Em Nichols

We own three different homestead properties and are currently living on the one that we thought would be our "forever place."  However, for various reasons, we will be moving back to another property, mostly because it is closer to our business where I have to be onsite anywhere from one to seven days per week.  Also, after four years of looking for suitable WWOOFers, HelpXers, work-traders, or intentional community members, I simply give up.  We always gave a lot (especially my time) to our helpers, but the entitlement doesn't sit well with me and I am facing the fact that nobody is interested in community (or this location, or maybe it's me, who knows!?) and that we will just do this by ourselves.  

If anyone is interested in an 11 acre homestead in western New Mexico, feel free to reach out.  It is only 2 miles over the border from Arizona.  I'm not listing it (yet) because really, it will be even more work for me and we don't plan to move until possibly October.  I'm willing to consider trades, and creative financing.  

We run solar but have both on-grid and generator backup.
17,000 gallon water catchment system
Three livable homes - a 2 bed/1 bath mobile home, a 1 bed/1bath mobile home/stick build hybrid home and a studio apartment (my husband uses it as his office.)
All three homes have wood stoves.
Three 150 gallon propane tanks.
TONS of storage, including one climate controlled Conex container.
A covered carport attached to a workshop.
A small greenhouse - approximately 10x12"
We currently raise sheep, chickens, turkeys, rabbits and dogs on the property and will probably be taking our sheep fence panels, but 2 acres of the property is enclosed with no-climb fencing.  (If you don't know, fencing is one of the most important aspects of homesteading to keep animals in and predators out!)

Message me and I can send you more information.  

$50 per day.

Sorry, yes, location is important...25 minutes east of Springerville, AZ.  We are 2 miles over the border from AZ into New Mexico.

We have many posts here - so I will let you read through those.  

We need to be away from our homestead from about August 15-September 10.  We would hope someone would come prior to that to learn how to care for sheep, chickens, rabbits, turkeys, dogs and cats.  It is maybe 1.5 hours per day, total.  We have downsized considerably.  We provide housing, have Starlink, plenty of eggs and meat.  Please contact me if you're interested.  We've been WWOOF hosts and have been looking for the right fit for our little homestead for a while. The closest town is 20-30 minutes away.  

No smoking at all, please.  

Hi Wendy.  We have several options, if you'd like to private message me we can go from there.  

Tish Toren wrote:The problem with "new breeds", especially crosses of breeds with wildly different histories and selected working balances, is predictability.

Genetics are not like cooking, where you can add a little of this or that and get a uniform blend of "flavors" in a litter the way you would in a pot of soup. In dogs, the F1 cross will get a more predictable balance of traits, simply because the 2 fullblooded  parents will each contribute roughly 50%. Once you breed on with crossbred parents the proportions of traits can vary wildly. Even within the LGD breed group there will be variation, add in and akc pet breed like St Bernard and it's a crapshoot, add a highly prey/chase driven breed, like GSD, and any chance of predictability goes out the window. LGD/herding crosses are everywhere now, they are the most common farm oops breeding, and are often downright dangerous.

I just wanted to speak up here, in case others that are researching this breed (or any LGD breed, really) happen to find this page.

First of all, I want to say up front that I love ALL dogs.  All dogs deserve loving and safe homes.  I do have my own preferences when it comes to the dogs I choose for myself and for our homestead.  I love the creativity that *can* go into breeding dogs.  However, this is where we start to teeter on that slippery slope...

I absolutely agree with what Tish said.  Genetics are tricky and it's not just a matter of mixing one beautiful breed with another beautiful and hardworking breed to create a new wonderful breed.   There is no way to determine how you will get the traits you want (less barking or less wandering) versus keeping the traits such as heightened alertness and unnerving courage facing predators that we want to see in our livestock guardians.  To breed for these wanted qualities will take several generations.  In the meantime, what will become of the puppies that are made along the way?  Sure, they can be general farm dogs, family dogs, therapy dogs or companions.

I really am trying to find the words to explain how this makes me feel without offending anyone.  

