Saturday, June 30, 2012

the city --- again!!!

Bogey and Moxie seem to be excited... yup, it's another NEADS check in day, and we're heading down to the big city. I've only had Bogey just a couple of weeks, but we have been having a good time together and I was anxious to see "how he looked" under Dave's guidance.

I don't  know if I will ever quite "get used" to the city... especially on hot summer days... but, it is kind of fun to head down there once a month. Guess you can say 'nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there".

Think Moxie agrees, seems like she is saying to Rick "do we really have to be here???"
 We weren't the only "working dogs" out and about... caught a glimpse of this nice working team on the streets......
 This month we had our "question and answer" time in a park. It was nice in the shade and taking in the sights as we chatted.... lots of pigeons, some skate boarders.. baby carriages, people of all kinds... and so on.. just the things we look for while doing our city work.
Puppies on the street... (l to r) Monty, Jackie (in the back ground) Moxie and Mr. Bogey right up front.
 Dave running us threw the lessons and ever watchful over the puppies progress.
 After our street work, we took a lunch break at the hospital. The puppies were more than happy to chill out on the cool tile floors. We work a lot on "chillin' " especially with the younger dogs.
Then, it was onto the elevators. Bogey actually enjoyed this... he watched out the side and seemed so curious as to how it went up and down again. He wasn't one bit afraid of the heights!!!
I..... on the other hand... still am not that crazy about the height... I just do the glass elevators because of the puppies....
Then we went over to the train station.... Dave wanted to work with Bodey a bit, so that gave me sometime to shoot pictures... 

 It's hard to think of all the things we do with the puppies... stairs are one. For us, running up and down them is "nothing", but we have to remember that we aren't training these puppies for "us". So, one exercise that we do at the station, is take one step (literally) at a time. This teaches the puppies to go slow and steady, and to stop and wait if needed. On top of that, the train stairs are stone, so it's a slippery feeling to the puppies.
 We got to board the train as usual. Looks like Mr. Bogey boy needs work on "under".. he wasn't too excited about squeezing under the train seats.....

Moxie did pretty well.. though she kept giving her Daddy the "can we be done now" eyes.
Tired puppies. You can always know when the day has come to it's end. These little guys put alot into a busy city day, and they are more than happy to crash when its' done. And so, to another successful day, and another month gone as marked by our check in day. Summer is here, and sadly already zipping by...

Birthday party...

 Last Saturday, my niece celebrated her sixth birthday. First off, I have to wonder-- when did she become "6"!!! and then I have to say, she is a "dog person" just like her Auntie.. which makes me as pleased as can be!! Being the dog person that she is, her birthday theme was "dogs"... and it began with this pawprint cakes (which was made by Kassy!!!)
And then cupcakes, with "dog cookies" in them (cookies for kids that is).  Abbie was so excited to be going to her cousins birthday party...

 Camille was also invitied, as was Bogey and Moxie (Kelli and Rick's puppy)
 So, it was a combination of kids and K9's and cake... what could make a "better" afternoon than that.
 There were all the "usual" party games (dog themed).. Abbie wasn't so sure about this pinata thing.. she really isn't into "hitting" things (especially something that looked like a cute little dalmation!!!)
 But once it broke open and all the kids were getting candy.. she thought differently!!!
 There was also a "surprise visitor" that came. A "big dalmation"... the older kids thought "she" was kind of cool... but Abbie-- not so sure. I had to agree, "she" certainly was a strange sort of creature....
However, Naomi, Bogey and Moxie didn't mind "her" at all......
We sang the "happy birthday" song... and cut into that great cake...
Opened a few gifts... but really what Naomi wanted.. was to have everyone bring dog food and other donations that she and her Mom will be bringing up to the animals shelter. She spent quite a bit of time with Bogey (maybe we have a future puppy raiser!!!) He certainly enjoyed the attention.
And by the end of the day... most of the children and certainly the adults and puppies....



looked like this....



Happy Birthday Na!!!!

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

hay.... it/'s that time of year...

 Must be the middle of June.. because the sounds of tractors and hay elevators seem to be everywhere. Truck are hooking up to wagons...
 And great loads of hay are heading into the barns... yup, it's that time of year... it's hay season. We had a very wet spring, rain seemed to come every few days, so the farmers were playing a "cat and mouse" game with knocking down the fields. Father waited a bit longer than some others, and I think his patience paid off...
 We are in a nice stretch of weather --- very summer like -- and perfect for making hay. We pulled our elevator down and had the loft all cleaned out and ready for next winter's supply.
Our hay comes in  in batches... the first load was Monday, a perfect day... a little overcast, cool.. nice breeze. But today's load... ugghhh... HOT... temps in the 90's, humid.. not the day that you really want to be in the middle of a field picking up bales. But, it comes with the terrority, and goes along with .. make hay while the sunshines...
We certainly aren';t the only ones bring' in the hay. Barns all over town are open and hay elevators are doing their jobs...

 Every job needs a supervisor. Abbie was quite interested watching the bales come up into the loft. She kept telling me.."good job baby... that looks nice".....


Satisfied that the job was done well...
Course, there's no better way to end a day of hot hard work... then a treat of ice cream!!! Summer, it's officially here.....

Bogey settles in....

