Another catch-up post!  Heeeeere we go … Eight days after Josie had her babies, our Gaia’s water broke – a couple days earlier than planned and a c-section was in order … Her pups are doing great, however first-time mom (our Miss Gaia or ‘Lady G’) has redefined the phrase ‘picky eater’ – and Mom’s Kitchen has been working in overdrive! 

So, here we are 2+ weeks later, and Gaia’s appetite is coming around.  She still doesn’t like canned food, but will eat the occasional bowl of kibble, loves puppy formula, rice with cheese and all (human-style) meat.  Instant pot and slow-cooker to the rescue as DH watches over our clan through the day and I run the kitchen while keeping all safe through the night.  A quick photo of two of Gaia’s babies earlier tonight…

Somewhere, in the middle of it all, I survived day-walker hours to attend ACLS recert … It’s all a blur now, but I’m grateful it’s done!

We pop into the chicken coop a few times each day, to check on the Ladies, give treats and laugh at their shenanigans – like sharing the dust bath tire.  Here’s  Daisy doing her pirate parrot imitation with DH.  And Buffy finding a new perch on me …

Speaking of Buffy … She’s had a rough couple of days, singing the egg-laying song of her people.  It worked, as she laid her first egg yesterday … Here she is getting acquainted with one of the nesting boxes, and the present she left for us!  Daisy and Miss HotLips have been singing quite a bit lately.  We’ll see …

I’ve been doing a fair amount of cooking for DH as well.  [OK, for me too!]  This week, we had corned beef and cabbage with carrots and potatoes from our garden (no photo).  We tried sweet potato corn bread (not amazing).  Last night, I turned our latest tomato (Roma and Honey Delight) garden haul into sauce for a pan of mostaccioli I’ll make as we roll into the weekend. 

I also collected basil (for freezer basil pesto) and marigold flowers to add to a flock-block (chicken treat) recipe.  We continue to pick beans every few days, and will have more potatoes (red and sweet potatoes), a few zucchini, tomatoes and some winter squash to harvest, but with our cooler nights, the garden is slowing down …

I’ll leave with a silly photo of our Viola, who loves to explore in the pond … even under the bridge!