MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Merry Christmas, everyone! Santa was good to us this year - we just got 3 new alpacas from Dougherty Creek Farms! They are Silly Millie, DCF Veronica, and DCF Kacie. We are really excited about these girls. Pictured at left is Silly Milly and Kacie, the mother / daughter pair. Both are beautiful. Milly is dense, straight, and conformationally strong. Kacie is still very young, but she looks like she'll have the same excellent conformation. Kacie's fiber is fine and showing some crimp, and we're hoping she'll do well next spring in the show ring.





Veronica is pictured at right. (We call her Roni). We are tremendously excited about this animal. Roni is dense, crimpy, with an incredible staple lenghth. Roni's fleece is incredibly soft - it's hard to keep your hands off of her. Roni will be bred to Ferrari's Excel later this spring, and that should be an outstanding cria!

May you all have safe travels this Christmas. In case you're wondering why I'm blogging on Christmas morning, it's the calm before the storm. My boys haven't gotten up yet!!

New website / socks & scarves

A quick December update:

-Our redesigned website has been unveiled! Check it out, and tell us what you think: www.offbeatacres.com. Paul and I did it together (he handled the artwork / layout, and I did the text and pages). Let us know if you need help with your website, we're contemplating a side venture to our farm.

-Thank you to everyone who bought socks and scarves for Christmas!! Our sales were outstanding this year. We are even starting to see repeat customers, who can't get enough alpaca wear!

Hate Christmas shopping at the mall?

Come out and visit our farm store! We have a nice selection of Extreme Alpaca socks, casual socks, and dress socks, as well as scarves, yarn, and roving.

Alpaca fiber is known for being luxuriously soft and warm. Alpaca socks and scarves will keep your feet warm in our cold Wisconsin winters.

The yarn and roving is made from our own Offbeat Acres alpacas. If you enjoy knitting or spinning, there is nothing like working with real alpaca fiber.

Prices range from $16 - $26 for socks, $16 for roving, $26 for a 200 yard skein of yarn, and $30 for scarves.

Avoid the hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping, enjoy some peaceful country air, and do your Christmas shopping at Offbeat Acres. We will also deliver to the Madison area. Gift wrapping available too!

Lil Willow

Willow lost her battle over the weekend. It is sad, but it's also part of this business. Alpacas are ultimately livestock, and stuff like this is going to happen.

There are a few silver linings. Willow did not suffer, or go through a major decline. She was a little slow to get in the barn for the morning feeding, but that's it. She was sunning herself in the pasture, and it looked liked she died in her sleep.


The other silver lining came from the UW Vet Hospital. The vet who saw her back in August told us he would be interested in doing a necropsy when she passed. We didn't think much of it at the time, but decided to take him up on the offer. Paul said the doc was very excited to get her, and promised to treat her with utmost respect. The doc is doing research on alpacas with heart conditions, and will be able to learn a lot by comparing Willow's X-rays and test results from her August exam with the actual heart and how it's grown over the past few months.

Good bye, Willow. Rest in peace.

The Lord

We have purchased our first herdsire. Actually, he's a Junior Herdsire, which means he's too young to breed yet, but we're hoping all goes well.

His name is Robasia's Lord Muireach. We call him either "The Lord" or "Muireach". I have some other pretty obnoxious names for him too (My Pretty Boy, for example). We'll start breeding him next year. His first "date" has already been arranged - ask for details sometime.

Rescue update

We haven't had any foster dogs or puppies for a while. My husband's stepfather passed away suddenly in June, and we "inherited" his 12 year old Dalmatian, Moses. Moses is aggressive towards new animals (no trips to the dog park for him). As such, we've decided it's a bad idea to bring new dogs / puppies to the house every few weeks. We'll start fostering again when Moses passes (and let's face it - he's a 12 year old Dalmatian with bad kidneys, so this probably isn't a long term commitment).

My sweet baby Zigmund (see post from 7/22/09) is finally over his mange, and is up for adoption. Check out Shelter from the Storm's web site if you're interested in adopting him. He's such a couch potato, for a young dog. The adoptable dogs are listed in alpabetical order, so of course, he's last on the list.

The new guard dog

We decided to get another Livestock Guardian dog. Patty is great, but she is getting old, and working dogs tend to age faster than house dogs. We wanted to get a puppy while Patty was still active and getting around so she could train the new dog.

Enter Bucky. She is 3/4 Pyrenees, 1/4 Newfoundland. We got her from some alpaca friends of ours in Holland, Michigan, at Sunset Dreams Alpacas. This is the day we brought her home. She was about 14 weeks old then.



