So I have a moment, but I’m antsy. Outside is calling. It’s sunny with a breeze. The field garden needs watering, the berry garden needs attention, there’s dry laundry on the line and another load in the machine. This time of year I’d rather be outdoors watching the garden grow than be in the house doing the “house thing”. I can do the house thing all winter!
I just moved Neela’s puppies under the stairs in the kitchen. They’ve been in our bedroom up to this point. But their eyes are open now and their instinct to leave the nest to relieve themselves has kicked in. My bedroom rug tells me this is not acceptable, even though I put absorbent cloth all around their nest, and the kitchen floor is easy to wash. So, we’ll see how this works. I thought Neela would have a fit since the kitchen is also where our ancient and ailing guardian dog, Doc, resides. But so far she seems to be perfectly content with the new digs.
When the pups have gained a bit more size they’ll go out into our kennel. The kennel is made for larger dogs and has too many dangerous spots where a pup this tiny can either get lost or hurt. We could put them in the log barn, but it’s dark and isolated so I’m hoping the kitchen works for awhile. Puppies need to be socialized. We have dealt with unsocialized dogs and, well, it’s better if they’re used to people. The grandgirls are coming for a visit soon. Socialization of the best kind!
I am of course, talking about Border Collies here, not guardian pups. Raising guardians is a whole different story. They need minimal socialization, enough to keep them from being aggressive toward people, but their job is to bond with the sheep, live with them and protect them from predators. You don’t want a guardian dog who hangs around the house waiting for a pet or a romp with his people! Some folks treat Border Collies with less affection - they’re working dogs some say, not pets - but we’ve never found any problem with loving our working dogs. They work because they love it; they obey because they love you and learn to respect your commands, even though there’s times when they probably know better than you.
Our fencing project is coming along, the new corral is nearly complete, have started on re-fencing the gardens. Most of the garden plants have peeked through the ground. When I say watch the garden grow, well you very nearly can here in the centre of Alberta. The season is short but the days are long. Soon we’ll have daylight from four-ish in the morning until eleven-ish at night. And the grass! You can barely keep up. We let our sheep graze our lawn every morning, their favorite pasture, but they can’t keep it down enough that it doesn’t need mowing.
Going outside, just can’t stay in. ‘Tis not the season to sit at a computer typing...
