Country Threads – a unique quilt shop in Iowa

Meet BC which stands for Barn Cat!  I have always had trouble leaving the cats in the barn because it just doesn’t seem fair to let in the others and shut the door in the face of the next cat in line if perhaps he is supposed to live in the barn.  The morning after Aggie died this young black kitten appeared on our porch.  I have been feeding him in the barn ever since and have resisted my panic attacks that want to bring him to the house.  I could care for many more homeless cats if I’d agree to leave them in the barn, don’t you agree?  I definitely have enough cats in my house!

Izzy spends hours in her chair on the porch overlooking her “domain”.  She has been very jealous of Faye, the new puppy, and we have tried to give her extra attention so that she knows we still love her.  Since she’s somewhat of a “diva”, she isn’t convinced.

When Faye crashes in the quilt shop, she sleeps under the cutting table.    When she’s awake she goes 100% but when she crashes, she is content to nap wherever she can find a soft quilt to curl up on.

Benjie waits for me to go to the quilt shop where it’s warm.  I hate shoveling sidewalks, don’t you?

This is my worst area to shovel out and I need to go through both gates several times a day.  The hay is through one gate and the goat pen is behind the tarp.  Since I can’t let the geese in their regular pen on the east side of the barn (too much snow in front of that gate), they have to eat and drink in the goat area which means I have to shut the goats in at night so that they don’t eat all the goose feed.  I am constantly juggling feed buckets, hay and water in a heated pail.

Betsy and Charlene in the barn where it’s nice and warm and they have lots of deep bedding to lay on as well as hay in the feeder to eat.  After all, goats get cold, too!

Mary E.

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2/11/2011

I really should send the Farm News more regularly so you don’t have to receive so many photos all at once.  I apologize.  This Farm News is all about the animals and taking care of them in the winter which isn’t much fun and many times this winter I have “threatened’ to get rid of all of them – just kidding!

The 14 cats are relatively content to sleep away their days in the house and shop, which accounts for the necessity of 23 litter boxes — yes, 23!!

Pretty Kitty lives up high because she’s afraid (for good reason) of JB, who has decided the top of the piano is his choice.

My favorite, Pammy Wammy, wants to be close to wherever I am and Ruth sleeps on any jacket that’s been left on the kitchen stool.  Mama and Moda, still feral, sleep on top of a fabric cupboard curled up together in a small dog bed.

Dianne, of the broken leg several years ago, lives in the room above the garage because she also is afraid of JB and sometimes of Tammy, too.  Ernie Joe Mauer sleeps in the window hammock in the sewing room and on and on.  Sadly I had Fiona euthanized last week due to health problems, primarily diabetes.

Izzy and Maggie can stand the cold better than Janey and Benjie.  Janey wears a coat during the day and also has decided the view from the piano and bay window are sorta fun.  Benjie and I visit the Care Center many times a week.

The geese live outside throughout the winter and get their water from a heated water bucket.  They sit inside the protected goat pen during the nightime hours when the wind is strong.  I remember several years ago when I forced them into the hay shed and locked them in for the night because the weather was so brutal.  The next morning one of the geese was dead – killed by the larger, more aggressive ones – when she couldn’t excape.

The chickens are bored and would love a head of lettuce to eat.  They lay between 1-2 dozen eggs per day.  Betsy sleeps in Rick’s old recliner and when she souldn’t sit there to pose for me, the chickens took over.  Susannah rules the roost so Betsy has started butting the chickens.  We have an LB White heater in the center part of the barn and the goat pen, on the west, has several heat bulbs to take the chill off.

Rick has helped make my life easier with a tarp that covers the north door to the outside protected goat area.  This tarp keeps out the wind and snow and I can pull it back on the cable to enter the pen.  Then it is rehooked to the chain link fence to be closed again.

The door to the interior goat pen is inside this outside protected area.  It has a sliding door hooked to a rope and pulley unit that is easily pulled up and secured on a wooden dowel on my left.  There are also flaps covering the door to keep out any wind when the door is open during nice weather.  (“Nice” being a relative term!)  I open and shut this sliding door several times a day and always shut it at night so the goats are inside

.

As I was compiling these pictures, I came across a photo file of summer flowers.  Just look at these lilies!  AHHHHH, June!!

