Summer Update

It's been an interesting summer here in the north country, and a very rainy one. I think today is a record - currently 4 days in a row with no rain! You'd think the pastures would be thick and lush, but with the lack of sun, the grass is slower growing. It's hardly able to keep up with the sheep and goats that are here for the summer. Wish that held true for the lawn. I've had to mow that at least 2x a week!

Since our freezer was almost out of home grown broiler chickens we decided to raise some this summer. I built a new chicken tractor which is an 8x10 bottomless pen. Jim's son wanted 12 and a friend wanted 10, so we ordered 40, which, with anticipated losses, would leave us about 10 or 12 in our own freezer. The hatchery usually sends an extra chick in case 1 dies in transit. 41 chicks arrived and none died as chicks. Only 2 died later on during the raising process. Jim's son came to help process them. They processed 29 the 1st day and Jim and I finished up the final 10 the 2nd day. 12 to the son, 10 to my friend, leaving 17 for us. That was way more than we anticipated. I did sell 3 so that leaves us with 14. Oh well, freezer is well stocked in the chicken department and we won't have to raise any more for quite a few years.

A month ago we had to say goodbye to our 17 yr old Doxipoo, Sammy. He started having seizures and we felt it was time. He was the best little guy, and Jim's best bud. He'll be missed by all of us.

Shaymus

Dora was so sad without him and was clearly missing her best friend. So, even though I said no more dogs, I began looking for a new one. Enter Shaymus, a 4 yr old something or other, probably a Terrier mix. He's a bit bigger than Dora, but still a medium size. He was rescued from TX where he had a face full of porcupine quills and was scheduled to be euthanized at the pound. The rescue group couldn't see his life ending that way so they took him in. He immediately had the quills removed and within a few short days he was neutered and updated on all his shots, tested negative for heartworms, and put up for adoption. He's a very laid back guy, housebroken, crate trained, and doesn't chew what he's not supposed to. So we're off to a good start. He's definitely not a picky eater, and we have to remember to move things back on the counter. Judging by his underweight, he was a street dog for a while so he's frantic when his next meal comes. That will calm down as he realizes there's plenty of food and he won't go hungry ever again. His tail is wagging most of the time. He's just a bundle of happy. And he's rocking the scruffy look. With his hair going every which way, I can't help but giggle every time I look at him. 

Dora and Shaymus, our own version of Lady and the Tramp

It's been a pretty busy summer with plenty of boondockerswelcome.com guests staying in our yard. If you've forgotten (or maybe didn't even know) boondockerswelcome is a network of RVers who offer their yards, driveways, or fields, to other RVers looking for a place to stay for 1 to 5 days. We love everyone who comes our way, but some are more memorable than others.

Our favorite this year was a family of 4 (originally from Omaha, NE), mom, dad, 2 kids ages 10 and 8, who are homeschooled. Having 22 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren, we've got the grandparent thing down. They don't visit us much anymore as the grandkids all have jobs, and the great grandkids aren't old enough to want to visit without them, or they are too far away for convenience. So when we get boondockers with kids we have so much fun. The kids enjoyed the farm and were especially thrilled with the month old chicks.

Mom is actually a published author and gave me a copy of her book "Wiklow". She's currently working on her 2nd book, which sounds like it's going to be fascinating. Check them out on FB at Beaming All Day.

Dad, Mom, kids, and Hobbs, who's an inside cat (not pictured).

Even though it's only mid-August, we need to start planning for our next snowbird adventure. It'll come upon us quickly. We have a few repairs to make to our travel trailer and we need to start thinking about booking campgrounds for the winter. We're thinking that we just want to stick with the Carolinas this year, which will allow us plenty of time to visit Jim's daughter's family in SC. One of our boondockers this summer has some land where they winter, about 1/2 hour away from where she lives. They've invited us to stay at their place for a few days so that will definitely be on our itinerary.