One Week Old!

The puppies (and Breeze) are doing great! They're one week old today, and all are gaining weight...some more than others, but forward progress is always good. 

I decided to use the theme of cookies as names for the puppies - with the understanding, of course, that most of the new owners will change the names.  This just gives me something to call the pups over the next 7 weeks while they're still with me. :) 

Several of the names are modern classics...but there are a few more obscure cookies that I found in a cookie cookbook from 1936. If anyone wants the recipe for any of the older types of cookies, just let me know!!

So, without further ado, Butterscotch Farm's Cookie Litter:

1. Butterscotch Farm Gingersnap

"Ginger"

This sable and white female is petite, and has a sweet little snippet of white on the back of her neck.

  

2. Butterscotch Farm Pizelle

"Pizelle"

I was inspired by a friend who said the markings on her neck looked like a puzzle piece. Pizelle is one of my "itty-bitties," weighing in at only 13 ounces today. She's the only one of the girls who has a full blaze on her face.

3. Butterscotch Farm Snickerdoodle

"Snickerdoodle"

I can always identify this girl because her whole right leg, all the way up onto her shoulder, is solid white. She has a solid face, and weighs a little more than a pound.

4. Butterscotch Farm Marguerite

"Marguerite"

Weighing in at just over a pound, this little sable girl has a solid face and a partial collar on the right.

5. Butterscotch Farm Vienna Wafer

"Enna"

This teeny-tiny tricolor girl weighed in at 12.4 ounces today. I'm trying to wait until the personalities emerge more before I decide whether I'm going to keep a pup, but little Enna is right up at the top of the list of potential keepers!

 

6. Butterscotch Farm Molasses Cookie

"Molly"

This cutie is my BIG girl - she was almost a pound when she was born, and is 21.4 ounces today. She has an almost-full white collar, and a tiny snip of white on her face.

7. Butterscotch Farm Peppernut Cookie

"Pepper"

This girl is living up to her name already - she was by far the most active when I was taking pictures. In fact, she was practically up and walking! Pepper has a solid face and a small white mantle on the back of her neck rather than a full collar.

8. Butterscotch Farm Chocolate Chip Cookie

"Chip"

This cute boy has a couple fun little black spots in his white collar! 

9. Butterscotch Farm Macaroon

"Mac"

It seems that the boys got the flashiest markings, and Mac is a handsome boy! He's going to look like a classic Lassie Collie with his blaze and full white collar.

10. Butterscotch Farm Twill Cookie

"Twill"

I have trouble telling this boy apart from Mac...the primary difference is that his blaze and his collar are a little closer to being connected. He's another super handsome boy!

11. Butterscotch Farm Spritz Cookie

"Spritz"

This boy has fun markings too - very similar to Chip, except that he's sable instead of tricolor. He has a thin blaze.

So there you have it - lots of names to remember, lol. :P

Letting the Cat (well, puppies) Out of the Bag

 Big news on the farm! Yesterday Breeze successfully delivered 11 (yes, you read that number right!!) Scottish Collie puppies. 6 of them were delivered in a den she had dug under my porch before I got home from work, lol - Breeze is true farm dog! It was very considerate of her to have her puppies during the day - nighttime is much more common.

Thane is the proud father. For the sake of full disclosure, his PennHip score (an x-ray that measures the amount of laxity in the hips) is slightly above breed average on his right hip, but since he is 5 years old and seems perfectly fit, I decided to use him this one time. If puppy owners want to x-ray hips, I'll be offering a partial refund to help cover some of the cost of the test; see me for details.

Breeze is a wonderful dam so far - very attentive to the needs of her babies, and very reluctant to leave the whelping box. All the puppies seem healthy and vigorous so far. ❤️ 

Here are the puppies. 

Sable and white male:

Sable and white female:

Tricolor boy:

Sable and white female:

Sable and white female: 

Tricolor female:

Sable and white female:

Sable and white male:

Tricolor female:

Tricolor female:

Sable and white male:

And a couple close-ups of sweet little faces... ❤️

I can't wait to see their little personalities start to emerge over the next 8 weeks!! ❤️

Hey, Hay!

 Last week, my family and I drove to West Virginia for a family reunion. It was a looong drive, but we had a great time. 😊 

It was back to work on Saturday and then church yesterday to finish off a super busy week.

I was definitely still moving a little slow today, but puttered at a couple projects I've been wanting to get done. For one, I started on a big compost pile in the future garden area. I've got some awesome compost already started just from the hay and goat droppings that have been sitting by the old goat pen for a year, and plenty more partially rotted hay to add to the pile.

The other project is hay! I recently learned that you don't necessarily need to grow a hay field... you can literally just let your grass grow long, cut it, dry it, and bale it. 

So that's what I did in my driveway today! 😃 

Here's what it looked like before: 

And after a couple hours of weed whacking:

And here is some of what I collected!!

I spread it out, some on the ground and some on my truck tonneau cover - I figured the black surface would help to dry it quickly. I turned it over a couple times throughout the day, making sure there were no clumps of wet grass.

Then this evening I packed it into an old styrofoam cooler with baling twine underneath the grass...tied it up... and I have one adorable miniature bale of hay to show for my labors! 😂 

This will likely be for rabbits, which I hope to add to the farm as an additional source of protein sometime this summer. But if that doesn't work out, I'm planning on getting more goats or sheep this fall or next spring, so it definitely won't go to waste!

