The path to my morning puppy play date

At around 9:30 - 10 am, I head out plodding through the silence of the fresh fallen snow.... I head across my uhhh "field," then I cross the small bit of woods that stands as a property line. I go by the trail my neighbor and I made. Oh yes, she knows I am at her house, not just because I texted to let her know, and not because she sees me through her kitchen window. She knows I am there for the same reason she knows I am not alone. As usual, my not so trusty great dane puppy Pikku, was in tow.

Pikku, the Wildflower Farm pupper.

Typically I am up at around 8:30-9 am,  when I don't have guests.... I sleep as late as life allows. And you are saying, "hey, you fraud! I thought you were a farmer!" It is a common misconception of lay people. Or it is the most well kept secret truth of farmers..... You only need to be up by 5 am if you literally have a cow. They need to be milked. But my goats aren't in season and if they were, I would have them on a 24 hour milking schedule,  but again, no need to get up at 5 am cuz of the way goats operate compared to cows. And I can do my gardening and egg collection and feeding any time. There is 1 hard and fast rule. Everyone gets fresh food every 24 hours from the time they last ate and no longer than that! Which means yes  it is possible to be a farmer and to not get up at 5 am.

Hettie, my neighbor's dog.

So my first act upon waking up most mornings, is going across a plain of snow, through a wooded property line to bring my dog to the neighbor's. Next thing Pikku, and I know, Hettie, my neighbor's large dog, comes charging out the back door with my neighbor! In a fit of joy, the  two fur balls come together and get their crazy dog play on. They are both rather large, and it might scare someone who didn't know, they are just playing! They love each other!

Farm dogs at play

The "game" takes many forms. Sometimes it seems to be about a tennis ball... Then it's a stick............ Then, it's just twenty minutes of puppy zoomies all across the yard..... Next thing I know, Pikku, is sitting on Hettie's head and Hettie is chewing up Pikku's front leg..... And it just gets more hilarious and convoluted from there.

Farm dogs at play
Dogs at play
Dogs at play

This is how most of my mornings begin. I stand around outside, trying not to smell the fresh snow that makes me shiver and I watch the nincom dummies, a pair of gladiator dogs, play together with ridiculous over the top expressions.... Usually they try to play on me between spurts of puppy zoomies....

Dead Hettie, is not really dead. Just tired from play time.

Eventually, even gladiator dogs tire.... Hettie, will wander a little ways and collapse in a heap of over dramatized minor exhaustion..... And it is time to wander home again with Pikku, to get on with the day. She will join me on my next project of feeding the "outside people." And once that is finished it's time for Pikku, to sleep by the wood stove while I get started on the house keeping.... From there, the day develops into me by the wood stove too spending most of the later afternoon in a good book.... The winter months are a farmer's vacation.

This way of life is truly an adventure.
Thank you for coming with me on this grey morning.
Amanda of Wildflower Farm