The training seems to be going well; Bucky idolizes Patty, and is often seen trotting around the pasture right behind her. She rarely barks, too, which is nice.

One night, we were laying in bed, and we heard a big dog bark. We were a little freaked out because it was unfamiliar. It was Bucky - her little puppy bark was long gone, and she was barking at some perceived threat. Patty was still in the barn, so this was Bucky protecting her herd all by herself.

NAFD Update

Thank you to everyone who came out during National Alpaca Farm Days! We had a wonderful weekend, and great turnout.

Thank you to the fiber artists who came out and share their craft!

Thank you to Cicely Combs who shared her artwork!

Thank you to Lynne Johnson of Sauk Creek Alpacas who brought lots of alpaca knowledge (and some of her beautiful fiber).

All in all, it was a great weekend. Stop back next year - we'll have 3 crias to watch, and a lot more fiber on display! Drop a note if you need socks or scarves for Christmas - info@offbeatacres.com. We'll even gift wrap them!

National Alpaca Farm Days!

Directions from Madison:
Take I-94 East towards Milwaukee
Get off at Exit 244 Hwy N - Cottage Grove / Sun Prairie
Turn left at the bottom of the ramp, northbound on Hwy N
Take the first right onto Hwy TT (four way stop)
Go 3 miles, and turn left on Pierceville Rd
Our farm is the third place on the left.

Directions from Milwaukee:
Take I-94 West towards Madison
Get off at Exit 244 Hwy N - Cottage Grove / Sun Prairie
Turn right at the bottom of the ramp, northbound on Hwy N
Take the first right onto Hwy TT (four way stop)
Go 3 miles, and turn left on Pierceville Rd
Our farm is the third place on the left.

Signs will be posted, once you get off the Interstate!

Come - meet the alpacas!

Offbeat Acres is proud to be participating in National Alpaca Farm Days on September 26 & 27.

We are located at 5453 Pierceville Road, Cottage Grove, WI. National Alpaca Farm Days is a great, free opportunity for the public to come meet alpacas and learn more about these inquisitive, unique animals.

We will also feature barn tours, pictures with the alpacas, fiber demonstrations, local artists, refreshments, and fresh country air. All activities are free.

Alpaca yarn, roving, socks, and scarves will be available for purchase. $1 from every pair of socks and scarf sold will be donated to Shelter from the Storm, an all breed dog and cat rescue serving the greater Madison area. Painting, jewelry, and other art will also be for sale.

For more information, contact Erin Egan, (608) 219-6369, e-mail info@offbeatacres.com or visit www.offbeatacres.com.

Willow update

Willow is doing fine. She's up and running around, and is cute as a button.

Right now, we're treating every day as a gift....

Our next project

I hate this building. Really. I hate it. It's abandoned, it's got a hole in the roof, and the back wall is leaning precariously. It's also in the way of any future additions to our home. And, did I mention the snakes?

Unfortunately, this first thing people say when they visit our farm is "What is that building? It's so cool / neat / awesome!".

Fine. You win. We're going to see if we can save it. My husband's has wanted to save it for the past few years, but I could never figure out what we'd do with it. Now, I think it may be the Offbeat Acres Farm Store / Art Gallery.

Hopefully, when we move in, the snakes will move out.........

Another bad day

We took Willow for an ultrasound today. When her heart murmur was diagnosed a week ago, we initially decided against it. We changed our mind over the weekend, just so we knew exactly what we were dealing with.

The news is bad. Willow's heart has 2 holes in it, and there's also a problem with the vein connecting her heart to her lungs. (I'm probably not explaining that right, but it's close enough). The vet doesn't think she'll live more than a year, and eventually die from congestive heart failure.

We brought her home and put her back in the pasture with mom. Now, we watch and wait. Over the past few weeks, she's been gaining weight and been more active, so I thought she was getting better. Now, I know how wrong (stupidly optimistic) I was.

I guess the silver lining is this: when she passes, we will know nothing could have prevented this. Our vet at the UW is also doing research on heart problems in camelids, so he took some extra pictures of her for his research. I guess that's something to cling too, but I'm still sad.

Cria update

The baby has a heart murmur. We thought something was up, because she spends an awful lot of time just laying around in the pasture. I guess this isn't uncommon with crias that are early. The good news is that she is gaining weight and growing. I've also heard that the murmur is more pronounced as it's starting to close. The vet didn't notice it during the first vet check, and now my husband can feel it. Maybe that's a good sign. Until she's up and running around, I'm going to worry about her.

