Personal Reflections

I’m back home and done with travelling for a few months. While I have loved meeting new friends and teaching in other states, it has taken several days to feel like balance has been restored around here. As my sweetest of husbands said (more than once)… “we fall apart when you are not around”. My being gone is a relatively rare occurrence…. I am the homebody after all. Neither one of us is ever gone for long, but in our 25 year marriage, he has had to travel much more than I have. 

Charlie and I are a team in the truest sense. There are so many things he is skilled in that I simply fumble thru with mediocrity. Likewise, just as God intended for us, I am adept in areas that Charlie manages (with determination, if not skill) in my my absence. One of these is animal husbandry. My first college degree was in Animal Science from Texas A&M (’89). Aside from the enormous amount of science preparing me for pharmacy school, that degree has served our lifestyle well. Soil health, animal husbandry, genetics, nutrition…. all of that. While I did pack in the practical knowledge during those college years, it did not give me the gift I use the most….. intuition. I say this humbly, but I have the gift of being able to (usually) intuitively manage our ‘farmily’…. and in doing so, we have a remarkably smoothly run farm…. despite the diversity of animals. We co-exist… all of us… fur, feathers, two, and four legged alike.

Back in April, we had one of the roughest months emotionally that we’ve ever had. I still can’t even think about it without getting tears in my eyes. Among other things, we lost two dogs in two weeks to cancer…. one expected (at the ripe old age of ~15), and the other, completely unexpected, at the still fairly young age of ~9. Because I’m just not ready to put that story to text yet, I’ll leave it at that. The younger dog was one of the best dogs we’ve ever had the privilege of sharing our lives with.His name was Foster, and he was a rescue…. part Border collie and part Australian shepherd. Because he was so incredibly intuitive himself, he quickly became an asset to our farm, and became my right hand dog when it came to working with the cows. He learned (on his own, I might add) what I needed from him, and did an amazing job of keeping the cows from crowding me ever much. In losing Foster, I lost a pet, a friend, and literally, a ranchhand. The loss was tremendous.

Although we were no where near ready to open our hearts to a new dog, I knew we needed to put feelers out quickly to fill the position that Foster left behind. Let me tell you, his pawprints were big to fill. We first looked for a rescue, and then expanded our search to include “working cow dogs for sale” when all we heard was the sound of crickets in our preliminary search.

“seeking adult dog, preferably of  Border Collie or Australian Shepherd breeding. Must get along with other dogs, cats, chickens, horses, and cows…… and squirrels (surely you see my problem here). Dog must be savvy and show instinct to work cattle. While we prefer to adopt/rescue, we will pay for a trained dog if necessary (the first time we have EVER considered doing this, but our need was huge).

A week into our search, I got the following email: “we have a dog that may interest you. She is a return to our rescue group and is seeking a home in the country. She is half Australian Shepherd, and half Great Pyr. She shows strong herding instinct with sheep and goats, but not sure about cows. Gets along well with other dogs and cats… not so sure about chickens or squirrels.”

We agreed to give her a try. Her name is Daisy, and her two week trial period became a lifetime commitment for us. She is not perfect, but she’s growing by leaps and bounds in terms of workability with the cows. (Again… another story for another day!)

I bet you’re wondering where all of these tidbits of stories tie in together? Daisy is an incredibly smart dog. She is one of those dogs who has the ability to do whatever is asked of her….but she is like a kid who is so smart that she thinks she needs to be the “boss of all of that”…. ie: she wants to be the Alpha Dog.

Memo to Daisy: Ain’t nobody gonna be the Alpha Dog, but Mama Dog.

Memo to Mama Dog: If you aren’t around, Daisy Dog volunteers  & assumes immediate responsibility for said position vacated by Mama Dog.

​The interesting thing about all of this is that if I go run errands, or leave for the day, all is well and my leadership is not questioned. Daisy behaves and defers to Charlie (most of the time). But apparently (as evidenced by my leaving…. really leaving…. and coming back 3 times in 21 days), once she thinks I’m out of the picture, she assumes the crown, the cape, the scepter…. and becomes a ruling army of one.

• She is marginally obedient to Charlie’s commands (even when I am home).
• She challenges our livestock guard dog, Lilly… every chance she gets.

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• She runs the bull (and other cows… but especially the bull) when she knows she shouldn’t.

In effect, when I’m gone…. Daisy becomes a bully. The personality of the other animals consequently changes as well, and it’s not for the better.

​Animal psychology is so very interesting to me, and I wish I could speak to them. I’m hoping that animals speak when I get to heaven so that I can have some of these conversations and figure all of this out! Daisy adores me. She worships the ground I walk on, and she is already my #1 protector….but she challenges leadership of both man and dog when I am not around.

Today, I’ve been home for a week, and things are back to normal. She is obedient and doting on my presence. I can feel the other animals relaxing their posture when she is around.

It’s good to be loved, but this power struggle in my absence is concerning. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Yesterday was such an awesome day! So fun…. Henri brought the kid(s) down for a meet and greet. Honestly, I’m not sure if there were one or two babies. Briefly, it seemed like there were squirrel sightings all over our porch. In retrospect, I believe there might have been two. Teenage squirrels are not the best climbers. It’s definitely a skill that is honed with age and experience. Neither is jumping and leaping….. I would have to give them a solid ‘B’…. and that only for attempting everything their mama asked of them.

Henri chattered pretty much incessantly all morning. She scolded, coached, and cajoled them, and then would talk to me. Her body language was so very interesting. She wanted to make it very clear to ‘the kids’ that I was a friend. Henri jumps on me occasionally…. maybe once or twice a month. Yesterday, she bounded back and forth between my shoulder and the porch railing as if to say, “See, she’s harmless!”. She also spent time with the dogs, talking to them ….. venturing close to them…. and even once left the porch railing to run between their legs.

