Ezrah & Mozes

When Ezrah was 4-years-old, he really wanted a puppy. His mother, Keita, cut him a deal: "On your tenth birthday, if you still want a puppy, you, young man, shall have a puppy."


Undeterred by the notion of having to wait 2-and-a-half times his current age, Ezrah started counting the days, crossing them off his mental calender on the steady march toward his 10th birthday and the perfect fuzzball puppy. He did this 2,190 times, until January 13th, when he reached zero and was finally introduced to his new best friend, Mozes, The Mozy Bear!


Mozes was born on the Gaines Farm, but today, along with all his brothers and sisters, has gone home with his new lovely and perfect family.

Saturday Night Down on the Farm

Puppy Pontifications #3

Time is flying by, it seems.  We are already into our third week of life as a puppy and "wow" things are changing very quickly. No longer are we unable to hear and our eyes have completely opened. We resemble a big dog in a small form. We twitch and seem to dream as we sleep.  Sometimes we like to nap on our backs or our sides.  It's a big decision.

And not much gets past us when we  focus upon our surroundings. During our wakening minutes, brief though they may be, we certainly take in everything. We greet our Momma with happy squeals of delight as she nuzzles us so gently. She seems to sense her maturing creations. Mamma is proud. She watches as we push one another while nursing. I swear she sometimes smiles while laying ever so patiently, and carefully cleaning us with her warm tongue. Eagerly we tour our new "pen"; the new digs, as it were. Our whelping box has been put away for a future litter of whelpers.

We are sure happy to check out the new surfaces. It's been exclusively felt since birth. There is still a soft surface to lay on in the same general area as our baby bed.

Curiosity is part of our day; investigation and learning about this new world. It takes all our time, and as we bob our heavy heads, doing our best to balance as we move our legs in a walking motion, away we go!  Across, around and circling. Sometimes we crash and burn. We look like young sailors on their first ride on a rough sea upon their vessel.  Although our wooden plank deck is not moving beneath our strides, we have a bit of difficulty steering our bodies towards our new missions.

There is also newsprint called paper on the floor. It's in a nice private area and we've discovered it's in a great place to drop a deuce. Good old #2.

Ah-ha, we seem to say as we bump into another mouth or leg as we come to a stop, the barricade meeting our curious nose with much conviction.

We have begun to open our mouths to investigate the new objects we find called toys. Sometimes we encounter a litter mate and begin to play mouth jousting. We need more practice.

Our human friends are fascinated more than ever with the big changes they observe. One thing we hear mentioned is ,"puppy food."  This sounds interesting to our newly opened ears. We are very curious and open to whatever comes. Even this "puppy food," of which you speak. Big changes underway.  

Puppy Pontifications #2:

It seems as though time has the ability to unravel an existence with change unimaginable if neglecting close observation. Similar to a humans first sightings of new buds on the trees in late spring, blossoming into the formation of a fully opened leaf. (If left without daily examination, if not watched closely it will happen and be missed.)

We now have much more deliberate belly crawls as we smell our way to a meal. Now able to notice the vibration of movement alerting us that meals on paws has entered. We can already comprehend this aroma. It signals our senses, 'Momma' has entered our "nest" (human reference = "whelping box").

Increasing in both strength and size is becoming vibrantly apparent daily. Fur growth and blackened noses take the places of the thinner coats which had a hue of pinkness in the first few days. Our ears are now covered in fine fur unlike the smooth baldness we were born with. We will continue to grow more fur as our faces begin to change shape (the initial rounded shape begins to show definition). Our rounded guinea pig faces are actually looking more dog which will take more time.

When bumped by our siblings or stepped on by Momma and abruptly awakened, we let out definite yelps, beginning to notice "comfort disruption." If we have wandered away from the warmth of each other, we yelp repeatedly until we have returned to our security. Alone does not feel good when awake. We are still a unit and will stay this way for a while longer. We feel good when we are together. Our ears are still sealed shut and our eyes are still closed as we move into our second week of life.

Big Puppies!

Puppy Pontifications #1:

Born only two days ago Lyla's puppies cannot see; cannot hear. This does not mean they cannot blog. In this first installment, our newborn fuzzy-guys muse on life, liberty from the womb and their first 48-hours on planet Earth.

Puppy Pontifications #1: Just a mere 62 days (after the beginning of our creation) we arrive. So full of life, we begin our journey as we move ourselves along a new surface leaving the warm, safe, compact protection of our past surroundings behind.

With deliberate, yet clumsy pulls, and only a few seconds after we successfully inflate our lungs for the first time, we are on the move.

"Momma" continues cleaning and drying us off with her warm tongue instinctively knowing what to do for us. Our eyes and ears are sealed. Closed for protection until nature deems it is "safe" for light and sound to enter our world. We somehow know what must happen to survive. "Her" guidance, with amazingly natural instinctive lessons, will be necessary.  With very deliberate confidence she carries on her first tasks in her newest role... seemingly with ease. Another moment in time, to be cherished  beyond words by the humans who watch closely in admiration and awe. As we reach our goal and  find our first (which "our humans" refer to as) meal, she watches us patiently. One of our many necessities needed to grow in to our human title of, "mans best friend."

Our journey has just begun......

News at the Farm: First Snow

We are finally getting a white blanket to cover up the ground and change our scenery for the winter. There is a theory of how important this is for the good of us all. Vermont is now looking like it should in January.

With change progressing and our son Kyle now directing Bob and I, the sugar house is full of wood, all stacked and split for the up coming season. It sure is a beautiful sight. It appears this change is a good one. Yes, "spring will be here before we know it." There are few smells one can embrace that are any more lovely than the smell of the bubbling sap as it begins to turn to pure Vermont maple syrup. Hopefully we will have a good sap run that will yield many gallons of this pure liquid gold.

Years ago there was an older gentleman school bus driver, Clayton Cutting, who I asked how the sap was running (referring to his own sugar bush on the other side of Guilford.) His reply was one to remember. He smiled and quietly answered, "down the branches, down the tree, out the spigot, and into the bucket. How is it running here?" He slowly turned his attention to the handle on the floor to close the door of the bus and smirked, "have a nice day."

Words of wisdom from an older man could not have explained it more perfectly! They sure have an edge on the first hand knowledge and so vividly described than in most books. I knew I needed more information as a young woman new to a farm to his practical wisdom. One more time, I set myself up by asking him, "Clayton, do you think the sap is going to run?" One more time he helped with an educational lesson on sugaring. Smiling he replied, " it depends on the weather."

As he drove up the road with our three young sons on their way to school, I was in awe with words from such a brilliant gentleman, so simple yet so full of first hand knowledge. He left me thinking, "I wish someone just like Clayton could go into our school and have a question and answer session for each topic they learned through doing. So much to tell and so well put in simple terms.

Enough for now of this- going back in time. Although I sometimes miss the days when the boys were young and all here together time marches on. One day, they too, may sit as they look out their window on a snowy day and reminisce. It is with pleasure the sugar house is still producing delicious syrup. It is with pleasure, it is still cooked with wood heat. It is from wisdom learned through people like Clayton, great teachers during their school years, and knowing change can be good for business, and by just "doing," that the sugaring process here has changed for the better. Snow is falling.

-Jackie