Mary E.

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1/14/2011

After 35 years of wanting a grand piano, it arrived yesterday!  All those pincushions sold at quilt shows helped fund the piano of my dreams and I’d like to send out a big thank you to all who have my pincushions in their sewing rooms.

When it was decided that the Piano Santa would reward me this year, I decided to give up my dining room so the piano could live there.  The dining room table is now in the south end of the living room and like I said, “who wants to eat a meal at our house with 4 dogs and 12 cats underfoot?”  The piano was ordered and when it was delivered to Dewey Kruger Music Company in Northwood, Iowa, Dewey wondered if I’d like to watch it being uncrated or as he put it “being born”.  I visited the showroom a week ago and watched in awe as my piano became real before my eyes.  As you can see in the picture with Dewey, Marty, and Marline, the piano comes in a very large box.

As the pedals were put on and then 2 of the legs, the piano was tilted upright and a “stool” of sorts was put under the corner where the 3rd leg would be.

After that last leg was bolted on, the keyboard was pulled out and all the shims were removed and the ties were untied, all of which kept the hammers from jiggling in transport.

Within about 30 minutes my piano was standing in the middle of the showroom floor.  Dewey said they hadn’t had anyone in a long time as excited as I was!

Dewey always told me it was no big deal to move a grand piano but I was really worried about getting it in the house.  They laid the ramp in the door to my sewing room and rolled the piano right in.  Simple.  Then came the steps from my sewing room into the office which leads to the dining room.  The header is pretty low above the steps and as it turned out there was not enough head room to make the piano go up the steps.  I took the picture of the 5 individuals trying to move it and then I retreated into the garage.  I could not stand to watch.

As they removed the ramp and repositioned the piano, I could hear much “conversation” but I did not come out of the garage until someone called my name.  The piano was rolled into the dining room and the legs put on once again.  Rick waved goodbye and left for Pennsylvania just shaking his head.

Since yesterday I have played for hours but now it’s time to get back to my real job of designing quilts, writing the newsletter, and preparing projects for the Cincinnati show in April.  Your Goat Gazette is a bit late but should be arriving in your mailbox within a few days.  Thank you again to everyone who owns one of my pincushions – you all helped me in my quest.  From this time forward, my pincushions will be called Sanctuary pincushions because that’s my next big project – taking in dogs and cats who need homes.

Mary E.

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12/21/2010

Merry Christmas from all of us at Country Threads!

Here we are this morning at Connie’s annual Christmas/First Day of Winter breakfast  which took place at 8 a.m. so we could still open at 9 a.m.  We enjoyed egg bake, scones, muffins, fruit, cookies, punch and coffee, all compliments of Connie’s hard work.  We wandered through her home – here is the Bible quilt hanging in her living room and also her newest primitive cupboard purchased just last month on a joint shopping trip to an antique store.

This cupboard is absolutely one of a kind – with drawers just lined up on a shelf, all having different pulls – definitely homemade and wonderful!  One of us HAD to buy it – if she hadn’t, I would have.

My purchase on that trip was this beautiful red and white feathered star quilt, all hand quilted with no worn spots anywhere!  And the size – it is actually queen size and that is unusual for an antique quilt.

I can see it’s been washed many times so I was not reluctant to put it in the guest room and the dogs have already jumped up on the bed to check it out.  Also notice the headboard which is an antique mantel that I bought at the Country Living Fair in Columbus last September.   It is exactly what I was looking for and I did not hesitate when I saw it.

I also thought I’d show you my dining room because possibly this is the last time you’ll see it with a dining room table.  I’m ready to buy my grand piano and have decided to put it in the dining room.  We don’t entertain for meals – let’s be honest, who would want to come to dinner with 4 dogs underfoot?

And then there’s my “favorite things” cupboard in the dining room – full of white ironstone bowls, platters, cups, plates, and cream pitchers.  We have recently established a shopping rule that I will find hard to adhere to – no more “smalls” – none of us need more little stuff but when I see it all grouped in this cupboard, I love it!

I received my gift from the staff this morning and it thrills me – they gave a goat in my name to Heifer International.  Some poor family will receive a goat which will give milk to drink and babies to sell which will change their lives forever.  Thank you, girls!  I love it!

