Pets

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the pets

The nights are cool here, but not freezing yet.  I got busy with the chainsaw that Jhampa brought us, and cut up most of the firewood I collected in the spring.  I have a good supply now, enough to take the chill off the coldest nights, but not enough to be self-indulgent. Guy's visit has been pushed back a month. Jhampa tells me that Armando will be coming, but I have no idea when.  I wrote Armando and asked him to call me the day before, so I am sure to be here and not in Durango.  I'm going to work with him to find a good plumber.  He seems to have better access to the tradesmen in Canatlan. The leaky pipe from the water tank is getting worse again.  That whole piece needs to be replaced. Our neighbor to the right has two horses he uses for plowing.  One is a jackass, kinda wild.  We enjoyed having the horses foraging our fields for the past couple of months, but Juan moved the horses out when I told him I think they are finished cleaning up the place; I didn't look for them. I suppose they were down by the river.  But yesterday they were back again.  Blacky is in our field tied to Juan's fence, with not much to nibble on underfoot.  Jacky is roaming, having better luck at finding fodder.  Blacky was clearly happy to see me, whinnying until I went to him for a talk. I had an entourage. I picked up Peanut from Sylvia's on Thursday morning after returning from Ben's wedding in Georgia, as you know.  She was in heat.  The black dog had waited for her the full five days, as far as I could tell, and he got first crack at her.  The next door neighbor Lalo's two big dogs also took up vigil, hoping against hope.  Soon the house was in full siege. They jump up on the doors and windows to keep an eye on the object of their lust.  Peanut is no longer free to roam and romp as she used to.  I carry her in my arms to the car and take her up the farm road.  The small black dog follows us afoot, but the other two do not.  She runs freely there.  I let him mount her a few times, but not anymore.  I think the deed is done.  We'll have puppies between Christmas and New Years.  My clothes take a toll.  The big ones jump up on me while I carry her to the car, and tear my clothes, and muddy them if there's been any moisture.  I do a lot of laundry these days. Even when she remains in the house, they follow me.  Now that her desire has wanted somewhat, I walk her on a short leash here on our land, and carry a four-foot long pole.  When she needs privacy I swing the stick 360°, until she is done.  It keeps them at bay.  Gradually I am letting the three of them get closer to them.  She wags her tail and enjoys ‘kissing’ them.  But as soon as one gets close to her tail, I poke them with the stick. I had to turn to the internet to find hope.  How long will this last?  How long is gestation?  The answers were vague and conditional, but I take comfort where I can.  It could last a few days to 21, but the average is 12.  Okay, seven down, five to go.  Actually, I think she is coming out of it.  She no longer seems so eager to receive the males.  Gestation is nine weeks, which brings us to the end of December.  At least I know that the puppies have only one father, so they won't be so varied.  I don't know how that effects size of litter. This is all an experiment, a learning experience.  She'll be spayed after this.  I have midwifed many kittens (and a couple of puppy litters too, but only the delivery phase), so I was curious to round out my midwifing experience with domestic animals. I am slowly putting in a bed of alfalfa.  I've removed the corn stalks from the 6 by 8 ft plot.  Next I will till and level it.  Apparently November is the month to seed alfalfa, so I'll get it done.  Then we can have green smoothies.  You might look up some recipes for healthy drinks, and join in.  Here they like alfalfa and cucumber mixes.  Yummy on a hot hot day!  I want to have seeds for alfalfa sprouts, but YouTube videos tell me they are very hard to collect, being very small.  Still I have to try.  I think I mentioned that alfalfa is a perenniel crop, so we can cut it and it keeps coming back.  The horses will like hands full of that; easier to keep on hand than carrots. Would you believe, some animal likes to eat peat moss!  That 55 lb  bale had been broken into, and an eighth of it was gone.  I thought it was the horses, but I checked the next day and more had been eaten and the horses are gone.  I repackaged it and stored it more securely. The rototiller blade got bent, I don’t know how.  I had it straightened, and now I can do the last tilling of the peach ‘orchard’ (if 12 young trees constitute an orchard), and the alfalfa plot. It is pleasant working on these cool days, although the sun can still be intense at midday. Peanut seems a bit stir crazy, so I’ve opened the front door (and locked the screen door) so she can visit with her entourage a little. She sits there, in the pool of sunlight, still casting pleading eyes my way.  Just another week, Sweetheart; hold on.