In addition to introducing the teens to me (and the dogs), Henri also made a clear effort to show them the food stations, where the water was, and how to get from the roof to the porch (there are a few ways she does this). The coaching lasted well into the afternoon…. a surprise……she usually takes a siesta during the heat of the day. I’m fairly certain she was giving them all the info so that she could shut off the free ride/milk supply. They are about the age Henri was when we began acclimating her to living outdoors. I guess we handled that right as adoptive squirrel parents!

​I’m praying that these little guys/gals will decide to relocate to the trees behind our house and not choose to live on the porch with Henri. Everything I read states that squirrels generally prefer solitude vs running around as a pack (technically, a scurry)….. and I hope it’s true.  I don’t want to get a reputation as the crazy squirrel lady!

Henri has not yet revealed her babies to us. We can tell they are still nursing, so we just have to assume they are ok. Surely we’ll see them soon! Squirrels are such interesting little characters. They truly are one of God’s cheeky little creatures….. full of sass and impertinence. As vulnerable as they are, you’ve got to give them credit for ingenuity and confidence…. well, until their indecisiveness kicks in when they are trying to cross a road! I was curious about literary greats who used squirrels in their works. (Don’t ask me why… it was a squirrel moment for me.)  Sadly, squirrels don’t seem to portend anything happy or good according to a list I found…. at least in literature. But for me, they are a symbol of joy with a dash of bossiness thrown in for good measure! I did find this poem in my search. It’s clever. I read a fair amount of RWE in high school and college. He too apparently saw sass and impertinence in our fox tailed friend! The Mountain And The Squirrel By Ralph Waldo Emerson The mountain and the squirrel Had a quarrel, And the former called the latter “Little prig.” Bun replied, “You are doubtless very big; But all sorts of things and weather Must be taken in together To make up a year And a sphere. And I think it no disgrace To occupy my place. If I’m not so large as you, You are not so small as I, And not half so spry: I’ll not deny you make A very pretty squirrel track. Talents differ; all is well and wisely put; If I cannot carry forests on my back, Neither can you crack a nut.” Source ​Y’all have a blessed day,  Liz

Henri continues to keep her babies hidden, although we can hear them now. I’m pretty confident that we’ll soon see how many she has. She leaves them for longer periods of time, and is spending time relaxing on the porch with us, the cats, and the dogs. The interaction between species really is an amazing thing to witness.

Here’s a few pics from one of our afternoons together. She is a wild squirrel now, and much like a temperamental cat, she chooses when and where she wants interaction. There are days that she is incredibly affectionate and wants petting, and there are other days where she just wants food and a brief hello. Aren’t we all like that, really?

​We don’t push her,  we just appreciate her presence. I’m still toying with getting her spayed, and really need to start investigating my options (ie: look for an exotic animal vet that will do it). Otherwise, we’ll be rehoming youngsters for the rest of our lives!

I’ve been so busy this last month that I’ve barely had time to come up for air. I feel like I’ve left so many discussions hanging. And now, I’m so far behind, that in order to be sequential, I’d have to write about six posts just to get you caught up on current affairs on the farm. Sheesh. May and June are just flying by! That said, this post is going to be a mish mash of current affairs…. cliff notes country style! 
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Garden Warfare You may recall my frustration with cucumber beetles. I’m happy to report that my non toxic mixture of beetle repellent worked remarkably well. It at least allowed us to get past the tender seedling age unscathed. As you can see, my garden is a hot mess of success. We were out of town for about 8 days (that will definitely be a different post!), and Lord have mercy on these weed pulling hands. We’ve got a lotta pickin’ and pullin’ to do! I’m harvesting peppers, beans, tomatoes, onions, garlic, CUCUMBERS and zucchini with many varieties of squash nearing pick-ability. My melons are looking good but no where near picking yet. They got such a late start. Our blackberries started coming in last week, so we’ve got at least a month of intensive picking before that season ends.

Volunteers: There came a time during the dark days of beetle domination that I feared my garden would fail this year. I was literally feeling victorious when ANYTHING survived beetle mastication. I guess that’s why I let every little volunteer tomato plant grow where it was naturally sown last fall. I literally did not plant a single one of these plants. In fact, I thinned them tremendously prior to our eight days of absence… but you could never tell it. Anyone need any tomatoes? We are about to be tomato heaven around here.

Teen Mom: Henri has still not given us any clue as to exactly where she’s stashed her babies. She comes down daily and asks for food, and I can tell she’s tired, as all mothers of multiples must be. She’s even taken to hiding her nuts closer to home…. tucking them here and there on the porch. One afternoon, she came down and asked for nuts. I gave her a few…. she ran over to a spot of sun on the porch rail and lay down for about five minutes with the nut in her mouth, almost like she was too tired to eat. She seemed to relish the sunshine,  silence, and stillness.

 I had a talk with her and told her that this is what happens when you get frisky with male squirrels. Hopefully, (doubtfully) she will take my advice to heart. I am still looking for a vet who is willing to spay a semi wild squirrel….

I’m already speaking of June in the past tense… even tho it’s the 21st, it seems like July is already here knocking on our door. The garden tugs at our time persistently like an impatient child and the summer heat has settled in today, the longest day of the year. I love the long daylight hours, I’m a farmgirl who easily could throw her clock out the window and simply live according to when the sun rises and sets, if only the rest of the world could too! More later ya’ll…. I’m headed out to pull weeds.