Blog Intro Video

by Meghan // July 3, 2019 // Comments off

So I’m trying to re-learn imovies on my Mac, so I can get some blog videos up. I’ve made so many, and never get them edited, so one of my goals for this summer is to start learning imovies and uploading to YouTube.

So, here is a little something I put together for the intro to videos. It isn’t perfected by any means, and will transition more smoothly into videos, hopefully. (I should probably shorten it, but for now this will do).

Enjoy! (and follow us on Youtube)

Disclaimer: Some links on this blog are affiliate links; when you use those links you help support my family, at no additional cost to you. Thank you!

Signs of Goat Labor {Officially on Baby Goat Watch 2019}

by Meghan // May 16, 2019 // Comments off

To say Lucy is about to pop would be an understatement.

This beauty is due to kid on May 20th, but I’m pretty sure (first timer here, her and me!) that her ligaments are gone, which would mean baby goats in 24 hours or so.

I’ve read, I’ve researched, I’ve watched who knows how many goat birthing videos… yep. So here is a regurgitation of what I take as signs of impending labor.

Signs to watch:

Ligaments- the ligaments that go from the tail base, down towards the hind legs (pin bones) are shaped like a V. Begin feelings these ligaments in the last month before due date; once labor is close these ligaments will go from hard like a pencil, to soft, to super squishy/not there. The pic below gives a general idea of where those ligaments are. They will be firm, the size of a pencil, and go down in a V towards the sides. Once they are close to labor (24 hours do so) those are nonexistent.
Swollen vulva- typically the goats vulva will increase in size once they are pregnant. But when labor is very near it will become swollen and very puffy. Below you can see her bag has been filling up and her vulva is enlarged. My other doe Wendy is 3 weeks out and neither her bag nor her vulva are as larger as Lucy’s. The color will turn very pink.
Discharge- Typically a goat will have discharge (mucus) from her vulva very near labor become very full before labor, more full than usual. Lucy’s udder is looking very full, but first fresheners don’t typically bag up as large until after labor (they say).
The tail- this is sort of part 2 of the ligaments. Once the ligaments are gone, and her body is prepping for labor, the tail does a sort of “dip”, instead of being straight.
Does will straighten back legs, stretching and arching back. This gets the kids into position. Lucy began doing this a little on May 16, this post was started on the 15th)
Bedding down/pawing- this one is tricky. All my goats “bed down” even my whether. However, I would expect the pawing to increase as their pain increases during contractions and labor. It is a sign of discomfort.
Active labor should look something like the tail dipping down and coming straight up, as if they’re going to potty, but instead they’re pushing through contractions. Lucy is doing this, but every time it is just her pooping … She is going potty NON stop, and I wonder if goats clean themselves out before labor like other animals, and sometimes people?
I’ve read they will also chew at their sides, and look at their rears a lot during early labor. Lucy has been doing this a lot today.

Lucy has been grunting non stop, panting, and laying a lot. This could be because she’s miserably pregnant (ha, I know how you feel sweet girl) or, she’s close to labor. I supposed my next update will include what was early labor, actual labor, and just misery.

Below are some too cute pics- Wendy being jealous of Lucy getting attention, and the puppies laying with the goats. We have 4 boys left for sale as of today and they’re just all so impressive. I love watching them and learning about their behaviors.

Mid Homeschool Year Update{2018/2019}

by Meghan // April 25, 2019 // Comments off

You’ve been asking, so here it is:

We have made it to March, which is actually pretty far past mid year. I will break things down per student/age and what we do as a family.

This is going to look like … a lot. I think I say that all the time. We loop schedule our extras, so extras are on a continuous loop that we don’t fret over doing every single day. Because my 8 year old is a very independent learner in most areas, she has a lot of independent-learning-style subjects, as you will see.

Keep in mind we do a LOT of oral learning via reading, memory work review, and research interest led learning. I have each child tell us what they’re learning about so everyone can learn from everyone, in a school house style environment.

In our homeschool, like most, learning time isn’t confined to the table, so while we do the things listed below, learning expands over our entire day, our entire life.

