Random Things

The junior high basketball season is officially over.  At the end of the season, we had a parent vs the team game and a potluck.

There was a lot of switching in and out.  The parents had the height advantage and there were some guys who played college ball who were still in good shape.  There were also a lot of parents who kept the game within range for the kids.

The  kids did a great job rotating players in with a good attitude.  They coached themselves and did very well.

Thomas had practiced with the team all season and he finally got to play with them.  I think he really enjoyed that.  His plan is to grow 3 or 4 inches before next year so that he will be tall enough to get to play with the JV or varsity team.  He needs to add a few pounds too.

 Some of the parents were very sore the next day after a few hard falls.  Everybody had a great time and a good time was had by all.  The potluck was very nice too! It was a successful season!

This friday  was the annual Celtic Ball with the Speech and Debate team.  The guys love it!  Usually most of us get to go.  This year I had the bookends with me in Amish country and Michelle wasn't feeling well.  Paul decided he would rather go to his own activity.

 Thomas and T-Bob love to go and do the country dances.  T-Bob danced every dance!  They look good when they get all cleaned up.  One of the rules at the dance is that the guys aren't allowed to ask the same girl to dance more than once an evening unless they are a sibling or in an established relationship.  It is a really fun time.

 Every once in awhile this is what we see out our window.   If you have read my Amish articles, you should be able to identify the type of Amish in this buggy.  Can you do it?

We had visitors yesterday.  It was so nice to see them again.  The Hyltons were in town.  Will wanted to be on the blog!  The visit was duly noted and recorded.  The guys had a good time walking to the back of the property and exploring.  They took Dallas with them and he came back with mud up to his shoulders.

Poor Michelle had to bathe him before he could come in the house for the night.  She scrubbed him down and he smelled purty when she was done.

 She had to wrap a towel around her to protect her clothes.  It was pretty cold out for an outdoor bath.  The temperature was below freezing.  Incidentally, by this morning all the ground was once again covered with a nice bright covering of snow.

The boys have once again been enjoying the heat from the fireplace.  They find it cozy to read or play games there.  So nice!

Tomorrow, we go and pick up our chicks and work on our seed starting and other farm projects as well as the daily chores of getting laundry done, cooking, etc.

Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk

We had a long day in Amish country on Friday. Saturday morning we woke up and the phone was working and the power was on. The sun was even shining sporadically. We got up and made breakfast.We get our milk from a dairy farm and we fill our half gallon jugs from the milk tank. One of the boys got a jar out and set it on the table a little hard. Somebody else had noticed the beginning of a crack in the jar, but we hadn't done anything to take care of it. Alas, when the jar banged the table, the crack became a wide crevice. Actually, it became several pieces!

The milk, with all it's yummy cream went running off the table and on to the floor. How sad!! But we didn't allow any crying, Because you mustn't cry over spilled milk, right?!!

Dear Dallas was happy to come to our rescue and work on floor clean up. He thought that performing this duty gave him house dog status. Anytime he was let in the back hall, he would try and come into the rest of the house. Something he knows he is not allowed to do. Silly dog! I guess dog's have sin natures too. He forgets he is an outside dog, just because we have grace and let him sleep in the back hall.

Dallas loves people. He runs around the house and watches in the windows to see us. It is a little unnerving for some of my patients to see a big black dog staring in at them in the basement. We do enjoy him though.

~Mom

Dallas the Sweetie!

Last night Paul found an empty honey container that hadn't been washed out.

He decided that it shouldn't go to waste.

So he let Dallas try and clean it out.

He worked on it for a long time!

I think that if he could have climbed in the container he would have. He really seemed to enjoy it!

~Mom

Dallas the Guard Dog

We have now had Dallas for about 14 months. He is real close to full grown. He weighs about 45# and is tall and lean. He is a friendly pup and only gives rodents a hard time (and coons). We were all wondering what Dallas would do if a prowler came in the yard. Would he lick him to death or protect his property?
The children decided to run an experiment and asked a friend that the puppy had never met to come in the back yard through the front gate. Dallas noticed and started barking ferociously and came at him with his teeth. (Our friend said he felt the teeth on his arm, but there were no marks.) The children immediately called the dog off and he got quiet. They introduced Dallas to Will and everything was friendly. Will said that he would never have come in the back yard with that kind of greeting from a dog.
We were pleased to find out that Dallas will guard his turf. So if you are coming to visit, make sure that you get introduced to the dog before trying to come in the back yard, or breaking in the house. You might get more than you bargained for.
~Mom

Dallas Seeks Treats in the Wood Pile

Dallas the dog was very fascinated by the whole wood splitting process. He had his nose in everywhere. But what he really loved was our reject pile of rotten wood.

