Full speed ahead for some of us

The rainy season seems to have hit us in a warm, sometimes drizzly way.

This means that our sheep stay indoors most of the day and the hens get to rule the outside world. Mindy, Mandy, Molly and My do not mind this at all as they have spent an eventful summer outside in the sun, and are now ready for a rest. The summer has been quite a roller coaster ride for them, when you think about it.

First I had the brilliant idea to add some more sheep to the flock. That was a mistake, if ever there was one! Then we got five new hens to the stable who were the most hyper active hens we had ever met. This, not long after Eric had moved house, so all the hens were already a bit restless. Adding five small fluffy canon balls to the mix made the stable a noisy place, for a while. Then chicks had to be tended to and the summer went on its merry way.

Mr. Chip died and that was sad for us all and our sweet natured sheep kept looking out for him. They had loved our dear dog and his slightly slow movements so when a bigger, bouncier dog moved in I feared this was it. I had a vision of four sad sheep, backpacks filled with hay, heading off to walk the sandy roads; sad and let down by yet another of my brilliant idea's....

So the rain came at the right time. Our four sheep have had a break, been fussed over by us and stopped stressing over Ebba the dog. They still think that she has nothing on Mr. Chip but at least they are no longer sad about her being here.

The hens have probably not noticed Ebba yet. They are digging worms, splashing in puddles and generally making a mess. The three ladies are wandering around doing longer walks every day. They will soon be as athletic as the rest of the gang. They sing as they go along and that is good for us, as we know where they are. We just have to hope that Ebba's presence keeps the foxes away from our yard...

Meanwhile Ebba is settling in. Our bed is still her safe haven so that's where she hides her treasures. One night I found a dried pigs ear in my bed, dear husband gets mittens, socks and her toys. Yesterday morning I woke up, wondering about something uncomfortable under my pillow. It was Ebba's chewy bone. As I have a slight cold, I had not smelled it but Ebba was really pleased and proceeded to munch on it, at 6am, in our bed... Dear husband keeps suggesting a dog-training course, for me, not for our friendly dog. So we wash a lot of sheets and are getting to know each other and we miss Mr. Chip a lot. Life goes on and Ebba seems to like us and that is the main thing.

A friend sent me some good reading material about training a young, frightened dog. I learned a lot from them. After sounding like a distressed puppy every time Ebba chewed on me, she stopped. She did give me funny looks for a while afterwards but started on the furniture instead. Now the table legs are wrapped in up newspapers and it look quite funky.

Walks in the forest are done briskly, to put it nicely. Ebba still does not trust trees to stay put so we fly past them. Smells and small forest mice add to the excitement, as we speed along. Waterlogged areas are scary places, but when Ebba met the sea she did not even hesitate, she just plunged in. As she was on a lead I nearly went after her but we had fun and that's all that matters, at the moment. And now we know that we have a sea loving dog....

The paddock is turning out to be the best invention, ever. After a day of concentrating and working out what we are trying to achieve, Ebba gets to run and play with dear husband. She is a fast dog and to see her run, laugh and play is heartwarming to say the least. The shear joy of it all is what it is all about, at the end of the day. We might not walk in an orderly fashion yet but we do have fun trying to get there. In the meantime we'll just hold on for dear life and pray that our walks are devoid of deer and hares, as I'll never keep up with their speed. Dear Ebba will, there is no doubt about that.

We have set up the outdoor bird feeding places again. This means that some seeds go to the actual bird population that has decided to stay the winter. Most seeds find their way into the hiding places of our squirrels. I say "our squirrel's" but we do not claim them, they found us...

We got our first Christmas flower, an Amaryllis and it gave the house a cozy advent time feel. Do enjoy the long evenings and be well.

Feeding bread to ducks is actually dangerous to the birds. White bread, especially, can cause a condition called "angel wing" to ducks. Their wings start pointing out, instead of staying in line with their body and they will loose the ability to fly. This soon kills them. It's the lack of vitamin D and E and manganese in their diet that does it. White bread is just junk food to them. Not even birds thrive on carbohydrates. Cracked corn, birdseed mix or oats are more in line of what ducks need to keep healthy. Now we know that.