Look at this dog with his mouth full of melted butter. Like butter would not melt. In his big mouth.
Now look at the destruction. I shall have to add sunglasses to my shopping list.
And he has begun to pick himself sweetcorn too. He leaps at the stalks, grabs the cob of corn and runs off with it. Dragging the corn stalk right out of the ground. Then he strips and eats the corn. For a while there I thought we had a most unusual deer problem but no. It is Boo.
When I am picking apples he runs straight up the ladder and picks himself an apple then gallops off to play with it.
He is a Bad Boo says LuLu. Put him on his Naughty Boo Chair.
He is learning though. Slowly. He can sit, lay down and stay now. All on command. He has his own seat in the car, waits his turn to get in and out and twice a week he lays outside The Old Codgers door waiting quietly for Ton and I. The Old Codger is still Tons special friend. Dogs need lots of short repetitive training sessions frequently throughout the day. Altogether his training takes about twenty minutes a day. But it has to be every day.
It rained yesterday and half of last night. Very gentle, persistent welcome wet rain. Now it is dawning foggy and damp. The gardens are thrilled. I am thrilled. The hay field is still so short that every drop will have reached the soil. Lovely.
Tomorrow I have an appointment with the Big City so I will be taking the 8am train. As you know the train station is 45 minutes away so to get all the chores done and myself on that train I will be starting work at 5am. So it is possible that there will be no blog tomorrow morning.
The exciting news is that the Get Fat Chickens will be coming on Friday. The Post Mistress has been alerted to be on the look out for their arrival and today I shall set up an extra big brooder. I have stolen a big rubber water trough from the field and today I shall clean it and drag it into the cellar. I hope my heating lamp still works! They will be in there until they grow feathers then out onto the field in their great big mobile run.
I have been talking to an Amish poultry slaughter house and it will cost 2.85 per chicken. It is a two hour drive from here. So I will need to build a special comfortable covered box for them, that fits in the back of a pick up truck. This is the only facility for miles around, and in fact the closest one I can find and is essential to my plan. It does not take long to grow meat chickens so we need to be on our toes.
And while we are on subject the four sheep will be going to the abbatoir next week. Almost time to say our thank yous.
As I have been pickling and preserving and now that I am about to start getting meat in the freezer, I am getting closer to my goal of being able to feed myself from the farm for 52 weeks of the year. Self sufficiency at its most terrifying.
This summer has been so good so far that I am beginning to feel confident about the coming winter. I am only eating from the farm now, and I am going to see how long I can go into the winter. I am not sure that John will join me in this experiment. I bet he will cheat every time he goes to town. But very soon. Maybe as soon as next summer, I am going to dare myself to go a whole year only eating chemical free home grown food from the farm. But in a pioneerish kind of way in that I can hitch up the metaphorical wagon and go buy coffee, flour and seeds once or twice in the winter. And I will be using electricity. And visiting the city every now and then for a treat! I am not that crazy!
So you see there is a goal as well as the lifestyle. And so far I have been practicing and learning all the old ways towards achieving that goal. And maybe I will write a little book as I go. I am practicing for that too.
Have a lovely day.
your slightly crazy friend, celi.
P.S. What we were doing a year ago! A very rare shot of miss c and the shush sisters who were SO LITTLE only 12 months ago!
The Kitchen's Garden 
53 responses to “The Naughty Boo’s Chair”
Oh, does this all sound so familiar. Not becoming self-sufficient, growing your own food, but Boo and his “ways.” Love the idea of a naughty chair but it wouldn’t have worked with Max. His legs would have atrophied because he never would have left the chair. 🙂
Oh what a gorgeous dog Boo is, and has taken to heart eating off the Farmy!
I am going to find copies of both the books mentioned while I’m waiting for yours… While other people aim for a life of golf, lawn bowls, bridge etc in their semi/retirement years, the G.O. and I are aiming similarly to you but on a MUCH smaller scale for a much as possible self sufficient lifestyle, by choice and necessity as our superannuation and savings will mean we are not self funded and will be reliant on our vast resourcefulness and eventually somewhat on the meagre Australian age pension. The more people who do it, the more blogs and books, the better & bigger our statement to is to the Greedy Conglomerates of the world, and of course in the event of a zombie apocalypse… or similar… I think of such somethings also… we will be prepared 🙂
Yes to the book, please 🙂 ! Great about the chickens!! Giggling about Boo in the Naughty Corner!! [Would love to see him attacking corn stalks – easy for me to say!!!!!] . . . Best of all: you are getting > big smoke for a day – do ENJOY 😀 !!!
Boo is quite an amazing dog. How funny (maybe not to you) that he picks and cleans his own corn. And running up the ladder? That would be something to see.
Who can blame Boo for wanting an ear if corn or two? That said, I admire how well you teach him and the rest of your Farmy family. Eating out of the garden – that really is living the dream! You’re the best kind of pioneer woman, C!
What perfect timing to have the rain when the fields were ready to make more hay. How exciting to be getting closer to your goal of living off the land.
Boo sounds gorgeous and so full of life. It’s great that he’s so resourceful in finding ways to feed himself. I’ll look forward to seeing your baby chickens when they arrive. You’re doing such a great job of becoming self-sufficient and it’s such an inspiration xx