Wednesday Daily Dose Of Cute:Staving Off Unwanted Advances

Bear Doesn't Play

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where the bipeds aren't the only ones who have to resist the livestock guardian dog cuteness.

Tuesday Daily Dose Of Cute

Bear The Babysitter (among other things)

Current Lamb Count: 18, including three lambs born yesterday. Eleven more pregnant ewes to go!

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where Liselotte, who looks like she's going to give birth any second, is now safe and secure in a bonding pen and has been ordered pleaded with to please wait until morning to have her lamb(s) because it's way past this tired farmgirl's bedtime!

Monday Farm Photo: Scuffle In The Barnyard

Chick Fight



Chick Fight Referee

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where you're encouraged to make friends with everyone and talk out your differences - but some of us are more hard-headed than others.

Friday Dose Of Newborn Cute (and the Whole Picture)

A Tender Scene

More below. . .

Monday Dose Of Cute

Surprise Inspection

© FarmgirlFare.com, the tip toeing (hoofing?) foodie farm blog where you never know who's gonna come sneaking up on you.

4/4/08: Daily Dose Of Cute

Anybody need an experienced sheep dryer?

Lucky Buddy Bear is half Australian Shepherd and half English shepherd. He loves his sheep so much he licks them dry when they get wet.

Want to see more? Here's Bear (mostly) in action:
10/16/05: Evening Roundup
2/3/06: Stock Dog Extraordinaire
3/1/06: I'll Spring To Life If There's Trouble
3/5/06: Add Babysitting To Bear's Job Description
3/12/06: Resting But Ready For Anything
6/18/06: Now That's A Dedicated Dog
10/1/06: Bodyguard or Nanny Bear?
10/15/06: Veggie Patrol

2/18/07: Sheep Shearing Day Duties
3/15/07: Gang Activity
3/27/07: Hanging With Newborn Twins
4/22/07: Dog Inspection
9/3/07: Squirrel!
9/30/07: It's A Stock Dog's Life
11/25/07: Looking For Some Action

4/7/08: Surprise Inspection
4/11/08: A Tender Scene—and the Whole Picture
4/14/08: Scuffle in the Barnyard
4/18/08: Cary and the Nanny Bear in the Greenhouse
4/22/08: Bear the Babysitter
4/30/08: Staving Off Unwanted Advances
More Lucky Buddy Bear photos

© FarmgirlFare.com, the pink-tongued foodie farm blog where it's that soggy, muddy time of year when everyone from sheep to chickens to visiting foodie moms wants rubber boots - and nobody gets away with having only one job title.

Farm Photo 2/3/08: Handyman Special

A Man & His Supervisor

"Um, honey? The bathtub just puked up the dishwater I poured down the kitchen sink."

So yesterday Joe dug into what we thought was a small plumbing problem.


Way More Exciting Than Watching The Superbowl

Turns out it's more like a medium plumbing problem. But at least it stopped snowing. And hasn't started raining yet. And the ground isn't frozen. Well, not solid anyway.

Want to see more?
Hunky Farmguy Photos
Lucky Buddy Bear Photos
Dog Photos
Snow Photos
Farm Life Tidbits

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where Farmgirl Susan shares more than you probably want to know about life on 240 remote Missouri acres - and the dirty dishes are starting to pile up.

Farm Photo 1/6/08: Stock Dog Inspection

Daphne Is Very Curious - And Bear Is Very Tolerant

Welcome New York Post readers!
Click here for a brief introduction to this site.

Want to see more?
--There are all sorts of Lucky Buddy Bear photos here
--You're find even more dog photos here
--There are other photos of Daphne here
--And more donkey photos are here

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where Farmgirl Susan shares stories & photos of her crazy country life on 240 remote Missouri acres.

Farm Photo 12/25/07: Today's Holiday Performance Schedule

Who needs TV when you have Lucky Buddy Bear?

There will be breakdancing by the barn at 1:00 and 3:00, along with a special bedtime performance at 5:00 which will be followed immediately by molasses tuck-in treats for all.