We named her Willow Nelson, by the way. Let's hope I get to see that name printed on an ARI certificate someday.

SURPRISE!

We have a new cria! Baby was born about 3 weeks early, but looks healthy. She's standing up, walking around, nursing, and even weighs 1.2 pounds more than her sister from last year, who was full term.

My Ziggy

This is Zigmund. We call him Ziggy. He's a foster dog who has been here since the end of May, and is a wonderful dog.

Ziggy had terrible mange when we first got him, but is looking really good now. Ziggy's personality can best be described as a grumpy old man - he knows what he wants, he's a bit gassy, and can be gruff. But, if you're his "person", he's a total sweetheart.

I Gotta Pick the Raspberries....

Remember that old Dunkin Donuts commercial, with the guy who kept saying "It's time to make the doughnuts". Well, it's raspberry season. Every day, I find myself saying, "It's time to pick the raspberries".

This is our own personal patch, so it's a bit uneven, and you have to climb around some obstacles too. But, if any of you are in the mood for raspberries, come on out. You can pick and keep whatever you pick. It would be nice to have a day off...

Don't worry - our new patch is in a nice, flat, open field. That is one of the lessons we learned.

Bam Bam, Striking a Pose

Check out our website - www.offbeatacres.com. Notice any resemblance between the narrator and this guy?

How can it be July already?

This has been a really good summer for us, so far. Most of our new trees are growing really well, and about half of the raspberries. We've had a decent amount of rain and nice temps too. The new pasture is beautiful, and the alpacas love it. Looking back, I can't believe the ugly patch of dirt they were on last year. Oh well - live and learn.

We're on Facebook now too, so feel free to friend us. Search under Erin Egan. There's some different pictures up there.

Raspberries are in, and we've also got a bumper crop of tart cherries. This is still our personal patch. Next year, though, the raspberries growing next to the alpaca pasture should be ready for public picking! That's pretty cool.

I am keeping up on the garden better, and flower beds too. We now have 4 acres of grass to mow (our lawn plus the new pasture). We've also got 6 foster puppies right now. It's all a lot of work, but it's also a lot of fun.

More pics will be posted one of these days. Last weekend, 4 fighter jets from the base in Madison flew right over too. That was awesome.

Ah...summer

Sorry for neglecting the blog. Here's what we've been doing:

-We planted 21 trees and over 50 raspberry bushes. Most are growing nicely, and the orchard is sure taking shape.
-Our neighbor planted 2 acres of orchard grass / pasture for us. That is coming along really good. (Now Paul has to fence it all it!)
-PAUL LANDED HIS FIRST CLIENT! How cool is that? He's doing a logo for a fellow alpaca farm in Illinois!
-Chewy died. I'm still sad. We lost a cat (long story). We have two new foster puppies, adopted a new cat for the boys (to replace their cat who died in March), and inherited an 11 year old Dalmation when Paul's stepfather passed away. Phew.
-My garden is in. I promise, this will be the year that I keep it weeded......or not....

As always, folks, stop out for a visit if you're in the neighborhood. Sabetha's next cria is due in mid-August, and we're planning another open house in September. I'll post pictures soon!

Before and After

Shearing is done for the year. Check out the before and after pictures of Bam Bam.


Wish I could lose 6 pounds, just like that. We do have all the raw fiber sitting around for the next few weeks. Shoot an e-mail if you're interested in it. Otherwise, we'll skirt it and send some to the fiber co-op and the rest will go to the mill for yarn / roving.

Pasta pup update

I saw Spaghetti at Petsmart this weekend. He was one of the pasta pups. Lord, is that dog BIG now. I had my dog, Peri, along, and the two of them sure remembered each other. It was neat to see that.

We might be taking in two new pups soon. We're going to meet them in the next few days, and will make up our minds then.

My Poor Garden

By early May, my garden is tilled, mulched, and cold weather crops are planted. Until this year. We've been doing so much stuff with the farm that my is sitting unused. Be patient, my friend, I'll be out soon (but not this weekend).

On Saturday, we're planting the new trees and raspberries. On Sunday, we're shearing. It's another big weekend for us.

We have managed to find enough time to pick the asparagus!

You gotta start somewhere

This is a picture of our new pasture / orchard. I know, it's not very exciting. But, we do have grass growing. In the upcoming weeks, we'll plant the nursery stock and add more fencing for new pastures.

The tree in the foreground is one of the peach trees we planted last year. The blossoms are a good sign, and we may have a crop next year!

