Wow, thanks all for the nice comments. A special thank you, hello and welcome to Sakai and Janice. Welcome to BYC and I'm so glad you found and enjoyed my Journey Thread.
I haven't posted much in this last month - been busy hatching chicks and getting through winter and then right into spring and putting in the garden.
Here's the past month's recap:
Scarlett, Rex and Lucy continue to provide great guard dog protection for our free ranging flock. The Great Pyrenees puppies, Atticus & Scout, are doing great and learning from the "big dogs". Scarlett really seems to mother them and often be seen lying down with them laying on her and her paws over them.
Here's Rex, watching/chasing hawks.
Scarlett and "her" puppies:
The puppies do not bother any of the free ranging chicks, chickens, ducks or ducklings. I've started letting the ducks out to free range as well. I've spent enough time with the previous "Duck Killers" Scarlett and Lucy to know that they won't bother them anymore and have learned they are "family". The ducks had eaten all grass in their yard and it was bare and they had started flying out to eat the tall green grass that grows everywhere else and the dogs never bothered the ones that flew out so now they are all free and loving every minute of it. It also goes to disprove the saying "once a chicken/duck killer, always a killer" - neither dog ever bothered a duck again once they were properly introduced.
One little Mallard pair has found their way to our pond and are now living in their own little honeymoon paradise.
And I was totally surprised to see a mama duck and 6 little babies running around the yard the other morning. I had no idea I had a mama duck hiding on a nest somewhere. She and her eggs survived freezing temps and three nights in a row of tornado winds and rain. I finally found where she had her hidden nest, it was under the step to the kiddie pool they use.
The Sebastopol geese really settled in with the goats and can get pretty aggressive towards the goats, biting their ears and tails and stealing their food. At night they all cuddle up together in the stables.
Speaking of goats - remember that poor, pitiful, little baby boy goat that we didn't think would make it?????
At 12 weeks old, he's HUGE. Here's his mama and sister.
The peacocks all sleep in the highest branches of the old oak trees and are very protective as well as beautiful.
I did mention the "small" garden I put in, didn't I. It's raised beds and I can't stop planting things.
And, in my spare time, I love to tear down walls in this old home. I tore of the sheetrock, which got added in the late 70s, and had subsequently gotten wallpapered and then painted over. Got down to the original curly pine, beaded board walls underneath. I started with the stairwell since it was a smaller area.
After tearing off sheetrock:
After cleaning off the woodwork - still needs the molding replaced.
And a close up of the original walls now restored.
Well that abouts wraps up what's been going on around here. As Roseann Rosanadana would say "It's always something".