Taylor – Nancy Tart: Writing for Life

Meet Swan, Tiger, and Grizzly

Here are Becky and Christina’s newest triplets – Swan, Tiger, and Grizzly! Cuddly balls of fur and cuteness!

January 24, 2019

Meet Swan, Tiger, and Grizzly!

Becky and Christina’s guinea pigs had three little piglets! (Taylor, mom, is Christina’s whom we adopted, and Becky’s TobyMac was purchased with the store employee promising he was really a she… read here for that story!)

So about every six months or so, our little piggies pop out a couple of new piglets. First was our Sweet Potato, who went to a lovely home near ours. The last was another trio. The girls take finding a home for their sweet babies a big responsibility!

Becky finds a “theme” for their names. The first one was vegetable, the second one was desserts, and this one is animals.

This is Swan.

Tiger (so named for the white stripe)

And Grizzly (coloring played a role in this one’s name)

We don’t know the sex of these little piglets just yet because Becky thinks they are “too comfy” snuggling with Mommy and Daddy to “invade” and examine them. Toby is such a devoted Daddy to the piglets. He will even make a growling fussy noise if one of the girls opens the nursery roof when he’s bringing grass up to Taylor while she’s nursing the piglets. (They like fresh Spanish Needles better than even Timothy Hay!)

But when the adults come down to take a baby break, the girls get to peek at the babies! When it is cool, as it has been lately, we don’t take them out of their protection until they are better able to regulate their body temperature. Baby Guinea Pigs are born fully furry, eyes open, scampering about, and almost independent. (They will nurse from mom for 3 to 6 weeks, but start eating fresh grass brought up by Daddy almost immediately!)

In the cycle of our little farm the younglings get to see birth, life, and death as it plays out in seasons on a smaller scale than in our own lives. We are honored to see births and become responsible for the small life gifted to us (yes, even the frog egg cluster they saved from the drying pool and hatched them to “save them” from drying up). We will keep one or two of these little angels as they become permanent members of our little tribe. I love how tenderly the girls take care of their animal responsibilities – Lucas calls them “my animal friends.”

Thanks for reading!

Type at you next time…

~Nancy Tart

Cousin Visits!

Cousin visits to our “mini-farm” aka place to get messy, play with animals, discover eggs hidden outside, and enjoy togetherness!

January 18, 2019

Cousin Visits!

My sister, brother, and their three little ones (Sister-Cousin and Brother-Cousins!) have moved back from Kansas!

They came out to our mini-farm (muddy spot with a pond, outside tank with tadpoles, indoor goldfish, foraging chickens, playful Guinea Pigs, cute fluffy bunny, and jumpy adult dogs who think they are 4 months old) over the weekend and the kids were totally excited!

This time, we had very few photographers snapping pictures because they were too busy playing with their cousins!

Lucas was so excited to share his green car (motorized car his Grandma Joanne bought him for his 2^nd birthday) but the battery ran out too quickly – so he shared his Christmas bicycle and his train tracks. For him, those items are his dearest things in the world; train tracks, cars, his bicycle, and his green car.

“Baby JJ” – who isn’t a baby anymore! – and Lucas played train tracks for a bit. JJ liked the bicycle too. Outside JJ and Mandy wanted to see all the fluffy animals.

Anastasia helped show off Minuit, Kimberly’s little black Dwarf Holland Lop Bunny.

Little Minuit loves to eat carrot bits!

Mandy found Jaquline’s “hidden spot” in her bunkbed! (With big paper on the “wall.”)

Taylor and TobyMac did their popcorn jumps after the girls loaded them with Spanish Needles greens (chickens, bunnies, and Guinea Pigs love them before they turn to seed aka the needle part).

Above is the wildflower called Spanish Needle, a favorite food of many small animals.

Jillian showed off her Uncle Buddy knowledge by telling them that people can eat the wildflowers and leaves too. (Yes, but they are bitter unless cooked, and I hoped her younger cousins were distracted by the cuteness of the piggies and missed the “you can eat this weed” tidbit.)

We love cousin visits! It is always fun with family shares their time with each other.

Thanks for reading!

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~Nancy Tart

Three Little Pig(let)s

Three big pigs and three little piglets! Raising our babies for joy!

October 12, 2018

Three Little Pigs

Today’s post is for complete cuteness! (pictures and a video)

We have three Guinea Pigs who are adults; Taylor, Toby, and Avery.

We are raising the three little piglets; Rocky Road, Cheesecake, and Custard.

