They patrol. They investigate. They protect. Ever watchful.
Samson
Belladonna
Raven
Vigilant
Tag: guardian
The Weekend
After Friday’s bitter winter storm, Saturday was very much like living inside of a snowglobe. The high winds had ceased and the snow continued, falling gently… leaving everything looking like the winter wonderland it should be in January.
Although bitterly cold on Sunday, everyone seemed to be enjoying the winter weather. The deer came up out of the hollow and were grazing on the knoll most of the afternoon. And Bella despite having two shelters and a dog house at her disposal, chose to sleep out on the side of the hill under the goat tree.
{this moment}
A Friday ritual.
A single photo – no words – capturing a single moment from the week.
A simple, special extraordinary moment.
A moment to pause, savor and remember.
Participating with the SouleMama blog.
Just like Sam Sheepdog
Samson is in with the ewe lambs for the winter, and just like Sam Sheepdog he spends much of his day in a very business-like manner – sititng at the top of the hill by his dog house on the lookout for the bad guys or patrolling the perimeter fencing.
Hmmmm…. there seems to be one very tall lamb at the pile of hay…
Oh, it looks like our Sam has decided to employ the art of camouflage and disguise
or maybe he is just looking for a really warm spot in the sun.
Good dog, Sam.
Conspirators
While Samson relaxed in the sun, under the goat tree, Belladonna appeared to be conspiring with Poseidon and Aragorn. They spent about an hour chatting at the small walk-through gate. It seemed that the rams were trying to talk Belladonna into helping them break through that gate (which is not in the best of shape due to a previous ram incident). Luckliy Bella was distracted by the crow family when they came by to steal food from from her bowl and the breakout was averted.
Raven Knows Best
No matter how busy you are… how many chores are waiting… when you are invited on a long explore by Raven…
you follow…
otherwise, you would have missed this reminder of how small your worries are compared to the grandness of a giant puffy cloud in an endless blue sky
that grace and beauty can pop up out of the most unexpected places
that something as small as a dime can stop you in your tracks
and that even a long, forgotten stump can be quite lovely when the sunlight hits it just right.
You are reminded that you are so lucky to have such a great companion, because in the case of a long explore, Raven really does know best.
{this moment}
{this moment}
A Friday ritual.
A single photo – no words – capturing a single moment from the week.
A simple, special extraordinary moment.
A moment to pause, savor and remember.
Participating with the SouleMama blog
(honor and praise for Samson this week following his brave attempt to save Erma, our last guinea, from the fox)
It is Bella’s Day
Happy Birthday, Belladonna!
(Maremma – Pastore Abruzzese Maremmano – sheepdog)
Tending the Flock
Over the weekend, we brought the ewes and lambs from the paddock near the knoll back to the barn for CD+T vaccinations and FAMACHA checks. We brought them through a moving lane on the outside of the perimiter fence as that was the easiest and shortest route. We had one lamb escapee, but it ran alongside and found its way back in before we got everyone in to the barn. All the lambs had full bellies, and they and the ewes were ‘all present and accounted for’. We only had to treat one lamb (which may have been stress from getting its head stuck in a wire panel) and one ewe; praying that the rest of the summer goes as well!
When we finished, we made the return trip back to the knoll paddock where we had oats and corn waiting in the feeders and vinegar in the watering trough. By the way, we bought our first shepherd’s crook this spring, and we honestly don’t know how we ever got along without it. We bought a fiberglass one since it would be lighter; such a great investment!
We also moved Belladonna to the large adjoining paddock. She is very excited and happy to be right next to her charges, and she has a very large space to patrol. There are squirrels to tree, and all kinds of new things to explore.
Samson continues to guard the barn paddock where we hope to encourage Mr. Foxey Loxey to develop new stalking grounds. He is also guarding the yearlings and the triplets but more about that tomorrow.
Musical Pastures
We have been playing a bit of musical pastures with the guardians. Samson has moved over to the graveyard field with the yearlings. He is used to being moved from one paddock to another, and only asks that his beloved dog house moves with him. He is kind of partial to his turquoise feed bucket and red water bucket, also; getting slightly bent out of shape if either of those is switched out. But for now, he is happily installed with the yearlings, and they are getting used to the idea that this large fellow is their friend. We hope to accomplish two things – cement relations between Samson and the yearlings and discourage the red fox family from continuing to use this field as a shortcut, well before the new peeps arrive in May.
Meanwhile, Belladonna has moved into a paddock adjoining the expectant ewes. She now has her own big-girl dog house (sadly, not pictured) and her own small area to patrol. She is still not allowed in with the sheep unattended, but this should help her learn a little more self-control. She is such a big girl that it is hard to remember that she is only 8 1/2 months old. Bella has taken to her new role whole-heartedly… exploring her new surroundings and becoming much more watchful at night. She is taking her job very seriously and as you can see in the bottom picture, has quickly adopted the typical daylight position of the exhausted guardian.
Verde Farm and Dandelion House have joined forces this week to host a combined party of Farm Friends and Farmgirls – please hop over and visit them here.