From all of us at Country Threads, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Mary E.

PS – Watch for your Goat Gazette the first part of January – I have so much more to tell you!

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12/14/2010

Greetings from cold North Iowa!

The playhouse doesn’t look like so much fun now, does it?  We had a major blizzard last weekend as I’m sure most of you know.  We are 125 miles south of Minneapolis where the Dome caved in after about 2′ of heavy wet snow fell in the area.  We had only about 6″ with high winds and then bitterly cold temps.  Those snow days are just perfect sewing days…if the electricity stays on, which it did this time.

We were fooling around with Janey last week and put this shawl over her head – doesn’t she look like a little old woman?

(Janey’s the one on the right!) 

Most of you have not seen Betsy for awhile and as you can see by this picture, she has grown!  She’s a real goat now and living in the heated side of the barn along with Susannah.  No, they don’t get along that well but it’s either Susannah or the cold.

Here’s Aggie is an old chair that we had recovered in a beautiful linen crewel by Moda which is 54″ wide and $56.00 a yard.  Of course, she would pick THAT chair to sleep in, wouldn’t she?

There’s no real farm news except that it’s cold, nobody wants to go outside to “do their business” and I’m kept busy cleaning litterboxes and breaking up fights because they’re bored.   Benjie’s mom, Millie, has been hospitalized with the after-effects of the flu so we’re thinking of her and hoping she can get back to the care center for the party on Wednesday.

What’s new with all of you?  Are you ready for Christmas?

Mary E.

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11/20/2010

Benjie got a haircut!  Doesn’t he look handsome?  He runs and plays and chases and barks as if to say, “Look at me with my new “do”!  We have visited Millie several times this week because she misses him so much.

The weather has turned cold and Janey doesn’t have enough hair to keep warm.  Remember the picture of Betsy, the baby goat, wearing this dog coat last April?  Well, she outgrew it and has her own winter coat so Janey gets to wear the dog coat.

The spruce tops arrived yesterday and we have decorated the playhouse for Christmas inside and out.  With the spruce top bundles surrounding the building, it resembles a little Santa house after dark.  After Christmas we will close the playhouse until spring – just too cold to spend any time inside of it.

Spruce tops are so much fun to decorate with during the holidays and can stay in pots or window boxes until spring just looking wintery.  A bundle of  ten 2-3′ tops sell for $25.95 or $2.95 each.  A bundle of five 3-4′ tops sell for $39.95 or $9.95 each.  We even shipped some to a customer in Pennsylvania!  Put some sand in a pot or bucket and stick several spruce tops into the sand – instant porch accent!

The word around the farm these days is “cold” and getting colder.  The electric heated buckets are in use and the heat lamps are plugged in and positioned throughout the barn.  The heater is also helping out the temperatures in the barn and everyone is spending more time inside.  The chickens still go outside each day and will continue that until there is snow on the ground.  Just 30 miles west of us received about 6″ of snow last week and we didn’t get any – we are sooo lucky!

I find myself actually walking so fast I’m nearly running just to get on with my next job – whether it be cleaning the litterboxes or sewing at the machine or running errands.  I wish I had more time.  I know you wish the same thing.

Mary E.

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11/10/2010

Benjie is back!

Many of you will remember the schnauzer I kept for an elderly lady named Millie when she went to the Care Center for 4 months in 2009.

Benjie and Millie

When Millie returned home, Benjie went back home with her.  Now Millie has entered the same Care Center that my mom lives in and Benjie is once again living at Country Threads.  Millie’s only family lives several hours away and Benjie is really all she’s got on a daily basis.  I was thrilled when Millie chose Concord Care Center in Garner because that meant I could take Benjie with me when I go to see Mom.  That way Millie and Benjie could spend some time together almost every day.

I am so thankful that all 4 dogs are getting along, sharing toys, eating at their own food bowl, and sleeping in their chosen spots.  Janey loves several of the cats — at the top of her list are Tammy and JB.  Janey cleans their ears and they curl up together for naps.

Janie and Tammy

We’ve been blessed with fabulous fall weather and I feel quite ready for winter.  All that fun stuff that sits in the yard during the spring, summer and fall months has to be put away for easy snow removal.  It’s a huge job but it’s finished for another year.