Cheesecake is very unique (to us) because he looks like two different animals depending on what side you see! Notice:

Yes! Those pictures are both of the same little Guinea Piglet, Cheesecake!

Cheesecake and Custard go to their new mommy on Tuesday! The girls are very excited and have been talking to these two little piglets about their new home.

Ready for a cute laugh?

This is how Guinea Pigs eat…

So adorable!

Soon our three little piglets will be in their new homes – we love raising baby animals to bring joy to others!

Thanks for reading!

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~Nancy Tart

Baby Guinea Pig Names

Rebeccah’s creative naming scheme for the cute little Guinea Pig triplets!

September 22, 2018

Baby Guinea Pig Names!

Today we get to introduce our baby Guinea Pigs by name!

Rebeccah decided to use dessert names this time. Since we won’t have them forever, she gives them “temporary” names that match their color or personalities. We’re raising them to sell once they are at least six weeks old. (They will be six weeks old and ready for their forever homes after October 20^th.)

So this beauty is “Rocky Road.” She is the one who looked like a squirrel at birth. She is a gorgeous mottled brown color.

This solid tan one is “Custard,” and she follows the dad, TobyMac, all over the run! She is super cuddly.

The third one is currently called “Cheesecake.” He is the only male in the triplets. He’s a half-and-half mix of Custard and Rocky Road as far as color goes. He is Jillian’s new baby!

The girls love being the Guinea Pigs’ caretakers. They spend a lot of time cuddling and loving on them to make sure they will be just as cuddly and friendly as their parents. So far, they are thirteen days old and super friendly.

Here is Daddy (TobyMac, big tan blob), and all three triplets!

Mama (Taylor, big tan/brown/white) takes good care of them!

Near the end of October, we’ll be saying “goodbye” to Rocky Road and Custard as they find loving homes. One thing I know, these cuddly, snuggly critters will forever leave their tiny pawprints on all of our hearts!

Thanks for reading!

Type at you later…

~Nancy Tart

Additions to the Squad

Welcoming our newest little farm members: the Guinea Pig Triplets!

September 10, 2018

Additions to the Squad

If you’ve read my blogs, you know my oldest three girls saved and bought Guinea Pigs. Each thought she was getting a female, but since Ginger was discovered to be TobyMac, this amazing trio of little animals became a part of our farm. They appear to have new little ones every six months or so. They are now called “the squad.”

Toby and Taylor’s first little angel, whom we called “Sweet Potato,” found a home with some lovely ladies and an animal-loving girl. (Picture is TobyMac & Sweet Potato)

Sunday, we came home to discover that Taylor had done it again! She had birthed triplets!

One is a mottled gray-brown color. This one looks just like a squirrel (she’s not, I promise, we watched Taylor birth her!)

One is multicolor (black, brown, orange, and white), this was the youngest. Jaquline is holding this one.

One is pure tan just like TobyMac.

These beautiful babies haven’t been named just yet as they are brand new and smaller than Sweet Potato was at birth. (Guinea Pigs usually have twins, but their offspring are larger if single and smaller if triplets.) These tiny babies were about 1/10^th of mama’s size. Taylor is a very good mama, and has burrows in the nest for all three of them to hide and snuggle. Baby Guinea Pigs are super curious as soon as all their adult Guinea Pig elders lick and groom them clean. (Even Avery, our second adult female, was helping Toby and Taylor groom these three adorable fluffy balls!)

Now we get the joy and privilege of raising these little animals. Three little Guinea Pigs. Kimberly (Avery’s official owner) plans on saving some money to make another Guinea Pig run and if one of these littles are a male, she’ll keep him for Avery to pair up with. Of course, Jillian has claimed ownership and caretaking of the next one they keep. Kimberly and Jillian are now mapping out money-saving goals to have $80 for materials in six weeks. I see lots of lawn-mowing and car-cleaning in their near future.

Thanks for reading!

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~Nancy Tart

Guinea Pig “Toddler”

June 30, 2018

Guinea Pig “Toddler”

Since we had a baby Guinea Pig (Sweet Potato) born on the fourth of June, we’ve been studying Guinea Pig growth.

Oh my, do they grow fast!

Not only do these amazing animal moms deliver live babies with a full coat, open eyes, claws, and teeth, but the baby is about 20% of the mom’s size. (About 10% to 15% of her weight though.)

Sweet Potato’s mom is Taylor (Picture is mom & baby)

Her dad is TobyMac (Picture is dad & baby)

At 22 days old, Sweet Potato learned how to go down the ladder from the hutch where she was born to the ground to graze on grass (Guinea Pigs are better tractors than chickens! They graze grass down to about ½” tall and then squeal because they want more!). The girls have now stopped calling her a “baby” and claim she’s a “toddler” Guinea Pig.