Have a Merry & Amusing Christmas!

A year of Farm Photos ago:
12/24/06: There Are So Many Ways To Show Someone You Love Them
12/25/06: Wishing You Life's Simple Joys This Christmas

And two years ago:
12/24/05: It's Over 100 Years Old But Should Work Just Fine
12/24/05: Christmas Eve Greetings From The Farm
12/25/05: Merry Christmas To You

© FarmgirlFare.com

Farm Photo 12/17/07:It's Never Too Cold For A Tummy Rub

Or is that an upside down happy dance?

Welcome new visitors!
Click here for a brief introduction to this site.

We won! Farmgirl Fare has been named Best Rural Food Blog in the Well Fed Network's 2007 Food Blog Awards. Many thanks to all of you who voted for us, and to the judges for their hard work. A big congratulations to the 13 other winners, and to the other finalists in the rural category - Nami-Nami (Estonia), Garlic Breath (France), and Lucullian Delights (Italy) are three of my favorite food blogs.

And now I have to go break it to the sheep that there isn't any actual food associated with winning a Food Blog Award. (It's hard to think about anything else when you're walking around with four stomachs.)

© Copyright 2007 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where Farmgirl Susan shares stories & photos of her crazy country life on 240 remote Missouri acres.

Farm Photo 11/25/07: Looking For Some Action

10:46 am

10:47am

Six-year-old Lucky Buddy Bear is half Australian Shepherd and half English Shepherd, and he likes to stay busy. I know he enjoys his life on the farm, but sometimes I get the feeling he's severely underworked.

Want to see more? Here are photos of Bear (mostly) in action:
10/16/05: Evening Roundup
2/3/06: Stock Dog Extraordinaire3/1/06:

I'll Spring To Life If There's Trouble
3/5/06: Add Babysitting To Bear's Job Description
3/12/06: Resting But Ready For Anything
6/18/06: Now That's A Dedicated Dog
10/1/06: Bodyguard or Nanny Bear?
10/15/06: Veggie Patrol
2/18/07: Sheep Shearing Day Duties
3/15/07: Gang Activity
3/27/07: Hanging With Newborn Twins
4/22/07: Dog Inspection
9/3/07: Squirrel!
9/30/07: It's A Stock Dog's Life

And you'll find more Bear photos & stories here.

© FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where Farmgirl Susan shares stories & photos of her crazy country life on 240 remote acres.

Farm Photo 11/16/07: Exercising With A View

Out Enjoying The Fleeting Autumn Scenery

And fleeting it was. A few blustery days have stripped nearly all the trees bare. I took this photo back on November 4th while my mother was visiting. When I dropped her off at the airport one of the last things she said was, "We didn't go walking enough!" True. We were pretty busy cooking and eating, but we did manage to do the short walk (two miles rather than the entire four) at least half of the days she was here.

The beautiful weather and gorgeous scenery were certainly reason enough to get us out of the kitchen and hiking up our steep driveway and along the hilly ridge above the farm, but it was also an easy way to work up an appetite for our next meal!

As far as this photo goes, I don't know if I should be afraid that I'm repeating myself, or feel comforted in the fact that I'm consistent. Joe and I were looking at photos I'd posted this time last year, and I pointed out how similar one of them was to the photo above. Then he pointed out that I'd actually photographed the exact same bend in the mile-and-a-half-long stretch of road, just from a little further back.

It's funny how many times I've found myself taking pictures of the exact same thing. But in this constantly changing world of ours, I think the real comfort comes in knowing that certain things around the farm, rather than my eye, remain steadily consistent from one year to the next.

Want to see more?
Youl'l find plenty of autumn color here.
All sorts of farm landscape photos here.
And lots more pictures of Lucky Buddy Bear here.

© 2007 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where Farmgirl Susan shares stories & photos of her crazy country life on 240 remote acres.

Farm Photo 9/30/07: It's A Stock Dog's Life

Lamb Love For Lucky Buddy Bear

Lucky Buddy Bear is half Australian Shepherd and half English Shepherd. He loves his sheep--and sometimes they love him back.