We’re starting the 12 Shopping Days of Christmas on Friday, November 12th online — can it be that close to Christmas???

With 4 dogs to take care of and my mom in the Care Center, I have my work cut out for me this winter but someday I will be Millie and all I’ll have or love in the whole world will be my dog.  I pray that there’s someone out there who will care for my dog and bring her to see me when I enter the Care Center.  It’s called “paying it forward”.

So this is the Farm News from Maggie, Izzy, Janey and Benjie!

And me,

Mary

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10/28/2010

Hi, Everybody!

The Welcoming Committee

I feel like a slug – I’ve had a cold, cough, congestion, etc. for 2-1/2 weeks.  I went to the doctor yesterday and got antibiotics so now I think I’m on the mend.  For those of you who have written inquiring about the Farm News and why you haven’t had any lately, we have been on the go since September and that also probably explains my decline in health.  The shows went well and then we had 2 weeks of camp which was great fun for Connie and me as well as the campers.  Sarah with an H stayed in my guest room during Bittersweet Camp and she took these photos of her “roomies”.  Janey and Tammy slept with her and became great friends.

BFFs

Winter is approaching and everything in the yard has to be put away in the garden shed, the barn needs to be winterized, and the wood pile should be moved to the porch for easy burning in the fireplace.  The yard is thick with leaves and the first nice day we have I’m going to mow/mulch the yard.  First I need to feel better.

Everybody is fine, just bored with this week’s weather and my inability to play outside.  This Farm News is just my way of telling you the farm is still here and we’re preparing for winter.  Haven’t had much chance to sew except for the Pilgrims wallhanging that I made for the care center where Mom lives.

Remember – Adoption is the loving option!

Mary E.

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9/9/2010

Yes, two issues of Farm News in one week!!  Well, when there’s news, I’ve got to tell it – yesterday afternoon the dogs were raising a ruckus in the backyard by a garden shed.  The door to the shed was partly open and they were on alert staring inside.  As I peeked around the door, I was surprised to see a very large great horned owl sitting inside.  Whoaa!!!  I quickly shut the door!  Last night after dark, I locked the dogs in the front yard and quietly opened the shed door.  Within 20 minutes he left – whew!

This morning the dogs started barking near the woodpile – oh, no!  The owl just moved about 15 feet and he looked even bigger outside in the daylight.  Great Horned Owls are protected and are serious predators when it comes to chickens, cats, rodents, rabbits and even small dogs.  I called my conservation friend, Tom, who said the owl might be migrating and hopefully he’ll just move on.  It’s always something around here.

Pam is keeping us all supplied with these gorgeous tomatoes from her garden.  Our tomatoes are small sickly looking things, nothing like Pam’s.  And they are delicious!

And then there’s Betsy and Janey – this is a typical “after 5 pm” action picture.   Where one runs, the other follows.

…and they’re off!…

Mary E.

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9/7/2010

Playhouse Patio

Again I thought I could just easily handle this playhouse project and bring home patio pavers from Menards and lay a patio in front of the playhouse.  I paid for the pavers and then realized they weighed over 4000 lbs!!!  I had to hire a boom truck to deliver them on pallets but they were willing to deliver on Monday, Labor Day.

In preparation for this patio I first dug up the sod and moved it, then tilled the ground with my little Mantis tiller, then Rick tilled with a larger tiller.

We raked and leveled, hauled dirt away and laid the first row of pavers around the front of the playhouse.

The dogs had a great time being underfoot as we hauled pavers by hand back and forth from the driveway.  Then we got smarter and Rick loaded them on the back of the tractor.  He continued to level and I did all the laying of the blocks, one row at a time.  It was almost like sewing a quilt block.  Each 15″ paver was constructed of 5 smaller pavers and my estimate was almost enough.  I have a small corner left to fill in.

