A Beautiful Day to Take a Walk and Survey the Farm

On Sunday afternoon, Michael and I took some time to walk our farm. The day was glorious and we so enjoyed the sunshine and warmer temps. When we walk our farm it is always a time of thanksgiving for what the Lord has done in our life. He has given us the desires of our hearts where this farm is concerned and we are thankful. Walking the farm is also a time of looking to see what needs to be done next. We surveyed fences to see where the neighbor's emus are coming through, and we found it. Next on the list will be to get the emus back home and repair the fence. As we walk, we always find time to dream the next dream concerning this farm. It becomes a time of sharing ideas and desires for the days ahead.
We were thrilled to see green pastures in our upper field. We have closed the fences to keep our animals off the land to let the grass return. Our drought was so severe last summer that our pastures were not this green in the middle of summer time. By the way, we have had rain this spring, but we still haven't recovered from last year's drought. We are still praying for more rain.
This was the first time that Michael's border collie pup has gone out onto our farm with us. He had a great time exploring all the new smells.
We purchased our sheep from a farm that also has Border Collies. The woman raises them and uses them to herd the sheep. Every time our sheep see our little puppy, they come to him and wait for his command. It is amazing. I stand in awe as I watch this. The funny part of the whole thing is that our puppy isn't really sure why 10 sheep all gather around him. He looks a bit confused by the whole process. When the pup is about a year old (around next Christmas), we will take him to a local trainer to teach him to work sheep. We already see some of his instincts come out when he is with the sheep so he is progressing well.

Our time together as a husband and wife sharing our dreams is valuable to our marriage. These times together provide us with so much more than great ideas. It is a time that we can share our heart with one another and know that the other person is really listening. There are no distractions for us...just each other. Perhaps this is the greatest gift to our family that the Lord has provided with this farm. After all, a strong marriage is one of the greatest gifts that a couple can give to their children.

grace and peace,
julie