Porcupines and Puppies!!

It's been an eventful few weeks! Between daily chores, work, prepping for winter, AND prepping for not one but TWO litters of puppies... it's been a little hectic around the homestead. 

Whatever forward progress that has been made couldn't have been done without God's provision of help, mostly from my Dad but also from other family members and from my church family. 

Here's one project: knowing that Breeze would likely want to steal Hazel's puppies, I literally built a wall down the middle of my cottage. So now I live in a two-room cottage instead of one room. 😂 

Here's my new wall, with a nice sturdy gate that Dad put in for me yesterday. I'd potentially like to do wallpaper and wainscoting on this side; I'm installing beadboard on the kitchen side. Pardon the clutter... this is still very much a work in progress.

In the midst of all this chaos, I had my first major dog-and-porcupine incident last week. Hazel, who was due in less than a week, found a weak spot in the fence while I was at work and went after a porcupine that has been hanging out nearby. Needless to say, she definitely received more punishment than she meted out. If you follow me on Facebook, you've seen these pictures. They're not easy to look at.

Dad graciously drove us over to the nearest emergency vet so that I could sit in the back seat with Hazel and keep her calm. We ended up being there several hours, but one whopping vet bill later, Hazel was all fixed up. 😝 

She was pretty sore and sad the next day, and we're still finding the occasional quill. But she was pretty much back to herself by the third day.

Good thing, because she was just about ready to pop! You can read about this "oops" litter under the tab at the top of the page titled "2022 Litters." I certainly didn't plan to let my puppy get pregnant, but accidents happen, and her beautiful babies arrived early this morning. 

It was a slow labor, and interestingly, most of the puppies arrived breech. This isn't usually a problem for dogs, but is less common than the nose coming out first. 

Hazel was pretty anxious and confused during the early part of labor, but after the first puppy came, she figured out what was going on and was a professional in no time. She's a great little mama. ❤️ 

Without further ado, here is the first of the two 2022 Butterscotch Farm Collie litters. This one is Hazel x Thane.

1. Butterscotch Farm Peanut

My Mom suggested a nut theme for this litter in honor of Hazel's name, and when I saw this girl's color, I knew she needed to be Peanut. I think she'll be a lighter, golden sable like Hazel and like Hazel's sire Henry. 

2. Butterscotch Farm Black Walnut

This boy is a CHUNK!! I'll be calling him Murray because I had a special request for a tricolor male from one family, so I know where he is likely going to go live. :) 

3. Butterscotch Farm Chestnut

This is a sable and white female who might have nice dark shading like Thane. I like the little asymmetrical blaze on her forehead. ❤️

4. Butterscotch Farm Acorn

Another dark shaded sable, this little girl has a full white collar, a white nose and a thin blaze.

5. Butterscotch Farm Cashew

I was wondering if poor Murray was going to be the only boy, but then this handsome guy arrived. Fun fact - he's the only one who wasn't breech! He has just a little white on his nose and has a full white collar. 

For me, as much as I love the cute puppy stages, I love even more seeing how they turn out as adults. I think these could be some special pups, and I'm excited to watch them grow and then go live out their potential with their new families in a few short weeks. ❤️ 

In the meantime, please pray for me... sharing a 500-square-foot house with two litters of puppies, going into the cold weather season!! (Breeze is due in about 2 weeks.)

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