Want to see more?
3/1/06: I'll Spring To Life If There's Trouble
3/5/06: Add Babysitting To Bear's Job Description
3/12/06: Resting But Ready For Anything
2/3/07: Stock Dog Extraordinaire
6/18/06: Now That's A Dedicated Dog
2/18/07: Sheep Shearing Day Duties
3/15/07: Gang Activity
3/27/07: Hanging With Newborn Twins
4/22/07: Dog Inspection

You'll find more Bear photos here. Scenes from Lambing Season 2006 and Lambing Season 2007 are here and here.

© 2007 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where Farmgirl Susan shares stories & photos of her crazy country life on 240 remote acres.

Farm Photo: 9/3/07

Squirrel!

Lucky Buddy Bear is half Australian Shepherd and half English Shepherd. Most of the time he's much more interested in his flock of sheep than all the crazy squirrels around here, but he does like to give them a top speed run for their money. I have no doubt that someday I'll see Bear head straight up a tree after one.

You'll find Bear stories & lots more photos here.

© 2007 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where Farmgirl Susan shares photos & stories of her crazy country life on 240 remote Missouri acres.

Farm Photo 7/28/07:A Picture Perfect Walk In The Woods

Forest By Mother Earth

Accessories By Mother Nature

Something strange is going on. On July 16th, I took 81 photographs. I haven't taken a single one since. At some point during the past 12 days I stopped lugging around my beloved camera and didn't even notice.

I'm blaming summer. I don't function well when it gets above 80 degrees (okay, okay 65). Toss in 90% humidity (yes, that's really what it is, I just checked), and my brain hangs out a giant Do Not Disturb sign, while my body wishes it could do the same. Even the smallest outdoor chores feel monumental.

When I moved from northern California to Missouri back in 1994 it was November. And it was lovely. A big ice storm hit the small town we were staying in a few days after our arrival, and every single thing became encased in ice. While everyone else was huddled indoors staying warm, I bundled up and went for walks, admiring the glistening landscape that had magically appeared overnight. I felt as if I'd moved to Disneyland.

Then people began asking me if I'd been here in the summer yet. Lots of people. People who all said a variation of the exact same thing: "I thought it was humid in [insert nearly any state in the country here], but that was nothing compared to Missouri." I started getting very nervous. And unfortunately my fears did not go unfounded. Summer in southern Missouri must be experienced to be believed, and in a bad year you have from early May until late September to experience it.

I realize, of course, that there are many lizard-type people who think there is nothing better than lying on a burning hot rock in the scorching sun while most of the water in your body pours out of your skin at a medically alarming rate. It's too bad I'm not one of them. In my opinion, if you're not moving, you shouldn't be sweating profusely.

All of this whining is in fact leading to a point.

I know that many of you have come to believe I live a picture perfect life in a picture perfect place, and while I don't like to complain about all the bad stuff (and on a farm we definitely get our share of it), once in a while I think it's only fair to set you straight.

It's beautiful here. Really, really beautiful. Stops-me-in-my-tracks several times a day beautiful. My life is far from perfect, but I do in fact live in a picture perfect place. What you do not want to do, however, is actually climb into some of the pictures. Take the one at the top for example. I could have said nothing about it and simply let you believe that Bear and I were out for a pleasant stroll in the woods, enjoying nature and the crisp, refreshing air.

The reality, though, is that despite the early morning hour, it was already very hot and very muggy, and my clothes were completely soaked with sweat. A small part of my brain was functioning well enough to see the photo opportunity in front of me, but the rest of it was taken up with counting out how many more months until autumn on my fingers, and thinking about how much nicer everything would look if it were covered with several inches of snow. Right now it feels like a jungle. A jungle with pine trees.

I wasn't planning to write this. I was actually in the middle of watering the garden and feeding insect-ravaged turnip greens and Swiss chard to Whitey and her not-so-baby-anymore chicks (yes, I promise a long overdue chick update is coming soon). I only popped inside to jot down a couple of notes before the sun zapped them right out of my mind, which is what's been constantly happening lately.

