General Updates

Hello, everyone! It just occurred to me that I've been posting on Facebook a fair bit, but haven't updated people who just follow my blog.

Life is good... spring is here... and despite the epic amount of mud gradually filling in the gaps between the melting snow in my yard, I'm very excited to be past winter. This is a bit of a weird thought, but I actually wondered if our short, fairly mild winter was a direct result of all the people praying for my safety in the (somewhat under-insulated) dome. Now there's a humbling thought!!

In other news, I am temporarily unemployed due to the Coronavirus - the shop where I work is definitely not considered "essential," and would probably be a high risk location for spreading germs, since we tend to get tourists from all over.  I'm trusting God for provision... I don't anticipate problems, though I will want to be careful with my money. I do feel for those who are in a really tight spot due to job closures, though!

In the meantime, I'm grateful for lots of time to spend at home with the animals - this is what I've wanted for a long time.  

Here are a few photos of some of the critters. :)

Rhode standing, and one of the boys on the pallet fence, which has been moderately successful at keeping them in. Rhode is due as soon as April 3rd, but probably a few days after that. Dad and Timothy came over yesterday and helped me work on turning my hay shed into a second goat pen so that Rhode and her babies can be away from the boys. 

Below is Speedy, one of my favorite hens - if I'm allowed to have a favorite, lol! I think she's beautiful. ♥️

Breeze is a sweetie pie. She has a nice moderate energy level, and is affectionate without being pushy. Depending on a gazillion factors, there's a chance I would try to breed her this fall.

Mr. Floofle!!  (Sometimes AKA Kerfluffle.) He's doing well... finally getting bigger and getting his full adult plumage. I think I've even heard him trying to crow some mornings - it sounds like something out of Jurassic Park, lol. He's still definitely special needs, and I monitor him continuously in case the other roo picks on him...if that were to happen, I would send him away to be a pet with a friend.  I think he would make a good pet. :P 

And Bartholomew... this kitten is an absolute love bug!! Unfortunately I am still keeping him in my xl dog crate most of the time, because Breeze and Nala seem to be still deciding whether he's friend or food, lol. But I take him out a few times a day and give him a good long snuggle, while he purrs up a storm. This little guy isn't afraid of anything, either! I think he's going to be an excellent farm cat.

Big Blue. She has kind of a rosy hue to her feathers, unlike the other two white hens.

The pooches posed for me yesterday... it's rare to get all three holding still for a picture! 

And sweet mama Nala... as of today, we're only 13 days from her due date!!!  She has definitely slowed waaay down, and is becoming quite round. It's going to be very, very interesting fitting an additional 6+ Collies into the dome for 8 weeks! 😂😂😂 

I have two puppies reserved (one by me!! :D ), so that leaves at least 4 that will still be for sale... feel free to pass around the word. Assuming travel bans are lifted by early June, I would potentially be willing to drive several hours to meet buyers.

Anyway, I hope everyone is hanging in there! 

Introducing Bartholomew

I've been watching all the local classifieds for a few weeks now, eagerly waiting for kitten season to start. My patience finally paid off today...meet Bartholomew.  ❤️❤️❤️

Needless to say, the dogs are VERY excited! I've got Bartholomew set up in my biggest dog crate for now until I think it's safe to start letting him around the dogs.  He grew up with 7 dogs, though, so I'm hoping it will be an easy transition. 

Welcome to Butterscotch Farm, Bartholomew!

P.S. - bonus points if you can figure out the cat pun in his name. ;) 

A Very Good Girl

With Nala's litter coming in just a few weeks, you're definitely going to be hearing a lot about this sweet girl... this is her time to shine, lol!

Every time I take Nala out in public somewhere, I am reassured that she is a truly excellent choice to be the mama of my first litter of farm Collies.  

To be clear, she is not quite my end goal as far as physical appearance goes - yes, she is gorgeous, but she has far more coat than is practical for a farm Collie, and I prefer a little broader muzzle, etc. But her temperament is what gets me excited. ♥️ 

This past Tuesday's outing was a case in point - we left the dome, and she happily hopped up into the truck, without fuss.  She rides very well, though she firmly believes that I should be petting her the entire time.  😂

We arrived at the vet's office, and she quickly won over the lady at the front desk, getting perhaps more than her fair share of cookies. ;) She made friends quickly with the vet and vet tech too, and submitted without any fuss or nervousness to the physical exam.

Then we went to the back room for the ultrasound, where Nala was lifted up and had to lie on her back on a special cushion.  My sweet girl held perfectly still while on her back - no struggle at all! ♥️ 

Afterward, we hung out at my parents' house for a while, where she behaved very well. On the way home, we stopped at the local pet store to pick up kibbles - and Nala totally ignored the shop dog that was sitting right by the door!  THAT impressed me - anyone who has had dogs knows that it's often a huge challenge to teach them not to go bonkers when they see another dog. 

She's not without flaws, of course - no dog is completely perfect.  She is a little OCD in some of her behaviors on the farm, though I suspect that's just because she has a high level of drive, and I simply don't have enough work for her.  And she is a little shy with some strangers, though it's far from the level of fear I saw in Thea, the English Shepherd I used to own, and she can be won over.  She's also sometimes annoyingly pushy about demanding attention, lol - you have to watch out that she doesn't nudge that long snooter under your arm while you're trying to drink a hot beverage! 😂

But overall, I'm extremely pleased with her temperament... I think her puppies will likely be very confident, friendly, able to fit into any situation, and very affectionate and eager to please.  She is such a good girl, and I can't wait until early April when I get to meet her babies!!  ♥️ 

Puppies are Coming!!!!

It's confirmed - Nala is pregnant!!  😍

The vet counted at least 6 pups on the ultrasound.  And, lol, two of the ones that she zoomed in on were VERY active... I'm thinking that some of these pups could be busy bees just like their mama!  😂

The due date is April 7th, give or take a couple days.

I'm super excited!!!

Now to go rearrange the dome to maximize floor space....

Learning Some Lessons

I've learned a lot in the few months I've been homesteading... and I'm sure the learning will never stop!  :P 

Today I moved some hay around because the goats were destroying it - sigh.  I can't wait for the snow to go away so I can put up better goat fencing!!  I had to leave some bales in the hay storage thingie and just hope they don't get scattered too, but I put a bunch of the bales on my firewood rack, since we're past the worst of the very cold weather and I won't need a ton more wood.

But here are a few things I thought of this morning as I lugged hay bales across the field.

1. People aren't kidding when they say to make your goat fence like Fort Knox!!  I thought I was prepared, but I really wasn't.

2. People aren't kidding when they say that loose goats can cause an epic amount of trouble - just look at my hay storage thingie!!  

3. People also aren't kidding when they say that few things are more annoying and itchy than hay when it gets in your clothes!!  :P 

4. Goats listen to Collies much better than they listen to people when the goats are being told to go into their pen in the middle of the day. 

5. Farm girls should eat a more substantial breakfast than 2 small muffins when doing heavy physical labor, otherwise they will become excessively hungry and buy too much food at the grocery store.  

What lessons did you guys learn today? ;)

Happy Friday!!