August 21, 2014

Skippy in T-shirt on Emily’s quilt

Skippy is looking very handsome in his T-shirt. He’s wearing it to protect his surgery site. He got 6 stitches in his back where a suspicious lump was removed. It was an ugly lump – I’m glad its gone. The surgery doesn’t seem to have bothered Skippy much, but I am keeping him quiet for a week – no running or jumping or playing. Skippy is sitting on a quilt that a reader of my blog, Emily Lewis, hand quilted for me. She did a really beautiful job! Her website…

July 11, 2014

Suzie eats a bolted radicchio Yumm!

Suzie loves to get the bolted greens from my garden. Shes a veggie eater! Today she had her favorite – a bolted radicchio. Yumm! (She’s also very camera shy so its hard to get a clear picture of her.)

March 26, 2014

Happy Birthday Skippy

Skippy is 9 years old! Where does the time go?

February 16, 2014

new clips

Skippy and Suzie got new hairdos yesterday. Their breeder, Heather, spent the day with us and groomed the dogs. She’s teaching me how to do this and helped with selecting the tools I will need. She clipped their muzzles and ears short, lion clip-style, took a lot of fur off their bodies, and shaped their legs. That’s Suzie above, and Skippy below.

January 19, 2014

chickens don’t like the snow – but Suzie LOVES it

Our snow had disappeared for a week or so and my chickens were really pleased. They wandered all around the yard foraging and just generally enjoying the January thaw. But yesterday we got a couple inches of snow and now they won’t come out. They are hanging out in the coop and complaining….. (you’d think they could at least lay eggs while they’re in there – no eggs yet) Its the opposite with Suzie. She can’t get enough of the snow. She brought her chewie out and enjoyed a good…

December 17, 2013

long shadows over community plots

Skippy, Suzie and I walked through the community garden plots yesterday. At 3 pm the shadows were very long – the sun sets at 4:15 now. I still have some kale in the garden, but I think this bitter cold has probably made it too mushy to eat. Only a couple days until the solstice. It will be nice to see the sun gradually rise in the sky and the shadows shorten.

December 13, 2013

chicken (and dog) pictures

Here they are. Skippy is sniffing Bertha. He has been very good recently and both dogs get to be around the hens unsupervised. (I check the egg boxes a couple times a day in this cold – just in case! And, I check all other places the hens have been, just in case they have hidden an egg. Still waiting…) We have a foot of snow on the way this weekend. What will the hens think! They’ll be snowed under.

November 23, 2013

salt marsh hay mulch for my garlic bed

Its been getting chilly, so yesterday I brought a bale of salt marsh hay to my community plot and spread a good layer on my garlic bed. Suzie thought this was really fun! Skippy gave her a look and tried to tell her it was not a place for a puppy.

August 8, 2013

Suzie in the garden

Suzie had a fun walk through my garden the other day. She explored the shadows under the squash vines, hopped around on the sweet potato bed – and THEN – she found the radicchio! Ahh, the perfect vegetable… She climbs up into the big leafy heads – each leaf is round, green and bigger than her, the perfect size to curl up in – and she snuggles into the shady inner part of the plant then settles down and begins to nibble. A bit of this leaf, a bit of…

August 5, 2013

Suzie is home

Suzie is home! She sure is cute! She’s a 7 weeks old Portuguese water dog, all black just like Skippy. Very soft and fluffy. She has needle sharp baby teeth, but is learning fast how hard she can bite. She’s a quick learner. She learned how to climb out of her baby pen in only a few hours. She learned to steal my shoes. And she’s learned how much she likes garden lettuce, roasted squash, and potatoes. Skippy and Suzie are getting along great – as long as Skippy has…

weeks and counting until my last spring frost