ignore the cold weather gear draped over the dining room chairs. They are “on ready” for any ventures outside. Oh, and also ignore the fact that there are cats on the dining room table. If it makes you feel any better, they also get on the counters, beds, cabinets, and all furniture and they open cabinet doors and crawl inside if they are in the mood.

Oh, and wonderful news! My parents adopted a rescue puppy they found on Pet Finder! They are so excited, and I’m really happy for them. It’s a little Dapple Dachshund and it sounds like quite a character. They named him Oliver. I tried to find his picture on the website, but couldn’t. I hope they figure out how to email one to me. I just can’t wait to see this little guy.

And speaking of puppies, you may have noticed that I put a puppy count down on the right side of the blog. Frugalmom suggested it and I love it! Only seven more days until we pick them up! Yay! I’m taking a vacation day next Friday and we’re heading down bright and early to get them. Yay again! They are currently about 235 miles from us, so it will be a long trip for those little babies. We plan to make several stops during the trip so they can get out and potty and stretch their little puppy legs. I’ll be sure to post lots of pictures when they get here.

It has been many years since we had a puppy, let alone two at the same time, in this house. In fact, other than the peeps, it’s been a great long while since there was any baby in this house. It will be an adjustment, no doubt. We’re looking forward to it though. I can not say the same for Elvis and Priscilla.

I just realized this entire post is about nothing but animals. I wish I had some news about the homestead, but the truth is that it’s been so darn cold, we haven’t done much recently. Bernie stays on top of the firewood supply and I stay on top of taking care of the chickens. Other than that, we rarely wander outside during this frigid weather.

We’re gearing up for the Virginia Legislative session and keeping track of the unbelievable amount  of bills that are dropping daily. As they say, our rights are only safe when the legislature is not is session. We’ll be headed to Richmond on Lobby Day next Monday. Lobby Day is a great day to meet up with your representatives and let them know what matters to you. That’s something Bernie and I try to do year round, but it’s nice to show up in Richmond as the session starts and let them know we’re still around. If you plan to be there, look us up!

Bee Free,

Penny

Bernie and I are adopting siblings - a little boy and a little girl. They are seven weeks old. In two weeks, we will pick them up. It’s a big step, but one we feel we are ready for.

Introducing, our little bundles of joy:

Are they not just hopelessly adorable? The white one is the male and the brown one is the female. They are German Shepherd/Alaskan Malamute mix. We’ve been searching for the perfect dogs for our situation, and I know we have found them. We found them using Pet Finder. If you are looking for the perfect pet, check them out! Betty Sue from Our Critters in Ararat, Virginia is caring for these babies right now, and that’s from whom we are adopting them. Yay Betty Sue! What a great service.

The babies won’t be eight weeks old and ready to leave mama until next weekend. Unfortunately, we are out of town next weekend. Betty Sue has agreed to hold them for us until the following weekend - January 24. I just hope I can sleep between now and then. I simply can not wait! Bernie’s pretty darn excited, too. In fact, it was Bernie that looked at their pictures and immediately said I should check to see if they are still available. He’s such a sucker for a pretty face.

We’re going to start working with the puppies right away to make sure they get along with Elvis, Priscilla, and the chickens. I imagine Bernie will keep these puppies at his side most of the day as he works around the property. I’m OK with that, but I can’t help but hope that maybe, just maybe, one will be a mama’s girl and want to hang out inside with me in my office while I’m working during the week. Elvis and Priscilla may have different thoughts on that, though. Especially Elvis. He “goes to work” with me each morning and situates himself right next to my keyboard as I log in for the day.

OK. OK. Enough baby talk. I just thought you’d like to hear me talk about something other than turning ffff, ffff, ffff, um, another year older. Hey - maybe turning half a century isn’t as bad as I thought it would be.

Bee Free,
Penny