When we moved to our new home, I noticed an old white horse living in the pasture across the street. An elderly man would come out to feed him everyday but otherwise he was all alone. I found out that “Mr Freckles” was on the Sheriff’s mounted unit and his owner died a couple years ago. Her husband, the retired Chaplain for the Sheriff, was the man feeding Freckles. Meantime, Sassy wouldnt stop pacing the pasture, trying to keep her eyes on him, lonely for a buddy. So one day I stopped the Chaplain on his drive out and asked if he’d like to move Freckles to our pasture so the two old farts could have some companionship. Chaplain said it was “divine intervention” because he was unsure who would care for Freckles in the event he got ill or died (he is 86). Freckles has been here a week and so far he and Sassy are like an old married couple (Sassy is 30 and Freckles is 28). Even weirder, now she and Megan (picture #4) BOTH have “new men” that look exactly the same! I planned to do my first Editorial Board meeting with the two of them today but I’ve lost my voice. Welcome, Mr Freckles!
Remember when herding animals required manual labor? Actually we were shooting video but the animals thought it was the end of the world and ran straight for the barn. It was the fastest feeding time on record, maybe we use the drone more often?!
Don’t forget to keep your shepherd energy supply high with good nutrition. We take the fermented cod liver/concentrated butter oil from @greenpastureproducts everyday because it is packed with vitamins A, D & K along with anti-inflammatory omega 3s. It’s fermented instead of high heat processed like most fish oils. Grab some with promo code “ALISON” and you get 10% off. https://greenpasture.org/
I wasn’t a committed homeschool mom from the second my first child was born. I did quite a bit of research because I wanted to learn more about how kids learn - and truly what kind of environments are not just best for learning ABCs but for overall health and development. I wasn’t even sure I would be a good teacher. After reading many books written by education “experts”, we landed on homeschool.
I really had to unravel quite a bit of what I thought was “school” before I could even begin. I went to the same private school K-12 and equated learning with perfect exam scores. As a student, I forgot a lot of what I crammed into my head because I wasn’t learning for the joy of it - I was learning to survive.
I have come to see how much a child learns through simply living - and being bored! They are innately attuned to art, nature, science, nutrition, play, language - if only we give them a chance. I have truly loved homeschooling my kids, especially all the time we get to spend...
I lived for many years with the idea that I would be a career woman first and someday get to kids.
Biologically, this makes little sense as it gets harder to have kids as a woman ages. But even more mind boggling, I didn’t really even think much of it, like the way one considers what he or she is having for dinner. Actually I probably put more thought into dinner. Being a mom was a complete afterthought. One day a friend and I were eating lunch in downtown Seattle and she smacked some truth into my noggin. I decided, ok what the heck. What do I have to lose? We had our first when I was 38 - I found out I was pregnant the week I resigned from my TV news job. Our second came when I was 41.
If I could talk to younger me, I’d tell her that no career is worth delaying or sacrificing motherhood. It has been the most incredibly humbling, soul-stretching, heart-throbbing, belly laughing adventure I’ve ever had.
And don’t forget to grab the fermented cod liver/concentrated butter oil from...
