Barny Sharp Talons, who are you?

Yes, it's been driving me nuts. I keep thinking-- "The Chicken Bar, who mentioned the Chicken Bar??" Well, I've got "innkeeperitis, and can't remember anything (beyond this morning's breakfast, and even that is touch-and-go....)

So, put me out of my misery.

Other than THAT, we've had a GREAT late summer/fall. The rejuvenation project next door (the new 3 acres) continues apace. Today the pergola for the casita went up. We have decided to call the little house "Casa Cordova" after the gentleman who lived there alone for so many years. We think he would really like our efforts to shore-up the house and husband the land.

Speaking of husbands... Brantly went out last week and bought over 25 trees, mainly fruit trees. We have planted them all in a double row along our western fence line. They are a mixed bunch, and we are hoping to eventually harvest apples, peaches, cherries, and apricots. In addition to those trees, friends of ours-- MaryAnn and Kaseem, brought over 3 poplars and an "antique" apple tree from the Hacienda Martinez. We're very excited about the apple and have decided to baby it along in the back yard for the first year.

The dogs continue to grow at an alarming rate. We think they are about 40 lbs each, as Brantly just about gave himself a hernia loading them into the Scion today, to take them to their monthly vet visit. Schmoo has turned out to be a superb guard dog. He sleeps most of the day (drooling) and wakes at dusk to keep vigil over the snoozing birds. Sparky mainly just watches Schmoo, wondering why he is doing what he is doing. And the geese, of course, torture and bother the dogs at every opportunity.

Many thanks to our fabulous guests this month-- especially Ann Marie Trapp, who brought me (after much begging and nagging) one of her wonderful water colours. The photo does NOT do this beautiful painting justice. Also much appreciated were the new additions to my "Hen Library," provided by Flora MacDonald and Peter Kelley, and Sally and Jim Blagg. It's true, a chicken fanatic can NEVER HAVE TOO MANY CHICKEN-RELATED ITEMS!!!!!!!


It's finally cooling down here, and a great time to visit before the winter snows. I can't think of a more lovely place to be than Taos at this time of year!

New happenings at the Cottonwood Inn

Another month is almost gone here at the Cottonwood Bed and Breakfast. It's been a hot summer, but the recent rain (1 inch last night alone!) has done a lot to cool things down. It was nice to be in the mid 70s today-- much more like normal in Northern New Mexico.

This summer's projects have been big ones: cleaning up the new lot, re-building the little adobe house, training the 2 Great Pyr pups, and making the goosers into NICER GOOSERS.

Well, let's start in reverses order... the rescue geese are just as ornery as they ever were. Snarky, however, is absolutely lovely!! He looks like a Stevie Nicks pillow with two cute orange legs. He is still deathly afraid of all humans, but is now occasionally nipping at Brantly's shoes (a good thing).

Also, we've had some success training the new pupsters. Both Sparky and Shmoo now know how to sit, beg, come, beg, and (this is really exciting) herd the girls!!! And, of course, beg. Okay, by herd the girls, I mean get them all back into the pen. This is quite an accomplishment for a couple of boys who are only about 12 weeks old.

The little adobe is just about there. This week we will apply the last exterior coat of stucco, and stain the concrete floor (purple!!) We put part of the septic in today, and are about to level and clear the last of the junk away.

If you haven't been here to see these new changes (dogs, geese, and acres) what are you waiting for?? The weather is beautiful, the grass is green, and Taos is as cool as ever!

Big geese and BIGGER dogs!

It's hard to believe we've had the puppies for over a month! I didn't realize how much they had grown until I looked at the initial blog pictures-- holy cow! Or dog, actually. These guys think about one thing-- eating. And they eat A LOT. Winston and Eva are regularly horrified by how much of the daily food scrap ration goes to the new pups. Winston doesn't actually want to eat that many scraps, but it really annoys him to see it go to Sparky or Shmoo. This is Winston's first experience as the older (and wiser?) dog, and he is taking it seriously. I never knew he had fangs!

Syd and Nancy are just getting bigger every day. Nancy has recently decided that she likes Brantly, so he doesn't need to duck and dive every time he enters the bird run. She is infatuated by his New Balance shoes and likes to chew on them for hours. Surprisingly, Snarky has also decided that he wouldn't mind a bit of human interaction. He, too, has been seen nibbling on Brantly's tennies....

The plans for the barn are nearing completion, and the little, old house next door is looking cuter every day. This week the interior walls were finished.

