Layla is one of the most important members of our farm. Even though she’s in training still, once fully trained, she will be invaluable. She’s not just a dog, she’s a team mate. Without her, I could lose my entire herd to predators. Layla is a working dog, or Livestock Guardian Dog (LGD). She’s a Great Pyrenees/Karakachan mix, but mostly Great Pyr. She stays outside with the livestock all the time. It’s not that we think any less of her and just keep her outside, it’s that

It’s been over a week since I last held Flora and I finally trust myself to write about her. This evening I’ll be saying goodbye to Frey, and my heart is just broken. I got Flora and her sister, Snicklefritz from the Animal Shelter 18 years ago. Having grown up with black cats, I wanted a solid white one. It was pure coincidence that just moments before I called the shelter to see if they had any kittens, a litter of 10 had just come in the door. When I got there to pick

We finally welcomed Lucy’s babies into the world last night. I wish I could say it was the best experience since we started farming, but it was a kind of chaotic, happy, exciting, and sad event. It was a stark reminder of the things that go wrong on a farm, of mortality when raising so many animals. I put Lucy in the kidding stall late in the day yesterday only halfway expecting her to kid. She looked ready, but I’ve been anticipating the birth for so long and I suppose I

This morning I grabbed my coat to head out and turn the chickens loose. Just as I was slipping my arms into the sleeves, I heard a “plop” and suddenly there was a mad scramble of mouse and cat at my feet. I didn't even notice I'd had a mouse clinging to my back! Once on the floor, the little mouse didn’t know whether to run up my leg to escape or not, and I didn’t know which way to go to avoid having the mouse run up my leg to escape. Because of its hesitation Frey seized