He sniffed and scratched at the pile and then would grab a piece and run off as though he had stolen a prize and take it to the middle of the yard.

He guarded it from all takers.

He gnawed on it like it was the tastiest bone. We were a little intrigued by his sudden appetite for wood. If he kept this up he would be cheap to feed!

Then one of the children started investigating the rotten wood and this is what they found.....

Lots of slimy dog treats! Yuk!!!!

He loved them though.

~Mom

Feeding Dallas

This video shows the routine that our family goes through to feed our puppy. We have worked hard to avoid 'bad' behaviors like begging, and jumping up on people, or even growling and snapping when someone messes with his food. He has learned to wait to start eating until he is given the sign. Can you figure out what the sign is? Notice that Michelle, who made this video, was able to take pictures and mess with his food dish while he was eating. Our dog has a quite a few bad habits, if you want to know them all ask Mr. Boots, he is frequently griping about them. The children did do well on this part of his training.

~Mom

Planting Blueberry Bushes!

I love blueberries and I have always wanted to grow my own! Last year I ordered some from a plant catalog and the tiny twigs arrived and have done OK (except for the one that got stepped on and broken off). However, there is no sign of a blueberry this year and they are still pretty puny. Where I am trying to grow them is a little unsatisfactory as they have less than desirable sun, but I am going to try. This year my impatience got the best of me and so I went to local nursery and bought full size plants with blossoms on them. I got four different varieties. One an early variety, two mid season and one late. When they get growing we should have them all summer.

The first thing I did was to dig the holes where I wanted to plant them. The day got away from us and we didn't get further than digging the holes and putting the acidic mix in the bottom of the hole. In the meantime, Mr. Boots had read a book about growing blueberries and it said they needed frequent water, but couldn't stand to have ' wet feet'. The book said the holes should be empty of water within 15 minutes after filling. We filled a test hole and the water sat there, for a day and a half. Houston, we have a problem!! What could we do? We pondered it for several weeks, watching our holes as it rained to see how quick they drained. Two were better than the others.

Here's what we decided. We decided to fill in the hole a little after half way and then mound the dirt around the bush. It would be lifted out of the wet area and we are hoping it will be OK. We will mulch around them to minimize erosion and try and retain some moisture without soaking them. The three other bushes we planted last year have survived, so we press on.

One thing that is real important with growing blueberries is to make sure you have acid soil. We use an organic product called 'Hollytone'. It is a solid acidifier. If the soil is not acidic enough the leaves will bronze like the above picture.

This is what the leaves should look like.

I'll let you know how they grow.

The above video shows our secret hole digging weapon. Fortunately for us, he likes to dig for and eat worms. Getting him to dig in the right spot is the challenge.

~Mom

The BARF diet: Our Compost Puppy

This post is requested information from some friends. Incidentally, BARF stands for 'Bones And Raw Food'. The Barf diet is a whole raw food diet for dogs.

Dallas the dog is our compost puppy. We try and eat a traditional diet as a family and so it made sense that we would do the same thing for our dog. Dogs in the wild do not eat cooked food and they do not eat grains. They eat meat, fruits and veggies, usually a little on the spoiled/fermented side and obviously raw. We have friends with a dog that is a mighty hunter. Duchess catches all kinds of groundhogs, rabbits and even drags home deer quarters. She semi buries them and leaves them to sit in the sun for days before she eats them. Sounds gross to us too, but you never met a healthier dog. Even now, in her dotage, she still brings home a stray ground hog as a treat. Grains cause arthritis and cancer in dogs. Dogs that are switched to the BARF diet get more agile and younger acting. Their joints calm down.

Dallas is an outside dog. He is outside in all kinds of weather. He slept outside all winter long and was healthy and is thriving. So what do we feed him? We feed him anything that would ordinarily go inside our compost bucket (Except grapes, which we are told are not good for dogs, and large chunks of onions). He gets rotten apples, and apple cores, sweet potatoes, broccoli stems, cabbage leaves, leftover salad, anything in the produce line that doesn't get used up by the people. He also gets any cheese that gets moldy, sour milk, a couple eggs and some meat. The meat he gets are the wing tips off the chicken, offal, chicken necks, any fat I trim off a roast and any part of my steer that we don't particularly like (tongue, sweetbreads, etc). I also take any old meat out of my Amish friends freezers that they can't sell, and don't want.

