Things have been slow on the Farmlet this week, unless of course you are a Walker! And, as it goes with a two year old, he is constantly being monitored and knows one word PERFECTLY:
NO!
No! That is not a toy, no cats, no shoes, no socks, no table legs, no sticks, no leaves, and
no pumpkins!
And on the brighter side, literally and figuratively, I have a near finish on my Posh Posies quilt. I got it back from the new quilter this week and it needs binding for a finish. Remember this?
and peeking out from behind on the design wall is a nearly complete assembly of this quilt…
Can you imagine? When I started this adventure I used to cut as I went to make a quilt. I have seen the error of my ways. Now I cut all, label the stacks, and it goes faster! Imagine that?
And here it is by popular request – the obligatory cute puppy shot.
B.F. Walker
His eyes may tell you he is innocent of all charges, but his leash and collar tell the real story.
~*~
NOTES on chewed pumpkins: I recently read somewhere, that a bit of pumpkin is good for dogs. So I’m thinking of cooking it down, mashing it up and then mixing with a bit of brown rice to make frozen dog treats. (2 p to 1 r) If you know differently, please do tell!
Life on the Farmlet 
Love the posh posies quilt – a lovely way to show off some gorgeous fabrics.
Of course I love the Walker. Who wouldn’t?
According to my Dogs’ Dinners book – a Christmas present last year –
“Pumpkin is a very good source of soluble fibre and vitamins A, C and E. It’s easily digestible and can help improve skin and coat problems in dogs as well as being helpful in soothing short bouts of diarrhoea and constipation. You can use tinned pumpkin too – just make sure it has no added salt, sugars, sweeteners or seasonings.”
(from ‘Dogs’ Dinners’ by Debora Robertson published by Pavilion in the U.K. 2018.)
So, he obviously knows what’s good for him.
Lynn, this is really good news on the pumpkin! I was going to wait to feed it to him in summer, but now I think I will give him some right away. He has a bit of a puppy dry skin issue at the moment, so yes, he knows what he needs! In your book were there any suggestions on how much and how often to give it to them?
Thank you for quilt love too! I have finally gotten to a place where quilting is fun and not a trial. Right where I wanted to be!
She basically cooks a big chunk of pumpkin or a butternut squash – until tender, drains it, leaves it to steam for 10mins to get rid of excess moisture, purées it then, when it’s cool she mixes it with 200g plain yoghurt. Apparently it will keep, covered, in the fridge for up to a week or can be frozen in ice cube trays for up to 4 months. I haven’t tried it myself but my dogs love yoghurt and I’m sure would adore it with pumpkin if I get round to making it for them.
Bon Appetit Walker and friend.
Thanks, Lynn!
I make a big batch of ‘dog soup’ every so often. It’s pumpkin, carrots, potatoes, zucchini (whatever’s handy, really). That gets cooked in about 4 litres of water (say a gallon) till soft, and then blended to a thin soup. When I’m making Mouse’s food, he gets some grain free dry kibble, some fresh meat, some grain free ‘dog sausage’, and a cupful of warmed soup poured over the top. He loves the flavour, the extra liquid is good and the vegies give him a useful source of fibre and vitamins. Certainly I scarcely need to wash the bowls, they’re licked so clean. And of course, the soup freezes well, so I don’t have to cook it too often.
Walker is adorable, and clearly already expert at the innocent “who, me?” expression…
Kate, I never used to think of vegetables for our dogs, maybe the odd bite if they were hanging around in the kitchen, but not as a regular addition to their diet. Then when Buddy was not willing to eat much we started giving him this doggy stew in a container… and put a bit in the Noodle’s dinner so he didn’t feel left out. It had carrots, green beans, potato, peas and some brown rice in it depending on the meat used. Now Noodle is hooked on the addition to his kibble. Guess I should start making the dog soup here too. It certainly will cost less than the name brand doggie stew! Thanks!
Love your quilt,it’s lovely! Look at those little teeth marks, that pumpkin was such a nice teething chew.😄 my dogs, chickens and horses love pumpkin ,squash and sweet potatoes . Snuggles our inside dog likes sweet potatoes even raw.
Thank you, Deb! The experience of making it almost makes me feel like an expert at the curved seam. 😉
Teething chews. Sigh. He is destroying all his toys and his bedding too! As for the pumpkin, my chickens love them! They will peck a hole into one and then slowly eat it up as the week progresses. Our cold weather keeps it from going moldy so I let them keep at it. Geese? “NO WAY am I eating that! We don’t do orange food!!!” I will be trying some sweet potatoes and pumpkin on the pups this week. Thanks!
The obligatory shot is a good one.
Thank you, Tom, it was purely accidental. Photographing him is like trying to catch your flying Chaffinches at the feeder. Always on the move and without the benefit of your great camera and lens!
Walker sure is entertaining. I’m thinking this “No” business will go on for quite a while. Lollipop is two now and she is still very much a puppy at times! We’ve used pumpkin in the past, to treat diarrhea, but getting my crew (deer included) to eat it is has always been a chore. They’re not so fond of it. The chickens love it!
That Posh Posies quilt is lovely!! It this one you’ll be selling?
Lori, Walker is more than entertaining. I think he is Buddy reincarnated! And yes, “NO” took over 2 years to sink in without having to say it to Buddy, all day, every day. I can’t believe that Lollipop is two already! Only ones here that won’t eat pumpkin are the the geese. “AAAAAH! Orange food again, she’s trying to poison us!” They are such picky eaters for geese. They will eat the bark off of my apple and peach trees, nibble my vegetables to stumps, but they will not touch orange food and most weeds… Go figure.
