Sooo, we need a little help. Also, the Italians are coming! The Italians are coming! Or at least we hope so...

First, let me explain what I mean...

Cosmo and Bella are Maremmas which is a breed of working dog with origins in Italy. Centuries ago the breed was developed to protect sheep from wolves and other predators. They are GOOD at what they do.

Since we began keeping sheep, we have had a pair of Maremmas. They've kept our flock safe from from coyotes, foxes, and any other critters happy to snack on little lambs. As I've said before, wildlife is welcome on our farm but we'd rather they didn't eat our sheep!

For years our guardian dogs have been a hard-working and faithful part of the farm team. Sadly, we unexpectedly lost one of our dogs last summer. One day in June we went out for evening chores and found Marley gone. He had been his happy, silly self earlier that morning but it looked as if he'd later curled up for a nap and then never woke up.

While there was some comfort in the fact that his end was peaceful, it was a shattering discovery and one of the more tragic days in my memory. Since then his older sister Poly has been working double time, which is no easy task as she's not a young pup.

Hence, we have been looking for new recruits ever since. Then Poly can retire to a cushy desk job before the next grazing season. It has been a long few months, searching for dogs for whom our farm would be a good fit.

Okay, so now back to Cosmo and Bella...we were just alerted that they need a new job... and we have just such an opening... ah ha! Until recently they protected a goat herd in Massachusetts. However, their farmer just had to retire for health reasons and sold the goats.

The tricky thing about working guardian dogs is they need a task. Farm life is what they know and love and to remove them from that almost always makes for troubled dogs. Their current farmer is being very careful to re-home these dogs together and on a working farm where they can keep doing what they're meant to do.

After many phone conversations and questions, she feels our farm is a good match for them and we are honored to be entrusted with their future care.

As you might imagine, well-bred, well-trained and well-cared-for dogs such as Cosmo and Bella are not cheap. That is as it should be and they are worth every penny as they are an investment in the safety of our livestock and the future of our farm. We currently have about half of their $1,200 re-homing fee and that is where the part about needing a little help comes in.

Late winter is a notoriously tight time of year for farmers. We're lucky in that we always manage to squeak by but it's never easy.

Please don't worry, we've never asked our customers for donations and we're not going to start now. But what we would like to do is maybe encourage you order some food from us or sign up for a CSA share in the next few days? Those sales and shares will then be put toward the re-homing fee.

We have a good variety of meats available right now so if you have some funds to spare toward groceries from our farm, we'd be ever so grateful. You get good food, our sheep stay safe, and Bella and Cosmo get a forever home.

As always, thank you for being here, for reading my words, and entertaining my thoughts. It means a million just to know you care and are cheering us on.

Please use the buttons below if you'd like to place an order or sign up for a CSA share. Orders can be picked up at the next few markets or directly from the farm. Also feel free to email me with any questions or special orders.

Thank you so much and lots of love,
Kelly