Farm Fresh Blog

There is an order to how things work on the farm.  It goes like this:

Feed livestock. Feed dogs. Feed me.  Because Briar spends all night with the sheep, I let her run and play with the dogs after breakfast because she wants to play rough games and the sheep do not.  She gets so enthralled with the lambs' games of chasing and mounting each other that she wants to play too.  This results in lots of running sheep.  Although she doesn't seem intent on harm, I don't want her running sheep.  Thus, I let the Border Collie and Blue Heeler get the zoom-zooms out of Briar before I deposit her tired little hiney back into the pasture. 

This morning there was a hitch in the plan.  Briar has learned to use the doggy door.  She went into the Laundry Room and stole a good long-sleeved white t-shirt.  Then she ran around the yard with my good shirt while her buddies chased her.  I happened to see a bright white shirt bouncing through the mud and became curious.  I called her.  She ran behind a rose bush with her prize.

Because it was muddy and I was sock-footed, I sent The Enforcer out in the mud to take the shirt away from her.  She growled at him.  Time just stopped.  The Earth stopped spinning.  The entire farm gasped.  Briar had growled at The Enforcer!  Was she crazy?  Cattle tremble at the mere sight of Blue Heeler, yet The Enforcer can glare at Blue Heeler and he pees on himself.  Who WAS this crazy woman who would GROWL at The Enforcer.  He stood over the puppy with the shirt in his mouth.  She wiggled her butt.  His eyebrows shot to the top of his head.  Rather than put her in the position where he would eat her, I called him back.  Then I put on my boots and tromped out in the mud myself.

"That's MY shirt!  Give it back!"

"Unhhh  uhhhhhhh!  Finders Keepers!!!"

I won.  She pouted.

It's about time to toss her back in the pasture with a bone. She is a delightful pup who is quite full of herself.  She is beginning to guard the pasture and it's quite comical to see her barking at something she believes is a threat. The sheep have totally accepted her now.  As soon as she grows up enough that she cannot fit through the squares in the cattle panels she will be able to be with them all the time.