How Could They Do This!

As many of you who read this blog know..we live in the country. The nearest tiny town is at least 7 miles away and the city is about 20 miles away. One of the great things about living in the country is the peace and quiet... our nearest neighbor is about a half mile away. Country people always wave to you even if they've never seen you before. You know you can count on your neighbor and they can count on you to be there for them. It's a wonderful place to live. This morning I had my first experience of the bad side of living in the country. My husband came home from work this morning and told me that someone had dropped off 3 puppies down the road from our house. He said they were there when he was going to work last night but he couldn't stop as he car pools and he was the driver this week. This morning when he came home the pups were still there so he came and got me and we drove down the road to pick them up. The poor little things were frightened but happy to see us...even then their little tails wagged. We put them in the front seat with me and I talked to them and scratched them as we drove home. They are about 2 1/2 months old lab cross puppies...two black one yellow...two males and one female. We put them in the garden shed in the straw pile and gave them some food and water and it wasn't long after that they were running around and playing with each other and feeling at home.

I can't help but wonder about the people who would do such a thing...leave 3 sweet puppies on the side of the road hoping that a farmer would pick them up and take them home. Did they ever stop and think that they could have wandered onto the road and been hit by a car? It was thick fog this morning when we found them! Did they ever stop to think that there are coyotes in the country? I shudder to think what would have happened if the coyotes who frequent our area would have picked up their scent! If they didn't want these puppies why didn't they just take them to the humane society where they would try to find good homes for them. Most farmers have dogs of their own and usually more than one. These dogs are going to protect their own property and if these pups had trespassed they probably would have been attacked.  If we didn't already have 3 dogs I would have kept at least one of them. Instead we took them to Caring Hands Humane Society about 20 miles from us. They took as much information from us as we could give them and weighed them then took them away for inspection. The people were so kind and gentle to the pups. They told us that if they couldn't find homes for them (which they felt wouldn't be a problem) that they would be sent to Colorado to a place where they will try and find homes for them there and if that doesn't happen they are sent to an animal refuge where they will NOT be put down.   

What a relief it was to hear that!

I'd love to find the people who left these puppies and give them a piece of my mind but I'm sure it wouldn't do any good. There will always be people like that out there. Thank goodness there are places like the Humane Society who take these sweet animals in and care for them and try their best to find them GOOD  homes where they will be loved and cared for for the rest of their lives.

Narrowing Down the Choices

Isn't this a beautiful little yellow cottage!

THANK YOU to everyone who put their suggestions in for colors to paint our cottage!!! Oh how I have appreciated your input. I'm surprised at how many of you thought a yellow would be nice...I thought I was going to be pretty much alone on that one although Mr Fixit seemed to like the idea too. I thought that I was done looking but then I came across two other houses with great colors that I couldn't pass up...so now I've narrowed it down to 3 choices. I'm sure the shade won't be exactly as you see in these pictures but it will be close. Wish our little cottage had the character of these sweet homes!

I'm REALLY liking this color with the white or cream trim

I like this taupe or tan color..don't think I'd add the gold though but I LOVE how it looks on this house.

So...I think I've narrowed it down to three colors that would work and that Mr Fixit would like too.

Now I just need to find colors that would match my final choice!

What do you think?

My appologies for not mentioning where I got these photo's. I was so excited to find houses with the same color roof as ours and paint colors that I liked that I forgot to write it down..sorry.

I hope you have a wonderful Tuesday...take care...

Maura :-)

Our Gentle Giant

Shep

I've written posts about our gentle giant Shep before. Shep is an Akbash which is a rare breed of LGD (livestock guardian dog) from Turkey. These dogs are different from any dog most people have ever owned...the are intelligent but also independant with STRONG maternal instincts for the animals they are guarding.

(you can look up the Akbash breed here)

Shep with Phoebe and Chelsea

He loves the chicks

Our baby is nearly 10 months old and weights around 110 lbs and has just started into another growth spurt. When this happens he eats like a horse...but normally he doesn't eat as much as you'd expect.

Adult Akbash dogs can get up to 130 lbs and up to 32" from the top of the shoulders.

Shep and his 'mum' (me)

 They are wonderful dogs especially when you live in the country. One thing that takes a bit of getting used to is that you always have to be in 'alpha' mode...in other words you have to make sure that an Akbash knows who's the boss. Even in play they love to put a leg around you or if you're on the ground they'll try and stand over you...all in play of course. You always have to remember that YOU are the 'big Kanhuna' and never forget it. They are VERY loving dogs....and our Shep is no exception

He's always playing

Olly and Shep

Anytime is play time!

Akbash are wonderful dogs and are great guard dogs for your property too. During the day he's pretty quiet and laid back but in the evening that's when you start noticing his breed. They have great hearing and are always on the alert. Shep patrols the farm and barks when he hears something out of the ordinary. I'll tell you...I wouldn't want to be a thief sneaking around and come face to face with him. He's got the most hair raising growl and bark I've ever heard!

I'm 5'5 1/2" tall

We certainly don't have to worry about prowlers with him around!

We love all our animals and it's a wonderful feeling to know that we are ALL unconditionally loved and protected by our Gentle Giant

Decisions Decisions...Suggestions Anyone?

Time for a change

It's time! Yes it's time to make some changes to the outside of our little cottage. Nothing major like building on the front porch that 'Mr Fixit' has planned for the future or the screened porch that he says he's going to build later this summer...no....it's time for a new paint job. I never really liked the blue when we moved in nearly a year ago but when the lilacs started to bloom this spring the blue color started to look pretty good! BUT...I've decide that it's going to be something totally different. I've been wracking my brains trying to come up with a color that REALLY 'hit's me...you know...one that has that wonderful 'Country Cottage' feel. The one that seems to stick with me is a pale yellow. Then I start thinking maybe just a plain white. Then I thought of an old fashioned green. Now I'm totally confused. One thing for sure...unless we get hit by hail or a tornado...the roof is going to remain brown for the next 10 years AT LEAST and the trim will always be white since the windows are trimmed in white aluminum and vinyl. I guess I should hit the big 'home improvement stores and get a few pamphlets but I thought I'd just throw this out there to see what you wonderful followers and visitors think.  What color do you think would work for our little 'country cottage'.
I'm open to all your suggestions and ideas......PLEASE....don't be shy!

The 'dirt work' is nearly done and we're almost ready to put in the steps and sidewalk then plant grass.

I put these stones in place for edging (ouch I swear my arms are about an inch longer than when I started). I don't like straight lines in my garden but these stones were too HEAVY to get fancy with curves plus Mr Fixit want's to build that porch across the whole front of the house one day. This will serve to keep the future mulch from being washed away. I'll plant two smaller shrubs on each side of the steps to soften the straight lines and the sidewalk will be curved.

Snowball Hydrangeas

Half of the depth of this stone is burried!

Here's a view of the gable end. See the scalloped shingles?

It would be interesting to see these painted a different color.

Maybe we need 3 colors?

What do you think?