Pioneer Woman at Heart

One Flourishing, Frugal and Fun Family!

One family learning to live off the land, cut back on expenses, and to live a simpler and a more self-sufficient lifestyle.

Adopted Motto

"Eat it up,
Wear it out,
Make it do,
Or go without."
~A Pioneer Sampler, by Barbara Greenwood~

Thursday, March 10, 2016

Puppy Mayhem ~ Random Tidbits

Zuri had just had play time with the other pups and was finally going down for a nap.  I had to wait to get photos. All of the photos I tried to take earlier, were all blurry.  Even this photo is sort of blurry.  They were zipping around the house playing.  The don't sit still unless they are soundly sleeping.


Mia, Oldest Daughter's puppy, finally came to a rest too.  She curled up at the feet of her current caretaker.  My 19 year-old is taking her to her room at night, so we don't have to kennel her at night, which is working out well.  

However, she has tried to bite my barn cats on numerous occasions.  At first, she was curious.  By Wednesday, she was ready to taste blood.  All the cats out there have claws and can easily defend themselves, but we are trying to teach her not to attack them.  I'm absolutely certain, she'd eat my chickens if she was given the opportunity.  My puppies however act sort of afraid of the chickens.  Maybe because they are around them several times a day

We are trying to teach her to not jump on us, and to stop romping on the couch.  She has been jumping and playing on the couch (not allowed, just snoozing), and I have small rips in my couch now.  Grrr.  I'm keeping old sheets on the seats until she goes back to her home.
  

King still thinks he's the "king" of everything.  He's also earned the nick-name "sassy pants."  He's pretty vocal and thinks he can "sass" back.

All three are "ice cube" pups.  If they hear the ice cubes drop, they coming flying into the kitchen for one. 

I am so ready to have my "normal" back.  The older kids have abandoned helping me with the dogs.  It's been announced that I will not be able to puppy-sit again.  I have young kids, too many chores, and obviously even the older kids are tired of it this week.  Next time she'll have to kennel her where our other daughter works.

Youngest is going back to school today, although I really don't think she is up for it.  Her class is touring a career center today, where students can have the option to attend for their 10th to 12th grade.  They offer training such as cosmetology, small animal care, and many other.  


The rain has arrived, which means I clean today.  I am still going to steal a few minutes out on the porch.  Speaking of front porch, we will need to put a camera out there now.  Something upset the dogs last night.  

I have one less hen.  I had her in the emergency coop getting wormed, and a week later let her out in the run with the others.  I went out to treat them to some peas and saw her in a corner, tail down.  I mentioned to one of the kids I needed assistance to put her back in the single coop soon.

Well, I went out a few hours later, opened the barn door to the run to close their run door, and low and behold - a hawk on top of a dead, mutilated barred rock.  She was one of my biggest too.  I'm guessing she was easy prey because she wasn't feeling good, and in flew the hawk to take advantage.  All other hens and Sparta were safely inside the coop.  

We are building a new coop soon, moving them, which will allow me to see them better.  I suggested to Hubby that the open run have a screened topI'm not sure if it's really needed, because they normally run for cover, but we'll see. 

Yesterday, I made us Black Bean Vegetable Soup - another new recipe (Allrecipes).  I adjusted it with frozen garden tomatoes vs. canned stewed tomatoes, and added fire powder.  Very good.  It's been difficult to manage meals, with all the mayhem and hoopla going on here.  I have no idea what to do tonight.  Tomorrow I'm off the hook.  Hubby is picking up local perch, from a nearby fish fry event.   

9 comments:

Mama Pea said...

Never a dull moment, huh? Sounds as though you could really use some peace and quiet . . . but other than running away from home, how do you manage it??

Kim said...

My house has felt like that lately as well and it is exhausting. So I feel your pain. Sorry about the hen. How about netting over the run? It is cheaper and works great as a barrier.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Mama Pea, I run away from home, ha ha! Today, I buried myself in my bedroom closet. I found treasures, garbage, and items to donate. I also found more scrap yarn. I think I'll take myself to the porch with a crochet project and rejuvenate for a few minutes.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Thanks for that tip Kim. I'll pass it along to Hubby tonight.

Rain said...

Your dogs are so sweet. But they do require a lot of time don't they? Our three are all older so they do nap a lot and calm down after a little play time or a long walk. I've finally mastered walking all three at the same time, one of my goals this year! We had to train our first husky to stay away from the cats because she was a little rough and one of them kept swatting her nose, drawing blood. She's not the type to learn her lesson, so my bf trained her that only bad things can happen if she goes near them. We got this thing called the "Pet Corrector". It's an air spray but when you spray it, it's a very loud tchttt! type of noise that none of the pets like (If you know Cesar Milan, imagine the noise he makes at 100x the sound). It works wonders for training, dogs and cats, if the naughty cat gets too close to the dogs, he gets a tchttt! too. He hasn't gone near any of the dogs for weeks now, it's really working...and we're now using it for the feral cats if we see them too close to the porch (they pee under there and it reeks...in the spring we'll have to clean it up and block it off). We just let out a spray and they run. Oh and we've given up on our couches. They are torn too, we keep lots of extra sheets everywhere that we got from local bazaars and flea markets. This is definitely a pet house! If we ever get new couches, they'll be in a pet-free room that's for sure. Sorry about your hen, what an awful thing to come across.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Rain, our barn cats are friendly, so it makes it tough to train the puppies. I saw one of the kids trying to let her close to one today, and she was much better. I was very sorry about my hen too. I feel awful I waited those few hours to go back out when I should have taken her in then. Today, we have gone through several towels wiping paws off. It's a monsoon out there today.

RB said...

King looks like a king, very regal. Our cats have two speeds too - fast and sleep. Thing is, they sleep a great deal, and we get a rest when they do.
Our chicken run has a top, we put chicken wire all around the sides and up over the top, plus we put a tarp over the top too, so they can be out in the rain if they want to. Their house is raised 2-1/2 feet and has a ledge at the door that they can fly to in order to enter. This arrangement keeps them as safe as we are able to do, and they've done fine with it.
We learned all that after losing my favorite animal, a crested duck named Dixxie. She could run for cover from the hawks, and get into even into the tiniest of places for safety, but obviously the hawks could get wherever she went to get her, and one did. It broke my heart.
Tonight we're having BLTs. The onset of Spring has made us hungry for them. Yum.
Hope everyone has a great and safe weekend.
God bless.
RB
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Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

RB, I think Hubby and I agreed on a run tall enough for me to stand in, and with a screened top. We'll see if we can get it built now.

RB said...

Being able to stand straight up is a good idea for sure. Ours is "almost" tall enough, and even that can be a back acher.
God bless.
RB
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