There is nothing quite like farm muck, it’s very pungent smell. Your boots get stuck in it, it hangs on and has to be scraped off inch by inch, it’s smell gets right into your skin and lingers. On a farm, muck and mud are a part of daily life, something one becomes more and more accustomed. Humans are not as adaptable as dogs, but our tolerance for certain things does grow. We take care about our shoes- never wear shoes you love into a pasture – we get used to smells that would have horrified us in another life – in most places – look the other way at things dogs tromp through and bring into the house. You just can’t be cleaning all the time. Once a week is important, but it is necessary. It is pouring again here today, flooding everywhere, including parts of our Pole Barn and pasture and we had to move the sheep in it. Red does not seem to notice rain, he shows no hesitation about doing out in it or working in.

Today he lay in the downpour for a half-an-hour, keeping the sheep in place and never blinking or moving an inch. I have always loved working dogs, and I am in awe of the breeding that went into his line. I always wince when people say it is wrong to ever buy a dog from a breeder, for dogs like Red would vanish from the earth.