Two Dogs, Two Stories, One Heart

For those of you who have been following me since we have started up, you will remember that once upon a time, we had a beautiful red and white Husky named Nikki. Nikki was the most wonderful dog anybody could ever have in their lives. Everybody loved Nikki. I don't think there was anybody that ever came in contact with her that didn't notice her sense of humor, her swift wit, or her keen intelligence. Nikki crossed the rainbow bridge in In August of 2013.  Her last year was a rough one. She had severe Alzheimer's disease, and her back hips were pretty much so gone.
I met Nikki when I started dating my husband. I learned that if I was taking fresh eggs to his place, that I'd better be careful, because she was an egg thief, and knew how to get you to drop one. I knew that she was part of a package deal, and I didn't care, I loved her from the moment I met her. When we bought this house, and moved in, and got her moved in, she was trained not to get on the furniture prior to moving in...well, I swiftly changed that, and she swiftly embraced that change. She was my buddy, and my pal. When I was feeling bad, or having a bad day with my hips, she would stick with me, and we would watch Sponge Bob, or Scooby Doo together. If she was in another room, and herd the theme song to Sponge Bob, she came running, and up on that couch she got. I loved Nikki. Frank Loved Nikki, everybody loved Nikki.  And yes, Sam and Jasper loved Nikki.

We waited until May of 2014 to bring home another family member. We had answered several ads on Craigslist, to only find out that it was either a scam, or that somebody else had beaten us to the punch. We went to the animal shelter, only to find that there were only dogs in there that needed to in a one dog home. Well, that most certainly wasn't going to work, because we had Sam and Jasper waiting at home for us. Then, a friend of ours had a dog that she needed to rehome. We talked about it, and finally went to meet Bella. Bella was 11 months old at the time, and when I saw that hound dog face, I was in love. We brought her home, with all of her gear, and worked on the introductions, and within a months time, we were able to trust all 3 dogs together. She pretty much so worships Jasper, and gets into trouble with Sam.  Those first couple of months I went through some serious emotions.. I was happy to have her here with us. I felt like I was betraying Nikki's memory and home bringing her here. I was up, I was down, I was still hurting over Nikki. (I still have moments when I tear up, and just break down over a picture, or a random post, or just something. Those feelings are fewer and further in between now, but she will always be there in my heart.) I can pinpoint the moment when I stopped feeling guilty. Frank was at work, and Sam, Jasper, Bella and myself were settled in for the night. Bella had gotten in my chair and was curled up sleeping. She let out the sweetest sigh, and I knew, that she truly does belong. She's happy. We all love her, and Sam and Jasper have made her part of the pack. She makes me laugh, she gives me headaches, she drags the toys out of the toy box and leaves them all over, and she loves us back.

I don't know if any of you have ever gone through these feelings of remorse and guilt when it comes to the circle of life with your 4 legged friends. This post is dedicated to you, to let you know that you are not alone. Every dog is different, and comes with their own personalities, but one thing is for sure and certain, they will love you until their last breath.

Craft shows, seed starting, and baby bunnies

Over the weekend, I participated at a craft show, at one of the local Brethren churches. I had a great time, and met so many wonderful people. Now, I know I posted pictures of a candle booth, but no, I have not gotten into candle making. I just had to share my neighbors fine handy work. I have to admit, I'm very addicted to her candles. I've bought lots of candles from her, and plan on buying lots more!!! Plus she makes gift baskets. If anybody is interested, just contact me and I can get you in touch with her.

Then on Saturday, I noticed that my tomato seeds had sprouted. As you can see, that made me so happy I took a picture. Then when I got up this morning, they had grown this much!!! So I took some more pictures! At this rate, it won't be long before I can put them into bigger pots to grow some more before I put them into the ground.

Then today, I decided I had better get my egg plant and my jalapeno seeds started. I wanted to try something new this time, so I planted my seeds directly into peat pots. I did a layering though. I put some dirt on the bottom. A sprinkling of rabbit poop in the middle, and then more dirt on top. I'm anxious to see how they do, if they grow.  I'm excited to find out!

And finally!!!! a shot of the 2 week old baby bunnies!!!! As you can see, their eyes are opened, and they are on the move!!! They are on the move so well in fact, that they are climbing in and out of the nest box on their own to get something to eat more than their mom would like. It's really quite amusing. I'm sorry the picture stinks, but for some reason my flash decided to suddenly quit working on me. I'm going to try for more later on. We've decided that if one of the white ones turns out to be a girl, we're going to keep it for sure!!!

Wherever I go

Some how, whenever I go anywhere, especially Tractor Supply, or the craft store, I always find wonderful new people to talk to. As my husband likes to say, I'm one of them. I never seem to meet a stranger. It's so easy for me to just strike up a conversation with people...of course it always helps that there is something there of common interest. I like to think that if the world would stop treating everybody like strangers, maybe we could all get along just  a little bit better.

