Actual Farm Progress

Before

Yikes (birds lived here...)

After :-)

This blog was originally intended to document progress on the rehabilitation of my tiny farm and it has clearly expanded to include almost everything else in my life. Such is the beauty of a blog I suppose. Happy to report this week on some actual brick and mortar progress though (or in this case wood, insulation and siding). The large metal building on my property has a small apartment where I lived for over two years. That end of the building has always had gaps in the siding and poor insulation and I knew there were at least a few birds making nests under the bathroom window. Not sure I realized how easy that was for them though. Decided this wall needed fixing and I am pleased to say it is now 100% fixed. See BEFORE and AFTER above. For those who appreciate details, note the all-new framing around the door (custom fit folded metal), reconstructed threshold, all-new framing around both windows, and fresh paint on the brand-new dutch door with a dog door. Also note the perfect clean-up after a very messy job. Thank you Charles and Tommy and Richard!

On to the next project!

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year to all!! 2011 is off to a great start --- and I returned to Virginia just in time for more snow. Dogs were very happy to see me --- and then even happier to see the white stuff outside. Thank you to Tray and Joanne for looking after everyone in my absence!! My New Year's blogging resolution will be to post something here or on my new food blog for "most" weeks of 2011. Let's see how I do. :-)

Holiday Airstream

The nice folks at Airstream hosted a holiday photo contest --- and I (just now) won one of the five top spots with my sepia-toned image above. Very exciting!! The other images above were also candidates for the competition. Winners gets a free t-shirt (hooray --- just what I need) and the winning images will be used for Airstream's digital holiday cards. Thank you to Flake and Daisy for being such patient models, even though it was the image without them that won.

Christmas Lights --- and Snow!

Managed to get my lights up just in time for the Richmond SPCA holiday party (thank you Tray and Dustin) --- and then on Sunday night, it snowed!! Even more snow arrived on Thursday and everything is still frosted in white. Just beautiful --- and my dogs love it!!

A well-distributed bag of sunflower seeds has made my yard oh-so-very popular with birds of all shapes and sizes. Wish I had a better vantage point for taking bird pictures like I did in the little apartment. See here for warm weather examples. Hmmm. Something to consider in the new year. :-)

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Fa La La

The holidays are off to a great start. Thanksgiving in California was WONDERFUL --- and I spent much of today preparing to decorate for Christmas. Stay tuned for pictures of all the D's of DBB soon!!

First Frost

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Flake in North Carolina

Great weekend at the Teamworks USDAA trial in Youngsville, NC. Flake ran clean in 14 out of 15 runs, earned two titles, and qualified for USDAA Nationals!! What a fun three days. Thank you to Tray and Kelly for looking after all my other critters, to Michelle for hosting a really nice trial, to Cheryl and Faye for being wonderful teammates, to Ed for grilling perfectly two nights in a row and for backing up my Airstream trailer --- and to Joanne for getting me and Flake back into the competitive swing of things. It certainly wouldn’t have happened without a BIG push in that direction. Thank you to Flake for running happily all weekend long. Louisville, here we come!!

(great photography is by RJM Images)

Airstream Bambi and Agility Trials

Happy to report that my little Airstream Bambi travel trailer hit the road again this summer. The photo above was taken during early morning hours at the MADCO USDAA agility trial near Charlottesville, where Flake and I competed in July. Much fun!! Many thanks to my dear friends Ed and Joanne for helping me get the trailer roadworthy again --- and many thanks to the nice folks at Safford RV for fixing all the things we discovered that still need fixing. Alas, there were quite a few of them, although isn't that always the case with RV's? Sigh. Bambi and Flake and I will be heading to New Jersey and North Carolina for more agility trials and competition soon, so wish us luck!!

Below are some adorable pictures of dogs belonging to friends. Of course I forgot to take any pictures of my own dog, so I will try to remedy that soon. These images were taken at the Ruff Riders USDAA agility trial in Fredericksburg, which I attended sans the Airstream. The facility there (Fredricksburg Field House) was lovely and big and air-conditioned (which made it even more lovely in the 100+ degree heat). Flake was very well behaved and managed to earn her Performance Dog I and Performance Dog I Standard titles!! :-)

Jacob

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Fawkes

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Wisp

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Fawkes and "E"

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Kittens!!

One of my favorite projects this summer was caring for the litter of kittens that stayed at my house for a few weeks in May/June. Little "Spring", "Summer", "Winter" and "Fall" were apparently ditched at my house with their mother "Persephone" in late May. Grrr. There ARE better ways to surrender animals, but that's another subject I suppose. Through the Richmond SPCA's Foster to Surrender program, I fostered these kittens and their mother in an upstairs bathroom until they were big enough to spay/neuter (i.e., when they reached about 2 lbs each). What fun!! They were (as you can see) ADORABLE and very entertaining --- and Persephone was the perfect mother, so I had very little to do beyond feeding and cleaning the litter boxes. Happy to report that the kittens were adopted within 24 hours of being placed on the adoption floor --- and I feel certain that Mom will go soon too. Interested in becoming a foster parent? Just ask me how. :-)

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