wintertime and the living is breezy

a wise sweater-chop supervises

goose ballet

strider!

annie warms up inside

junior is ready for rabbit season

tito flirts with camera

herschel fully recovered from rehab

a rare shot of camera-shy eunice

alejandro finds a home....

if you all recall, my stepdaughter almost hit a poor starving pup a few months back while she was driving along a nearby highway. she rescued him, took him home and named him alejandro (yes, after the song). however, since stepdaughter is still a college student and currently in between jobs and apartments, she knew she could not keep him. but could not bare the thought of taking him to a shelter. so, where do ALL forlorn wayward pups head when in doubt? .... that's right, to our farm.

so for the past two months we have been fostering him. trying to find him a forever home. i've posted weekly updates on facebook. having him pose for photo after photo. many people commented on his cuteness. many have wished if only they lived closer or had more room. believe me, i understand. dogs are a gigantic responsiblity. especially large dogs. i have even said that i would keep him in a heartbeat if we weren't already all full-up on dogs. in fact i have often sung to him "i'm not your mom, i'm not your mom, alejandro. you're not my dog, you're not my dog, alejandro."

but time has gone by and his puppy teeth are making way for big-boy teeth. he has made friends with the animals here on our farm. especially our black mouth cur dog, little bit. they are inseparable. and we have fallen in love with his awkward puppy paws that are much too big for his body. and that face. that hound-dog face.

the thought of him being torn from this place and rehomed just didn't seem right. dogs lose trust after being rehomed. and this would have been at least the 3rd home he'd lived in his short little life. as nice a new home and family would be, i felt like the change at this point in his developmental stage would be detrimental.

can you feel where this is going??

so... a farm family meeting was called. all dogs voted. even sampson the pig voted. and all were in favor of keeping alejando (or droseph as we call him) on as a full fledged member of provenance farm.

dro and his mentor, little bit

little ann giving her smile of approval

lulu voted with her tongue

the celebratory welcoming hug


even del ray is happy!

spring fever.

wow! it was 84 degrees yesterday. and 4 days before that it was below freezing and i had to bring baby goat marton inside for the evening. spring weather is crazy!

marton is doing well. we had a scare with him 2 days ago when he had a touch of frothy bloat and constipation. two things that are incredibly serious in baby goats. i caught it in time. and was able to administer enemas which eventually revived his peristaltic action and alleviated the gas from his rumen. i am so relieved. i was not about to lose our newest little guy. it was pretty much the nastiest thing i've ever had to do. and i'm sure he was as confused as i, but it worked. and he is thriving now in this warm spring weather.

i had my 6 week follow-up with my plastic surgeon regarding my implant replacement. it went great. i've healed up nicely. and have been allowed to start doing yoga and farming again!

tried my hand at a little garden work today since the sun was shining. but got very winded after only 1/2 an hour. which was discouraging. but it's hard to get upset when it is an absolutely gorgeous day outside. i did get a chance to peek at the soil in last year's garden. it is a beautiful rich dark color. can't wait to till it and start planting our seedlings. the tower grove farmer's market is coming up in just 5 short weeks! opening day is may 8th. look for more info on our provenance farm blog.

seedlings a growin'

as for my breathing issues, i was able to get an appointment with a great pulmonary specialist next week. he comes highly recommended. and am hoping we can get to the bottom of what is happening with my lungs. wish me luck.

and now, some gratuitous doggy photos (taken during last weekend's thunder storms). all dogs took full advantage!

the GLOPs

little bit (in MY chair) because...

the beagles claimed little bit's chair

and choppy in jason's chair

double take, jr style

so, i was walking thru the living room and had to do a double take. "did i just spy a beagle sitting on top of the hammond organ?" why yes, it was junior the musically inclined beagle. and i swear to you, this photo was NOT staged. i think he wants to join the band.

snow day.

warning! dexter spoiler alert!

hay, it's what's for dinner (can i get a doggie bag, please?)!

it's officially winter. the ground is frozen which means time for hay. three round bales arrived over the weekend. which makes for some happy animals. the donkeys/horse/llama got one bale. the goats and sheep got another. and for some reason, the dogs claimed the third. who knew? hay, it's not just for breakfast anymore.

this just in... donkeys love hay!

the long and lean queen of the castle

"i got short legs, so this square bale's mine"

gratuitous pic of tito von peenerhaus

junior's first piano lesson.

you don't have to live like a refugee...

as you may know, my father-in-law had a stroke back in april and has been hospitalized since. he is improving everyday. however, it is still going to be a long road. we offered to adopt his hunting beagles. as they need some extra attention. and well, i'm a sucker for a sad eyed beagle.

meet the two newest refugees... lulu and junior. lulu is in by no means related to lulu of "the adventures of lulu" stories. i just like the name.

junior comes from a long line of rook family beagles. his mother was buttercup (whose birth i witnessed many moons ago). and buttercup was daughter to blind ol'annie (whom i wrote a song about called "ballad of the lonely hunter"). jr has a hereditary condition called cherry eye which is a deformity of the tear gland. it can be fixed with surgery. however, it would involve removing the tear gland (which would cause dry eye and possible infections). so, we're just gonna leave him be. he thinks it makes him look tough. i agree.

i'm not exactly sure about lulu's lineage. i do know that she's old as hell. and has had her share of puppies. we are getting her spayed. mostly to prevent any del ray offspring which would no doubt be a plague on the world.

lulu

junior lookin' good!

"oh, is this not cool?" - junior

"no, it's not." - porkchop

lulu don't like cameras