So I stole the new farm dog……

While I was away for work this past week a number of new and exciting adventures began on the farm….

The first call came just after the kids' bedtime my first night away…picking up the phone expecting to hear “Forrest won’t sleep unless you say good-night to her” but instead I was greeted with a chorus of “WE HAVE A NEW PUPPY AND HER NAME IS BELLA!!!” ….what the?....  Ohhhhh…. kkkaaaaaaay?!... I did know this might have been a possibility but I had not quite committed to the thought at that point… slight shock swam over my body as I contemplated what this meant…you see, I have never had a puppy before… we grew-up in a ‘cat household’ and our Greywacke Jones and Burt are testament to my historical devotion to cats…but now a DOG?! WOW that concept both frightened and excited me ~ the challenge was mutually daunting and a curiosity ~ the loyalty was equally irritating and intriguing… my mind was spinning...luckily I had two more nights to sleep on it...

….the next morning I awoke wondering how this ‘puppy’ was getting accustomed to the new environment and how the kids were reacting ~ curiosity got the better of me and I ventured into the arena of interrupting the morning routine in order to get the lowdown on Bella’s first night… in a brief discussion I heard that it wasn't as smooth as was hoped because in order to train Bella as a working ‘farm dog’ there was a ‘hands off’ policy and apparently she just seemed bummed… OH NO!! POOOOOOOOOR BELLA!.... Farmer Luke should NOT have told me that....as that was the beginning of her demise as a working ‘farm dog’…..

…the next two days/nights involved me checking up on her regularly and asking detail upon detail about her day and her disposition… and to make matters worse… Farmer Luke, who is hopeless on a computer (he'll happily attest to this), was unable to provide me with a picture of this new….fluffy…. baby….. puppy…. that needed….. ME….er…. I mean the FARM …ahem…..so yaaa, OK... I’ll keep my hands off her and respect the ‘training’… for the sake of the farm…no probs!............

…on the morning of my departure the second adventure of the week arrived....I got a very special call from our little Forrest Rea saying... “Moooommy? Mommy! Moooooommy! We have a new baby cow! Socks had her baby!....Oh ya! Oh ya! Oh ya! Whoop Whoop! OoooooH YA!” …. by the way, we tend to breakout in dance whenever something exciting happens…..*insert image*….Farmer Luke then came on the line and was clearly bursting with excitement ~ exploding with delight and beaming with confidence ~ it was a magical moment as it represented the beginning of the first calving season at Earth’s Harvest Farm….then it hit me....we are actually realizing this amazing dream that two years ago wasn't even in our vocabulary…Farmer Luke knew it too..I could hear it in his voice…..fighting off the urge to further romanticize about the enormity of the event, I listened as Farmer Luke painted the picture of what this meant for the farm and the pastures…. so exciting and we still had one more birth to go....

…my arrival home was full of anticipatory butterflies and giggles of homecoming as I was met by Ms. Rea and Farmer Luke at the train station ~ the drive home was a frenzy of excited natter covering various topics of animal husbandry and the ‘know how’ and ‘what to do’ when rearing a working farm dog that will protect the herd from predators….I was certainly drawn into the ‘idea’ of a working farm dog and I understood the need for one at this initial stage…I agree the concept is actually really COOL….um ya…the CONCEPT was great....but putting it into PRACTICE was a complete FAIL....on my part. 
 
immediately.

the moment I set eyes on her.

I didn't even think twice I just dove right in....hands off what? 

completely unabashed.

HONESTLY!! What was Farmer Luke thinking?…did he actually think for one minute I’d be able to resist the temptation to snuggle and cuddle and love and care for this…not so small…12 week old fluffy white puppy? I mean COME ON I’ve never had a puppy before...my defenses are pretty much non-existent ~ what the hell do I know? I just see fluffy white adorable puppy….nothing more….nothing else......ain’t naiveté adorable?! 

….it instantly became “PUPPY PLAYTIME” and the kids and I spent the entire evening outside playing and loving-up our new Bella….er....I mean....the ‘working farm dog’… Farmer Luke kept his distance probably in hope of fixing any damage this unfettered fun might cause….but by day three he had to step up and crush our frolicking antics….OK…the truth is…by day three I pulled the plug on the working farm dog thing and declared Bella to be part of the family….that’s right…I’m a mama bear and if you think I’m going to ignore a white fluffy puppy on my property until the barn is finished you’ve got another thing coming!  

Sorry Farmer Luke….the sheep can have a Llama

To round off our week of new adventures...Sunday night the second and final calf was born ~ calving season is officially over at Earth’s Harvest Farm and our first 100% organic grass-fed herd of Angus is underway!!!!!!!  

Woohoo Woohoo WHOOP oh ya oh ya WHOOP WHOOP oh YAAAAA!
*happy dance time*