He doesn't get meat every day. He probably gets it on average 3-4 times per week. He does get a couple eggs most days. We have been known to stick a variety of liquids (milk, gravy, tea, water) over his food. He will eat most anything. In the winter we did add extra fat to his bowl (usually coconut oil, or beef fat) to make sure he got enough calories and stayed warm. He is thriving! His coat is shiny, he has more energy than we can run off and he is good tempered. He always has a bone or two available to him. His teeth never need brushing as they are pearly white. He doesn't have doggy breath or pass gas either. Life is good.

He is getting tired of cabbage though. We try and make sure he gets plenty of veggies and not just fruit.

I think we about break even or do a little better cost wise than if we bought dog food. He is eating our compost scraps, the meat parts that we don't want, and he is always healthy! (No vet bills) We no longer have chipmunks and mice running around the foundation of our house either. We do try and give him a clove of garlic every day as this keeps fleas away and minimizes worms. We still have to give him heartworm pills monthly, as I don't know any natural remedies for them.

There are other websites about the BARF diet on the web. Check them out. Don't confuse the BARF diet with the BRAT diet. It won't help your pup, unless he has diarrhea. LOL

~Mom

A very thankful mistress...

I am very thankful Dallas is a big dog for being only ten months old. The other day when Daddy came home, Dallas, who usually happily stays inside of the fenced in yard, saw a dog walking on the other side of the street. He decided he had to be with that dog. He quickly dashed outside of the fence and started across the street. Unfortunately, there happened to be a car in the way. We don't know if he hit the vehicle or if the vehicle hit him, but Daddy did hear a definite THUMP. Dallas, then quickly limped back into the yard where we found him limping badly on his front left leg. He was in such state of shock, that all he did for a while was quiver. We gave him some arnica to help with the swelling and pain.

The vehicle did not stop, and the lady and the dog who saw it happen left before we could talk with them. If Dallas had been a smaller dog he Might have gone under the wheel and died. So I am VERY happy he is as big as he is. It took awhile before he was able to eat. Dallas was happy to just lie quietly and sleep. He was not limping as bad the next afternoon. We had a friend, who is a chiropractor, that has taken some courses in adjusting animals, who came and gave him an adjustment. After that he felt much better. Today he seems almost normal again. That is why I am so thankful.

~michelle

Why is Dallas in the Back Hall?

That is an excellent question that my cousin Susanna asked. Why is our outdoor dog sleeping in the back hall? The answer has to do with his very active night life.

Dallas is part hound/part black lab and he likes to pretend he is a mighty hunter. We don't know what kind of hound he is part of. When we watch him run we think he may be part gray hound. But the other night he may have given us another clue.

He treed a coon in the back yard! He was so proud of himself! He would hide in the shed and whenever that coon started to move he would tear out barking and make sure it didn't try to escape. We brought him into the house after he was still barking in the early morning hours. Since then, he regularly patrols the yard at night and starts barking at all the nocturnal critters that wander around in the back field behind our house. Mom got tired of being awakened at midnight several nights in a row and so now he gets to sleep in the back hall. We do barricade him in with two baby gates as he has a prodigious jumping ability and will try and make a snack run to the kitchen if he isn't contained.

~Mom

Dallas Sings a Duet with a Harmonica

Hello, we're still here, but blogging hasn't it made it to the top of our to do list. Mom has several blogs in her head, as do I. I even started a book review, but haven't got around to finishing it.

I was doing some supper prep and found this duo quite entertaining. Michelle started playing the harmonica and then Dallas made himself comftorable and started to join her.

I'll do my best do get the book review out in the next week. :)

~JoAn

I was Supposed to do a Winter Post But...

I was getting tired of white pictures and wanted to see green grass again. So I am delaying the winter post a little.
I am sorry that these pictures are not in order.

Being a puppy is hard work!

O.K so I did do one snow picture.

Eating again.

This looked alot more comfortable to him than the grass.

Dallas brushing his teeth.

Enjoying his snack.
Does anybody know Dallas' full name?

Everybody gets up to five guesses. Have fun.

~Michelle

Mom's Away- Time to Clean the Refrigerator

The guys were cleaning out the garage in order to put the ping pong table in. We had two refrigerators in there and we needed to get it down to one. We used this refrigerator to store vegetables, dairy and eggs. Over time it got a little gross. We didn't clean it much as out of sight is out of mind. Now we needed to clean it out before moving it on. Mom's not home... Who should clean it? Looks yucky. How about Dallas?

He came into the garage and was 'Johnny on the Spot'. He was more than happy to clean out the bottom.

He even cleaned in the back corners. He did a good job for a youngster.

After all that work, he was ready for a nap in the back hall. It's a dog's life!

~Mom