 Well, we have thoroughly enjoyed this litter (MR Lorna x MW Keiran 3-12-22 "Songbirds") and believe that these are some very biddable workers who are all also balanced loyal and loving family dogs. I can't believe how fast time has gone with these babies! I'm hoping we get to see many of these pups at our OTSC picnic on October 16, 2022 in Meadows of Dan, VA (save the date!) One pup is left to go to her new home in the beginning of June. It's nice to have Wren around for an extra bit of time to keep Lark company. We have several pups going to breeding and working homes (carefully evaluated for multiple tasks including but not limited to potential for agility, therapy, service, and herd instinct.) Swift, Sparrow, Chickadee, Nightingale ("Evie"), Wren, and Lark - We wish you all the happiness in the world and hope you can continue to pass your happiness and love and helpfulness to the world. We will miss you, but will so enjoy seeing you living life with your new families. Here is a sampling of what we accomplished in life together with the Songbirds while they were here: ...and so much more to come in their new homes!
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 This announcement is a bit late, but we would like to welcome our six lovely new collie ladies (all!) to the place! Lorna did a great job and all are thriving and growing so quickly. We are enjoying all the snuggles and looking forward to hopefully retaining for our breeding program this time through! We have had lots of interest in this litter and homes have already been spoken for. Can't wait to see who these beauties turn into!   Tested OPP and Johnnes free. From multiple births. Here are some of the lambs for sale here at the farm. Can be registered with the FBA (Finnsheep Breeders Association.) Lots of black ewes, some brown rams and white and black and badger. Our pricing starts at $350. Thank you for your consideration! Ewes on the left and rams on the right. Older (still young!) ewes and rams for sale in pictures underneath.
 Tansy story for this morning. Our Kerry cow Hope has a new bull calf. The horse - who is great with sheep and cows in general - has been rather more curious and naughty of late. He has been moved to the side yard to observe and give the new pair some peace. Recently, we decided to see if it was time to reunite these old and new friends. Alejandro (horse) decided to chase the wee bit nervous calf which is what we were concerned about. He had been good last night. This morning however, Tansy had a lot to say. Back and forth she went running and barking over by the fence and gate asking to be let in and trying to herd the horse through the fence! My daughter noticed her unusual behavior and saw the situation and went in to work with Tansy to remedy the situation. Tansy listened to every word of instruction (didn't want Tansy in danger either.) She effectively separated the horse from the worried and tired calf and reunited her charge with his mom. So proud of her this morning. You can see her laying near her bovine friends keeping watch after the event.
Sadly, for the first time, Kevin Ford wasn't able to make it down here for shearing. We're working quickly and efficiently as possible for being in the middle of lambing, getting ready for Carolina Fiber Festival, and also preparing for the Lorna x Kieran puppies and visiting with Kendy's litter (Peach x Misha) as we have a chance. Ewes and older lambs are done. Whew!!! Here are some of the wooly highlights! My thanks to the kids for pitching in and using their serious skills!
 Announcing our expected litter confirmed bred from Maple Run Lorna and Mountian Wave Kieran (owned by Jan Hermansen of Many Blue Hills Farm.) We anticipate our litter in mid-March and project a very talented and sound group of puppies from this pairing! Kieran helps oversee a sheep and goat farm and Lorna helps with work and chores daily here. Both dogs love children and are communicative and very loving dogs.
Puppies will hopefully reflect soundness and intuitive working skills of their family while having reliable off-switches with very loving dispositions. And again, many thanks to Jan Hermansen for working with us and for the loan of your handsome Kieran! We expect great things from this litter! To apply, please visit us at Shepherd's Hearth or gooddog.  From the lovely Kendy Sawyer's Peach and Tricia Baker's Misha! Registration numbers OTSC-F-1717 and OTSC-F-156. On 1-16-2022, Peach had a lovely litter of 8 healthy puppies (5 boys and 3 girls.)
Peach is a wonderful sky-watcher keeping the skies free of predators. She is skilled in cleaning the hedgerows and is a very social and steady companion and farm dog. She works with Kendy on her cattle farm, but especially enjoys shadowing her favorite person. Peach is wonderful with children! Misha is an outcross from our program and was chosen for his proven good health, intuition, and great therapy dog skills. Although Misha does not live on a farm, he has displayed the qualities of a good farm dog. We are expecting great things from this litter! For more information and to apply, please check out www.shepherdshearth.com Lambing is such a busy time of year. And in some ways so very peaceful. We trim our lives to the very minimum and concentrate on our farm and work together as a family. No distractions. One focus together. There are always tests of character with great joys and some sadness during this time of year. Not all lambs make it and this is something hard, but necessary to accept as a shepherd. All-in-all, this is one of our favorite seasons where we have a good reason to be together and enjoy working for good things with hope for future generations here and for outside our farm. We enjoy watching our lambs thrive at other farms and grow to be loved. Perhaps this especially brings us joy to be able to share this unique in-common sheep love with other shepherds. Seems like triplets are the number for this year. Three more yesterday. These are not them, but I will get pictures of the newest lambs up soon! In the meantime, I wish all the other shepherds out there the blessings of the stillness and complete chaos of lambing. May this time of sleepless bliss and knowing that you are giving them everything you know to have best possible outcomes be precious with beautiful outcomes. It is something we understand together and a precious time of year. One little tiny new "ma-a-a-a" and we all go running to help dry and snuggle and adore together. Peaceful, happy blessings can come is such tiny beautiful packages. A blessed lambing to you all!   Tansy accompanied me into the field of rams. It is still breeding season and so I need her as back-up just in case (Finnsheep rams are usually very respectful, but it is wise to never take chances especially during this time of year.) She knew I wanted to get a good look at my boys, and so without any prompting she found a spot to watch, but gave a good and comfortable distance. She carefully chose well. Close enough to keep the rams cautious, but at a distance far enough away to keep them relaxed enough to handle and visit. I never said a word. When I was done working with my boys, I turned to come back out of the field. Tansy watched my back. As the old saying goes, "Never turn your back on a ram...." except when you have a faithful farm dog with you. Tansy continued to lay in her self-appointed spot. When I was far enough from the rams to keep them from spooking, I prompted Tansy who gleefully came back to where she wanted to be and was in her heart... beside me. Sometimes the best stories to me are simply knowing that I can count on my good farm dogs to think for the good of everyone and keep everyone safe and comfortable as possible. Love this girl's intuition!
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Authors This blog chronicles our very full life here on WoodSong Farm. We will share everything from dog to sheep stories, unique wooly works, to animal husbandry tips we pick up along the way. I hope this helps to give you an idea of what our extended farm family and wooly projects are like, and that we may somehow benefit everyone who reads about our journey. Archives
May 2022
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