Homestead Diary, January: A New Family Member?

Mid-January on our off-grid homestead in the forest of Norway. We share everyday life on the small farm with sheep, wool pigs, ducks, chickens, cats and a donkey. The weather shifts between colder days and temperatures around freezing and snow. When it gets milder, the ducks are allowed back outside from the warm chicken house, and we get a joyful bathing session in the snow and water in the duck yard. We are missing our recently lost dog, Akita a lot. At the same time, predators are becoming more noticeable around the farm. There are fresh fox tracks in the sheep pastures, mink close to the duck yard, a loose dog in the forest, and wolves? howling not far away. It becomes urgent to find a new suitable farm dog. Suddenly we are offered the chance to try a three-year-old Border Collie / Flat Coated Retriever mix for one week. She arrives at the farm and we immediately grow very fond of her. However, there are some challenges, especially with the chickens and ducks. All the other animals, including the cats, are fine. After a week of training, we are able to walk past the duck yard without her paying them any attention. We decide to keep her and begin working on marking the whole property with the scent of our new dog. Two eventful weeks in our winter homestead life in Norway. intro music by ‪@autoburner‬ #homestead #farmlife #norway #flatcoatedretriever #farmlife #offgrid #winter #sheepfarming #sheep #simplelife #slowliving #