One of my first adventures with any of our service puppies, is a trip down to the barn. In keeping these dogs well rounded, socialzing them in all sorts of situations is important, and I feel that the "big animals" are always a great help. We started with the chickens.. Bogey thought they were fine, but really was more interested in any of the grain that had been spilled over the past few days.

Next, we moved onto the bunny. Actually she is "new" here on the farm too... Sadie heard that she needed a home, and guess where she ended up. It's nice to see "someone" living in the hutch again, but sadly (at least to me) she isn't very nice. Twice she has come after me, so, I don't spend that much time with her. Bogey however, didn't have any troubles with her!!!
 Then it was onto the horses. The "little" ones seems to facinate our new house guest. He just sat and watched them for the longest time. They were far too busy eating to bother to come over and say hello.....
 But, after a bit, Silver did make his way over. At first Bogey wasn't so sure... he kept looking at me for some guidance, and I just told him everything was fine.
 But then, something really caught his eye... "this" he wasn't so sure of....
And as Tonka got closer and closer, Bogey began to have second thoughts about horses... he came right over and sat right beside me. I didn't say anything, until he began barking at Tonka.. and then I simply told him to "hush".....
 I walked over to Tonka and tried to get Bogey to come along. At first, he would have nothing to do with that... Tonk.. being the silly that he is, tried to grab Bogey's leash from me... poor Bogey, I could almost hear him saying.. "no.. don't let him have that!!!"
 but, with a little time, some quiet praise, and just keep myself with a very calm presence.. Bogey finally decided to say hello. All our horses are very used to dogs, and they are very gentle with them.... so, they are great to work with....

Then Tonka got bored with this whole "lesson" and went to work on the grass. Bogey seemed to be asking.."what are you eating"
Course  I have to admit... looking at horse from this angle.. they can seem rather big. so, Bogey.. I'd say your first day on the farm was a success.... but there is much (much) to go....

Friday, June 15, 2012

chapter four...

 The call has come!!! and we are back in puppy raising mode.... say hello to "Bogey"....
He is five and a half months.. began in the Prison puppy partnership program... but NEADS feels a home environment would suit him better just now. Lucky for me... another little golden bundle on the farm...



Let Chapter "four" begin!!!!!

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

estate auction....

We have some new members of the farm. Twelve little keets. You know how much I like my guinea hens... and I do agree, they can be a "pain" sometimes... but they sure are great watch dogs and tick control. We had found a nest of eggs from one of our hens, and since they really don't make great mothers, we took the eggs and put them in an incubator. Sadly, none of the eggs hatched (something went wrong because they did make a start) and then our hen was killed by the fox... so, when I saw these babies at the feed store... well....
This picture pretty much says it all. We're currently down to three guinea fowl.. free ranging I do take my chances.. but I think it's worth it and if I have to buy new ones each year, so be it.

I heard about this auction from a couple of people. My dear friend Mary sent me an email and an article about the auction and then my Dad gave me a call. I really don't know how I feel about auctions, while I appreciate the opportunity to find treasures like this, I feel very sad that  these items  , which meant something to someone.. are now out for the world to bid on. (by the way... isn't this a beauty)

This particular  auction was all about carriages, sleighs and other horse drawn items. The gentleman that had  owned  them had passed and his family just didn't know what to do with everything... to start  with over 40 carriages and sleighs in various conditions. It had been  his hobby to collect and  restore horse drawn vehicles and this collection had pieces that he had been  working on, other pieces that needed work.. a few that were done... and then the parts to do his projects. 

Wheels, lights, seats... hardware... it was almost overwhelming. The auction was on   Saturday and since I work that day, Ed and I went to preview it all the day before. The more we looked, the more there was.... I almost didn't know where to begin or what we might (or might not) be interested in. Ed thought it would be fun to pick up a carriage or sleigh that was in decent shape, and have a winter restorations project.

There were more sleighs than carriages, and they were in pretty good shape. I sort of wonder if it's because a sleigh probably didn't get as much use as a farm wagon or carriage. And they were beautiful... I had to wonder what they looked like, brand new...I was really fond of this first one, sort of a Currier and Ives look. We decided that if it stayed a fair price, this would be something to bid on. We already have two sleighs that are usable, and one that needs to be restored... but we thought  that we can always sell a sleigh or two.

A couple of carriages caught my eye as well. I would love something like this, so we could take a couple of friends on a Sunday ride. And the whole preview went like that. So, we got a list and marked the ones we liked the best, in order, and decided to see what the bidding did. There were a number of people at the preview.. I couldn't tell if they were horse folks, like us, looking for treasurers or people looking for nice ornaments for the front lawn.

We also had a few of these on the list... once you have a study under carriage a top could be easily made....

It just went on and on... and I sort of felt sadder and sadder as we looked...

They had their "faults" if you will....
But you can't beat craftsmanship........
Or the history they hold.. and sadly, stories that could be told......

Ed went to the auction, he said the crowd was "good".. and for the most part, the prices were fair. However that little sleigh I liked, went into a bidding war between two ladies. The final price on that one... $1300.00... way out of our budget.

But the day proved to be a good one for us. Ed managed to pick up two farm wagons for a very fair price... and they almost usable just as is....
And another neat point... the gentleman that had owned them, left a hand written note on each of these wagons.. telling about their history. Both coming from Maine families and built in the late 1800's. We haven't figured out just how they will be restored.. and I wished I had the opportunity to tell the gentleman that they will be well loved and used as they should be... behind a team.
But maybe, somehow he knows....