{"id":9878,"date":"2025-05-20T09:43:23","date_gmt":"2025-05-20T07:43:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wild-swiss-adventure.ch\/?p=9878"},"modified":"2025-06-26T10:26:05","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T08:26:05","slug":"between-tidying-up-and-working-everyday-life-with-plan-and-chaos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wild-swiss-adventure.ch\/en\/between-tidying-up-and-working-everyday-life-with-plan-and-chaos\/","title":{"rendered":"Between tidying up and working - everyday life with plan and chaos"},"content":{"rendered":"
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How a day at Maiens\u00e4ss rarely goes the way you think it will (but is always instructive)<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Plans are great. Until life intervenes<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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he thought was wonderful: the summer season doesn't start until the end of May. That gives me - theoretically - a whole month in April to split wood, replace fences and mow a tick-free paradise for the dogs. So much for the plan.
But Valais had other ideas.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Spring snow & flying tipis<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Spring didn't come in the form of flowers and sunshine, but as heavy, wet snow, which gave our trees the rest - and our tipis the roof.
After several winters and storms, that was it. And to be honest: the thought of dragging all the tepee material back to Valais and setting it up again? No thanks.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Blizzard in a search game<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Wood pile for sawing<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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To-do list vs. reality: 0:1<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Instead of relaxing and repairing the patio, I'm shovelling fallen trees. The days fly by - and the list is still growing.
Because animals don't wait for good weather.
- Rain? \u2716\ufe0f
- Storm? \u2716\ufe0f
- Sore muscles? \u2716\ufe0f
With 17 huskies, 4 sheep, 4 goats, 4 chickens & 1 tomcat, the daily schedule is always pretty... busy.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Dogs with idiosyncrasies - and a sense of order on four paws<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Nova (our Belgian shepherd) loves the storm. Why? Because there are sticks and branches lying around everywhere, which she proudly reports - like a cross between a police dog and a landscape gardener.
The huskies? They don't find it exciting. They want to run. But woe betide them if there are branches on the trail - then the elegant \"husky run\" turns into a slalom choreography with wild side jumps.
By the way, Nova has zero understanding of pulling dogs. When I tried to harness her, she looked at me 20 times like: \"Tell me, are you serious?\" - and then started walking backwards.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Husky logic vs. shepherd dog system<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Throwing a ball or frisbee?
- Nova: Catches everything. Brings it back. Expects praise and treats.
- Huskies: \"Big thing. No food. Keep walking.\" Search game?
- Nova: Finds everything. Report it or bring it with enthusiasm.
- Huskies: Find it, eat it. Why report it if it tastes good?<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Our Quessant sheep\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Yakari and Bowie in the run<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Every paw counts - teamwork with character<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Whether chicken, husky or goat - they all have their own character. That's what makes life so colourful.
I have learnt:
- Everyone has strengths and weaknesses
- You don't have to be able to do everything to be valuable
- A good team doesn't work through equality, but through understanding
This applies just as much to the train dog team as it does to everyday life - and, to be honest, to any job.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Conclusion - adaptation is not a step backwards, but a strength<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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You can also make plans with MS. You just have to keep them flexible.
I have many days when nothing works. Doubt, frustration, tiredness - it's all there.
But then comes a look from Nova, a catch of snow in the husky coat, or a contented grunt from the goat pen - and I know:
I don't have to be perfect. I just have to keep at it.<\/p>

PS: How much I've learnt from my huskies about teamwork, life & perseverance can be found in a separate post - with even more chaos, charm & fur.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How a day at Maiens\u00e4ss rarely goes the way you think it will (but is always instructive) Plans are great. Until life intervenes the thought was wonderful: the summer season doesn't start until the end of May. That gives me - theoretically - a whole month in April to split wood, replace fences and give the dogs a tick-free [...].<\/p>","protected":false},"author":209,"featured_media":9887,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[647],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-maiensaess-alltag"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wild-swiss-adventure.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9878","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wild-swiss-adventure.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wild-swiss-adventure.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wild-swiss-adventure.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/209"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wild-swiss-adventure.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9878"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/wild-swiss-adventure.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9878\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12417,"href":"https:\/\/wild-swiss-adventure.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9878\/revisions\/12417"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wild-swiss-adventure.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9887"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wild-swiss-adventure.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wild-swiss-adventure.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wild-swiss-adventure.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}