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?!
immediately.
the moment I set eyes on her.
I didn't even think twice I just dove right in....hands off what?
completely unabashed.
….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*
Woohoo Woohoo WHOOP oh ya oh ya WHOOP WHOOP oh YAAAAA!*happy dance time*
