Our Little Homestead School

Most recently our efforts have been focused not just on making sure our grass is mowed and everything is trimmed neatly, but also regaining ground that has been overgrown with brush.  What a J.O.B.!!! 

Clearing up hickory nuts is a challenge.  Needless to say, those little things can turn in to missles so deadly as to break windows, hit and hurt little ones and make even the toughest of dogs yipe.  I am not the type of person who particularly enjoys those types of sounds coming from my home, so it was time to rake and clean those dern things up. 

We gained more dirt by simply cleaning those things up.  I use to drive right around those things, but now I can mow over where they were, making our yard look so much neater. 

The next few things on the list is the wood pile, the brush pile past that and beyond down in to the woods.  We don't want to clear these of trees, but just tidy things up a bit.  We've found literally TONS of black berries that have been "let go" and we want to find them all, put them all in the same place and take care of them to make them grow and produce for us.  :) 

The garden is coming along.  I'm not all that fond of the progress, but with money not growing on the trees outside, putting up a fence this year is next to an impossibility.  Ugh!   I just really do not look forward to growing all this produce for groundhogs and deer as well as other critters to feel free to devour at will.    If anyone has any inexpensive ideas on this, please feel free to let me know.  I'm at a point right now where I can just taste that first jar of spaghetti sauce popped open this fall.

Have a great day!

Blessings,

Regina

Dog training is continuing at a steady clip here in our home.  We have 3 dogs now.  We have Katie who is an almost 12 year old Border Collie/Springer Spaniel Mix, is the veteran.  She is spoiled in to thinking that she is the queen bee and any dog we bring in to this house has to endure her snaps and nose in the air for months before she'll give them a chance.  This happened with Rustie who is doggie number 2.  Rustie is 4 years old.  He is a Husky/Brittany Spaniel Mix.  He was by far the most high strung dog we've had.  He's HUGE and jumps when you come in the door.  He hates getting his toe nails touched, much less clipped, so we've tried making opportunities for him to "grind" the toenails as often as possible.  He is a majestic looking gorgeous dog with green/orange eyes. 

Max is the puppy.  He is 5 months old and is a Husky/Short Haired Regular Collie Mix.  He's adorable and is looking more and more like a full Collie.  He has eye lashes too!  LOL  I've always wanted a collie and now, through the grace of someone on Freecycle, we have a collie.

Training in our home has not just consisted of training Max.  We've had to deal with the queen bee wanting to stay hiding behind the couch all hours of the day.  After Max goes to bed, she comes out of hiding.  We have been doing the usual puppy training with Max where we're potty training, telling him "No!", not allowing him to eat all the time or have access to water.  In other words, giving him boundaries, rules and limitations. 

Strangely enough, we have to keep reinforcing rules boundaries and limitations with Katie.  It's a daily thing.  We're now able to get all 3 dogs together laying down.  LOL  My DD took this picture of the 3 of the dogs together yesterday:

Katie is the black one, Rustie is the fluff that Max is laying on.  LOL 

Needless to say, it's been an interesting month here at our home.  With the growth of our homestead comes change.  We're faced daily with challenges like everyone else, but these challenges pale in comparison to those that my Savior faced during his trial and crucifixion.  Praise God we are forgiven. 

Have a wonderful day in the Lord.

Blessings,

Regina