Shifty Critters Homestead

08/15/2026

We got a new house puppy. He's Shih-tzu and long-haired dachshund and so obviously his name is Lieutenant Dan. He's about four months old now and feels the need to satiate his chewing fixation with any and everything he can sink his tiny shark teeth into. The toys that have survived his Sawzall appetite have left Louie yearning for texture variety. Consequently, he is doing to my box spring what Andy Dufresne did to his cell at Shawshank, evidenced by little splinters scattered here and there. One of these days I'll roll over in bed and then suddenly drop 10 inches to my death. So if I die of a heart attack, it's because the whittled box spring collapsed in the middle of the night.

06/06/2026

Wild blackberries.

Nature is violent, though. Briars, poison ivy, chiggers, mosquitoes. But the wild ones are doing a whole lot better than my cultivated ones.

05/26/2026

We use electric netting to rotate the sheep. We've been getting at least an inch, sometimes two, of rain every day for the past week with no foreseeable reprieve. All this rain makes it difficult to keep any tension on the step-in posts.

As it turns out, Batman is not meant for this provincial life and has broken free from that which was holding her back from her potential. She was last seen devouring the strawberry buffet, er, I mean (checks notes), "strawberry bed."

Her newfound enlightenment has promoted her from the cull list to the Freezer Camp list.

Just as soon as I have the time and preferably before she finds my newly planted perennial berry garden. 🤦‍♀️

05/24/2026

One of the hallmarks of a good livestock guardian is that they not only protect their animals from predators, but they also take care of them. If left to their own devices, the prairie maggots will stand out in the rain and become completely soaked. Gladys persuades them to take shelter. I didn't teach her that. She does it all in her own. Love this girl. ❤️

04/15/2026

Last weekend, my daughter and I went on a white water rafting trip with some good friends. We camped along the river and shared some memories we'll never forget.

When we arrived home Sunday, my daughter ran inside to hug her dog while I sorted camping gear into what goes in the house and what goes in the shed. She came running back out saying the sheep were out. As I walked around to the front of the house, I saw the love of my life sitting on the porch smoking a cigar.

And two ewes on the lawn.

I smiled at my handsome farm sitter and said, "Hi honey. Everything OK?"

Ya'll.

It all started that morning when he was feeding Voltron, our livestock guardian, and the puppies. Jon was having trouble getting the rams locked up (they have to be separated from the dogs during breakfast so they don't eat the dog food). Cracker went into jail willingly but Otis was feeling ornery and uncooperative. After some kind of cat-and-mouse shenanigans, my 6'3" Marine veteran husband managed to corner and wrestle Otis to the ground. All 25 pounds of him. When Jon tried to scoop him up to take him to jail, Otis was suddenly overcome by what can only be described as a demon.

Jon said the rest was a blur and wasn't sure what happened next. Only that after he managed to confine Otis to jail, he exorcised not only the demon, but also 4" of his tail!

WHAT?!

Now before you start having terrible thoughts about Jon, you should know that it's not uncommon for sheep to lose the bottom segment of their tails. It's an expendable appendage. Most people dock them shortly after they're born so that they don't suffer complications later. If they'd been born here, they'd have been docked. Alas, they were not.

So later, when the ewes got out, Jon flashed back on the outcome of his wrestling match with a 25-pound ram lamb and thought he'd just sit this one out and keep an eye on them until I got home.

Bless his heart, he's not the farmer. Before I left, I walked him through feeding the dogs and checking on the sheep, but he was not remotely prepared for the sheep having other ideas. The ewes were safely returned to the flock and Otis was properly saturated with iodine where his tail was torn from his body and my girl gave him a shot of B-complex. I'm happy to report Otis is still alive and thriving, although I probably won't be leaving the homestead for extended periods anytime soon.

04/02/2026

Ya'll might remember a few weeks ago when it snowed. In March! I was certain it was going to kill all my little peach blossoms. I covered both trees with frost blankets and prayer. One of the trees lost all of its fruit. But the other tree, 15 feet away, retained nearly all of its blossoms and we now have a bunch of tiny baby peaches! I wouldn't call it a bumper crop, but there should be enough for fresh eating and maybe a few for the freezer.

03/30/2026

More fruit trees going in. This is pear. I've also got apricot, mulberry, and pawpaw to plant. The planting isn't the hard part, though. Removing trees I don't want is a huge pain in the neck!

03/26/2026

03/24/2026

What on earth do they put in the dog food that makes it so scrumptious to sheep and goats? Otis has enough respect for me and the dogs that he will run off if his feelings are hurt. But he's a sneaky little bo**er; I have to watch him the whole time. Cracker was a bottle baby so he has zero respect and, therefore, must be jailed during the feeding frenzy. One day I will come up with a more efficient strategy. Today is not that day.

03/20/2026

When you have livestock, you have deadstock. It is the unfortunate side of homesteading. These are the days that make this hard. I am really proud of my Best Good Girl for staying with the remaining sheep when she could have easily escaped through the breach.