Death Comes for us All Eventually

{This is another post that I had written a long time ago and never posted. I don't know why}

The last photo of my little guineas. 

We started with 24 eggs. 18 keets hatched. Very quickly that number dwindled to 13 then 12.... and finally nine. 

At nine keets I was able to corral them all- and their parents into the secure coop in the barn. It's the coop that Aaron built for the last batch of baby guinea fowl. I kept them there for a month. I fed them, gave them lots of weeds and Aaron made an awesome perch for them. After a month, they were fully feathered and able to fly. So I decided to open the door and let them out. I left the door open so they could come back to roost if they wanted to. And they did a few times, but eventually they roosted in the big oak tree with the other guineas. 

After a while we were counting just eight young guineas. Then it dropped down to five in one day. And for a while the five were doing well. Then suddenly there were only three... and shortly after that we found the second to last guinea dead over by the chicken coop. We thought it was a hawk that got it and then one of the dogs (most likely Atticus) scared off the hawk and found the guinea's remains and brought it back to the chicken coop. 

For a good long time there was just the one. It was like that last year too- there is only one survivor from the last batch of guineas born in the "wild". I've named him Swifty. And the funny thing is that Swifty seemed to pair up with this last lone young guinea. They went everywhere together. And then I didn't see the little one for a whole day. I looked all week, but never saw it again and never found a body. 

It's unfortunate for the guineas, of which only eight adults are left. But look at it from the predator's point of view- here it is trying to survive and live and thrive and feed it's young. And those baby guineas are a good size dinner for most of the predators around here. They lived a happy and free life while they were alive. Many humans live longer yet cannot say the same thing. 

I Got a Puppy and Other Excuses

{This is a post that I had written a while ago but never posted. I have no idea why.}


Yes it's true! I have a new puppy. Don't worry, Wiley is still around and grumpy as ever. The new puppy's name is Luke and he's a Golden Retriever.

Now, some of you might be saying, "Hey Sarah, ya hypocrite! Why didn't you adopt from the shelter system?!" Well, I'll tell you Captain Judgy Pants... I adopted a puppy instead of a dog from the shelter because of Wiley. With a dog like him, many issues, high anxiety, and reactive; I need some guarantees, or at least good bets, with the new dog. I knew it would be enough of a challenge just bringing a second dog into my home.

So I did a ton a research and with the help of my awesome aunt Rebecca, I decided on a short list of breeds that would do well as a therapy dog, do well on the farm, and deal with Wiley's fascist ways without it scarring him. Go ahead and go gaga over these photos:

So Much Time Slipping Slipping Slipping

For months I have been saying the same thing, "Oh I'm so overdue for an update to the blog! It's been so long! I'll get right on it." And then you know what happened? Nothing. Nothing happened. I mean, technically things did happen. Many things happened!

For example: I adopted a Golden Retriever puppy and named him Luke after Luke Skywalker, sweet Carl the cat of the Goon Squad passed away, most of the ducks moved away to live with someone else, a few guineas died, we found what Aaron dubbed a "rat egg" in the chicken coop, learned that the himalayan cat is a girl and finally gave her a name (Hermione), and shut the greenhouse up for the winter after a huge tomato and jalapeño pepper harvest.

Oh AND Mrs. Ticklefeather (my buff duck) was hit by a car but survived, we found a game shop in town that hosts RPGs, Aaron built me a table, I took a needlepoint class, Aaron's dear friend Bil came for New Year's, our Aunt Jeanie and Uncle Dan came for a visit, I had Thanksgiving in Florida, I had to kill a mouse in Aaron's house, Atticus stole a rabbit fur from a neighbor and some animal chewed a hole in the side of the greenhouse.

We also, sadly, lost our Grandma Jan. She went in her sleep. She had a long and wonderful life. We should all be so lucky to have a life like that and a death so peaceful. I miss her a lot and often forget she's gone.

Her memorial was earlier this month in Vancouver. It was the first time Aaron and I left the farm at the same time for more than an overnight. Everyone survived our absence but the cats were furious. The dogs, who got to go to an overnight boarding facility, were just happy we came back. The cats, on the other hand, held grudges against us that took weeks for them to get over. Except for Chairman Meow. I'm not sure he even noticed we were gone. He likes to range far and wide and only comes home on occasion. I'm not happy about that, but he's his own cat and at least checks in with us every few weeks. All I can do is keep him up to date on his shots and make sure there's food out for him if he hasn't been a successful hunter. Lucy and Hermione took a long time to forgive us for leaving them.

So I won't go into detail about every single thing. You get the gist- weirdness, farm life, dogs... blah blah blah.

Here are a few photos I happen to have already downloaded. Of course they are all dog photos. I'll post more non-dog photos. Eventually.

Once upon a time Luke and Callie were the same size.

Baby Luke.

Wiley so happy hiding in the weeds.

Atticus, Luke and Wiley at my parent's house. 

Atticus and Luke are best friends.

Dogs love car rides.