We have eight sheep at the moment, four Tunis, four Dorset. The latter are not dog broke, so Rose is working with them, along with the Merck Forest sheep. She is earning her kibble this week. I hope to give her a day off tomorrow, then Wednesday we will be back at Merck at 1 p.m.

The new sheep don’t know quite what to do yet around Rose, so they go one way and the Tunis another. This will settle down in a few days. Rose is knocked out, sleeping by my feet.

Editing my short stories before they go off to Random House. I feel very good about them, although that rarely means anything. I love that form. Still plotting the Rolling Rose book tour in November, an interactive blog, face-to-face, Facebook and Twitter experiment. Could be exciting. I am also deep into the animal grieving book, which is sort of pouring out.  Want to take my time with it. The caterer came by with her border collie to check out the farm. The wedding will be small, so food will not be a huge problem. Getting floral wreaths for the donkeys. Lenore will be Flower Girl, Izzy will wear a carnation. I will do Rose a favor and crate her. She would not like a wedding. Might ship Frieda off to the Southwest (just kidding.)