Mopsie Meets Skunk

Last night, I worked what might have been my last 3pm to 3 am admissions shift. I went to bed at 4 am. While it was still dark, I woke from a deep sleep to the sound of deep puppy barks. What a voice these dogs have! The barking lasted awhile, and awhile longer, and then, through the window, the very strong scent of skunk.

"Hmmmm", and "Oh dear!"

I looked down from my bedroom window, and could see that my pup was definitely interacting with something, someone, black and white and trapped in a corner which had no escape route. (Hi editor, see how I dodged the preposition at the end of the sentence on that one?).

6 am.

I went and called the dogs to me, and we just enjoyed one another for awhile. The skunk scent was so strong, I could not tell if either of the dogs had been hit. In fact the smell was so strong, it smelled like something other than skunk. I wondered how close the epicenter was. I put my face down and smelled first Rags: just pure essence of puppy. Mopsie was a different story. She smelled like the not skunk smell, the skunk-so-strong-it isn't-skunk smell. Oh dear.

The advantage of having an outside dog is, I went back to bed. I'd distracted the dogs long enough for our visitor to escape. If she becomes a regular visitor, I will break out the trap.

The windows are open to the living room downstairs, and the inside smelled strongly. I turned on the swamp cooler to create positive pressure. The air would be entering the house from the roof on the opposite side from the skunk attack, that was as much as I could do at the time.

At 8 am the phone rang, the tractor rental man was calling to make sure I was done with the tractor. Most of the smell had cleared by then. Lingering traces were still in the living room, but the outdoors was clear.

When Chris arrived at 9 am, I asked him if he could smell skunk, and he said no, except that he had noticed when he greeted the dogs, that one of them was faintly scented.

I really don't know how we could have been so lucky. Maybe the skunk was merciful because it was Mopsie's first offense.

I'm just very thankful.

Things could have been very different, to say the least. You have to put your face right in Mopsie's fur to get even a trace of skunk. No other evidence remains of our visitor.

Just very very thankful.

puppy tales

One night about 10 o'clock, I went out to check the water, maybe to plug the cistern so it would not overfill, maybe to shut the headgate to the orchard. My path took me across the patio and over the fence and to the supply canal. I did what ever I needed to do, and on my return, Rags greeted me with her gutteral rrrrrrr, and wags, and I sat down to rub her puppy body, and generally be together for a moment. I did not notice Mopsie approaching, until a big paw gave me an exuberant swipe from forehead to chin. She forgot herself! That is a big no-no, and we had to get that straight. Then she remembered her manners, and the three of us sat together for some time, loving each other. When I came inside, I put my hand to my face and discovered, ?no glasses!?

Of course I went right out to look for them, but no luck. Even after I turned on every possible light I could not find them. They were my teal green wire rimmed ones with as small a lens as my prescription will allow. They are quite out of style, and I will not be able to replace them. I've had them at least 6 years, and they have had at least two sets of lenses.

For two days, I searched when ever I was in the area, and yesterday I found my crumpled and puppy chewed remains.

Those puppies.

Yesterday, I decided to eat a few grapes on my way down to check on the chickens, and turkeys. I was thinking I would take them to the birds, then ate them myself, and decided I should at least juice them, and can the juice. What was left after juicing, THAT I would give to the birds

I got a bucket and went out to the vines. Rags kept poking her big head into the bucket, and I had to tell her several times before she quit. After Rags was done, there was Mopsie with her big head in the bucket. Finally I convinced her that was not acceptable behavior, and I was able to pick in peace.

I heard some juicy smacking and slurping nearby, and looked over to see the pair of them eating the bunches of grapes right form the vines.

Those pups!

It reminded me that the year Flash and Binker were pups, I had quite a lot of red Russian kale planted in the back yard, and I would pick a bouquet of it, and holding the stems in my hand, would eat the whole bunch as I wandered around in the garden. Flash and Binker would eat the kale too, plucking it from the plant and chewing it up. They also developed a game of pulling cheeseweed plants right out of the ground, which I thought was pretty good.

Flash still eats kale from the plants, 9 crabby years later.

It is too late to keep the strawberries a secret from Rags, but maybe I should not let her see me picking raspberries, tomatoes, cucumbers, and all my other favorites.

puppies and peppers

My dear pups are doing well, even so, the challenges of life with puppies continue. this morning i discovered that yesterday in my absence, they, or one of them, did a little pepper research.

first a word about the gardens of the area this year. we had a very late spring. it didn't warm up and it rained a lot. the tomatoes are very late. tomorrow will be the first day of september, and though i have had a few wonderful tomaotes, the crop is still on the vines. plenty of zuchini of course and the other very prolific and fast vegetables. i planted my peppers in the house garden area, and there, they are within the yard where the puppies play and sleep and grow. i much prefer red peppers to green ones, and am waiting for them to ripen. i have plenty of big, ripening sweet peppers. no, that's not right. i used to have plenty. yesterday, the pups had a pepperfest, and the remains are in the lawn.

deep sigh.