Family Learning:

Sonlight Core B: History, read alouds, and Bible reading. We have LOVED the read alouds this year! (I paired up the SL read alouds with different Arrows from Brave Writer for my oldest, to make a LA program.)
Free Writing: We journal and freewrite as part of our family culture. All of my kids enjoy writing stories, and are especially into poems right now. Sometimes I choose something the kids have written to edit and revise together, so they can make their favorite freewrite into a polished piece. Most of these are in their personal journals or school writing notebooks. My husband often gets them journals when he travels to different places/countries, and they are filled quickly! I keep them in hope chest downstairs when they are full.
Science/Nature Study: We are currently working from Anatomy of Nature and Anatomy of a Farm; from these pages I choose a topic to study. We recently did honey bees and butterflies. Soon we will begin pond life, because spring is the perfect time to study from our pond! We have also touched on anatomy this year, and a few other topics as interest has arisen.
Handicrafts: We do a LOT of handicrafting around here. Almost 100% of it is child led-they have free access to most of our crafting supplies, so crochet, hand sewing, embroidery, whittling, wood working (simple with hammer and nails/saws) ink making, and the list goes on, are done by them during their free times. Thankfully, homeschool allows for a LOT of free time; boredom = creativity and problem solving.
Art: We follow a few favorites on youtube and online for art. Our Read Aloud Revival premium access membership has live artist workshops we attend to learn to draw with wonderful illustrators and authors, these are my kids’ favorites! We also enjoy ChalkPastel.com’s tutorials, and may add their membership to our wish list next year!
We use the IXL app on the ipad (read my review here) for extra learning practice because they love it. Because I limit what they are allowed to do online for now, this is something special and educational for them =)
Games are part of our schooling and family time. We love games like 4 Way Count Down, uno, and Pass the Pigs. Any GameWright game is a hit here (I don’t do super complicated games). We add family games via Christmas gifts, birthdays, spring basket, and of course, homeschool box day!
Morning Basket: (AKA any time of day basket) This is just a fancy homeschooler term for circle time… you know, the thing we all did in preschool through elementary school? Calendar, read a book, learn about something new, review something, sing songs, listen to music, read poetry, do a fun activity, share knowledge, and/or handicrafts? Yep. That’s morning time basket.
Read Aloud Revival premium access membership: I cannot emphasize enough how much I love this resource! We missed this months events, due to illness (the flu had us sleeping/resting a LOT), but you can see the schedule

8 Year Old/2nd Grade

Lady works on different levels, anywhere from 2nd+; we still struggle with reversals but writing and spelling continue to improve with cursive and lots of oral practice. Numbers and math operation orders can be difficult with reversals, including reversing math signs. But she knows her stuff and likes oral math challenges against her little brother 😉

LA/Writing: We are using Brave Writer Arrows for copywork, and supplemental focus areas (in grammar and spelling), as a literature based approach. We are finishing a Narnia Arrow, because we read, The Lion the Witch and The Wardrobe together this winter, and will continue the series through part of spring. All of my kids have just loved this, as have I (since I never read the whole thing as a child-fantasy wasn’t my favorite).
Reading: Along with the Arrows that go to read alouds, we are also working through AAR 3. This is not something we do often, because she is such a great intrinsically motivated reader. She needs more emphasis in spelling, so we do way more spelling practice than reading at this time. She does read aloud to me throughout our daily life, a LOT, so we call that reading =) We mostly use AAR when we “do” reading, because she really likes reading the readers to me-haha. At this point, the Arrows from Brave Writer are really enough for her reading and copywork.
Spelling: We are using AAS Level 2 with resources from Level 1
Vocabulary: We really enjoy the Wordly Wise books, especially their crosswords puzzles and activities found in them. She has learned a LOT from these.
Grammar: Along with the grammar topics discussed/pointed out in our Arrows, we are using Easy Grammar. Lady does this independently, without much help from me. We apply what she learns when writing spelling sentences, journaling, freewrites, etc.
CLE Math: Lady is working through grade 2 CLE math. We use Saxon math worksheets as a supplement-FYI-I do NOT have her do every page from Saxon. We use the even lessons, sometimes skipping some lessons between. Saxon and CLE are similar on levels, but each approaches their questions and answers differently, and I like this! I feel like it gives her a different way to approach math, and Saxon is good about reminding us to get our hands-on learning things out for practice! Sometimes we don’t even use the worksheet, but just set up hands on learning activities that fit what’s on the paper. It is really just a jumping off point for me, as well.
Extras: We loop extras throughout the week. Lady uses CLE’s geography and science workbooks. I am not a huge advocate of workbooks, however, the CLE books are very nice! The illustrations are simple, and very … nature study-ish; they’re lovely and fun to color with pencils if you have a art lover on your hands like I do. She is a visual and audio learner, so reading is one of her best learning super powers, however, she needs practice writing, which the CLE books provide. They bring us both joy, so we stick with them. I also find they are great for her to open on her own when I need to work independently with another child; I love hearing about what she’s learned in these!

