Little Dixie Down On The Farm...

Little Dixie Darlin' is growing up fast. We look at her and can't believe how big she is getting. She is in full blown puppyhood. Everything is new and everything is fair game as a toy or a playmate. Now, the actual breed of our dogs is Australian Shepherd. However, I think that Dixie is Italian. I went to the greenhouse in town last Saturday to see if they have any herbs left. My sweet Michael put some dirt in a raised bed for me to put my herbs in. The other herb bed does not do well where it is. The pickins were slim, but I got a lavender, a sage, an oregano (spicy hot one) and a thyme. Then I picked up a 4 pack of Italian parsley. They put them in a little box for us. When we got home, my husband set the box on the ground out front. Since one of her favorite "toys" is my plants and their pots, I thought to myself that I needed to come back out and put that up somewhere. My hands were full and I got sidetracked. When I did go back outside, she had chewed on the thyme and left it in the front yard and then destroyed the pot. We have never found the Italian parsley or its pot. I assume she wanted to garnish her dog food. =)

Star, only tolerates so much and then she puts Dixie in her place. Belle will romp and play with her, but she plays hard. She grabs Dixie's collar and drags her around the yard. She has also tried to drag her by her ear. I do think the big cats have taught her a lesson, but she still loves to chase them and harass them. She just keeps her distance. There are at least two wild kittens, maybe three. She goes after them yapping up a storm.

She also learned about electric fences. Yesterday morning, I heard her holler and then yap loudly all the way across the front yard. She ran under the bench on the porch. When I opened the front door, she came running in and ran right straight to her crate and got in and layed down.

We were told that Australian Shepherds did not like water. That is true of our other two. Dixie has followed the neighbor's dog down into our pond. When Michael was out moving fence the other day, he saw her get in and she was dog paddling around.

This morning, when I went out to feed calves, all the dogs and the two big cats went with me. Dixie was chasing those cats. I was just getting ready to take her picture when she spied a cat. By the time I snapped the picture she was in motion as you can see in the picture below.

These next three pictures are her watching the cats waiting for the right moment to pounce.

Here is one of the kittens ready to duck back behind stuff if she comes near.

Here the mama hen and her chick are getting ready to flee as well.

There is never a dull moment on the farm. I love living in the country and I love my animals. I am truly blessed to be able to live this life.

We are still praying for rain, but we got some last night for which we are very thankful.