Life Lessons



"Enjoy a deep breath of Fresh Air Daily"



"If you have an itch - Scratch it!"

"Take Time to Play in the Water"

"Love your Friends"

"Savor a beautiful Sunset"

Maggie Moo

In the middle of January during the coldest part of the year, I looked out the back door one chilly morning to find this little girl sitting with Jade and Scout at our back steps. My immediate reaction was "Oh, No!", mainly because I knew I would have to surrender to the overwhelming love of animals I have, and probably keep her. Not that I didn't want her, it's just I have to be careful what K-9's call this place home, due to our chickens and rabbits and livestock, and sometimes the more dogs we have, the more chaos.

I took the next two weeks and put up a few 'Found' posters around some local convenient stores, called the local shelter and animal control facilities, and put ads in the local papers and online. If someone was seriously looking for this little girl, they would have called. Each day she stayed here, she became more and more a part of the family. It seemed inevitable that she was going to stay. Apparently she was 'dumped' out in the country, and since we live here, she found us. Our dogs usually make the stray dogs go away, but this one they didn't. I named her Maggie, which quickly turned into Maggie Moo, because she absolutely loves her toy cow. She and Scout play hours on end, and seem to truly love each other, never being far from each other's side. Jade is accepting of her, although with any new dog, Jade is a bit jealous, knowing the love and attention is spread a little more thin.

Being a Scottish Terrier mix, we were concerned with her chasing or even killing the chickens. Most terriers have that natural desire to do so. I reprimanded her once, and told her if she wanted to stay here, she was to leave them alone. She listened, and we have had no problems with her since. The best part about Maggie is she greets you in the mornings with a smile and a doggy hello. She actually makes these soft audible noises that really sound like she's talking to you, while showing her pearly whites at the same time. It's one of the best parts of my day. Looks like she is here to stay. Welcome to your new home Maggie.... 

Baby Sitting

 This afternoon as I was bringing groceries in the house from my truck, I paused for a moment between arm loads of walmart bags to watch our 4 yr old mare Dixie babysitting two of our baby calves. The little black calf (what looks like a rock) in front of Dixie is our newest addition. She was born 4 days ago. The calf's mother is very protective of her and I was very suprised to see her grazing away up on the hill taking a much needed mom break. I guess Dixie promised her she would stay with her. At one point Dixie was so deep in sleep that her head was creeping lower and lower to the ground. She woke up some when she saw me coming with the camera. The other larger calf is Baby Maddie. She is a 2.5 month old Jersey and usually I find Dixie and her running around together. They really have bonded to each other and I enjoy watching them play together.

This is Pumpkin, one of our three female cats we have on the farm. Here she is watching her chickens diligently. Even though they look full grown, they are young chickens, only about 3 months old. She sits on top of their little house and watches them when they come out to eat, graze or get water during the day. She's never tried to hurt them, or chase them. She just seems to enjoy watching them from above.  I'd really like to know what she is thinking...."Boy, that would taste good!", or "Why do they have wings but can't fly, is this some sort of a trick?".