Down on the Farm

Down on the Farm was Originally Posted on June 1, 2007 by lavarock

I gave the plans for my water catchment system out to two different companies for a quote. One company came back with with a total that was considerably high and the other company never responded. They seem to want to just deliver tanks but not do any of the other work. I’m continuing to work with the 1st company, but may need to start calling people with plumbing experience to help with the rest.

The project calls for creating a gravel and sand base, or concrete ring, for 4 large steel water tanks. The tanks are corrugated metal in a band with a liner inside. They will look like above ground swimming pools, 25 feet across and 6 feet tall. Each will hold 20,000 gallons of water. There will be one at the bottom of the property and it will be filled from the gutters of the house and garage. The 3 at the top of the property will be filled with water pumped from the bottom tank.

I am still waiting on the honey to be bottled and then can make a couple of pending shipments. As soon as I have it, I will try selling it at a local farmers market along with the coffee. I just had more roasted to medium and have both medium and dark roast in stock for a while.

A couple weeks ago, my friend Sandra and I were selling coffee and honey at an orchid show. The next day I went to the Post Office, the supermarket and then home. The next day I went to help a neighbor with his computer and discovered that I could not find my wallet. I am sure I had it at the supermarket because I used my credit card at the market. I went nowhere between there and home. I called the store twice and even stopped in, to no avail. I can see myself putting the card into my wallet that day and would have been home in 10 minutes. I have looked all through the house and even walked the property.

It does not appear that anyone attempted to use the credit cards and I have gotten replacements. I also like to think that if someone found the wallet here, they would have returned it. It is a small town and we are known to be pretty friendly.

Sandra went to DC to receive an award and I was one of the people to stop by her house to feed her new puppies. She has promised me one of the current litter because I have been such a help to her. I guess I should now tell you the tale of the dog.

Sandra gets some of her older dogs from Australia or New Zealand. This is because the dogs are high quality and free of rabies. Hawaii and a the aforementioned countries are rabies free and thus the dogs can be easily shipped between them. She bought a girl and when the dog got here it appeared to be anxious around men. This is not good and no amount of testing by Sandra or I could determine what the dog was afraid of. She would hide behind the couch when I came in and would shudder and shake a bit. You could tell she just was afraid.

Her vet suggested trying an anti-anxiety drug which has been used for decades on humans. Sandra tried it and at first noticed no difference. As the dosage was increased a bit, all of a sudden the dogs behavior changed and I mean it was like day and night! I was sitting talking with Sandra and all of a sudden, the dog came over to me and put her nose under my arm, trying to lift it to encourage me to pet her head! WOW! I could pet and scratch her and she she came back for more.

We wondered if the effect would last without the drug and yes, it seems permanent. This change was so dramatic that I still think that someone switched dogs when I was not looking.

Now when I go visit, this dog seeks me out (although she likes other men too now). I can be walking and she all but heels near me, walking next to me. If I start playing with another dog, she will come over and position herself between the other dog and me. I think she is jealous that I am giving attention to another dog.

Recently she got pregnant and had 8 puppies. Sandra feels that I should have one of the puppies and I am reluctantly giving in. It has been a long time since I had a dog, the last one being a collie and golder retriever mix.

I am learning a lot of things about dogs that I didn’t know. It appears that a single litter might have dogs with multiple fathers. There are some traits like color that can help determine fatherhood. If the mother is a brown lab and the father is a brown lab, the puppies will be brown. If the father is a black lab, statistically half the puppies would be black and half brown. However, it could happen that most of the puppies could be brown, as is the case with this litter. In the case of questions, a DNA test can be performed on dogs, pretty inexpensively.

So that is what is happening “Down on the farm”.