Copper

And now, an update on our new dog Copper...
First, let me say it is great to have a dog around our home again. We've been in mourning for our old dog Chui for almost a year and we were all ready for a new dog...

We got Copper from Humane Society in December just before Christmas. He blended with our family well right from the get-go. We wanted and needed a dog that was about a year old (house-trained), would not shed terribly, have a good temperament with the kids, be smart, protective, and fierce-looking. We found those all those qualities in Copper and fell in love with him and his coppery brindled coat which he is named for.

The Humane Society listed Copper as a "shepherd mix." After researching his characteristics on the internet, we deduced he is probably a hound-shepherd mix. He has all the characteristics of a plott hound with the exception of pointy ears more typical of a shepherd.

Copper arrived in Minnesota via a shelter in Alabama. Plott hounds, we discovered, are a popular and common breed in the southern states of the U.S.–bred to hunt boar and bear. In fact, the plott hound is the state dog of North Carolina.  Slate magazine, in an article about the plott hound making an appearance at the Westminster Dog Kennel Show, called the plott hound a "ninja warrior dog" and is a common sight for more than a century in eastern Tennessee, where, by one owner's estimate, "about every third dog tied up back of someone's house is a Plott."

Ninja dog. Yup, that's our dog. They got that right.  We, of course, were ignorant of these facts and had no idea when we got our brindled mutt.

As breeder information about plott hounds states, Copper is a love-able, friendly dog in the house, but as soon as the front door opens and he is outside, instinct takes over and he is HUNT mode:  his ears and front paw go up and his eyes on high alert.  All moving objects are targets, especially chickens, cats and squirrels.

He is like a dog with 2 personalities.  Needless to say, Copper's soldier instinct is a very stressful point of concern for our family.

Copper is not a threat to people or other dogs, thankfully.  But he desperately needs skills and training.  We're not talking standard dog obedience training. Copper is a first rate cat and chicken killing machine. He needs highly disciplined, military-style doggie training to undo generations of killing-machine instincts to fit in with hobby farm life.

We never faced these issues with our old dog Chui. Chui was the perfect hobby farm dog...except for that he lost his bark with a late life throat surgery.  Can we turn Copper into a hobby farm dog?  Is it fair to compare him with Chui? Will we have the stamina to tame Copper's drive to prey? Can we find someone to help us?  Maybe Katie Canine?

I found a Dog Whisperer episode where Cesar helps train the "Marley and Me" author's dog to not kill and eat chickens. If the Marley and Me guy's dog can be trained, maybe there is hope for Copper.

Perhaps we could steer Copper to hunt only vole and gophers? A dog that could do that would be a farmers dream dog. Maybe that is just wishful thinking.

Copper remains a leashed dog, until his drive to prey is tamed.  His only off-leash time is provided in our gated garden where he enjoys pulling weeds and veggies left to rot.  Watching him race around, dashing and bounding joyfully like a puppy over planting boxes and playing fetch with a stick fills me with happiness knowing that we rescued this dog from a horrific ending.  Come spring-time and the planting season, our pooch's happy play place will be off-limits.  We need a new plan fast.

I Heart Snow

Overnight, we finally got a bit of the white stuff.  I'd forgotten how much a dusting of snow can reveal.  This morning, on Valentine's Day, during a morning walk with Copper, I stopped cold in my tracks when I noticed an enormous paw print in the snow by the garden gate. This print is almost double the size of Copper's paw:

It could be a stray dog, but several weeks ago, a neighbor spotted a wolf, so seeing these tracks troubles me a bit.    

Copper and I followed the tracks around which led to the woods out back.  We noticed other tracks...deer, mice, squirrel, rabbit.  And other smaller dog-like tracks:  fox or coyote?  Apparently our woods has seen some a pretty high traffic in the last 12 hours or so.  (More hits than this blog post will receive!)

Eventually, we lost track of the giant paw prints.  We finished our walk and ended up behind the barn. Then, I noticed dog-like tracks circling the barn and fences.  Of course, I knew our chickens and cats were safely inside, but still my stomach felt sick.  When we got to the front of the barn...there, Copper and I were astounded to see dozens of paw prints everywhere.  And a few kitty prints.  It looked as if one of the "dogs" (coyotes) fell in a slippery spot: 

This dreadful snowless winter has dulled my senses. I miss the snow. Lacking snow, our senses are cut short.  Without visible clues, we've taken no notice or interest in the recent invisible visitors to Hawks Nest...even the most benign or suspectful ones.  Without snow, we are forced to rely on other senses if we wish to track these activities. But which ones? Does this mean we have to run out and buy a night camera to use as eyes to see what our own eyes cannot?

