New Car?

I have a new car. A lovely wonderful new car. I loved my old car...a 2006 Subaru Outback wagon...it was the best car I ever had; but it was time to trade it in. I searched and researched, trying to find a car that would accommodate the dogs, get decent mileage and was very sure-footed in this rural area with steep twisty dirt roads and icy winters. I looked at Toyota Highlanders and Honda CRVs, Ford Edges and Dodge Journeys. I fell in love with the Saab SUV but the mileage sucked. I reaaaaallllly wanted a Toyota 4Runner, but couldn't justify the mileage on that either. So....here's what I did:

OLD CAR

NEW CAR

Does this make me very practical and loyal, or is it perhaps a little boring, unadventurous and pathetic? The jury's still out....

But I really love(d) my Subaru!!!

Rough Life, Dude!

When one has a barn full of hay, grain & horses, rodents are usually a factor. Hey, it's a cushy gig for a mouse...horses aren't always tidy with their grain, grainbins get left open, hay lofts full of nice soft nesting areas, it's warm, it's dry and the livin' is easy! But, as much as we don't begrudge the mice their place on the farm, we really can't have them eating their way into grain bins and pooping & peeing everywhere. On this farm, we try very hard not to kill things and won't out out traps or baits or anything like that...so, we need barn cats. We have 3: Elvis, Delta & Skittles. They live a very spartan and austere existence...as you can see:

Skittles, roughing it in my office. Poor Guy!

Elvis, supervising my work.

The other cat, Delta, is outside actually doing her job...but she comes into the office a lot, too!

When I tried to adopt our barn cats from one local shelter, I was soundly rejected. "Oh, our cats are never placed in homes that would keep them in a barn!" "Our cats are meant to be pets!" I did try to reassure them that our barn cats are loved and well-tended, fully vetted and spend a lot of time in the part of the barn that houses my offices but they would have none of it!

Finally, I tried a shelter that's pretty far afield from here and after much discussion they agreed to let me adopt 2 cats, and so came Elvis & Delta. Skittles joined the team later on....he was found as a kitten, having been abandoned (maybe lost??) on a playground.

I think they're pretty happy with their situation!

The Boys

First of all, Andy's is now over one year old! Can you believe?? From this:

To this:

Wow! He's growing into a very fine dog...I can't say enough. Frankly, he's awesome!

The other boys are also awesome, of course, and deserve equal face time! :)

Levi's still my chief halo-polisher...he's pretty sure he's perfect.

Archie is....Archie! Such a funny dog.

And, of course, Truman, the Boy Scout. Tries so hard to always do the right thing and make sure everyone Follows The Rules!!

And the gang, all together!

Bee Fortress

Since we have at least one bear who moseys around the farm, and since the bee hives are pretty far from any of the dwellings, we had to erect a fortress around the bees.

Ellen The Bee Lady laughed at our bee enclosure and said something about "overkill" and "bee palace" but I just want the bees to be safe! And no, contrary to what others have said, I do not plan to knit little bee hats and scarves in the winter, nor will I splint little broken bee legs or have bee funerals for each bee...but I don't want a bear to get them, either!

As for the bees, they seem to be settling in nicely. We had some die, but I guess that's normal (no, no bee funerals, see above) but they have started gathering and are very industrious. I'm still learning to be more brave around them, and will post better pictures soon.

Bees!

We have bees! For the last year or so, I've been trying to find someone who would be a "bee mentor" for me and help me set up some hives at the farm. Actually, truth be told, this wasn't strictly my idea. I'm actually allergic to bees and have no desire to croak, but I have been assured that I will most likely remain very much croak-free as long as I am careful and carry an epi-pen, so here we are: Our hives!

A very nice lady named Ellen has agreed to *bee* a mentor (harhar...oh, stop...you know you thought that was sorta funny) and yesteday she came and set up 2 hives. We now have approx. 20,000 bees in residence. Ellen told me that our particular bees are known for bee-ing (that's the last bee pun...promise!) very mellow and relaxed since I am a nervous bee novice. She'll come to the farm every week or so at first to help me get the hang of things, then I'll be on my own for their maintenance. It's all sort of exciting, really. Bees are rather fascinating!

I think it'll be sort of fun...once I get more brave, I'll actually get close enough to take some proper pictures of the bees in action.

A New Leaf

(or...given all I have to improve upon, perhaps a new tree is in order!)

I have resolved to be a more diligent blogger. Yes, I know I've said this before and I was patently lying, but I mean it now. Seriously. I'm gonna blog at least once a week. No, really. I am. For real. Oh, stop snickering....it's not nice!

I'm gonna be a bloggin' fool....you'll see!