Puppy Love

Jojo and Buster are best buddies!  Unfortunately, in this picture, I chopped Buster's head off.  Oops!  I was sitting on the couch this morning reading a book.  Buster came along and sat as close to me as he could without being on top of me.  I think Jojo wanted to get in on the action, she came across the couch and proceeded to sit on Buster's head and get comfy.  Buster wiggled out from under Jojo a bit but let her lay on top of him for a cuddle with me.  That my friends is love!! 

MOLT!!!

My chicken run currently looks like a pillow fight gone horribly wrong.  There are feathers EVERYWHERE!!  You'd think some critter got in there, nope not the case.  The weather is supposed to be getting cooler, the days are getting shorter, and my chickens have decided to get naked.  Molt, it happens every year.  The flock loses their feathers in preparation for the winter ahead.  This yearly phenomenon also leads to some pretty silly looking chickens with feathers missing and scraggly bodies.  The worst part is that egg production drops dramatically!  Hens need protein to lay eggs and grow feathers, unfortunately, they can't do both at the same time.  As the feathers fall the hens start using their extra energy to replace them.  Instead of a dozen plus eggs a day, I'm getting four.  Ugh!!

The Storm Before the Calm

Life since at least mid-August has been a whirlwind, to say the least.  That is when kiddo #1 moved two states away to go to college.  Since then we've been adjusting to what I like to call the "new normal."  Life without an extra driver is hectic to say the least.  After years of putting a lot of time and energy into the boy's sports, in my mind, it's time to focus on the 3 girls.  Kiddo #2 is playing rugby and kiddo #4 is back in gymnastics.   Gymnastics is one day a week and close to home.  Rugby on the other hand is two days a week with Saturday tournaments all  over the great state of Colorado.  Fort Collins by 8 AM is not my cup of tea!

In addition to new adventures with the girls.  Hay Bales & Horse Tales, the Colorado Horsecare Foodbank's annual silent auction ramps up in September.  Weeks of getting and entering auction donations filled my spare time until it our amazing event on October 14.  Hay Bales this year was amazing!  

Now, life quiets down a bit.  The auction is over.  The rugby tournaments are a little closer to home.  I can finally take a deep breath and recenter myself.    

Strange But Ewwwww

I love having livestock guardian dogs (LGD) out with the goats and chickens.  I haven't lost a goat or a wayward chicken since I added my first LGD 2 years ago.  At the moment I have three wonderful dogs looking after the livestock, of the three, Denali is the only pup allowed to roam freely.  With a large number of dogs in the house, poo clean up is a constant battle.  The dog run and Sunny's spot are easy to clean, but since Denali has lots of room to roam I have to search hers out.  I know gross!!  Here's the interesting fact, Denali poops along the fence line.  I know, strange, but true!!  She's marking this territory as hers. In the land of fox, coyote, bear, and mountain lions Denali is not so politely letting them know not to mess with her charges.  It seems to be working!

The Prodigal Son

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Last August, my dear sweet Pearl gave birth to seven adorable pups, 5 girls and 2 boys.  I have kept in touch with all of the owners, but one.  It has been fun to watch these babies grow and mature into loving intelligent dogs.  I figured all was well with everyone until I got a message that one of the pups along with his goat herd had been sold to someone new.  

I have to admit I am very protective of this brood.  Maybe it's because Pearl is no longer with us, or maybe it's because I've been with these pups since minutes after birth.  It saddened me to hear that one of my precious babies had gone somewhere else.  In a strange turn of events my wayward son has returned to his home and his original name, Ghost.

Of all the pups Ghost was the last one I'd worry about.  He went to a local dog breeder who was getting into goats so she could have milk for her puppies.  She wanted a livestock guardian dog (LGD) to protect her new goat herd, and the dogs she bred did not make good LGD.  In my mind, a dog breeder and trainer was the perfect fit for a young pup.  Oh, how wrong I was!
Ghost was put in a pen with the goats and left, no training, no attention, no correction.  Granted training LGD is different from training your typical house dog, but they still need to learn basic commands and to not bite their charges.  

The breeder realized that goats were more work than she had bargained for and sold the group.  The new owner did work with Ghost but had challenges of her own.  Purchasing a goat herd complete with a young buck is not for the weak, and if you're new to goats brings all sorts of unforeseen challenges.  Add in an untrained LGD into the mix can be quite overwhelming.  After an "incident" with Ghost and another LGD breed, I was contacted to come get my boy.  It was a snap decision for me, I love all of these pups, and Ghost being one of the two white pups was a favorite.  

Now, sweet Ghost is HOME!!  He is a love, very mellow.  We are working on tuning up his training and slowly reintroducing him to goats.  At this point with his lack of guidance, I don't trust him with the goats.  I'm also training Denali right now, so I don't want to negatively affect her training.  Ghost has lots of potential.  He's learning how to play with his sister and our other dogs.  He is penned next to the goats, so he can see and smell them without any negative outcomes.  Ghost gets lots of attention and love now.   We are all thrilled our boys is back!!

These are a few of my favorite things...

Life has been crazy, and I've been MIA lately.  Hey, it's the end of the school year, and I've been bombarded with kid stuff.  

That being said while I've been running around like a chicken...well you get the picture I've been thoroughly enjoying my monthly Grove Collaborative orders.  I love, love, love anything home delivery!  Not having to leave the Ranch to go to the store is a huge plus especially when carpool mom takes up a good chunk of my days.  I've gotten some amazing natural cleaning products and because Grove rocks, I've been able to try some amazing products at either low or no cost to me.  Although I have a long list of favorite products two really stick out: the Grove Collaborative extra-large kitchen towel and the Grove Collaborative walnut scrubber sponge.  I literally order the sponges EVERY month.  They're super durable and last longer than any other sponge I use.  I needed new kitchen towels when I placed my first order, 4 kids and a hubby who cooks can be hard on anything.  They are super absorbent, huge, and pretty, something every mama loves.  

Not only am I getting sustainable products delivered to my home, but Grove actually has a customer service department that responds quickly and makes me feel like I'm the only customer they have.  I high recommend these guys!  Check them out and find some product faves of your own! 
https://www.grove.co/pantry

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day from all of us at Big Buck Ranch!