Regarding workbooks– These are going to depend on your family’s learning style. Each child is different; some will be bored to death with workbooks! My 4 year old loves them, my 8 year enjoys them, my 6 year old is reading independently enough to do his math alone, and some language arts, but isn’t in love with workbook style learning (with the exception of CLE Bible 1). I am 100% okay with that, so for his age and development we keep them to a minimal.

6 Year Old Boy/Kindergarten

Language Arts: We are using AAR Level 2 for his reading. He just finished level 1.
LA Extras: We are using The Good and The Beautiful Level 2 for him as well. This is a beautiful curriculum that includes grammar, spelling, and reading, however we don’t use it that way. I will try to make a video on how we implement the program, but we use their spelling list for sight word spelling/common words, and enjoy their readers for extra practice. I really LOVE their practice pages and the grammar concepts covered. This is working better for him than Easy Grammar, at this point. Easy Grammar is a bit more dry and fill in the blank (again, my 8 year old begs to do this!), and that just isn’t Mister’s jam.

**I do not believe there is ever such a thing as too many books or readers at appropriate levels-hence me using so many different ones. Variety is the spice of a nurtured reading life haha**

Spelling: He is doing AAS 2 with his sister. Mister is a natural speller, and things that are harder for my 8year old (due to dysgraphia symptoms) are easier for him right now, so they’re actually in the same level.
Math: He is using CLE math 1. Math is super easy for this boy, he flies through his books and often asks for more than 1 lesson. He loves dictation word problems, writing math problems, and speed drills.

4 Year Old Girl/PreK

This one tags along, and we are slowly going through AAR 1. She can read CVC words pretty well.
We use Handwriting Without Tears; next year she will move into A Reason for Handwriting like the others have.
Math is Math Eggs K, she loves this book.
We also are using Rod and Staff Preschool Set, because *I* love them. They’re so simple, much like the CLE books we use, but they allow her some independent style work, which she likes.

The toddler tags along, of course. As summer creeps upon us, I won’t be doing as many “extras.” We strip down to basics when the weather is nice to allow lots of outside play-we have a farm that is blooming into spring and full of life, so we need to enjoy it while it lasts!

Disclaimer: Some links on this blog are affiliate links; when you use those links you help support my family, at no additional cost to you. Thank you!

Happy Farm {spring 2019}

by Meghan // March 29, 2019 // Comments off

Life on the farm is wonderful these days!

We have 11 bouncy puppies. They’re about 8 weeks old and healthy as can be (aka, fat little babies). They’re learning their temporary places among our goats. The goats definitely don’t let them play with them, and will head butt them in a hurry. It is funny to watch the puppies reactions- they whimper and back off, just like they should! I pray each one of these little fur balls grows into a wonderful LGD for their future homes.

This is Waylon, the boy I chose to keep from our litter. There is one more boy I *really* want to keep, but I think 1 is probably enough. =)

The logistics of raising 11 pups has been interesting, but we have a good system/living situation for them now so it has all worked out great. They have safe place to sleep at night, and during the day can be free with Yona and the goats, which is ideal.

The goats tolerate 11 pups running around pretty well. Yona (their mama) keeps them in line, and doesn’t let them get too far from where she deems appropriate. I am just astounded by her instincts; she has been an amazing mama. You always hear horror stories about dogs abandoning their pups, attacking them, not raising them. She has done so well, knew when to begin weaning them, corrects them, cleans them … she’s wonderful! It definitely makes me want to do this again!

Each puppy has a colored collar now which corresponds to my notes from when they were born. We take notes on their personality/behaviors/reactions on the farm so that pairing them with families/homes will be easier. I want to be sure each pup goes to the right family/person, and if there are any problems, they come back to me, and don’t end up in a shelter or passed around.

The sun has been shining, and all the animals are happy for the warmth!

Disclaimer: Some links on this blog are affiliate links; when you use those links you help support my family, at no additional cost to you. Thank you!

Rick Leading the Herd {wordless Wednesday}

by Meghan // March 13, 2019 // Comments off

Rick Leading The Herd

Leading the Dexters back home after escaping …

Disclaimer: Some links on this blog are affiliate links; when you use those links you help support my family, at no additional cost to you. Thank you!

Garage Conversion Remodel

by Meghan // March 6, 2019 // Comments off

The remodel on the garage is going great! (I am back dating this post, but we just finished painting the walls, electrician comes today, then floors, trim, and sinks/fixtures).