The photo thing has been driving me crazy! The only reason the posts aren't more regular is because of our antiquated camera. It has become almost impossible to upload our daily photos and save them. We don't know what happened, but it can be traced to a virus on our computers a few months ago. In any case, it is an agonizing process to upload a photo, but hopefully we will soon have a new (and easier to understand) camera. Here are a few photos from recent weeks. Come to the Cottonwood Inn before the puppies are 160 lbs.!

Here are some pics of the goosers....

Here are some pics of the new geese. Incidentally, after the death of the 3 little Sebbies, we knew that Snarky needed some company fast. Unfortunately, the only geese we could find were in Joseph City, AZ. Yes, somebody had to go and get them. Shantal drew the straw on that one. It turned out to be a great trip, and the geese are very loving and friendly. They were both hand raised and are very nibbly and soft-spoken. We have been really impressed at how friendly they have been to our guests and the chickens. Now if we can just get them to like the dogs....

Great Pyrenees, Sebastopol Geese, broody hens, more Great Pyrenees & Sid and Nancy....

Yes, we've finally gone insane over here at the Cottonwood Bed and Breakfast. Last month we bought the 3 acres that adjoin our property to the south. This month we decided to start filling it up-- with critters.


Now for the geese and Great Pyr situation as it stands today-- we have 3 new geese (or goosers, as I like to call them). We have a young Sebastopol goose we have named Snarky, and two cute mutts we have named Sid and Nancy. We had 4 Sebbies, but lost 3 of them to a dog attack. Which leads to the next new guests-- the 2 Great Pyr brothers we drove all the way to Montezuma, KS to get. Yep, Sparky and Shmoo. They are so cute and that only pictures can tell the story. We went to get one pup and ended up with two. Of course. We thought about one poor lonely puppy and just couldn't do it.

So, now Sparky and The Shmoo are kicking it in the hen yard. So far they have bonded nicely with our 15 girls (and Bernard). They are having a bit of a time with Sid and Nancy, who would like to squeeze their little heads and rip them off. Needless to say, Sid, Nancy, and Snarky are all over in their OWN part of the yard, enjoying the new pond we installed last week.

And if that isn't enough, 4 of my Great Cochins have just gone broody-crazy. I am exhausted with pulling them off their eggs, so they are all going to be allowed to hatch. Yep, it will be chaos here in about 2.5 weeks.

Earlier in the summer we finally tackled the front yard, getting rid of the grass and installing a more "xeric" garden. Okay, so the fountain isn't exactly xeric....

So, what are you waiting for?? Come see the pups before they're 160 lbs! I've attached a few of the first pics.

Peonies, land, more peonies, & hot weather

Okay, this is a consolidated post because I just can't seem to keep up. Some of our guests are aware that we have been in negotiations for the 3 acres that adjoin the Cottonwood Inn-- well, we finally closed on the deal and the Cottonwood B&B is now 3 acres bigger! The land is beautiful, with a stream running through the northwest side and a natural spring in the center. Also on the property was an old adobe building, which is currently being restored to its former glory.

We're very excited and can't decide what we want to plant on the property-- it fluctuates between raspberries, fruit trees, or lavender-- my guess is that we'll do all three. We're also hoping to keep some critters over there, of course my vote goes for more CHICKENS!!! And maybe a llama or two....

We've already had a bumper crop of peonies and rhubarb this year. I am eating a wedge of pie as I type this. I hate to be a braggart, but this is the best slice of rhubarb pie I've ever had. I had made several pies earlier in the spring, and I used a recipe I found on the internet (cooks or somewhere) and it called for vinegar & eggs in the crust, among other ingredients. I decided to give it a shot, and I thought it tasted just like a store-bought pie. Not exactly what I was aiming for. This pie is just the usual flour/lard/water/salt crust with rhubarb, sugar, lemon zest, & lemon juice. It's a great way to emphasize the flavor of the rhubarb and doesn't taste too sweet.

There are photos to come, of course!

Last but not least, it has been warm here. We are truly appreciating the great cooling abilities of an adobe home. As long as you close your blinds during the heat of the day, it gets to a nice cool 50 in the early mornings-- enough to keep things pleasant for the next day.

The hummers are here! The hummers are here!!

They're early this year. So far only a few boys-- a broad-tailed and a calliope-- but they are buzzing an fighting already. They actually arrived last week, and there has been nothing but snow, snow, and sub-freezing weather. They seem to be doing okay and draining the feeders. We also have had several Bullock's Oriels hitting the feeders already.

So far the plants and fruit trees seem to be doing okay with these (somewhat) late freezes. The local paper has just announced that the snow pack this year was at an 18-year high. Good for us at the Cottonwood Inn (both flora and fauna) and good for our guests who enjoy river rafting!