they are puppies. this won't be the last incident involving them i am sure. they come, sometimes reluctantly, when i call them. they sit before i place their food bowls on the ground. they will walk on the leash, if we go slowly. they will sit and watch the parade of chickens and turkeys exiting the coop, ut we have a long way to go. and, in preparation for that, as an aide in communication, they are learning that the sound of the clicker is a wonderful thing.

colorado national monument, lodgings

Below are photos of the guest area, two bedrooms and a living room. We are less than 1/2 mile from a trailhead into Monument Canyon, a six mile hike up to Rim Rock Drive, past Independence Monument, and the Kissing Couple, as well as miles of unnamed rock walls and formations, with and without desert varnish. http://www.nps.gov/colm/index.htm

bicycle friendly farmstay fruita

Guest Ready - Almost

~~~~~~~~~view from the kitchen sink~~~~~~



Today, I got a phone call from the woman I buy goats milk from. She had a referral for me, if I will be ready by Saturday. Ahhhhhh! So close. I was really tempted to say send her on, but, I said no, because I work on Saturday evening, and am still building puppy proof, and Flash proof enclosures. I had to buy my own dog from the pound last after the last shift I worked. By the time I had been gone for half an hour, she had escaped, gone the almost half mile to the highway, been brought back home by the neighbor, got out again and made it to the highway, where she runs down the CENTER of the road, stopping traffic in both directions. She was picked up by a woman who transported her to within city limits, then called the pound. She spent less than 24 hours there. That much was 41 bucks. There was a penalty fee of 50 bucks (goes up with each offense, 500 on the 4th offense) AND a surcharge of 25 for being inside city limits when the dog catcher got her. I would not be cost effective to have her get out while I am at work again, so I am building a very secure pen outside the dog door. And then this evening, the pups found the hole in the house yard fence. I didn't think they would want out when they know I am inside, but independant souls they are said to be.

All of this to explain why I could not just hang the curtains, paint the trim, put up the door knobs, and clean the place between Thursday afternoon and Saturday evening. Still, I cant. Too many variables, three canine variables, and my desire to keep them home and keep them safe.

But this is how close it is. I'm thinking I'll be ready a week from Saturday.

I was reading a post from last August, when I said I thought I would be ready by October of last year. That makes me laugh out loud. There has been a lot to keep me from opening my B&B/farmstay, by last October, but such is the topic for many posts.

For now, I am as I have been for almost a year, "almost ready". I think I'll wait until I'm really ready before I make book any guests.... other than family and friends, you all can come any time.

NEW ARRIVALS

Mopsie

I've been collecting animals this spring, starting with the chickens, then turkeys that I already mentioned, but then a manx kitten. Jack is silvergrey, sociable and affectionate, a little tom with characteristic Manx I - own - the - world attitude. He's great. I got him because I have too many mice in the field, and they come inside the house and barn. It is too hard to poison them, and Flash and China just don't keep up with them, so outdoor cats are just the thing.

I wanted a Manx female. I still miss my Topaz cat, but the only cat left in the litter was the little tom I brought home, so, I thought I would get a female kitten that could have a litter with Jack. I found kittens advertised in the paper, and talked to the owner. Two generations prior to these have been great outdoor mousers, sleeping in the garage at night, and surviving in coyote country. The mama kittie, called inky, stayed out one night, when the family thought they had put her in, hence the kittens. Inky was a striking cat, with a very siamese-y wedge shaped head and green gold eyes. Very self posessed as we inspected her duaghters. She had had a llitter of five females. Two were spoken for, and though I had intended to get one, and thought possibly two, I brought home all three remaining kittens, who were just barely 7 weeks old. I fed them on goats milk, and soon they were terrorizing Jackie, who is delighted to have some fellow kittens to hang out with. They also are sociable and affectionate, and tear all over everywhere. They even catch grasshoppers. They lash their long tails and jump out to surprise me when I am walking in the garden. I guess maybe i better neuter at least two of the three daughters of Inky, because instead of one manx female outdoor cat, I now have four healthy and active hunting cats outside. All reproductively able. It's a scary thought.

And then I added my puppies. I think I mentioned them in the nine egg post. I wanted to post pictures. There are the usual puppy challenges, they dig, cry, get out, don't come when I call, get underfoot, and are clumsy. But all of it wel in the realm of tolerable, and Oh! how sweet they are, and smart, and funny and cute, and affectionate. Rags and Mopsie. Mopsie being more adventurous and outgoing, comes sooner when I call, digs more, runs more, she is just more active, more of a leader. She was the first to go under the fence, through the other fence, and so forth. And Rags is bigger and quieter. Holly, the breeder, said it is better to have different temperaments in the two in a guarding pair, and I certainly do. They are great company for one another, play their puppy games together. Sometimes they just lie next to each other and bark to each other. They are noticably bigger than when I brought them home a week ago. I can't imagine how much the mother dog was eating to nurse such big pups, and so many. I found a woman with milking goats and brought home 3 gallons. I hope that lasts longer than a week.