Where will I put the pets?

Today, if all goes well, and I see no reason it shouldn't, we become the owners of a boat.  A pretty big boat, but not as big as my house.  And that is significant, because the plan is that we move onto this boat and live on it for a while.

WHAT?!  When did this all happen?!  Well, I'm going to write more about this, but one of our first considerations was where do we put the pets?

Part of what decided us to buy the boat was the availability of a cheap berth in a convenient location.  We have two dogs.  Sam is very old and sits on her mat all day, but Emma is younger, dopey and super enthusiastic.  We won't be moored out in the water, so we will be able to step off the side and walk the dogs easily, and Emma will probably go to work with my husband every day.  His work will be a very short bike ride down the road.

So it may take some adjustment, but I think we will manage with the dogs.  We do have options of placing them with friends, but that wouldn't be our first choice.

I think the the cat will transition easily, it will just mean a litterbox.  And hopefully he'll keep the seagulls off the roof!

The chickens, ducks, sheep and cows will either have to find new homes (some of them were planned for the freezer shortly anyway) or we will 'gift' them to our tenants.  That's another thing we have to do, find tenants for our lifestyle block.  Oh man, the list of to-dos is huge!

I will try and post pictures of my new abode soon.

What I saw this morning...

My ducks eating their breakfast.  Ducks are rude and loud and obnoxious, then they shut up as soon as their beaks are full....hmmm, sounds like a few people I know.

Wildpuss, pretending to be a tiger.  He's not a fastidious cat and doesn't mind the dew.

Emma saying good morning to Wildpuss and Wildpuss not looking so amused.  Don't worry, WP, I don't like the wet nose either!

Them's thar turkeys on thar hills!

I love this one.  She looks like she's saying, "We are not amused," in her best posh voice.  As in, we are not amused that you are taking pictures BEFORE you feed us.

Such an enthusiastic, dopey dawg.  Being a labrador, trained as a gun dog, Emma feels she has to carry something in her mouth at all times.  Today she's found a bit of wood.  Usually it's a rock, which is bad.  Check out her blunted tooth.  She will drop them when we tell her too, but as soon as our back is turned...

And another pretty sunrise.  Can't help myself, I've a million shots of pretty sunrises.

Build me a shed and paint it red.

I need a shed!  A great, big shed! 

Hubby needs a shed.  A great, big shed.

And I think it's finally going to happen.  I won't bore you with long complicated details about delayed building consents, held-up certificate's of acceptance, dastardly neighbours and shed building companies in receivership (gosh, it took so long to type that, the whole story would have put you to sleep), but finally it seems like the shed might be built by the end of summer. 

Why do we need a shed so bad?

If I step out my back door, I look straight at a bunny cage.  Top tier has Fluffy and her ten babies, bottom tier has four-week-old chicks.  If I look to the right, the pet lamb is penned here at night.  In my laundry/bathroom is a brooder with another 17 chicks in it, these ones are four days old.  And the incubator with another 29 eggs in it.  Animals poop, and poop smells - no matter how often you clean them out!

I'm also sick of the junk.  I have a seriously dilapidated caravan out my front window.  It stores things like camping gear, surfboards, and home brew kegs.  It's not the nicest view and I want it gone (can you hear my foot stomping?).  And an ugly tarpaulin covered wood working machine (don't ask me what it does).  A tractor, a ride on lawn mower, tools, buckets....

My fugly bits - ugh.

Also, with the shed will come the veranda.  A five metre wide roof out the front of my house to give us shade in summer and rain protection in winter.  Very badly needed.  And of course, once that is built, then I can landscape under and around it.

Please, please - I have been very patient, but I WANT MY SHED!!!!!!