Naki!

Hi, I'm Naki! I found my FUR-ever home this Saturday with this crazy family. They're crazy, but they're happy. I get lots of love, hugs, kisses, exercise and food. I had it pretty good at my foster home, too, but there's nothing like being in my permanent pack. I was rescued from a high-kill shelter in Tennessee by this really cool lady that had lots of German Shepherds. She gave me a bath, brushed me, fed me and loved me, but I had to share her with so many other dogs. Until I met the Dickensons! I now have an older brother, Hannibal, and just like a little sister, I pester him. Little being the operative word...I outweigh him by a good 20 pounds and stand a good 3 inches taller than him. But we play and fight just like siblings.

I love my new family, as they were very sad when I showed up, but when they see me, they smile and talk about how similar I am to a friend named Riley. This Riley girl must have been something special, because they say I am very much like her in looks and personality. She must have been great, because I'm nearly a perfect dog! Nothing like a dog that won't wag her own tail, huh?

My other sister, Pyper, loves me too. She is always hugging my neck, feeding me cheese and dressing me up. I follow her and my little little sister, Raegan all around the house. I love kids and I make sure to watch over them. Every morning a nice lady named Jenn, comes over and my mom and dad go to work. Jenn has 2 rambunctious boys, but I love them, too! I get so much loving and scratches behind my ears. I'm in heaven! The fact that I'm never alone is wonderful, as I have spent most of my life alone. My mom and dad said I'm an answer to prayer. That MUST mean I'm special.

I hang out in the playroom with my sisters. While they play, I relax and make sure nothing will harm them.

I get to go outside a lot and run and play. They have a lot of land with cats, chickens and horses. I love to run the fence line with the horses and watch them carry on. I'm very respectful of them, and am sure to herd them, but not hurt them. I do the same with the chickens. They are a noisy bunch, but sweet. I herd them up and sometimes lunge at them just to ruffle their feathers. I know it's ornery, but it's fun! I get tuckered out after all that running, I have to take a nap...

It's so great to meet your acquaintance! I hope to meet you in person soon, as I love new people. I'm going on my first big trip this weekend to my Mamom and Pop-Pop's house in Northern Virginia. They have a dog, too, and I can't wait to meet Uncle Toby!!!

**We adopted Naki from Imminent Danger German Shepherd Rescue in Greenville, Tn. She came from a shelter, and we guess she's around 5 years old. Like she said, she is nearly the perfect dog. Very mild mannered inside, yet excited to go outside and play. She was extensively tested with children, cats, dogs and yes, even chickens when we requested her. She arrived up to date on all her shots, microchipped, and spayed. Deb Lewellen runs the rescue and she was a delight to work with. I truly do believe that Naki is an answer to prayer. Our hearts were so heavy and sad when we lost Riley. Naki is a salve on that wound. We also worked with Southeast German Shepherd Rescue. They, too, were amazing to work with, we just didn't get a chance to meet any of their dogs. They were very vigilant in ensuring we would find the right dog for our family, and when we told them we found Naki, even at a different rescue, they were delighted. If you ever want to rescue a German Shepherd, I would highly recommend either agency. My favorite breed is RESCUED.**

Snow much Fun!

Last Sunday, we were blessed with the most beautiful snow! Shannon worked all weekend at the hospital, but got home early due to the weather. Just in time to feed the horses and go sledding with Pyper. What was I doing you may ask? I dressed Pyper, took pictures and kept an ear out for a sleeping Raegan...The horses were ready for dinner!

The snow was so beautiful on the pines.

And Pyper had to make a snow angel. She remembered about snow angels from a few weeks earlier sledding with her cousins.

Shannon pulls her down the hill to make the track...

She loved all the snow

Pyper sledded (is that a word???) until dark.

She loved it. And we loved watching her enjoy the wonders of this magical snowfall.

Making Gold

When you have these...

You get this. This is our foaling/run in shed. When we're not foaling, we leave the side door of this huge stall open to the barn lot pasture so the horses have a way of getting in from bad weather, the hot sun, or just to loaf around in. When they're in there though....lots of poo happens. We load it up with shavings about 3 times a year, and soon it looks and smells pretty nasty...

It's a daunting task. It takes Shannon and I about an hour to strip it and lime it. However, the benefits are "black gold." We take this nastiness, and pile it in our compost bin and soon, we will be able to use it on our garden and flower beds. Great, FREE fertilizer! All it takes is some horses, or any livestock/chicken animal to do their business, elbow grease, and time. And VIOLA!

We have this! This is already really broken down. We're just going to give it a few more months of sitting in the sun, and we'll be set.

One thing I have learned is that if your stall or coop starts to smell, just add
carbon. Carbon in the form of an organic material such as shavings, straw, or whatever bedding you prefer to use, and it absorbs the ammonia, and stink...it starts to chemically react and break down. See, dad, I'm using the info from that organic chemistry class you paid a lot of money for in college!!! Aren't you proud?

