Meet Keeshka

Our latest addition (and not the one growing in my womb) is Keeshka... our puppy. She is half Pyrenees and half golden retriever.

Why o why would we get a dog, you wonder? Well, after Duane came across five wild coyotes strolling around in our yard, unafraid of him, in broad daylight... we figured it might be time to get a family protector (especially for the little ones).

And then, a month ago, while I was taking the small kids for a walk to the hay shed, we came across HUGE bear prints leading up to the little forest by our house. Anika was excited by this and said "I will feed the bear and it will be my friend."

Yeah, you'll feed the bear, alright!

So bing, bang, boom, after a few internet searches, we discover the bonding and herding instinct of pyrenees dogs (and massive size) combined with the docile nature of a retriever, how can you go wrong?

The little ones LOVE Keeshka and she loves them, too. Although we are working with her on not nipping the children in her excitement to see them when we come outside to let her run around. She has grown so much in the few weeks we have had her! It is funny to watch her run up to the kids and progressively throw them down unintentionally because she cannot grasp that she is getting drastically bigger! The kids don't seem to mind one bit although Ethan will not hesitate to yell at her "Keeka! No biting!"

So far, no allergy flare-up for Ethan so we are hopeful that having Keeshka will not be harmful to him in any way. So there you have it... we finally have "life" on the farm again (besides coyotes and bears). Soon we will be getting chickens again, some turkeys (Duane's idea, not mine) and possibly sheep. The farm will be bustling with animals and the early rise routine of feeding them all, once again!

Much love to you out there and here's hoping you don't come across any fresh bear prints the next time you take a stroll outside...