We were bottling feeding the lambs this morning around 7 a.m. and I sent Red out to hold the sheep in the pole barn so they wouldn’t try and crash in to get the grain we were giving Ma. The lamb feeding got hectic and then we went to water the donkeys buckets and I remembered I’d left something on the stove for breakfast and rushed into the kitchen to turn the stove off.  I entered the pasture through a gate, came out the other side.

We have a wonderful person who helps clean up the farmhouse every Friday – it can get chaotic in there – and she arrived and we had to help her put a new belt on the vacuum cleaner (Maria figured it out, I watched.)

Then I went to work, as it was late, I was reviewing the manuscript for my new  e-book “Who Speaks For The Carriage Horses? Reclaiming Animal Rights” (coming out in June, some proceeds going to benefit the campaign to save the horses) and I got caught up in editing and rewriting. Just after 10 a.m. I looked down and noticed that Red was not lying by my feet under my desk where he always is every second that I am writing. I called for him and he didn’t come – he always comes instantly.

I realized I had left him out in the pasture. I rushed outside, opened the gate, ran in and he was exactly where I had left him, he was holding the sheep right where I had asked  him to, they were still there, frozen in place, lambs and ewe. Red is a great dog, I never worried about the lambs, or him leaving his position, or his harming a sheep. I think he would have starved to death rather than leave his position. How lucky to have such a dog, I promised him I would pay more attention.

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We’ve started something new in the Bedlam Farm universe, another Facebook group: The Bedlam Bloggers Collective, a place where committed bloggers of all kinds can go to post their work, trade information about blogging, and give voice to their work. I expect it will grow into one great Superblog where can be creative, learn, acknowledge the cultural importance of the blog and learn what we need to know. The collective is open to anyone who understands the importance of the blog and is committed to producing a good one. We are not looking for political blogs and no hostile ones of any kind. You can check out the new group here. It is not an animal site, although animal bloggers are welcome, we are seeking a wide range of content and individual expression.

This group will join two others that have been working beautifully, the Open Group At Bedlam Farm, a community of creatives sharing their work, and the Loving Animals Group At Bedlam Farm, a place where people can express and share their love of animals.

Only members can post, but everyone on Facebook can read the content. There are already 70 members and they are cranking out good stuff. We will be conducting workshops. This is a community of encouragement.

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Also, my friends at Mannix are designing a new photo gallery of my photos, one place where you can scroll through and see some of the better ones – dogs, donkeys, lambs, sheep, windowsill gallery, landscapes and portraits. Coming soon.