Now what?

We are about to embark on the next step of our adventure at Offbeat Acres. There are 20+ trees and a whole pile of raspberry bushes waiting to be planted. Thankfully, they are dormant bareroot nursery stock, so time is on our side (for a few weeks, anyway). We've had to wait for the ground to dry out too.

So, if any of you need something to do this weekend, head on out....and bring a shovel!

No More Puppies ?!?!?

I almost forgot the biggest news of the weekend: the last pasta pup FINALLY got adopted this weekend. My older son started crying when he heard that she wasn't coming back again for another week. That's definitely the hardest part of fostering: seeing your fosters leave for their new homes.

Oh well, a few hours later, there was an e-mail from someone in our rescue group, asking us if we were interested in another litter, as they're on the way to pick up a mom and her three puppies. Stay tuned - we haven't decided yet.

Weekend Recap

We survived our first alpaca show. Sweet Caroline got a ribbon. (Don't get too excited - she was 6th out of 6). However, we heard a lot of good comments about her, and are hoping her fiber will get even better after she is shorn in a few weeks. It was a really nice show, too, and we enjoyed a lot of foot traffic being on the main floor. Our other alpaca that went to the show, Hula Honey, got the gate (no ribbon - there were more than 6 alpacas in her class). I have to tell you folks, there is some stiff competition out there and we need to make careful breeding decisions.

We met some really fun people at the show too. It's been a year that we've been in the business, and still no regrets.

The boys, Bam Bam and Titanium, also did the Breakfast on the Farm at the UW. I think they enjoyed themselves, but they did start to get a little annoyed after the third hour. We sold a lot of socks and a scarf, and gave away a lot of magnets, so it was a good outing for us too.

It's GMAF Time!

The Offbeat Acres alpacas will be out and about this weekend. On Friday morning, Titanium and Bam Bam will appear on the Channel 3 morning show, promoting the Great Midwest Alpaca Fest. We're showing Caroline and Hula at the show this weekend too.

Stop by and visit us! We're in stall 537, right inside the North Entrance on the main floor. You may even get a lovely parting gift!

Farewell, Chewy

My dog died today. I am very sad.

Chewy has been part of my family for the past 12 1/2 years. I got him when he was 9 weeks old. I was just 23 myself, fresh out of college and living completely on my own for the first time.

Chewy was with me through my first marriage and divorce. I wanted him to be the ring bearer at my first wedding, and my ex mother-in-law nixed the idea. Maybe that should have been a clue?

Chewy was with me during my single years, when I was all alone here on the farm. His big, booming bark made me feel better, especially when I heard strange noises at night.

Chewy WAS in my second wedding. I did it right the second time around.


Chewy was with we when I had my own kids, and handled them with grace.

Chewy was the dog that made me like dogs. I've always been a cat person, but his quiet dignity and loyalty won me over. Wherever I went in the house, Chewy was there. When I was cooking, he camped out under the kitchen table. In the living room, he had a special place right behind my chair. At night, he slept right next to my bed.

Chewy even got me out of a speeding ticket, once. I was going 23 mph over the speed limit (I know better now). It was summer, and the windows were down. The cop approached my car with a stern look on his face. He saw Chewy's snout sticking out the back window and got a big smile on his face. The next thing I know, the cop is petting my dog. Done - no ticket for me! :)

Chewy was NOT the perfect dog, though. He had a stubborn streak a mile wide. When he wanted to lay outside in the sun, there was nothing you could do or say to make him come. He'd take a number and get back to you, eventually. He also had allergies that are all too common with golden retrievers, and would lose most of the fur on his underside every summer. I had to buy a new vaccuum every few years, just to keep up with the shedding.


I am grateful that I've been able to spend this time with him. He would have been 13 on July 24, which is old for a golden. We were fortunate that he was active and happy, up until the end. Last weekend, he went running with me. Two days ago, he was out laying in the sun (again) while my boys climbed their first trees. My youngest made me take a picture of Chewy. Had I known it would be his last, I would have done a better job. Life is cruel sometimes, I guess.

Yesterday morning, he didn't get up with me. For a dog that usually follows me around the house (and down to the barn), that was unusual. He missed the morning run yesterday too. The boys and I ran errands, and when we got home in the afternoon, Chewy was laying on the kitchen floor with his hind legs out straight. Something definitely wasn't right. A few hours later, he couldn't walk anymore.

