Hello, Farm-ily!
We've been doing the usual up here this week (growing vegetables), but we thought it might be fun to introduce you to some of our best-looking crew members...
On a light day, we may only have one or two pups wandering the Farm, but if all the canine companions are at work, we have 5 separate tails whipping our shins and knees. We may never know what twist of fate has led so many of our staff to pair up with black Labradors and black Lab mixes, but you'll notice we all fell for some pretty similar-looking dogs. When they all get together, it' a happy tangle of dark fur and toothy dog-smiles. The sound of twenty paws coming up the barn steps is a unique part of the soundtrack at Willowsford Farm.
Finn is the fearless leader of what we've dubbed "The Black Dog Squad". He belongs to Farmer Collin, our own fearless leader, and he's been farming since he was a pup in Michigan. He's a dapper gentleman, as fond of bow ties as he is of deep puddles. He's in charge of disposing of all the carrots we harvest that are deemed "too small" for sale, and he takes this responsibility very, very seriously. This spring, we discovered he also has a flair for carpentry when he volunteered to assist with the Farm Stand chicken coop.
Our second in command is Charlie, but he's far too busy chasing large sticks to pose for an individual photo. He splits his time between the livestock farm, where he lives with Farmer John, and the Grange offices. He patrols around the flock of laying hens; in return, he gets one egg a day as a snack. Charlie is a big guy, and easy to love, with a puppy streak a mile wide. Juniper, who looks and behaves so much like Finn we sometimes confuse the two, is Charlie's dainty lady friend and an honorary member of the squad.
She may not pull her weight in the fields, but Penny does an admirable job of weighing down dog beds in the office and soaking up sunshine at the Farm Stand. As an English Mastiff, she's the oddball of the pack, but she makes up for her shortcomings with excessively generous kisses. She assures us she would help chase out deer if only it wasn't so HARD! Her little sister Ursa is also a black Labrador, but she's more rarely seen on the Farm due to her intense love of a certain little boy who eagerly awaits her at home. Ursa's talents include collecting burrs, and yodeling when she misses her humans.
What crucial farm tasks does the Black Dog Squad perform, you ask? Just this morning, they notified us of the presence of a perfectly harmless black snake in the barn by all crowding into the office and whimpering piteously! Finn must be given due credit for chasing the occasional rabbit out of the crops, and hunting for moles. They clean up veggie scraps and leave decorative footprints wherever they go. So far, no one has witnessed them weeding, and our one attempt to herd deer out of the fields using dogs served only to confirm that Labradors are much better at fetching than chasing (and that Mastiffs do not run for any reason at all).
This motley crew of dogs is our comic relief and our audience. They are piece of home taken along for comfort on a long day. Their wide grins reflect our own pride in our work as we harvest the first eggplant and gauge the ripeness of melons on the vine. A puppy's infectious joy draws out our own and turns a day of many tasks into a day of many wonders. Truly, a farmer's best friend is his (or her) dog.
Eat well this week, and be well always,
Finn, Charlie, Juniper, Penny, Ursa, and their farming friends