Betsy Made herself at home

Rick & Janey

Several times throughout the afternoon I honestly thought I would collapse but after a short rest I could start again.  By 5 pm my ankles hurt, my knees should have had knee pads, my back was almost broken, my forearms screamed and my hands were swollen almost beyond recognition.  I simply am not accustomed to hard labor and I’m not 25 years old any more.  But honestly the reward and satisfaction of that patio is worth all the pain and suffering.  I love it!   Look for pumpkins for sale at the playhouse, maybe some antiques, some spruce tops in November and possibly rummage or just a fully decorated adult playhouse to admire.

Next comes painting the doors.

Mary E.

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8/24/2010

Moving the Playhouse!

I had visions of hooking my little tractor on to the playhouse skid and pulling it around the yard any old time I felt like moving it to a new location - ha!  Rick tried the same thing and the playhouse didn’t budge!  Oh my gosh, I just about had a heart attack – now what were we going to do?  Luckily Rick had his friend Jim’s backhoe and Rick and the machine took charge.

Inch by inch with chains, timbers and a wife’s heart in her throat, the playhouse traveled to it’s PERMANENT home.

Almost……

JUST RIGHT!

We plan to pour a patio on 2 sides and then decorate the inside.  Window boxes sound fun, stair treds, white lights at Christmas time, a Christmas tree right outside the door, house plants in the summer, antiques, pumpkins and gourds for sale – how many more ideas can YOU think of?

And then there’s that chick who hatched out in the goose nest – remember that chick?  One week ago after dark, I was closing up the barn for the night and I heard the chick making loud peeping noises in the grass where the dew was heavy and the night was very cool.  I felt it was “now or never” that I take the chick from the geese because he probably wouldn’t be alive in the morning.  So I walked in, scooped him up and took him to the barn where a buff orpington hen was in a nest, setting as if she really had eggs to “set”.  (She didn’t.)  I slid the downy chick underneath the hen who adjusted her wide body to cover the chick and both were happy as clams.  I went to the barn the next morning intending to move hen and chick to a safe, secure pen.  After picking up the hen, I shook her and expected a fuzzy yellow chick to drop out but…….no chick!  My heart just fell!  I searched for a yellow body because I couldn’t hear any peeping.  Where could he have gone?  Did Janey get him?  Did he wander outside and get lost?  I felt so bad.  I headed back to the quilt shop.  I just happened to glance over my shoulder and there was the mama goose, the daddy goose and the uncle goose on the other side of the barn and lo and behold, the baby chick was with them!!

Talk about imprinting!  That baby chick jumped out of the nest, found its way out of the barn, to the opposite side of the barnyard around many corners and pens and found his mom, the white goose.

And, no, I did not make this story up just for good reading!  You just can’t make up stories this good!

Guarding the Youngun’

From the Farm,

Mary E.

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8/13/2010

Oh my, do I ever have Farm News this week!!  Two weeks ago when Becky and I took Mom to church at the Hancock County Fair, I saw a playhouse made at the local high school and it was for sale.  Doesn’t every woman/little girl want a playhouse?  Here it is, just moved in at a temporary location until I can decide where the perfect spot will be.

The interior of the playhouse has steps leading to a sleeping loft.  There is also a storage area that are can be reached through an outside door.

It is as cute as it can be!  Everybody on staff is suffering from playhouse envy.  Yesterday Grace, Connie’s granddaughter, just loved it and could have spent many hours going in and out and up and down and there’s not one thing in the playhouse at this time to play with.  When you visit, please feel free to do the “house tour”.

I spent part of three days this week making lime pickles which I love and haven’t made for many years.  Pam gave me the oversized cucumbers and I used Terry’s, (she’s from Lancaster, PA, and a member of our Yahoo group) recipe for Stickles.  They’re called Stickles because you cut the cukes into finger size sticks.

Lime Pickles on Square Within a Square Tablerunner

My 7-1/2 pints of Stickles are shown here on top of the Square Within A Square tablerunner, 22″ x 44″. The kit is priced at $39.95.  Isn’t this a gorgeous picture with the suggestion of fall even though the heat index is 105 degrees today?

Stickles

7 lbs. cucumber sticks

1 c. pickling lime

1-1/2 qt. white vinegar

7-1/2 c. sugar

1-1/2 Tbsp. celery seed

1-1/2 Tbsp. pickling salt

Green food coloring (I like my pickles very dark green)

Peel cucumbers; remove seeds and cut into finger size sticks.  Mix lime with 1 gallon water and pour over cucumber sticks.  Let soak overnight.  Wash cucumber sticks until water is clear.  Soak in clear water for 3-4 hours and drain.

