Wild days of March

In summary: 

 The Great Painter has been AT IT! 

All THREE of our horses have chosen to stop trying to commit suicide and instead they are happy and healthy! Miracles!!! 

I bought our old tiny house back (an amazing story which I will detail later) and it is home and finally in place. It will be my writing studio, quiet place to sleep, and a place where I can do school with the boys away from the hubbub of our adored one-bedroom house. Thank you to Austin and his dad, Mark, because without them this dream wouldn't have come true. 

The greenhouse is thriving. It literally infuses life into my soul to watch these seeds morph into REAL plants and then grow. I love it more than I can say. I'm slowly learning how to regulate the temp inside the greenhouse, just in time for another season to start. :-) 

We are making progress on the underground greenhouse as well, though it doesn't look like much now. Hold your horses... it will be amazing. :-) 

 

I've been stealing myself away to my hill even after the particularly long days, because the sunsets are absolutely addictive. 

And though the daytime hikes have been few and far between these past few weeks, they are as treasured as always. I simply haven't gotten enough of them. 

My favorite stump in the woods... I see a creative project coming. 

Da Boyz. 

After months of drought, the snow decided to come! So, we've taken up extreme sledding as a sport again. 

Lochlan is doing so incredibly well in school. Aunt Debbie is a wonder woman and this boy absorbs everything she instills in him. He has been going around singing the "bowel" song for the past few days. "A, E, I, O, U, and sometimes Y". :-) 

Togie Bear

Sheeze not nice, but sheeze great. I adore her. 

More snow antics... 

And teatime snuggles... 

On these cold winter days, we've made a lot of pumpkin bread and tea. 

One of my favorite baristas at Matador is a coffee artist and I love her creations. 

So... marching into tomorrow, I don't know what it will hold, but I know it will be full of activity and surprises, full of the wonderful and the impossible; because it always is.  

New Baby

 

We have a new baby in the house. This kid is incredible in every possible way. Kelton has been praying for a dog to call his own for over 3 years, but we just could not bring ourselves to be a "5 dog family". UGH! Then, suddenly it just all happened. 

It has become increasingly obvious that Kelton needs the responsibility of his own dog. We decided, as a family, "what's one more?" :-) Then, literally that same day a rescue contacted us because they had a puppy that was being fostered locally (right around the corner from our house) and they wanted to know if we'd like to meet him as a potential adoption option. 

We brought our "alpha dog", Aberdeen to the initial meeting and it was love at first sight. She totally approved and this puppy instantly connected with Kelton. 

Kelton named him "Togo" after the unsung hero sled dog who helped save the children in Nome, Alaska by bringing serum over 200 miles in 1925. We call him "Togie Bear". 

He is laid back, kind, smart, and has the the happiest heart. I think Aberdeen (the merriest heart) approved instantly because she realized this puppy was an absolute delight. The other dogs rarely have to discipline him. He gravitates toward Kelton and is snuggling with him all the time. He plays hard, hikes hard, sleeps hard and loves hard. He has too much skin, wrinkly eyebrows, a soft golden coat and bright brown eyes. 

He runs towards the front door when he hears my car keys jingle because he already knows it means he probably gets to go, along with the big dogs. We take him into town with us and if he can't go into the stores, he just waits in the car with Aberdeen and Bumpy, taking all his cues from them. 

I love having the well-trained adult dogs to help train him; it makes our job exponentially easier. While on a hike, the dogs saw a herd of deer and though he was too short to see them, he sure smelled them! I called Aberdeen, Bumpy and Paisley back, and Togie Bear followed their lead. We've been using treats to teach him recall, and he comes every time he is called. He also knows "sit" and we are working on "stay". Kelton is starting his official obedience training as part of his school curriculum. 

Kelton and his heart dog. 💚