Exciting seeing this wild creatures. A lot of people are touched by how cute these creatures are, and they are, for sure, but I remind myself they are all little killing machines, romping just yards from the cats and chickens on the farm. I think you just have to let go of some attitudes, one of them being that I have the right to wipe out an animal family. Being a male, I am especially conscious of not assuming I have the right to bludgeon or kill things. But I have absorbed a lot of the farmer ethic, and anything that comes through my fences looking to eat things is not cute to me.  There is no way I could kill the mother and father now, surely not the babies. So that is it, really. Not much of a decision.

I’m not sure what the line is, I think there really isn’t one. I’ll have plenty of time to chew on it, as Maria and I are going off on a two-day meditation retreat in Vermont. Will be back Sunday.

— I talked with a border collie breeder today I admire and know, Dr. Karen Thompson, a minister and long-time border collie breeder and advocate. She has a five-year old trained working dog with a great Irish history and good temperament. Don’t know if I want a puppy or an older dog, but I sure love her attitude, commitment, and her website. And here’s a sweet twist. She met me a few years ago when I was working with Orson and Rose at Raspberry Ridge Sheep Farm in Pennsylvania as I began to get into border collies. She is the real deal. I like her Red Dog.