Practicing Social Distancing

"You just call out my name, and you know wherever I am I'll come running to see you again,
Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall, hey now, all you have to do is call and I'll be there yeah, yeah, you've got a friend." - James Taylor

I spent a little time in the garden today checking out the okra seedlings that are just popping up above the surface of the soil.  The green beans are all blooming and we'll be picking fresh snap beans shortly.  The sugar snap peas are finishing up and I'm now saving seed to replant this fall.  The tomatoes are blooming like crazy and we're hoping to have a good crop this year.  Last year was a dismal one.

As I closed the garden gate and walked over the bridge, something caught my eye.  In my peripheral vision I saw movement where there shouldn't have been, high up in the fork of a tree.

Why, it's Ginger, our cat.  She wants to be a house cat, I think, and sometimes Benjamin brings her indoors, but she mainly stays outside.  She's brought rats, mice, and birds to us to prove that she is a hunter.  She is pretty independent and bold.  Why is she up in the tree?

Then I follow the gaze of Ginger's eyes and see immediately why she's up in the tree.  Belle, our 3 month old Great Pyrenees puppy was stretched out on the cool concrete by the garage trying her best to have an innocent look on her face.  "What? Me?"  Ginger and Belle haven't exactly warmed up to one another.  I thought that they could be friends.  I think Belle would like to be friends with Ginger, but the feeling isn't mutual.

Or perhaps they're just practicing social distancing from one another?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Meet A New Arrival at Our Maker's Acres

Saturday morning we woke up and milked the cows earlier than normal on a weekend morning.  We had a mission to undertake.  In a painful situation that happened that I'd rather not talk about, we have to replace Big Boy, our Great Pyrenees.  How can we ever replace Big Boy?  I don't know.  We had several parameters...  We had to replace him quickly.  We wanted a puppy, and we wanted another Great Pyrenees that looked just like Big Boy.

Tricia got on one of her livestock-related forums and located a Great Pyrenees puppy in Colfax, Louisiana.  Colfax is located about 20 or so miles northwest of Alexandria, Louisiana.  That made it about 130 miles away.  We decided to drive my car.  Due to not having a pet carrier that would fit in my car, we rolled the dice and brought a tarp, some cardboard, and a towel.  Should be okay, right?

We arrived in timely fashion and met the owners.  Their Great Pyrenees had a litter of a half dozen puppies - 3 girls and 3 boys.  They were born on January 14th, so she was just 8 weeks old.  We had picked out the female that was all white.  We paid the owners, put the puppy in the car and began heading home.  The puppy seemed very content, but suddenly began drooling excessively.  Tricia was holding her in the passenger seat and had her sitting on a big, yellow towel.  Good thing.  The puppy must have gotten car sick, because just outside of Alexandria, she threw up all over the towel.  Fortunately, the half digested dog food ended up on the towel and not on either of us or the seat of the car!  After that was finished, she was fine.

We got her home and welcomed her to Our Maker's Acres Family Farm.  She checked out her surroundings and was really digging the attention.

Look at those big feet!

She is a very happy puppy, and I think she is going to fit in just fine.  She's got a lot of fur and has white eyelashes with eyes that look just like a persons.  She is fat and healthy.

Benjamin was in from college and he rushed out to see her.  He took her to the barn.  She is a livestock guardian dog, we wanted her to familiarize herself with the livestock she'll be guarding.  The cows were inquisitive and sniffed at her and drooled all over her.  The chickens seemed to pay her no mind.  The goats, on the other hand, were freaked out by here.  Annie, our Nubian momma goat began making weird noises.  She doesn't like her at all!

For being only 8 weeks old, this little girl is a monster. I told Tricia that she had better pick her up all she can, because pretty soon, she won't be able to.  Tricia obliged...

I did too!

Now we don't have a name for her yet, although we've narrowed it down to two - either Belle or Bella.  I think we'll wait a few days and see which name seems to fit her best.  For the time being, she's living in the barn.  We're being very protective right now, as we don't want the cows to step on her and hurt her.  In time she'll learn to respect them and give them space. 

We're happy to have little Belle/Bella at our place, and we think she is a great addition to our farm.