Giving Thanks

Little Black Brindle and I hope you all have a blessed Thanksgiving.  Even during these troubled time there is much to be thankful for.  Some of the blessings my Ever So Handy Husband and I are thankful for are:

On November 19th, Little Black Brindle celebrated his one year anniversary of freedom from his life in a puppy mill.  We are very thankful that God sent us this little bundle of love and are looking forward to his first Thanksgiving with a family that loves him dearly. 

We've also been blessed with 4 hard working and entertaining chicks.  They have been a huge source of pleasure since their arrival.  Watching them grow and learning about chick behavior, eating their delicious fresh eggs and marveling at their adaptability to cold weather have been highlights of their life here at Prairie Cairn Cottage.

We are thankful to have found Tabby this summer and to have this added life at the Cottage.  Tabby and Little Black Brindle are best buddies now.  They play together and take turns chasing each other all around the Cottage.

And of course we are thankful for Prairie Cairn Cottage itself.  We still marvel that we are here in this wonderful place.  The views and sunrises and sunsets are unimaginably beautiful.  The cottage has kept us safe and sheltered and the living on the prairie has made us learn and grow. 

So from all of us here at Prairie Cairn Cottage, we wish you and yours a most blessed Thanksgiving.

Audrey        

Why I Love Cairns

Have you ever asked yourself why Cairn Terriers are so lovable?  Here's just one thing:

They lie with their back legs out flat so their pads are facing the sky.  Most dogs do this as puppies, Cairns lie this way their whole lives unless injury forces them to adjust.   I love Cairn toes!

Audrey

Election Day

I hope you all did too!

Audrey

Visitor to the Coop

I am suffering from a bit of a head cold and have been going around the cottage in a antihistamine stupor.  This weekend I went out to tend to the girls.  While filling their feeder I saw out of the corner of my eye a visitor to the coop.  My mind played a bit of a trick on me for awhile and I thought I was seeing a fifth chicken, this one being very dark.  Part of my brain told me "but you only have four chickens" the other part of my brain was saying, "it must be a chicken, it's the same size and it's eating the chicken feed".  Finally having a lucid moment I realized what I was seeing was not a 5th chicken but Little Black Brindle in with the chicks!  He was being very good and not being aggressive towards the ladies one bit.  I scooted back inside to fetch my camera and got these shots.








Hey!  Who's in my house?





A hasty exit



After sniffing a few chicken butts he was not at all interested in them, just their food and water.  He went in several times to check out the coop.  All seemed to be in order and acceptable.  

I would caution you to not try this at your cottage, with your terrier.  Most terriers have a very hard prey drive and will chase and kill anything that flees.  I think Little Black Brindle is just a very gentle Cairn and loves other animals.  

All's well that ends well at Prairie Cairn Cottage!  We hope you stop back by and visit with us again out on the Prairie.

Audrey   

Thought Provoking Website

Aren't these amazing pictures?  I was looking for some black and white farm type pictures that I might be able to print out and frame for the guest bedroom at Prairie Cairn Cottage.  I found these at the Library of Congress website here.  There are thousands of these pictures.  Some are nostalgic like those I've posted  and some are just plain sad but they are all real. 

I can't help but wonder what kind of lives those kids experienced.  Did they grow up and become someone famous?  Did they have happy lives?  Did that young boy on the left go off and fight in WWII?  Did he make it home?  What about the younger boy in the doorway, did he fight in Korea?  Or was he like my father who enlisted in the relative peace in between WWII and Korea?

I found myself mesmerized by these photo's, you should check them out; but before you go, thanks for stopping by and visiting with me here at Prairie Cairn Cottage.

Audrey

    

Autumn on the Prairie

Autumn on the Prairie are a few warm, golden days followed by tastes of Winter.  This past Saturday brought us our first snowfall of the season.  Construction on the coop ground to a halt and we had a nice leisurely day inside the cottage.  

We took advantage of the lazy day and got caught up on our sleep

We sipped hot apple cider, ate pumpkin bread and played our favorite games

It's my turn to shred the paper!

All in all it was a very enjoyable day.  Sunday was much warmer.  My Ever So Handy Husband was able to get back to construction and I was able to get out in the garden and harvest one of the only crops that made it through this growing season-potatoes.  It wasn't a big haul but there were edible potatoes nonetheless!  I do believe I would have had bigger spuds if I had watered more diligently.

By the way, don't let anyone tell you that you can't use sprouted grocery store potatoes as starts.  I had a well meaning person insist that it was impossible to get potatoes to grow from grocery store potatoes.  Even though I had been planting them for years this way, she would not believe me.  She believed that they inoculate the potatoes to keep them from sprouting and therefore couldn't be used.  I'd say even though this was a meager harvest, it proves that her theory is wrong.   

If you've never grown potatoes give them a try next year.  Come January or February, leave a few of your store bought potatoes in the dark to sprout .  When you are ready to put them in the garden, cut the potato in sections that contain at least one sprout and plant fairly deep then water.  They are one of my favorite plants in the garden.  All you see all season are the green tops and flowers.  It's not until you deg deep into the soil in the fall that you are rewarded for your care.  It's always a surprise to find these treasures hidden in the dirt.

A typical Fall weekend at Prairie Cairn Cottage.  I do hope your days are filled with Autumn splendor and harvest surprises.

Audrey

 

Winner of the Largest Egg Contest

Unbeknownst to me, the girls had a contest to see who could produce the largest egg.  Since the first egg several weeks ago

the first egg!

the eggs have been getting larger and larger.  I went out earlier this week and the hens were in high spirits.  Laughing and talking and and enjoying the day.

 I wasn't privileged to their conversation and wondered to myself what the fuss was about.  That is until I opened the lid to the nesting box and there it was!



head & shoulders above even the store bought!

  I must say, it was not only a double yolker, it was delicious!

Life is full of surprises at Prairie Cairn Cottage.  I hope your days have been filled with fun surprises too.

Audrey