Puppy sitting, blessed rain, Dolly the dog, ducks

 Mama’s puppy sitting activity has turned out to be a little more demanding than anticipated. The pups are up early each morning, usually before 6 am. That is a little early for Mama. Not too much so, but to have to wake early to the urgency of getting five puppies out of their small enclosure and into the back yard so they can do their business is a sudden disorienting way to have to wake. Nevertheless, Mama is a nurturer by nature and quickly adapts in her loving manner to do everything needed to meet the needs of the puppies. They are delightful, after a fashion. It is very hard to be irritated with them since they truly do not know what they are doing that could possibly be upsetting, so most of our interactions with the little ones are happy ones. They respond in kind, seeking attention above all other needs. Fortunately, the puppies sleep away a lot of the day and all night. They will be going home tomorrow or Friday. A blessing and a sad event at the same time.

For the first time in almost a year there is rain in the forecast every day for the next ten day. If is improbable that we will get rain each day, but it is nice to see the forecast has shifted to wetter weather. As nice as it is to see that predicted rain, is it problematic as far as keeping the puppies happy since they enjoy the outdoors – wet or not. In fact, they seem to like the rain. Unfortunately, that means that Mama is required to wipe down the pups one by one to bring them back inside. They do not like the heat of the outside, so it is a quick run outside (about 20 minutes) then a chorus of whining to get back inside. Dirty or not they would rather sleep on the rug in the living room versus resting outside or in their crate. So, Mama is taking the pups out and bringing them in as many times as necessary to satisfy their fickle moods and ensure they have the opportunity to potty outside. Far better than them having an accident indoors. Plus, Mama just simply enjoys cuddling the pups at each convenient opportunity. The wet outdoor environment just makes that exercise necessitate a little more effort.

Dolly, the dog, was brought to the farm Monday evening. We met the keepers at a park in Muenster – a beautiful part, by the way – to make the exchange. We spent a few minutes getting a little background information on Dolly but were back on the farm before dark. As much as we would have liked a better acceptance from Gemma, that was not to be. Gemma was not aggressive toward Dolly, but she was not welcoming. Even today, after a couple days with us, Gemma will not allow Dolly onto the front porch – the place where she has been fed since her coming to us as a puppy. Dolly has managed to find a place near the house to station herself through the day. She has also found her way into the garage when it rains. That is a good thing. Gemma, it seems, has no need to deny Dolly access to that refuge.

We are not sure, at least, I am not sure, that Dolly will work out for us. We may need a dog that is more sure of herself – less timid. I do not want an aggressive dog for many reasons, but Dolly, being slight in build and timid in nature may not be what we need as a helper to Gemma. Gemma herself has less of a protective nature than either Samson or Sasha, but both dogs have accepted this as their territory, and we will have to wait and see how those instincts manifest in their activities over the next few days. On the brighter side, the rescue owners have two other dogs that might possibly work out for us if we should choose to abandon Dolly as a replacement for Samson.

Our ducks have been allowed out of their enclosure each day, but we have had to herd them back into the enclosure every evening. So far, that has not been a problem. They know where they need to go, I just have to tell them it is time to go there. However, in the next few days, we will be getting a trio of duck hatchlings to raise, and I will need that enclosure for the little ones to raise them in. With that in mind, I will hurry to complete the larger enclosure and move the older ducks – now only three months old – into their new pen to make the smaller pen available.

Mama and I are really enjoying the ducks. They are sufficiently different from the chickens in their interactions with each other and us to make their mannerisms and behavior fun to learn. They, like the chickens, love the meal worms Mama has available to treat the birds. We like putting those treats in their water dishes to hear them snap up the meal worms floating on the water. They love eating what is on the water. Preferring that to any dried food offered them. Their rapidly smacking bills snatching the dried worms from the water which is a hilarious sound.

Everything the ducks do is new to us. It is a fun learning process.