I am so excited! I couldn’t decide on a paint color; I truly wanted a blue gray, but settled with a warm gray that will blend nicely into the rest of the house. I may actually end up using this color in the living room and dining; I love the color we have, but in winter and in certain light it becomes a really weird color (east/west facing room with big windows on either side).

Anyway, I love the gray we chose. Really, I though I was sick of seeing gray in everyone’s house on Pinterest and the internet … but now I get why it is so popular!

The pictures do NOT do the color or the room justice. It is so much bigger than it looks in the pictures; I think we are even going to put a breakfast nook/snack table in front of the window for the kids.

We are going with painted trim. I LOVE the color of the trim, and plan to paint the kitchen cabinets the same color… But part of me is mourning the wood trim. I know it isn’t trendy and people hate wood trim, but ours is actually pretty nice and it hides the farm dirt so well! Im worried we are making a mistake by painting it, but what’s done is done … so we shall see.

My favorite part of the room? Aside from the extra wide entry stairs and my window (which I begged for) is the pantry! The size and the barn door definitely take the cake!

Yall- look at that thing! IT IS HUGE! The picture doesn’t really show how big it is, but the barn door that slides across it had to be custom built by my husband and our friend (who has been doing the remodel) because it is so wide! They put together 2 barn doors, and husband is having the metal rack built.

In the back of the pantry will be the garage fridge, so we don’t have to have it out in the actual room. We will line the rest of the pantry space with shelves for storing bulk goods-cans, toilet paper, paper towels, appliances, my BIG stock pots and pans.

I know my pictures are pretty terrible. Between the lighting and my amateur photography skills, I’m not doing any favors. But, you get the idea.

Anyway, more pictures to come as the project gets finished up. Next we start on the old laundry room/master bath conversion! It won’t take nearly as long as the garage, but will definitely make a nice difference!

Happy Wednesday!

Disclaimer: Some links on this blog are affiliate links; when you use those links you help support my family, at no additional cost to you. Thank you!

Friday on the Farm {winter 2019}

by Meghan // February 22, 2019 // Comments off

A lot has happened this winter on the farm- we welcomed our wirehaired pointing griffon, Flossie, to the family.

Our LGDs-Yona and Huck- welcomed a litter of 11 (ELEVEN!) fat, healthy puppies. They are growing like crazy and are 2 weeks old. I just love them, and want to lay in the whelping box with 11 puppies all day … but Yona won’t let me =P

the night puppies were born, after I cleaned up our mess this was in the garage (pre remodel) because she kept wanting to have the puppies in a hole in the shop. They are now moved out to the shop and everyone is happy

We also started the remodel on our garage-it will soon be a laundry, half bath with utility sink, GIANT pantry, and maybe reading/sitting nook (the space is bigger than expected, but I’m not able to capture it well in pictures). We will gain a new master bathroom, and move our bedroom door; we’ve added a split A/C/heating unit, and we will hopefully be refinishing the stairs to the basement and opening up that area. A LOT is happening.

And, lastly, I fell on the ice February 10th and suffered (I mean, like suffered for real, y’all) from a concussion. I’m not entirely sure why movies and tv shows make concussions seem like no big deal, I expected it to be no big deal- I was SO dizzy, nauseous, and out of my element for 2 weeks; I couldn’t drive, look up, be around bright lights or noise, and I was exhausted! This weren’t as bad the day of, it was the following day that everything set in. I seriously thought it would never end and had a break down on day 8 (which is probably kinda silly).

Now that I am feeling better, I realize just how bad I truly felt… man was I cranky, too. We are all so thankful that is over!

Later this spring we should have some baby goats arrive (end of May/early June), the remodel should be done, and we are hopefully adding to the garden.

Right now, it feels like winter will never end, so I am not sure when any of the outside work/gardening will begin =(

How is the weather where you are? What are your plans for the end of winter?

Disclaimer: Some links on this blog are affiliate links; when you use those links you help support my family, at no additional cost to you. Thank you!

Life is Moments {of grace}

by Meghan // January 7, 2019 // Comments off

They sometimes disagree, I sometimes have to say “go work it out with your words, then come tell me how you fixed the problem;” We avoid being their referees as much as possible. Real life doesn’t come with a referee, we have to learn when to stand our ground and when to retreat.

Life is Moments of Grace

This life, homeschool, building relationships with siblings and each other … it is messy. It can be harder than we would like, yet often it is only as hard as we make it.