Combine vinegar, sugar, salt, celery seed, and food coloring.  Bring to a boil.  Pour over cucumber sticks and let stand overnight.  Simmer this mixture, lifting cucumber sticks from the bottom of the pan for even heating, for 30 minutes or until cucumber sticks are clear.  Put into jars and process for 10 minutes in water bath.

Notes:

1/4 bushel of large cucumbers makes about 7 lbs. of sticks

A 1 gallon jar holds about 4 lbs. of sticks.

And my last bit of news – our geese want to be moms so badly that they sit on eggs all summer until they’re rotten and then we have to take the eggs away from them.  One of the white geese has been sitting on a nest under one of the goat tables and yesterday the daddy goose was hanging around the nest being very ferocious about me coming anywhere near.  I stooped lower to see if by chance a gosling really did hatch and surprise – surprise!  There was a golden baby chick!

One of the buff orpington hens had evidently laid an egg in the goose nest –   I’m waiting to see if more hatch and then we’ll decide what to do.  This little chick may have to be raised in the house just to keep him safe – geese are such bad mothers and what’s going to happen when mama goose urges her baby to jump in the pond?  I will keep you posted.  The chick can be seen in this photo on the right side about in the middle of the picture.  Daddy did not want this picture taken so it’s the best I could do under the circumstances.

Tomorrow is Hobo Day in Britt and 10 years ago tomorrow Dean and Linda found Carly, a black lab puppy, alongside of the road on their way to the parade.  They brought Carly to me asking if I could watch over her for the day and the rest is history.  For those of you who don’t know, we lost Carly last January 30 and we’re still missing her.

Don’t you hope it cools off soon?

Mary E.

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8/4/2010

On July 24 I drove Toto to Waterloo, IA, to meet up with Cassie.  Janey and Dakota rode along in air conditioned comfort as it was a really hot day.  We met at a McDonald’s where many RAGBRAI buses had stopped for a bite to eat.

Cassie loved Toto on sight and he is enjoying his new life in Edelstein, IL as Chauncy.   Bruce, Cassie’s husband and my cousin, thinks I must have conspired to take this little dog off a transport and just tell them the story that I “found” him because he is such a perfect match for their family.  Yesterday Cassie called me to tell me Toto/Chauncy had been groomed and he was soooo cute!  If I had seen him with his new haircut, I would never have given him up.  This story is that happily ever after story that I just love!

Every day at 5 o’clock I do the barn chores and let Betsy roam the yard.  Janey and Betsy are about the same size and love to chase and play.

Sometimes Janey gets a bit too aggressive and tries to bite Betsy’s ears which do conveniently stick out so they’re handy to grab.  Isn’t this silhouette picture of Betsy interesting?

Rick gave me a new camera for my birthday so that I could start recording video for the Farm News.  I’m still learning the process but soon I’ll occasionally send video instead of photos.

It’s hot – I’m sewing inside today and the dogs are laying in front of the fan.

Mary E.

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7/21/2010

This dramatic picture was taken one week ago about 9 pm as a summer storm moved through North Iowa.  It was an eerie sight with the sun shining from the west on to the barn with the dark sky looming to the southeast.

Remember Little Toto Dog?  He’s a pretty wonderful little guy who is going to Illinois to live with Bruce and Cassie.  Tomorrow he’s visiting the vet to be neutered and get his routine shots.  Noone has called about him so I’m quite sure he was dropped off conveniently at my corner.

Along with Little Toto Dog, Dakota, Heidi’s beagle is spending the week while her family is on vacation in Northern Minnesota.  I told the girls I’d have to be considered “on vacation” this week just so I could keep track of 5 dogs.  We went to Best Buy yesterday and it was quite hot so I left the car running with the AC.  When I came out of the store, some little dog had stepped on the window controls and all the windows were down!!  But they were all inside, thank goodness!  Why doesn’t someone invent a “guard” for dog owners to place over the door locks and window controls????

