The cats have demanded airtime!

Sorry for the lack of posts! I've been busy, exhausted, and am still cleaning up from Homes with Woofs, which was such a great success.

The cats have told me they are tired of goats and puppies getting more time on the blog than them, so I promised them that today, there would be a cat-only blog post!

Archie doesn't seem to know how to relax! ;)

Thank you, Daisy and Mootie. I will now be re-washing that black coat!

Speaking of black...

...have I mentioned lately how much I adore Mimi?

She is the sweetest cat EVER. Not a mean bone in her body.

Plus she's gorgeous and I love having a house-panther!

Meanwhile...

Naomi and Alex are appalled by Daisy's presence on our bed.

And I used to think a king-size bed was plenty big! BAHAHAHAHAHA!

But as long as the cats are happy (particularly Daisy!) then I'm happy. 

Speaking of Daisy...

...she sure knows how to  clog up a cat tunnel!

And yesterday, we had 180 bales of hay delivered. There's $1080 gone for about three months' worth of hay (this cost a bit more because they delivered it and unloaded it!) Hay is going to be expensive this year because we have been in a slight drought. They think they may not even get a second cut of hay. Last year, some people got three cuts of hay!

Missy LOVES it when there's a hay delivery...

Queen of all she surveys!

Meanwhile, Archie's sister Annuk has mastered the art of kitty relaxation...

...and did I say this post would be all cats?

I lied! :) Monty is doing great.

My heart is full!

Puppy kisses are the best!

So we had the "Homes with Woofs" fundraiser here on Saturday and it was amazing to see so many people coming out to support us. And we were SO excited to have Carol Anne Meehan (of 1310 Radio Ottawa) and Alan Neal (of CBC Radio's All in a Day drive show) here to judge doghouses. They are both wonderful, so much fun and easy to talk to! Today Alan Neal aired his interview with me on CBC's All in a Day (Podcast isn't up yet but I will link to it when it is) and Carol Anne Meehan posted TWO great videos from the event. Watch them if you want to learn more about us and the farm, and see many of our animals and friends!

Carol Anne's extensive interviews with us and others at Homes with Woofs:

http://www.carolannemeehan.com/blog/2016/6/20/bee-meadow-farm

Hilarious video from the designer doghouse judging:

https://vimeo.com/171392256?from=outro-embed

As well, two of my photographer friends were there, Ian Highway (whose photos I will post jsut as soon as I get five minutes to process them!) and Deborah Wilson, who took these beautiful photos (copyright Deborah Wilson, please don't download them).  Ian and Deborah both donated items for the auction too. Great (and talented!) people!

Beautiful Saul

Sweet Monty. Hard to believe he is only 4-1/2 months old.

Cute cupcake made by Vicky Tyo-Grenier.

Enjoying the ponies and donkey

My godson and his Dad having a moment with sweet Monty.

Jersey

Kevin

My friend (and riding instructor!) Rose from Havencrest Farm offered pony rides! That's Gordon's Fjord horse Sandy on the right.

Many of our dear friends made BEAUTIFUL, DELICIOUS cupcakes for the event!

Meanwhile, Finney was freaking out over Sandy and Skor (Rose's pony daring to venture onto our property!

There goes my godson on Skor, with Rose leading him.

What a fantastic day! I felt so supported and the beautiful things people said about us on the interview video made me cry. Enjoy! More photos to come.

Bees, puppy, cat!

First off...

MR. CUTENESS!!!

Monty is such a good boy!

So, last Friday I moved six beehives from behind the barn to out in the field. They were facing the spot where we plan to put in a sand ring for our horses.  Bee stings and horseback riding don't mix! So even though it isn't a great time of year to be moving hives, my friend  Pierre helped me get the job done.

Me and Pierre in the Kubota

The hives are all moved, but I took this pic this evening after catching TWO swarms today...

...instantly taking me from seven hives to nine (two hives aren't in this photo.)

First I found this swarm when I went for a walk. It was easy to catch. I trimmed back the Manitoba maple sapling it was in, and whacked the whole clump of bees into a hive box under the tree, then put the lid on.

Because I succeeded in knocking the queen in, the rest of the bees marched in too! Even all those ones I accidentally knocked on the rocks, oops.

Bees are very gentle when swarming. I wore my bee jacket but didn't get a single sting.

Then no sooner had I gone into the house to change out of my sweaty clothes but Luc came running up to tell me about another swarm on the fence in the horse pasture!

This isn't huge, but it's bigger than it looks in the photo. Another easy catch...

... I just used my bee brush to sort of sweep everyone into the box in a clump. Once again I got the queen in on the first try, hooray!

Hopefully there will be no more swarms this week!

I came back to visit Monty...

I think Henry the pig used to live with a dog. He really likes to hang with Monty.

Monty is excellent with the goats and pigs. He's still learning that cats are not to be chased, not even a little! But he's a very good boy and I have confidence in him.

I started clicker-training him today and he is SO smart! He learned to touch my hand on command in five minutes or less. He really is a lovely dog. He seems quite content with his goats and pigs. I think he will mature into a great livestock guardian dog but I know we have lots of work and training ahead!

And Keaton...

...is quite happy just to be amongst the flowers!

Welcome Monty!

Look who joined our family yesterday!

This is Monty! He is 4 months old and is here to live with and act as guardian dog for our goats!

He was born and bred on a goat/cattle farm in Alberta. My friend who is a sheep farmer took his sister, and both dogs flew in together yesterday.

As you know, most of our animals are rescues, but we wanted a true working dog to guard the sheep, with good breeding and parents who are livestock guardian dogs. So after much agonizing, we got Monty.

He's a super pup, smart and not hyper. Already good with the goats who are not shy about putting him in his place. For the most part he is only interacting with them while on his leash, and he has a pen in the pasture so he can be with them (confined) when he is not being supervised.

He needs more time to get used to the pigs and cats, but I feel confident he will come around and I an working on training and basic obedience.

He is super-adorable and not afraid to use it to his advantage!

This is Gordon's first puppy ever, and he is pretty excited about it! He came home from work yesterday and MOnty was here.

Kevin's not shy about teaching Monty goat manners!

I think this little guy will fit in great here. I will do my best to train him well, and sleep better knowing we have Monty keeping our goats safe from coyotes. Eventually we'd like to add a second livestock guardian dog, but one thing at a time!

If you'd like to learn more about Maremmas, check out this link!