But Grace says we can. Grace, knowing there is room for error because Jesus, means we can.

(small backstory-grace is a really big trendy word in the Christian community the last several years. For what it’s worth, I am still learning about it. I think it is overused and misused often, so I was hesitant to make this post. I believe a lot of new Christians or those that don’t know Jesus yet are probably confused by the use of grace as I once was… but alas it was laid on my heart so here I am.)

The Word says we can overcome, work through, build, grow, fail, and try again at this parenting thing because of Him.

Not because we are patient.

Not because we are good or kind.

I’m not patient y’all and Im surely not good ?- I’m not any better suited for this gig than any other mom.

**But we are not called to make choices based on patience, ability, or lack there of … God calls us, and He decides how to arm us for His work.

We aren’t perfect, therefore life isn’t either.

But life doesn’t have to be perfect to be wonderful.

And we don’t have to be perfect parents to have beautiful, blessed, non-perfect children.

But we do need to be able to see them, speak affirmations of faith over them, and stop criticizing them, our spouses, and ourselves.

Don’t let the noise distract from the beauty. Find your quiet in the chaos in Him, in truth, and in all things beautiful to Him.

Those dirty hands, the messy hair, the loooong bedtime conversations that seem to go on forever- they’re going to end one day, sooner than I’d like.

I’m thankful for this reminder- for children that just came in from playing in the dirt, gathered around a book, one sprawled on a table covered in crumbs ?- the reminder that the hard days are *really* hard but they reap joyful moments, and that’s what life is made of.

Life is moments, good or bad, that we don’t get again.

Disclaimer: Some links on this blog are affiliate links; when you use those links you help support my family, at no additional cost to you. Thank you!

My One Word for the Year & How to Choose Your Own

by Meghan // January 3, 2019 // Comments off

Every year I try to choose a word for my focus; I’ve done this for several years. This year I had an entire list of ideas, but none of them seemed to encompass everything- Everything I’ve experienced this year, what I want next year to look like, and how those things fit in with God’s plan. (I don’t do resolutions or yearly goals/plans.)

Sometimes the BIG picture is the hardest one to see. I need pieces, I need to know how things start, so I can see where I am going. This translates to everything in my life- from chalk painting a chair, to raising my kids. Maybe it is why I love teaching, and reading, and crafting… Starting somewhere hard and uncertain can often end up so beautiful with so much to learn.

Those light bulb moments, you know?

This week we were in Colorado and I was really trying to figure out what my word would be. I was very much regretting having not brought my journaling Bible or regular Bible, both of which I had packed up but decided not to bring. I prayed about it while flipping through my Bible/prayer journal which I did bring, and saw one of my favorite quotes; it is one I’ve written in my daily planning journal several times the last few months, and always takes me to Isaiah 58:9 when I read it.

Even here, He can be found.

{Backstory: this summer, after grieving and struggling through our overwhelming, too busy, too stressful summer, I sat down with my journaling things and found some websites about simplifying and planning your dreams. I couldn’t for the life of me plan my “dreams.” I couldn’t figure out what I wanted- I even asked family what I was good at, what I could contribute to the world or to my family.

Then it hit me like a ton of bricks, not via a website or overthinking, but from God– God said THIS. THIS IS IT! These responsibilities are your blessings, your dreams that you’ve asked for- a big family (fyi: that wasn’t always on my dream list), a farm in the country, an amazing husband, freedoms, reaching many. I’ve given these things to you.

Yall- this is so silly to some, but in the midst of my suffering or break down, whatever you want to call it, after losing my Granny on top of everything going on, when I was begging God for direction and help, for calm and quiet, He told me what I already somehow knew, and gave me direction.

I don’t need to look for my dreams, my work at home raising my family is HIS work, and my dream of one day having a farm and children is fulfilled in this season! Through God’s grace, his gift of determined spirits and hard work, we have made this thing work. I didn’t need to figure out how to plan for my dreams or what I “wanted” (I’m not really someone that “wants” for things anyway, I tend to be joyful where I am).

I needed to stop and listen to God where I was. Right here. It wasn’t that I didn’t see this life of blessings and dreams already, I just somehow, in that tough season, overlooked that they were enough and everything else was just bonus.}

So in 2019, and my word is HERE, because …

even here He is found.

In the midst of feeding goats, shoveling cow patties, cleaning the house, reading to my children, taking them on walks in the woods, dealing with tantrums from a strong willed 2 year old, schooling on the hard days, crafting and journaling on the easy ones, family movie nights, and sibling bickering … HE CAN BE FOUND. He is Here. And right HERE is where he has called me to be. **and I LOVE it!**

He is here for all of it, and all of it is a blessing. I am so happy here, even when circumstances are hard, I don’t need to look for more?!

