Where Did All the Puppies Go?

bramblymountainfarm
Jun 25
4 min read

The puppies have long since moved on to their new homes and summer is in full swing here on our little farm. However, I always like to update on where all the puppies landed so, better late than never!

Bandit was the first one to head out. His new master was so excited he got here as early as possible on the first day he could pick him up. Bandit, (now Iroh), is going to have a great life as a companion to this active young man and his roommate out in Chattanooga, TN. He even has an Australian shepherd to buddy up with.

Bluey’s family lives close by right here in Asheville. As soon as school was out they scooped him up and took him to his new home and named him Lamar. He’s been settling in nicely with two sweet little boys. Lamar also was the one lucky puppy to be completely clear from both CEA and MDR1 which makes him a great potential breeding candidate for our new female, Sadie. We’ll be keeping an eye on him over the next few years to see if he is up to the task.

Bingo (now Flora)went to another Asheville home to a local gardener. She is excited to be able to bring Flora to work with her!

Muffin (now Mabel) went to another family with two little boys in SC and they were very excited to bring her home. Mabel will have lots of space to roam on loads of acreage in farm country!

Rusty (now Bunter) went all the way to Alabama with a large family (7 kids!) and two other OTSC pals to live with. With his energy and curiosity, Bunter should have plenty to keep him busy.

Socks (now Fiona) headed to eastern NC with a sweet lady and her son.

Snickers (now Darby) headed all the way to NJ to a lovely farm and an older OTSC companion to show him the ropes.

Chili (now Chico) went to Florida for days full of swimming pools and grandkids.

I’m super happy with every puppy’s new home. It’s always fun to see where each one lands and the different lifestyles they acclimate to!

Back on the farm we busied ourselves with post-puppy work that had been on pause. Tim worked hard to fence a much needed puppy yard for our dogs for the times we’re not home. We had tried putting them with our goats in our already nicely fenced, 3 acre space. About 5 minutes later, Zeke came trotting down the hill with his tongue hanging out and a look that said “that was fun, what else is there for me to do today?” We made the dog fence 5 feet high (as opposed to the 4 foot fence the goats are in) with the hopes that Zeke won’t be able to bound over it. This weekend will be our first test in the new space… But I am also excited to have a permanent outdoor area for future litters.

Lucy was terribly offended to be penned up - a completely new and unwelcome experience for her.

Besides fencing, we’ve put in our veggie garden, celebrated a few birthdays and graduations and hung a new swing from a giant buoy we dragged all the way from Alaska a few summers ago. We also decided to get back into chickens because the price of eggs is RIDICULOUS. Life is full!

I love this time of year with all of the outdoor projects and adventures that keep us busy!

My oldest turned TWENTY! I feel terribly old.

My baby turned 6 :( It goes too fast - hold them tight!!

I’m also really excited about my newest farm job - beekeeper! We’ve had bees off and on for years and our most recent hives were the senior homeschool project of our oldest daughter. She did a great job taking care of them and we’ve now had the same hive of bees for 4-5 years, which is no easy feat in this higher climate. Many amateur beekeepers have to replace their hives almost annually because they don’t make it through the winter. Once Abbey graduated however, she became too busy to keep up with the hives and we slowly dwindled from three to one - our toughest bees survived our neglect. Two years later, I’ve finally worked up the courage to take over the bees. I was slightly allergic as a kid with a few dramatic incidents with an eye swollen shut and not being able to wear shoes for a week. That and I’ve found that the bees prefer calm, slow movements which is NOT my natural tendency. So I've always left the bees up to Abbey and Tim. However, it is clear they don't have the time for them and I really LIKE the idea of beekeeping and all that wonderful, raw honey dripping from my own hives - maybe even having enough so I don't have to buy it anymore!

So, after several months of thinking about it and putting the beekeeper book out so I would actually read it and purchasing beesuits for myslef and the kids (jeans and a hat weren't going to cut it for me), we dove into the hives. I quickly realized that I had no idea what I was doing and decided calling a beekeeping consultant might be worth while. And it was worth every penny. She discovered that our queen had disappeared - fatal for a colony if they are unable to raise up a new queen. As there was evidence they had been without one for some time, she brought us comb from another hive full of eggs and larvae. From there, my bees took over and raised a queen from the brood AND we had enough bees to split the hive and now have two thriving colonies! It all has been very fascinating and the kids and I have really enjoyed getting more involved. Malachi enjoys getting the smoker ready and then they all like to take turns "smoking" the bees. Even my 8-year-old gets excited about it and wanted a beesuit of her own :). And the honey is definitely an added bonus 😋.