pay someone to take a free dog?!

Update* It seems the lady I wrote to is the same woman but had herself listed as a rescue group IN Ohio but resides in new york. After a few heated emails from me trying to tell her I do not play that way. I'm giving him for free to someone I will pick out and since she is not located in Ohio I have no interest in her assistance. I have had a nice amount of interest in him on the forum I posted at. I hope that one in particular will come up and check him out. They own a Boar goat farm in southern Ohio. I checked out her site and liked what I have seen so far. I will of course make a visit to the home before he would be placed with anyone.
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I have posted Jack on a forum for a new home. I then receive this email from an old english sheepdog rescue in a far to the east state :

I have wonderful, screened homes waiting for OES's. May I call you and make arrangements to get him? Rescue can pick up some of the costs. I just hope that he is clean for transporting. That will help greatly. What is his age?

First if they had read the first line in my ad they would know he is 5 years old- notice their last question. Second is I will not PAY someone (do I have sucker on my forehead?) to place Jack in a home when I GIVING him away- FREE. No cost of money just love and attention. Clean for transportation? What makes them think I would pay for him to have them place him and then have him groomed for his new place which by the way is close to $80 for a trim and shampoo! And then to just ship him off to New York where who knows who will be at the "receiving" end- Think of the poor dog- what kind of "transportation are they speaking of? I assume not a spacious car ride. I wrote to a rescue group here in Ohio today and have not heard back so I posted him on a homestead forum too. I was honest about his nips and how Dog cant stand him. I have found that as long as he eats only sensitive diet foods he has normal bowel movements and lots of rawhides and squeaky toys keeps his sock eating disorder at bay. I just cannot take the fighting between these 2 dogs. Dawg is so small. Jack could kill him if he decides he will show he's boss. Its too hard to keep them separate.

Sweet dreams,
Tammie
p.s the font is all messed up with this entry and seems to not want to change. I do not wish to retype all of it so please excuse the mess.

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Valentine's snow

Snow day #2.
The wind stopped long enough for Panda & Lil' man to get some sled time and I left the Goat cabin door open for any inhabitants to wonder out at will. It seemed the only one who could get through the deep snow is Chia.
As you can see it is at her chest and that is not the deepest spot.

Poor Dawg was having a terrible time in the stuff. After seeing him struggle during his first of the morning break,We had to shovel a trail for him for bathroom trips throughout the day. I laughed so much seeing him sink down and hopping like a rabbit until he finally realized this spot was as good as any. Then hopping back to the house through the trail he had made. I brought Frog out to get our mail and she loved trying to climb through the snow. Dawg was of course at her side and following through her trail. I do believe he likes playing in it. He continues to stand at the door to go out on average every 1 1/2 hours. He normally goes out 3 times a day...


And how nice of these guys to finally show up at 1pm! Last time they were on our road was around 9pm last night. The Captain got stuck turning on our road then trying to get in the driveway. As you can see, this was as far as he could get in our driveway this morning - and that was because he was in reverse.


Happy Valentines day to all.
Sweet dreams,
Tammie

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Back yard zip line

I have been on a break from my blog due to a lack of ideas. All I could think of was depressing and complain filled. So after some thrift store hopping and being child free for an entire afternoon, I am back.
If you have not realized it yet- We are an unusual family and an unusual couple.
We like adventure and even more so when we have "thrown a few back". The Captain has always mentioned his desire to have a zip line and how perfect to have one coming down our hill. Other ideas were thrown around and the 2 major ones to stay are #1. a 150-250 ft cable zip line coming from the Magick tree where a step up platform will be made. No handles to hold- we are thinking a sit on style for us lazy.. I mean older people.The cable will go down the hill to the cottonwood next to the street. It may be more footage then I mentioned & my estimate may need to be revised after the season thaw. #2. a permenate stone bonfire pit complete with comfortable benchs made from those pine trees we have laying in the yard (scroll to bottom of link for pic). individual Arm rests, slightly recline back and foot stool bench to compliment the cup holders in the arms- think cylinder cut deep & wide enough for a can or bottle as would one be in the car. This of course is on top of all the landscaping I must do too. But at the days end we can hang out on the platform flyin' a farmchick pirate flag, throw a few back and fight the kids for a turn down the zip line. Life would be complete....

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I asked for it...

Alright, the snow has been falling everyday for over a week. It seems to not accumulate due to the sun poking its head out every few days. Am i complaining? Umm yes, frankly I am. It has been so cold- averaging around 18 F degrees i cant go out to play! So what better way to waste the day then to pour into that stack of seed catalogs. Then reality hit. I may not even be here to have a garden to play in. I have proclaimed to the Captain, That I will be making a trip to Florida Central gulf coast area) to visit my big brother and to take a sanity break. Of course the children will be with me and Hopefully the house will sell before summer is over because I may just not come back. I swore to not spend another winter in this place. It is just not built for our lifestyle and 3 young children. I am only half way through this winter and my misery has hit the boiling point. I will go through the motions of having one. I will start it. I will tend to it. I will look at it as something potentials may want to see instead a dirt bed. And if my brother gets his country plot, I may just bring the chickens down for him to keep (Clyde would have to stay-guess that means I should buy him a new wife-again) and bring Lady Chia for a change of scenery. That & I would just go crazy worrying whether or not the Captain is spoiling her as I do. Did he give her ice with her water or feed her in that special bowl she likes. As I have before mentioned, she is a pampered lazy goat.
All this cold blowing wind has kept the chickens snuggled inside the Goat cabin scratching up the bales of $1 hay- guy could not sell it to the horse people so He sold it to me before going to Texas for a family visit- LUCKY ME!). Clyde has made a habit of flying down to the laundry room door and wait for me to bring out their daily snack between meals. I love that he knows where to go.

