Tag Archives: pets

Entertainment for Snow Days

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Williams County Courthouse

Well those of us in Northwest Ohio are hunkered down waiting out the storm. The snow has stopped for a few days. Now we are dealing with high winds, drifting, and bitter cold. I’m appreciative for the storm warnings that allowed me to prepare the barn for the extreme cold as much as possible.

Straw bales line the outside walls and completely block the west door to minimize drafts. Scratch grain, corn, and wet cat food are stocked up – these high protein, metabolism boosting foods for the outside animals will be fed in the evening. By increasing the metabolism of my outside animals before they bed down I can help elevate their body temps during the coldest hours. And most importantly, multiple sources of water provided by heated buckets. If the power goes out I will have to go to the barn hourly to make certain the animals stay hydrated. The horse drinks 10 gallons of water in 24 hours. Without the ability to move around it is important to keep him well hydrated to encourage good digestion.

I made a fabulous chicken noodle soup, potatoe sausage soup, and thanks to Facebook – snow ice cream! There was a recipe posted so I had to try it. Of course there were also alterations mentioned in the comments. Since I have some free time today, and plenty of raw material outside the bedroom door, I did some experimenting.

Snow Ice Cream (recipe on FB)

Raw Materials

Raw Materials

  • 5-6 cups snow
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Stir together and serve. I’d recommend warming the milk for 30 seconds in the microwave and then putting the sugar in there to dissolve it well before putting it over the snow.

Alteration with Condensed Milk

  • 7-8 cups snow
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

I warmed the milk for 30 seconds in the microwave, then added the condensed milk to that before pouring it over the snow. This allowed it to mix evenly with the snow. I blended the milk mixture an hour before blending with the snow – then put the mixture in the fridge to cool.

JELLO Alteration – my FAVORITE!

  • 7-8 cups snow
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 small packages jello or 1 large package (also can use PUDDING which so makes it creamier!)

I warmed the milk for 30 seconds in the microwave, then added the jello or pudding into the warm milk before pouring it over the snow. This dissolved the jello or pudding mix so your ice cream doesn’t have granules in it and gets it to mix evenly with the snow. I blended the milk mixture an hour before blending with the snow – then put the mixture in the fridge to cool.

Stop Profiling

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Someone stopped me to comment on #Dudley when we were out.  They couldn’t believe what a sweet, quiet dog he was.

“Is he really a beagle?”

First Meeting

First meeting, June 25, 2011

Well he is a #rescue so I don’t know exactly what he is.  But yes, he certainly looks like a beagle.  The rescue where I got him from stated that he was a collie mix.  The story I was given was that his mother was a collie who died in the pound when he was young.  Looking at the paperwork from the rescue it states he was an owner surrender when he was 4 months old and listed as a terrier.

Do you know why the rescue I adopted him from provided the “collie” cover for Dudley?

As a long-time rescue #volunteer, I understand the need for the cover story.  The beagle profile is – known escape artist, difficult to train to stay in a yard (require fenced yard or on leash), and have a tendency to bark, roo, and be otherwise vocal.  They are fantastic family dogs, wonderful with children, but can be a little focused with other small animals (cats, guinea pigs, chickens, etc. – think prey).  Terriers tend to be high-energy, strong prey instincts, and territorial.  Good family dogs, but not always great with younger children who don’t understand boundaries.  As a responsible rescuer it is important to point out downfalls of breeds along with their attributes to assure each dog is placed with the best possible home.

The downside of some breeds turns a lot of people off.  As someone who is familiar with breed profiles, I am completely guilty of overlooking dogs based on breed profiling.  I don’t like vocal dogs and I definitely wasn’t looking for a #dog that needed fenced yards.  The thing was when I met #Dudley, he didn’t fit the profile of what he looked like so I accepted the cover story considering that his mix worked.

Dudley

A content Dudley

Each time someone asks about my little kind of beagle Dudley; I tell them that because he is a mutt profiling him based on breed characteristics doesn’t work.  The best thing about rescue mutts is their ability to combine marvelous characteristics of their breed make-up, along with endless gratitude.  So if you are considering a new pet, dismiss breed profiling, open your heart, and fall in love with that desperate mutt in the back of the cage.  If that doesn’t work, try Grandpa’s advice – pick the runt of the litter or the most timid dog.  The reason, they are accustomed to being submissive and are easily trained.

Dudley is by far the best dog I’ve ever had and I honestly almost didn’t select him because of the “beagle” in him.  To think I could have missed out on this wonderful little man because of profiling.  Instead I followed Grandpa’s advice, my neighbor’s assurance that he was a good dog, and Dudley’s willingness to not annoy the old dog during our home visit.

Here is a great song about the joys of rescuing Choose Me.

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