Happy Monday!!! 

Summer Project

 It's been a super duper busy few weeks... work is insane, and Dad and I have been pushing to finish the coop. It's an 8x12' structure, split into two 6x8' sections, each with its own run. We finally got the first half done enough to move the birds in. And let me tell you... moving them was quite the task!!

Before I tell that story, here are a few pictures of the coop and run. There are a few more finishing details - for example, I hope to cut my own wooden shingles and put those on for the siding. But you can see the basic idea. 

Here's the run. It's got a roof over it so the dirt won't turn into a muddy mess like the last coop. There will be a second, adjacent run to the right of the screen door; I just need to add hardware cloth and a bit more framing.

Inside the run:

The front of the building. We used an old ping pong table top as part of the wall, lol:

Oh, and see that sign? I made it. :D Here's a close-up:

Here are a couple interior shots:

So I waited until it was pretty dark Thursday night to move the birds, because they tend to be a little calmer when it's dark, and will readily settle down for the night. I had two roosters and 8 hens to move from the old coop, as well as 26 chicks and one adult hen to move from the chick pen. The adults I carried down one at a time. A couple were pretty sure I was going to murder them, and screamed like they meant it!! 

Red Rooster has always been pretty skittish, and the move apparently pushed him over the top...he shoved his way out the door when I was bringing a hen in, and ran off into the woods. I managed to catch him fairly easily, and decided to put him in with the other spare roosters instead of back with the flock. Big Roo, by comparison, is very chill and easy-going.

So then it was time to move the chicks. They were still quite flighty, even in the dark, and were way in the back of the chick pen, hard to reach. So I busted out one of my favorite yard sale finds - a fishing net! 😂 

I fished all 26 chicks (and Mama) out of that pen over the course of time. I managed to catch between two and six chicks per trip. 

I was so glad when that was over! It took me a whole hour. 😯

It was too dark for pictures that night, but here's a picture from a couple weeks ago demonstrating the use of the net with an errant rooster. :P

And here are the birds exploring the coop the first morning! Lol, it's already looking a lot less clean - they love to scatter their food everywhere.

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Toasty Day!!

 Today was SO hot! Lol, I admit that in the middle of winter, when I was chipping ice and climbing over frozen gates, I did some casual peeking at real estate in the south ... but on days like today, I feel like I'd be happiest somewhere like Alaska or far northern Maine. :P

I stuck to mostly quiet activities today and stayed in the shade. The dogs spent most of the day under the porch in holes they've dug in the cool dirt. 

Here are a few scenes from the day. My flower garden by the front gate... it's doing fairly well, though the rose bushes have small leaves, which I'm guessing means they need some fertilizer. The Salvia is very happy, though!

The nest in the new chicken coop has occupants now. I caught a quick glimpse of Mama, and I think she's a Sparrow.

Once the front of the house was out of direct sunlight, I puttered at putting up more of the siding, and got the boards on the front finished. The battens will still need to be added, as well as wooden shingles on the upper part.

Here's Bartholomew out ruling his domain. 

Pretty flowers in the old goat field.

And here are the chicks...look how big they're getting!! :D 

 I hope everyone had a good Monday!

King Bartholomew

 I'm pretty sure that Bartholomew thinks he rules Butterscotch Farm. Here's a post from his perspective. 😂 

"Hmm, what part of my domain should I visit this morning?"

"I could roust a few chipmunks from the brush pile by the new chicken coop..."

"Ah, one moment... I spy one of my subjects... the tall one. It is good to acknowledge her presence occasionally, and remind her not to neglect her duty to keep the kibble dish full."

"Next I shall demonstrate my lean musculature before the Caged Fowl. I do not know why the Tall One keeps these birds caged, except perhaps to protect them from warriors such as myself. Though they are as large as I am, I have no fear of them."

"Hmm, I thought perhaps that it would be a good day for a hunt, but water persists in falling from the sky. I did not authorize such an event, and I thoroughly disapprove."

"Ah, there is the Tall One again. Perhaps if I deign to greet her as if she is worthy of my affection, she will remember to place some of that marvelous concoction known as 'Wet Cat Food' in my bowl before she ventures forth in the Large Silver Chariot."

Happy Monday!

A Few Pictures

 I got off work a little early today, and got a little bit more done on the chicken coop. I'm trying to be thrifty, especially with current lumber prices, so the coop is mostly built with reclaimed materials and even with small trees from my land. 

Here's the coop right now... I want to cover the cheap siding with wooden shingles or old barn wood, but this will do for now! 

We're also using logs as some of the posts and rafters in the runs. I'm stripping the bark off the logs; otherwise bugs tend to hang out under the bark and chew the wood up. I'm using a drawknife most of the time, but on some of the logs, the bark has peeled off in long strips by hand, which is immensely satisfying!! :P 

As usual, the coop is ending up taking WAY longer than I thought it would... maybe someday I'll be less of an optimist and more of a realist when it comes to envisioning the timeline for building projects. 😂 

In other news, Purrcy is starting to look way too grown up already!! Breeze is doing well with him... she needed a few stern reprimands when I first let her in the cottage while the kitten was loose, just because his quick movements are fascinating, but she's 99% good now. ❤️

Well, that's about it... I hope everyone is having an awesome week! :)