Rosey Girl

We've been looking for a new puppy for a couple of months. Koko has been a bit lonely since Oreo has been gone, and we thought we'd look for another companion. We had decided to go for a change and were looking for a yellow lab-mix pup to join our family. Nothing seemed to be working out in that direction. Then on Saturday, Rosey pup seemed to just kind of fall in our lap, so-to-speak. The funny thing is, she looks a lot like our Oreo. Maybe that's why we fell in love with her at first sight. Even Tom - who doesn't fall for Dogs so easily - said "lets go get her" much to my surprise!

We got her from a family that bought her to be a hunting dog. She's supposed to be a German Shorthair Mix. The family had moved into a new house, and their financing hadn't finalized. They weren't allowed to have pets until their financing was completed, and it was unclear how long that was going to take so they had to give her up. We're not sure what the 'Mix' is in her. She's very affectionate and she and Koko get along very well.

Winston was very happy about having a new puppy. He wanted one for a long time, and we kept telling him he had to wait until Spring. He wanted to name her "Rutus" but she had already been named "Rosey" by her other family - and the name seemed to fit, so we've stuck with it. She must really be a bird dog, because she's already been after my chickens. We'll have to train her about that. "No chickens!" "Yes Magpies!"

I will admit that I've spoiled her rotten already. She loves to curl up on my lap to take a nap whenever she gets a chance. In a month or two, she'll be too big to do that. We're looking forward to having her as part of our family for years to come.

My New Babies!

My New Babies Are Here!

Tom and I have been talking about getting chickens for about a year. While we were doing our monthly shopping the other day we happened to drive by a farm store and noticed their sign announcing "Spring Chicks and Bunnies have arrived". I talked Tom into stopping 'Just to see what they have - not to buy anything.' And we went home with six little Rhode Island Red Poulets.
Since we already had the set up from our pheasant expedition last year, we were ready for these little ladies. (We're hoping they're all ladies - supposedly 98% guarranteed to be hens!). They've been a lot of fun to watch grow. They are very fond of Keaton - because he plays with them and feeds them. They aren't sure what to think of Winston. Tom and I have somewhat heated discussions over what they need in the way of heat, food, bedding, housing... we don't quite have the same vision of what it is to be a chicken farmer! But we both manage to work it out in the end and the chickens seem happy.
Since I took these pictures last week, the chicks have doubled in size, and have lost a lot more of their fluff. They are getting more of their red feathers in. Right now they look like red-feathered bald eagles (dark feathers, light fluffy furry heads). Once they are grown, they should be great laying hens, producing about one egg apiece a day. I'll have to figure out what to do with a half a dozen eggs every day! They are just plain cute and a lot of fun to watch - I could just watch them all day long!