The Journey Home

Recently, we went through a very rough patch here at Briden Farm. It started with the first of two major Winter Storms within six days. It started on a Sunday evening, as the snow fell steadily. The accumulation was steady over night and made our morning chores more difficult.

Getting out, hauling water and feed to our Chickens and Muscovy Ducks on our old wooden toboggan is standard, but the foot or so of fresh snow, made more difficult. Not to mention the chores revolving our Saanen and Nigerian Dwarf Goats, and Rabbits. What normally takes an hour or so, took closer to two!

I’m up early most mornings, stoking the wood 🔥 fire, and getting the water buckets and feed ready. My typical morning starts when I roll over and see my two protectors laying on their mats, on the floor, beside me.

It makes me smile, I’m well guarded by Holly, our Little River (Nova Scotia Duck Toller) / Golden Retriever mix breed and Roscoe, our Golden Lab. Golden Lab, perhaps more accurately refered to as a Yellow Lab. However, there’s nothing Yellow about Him! He’s totally Golden!

Holly is a definite snow dog, she loves being outside in the snow, the more the better! She loves to romp, and play, and bark, and embrace Winter! While Roscoe, is his Dad’s helper!

Roscoe not only stays very close at my side, he also helps bring in the Firewood and He is absolutely taken, with excitement, to wear his, improvised harness, and with pulling our old toboggan! With Dad taking the brunt of the load, and acting as second dog in the harness!

So, that morning, it was, other than the storm, and the extra work involved, business as usual. Doing our chores, with Holly and Roscoe, doing their best to help, and encourage us along the way!

About the time we were finishing up our chores, our faithful neighbour showed up, plowing us out. Sadly, after returning home, he had a heart attack and went to the Hospital by Ambulance. It hit home, as just a few short months prior my Better Half had a very similar experience!

It continued to snow, and that night, we went to bed early. After just an hour, or so, my Better Half come back down stairs to where I was sleeping on the couch. He said he had passed out, and had a bloody nose. That was scary, and he phoned 911 and was soon being seen to by ambulance attendants. They had to walI up our quarter mile Laneway due to the now snowed in conditions.

Over the next week, or so, Holly and Roscoe kept close by my side. Missing their Pack Member, and comforting me as I worried about the outcome of things. During this time, Roscoe, now about nine months old, learned to help me bring in he firewood. I bring an armload and he brings a stick at a time. Resulting in Him bring in about a Wood Box Full every week! He was also learning to pull our toboggan and Holly, though not pulling, nor in harness, often goes ahead and encourages us to keep up to her.

So, the second snow storm hit, and we are now snowed in, probably till Spring! Which means all our feed, for the livestock, needs to be pulled up the hill. It also meant that when our missing Pack Member, my Better Half, finally got out of the Hospital, we had to make the last part of The Journey Home, by Dog Sled.

To clarif, our Laneway is slanted, uphill, and about a quarter mile long!

With Roscoe in harness, me in second place, bearing the biggest part of the load, and Holly running ahead, encouraging us along the way. we managed to pull Him up the Hill. Marking the final part of The Journey Home...

Knowing that Good Dogs Make Living Life Unleashed Truly Amazing!