What?? It's Been Almost A Year?

Update? Still homesteading, still knitting, still playing in the snow and loving life in Northern Michigan.
There have been a few changes in our lives.  We (hubby and I) lost our beloved Bu-Dawgh (8 years old) to cancer a couple of months ago. During one of his "I'll do anything to make your tears go away" moments, he set in place the procedure to procure me another dog.
Now here's the fun part. I have never in my life been without a dog. Also, I have never in my life picked out my own dog. They have all been "cast offs" or strays that wandered into our lives for whatever reason and found a home here. Much like the 12+ barn cats who currently eat all of our cat food.... but that's another story.
So... how to find a dog. We, of course, we started with the internet. That wonderful little tool that lets you find anything, at anytime, anywhere, whether you need it or not.
This is what I wanted.

• A mature already housebroken dog
• Medium to low energy dog
• To wait awhile until Spring or maybe Summer.

This is what I got...

• A Shar-pei (really? REALLY???) / Lab puppy. (not mature but mostly housebroken)
• A crazy mixed up mess of energy (definitely NOT low or even medium energy)
• Now.

She is a sweetheart, already spayed, already micro chipped and came with an assortment of vet checks, shots and vaccinations. She was 4.5 months old when we adopted her from a local shelter. The picture on the website said her name was "Bella". Her name is now Akita a.k.a "Kita". The picture on the website reached into my heart and wrapped it's furry little heart around mine and a couple of phone calls, applications for adoption filled out and miles later, she came home with me.

So, the new farm dog is Kita, complete with all of her puppiness, extra large feet, lab tail (if you have a lab, you are incredibly familiar with this term), fuzzy, snuggly, fur coat and of course, the obligatory big, brown eyes! Yup, she had me from day one. Actually, she had me from day -3, as it took that long to get her home.
She is good with the chickens, loves to chase the kitties, gets driven insane by the squirrels and loves all of the small humans that come her way. She's pretty good around large humans too. One flaw... when it comes to baths... the Shar-pei comes out. And she whines with the same separation anxiety that the Bu-Dawgh had and she also has the Shar-pei ears. Ok, that's more than one flaw. I can live with it.

Around the homestead, seeds have been started. In one of the "worst winters in decades", (I am more than decades old and I can remember worse ones), we are pummeled daily with more snow and "record breaking cold". Again, I can remember worse, but the folks who make their money getting you all worked up over the weather and how bad it is are quite a bit younger than I am.
Hubby found, at Tractor Supply, portable greenhouses, so now I have 2 of them living in my living room. They currently contain onions, tomatoes, peppers, parsley and hollyhocks. There will be more, this week, of the cabbage and onion flavor.

Got lots on the "to do" list for spring, the first being to fix the doors in my chicken coop, and get the fences fixed up so my girls have more room to roam.

Well, work beckons, because, without work, the homestead thing doesn't happen.

Life is Good!