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Things are moving along in NH. We recently bought a very nice used oven/range that will replace the one that came with the house. Ken thought that one had been a home for mice for a bit too long, plus it had some rusty pipes that didn't seem too safe. The new stove is two years old, and has 5 burners. The one in the center can be used either as a burner or you can put a griddle on top and use it to make pancakes or grill meats. Pretty cool.

This weekend Ken's dad and his Aunt Betty came for a visit with the goal of getting a chicken coop built, or at least getting a good start on one. Dad brought some lumber and Ken purchased some from the local lumber yard as well, so they had plenty of raw materials. It's going to be smaller than the one we have in NY, which takes up a corner of the barn, but small equates to easier to clean, which is a plus. Here are a few pictures from Coop Building Day #1.

Ken and Dad laying out the base:

Dad with the almost finished base:

Ken and Aunt Betty with the finished base:

And here is the Chief Site Supervisor, Caleb:

And of course, some of the Assistant Managers keeping a close eye on things:

Today they were going to work on getting the walls up. Stay tuned for further news from our corner of the Granite State!

Our new night paddock with thanks to my father and aunt for their help in building it over this weekend.

I am in NY, packing up some more things for Ken's dad to take to NH when he goes out next weekend. Ken's parents should be here this afternoon, and will stay through tomorrow to help with packing and cleaning. We'll fit what we can into their truck, leaving room for luggage.

Ken is of course in NH, and took delivery today of our new refrigerator. The old one that came with the house was just too old, and probably very inefficient. Unfortunately, the new fridge came with a dent in the door, so they are going to order a new door to replace it. However, it's functional.

The new septic system is also well underway. They had to move a small boulder to put in the leach bed, so I suggested Ken ask them to move it to the area that will be fenced for the sheep for this winter. It would provide a bit of entertainment for them, as they love to climb up on things and this boulder was fairly flat on top which should provide for good "king of the hill" games.

The lawn here needs to be mowed badly. Between being gone and some rainy days, I haven't gotten around to doing it yet. Ken's dad might be able to do that today.

Ken went to a potluck dinner last night in Tamworth. Almost everyone knew who he was once they heard his name. I had introduced us on the Tamworth Exchange Yahoo! group last week and everyone was very welcoming. It's really nice to have a friendly place to live in.

Wish I was there instead of here!

It's been a while since our last post, and a lot has happened. We spent some of the summer off and on looking locally for another property to purchase, and nothing really was available with the land we wanted and in the right location. Ken was becoming increasingly dissatisfied with his job, and as it looked like we wouldn't be able to find a property within commuting distance, he started to look for job opportunities elsewhere in NY. There was one possibility near Ithaca, but it didn't pan out.

Sometime in July I was browsing the Mack Hill Farm website, and suddenly was overcome with a feeling of homesickness for NH! I'd lived there for 10 years and always wondered if I'd ever get to go back. On a whim, I did a job search and up popped a couple of opportunities, which I sent to Ken. He applied for both, and one of them contacted him within a couple days. The rest is history. He had a phone interview, then flew out for an in-person interview, then was offered a position, negotiated his salary, and accepted the job!

Now, we had to find a place to live, somewhere we could keep our sheep and continue the farm. I found a buyer's agent, gave him some properties I'd found on realtor.com, and he also did some searching. We took a weekend and went up to NH, and the last place we looked at just felt right. It has between 11 and 12 acres, in a town with no zoning regulations, and it was partially cleared about 15 years ago, so some of it is not quite fully forested. It will be a lot of work, but so was our current place, and we've made a lot of progress in a couple years. We felt fortunate that this place was available, because there's just not a lot of properties with significant acreage available, unless you've recently won the lottery and can afford something really expensive and ready to farm.

Ken is now in NH, renting a room for a couple weeks until we close, and I'm in NY, holding down the fort, and trying to keep the house clean for showings. After we close on the NH house, we'll move the sheep and some of our housepets, keep packing little by little and hope to find a buyer for our NY house.

I received this email from a friend involved in ferret sheltering. She got it from the NHDogLobby.com group, but I am unsure of the original author - if anyone knows, let me know and I'll give proper attribution. The title link is to a whippet breeder's page on the animal rights movement in the US. It's worth a read. But, onto the original email:

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The Humane Society of the United States has mounted a huge campaign to raise
money to care for the dogs rescued from Michael Vick's dogfighting ring. The
plea comes complete with a heartbreaking picture of one of the injured dogs.
(Not surprisingly, studies have shown that people donate more when shown a
picture of or told a story about a single animal needing help. HSUS is very
clever at fundraising.) But before you contribute, please note:

1) There is a disclaimer in fine print at the bottom of the form which says
your donation may be used for other HSUS programs and may not be used to help
the dog fight victims.

2) There has been no accounting for the nearly $20 million HSUS raised for
the Katrina dogs and cats. The organization is under investigation by the
Louisiana Attorney General for their handling of that situation.
http://tinyurl.com/25avhp

3) HSUS has NO shelter. It is a corporate office building in Washington, DC.
It is supposedly "overseeing" the care of the dogs that were seized from
Vick's house, but we don't know where the animals are, Will the shelter actually
providing their care receive all the donations this campaign generates?

4) There is no reason to believe that your contributions will go to help the
dogs seized from Michael Vick or any other dogs or cats. HSUS spends most of
its money on legislative efforts to make dog breeding impossible and pet
ownership more difficult, more expensive, and more dangerous.

5) HSUS claims its servers crashed from the response to their first appeal
for money for these dogs, yet they are still out there beating the drum for
more money, still claiming more is needed for the Vick dogs.

And if you are still considering writing that check, read the following
quotes from Wayne Pacelle, president of HSUS

"I don't have a hands-on fondness for animals. To this day I don't feel
bonded to any non-human animal. I like them and I pet them and I'm kind to them,
but there's no special bond between me and other animals." quoted in
Bloodties: Nature, Culture and the Hunt by Ted Kerasote, 1993, p. 251.

"We have no problem with the extinction of domestic animals. They are
creations of human selective breeding." quoted in Animal People, May, 1993

When asked if he envisioned a future without pets: "If I had my personal
view, perhaps that might take hold. In fact, I don't want to see another dog or
cat born." Wayne Pacelle quoted in Bloodties: Nature, Culture and the Hunt by
Ted Kerasote, 1993, p. 266.

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Where are the millions in contributions they already receive every year?
If you have money to contribute, please send it to your **local** shelter.
Donations received by local shelters do help animals. The money sent to HSUS does
not.
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