Small, But Mighty

About a week ago I posted on IG about looking for a picture of Bea to use for a blog story about her.  That in itself became a funny story because I tried using the search feature on my phone and got not only pictures of the actual dog I was searching for, but also a "poodle dog" and a "hound dog" and both categories pulled pictures of handsome Jared (!).  I could sort of see "poodle", but "hound"?!?  Yeesh...

Between then and now things got, well, much like the entire year have been/seemed and I'm just now getting back to telling the crazy/amazing story about Bea.  I ended up just taking a picture of her calendar page and companion note card so I could dual purpose and mention that the 2024 calendars are done and I will get them up on the website soon, hopefully by this weekend.  

I'm sorry they have been so delayed and I appreciate the email inquiries.  I think I've responded to everyone.  If you haven't gotten an email back, please let me know.  The flock has been able to support itself starting a few years before Covid and have been holding their own since. The calendars play a big part in that, plus they are just nice to have around...both the sheep and the calendars ;-). 

No one will ever go without here, but it definitely helps make that call to the vet easier when it's needed...and on that note, here's an amazing story about our favorite corgi.

There were two sheep who needed to be seen by the vet and I had both penned up and ready when Dr. Bridge pulled in last week.  The rest of the sheep had been turned out into the Pumpkin Party field and were happily munching away.

Bea raced over to say hi to Dr. Bridge while we were chatting about what needed to be done, the weather, news from town...  The next thing I see is the sheep all headed back into the barn.  My first thought was how odd, since they'd just been let out into the prized area...and then I saw Bea trailing them all in.

It's a little scary to even type these words.  She knew that the vet was here and because of that decided we must need to get the sheep penned in the barn.  She didn't understand that I'd already caught the two sheep we actually needed.  She just realized that "vet here, need to get sheep" and while we watched, put everyone in the barn. 

Bea has a lot of natural herding instinct and does help with some sheep activities so it wasn't a complete shock that she brought the sheep in.  For her to think it through and do it with no cue from me, just on her own comprehension of the situation...I'm sure her Welsh ancestors were mighty proud.  

As part of the wrap up on the back of the calendar I said "[Bea's] finally grown up enough that she's actually become as useful as she thinks she's always been."  On her month, "Our farm manager is small, but mighty..."

Bossing sheep (and everyone else) around is not Bea's only strength.  I yelled at Lancelot for chewing on the fence one time and now any time the horses come near the fence, Bea runs over to remind them that someone is always watching.  She is also my ears when the coyotes start calling.  

"...We've learned to pay attention to her though because she's frequently telling us something we need to know."