The girls have been loving on Sweet Potato since she was born. They snuggle with and coddle all three adults, but Sweet Potato is the sweetest. She knows how to tickle!

One day soon, Sweet Potato will find a lifetime home, but for now, the girls love “raising” her so she will keep being sweet and friendly!

Thanks for reading!

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~Nancy Tart

Welcome Sweet Potato

June 8, 2018

Welcome, Sweet Potato

The girls started a new project: guinea pigs. Christina saved and bought a female from the pet store. Rebeccah and Kimberly “rehomed” two females whose family was going overseas.

We built a big cage for them to graze and roam in. (Guinea pigs hop like bunnies when they are really happy!) Well, “Ginger” was really “TobyMac.” Since all three of these animals were happily living in one cage together – Taylor surprised us with “Sweet Potato.”

(Now, the girls know for sure how to sex guinea pigs from birth so they won’t be fooled by a salewoman again.)

Now their guinea pig project has become hand raising babies to sell. They are gorgeous! Baby guinea pigs are born with open eyes, full fur, claws, and teeth! They are about 20% of the adult’s size but 10% of the weight (they are skinny, long things).

Sweet Potato stretches to look half her mom’s size, but when she curls up in a cute little ball, she’s so tiny – about the size of a ping-pong ball. By weight, she’s only 10% of mom’s size. Baby guinea pigs grow super fast. Between three and six weeks, they are independent. They actually start trying to graze the first day! About 3 months, they are adult size! Males get bigger than females. However, TobyMac is only 4 months old so he is still smaller than the over 1 year old girls, Taylor and Avery.

The girls are super excited to “spoil” Sweet Potato for a few weeks so another family gets a loving, cuddly, super sweet little pet!

Thanks for reading!

Type at you next time…

~Nancy Tart

Crafting Cages

June 5, 2018

Crafting Cages

Last month we built two big mobile cages for our livestock

One is for the “teenager” chickens (those between just feathered and adult, about 6 weeks to 24 weeks). Rebeccah bought the clearance Buff Orpington straight run (mixed males and females) from Tractor Supply at the end of their chick days and they are now a little over 12 weeks old – time for selling the males before we eat them at 24 weeks!

The other was for Rebeccah, Kimberly, and Christina’s newest project: Guinea Pigs. They had one named Jack, who, just like his namesake, was adept at getting out of cages (starting with a two-day excursion on the day she brought him home!). On one of his excursions, he decided to disappear into the wild for good (I think he’d heard some Wild Kratts: free and in the wild!).

But TobyMac stayed with his two girls, Taylor and Avery.

The bright orange is TobyMac and the pretty one below is Avery. Taylor is camera shy.

Shop day had us designing and building the cages. They are night-time predator proof and easy to move. We discovered that Guinea Pigs are a perfect lawn mower: one day and they graze the grass to ½ inch height. (Formula = 3 adult pigs to 32 square feet of grass.)

Kimberly and Jaquline using the portable drill to make pilot holes and drive screws.

Rebeccah tacking on the chicken wire.

Notice the painted guinea pig on the door when it’s open.

Even Lucas was helping! He painted, held screws, fetched tools, and helped measure boards to cut.

The best drill ever! Plus wire cutters for the chicken wire.

Three different lengths of screws and our poultry staples

We precut all of the lumber for the second cage!

The girls learned and practiced using power tools, critical thinking (this looked good on paper, but in reality it will cause this problem, how can we fix it?), planning, budgeting (looking prices up online and estimating our actual cost before we went), and applying this knowledge in a practical way to create a final product. We painted the walls to help keep them from rotting, but Rebeccah, who is never satisfied with leaving something plain and functional, turned them into a work of bi-colored art. (I only had white, so she had to mix dyes to get another color!)

Although this was a “day off” from school, the girls learned and used various practical skills and developed two products for our family livestock. They had a blast! They learned a lot. They had a very successful and memorable day creating and a huge surge of pride when they look out there now – something they made is being used everyday by cute little animals!

Thanks for reading!

Type at you later…

~Nancy Tart

Tag: Taylor

Meet Swan, Tiger, and Grizzly

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Cousin Visits!

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Three Little Pig(let)s

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Baby Guinea Pig Names

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Additions to the Squad

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Guinea Pig “Toddler”

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Welcome Sweet Potato

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Crafting Cages

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