We've had lots of company over the past few weeks. It has been great to share our farm adventure with friends and family. They can now put animal names and faces together. It is fun when people arrive and want to meet the animals. It does surprise non-animal people that I can tell the sheep apart and have names for each. Keep in mind however that I haven't figured out the chickens. I can only readily distinguish one, Blondie, and that is because she is so much lighter in colour than the other reds.
Millie has been very busy indeed. We are more than half way through a month of antibiotic treatment for Lyme disease and she seems to feel fantastic. As hubby pointed out, it is possible that she has had the disease for years and this is the best she has felt in several years. She seems to sleep a bit less, is more interested in the sheep and is eating lots. Finally this big dog is eating big dog portions.
I feed her breakfast in the car, thanks to DB's suggestion, to get her used to getting into the vehicle. I have booked her spay surgery for later this month. After eight, when hopefully the coyotes have all gone home, Millie meets me at the back door and we head out to the barn. At first I bribed her with treats, now she just comes. Actually now she's looking for me. I open the gate to the back field and let the sheep out. I go into the barn to feed the chickens and gather the eggs. I get my lawn chair and head outside.
These days the sheep wait for Millie to go first. She takes her time, smelling and inspecting things. We head out into the Middle Field where the cabin is located, and the sheep head to the right and down into the hollow while Millie goes straight and checks out the perimeter. Millie continues around the entire field. She goes into the bush along the back of the house and travels all the way back to the barnyard path and returns to the field. I have been very impressed with this routine of boundary checking that she has taken on.
We spend about twenty to thirty minutes checking the field. I more or less stay with the sheep during this time, paying attention to the south end of the field where we know there is coyote activity. Then I set up my chair in the shade at an elevated spot. I work on my craft which is interrupted by Millie sucking up to me. This is the major suck up time of the day. This is when Millie sucks up any love I am willing to dole out to her. Sometimes I take the dog brush. I remove burrs from her coat. We have chats and I scratch her ears a lot. Then she'll fall down and ask me to rub her belly. Otherwise she lays down and dozes and observes the surroundings. The nose goes constantly.
On occasion she has growled or even barked at something in the woods. When the sheep run she does too. Millie's goal is to get in front of the sheep to protect them from anything bad. The sheep think she is chasing them and run faster. Slowly, the sheep are becoming accustomed to her. They run away from her less frequently. The sheep move away and regroup instead of running headlong back to the barn. Millie really wants to bond with them; instead, at this point in time, she is bonding to me. We expect over the winter and with new lambs in the spring that the sheep will bond more closely with Millie.
Millie is very busy at night, barking at coyotes and other noises. I awoke at three one morning to a howling coyote and Millie responding in kind with a howl, then a bark. This went on for about five or ten minutes. Now that she knows of the fields out back Millie is also more attentive to these areas, which is desired.
Oh, I recently met Millie's mother, Hillary. I was speaking to her
owner, petting this dog that came up to me and kept pawing me. Her
owner kept telling her to stop that. She had a lovely demeanour and was
the friendliest of the dogs. The pawing behaviour was a giveaway since
Millie does this.
The garden is exploding. The broccoli has been yummy but is pretty well done. Remember that I went small and only planted a half package of most seeds. The cauliflower has been disappointing but there is still time. The zucchini has been crazy and the relish, muffins and BBQ-ed products scrumptious. Bush beans have been lovely and I wish I had planted more. The butternut squash is like a crazy beanstalk plant, with tendrils overtaking space wherever it can. The tomatoes are to the point where I must pick some daily. We have had a beautiful freshly grated beet salad thanks to Sister. There are carrots too. Oh, and the red romaine continues to produce.
So, fresh veg we have lots of. Some meals consist of all fresh garden veg which is just divine and oh so healthy for us all. I am already planning on expanding the garden for next year. I need to decide where to put asparagus and rhubarb. The garden will always be a work in progress and that is just fine.
So, my latest Shepherdessing craft - is that a word / phrase? Oh, I was an academic once and that allowed me to make up words, so it will still work. I was taking knitting with me which has been great. However I realised that I really want to get Dot's fleece carded up. So, I got out a larger back pack and stuffed it with a bag of some fleece and a smaller, clean bag. While sitting I tease out the tufts of fleece, allowing the breeze to carry away the chaff and toss the undesirables. The good stuff goes into the clean bag. This has been working very well. At the end of the day I card this up on the drum carder which I have set up on the veranda. Each day I am able to produce a few more batts of fleece ready to spin.
I have a lot of fleece work to do. It really needs to happen outside. As the nights get cooler it is on my mind that any outside work must get done soon. The seasons and the weather prioritise many of my days' activities for me.
It's 8:01a.m. and Millie wants to get the sheep out. She and Beau have played chase around the house and Millie has discovered digging in the sand pit left by the pool. It is great to see her happy.
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