Now, this is odd — or at least coincidental. One sign of aging that’s becoming troublesome for me is fragile skin. It doesn’t take much at all for a cut or scrape to appear, and my skin obviously is thinning. I was reading about nutrition for human skin, and the advice was — more vitamins A, C, and E. I guess I’ll be adding pumpkin to my diet, too. Now I’m wondering if butternut squash has the same vitamins. I’ll have to check that out, as I love butternut squash.
“One sign of aging that’s becoming troublesome for me is fragile skin. It doesn’t take much at all for a cut or scrape to appear, and my skin obviously is thinning.”
Linda, I hear you on that! I gave myself a nasty B&B mark a few weeks ago just trying to lift the corner of a band aid I’d applied to a deep cut from kitten claws. I didn’t even see a mark until later and it was stunning! We are of an age aren’t we? Half the time I am afraid to go sleeveless in public because I think people will look at Bob and blame him… or that they will think I am a “cutter”. So, thank you for sharing this information with me. Let’s try it and compare notes in a few months. 🙂
At our house ‘Pumpkin’ Pie has always been made with the dark-orange fleshed Butter Cup or Turban Squash rather than actual Pumpkins (which are such massive plants and total water-hogs in comparison to the much more efficient (and productive: ) squash plants. But having said that, those Lumina (Spooky for the small ones) Pumpkins in your photo also have that beautiful deep-orange flesh, I believe?: ) Oh, and pumpkin seed oil is also very good for the skin as well, so be sure to save the ‘guts’ for your beasties’ dinner. (And to keep all of those precious vitamins intact, they should be fed raw; )
Actually, the variety of pumpkin is a heritage seed called Long Island Cheese. The name came from the shape resembling a cheese wheel. And yes, they were orange inside. They were very disease resistant and prolific! I watered them only three times over the summer. I will be discussing what I did in the raised beds that made the difference in a later post. But, definitely not water guzzlers and the largest ones weighed in at about 15 to 20 lbs!
My favorite squash to replace regular orange pumpkin is a good Waltham Butternut!
Love the posy quilt – all those curved seams look very scary!! Very cute puppy too 🙂
Thank you, Margaret, not too scary. Each petal edge is composed of three drunkards path blocks; with two out and one in. I started out a bit shaky, but by the end of the quilt I felt pretty confident. Walker has my ❤ for sure!
The quilts are beautiful! As for pumpkins, it is Max’s favorite food! When I make pumpkin waffles, he sits up and begs until I give him a piece. Anything pumpkin is his favorite. It even comes close to winning over popcorn, which is another story!
Lovely quilt! Is it my imagination, or do Walker’s feet look a little large? Sign of times to come? 🙂
Thank you, Joanne! No,it is not your imagination!
He’s been here about a month, arrived weighing 8 pounds and as of yesterday weighs 20!!!
Watch his protein intake Lynda. (I say this as a life-time lover of Labrador Retrievers) You don’t want him growing too fast and most commercial ‘Puppy’ food is over-weighted with protein to do exactly that. When it comes to skeletal development, slow and steady growth gives much better joints and stronger bone density.
Thanks, Deb. I haven’t had the time to write about it, but the vet has definitively given him the Border Collie mix on his heritage. The jury is out on what he’s mixed with…
I would give the same advise to anyone with a pup, growing too quickly is counterproductive to bone strength. Although we don’t breed dogs anymore, my parents had litters of Beagles and Labs before they had me, lol
That puppy face melts my heart! Even though mr. walker is going through his terrible 2’s I’m sure mom spoils him with lots of kisses and cuddles! Your quilts are stunning..I would love to see a step by step on how you make your quilts or what inspires you!
“..I would love to see a step by step on how you make your quilts or what inspires you!”
That is one of the things I need to work on. I really should!
Yes, he does, Brittany! And I do spoil him. A lot. Lots of toys, lots of cuddles, but no doggy kisses. I have never been a pet kisser; no matter how cute they are. Bob on the other had has no qualms about kissing pups or cats. 😀
You heard correctly Linda, Pumpkin (or more likely what we’d call a Squash on this side of the Atlantic; ) is VERY good for animals and a good part of what my guy eats every day. In our family, the dogs’ favourite treat after we’d roasted squash upside-down in the oven were left-over bits in the hollowed-out shells. They LOVE squash skins!
That’s a lot of “NO!”s… At two months, I’m guessing he’s teething, so some chunks of RAW squash could do double duty as a treat for what he does well (“Good Dog!”) and as soother? Not to mention the fact that they’re power- packed with nutrients: )
I don’t know what I love more, your quilts or your pups. Yes, Pumpkin is good for dogs in increments. Its an excellent source for dogs with constipation. A tbsp.. The rind however will give them to fast of a poop. Just forewarned in case they keep chewing them. Love your
blog.
Thank you, PrimsNPretties! I need to cook down some of those pumpkins for us and for the pups. As these were my first attempt and growing pumpkins, well, I have not wanted to cut into them… I have just spent my time gazing at them and enjoying their beauty. Thankfully they for the most part, keep well in the dark pantry.
Oh he looks such a calm little puppy Lynda lol…. but I know how puppies are, messing around lol . He must be a big boy now, please show us a picture.
What a wonderful kilting work, I just love it.
chatou
Chatou, He was one year old last Tuesday and still a puppy brain! I hadn’t realized that I left your comment languishing here and for that I am sorry. There were four of you… that’s embarrassing. I have several things that want to be posted here, not the least of which is Walker! Coming soon, I promise. And thank you for your vote of confidence in my quilting too!