My responsibilities are blessings, not burdens (thank you Help Club for Moms Devotional).

Responsibilities can be messy, and aren’t always fun, but in them and from them pour more blessings; it is what He has laid on our hearts- I’ve learned if God directs us to something, especially when he has changed our heart so we long to do that thing, or find peace in it (ex: having children, moving away from our comfort zone, not having an 8-5 job, the list can go on …) listening to Him joyfully, having faith that He knows better than us or those around us giving their opinion, is about the only way life is going to be enjoyable and fulfilling, no matter what we are called to do.

This year for me is all about here, joyfully thriving, and growing more in Him, right where I am.

So how do you choose your one word?

I would begin with what has been a constant theme in your life- if it is a negative like anxiety, hectic, fear, sick, struggle, failing, etc. then find the opposite of that in scripture several time. Find a root word that means what you want for your life. Go to it in prayer, listen closely to God. I’ve found that God’s voice is a clear one. If it is Him, you probably won’t need to question it, but if you do find yourself questioning it, continue to pray about it and ask Him how He would have you grow in Him this year.

Disclaimer: Some links on this blog are affiliate links; when you use those links you help support my family, at no additional cost to you. Thank you!

Friday on the Farm {trusting our LGDs & Puppies}

by Meghan // December 28, 2018 // Comments off

Life on a little homestead farm has lots of ups and downs. We have lost chickens to exposure, ducks to cocci, and had some scares with the goats (bloat) this last year.

In the meantime, running in the background, has been our best investment for our family: our Livestock Guardian Dogs.

Huck is bonded to his chickens and stays on the farm/yard/ has freedom to run the property. He stays home and we don’t have to worry about him galavanting about. He loves his animals and his people, is a giant teddy bear with our human babies, and never lets any of his guardians out of his sight (our 4 children included).

Yona is our female, she is Huck’s to train and raise as his working partner. We had her tethered for a long time, letting her accompany us for chores, until she was trustworthy (LGD breeds are slow to mature, slow to let go of their puppy-hood, but due to their size can injure a goat, chicken, sheep, easily if they are too playful).

Relaxing Our Trust

Sometime in late summer/early fall we decided it was time to let Yona do more than just chores with us; we let her stay in full time with the goats and dexters.

This girl has never been happier!

I think as LGD owners, we can be too hesitant to let go and allow them to do their work in fear of losing goats, kids, chickens … but when they come from working stock and good blood (not show blood), they KNOW instinctively what to do, and with the correct exposure can be ready sooner rather than later. Oh how I wish I had given her the freedom and trust sooner! She is right where she needs to be, in that pasture with the goats and dexters.

She and our largest Dexter have the strangest relationship … he grooms her, licking, nuzzling, and rubbing on her. She leans into him and lets him do whatever it is he is doing?! Maybe it is a dominant behavior on his part? Maybe it is a loving behavior? I can’t tell.

Puppies?!

In November, Yona went into heat (you can read about the benefits of waiting to spay/neuter until they’re older via google)- we thought we made sure Huck couldn’t get to her. But that giant boy jumped through hoops, literally, to get to her. Again, we confined him and he broke out & got to her in the middle of the night. (hindsight- we should have separated her into the cattle trailer where he couldn’t get to her, instead of trying to confine him).

We are now *almost* certain she is due with puppies! It is very exciting and nerve wracking. We will see the vet to hopefully confirm if she is expecting, and then we will begin preparations for ear;y February pups! I am excited to see Yona and Huck work together to raise pups to become great LGDs one day- homes will be selected based on many factors, but specifically for personality matching, fencing, etc. I know the hardships of trying to keep an LGD home without proper fencing (thankfully we are almost done with our entire pond-pasture fencing!), they’re loud barkers, and chew everything!

I see how many of these LGD breed dogs are in shelters because they either went to homes without proper fencing, or city homes where they aren’t really meant to be, thus causing problems with chewing, barking, escaping, etc. They require huge amounts of time and dedication, do not do well with changes, and are NOT quiet. They’re smart, independent thinkers, work best in pairs, and are truly amazing workers.

I look forward to the possible puppies and new lives here on the farm. Please pray we have a safe, healthy first experience!

Disclaimer: Some links on this blog are affiliate links; when you use those links you help support my family, at no additional cost to you. Thank you!