Originally I was going to post these two photos with nothing but their captions and let you think whatever you like. In retrospect, that may have been the better way to go. You could have stared contently at them, letting out a small sigh and taking in a deep breath of cool woodland air. But as they say, misery loves company, and so I thought it only fair to hit you head-on with a sweat-drenched, furnace-like blast of my summer reality instead. Besides, the longer I sit here and type, the longer I can stay holed up in my little office--the only room in The Shack with air-conditioning--before I have to open the door and step back out into those perfect pictures where there won't be any snow for months.

P.S. There are plenty of nice winter photos in the monthly archives located on the homepage sidebar if you feel like cooling off.

© 2007 FarmgirlFare.com, the sweat-drenched foodie farm blog where Farmgirl Susan shares photos & stories of her crazy country life on 240 remote Missouri acres—no matter what the weather.

Farm Photo 4/22/07: Curious Critters

Dog Inspection

Lucky Buddy Bear is half English Shepherd and half Australian Shepherd, and his favorite thing to do is work, preferably with his sheep.

He loves them all, but this time of year it is obvious that little lambs hold a special place in his heart. Bear would like nothing better than to have bouncing babies around all the time.

For the past six weeks or so, the entire flock has been penned up in the barn and the adjacent half-acre barnyard (well, the entire flock minus The Dirty Dozen, aka Studly Do-Right Jefferson and the wethers). This is for two reasons.

One, it keeps the sheep from munching down all the new spring grass before it has a chance to grow (instead they're fed bales of hay and grain treats several times a day). And two, it makes it much easier for us and the moms to keep track of all the new babies.

Unfortunately we only have a couple of days' worth of hay left, so everyone will soon be out happily eating sweet green grass with The Dirty Dozen (who were let loose a few weeks ago in order to save on hay). This means that frequent hikes out into the fields to do sheep-checking and lamb-counting will start taking up large chunks of my days.

But back to the barnyard.

Each night all of the moms and babies are locked in the barn so that hungry predators have a much harder chance of getting at them. The gateway separating the farmyard and the barn patio is about four feet wide.

This means that every single evening (usually before I get my dinner), 79 woolly creatures must be convinced to trot through this narrow opening. And every single evening a pack of baby lambs refuses to do just that, either because they simply haven't figured out The Nightly Plan or they're just too busy racing around having fun.

This is by far Bear's favorite part of the day. Once the majority of the sheep have been lured into the barn with a bale of hay, the two (or three, depending on if Joe has been roped into helping) of us spread out and attempt to move the babies and any straggling moms into the barn.

It feels a lot like you are in a life size version of one of those hand held games where you have to get all the little metal balls through some itty bitty opening—and inevitably there is always one stubborn ball that refuses to comply.

Unlike me, Bear never loses his patience. You won't catch him yelling, "Well you wouldn't be crying your head off for your mother if you hadn't run back out into the farmyard you little trouble maker!" or "Turn! Turn! TURN!"

No, at times like these, Bear is in his element. He gives me a patient smile that says, "We'll get this last one in, don't worry." And eventually of course we do. Then I tell Bear what a great job he did, and if he could stand up and give me a high five, I have no doubt that he would.

Bear knows that the sheep need to maintain a healthy respect for (and slight fear of) him, but he also knows that the baby lambs must learn early on that he is friend rather than foe.

Lambs are naturally curious, and so when they sneak over to check Bear out, he lays on his back with his paws in the air, as this puts him in the most submissive position. He lets the lambs sniff and inspect him all they want, and he never moves a muscle. And when they and their attentions wander away, he rolls back over, stands up, shakes himself off, and grins the biggest grin he possibly can.

Current Lamb Count: 39. Number of lazy, hungry farmgirls who ate their dinner (grilled homegrown, grass-fed, Angus T-bone steaks; warm and crusty pain au levain; and freshly picked spinach and mesclun salad) before tucking in the sheep tonight: 1. Number of stock dogs who didn't hold that against her: 1.

© FarmgirlFare.com