The circle of life

Ben left, Tom right taken one month ago.

Hello All
It has been a stressful,worrying and accepting beginning for 2016 and the household Franklin, caring for our aged and increasingly unwell companion and worker Tom, our 12 year old Border Collie.
​Sadly he drifted off in his sleep last night after having soldiered through Christmas and the New Year using his wheels to enable him to go to the toilet independently and have a breath of fresh air in between his very lengthy naps in front of the fire. His officially name was in fact Nap, but we changed it to Tom to try and avoid him living up to his name. We failed on this front though. He was an intelligent worker and extremely obedient, but he did drive you scatty sometimes when he disappeared off to have a snooze under a tree, or wandered off to visit the neighbours when he was supposed to be watching the sheep.

Thinking about it in the last few years since the butchery started, I think Gavin has probably spent more time with the dogs than with me and Tom had been with us since our first sheep in 2004.I tried to find some puppy pictures but it appears we have none and in fact I am not sure we had a working camera when we first arrived, and I don't think camera phones were quite what they are now. There is however this one photo above, when he was about 18 months I guess staring at the sheep behind the fence. He was bought for us by my Grandmother who, I like to think, is now looking after Tom as she died exactly 2 years before him. Unexplainable and comforting.

And so this afternoon Number 1, 2016, arrived on the farm on probably the coldest wettest day of this winter so far. And snuggled down in front of the fire which had so recently been vacated by our best friend.
The circle of life continues,  and to Tom may your long nap be full of bones, balls and baa-ing sheep.
All of us xx