Mother's Day Was Made For Me!

Pyper posing right before church on Sunday

I had such a wonderful Mother's Day yesterday. We all went to church, Pyper wearing a pretty little dress her MamMom bought her. Paired with some discount tights I bought at Walmart. She still looked stylish. After church, we ran into town, ate at Applebee's, and then went to Lowes to pick up some supplies to finish the chicken coop.

While at Lowes, Pyper needed a diaper change. We went into the restroom, and as we were washing our hands and leaving, a lady came in, and walked into one of the stalls. I put Pyper on the floor and as we were walking out, Pyper stopped in front of the stall door, bent down, looked underneath, and waved saying, "HELLO!" The lady started to giggle. I was mortified, and apologized. She said she was a mother too, and hoped I had a great Mother's Day. Geesh! This kid keeps me on my toes!

Shannon worked in the barn, finishing up the chicken coop. He's almost finished putting the screen around the top to keep all flying predators out. He also ran electric outlets to Abby's stall and the chicken coop. Pictures to come!

Greener Pastures

FINALLY! Our pastures have greened up enough for us to stop feeding hay! This year is so unlike lasts in that we stopped feeding hay in March last year. Here it is almost May, and we've just now stopped. Needless to say, it has really hit our summer hay reserves for Abby. We've been keeping her in during the day to prevent her black coat from getting sun bleached.

Speaking of Abby...I came home on Monday evening, went out to the barn to let her out. I opened the barn door, and it looked as though it had been tossed! I mean, Iney's purple winter blanket was crumpled in aisle, halters, lead ropes, grazing muzzles, buckets, brushes, and various other grooming supplies were EVERYWHERE! I looked down to Abby's stall, and it was standing wide open! She was innocently standing inside, like, "What??? What do you expect me to do when you leave me all day by myself???" I cleaned up the mess, checked her out, and let her out with the girls. She bucked, and farted and ran off to the top pasture where the primo grass is. I literally stood there scratching my head. There's no way she could have used her teeth to slide the bar, and we know horses don't have opposable thumbs...

Yep, I deducted I must not have latched the door to her stall. I'm just so thankful the hay was behind a gate, and the feed was locked up tight! Thank God for small miracles.

On a side note, I am 19 weeks pregnant today, and we find out the sex of the baby!!! Can't wait to share the news and the ultrasounds!

Intro To Me

My husband, Shannon, and I have been married two years now. I often wonder, "How in the world did I end up in the mountains of rural Virginia?" Well, it's quite simple, really. He is a pharmacist and loved his job here in SW Va, and I was a program analyst in Northern Va and hated mine. So, naturally, I followed him to build our lives and buy our nameless farm. We had looked at what seemed like dozens of homes, and when we saw this old, but newly renovated Craftsman bungalow, none of the other houses had a chance. Needless to say, we fell in love with this home that was built in 1900. It was spring when we bought the house...if we only knew what was to come...

The house was perfect, or so we thought. It is perfect. Perfectly flawed, as only old homes can be. Our pipes froze in the winter, the baseboard heat didn't keep up with the demand of below freezing temperatures, and in January of last year, we got an electric bill of $968! That was our first winter in our home. Oh, and we had a newborn baby that we had to keep warm. Baseboard heat and 10 foot ceilings don't mix.

We have fared better this winter. We had a heat pump put in (thank God!), a gas fireplace put in the family room and a wood burning stove put in the basement in case of power outages. That, and the fact that this winter has been far milder than last year's, we haven't suffered too badly.

We have just under 10 acres, so for all intents and purposes, we will call it 10 acres. 10 acres of rolling hills of pasture, some very steep meadows, a creek, and a huge old barn that once housed sheep, cattle and various other farm critters. Now, the barn is home to Anna, my Paint/Quarter Horse mare, her filly, Abby, a solid black Paint yearling and Iney, a 16.1 hh Appendix mare. In May we are expecting our first chicks to be added to the barn and hopefully not to the dinner plates of resident hawks, owls and barn cats.

All of this happening on the beautiful "gentleman's farm" with no name. Shannon and I have been racking our brains for catchy names, family names, names that make people ask what it means, anything, but nothing sounds right. So, as of now, two years after buying this farm, we have the farm without a name. I keep thinking that one day, I'll hear something, the clouds will part, angels will sing, and I will have found the name for our nameless farm.

So, for those of your out there in never, never cyber land, I ask you, "What constitutes a respectable, catchy, farm name?" I may never have the answer, but while I'm waiting, I'll share with you all the situations I put my poor husband through, funny antidotes of my daughter's, the sad ignorance I portray daily in owning a farm, and my love for God, my family and animals.