So do try to keep warm in this unpredictable weather and I will soon be back to share some more interesting tidbits about life with this unusual farmchick.
Wintery dreams,
Tammie
P.S The "tinman (some #'s here)" bidder withdrew and is no longer a valid id or bidder so The Wargod will be going back up on the auction. I knew when I saw he was from Washington he would be a fraud. I wonder if there is a way to refuse bids from users who have no or very little history? Not all are frauds, but it costs $50 to just list the item and their crap costs me money and others our trust.

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The wargod has been sold...per pickup of course

The Wargod was bought by my husband in high school. It was envied by all who saw it. It was feared by the many who pissed off its driver. The smoke stacks were especially a site in winter when the truck was revved up. It is not my truck to reminisce about, but Many, many, I do mean many, stories have been told & retold at any given night the guys would get together. And a case of beer each would bring the back in the day stories out. I loved hearing them originally. But after hearing them tell stories over and over about the 10th time, it was unbearable to me.


The Wargod was put to sleep for a decade. and after my encouragement...well more like its gotta go. "Dont care where. but not in this driveway anymore" statements, Hubby decided to try Ebay. It sold for around what he wanted and more then I thought he would get for it. No questions were asked about it. No additional pictures were requested. Payment due on day of pickup. Now lets see if this bidder shows up and pays.
I understand his desire to fix it up. I really do. But come on. would you want to tow this thing on a flat bed to your new home a few states away just for it to sit for another amount of years before someone attempts to fix it up? No thanks. Besides, I want this house to have great curb appeal to get this place sold SOON! Having that truck on flat wheels is by far not pleasing to the eye or any buyer.

So we say goodbye to a treasure of his past and hope its new owner will restore the Wargod to its glory. And hopefully The Captain can be content that it will make someone else a wonderful truck full of it's potential cool kid memories as great as it had brought him.
Smoky dreams,
Tammie

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The barnyard winter pen and its Spring time plans

As I mentioned before, the pen yard has been drastically reduced not just in the animals, but in the pen size. For 5 chickens, 1 muscovy and a goat, this is just fine for the winter. Why give them a huge area where they cannot scratch away through frozen ground and why wonder far from the bales of yummy hay waiting inside a much warmer & comfortable goat cabin? The area is enough for my lazy girl anyway. She does not like to wonder the hill unless she can see me out there with her.
The snow has kept her inside the goat cabin and this is what i see everyday when i walk outdoors and look her way.
She does not like her feet in the snow and has never liked the feeling of water on her precious hoofs. She will chew away at her cud and maaaing at me to come visit- inside the cabin of course. I bring along an old lawn chair and her brush to clean up some of that long hair of hers. She loves to be brushed. Especially now that a jealous certain someone is not chewing on her ears when I do brushings.
Obviously, the goat cabin still needs painting. The window wood has been screwed on and a peek door was put in as a temp fix for the winter. I will put in a true window with chicken wire on the inside along with screen as an additional barrier from glass if it were to ever break. I need to re-measure my smaller extra 8 pane window to see if it will fit in that spot. In the spring it will get a good sanding, a thick layer of barn red paint and white trimming. The door which is an old vinyl cover wood piece from the rabbit hutch was a perfect fit for a sliding door that made a great winter temporary fix. A new dutch door will be put on in the Spring too. I plan to move all my hosta's from behind the house to the road side of the goat cabin as a way to help in its curb side look. the apple tree had a limb removed so the cabin could be placed where it is so hopefully once the tree awakens, it is not a total eyesore of a job. i will be putting the old animal house from atop the hill on freecycle this week. hopefully, it will be taken and The Captain does not get a bonfire from it. We have enough limbs from the tree cutting that should get him through till the house is bought.
On another note, i have discouraged my husband from the job in Hagerstown MD. I do not see us faring well in the realty with prices starting at$100,000 more then what our house cost to get the same size house with at least 1/2 acre. That would be a 1/3 of what we have now! Besides, I would rather move more south like Tennessee. I had him put in for a position down there in Knoxville. I just cannot take these northern winters anymore. My bones are aching and at my age that is just wrong! I want to be somewhere much warmer then ohio. Growing up with Summers avg. about 98 F degrees has spoiled me.
I am hoping for more snow to fall & stick for a weekend playing with snowshoes, sleds and some adult play with X-country skis on the FAB trails our favorite metro park has for all to enjoy. Its been awhile since The Captain & I have had time as just US.
Sweet Snowy dreams,
Tammie

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hidden in these old walls....

I am feeling much better today. I can actually walk and clean the house without feeling any pain. So in my hours of bed lounging, I noticed how filthy the trimming and window corners were next to the bed. As I begun to wipe it down a board seemed to be loose. Of course I thought "great! another thing we will have to pay to replace!". So I tried to wiggle it out to assess the whole damage. And what did I discover?

A hole! but not just any hole under a window. Oh no. No ordinary at all. I found this in the hole:

A drawer! All these years I have slept with my head just inches from this very spot. None to the wiser that these walls had yet another secret waiting to be discovered. amazing. I do not know what else to say other then purely amazing.
Sweet dreams,
Tammie

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