Dehydrating

So, this is why I love to dehydrate stuff!!! In this jar, I have 3 pounds of dehydrated onions!!! Onions are one of those things we like to buy a lot of when they are on sale, and dehydrate them. They last a long time, it saves a bit of cash, and lets us add flavor to soups and stews.

Strawberry Jam the easy way

Last week, I got some strawberries from the local FFA. They always have the best fruit, always!!! I don't know how it is, but even the grocery stores don't have fruit that good.
I learned how to make Jelly/Jam from one of the best, my mother in law. With her it was pretty much so sink or swim, and I swam!!! She taught me the easy way though, which I think she took to because as a kid, she got to make it the hard way. I use Certo or Sure Jell.

For this recipe I used Certo, so here goes!

4 cups crushed strawberries
7 cups sugar
1 pouch Certo
This makes 8 cups.

Prepare your jars and lids as directed

1. put strawberries and sugar into your pot, and bring to a rolling boil. (a boil that does not stir down)

2. add Certo, and return into a full rolling boil, and boil for 1 minute.

3. Ladle into jars quickly, wipe the rims of the jars, and place lids and rings. Allow to remain sitting until you hear the lids ping. And then move them to a safe place until they have cooled. It may take up to 2 days to set, but mine always sets by the time it's cool.

For more tips and recipe's for jelly making using the Sure Jell products go to
Sure Jell

Bouncing Baby Bunny Pictures

These guys will be a week old Tomorrow, and I FINALLY got some pictures for you all!!! As youc an see, they are all well fed. They have doubled in size since they were born, they still look small, I know, but they were TEENY when they were born.

Betty will be having her babies any time between now and Monday. I'm quite excited about that.
Yesterday (March 12th...my Birthday) we bred Fred and Ethel, and then Doris and Bob. Poor Doris, Bob was so excited that he had a bit of a time getting things right.

We got those two lone chicks out of the house. (Remember the 2 that we hatched back in January?) Yeah, those two. They aren't exactly chicks anymore. They are actually making clucking noises, and were outgrowing the cage they were in. Plus they were getting good and stinky.  So they are out of the house. They are in a really good size coop, so they will have a lot of time before they outgrow that. Once they get used to being outside though, they will go in with the big chickens.

If this weekend stays nice, I'm going to start the process of cleaning out the chicken house. As my fellow chicken enthusiasts know, chicken houses get funky!!!

Baby Bunny news

Cadburry had her babies on Saturday night, at 11:00 PM. I know this, because she's our house bunny, and they came out screaming into the world, waking us all up. I hope to be able to get some pictures in the near future. Cad is a very protective mom, and being able to handle them has been a bit on the impossible side, but I think she's calming down a bit, so I should be able to get them out and get some pictures soon!!!

Betty, is due this weekend!!! I'm so excited about that, because she's my chocolate bunny, and comes from a good line!!! I'm positive getting pictures of those will be easy...well almost positive!!!

Hope everybody is well, and enjoying this sunny weather that has come about!!!!

Another Snow Day

Well...it's snowing again...not much that can be said about that, that the pictures don't say for themselves.
Hope everybody is staying warm!

Random Rants

It's calling for snow...lots of snow!!!! Maybe not snow like they got in Boston...but lots of snow!!! It's calling for 1-3 inches tonight, and then 6-10 inches tomorrow!!! That's a potential of 13 inches total on top of what's already out there!!! It's just not fair!!! What makes it hard is the fact that it's 51 degree's out there right now, and snow is melting at a decent rate. So...once it get's cold enough to start snowing tonight, it's going to turn into an icy bottom for the snow to land on. I truly hope that once spring arrives, this snow nonsense will be over with.

In the mean time, I've got crocheting, house work, and some sewing projects to work on, and baby bunnies to look forward to!!!  Hope the weather is being kind to you all wherever you are!!!!

Farm days

Even though spring not yet sprung, there is still plenty to do around the farm! So, I spent part of the day taking pics of some of the stuff I do around here...

I needed to make some laundry soap, so I got that done, I made a double batch so I could share some with a friend.

For dinner, we had eggs...I love looking at our eggs once they have been cracked, and dumped in a bowl.

That self posing bunny is Alice. She's the daughter of Fred and Ginger. She's not an overly nice bunny, but we're working on that. She's calmed down, and has stopped trying to get me when I reach into her cage to get her water bowl. I think she had been left with her mom for too long. Ginger started pulling some of Alice's fur out, and it's finally growing back. So...yay for that.

Bella has finally learned that she is allowed on the couch. She loves Jasper, so it's no surprise that he is who she decided to get up there with. It's hard to believe that we've had her for almost a full year already.

Then last but not least, I was trying to get a pic of Cadburry with a hay mustache. These were the clearest and closest pics I could get. Every time I had what looked like a good fun pic, she moved very quickly and caused quite the blur!!!

So...that's what I've been up to here..along with chick raising, chicken feeding, egg gathering and crocheting.