This wonderful formal ‘announcement’ of my pup Josh’s arrival at Valerie’s horse farm on the Blackstone River, in Massachusetts came in the US Mail over the weekend. It was pure delight. I had to do a double take to see that it was Josh in the tails and hat. The inscription from Valerie is the kind of thing that makes me feel like it is all worth it. [Puppies are a lot of work!] I love hearing how the pups who leave for new homes are doing. Thank you Valerie! And Josh… you look great, dressed up and inspecting the farm.

Update from Valerie:

I know how you love Josh & wanted the best of a home for him. I am so glad you think I will be worthy of him. He is & always will be adored here. He is very aloof among the horses and is allowed to walk among them. He is so happy out in the barn helping me with chores, discovering something new each day.

Bridget sent along a photos and videos of ‘Vermont Girl’ Cait enjoying herself in an unusual amount of snow for Martha’s Vineyard.

The sweetest pup in an extraordinary litter by Clwyd Bob and Nel, Josh, went to his new home with Valerie in Massachusetts.

Valerie has a 21 acre horse farm on the Blackstone River. She has had Aussies and rescues before. Josh is her first Border Collie. Valerie’s kindness and love of all things animal told meJosh is going to have great life!

Josh was sure he didn’t want to leave, but he will forget us here in Vermont and in no time …and he will be adored.

Valerie writes on Day 1: “Josh just took his 1st steps willingly to the horse fence. He could not believe his eyes & could not take them off of all 3 who came up to check him out. Wish I had taken the phone for pictures!!”

On a cold and cloudy winter day, when there were kennel accidents galore overnight, an email from Lucia arrived with a video of her Zoe (Meg x Jack) in pure delight, herding a ball around the house. AWESOME!! Way to cheer me up Zoe!

Lucia says: “Zoe herds the ball and everyone in the park, mainly adult humans!”

A story in The NY Times about a secret plan to buy up a farming community 1 hour outside of San Francisco for development of a new town is numbing. This is a purported solution to the housing crisis in the Golden State.

Something similar almost happened here in Vermont when an out-of-the-mainstream LDS [church did not support this] millionaire (billionaire?) started to buy up farms and property around the Joseph Smith birthplace to establish is utopian (I would say dystopian) vision of a 40,000 person new city. Feisty and enterprising locals (and clever land attorneys) stopped him when they found out what he was doing. Vermont knows how to be hostile to development.

There was even more money at stake in California and tech titans funding it. The mob doesn’t like to loose its money, and sadly, the bad guys won in California. Farmland premiums and developer bullying were too much.

Sean left today with Patti for his new home in Connecticut on a family compound of over 100 acres along a river. Patti had been searching for a year for a border collie to replace her last (and best). She first found Jimmy, but it was Sean who stole her heart: his strong frame, attentiveness and balanced temperament.

While we freeze here in snowy Vermont, Cait, Bridget, Galen and Pearl enjoy the quiet season on Martha’s Vineyard. Cait who was improbably found after 4 days and nights out in freezing temperatures, is thriving in her second chance life at the inn on the Vineyard with her new family. Pure happiness in the video Bridget sent.