Holiday Weekend

It was a beautiful holiday weekend here in Wisconsin. We couldn't have asked for better weather.

The Golden Laced Wyandotte chicks were moved out to their netted pasture. They are about a month old now. They're loving the fresh air, sunlight, grass, and insects. Our broody Wyandotte hen hatched out nine adopted babies, so that little family was also put in the electric netting for "safekeeping".





In addition to moving the chickens around, Jeff and our Farmhand Extraordinaire, Dakota, got us caught up on goat vaccinations and hoof trimming, fencing, yardwork, hay moving, and a billion other tasks. Thanks for all the hard work, guys!

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We had a great time at the Altoona fireworks with our friends, Dakota's family. Dakota's brother, Tanner, gave us a private fireworks show in his backyard afterwards. This is his stash. It was quite an impressive display!



We watched Tanner's fireworks from the comfort of our friends' new screen porch, which is the ultimate in summer comfort. What a great area to relax with friends! These guys are great hosts and it's always great to spend time with them.



That's Dakota there in the center of the photograph. We are going to miss him when he goes off to college this fall. Jeff says that Tanner will have a job here on the farm as soon as he is old enough. Two finer young men can't be found!

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Knowing of our love for fishing, our friends generously invited us to access the Eau Claire River from their property. Chef Jeff and I had a lovely afternoon there yesterday. Though we didn't catch anything, we enjoyed being out in the woods and seeing the gorgeous scenery.





Afterwards, the Chef prepared the catfish he'd caught last week according to a recipe from this beautiful book, which also included recipes for homemade refried black beans and great guacamole. It was an outstanding meal, though we somehow got our hands on a jalapeño that must have been grown near a nuclear reactor because that thing was HOT - and this judgment from people who use habañero sauce on a regular basis!

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We are so glad that Otter is acclimating to her new home. The other dogs love her... well, Molly tolerates Otter, but Molly's coming along (that's just her way - growl first, make friends later.)

Otter has Lyme disease so she's on antibiotics for a little while. She doesn't seem to have had toys or chews before; she's finally understanding that baked cow ears are a good thing:



When Otter was found she was suffering from heat exhaustion. We are so grateful to our wonderful vet for taking her in for us for treatment and boarding, despite her history being unknown. We intend to go to a town meeting to see how we may be able to change the policies and procedures of our township in order that stray animals may receive temporary housing and care in a more efficient manner; we are not served by the County shelter due to the lack of a financial agreement between them and our township. There has to be a better way, and we shudder to think what could happen if one of our own beloved dogs went missing.

So yes, now we are a five-dog family. I would think we were certifiably nuts, except that the entire vet staff said they hoped we'd keep Otter because they knew we'd be good parents. And Valentine is getting up there in years and has Cushing's, so, after all, we may be back to a four-dog family in the not-too-distant future anyway.

But if I had my wish, there would be a loving home for every dog... until there is, we will take in whomever the Creator sends us, sharing our blessings.

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In crafting news, I am this close to finishing up my Drops blue alpaca lace shawl... just on the final rows. I started a Koigu "mindless" sock for traveling-to-fishing-holes knitting, and I hope to do some sewing this week before Saturday's MaryJane's Farmgirls meeting, where everyone will ask me if I've made any progress on my current stitching project (not yet, and it's already been three weeks since our last meeting!)

I've seen a cute sewing pattern made up on this blog, and I purchased a copy here. The construction looks super easy, and I think it will be a neat use for some of my Tanya Whelan/Free Spirit or 3 Sisters/Moda girly-girl, flower fabrics.

Have a wonderful day!