I promised chicken pictures this week and here are a few:

Columbian Rooster and Hen

Buff Orpington Hen

Polish Top Hats

Turken Hen

A Good Dusting

They are all beautiful chickens but I think the Buffs are almost my favorite – so plump and feathery, just a gorgeous chicken.  I get 2-3 dozen eggs a day and would love to sell some but I end up giving them all away and ordering more feed the next month.  I make egg custard for my mom once a week – she loves it!

I’m working on August Charm School – talk to you soon!

Mary E.

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7/13/2010

Could YOU drop this little dog off on a busy highway and drive away?  I think that’s what someone did and Ina and Mary Baker saw him yesterday when they came to work.  I went right away to get him but he was very afraid of me and ran into Emma’s farmyard.  Towards the end of the day I took my live animal trap over to Emma’s and set it with dog food.  When I checked the trap last night about 8:30 he was in it and very happy to see me.  His hair was all matted and dirty and full of burrs.  I loaded the trap in my van and took him home where I gave him a haircut  which is not very professional but at least I got rid of all the nasty stuff.  After that it was a bath in the kitchen sink and now here he is, an unaltered male dog with some puppy teeth left weighing about 4 lbs.  He has adapted well to my routine and if noone claims him, I will get him to Cassie in Illinois who just lost her Yorkie named Max less than a month ago.  We think he’s either a Yorkie or Maltese or a combination of something.

Here is Betsy at 3 months with her long legs.  One year ago today I got the 57 chicks in the mail and one year ago tomorrow, Zach was born.  What a joyous week that was!

And then there’s Izzy and her summer haircut – doesn’t she look cool?  Some time this summer I’d like to write the Farm News about puppy mills and my outrage at finding one located a few miles from here as well as a new hog confinement operation being built in my backyard.

Did you receive your Goat Gazette in the mail last week?

Chicken pictures next week – I promise.

ME

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7/8/2010

Meet Brock!

A friend called me yesterday morning and asked if I would give a baby turkey found alongside the road a home with my chickens.  A mom and her 2 boys found him and named him Brock – just like the sound he makes – brrockk, brrockkk – not cheep, cheep.  They thought he was a baby turkey but I think he is just a chicken a few weeks old.  They think he fell off a truck — what truck takes baby chickens?  I am afraid he might be a rooster however and I do not want any more roosters.  They are mean, they attack my hens and they fight each other so keep your fingers crossed that Brock is a girl.  He has obviously been raised by humans because he comes running as soon as he hears my voice.  I will keep you updated on Brock.

I took pictures outside, too.  What a gorgeous view from my door and also looking toward the reproduction building.  The lilies have been in bloom almost 2 weeks now and I will hate to see them go.  The mosquitoes are so thick in the yard that we are not able sit outside in the evenings to enjoy the view.

I could not resist sending you a new picture of Janey.  She is very busy but we love her!  She has gotten much better about not chasing the chickens although she is quite fascinated with Brock.  That would not be a pretty picture – Janey running with Brock in her mouth!  Rick looked at her the other day and remarked, “Who couldn’t love you?”  Maggie is really slowing down – she is the elderly aunt who watches the antics of the youngsters from the sidelines.

The summer issue of the Goat Gazette was just delivered to the shop today so if you are a subscriber your copy will be arriving in your mailbox very soon.

Going to town for dog food!

Mary E.

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6/28/2010

It’s time for a Betsy update.  She has successfully moved to the barn with an occasional trip back to the houseyard just for fun.  As I was working on the summer issue of the Goat Gazette I came across some pictures of Betsy taken about 6 weeks ago when she was still living in the house and thought you might enjoy seeing them.

When I came to the quilt shop, Betsy came along and would find a corner to nap in when she got tired.  Customers would often be startled when she woke up and crawled out from under the cutting table!

This sweet little girl named Carly visited Country Threads one Saturday and she loved holding Betsy.

She could jump up on my sewing table in an instant and then over to the ironing board before I could blink.  Is it any wonder she had to move to the barn?

The dishwasher was fun, too.

Ernie Joe Mauer has climbed into the cupboard – isn’t he a handsome fellow?

