Our dignified, black beauty, Firenze, arrived this morning during a snow squall. She was familiarly greeted by the rest of the herd and immediately assumed her place as the head mama of the herd. In fact the whole dynamic of the herd changed as soon as she stepped foot in the pasture. The others rushed up to greet her and she made it clear that she was in charge. In fact, mama Took seemed only too glad to cede leadership of the other girls to the new arrival. Firenze's dignified demeanor also had an unforseen benefit. When Callie dog was turned loose at the pasture's edge to look through the fence at the new arrival and began running back and forth like she has done since the others arrived, Firenze stood her ground staring grandly down her nose at Callie. Callie stopped short opposite Firenze and just stared. The most amazing thing though was the fact that Took, Leeza and Mango who usually run across the pasture from one side to the other to be as far from Callie as possible, just stood behind Firenze as she stared down the dog as if to say,"This dog is just nuts!" Firenze was clearly not impressed by the dog nor fearful in any way and the others assumed the same attitude.
Firenze is also very people friendly and comes right up to the fence when we visit the pasture alone or with friends. She came face-to-face with me and hummed gently in reply to my voice. Her eyes are very wise and curious at the same time. She has a serenity about her that has affected the other girls and she is behaving as if she has lived here for years. Apparently their barn and pasture meets Firenze's standards of comfort.
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