The animals are holed up in the Pole Barn all day as a full-blown winter storm rages all around them, Maria likes to give them all a treat when we come out for the afternoon chores – in this case, carrots for the donkeys, alfalfa cubes for the sheep. I was struck by how calm all of the animals were, there was no jostling, kicking or scrambling, the sheep and the donkeys gathered around Maria and waited quietly and calmly. I have found in my life with animals that if they are fed and watered and sheltered faithfully, they come to trust it, and rarely get overly aroused or dangerously eager.

Food is the way we establish trust, begin communications.