Now the eggs are staring to roll in - roll being a relative term. Three a day Saturday and Sunday which means the two surviving comets and the australorp are laying. But do you suppose there is any physical similarity between any two eggs so they could be matched as being from the same breed? Nope. Three different shades of light brown, three different shapes, two different laying places (I caught one comet in the cubbyhole by the door, and I suspect the other is laying there, too).

Next project: quality of eggs as related to consumption.

If that were all, things the world would be spinning in a greased groove. But alas, that's not my lot in life. Ripley disappeared on Saturday morning and has yet to turn up. Now GP's are prone to roam - it's so much a part of their character that some people refer to them as "Disappyrenees"). It comes out of their instinct for protecting herds of livestock, but what I've read tells me that this is seen in adult dogs, not pups. I suspect Ripley wandered away as part of a puppyhood indiscretion or curiosity and either got lost, got in over her head somewhere, or was picked up by someone. Or some combination thereof.

So calls have been made to the Pound and the Humane Society, and Reward posters are going up around the neighborhood and other key areas. Hopefully she will return to assume her duties.

The irony being that we really needed her around on Saturday to help herd the kid goats and perhaps help to distract my daughter's two cart goats, who are undergoing intensive training in preparation for the fair at the end of the month.

Doggone it.

Update, same day, a few minutes later: Behold, the power of blogging! No sooner does the news of the missing puppy hit the net when I get a phone call from home saying that the errant hound has returned. It turns out she was at the farm across the street - we had called over there Saturday, nobody had seen her at that point - perhaps she hadn't been gotten there yet. Anyway, my wife and daughter drove the goat cart over there and dropped off a flyer, and apparently they used it later to make a photo ID on their new arrival. Dog home and kenneled, world now spinning in greased groove. Note: dog to have appointment with leash and spray bottle to learn not to cross highway.

Have a good day, everyone!