Maggie and Izzy cool off in the wading pool several times each day.  Notice that Izzy could only cool her front feet in the small tub.  Janey, not pictured, is very willing to jump into the pool as well which keeps her feet clean.  I gave Janey her first bath over the weekend – what a snap!  Five minutes in the kitchen sink and we were done.  Janey is another Farm News all by herself.  Do you know how much energy a young Jack Russell Terrier has?

Have a safe and wonderful Fourth of July weekend!

Mary E.

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6/4/2010

Betsy is getting so big and Janey is getting so naughty!

Things can really change in a week’s time – we are living proof here at the farm.  Betsy was so lonely last week when I wrote that she spent the weekend with 15 other little goats her age at Darby Farm where she was born.  Both Betsy E. and I thought she might find comfort in other goats her age but to them, she was just an outsider so she came back home on Memorial Day.  I put her in with Susannah who hates her but Betsy’s quick and can move out of the way before Susannah can get to her.  She’s eating well now but needs a friend – today I put both her and Susannah in with the other goats to see if anybody would befriend her.  The plan was to have 2 little goats to keep each other company.  When Darby died, our master plan fell apart and now I’m feeling so bad for little Betsy.  Next weekend at Flag Day I have hired Summer to spend the day with Betsy so all our visitors can play with her in her pen.

This picture was taken of Betsy while she was still living in the house – here she is on the kitchen island for heaven’s sakes!  In the blink of an eye she could be on top of the counter, no kidding.

Then she moved in with the chickens – she might even think she IS one.

And then there’s Janey – who for the first few days here at the farm was the perfect dog, so grateful to be rescued, so anxious to please and so smart.  Every dog that has ever visited or come to live at the farm has chased the chickens and Janey is no exception.  If we could videotape her chasing the chickens and me chasing her, we could possibly win the America’s Funniest Home Video contest.  Ha!  We’re working on this “problem” and in time I know she will come around.  This high energy dog collapses in the evening, exhausted after another busy day at the quilt shop.

I can understand why she didn’t get adopted since January – who would want to take on this much energy if she needed to be walked endlessly to wear it off?

Izzy and Janey rassle and play all the time and Maggie is content to be the elderly aunt who watches from the sidelines.

Just wanted to keep you informed – tomorrow I’m going to drive a transport leg from Clear Lake to Owatonna with a van full of lucky dogs!  And I’m busy marking rummage for the Flag Day Fair – my goal is to take in enough money to pay my feed bill till the end of the year.  Hope we’ll see you June 12th here at the farm.

Mary e.

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5/28/2010

Betsy is now almost 2 months old and was getting uncontrollable in my house – she would have been on top of the refrigerator if I turned my back!  No kidding!  This week has been very painful for both of us – putting her in the barn with the other goats and weaning her off her bottle.  She has cried for 2 days and this is the start of the 3rd and I know I have to do this but it is hard to hear her crying until she is hoarse.  I think I can safely say that I will never have a bottle baby again – for obvious reasons.

Enter Janey!  I almost never look at the shelter websites but did this week and the first dog picture that came up was Janey, a Jack Russell Terrier at the Humane Society of North Iowa in Mason City.  I had already called a number in the give away guide about a black lab mix and made arrangements to go meet her so as long as I was in Mason City, what could it hurt to go to the shelter to meet Janey?

Janey was brought out to meet me, straining at her leash.  She had been at the shelter since January 2010. She had been found last fall as a stray in a neighboring town where the vet kept her as long as he could before taking her to the shelter for adoption.  And after 5 months she still hadn’t been adopted!  Why???  It might be her boundless energy that most people looking for a small dog just could not handle especially in town.  Being a true dog lover I knew that she needed a chance to run off some of that energy before she could be calm.  I brought Izzy into the building to meet her and that went well so the director allowed me to take Janey right then and there!

We are learning about each other one experience at a time.  I wonder how she knows so much – like sit, come, no, etc. if she was a stray.  I always loved Eddie on the TV show Frazier.  Janey is my girl now – she came with the name Janey and she knows it so I don’t think it would be fair or easy to change it.

Janey is my big news but Connie has news, too, and I’m going to let you all know that she has a new granddaughter named Claire!  Pictures will follow in the Goat Gazette so watch for it in July.

Maybe I should find time to sew something – have a great Memorial Day weekend everybody!

Mary E.