Happy Birthday Tilly! (And meet the goats!)

Tilly, wonderful puppy Tilly, turned one today! And at least today was better for her than the last two days. On Monday, it was the vet, vacuum, shower, and shave day, and Tuesday I left early in the morning (to pick up Tim) and didn't come home until the middle of the afternoon and she was so neglected, poor thing! Today we played outside, went to the dog park and played with friends in the woods, went to a few of her favorite stores where all her favorite employees wished her a happy birthday and she got a little popcorn, then went to a farm and again got to play with a bunch of other friendly dogs and run wild and free while us humans looked at the goats, then came home and had a visit from Nancy and her dog Bailey. I'd say that's a pretty good amount of fun for a little puppy! We bought a crab pot today and while out and about and some rotten fish heads. After walking around the yard past the chickens and the pig, Tilly sat patiently by next to me as I held the ladder for Tim while he used the meat grinder attached to the ladder to make pink slime from some of the fish heads. While we were working, Oliver The Pig walked right under Tilly's legs to see if we were going to share any of those stinky fish heads. I feel it was a Defining Moment for Tilly as she was so patient and relaxed with so many temptations around her. 

The farm we went to today was a small goat farm on the south end of the island with Mini Nubian (Nigerian Dwarf/Nubian cross) goats. We've decided on these two lovely ladies. The brown goat above is a year old, ready to be bred any time, and so very sweet and friendly. The black girl below is only four months old and still getting used to people, but her mother was producing a gallon of milk a day! The woman running the farm has been in the goat business (hobby) for the last 20 years and has three little girls who have grown up with goaty-4H projects. She was very friendly and offered to help us learn the goating basics and vet care, as well as providing stud services when the time is right.

This evening, Nancy came by on her walk with Bailey (below) to see the Farm Transformed, having not seen our place since it was first listed for sale two years ago. Nancy was delighted by the pig, saying how adorable he is, and Bailey Dog was friendly and gentle, though curious, with Oliver. Oliver has been so happy here, following me around as I work on projects, following the chickens about, sharing corn cobs and heads of lettuce with the chickens, pointing out any deficiencies in our fence and running back to us from wherever he's gotten off to as soon as we call his name. We've set him up with a 'barn within a barn' and heat lamp. His now completed little run attaches to his miniature barn and nest box area, and the whole unit fits inside the main section of the barn while it's not in use for extra warmth and dryness. Our plan is to butcher the roosters this weekend, then move Oliver in with the much smaller flock of chickens with his own barn and a little plastic roof. Right now, it's a little too crowded with 25 chickens to be moving a pig in, especially with all those great big roosters, but soon we will be needing that barn for goats! During the day, everyone has free run of the yard for much of the time, so it's only night time accommodations that we are still toying with. The chicken coop should be nice and warm with all those hens, and as long as no one lays an egg in Oliver's bed, I think they'll get along just fine.