The snow tracks fuel our innate sense of wonder and imagination, showing us where others have gone before forcing us to wonder when? why? how? where to? and with whom? Not to mention giving us fresh whitespace to make some tracks of our own. I ask: What better tools for creativity can be so freely provided? All it takes is time and a willingness to notice.

I heart snow. I heart winter. Mother Nature: will you listen?

As Mother Nature is changing her habits, so the animals are too. Maybe this is why there is a lone wolf cruising our backyard instead of its original habitat.

I am changing gears too...and this is my reason our blog has been on hiatus for so long.  

I hope you enjoyed this post.  

Thanks for reading!

xo

p

Stacking Apples

Since Steve Jobs' death, I keep thinking about the funny little movie called "Stacking Apples" that our girls along with our french exchange student, Margaux, made earlier this summer.  (The girls took on a bit of a french accent from Margaux while making this movie!) While watching this film, I am reminded of Steve Jobs' hand in the history and making of all the various Apple products that our family has ever had...too many to name. Of course, that is not what the girls had in mind when they made their movie using my iPhone and iMovie on our iMac. They were simply playing a game, inspired by the "Minute to Win It" TV show, to see how many apples they could stack!

Our condolences to Apple on the loss of a great leader...may you continue to delight and inspire the world to innovate and play!

Picking Apples

I had a choice and I always picked apples....

This bowl of apples I picked today are for you, Steve Jobs...thanks for everything...we'll miss you...your vision helped illuminate the world and keep imagination alive.  Rest in peace. 

xoxo

---your friends at Hawks Nest Farm

Making Grape Jelly

Somehow, back in 2009, I convinced Mamie to help me make a movie about making grape jelly, but we never managed to edit it.  With this year's grape crop, I decided to produce the video along with the jelly.  Making a video about the harvest process is something my mom and grandmas never did, that's for sure!  For the record, they never made grape jelly that I recall either. Anyway, it's a sweet little movie, but since it was filmed 2 years years ago, Mamie was like, "MOOOOMMMM, reallllly? Do you have to????"  To which I replied, "Of course."  :)

My childhood grape jelly story....
One day many years ago, when I was in first grade, I came home from school and my mother was not at home, so I helped myself to an afterschool snack...my favorite snack--grape jelly. On that memorable day more than 40 years ago, I proceeded to eat nearly an entire jar of grape jelly. I sat on the kitchen floor...me and that big jar of grape jelly. I had no idea where my mom was. All I cared about was that grape jelly.  I made myself sick on grape jelly that day. After that, I thought I'd never eat grape jelly again for as long as I lived.  Just the thought of it made me want to puke.

It wasn't till college that I tasted grape jelly again.  I began buying grape jelly as I had kids and actually began to like it again.  Finally, now that we are growing our own grapes and making our own, I can truly appreciate the great wonder and beauty of grape jelly all over again...in moderation of course!

Woolly Bear on a Stick

It's the season for caterpillars. We notice them everywhere! We are especially fond of the woolly bear caterpillar with its spikey fuzz. This little bug eventually morphs into the Isabella tiger moth and is best known for its legendary ability to predict the harshness of the upcoming winter by the size of its brown midsection. Less brown means a harsh winter; more brown means mild.  We learned about this old-time farmer factoid from the Farmer's Almanac. Makes us want to go out caterpillar hunting and see what the other woolly bears bristles are telling us about the upcoming winter.

For more info on this cute little bug, check out this nice link by the Buglady over at the University of Wisconsin (Milwaukee).  

http://www4.uwm.edu/fieldstation/naturalhistory/bugoftheweek/woolly_bear.cfm

Oh woolly bear, woolly bear––

What do you know?

Will winter make us weary

of ice and snow?

Or do the brown bristles

of your fuzzy back

fortell mild days

for play outside our shack?

by pbird at Hawks Nest

Going Grape

With the weatherfolks predicting a hard freeze two weeks earlier than usual,  we picked the grapes.  Got a decent crop...a bushel (40lbs) maybe? Most are ripe, some are not. We take our chances with those left on the vine in the frigid night temps.

Some people use frostbit grapes to make certain wines, but we won't be making wine. Tried that a couple years ago (previous post here)...the stomping was fun, but our wine turned out horrible, tart and combustible...2 bottles spontaneously burst in the pantry causing quite a scene!

Making plain old homemade grape jelly is fine with us...bring on the peanut butter!