Meet Mia and Mocha

Meet Mia, our friendly farm dog! She was featured in the May 5 edition of Sylvan Sundays, the photo for our caption contest.

She’s a good helper around the barn and the fields, trotting ahead of us to make sure the way is clear and alerting us when someone has gotten loose. She’s even held a stray lamb in place to give me a chance to catch it and return it to the pen.

To refine her skills in herding, Mia is now going to Sheepdog School! Herding dogs can do some amazing things, from moving sheep from a wide open field through a narrow gate, like in this neat video from New Zealand, to putting the sheep in a pen, as in this video from a London sheep dog trial in 1932.

She also has been helping by being herself. Often, she reminds me of me: one day, I was setting up fence, and Mia tried to leap over the netting. One paw caught and then another, and she tried to escape by putting her head down and pushing through, which meant her snout went through a square and the strands stopped her from going anywhere.

After a good day in the field, Mia’s ready for a pup cup from the local ice cream stop.

Welcome to Sylvanmore, Mia!

Thanks for Reading!

And I hope you feel refreshed and rejuvenated for the week ahead with this moment preserved in picture and prose. Consider:

• Have you had a pet who reminds you of you? What did they do that reminded you of you?

Share your answer and this newsletter with a friend with pets.

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This Week on the Farm

Last week, we announced Virgil won our caption contest! He chose the name Mocha for our baby goat, inspired by her coat’s color.

Here’s Mocha out in the pasture with her mom:

There have been some wildlife adventures in the paddocks lately. Yesterday morning, I moved the Shetland ewes and lambs into a new pen. As they munched, a thrush chirped angrily from its perch at the head of canary reed grass. The sheep didn’t move, and the bird flew upwards, then indignantly returned, still chirping.

Then, a red-winged blackbird hurtled in, aiming for the thrush, which bolted upward again. The two whapped at each other with their feet, shrieking and beating their wings. The sheep watched. The red-winged blackbird won.

I was amazed I was able to capture a bit of the action with the red-winged blackbird in flight:

This week, we’re looking forward to cleaning, organizing, and overall preparations for continued grazing throughout the summer.

Farm Shop

2024 is the International Year of Camelids, and we’ve been celebrating our llama friends! From fuzzy fiber to protection from predators, llamas are a great addition to our farm.

Plus, a llama provides the perfect ears for when you need a GIF to express your surprise. 🫢 

Check out our free GIF from GIPHY in this week’s Farm Shop! Click below to share.