My husband and I talked about taking him to the emergency clinic, but decided against it. Chewy didn't seem to be in any pain, so we decided to wait for our vet on Monday. We covered him with blankets, gave him water, and carried him outside every few hours.

Chewy died in his sleep during the night. We buried him out back, next to the fields where he used to run. I'll always remember his smile, and the dog that made me a dog person too. I love you Chewy, and I'll never forget you.

My dog died today. I am very sad.

Alpacas On Parade!

Next weekend, April 25th and 26th, is a big weekend for Offbeat Acres. We'll be showing animals at our very first alpaca show, the Great Midwest Alpaca Fest. Caroline and Hula will be there, and we're hoping they do well.

On Sunday, the 26th, Titanium and Bam Bam (the Clowns) will be at the UW, for the Wisconsin Women in Agriculture Breakfast on the Farm. They'll be part of the petting zoo / animal display.

Both events are in Madison. Click on the links above for more information. My husband or I should be at both events, so stop by and say hi. We'll even give you a special gift from Offbeat Acres!

I Spoke Too Soon

A few posts ago, I was celebrating because all the puppies were gone. We dropped off the last two puppies on Saturday at 10 a.m., and said our good-byes. My husband cleaned up their pen and took down the gate. At 2 p.m., we got a phone call. One of the puppies was stood up by potential adopters. Did we want to keep fostering her?

Well...since there's only one puppy left, she's living in the house now. It's been three more weeks, and still, no one has adopted her. We're really surprised, since she's a very sweet, very calm girl (especially for a puppy), and gets along well with kids and cats alike. She's also got superpowers, from hanging out with her buddy Spiderman all day long.

Seriously, folks, if any of you are thinking of getting a puppy, this is one nice dog. She is part pit bull (mom was a pit mix, dad was some type of shepherd), and she has terrible puppy gas (we're talking paint peeling), but that's about it. She's even crate trained already (but not housebroken)! And no, I'm not keeping her - that would put us at FIVE dogs, which is getting ridiculous!

We're on the web

Check out our website: www.offbeatacres.com!

It's pretty stylized, because my husband is an illustrator. And yes, it's still a work in progress. You're getting a sneak peak. What do you think?

It's April

Spring is here.....and soon, our fruit trees will be too!

We've ordered another 20 trees, including peaches, plums, apples, pears and paw paws. Hey, a place called Offbeat Acres really needs paw paw trees, doesn't it? (The fruit tastes like banana custard, but apparently, the flowers smell like rotting flesh in the spring).

We're also getting another 50 raspberry plants, and some blackberries too. On one hand, I'm really looking forward to seeing all my new nursery stock. On the other hand, it's going to be a lot of work.

Hey, if you're free, we'll always take volunteers! We may even send you home with some alpaca beans for your flower beds!

We're 12 for 13!

The last of the puppies left today, to go to their forever homes. So far, we've fostered 13 dogs, and 12 of the 13 have been adopted. The other one, Periwinkle, was just too good to pass up and lives here with us.

My son thinks we'll get another litter right away. It's really hard explaining to a four year old boy that puppies aren't available at the local Wal-Mart. We just have to wait until another mama and litter needs our help.

It WILL be nice to be able to park in the garage again!

The pasta pups

We started out with ten puppies, back in January. Mom went back to the shelter in February (she's NOT cat friendly, and we have 3 cats). The rest of the litter was spayed / neutered and finished their shots in early March. They've had exactly 2 outings to meet their prospective families.

We now have 3 puppies left. Two of the three are looking at the camera in the picture below. My son calls the black and tan puppy "Boss" because, well, she's the queen of the litter. Aren't they cute?

What a Face...

Here's a perfect example of how our boys have earned their nickname, "The Clowns".

Oh, S%@t!

So, the kids were in bed and I was sitting on the couch, enjoying some peace and quiet and reading the paper. My husband was down at the barn, watering the alpacas as he does every night. He marches in the living room and says "Put on your boots".

Huh?

Turns out I hadn't *exactly* closed the gate on the girls' pen. Fortunately, it was the gate that opened to the main part of the barn, and the main barn doors were closed. They had free range of our barn for a day, and created a new dung pile right next to the tractor. They made a huge mess of a bale of straw (looks like they made their own bedding), and our Pyr had some fun too. This is the first time our alpacas had escaped, and I definitely think we got off easy. I should have wondered why I didn't see them out in the pasture all day long....


Big news at Offbeat Acres - we're building our website now. It's going to be www.offbeatacres.com. I'll keep blogging too, it's just time to add a full blown website to the mix. It should be up by early April (or sooner).

