Our Boy

Yes, I missed our chat yesterday.  Monday had me away from the farm - with no material for writing a blog.  However, the rest of the week will be spent here amongst my furry friends.  Even though it has gotten sharply colder for the time being, I am loving these (partly) sunny days!

Finally, we don't have to rinse and dry this guy every time he goes out.

And let me tell you... he spends most of his days outside.  He accompanies us wherever we go on the farm for outdoor chores.  

He's a helper for sure and takes his jobs (most of them self-appointed) quite seriously!

And then, when we are home again, he comes in the house for maybe five minutes then asks to be let out once again.  He generally lays out in the yard or the driveway and watches the birds or chews on whatever he can find stick, bone, ball...

 (sometimes it's a cat food can!) (when that happens, he hears, "drop it, leave it" and he gives it up as requested).

He barks at vehicles he hears down our long driveway, loosens the soil in my gardens (ok... maybe he digs just a little bit), and generally occupies his mind with the big wide world that lies beyond the house.  He's a great watch dog - watches them come and watches them go!

He's a happy boy for sure.

  A playful boy.  

A talkative boy.  And a highly opinionated boy who is not afraid to speak his mind! 

He loves his routine and is not happy when we veer from the norm.  He is quick to remind us when it is time to do chores, and he whines until we open the door to the downstairs family room for our evening TV/movie time.  

There, he finds a corner of the couch and spends his evening chewing on one of his bones or chew toys (that is unless Chester steals it from him!).  A part of every evening is spent on our laps, soaking in some loving.  I've got to say... he's a big boy!  He's much bigger than we had imagined he would be.

I have said this over and over:  this is not a dog who could tolerate a less-than-large life.  He's got multiple dogs within his skin, each with its own set of needs.  He fills our life in a way that no other dog has done and will, if nothing else, [laughing] either keep us young or make us old in the next ten years!

We've been keeping an eye on the vernal pond by the compost pile.  You might remember last week that this is the place where the woods frogs were mating and laid their eggs.  If you missed last week's frog video, be sure to go back and catch it - it was a magical occurrence!

We have been adding several gallons of water to this area each day to assure that the tadpoles have a place to live until such time as they are ready to leave the water.  Some of the eggs have hatched... others lie in wait.  I am hoping that this cold snap passes by quickly so that life can continue on it's springy path.

PS:  Look what Forrest found on our woods walk yesterday.  This is the second antler shed he has found this year!!  Good boy, Forrest!