Winter's Almost Over!

The past few months have been kind of nice. The down side to cold Wisconsin winters is that hauling buckets of water around isn't too fun, especially when you have snow drifts to contend with. The up side? The poop pile is frozen solid, and can't be moved. So, we haven't had that much work to do with the alpacas - until things started thawing out last weekend. Ah well, life with alpacas isn't always rosy. Fortunately, our old tractor can do some of the work.

We've registered for our first show - the Great Midwest Alpaca Fest. It's in Madison the last weekend in April. We're showing Sweet Caroline and Hula Honey. Paul is the herdsire showcase coordinator, too. Stop by and see us if you come to the show! I'm really looking forward to it, and it's nice that our first show is so close to home. I am absolutely convinced that we'll forget something (or several somethings)!

Puppies!

We've had the puppies (and mama) for 3 weeks now. They've already eaten over 100 pounds of food! Last Saturday, most weighed around 3 pounds. Today, a week later, they're around 5! I swear they get bigger every single day.


Mama's name is Noodles. She'll be leaving us in a few days, to go to the shelter. She is a very sweet dog. She is also a very strong dog - who's not too fond of cats. I am a cat person, and there are also four cats who live on the farm. Noodles will have a better chance of being adopted if she doesn't have to compete with her pups. The pups won't be ready for a few weeks yet, because they still need a round of vaccinations, as well as the spay/neuters.


The puppies are Udon, Spaghetti, Soba, Ravioli, Linguini (AKA "Guido"), Macaroni, Risotto, Rotini, Penne,and Bob....which makes.....Noodles and Company! All right, Bob doesn't exactly fit, but I ran out of pasta names, and Bob made me laugh. There are four boys and six girls, and I had to make a chart to tell them apart. Let's see how I'm doing.

In the picture above, Bob is the tan puppy with the white chest looking directly at the camera. Macaroni is to the right, and Risotto to the left. Bob is a very sweet, cuddly, quiet boy. Macaroni is a big, playful, sweet girl. Risotto is high maintenance (she whines and requires a lot of attention, and definitely earned the name).

In the picture below, Penne is the tan girl with black markings that is looking up at the bottom of the picture. Rotini is on the far right side, and is the tan puppy with a lot of black markings. Both Penne and Rotini are very energetic and playful. They like to pal around together. I think Rotini is the alpha dog of the litter.

Soba, Ravioli, Spaghetti and Udon are the black puppies in the picture. Udon has a slightly shaggier coat and is very easygoing (almost regal). Spaghetti is a black brindle, and a bit shy. Soba is the smallest dog in the litter, but does NOT act like a runt. She is very feisty. Soba also has some brindle markings. Ravioli is another small black girl, and is very sweet too.

It seems I missed Linguini (Guido) in the pictures. He's another tan boy, and earned his name because he was the biggest puppy in the box for a very long time. He's still pretty stocky, and is a lot like Udon - content to sit and watch everything around him, but he also loves to snuggle.

Bam Bam's Recovery

Bam Bam's cast has been off for about 6 weeks now. He's running around the pasture, doing donkey kicks, and playing with his buddy, Titanium. Last week, I even saw him jump straight up in the air (all four legs at once). I'd say he's doing fine.

So....

We decided to keep Periwinkle. She is such a sweet dog, and fits in with the family very well. Plus, our other house dogs are 13 and 10 years old, and aren't keeping up with me when I'm out in the woods snowshoeing. There are plenty of coyote, deer, turkeys, etc, out there (and we're really far from the house), so I like having a dog with me.

We were feeling a little guilty because adopting Peri meant we wouldn't foster again for a while. (There are 3 dogs living in our house now, and ONE more was just too much). Well....when our rescue group found out we had a farm.....and barn.....and insulated garage, one of the volunteers asked if we would be willing to take in a mama dog and puppies, if there was a need. Um, okay??

Flash forward a few weeks, and a mama dog and her ten puppies were found in an abandoned building in Milwaukee. "They don't have much time", according to an e-mail we got. I don't know exactly what that means, but I assumed it wasn't good. Needless to say, we are now fostering 11 more dogs. They live in the garage with a space heater and lots of blankets, and the group provides crates, pens, food, and medicine, so it's no big deal. We just have to feed them and socialize them until they're old enough to be adopted. Sure, we don't have room for ONE more foster dog, but we can find room for ELEVEN? You probably think we're nuts, but it's been really fun. (The picture is the calm before the storm, when they were waking up. A few minutes later, their pen was a chaotic pile of puppies).