I fully understand that this is how the present day dog breeds we have came to be.  As the humans in this equation, we have a responsibility to these dogs to promote the best version of these dogs and this is why ethical breeders adhere to strict breeding guidelines set by our specific breed clubs.  Read about the St Bernard, their history and previous experimental breeding efforts here: https://saintbernardclubofamerica.club/breed-history/  I found it interesting that they attempted to breed OUT the long hair because the weight of the ice that formed in the long hair would incapacitate the dogs.  I am VERY well aware that wonderful dogs can be bred without health testing or adhering to breed standards.  That is a whole other discussion and for the purpose of this post, I don't think we need to go down the AKC/CKC registry rabbit hole.

My advice for anyone researching LGDs for their farm or homestead is to 1) research all breeds (breed club sites, YouTube, etc.) and their specific characteristics.  There is a specific purpose for each and every attribute of dogs (coat, ears, eyes, shape of head, eye color, shape of tail, dewclaws, etc.) 2) visit and observe as many dogs and breeds in their own environment as you possibly can 3) talk to LGD owners and ask them about their experiences; why they chose their specific dogs, what challenges they faced 4) build your fences NOW and 5) recognize that anyone that talks to you about their dogs probably has a bias for specific breeds.

I prefer to see everyone set up for success including the dogs and the dog owners.  Can this mix of two breeds make wonderful LGDs?  I would cautiously say "yes."  It may not be a breed for me, but it can work for someone else.  I just don't particularly like the idea of mixing breeds, hoping for the best and promoting this as a new designer breed (:ahem: ...Labradoodles.)  Like I said, it's a slippery slope between creating good working dogs versus the concern for diluting pure working dog breeds.

Oh boy, I'm ready for the very emotional responses to this post!  I tried to be as respectful as possible to have a mature conversation while stating my personal concerns.    

Jen Anderson wrote:Hi Gunther,

I have dreamed of having a place in the desert since I grew up in the desert outside of Tucson as a child.   I wanted to create a space where people can come for contemplative/spiritual/solitude experiences.  I got very very lucky on a land purchase.  I have been looking for a caretaker (or caretaker couple) who wants to live on the land...but I have been striking out.  I need more permie type community vs the folks who have been responding to ads I have placed.  There is space for community, I am just a little gun shy after my first few experiences with having other people living out here.  

Jen

I know exactly what you mean!  My searches which have included friends and family members have almost all ended with less-than-desirable circumstances. It's insane that people don't want to live for free, eat for free, and all they have to do is a little bit of work, contribute and be good people.  I had ONE fantastic experience recently that has given me hope again.  

Oh well, here's to doing it by ourselves!  We are in NM, just two miles over the border from AZ, but I spend most of my time at my business in AZ.  I have tried looking for other like-minded folks on Permies, WWOOF, FIC and Facebook.  The Facebook experience was so awful, I rarely even look at Facebook anymore.  

I hope you find what you are looking for.  

Ty Jackson wrote:I'd love to come out and see what you've built. I've been trying to do something similar on 140 acres in eastern NM. And the individuals who usually reply or show up are quite interesting to say the least and to keep it nice.
But I'd like to see your place and know how it's all going for you.

I'm sending you a message.  

I was a Harvest Host - same sort of idea, except that visitors do not pay directly, and they are only allowed to stay for one night.  The "payment" was supposed to come from visitors buying what you sell at your location, or, in my case, they were encouraged to pay for my time to provide a farm tour, as we don't sell anything to the permies.  

It was way more trouble than it was worth - people don't read directions (CALL PRIOR TO ARRIVAL) and they got lost, stuck in small spots and destroyed parts of our parking lot.  Nice concept, but not worth my time.  

I absolutely could do it as an income-generating source, however, I am only one person and I have too many other things to do.  

 It may as well be time for an update!  

This is what our life is like - running a homestead and an off-site business one hour away isn't easy. My husband typically stays home to tend to our animals while I work at our business anywhere from 30-80 hours per week.  There are times that I need to have him go to the business with me which is possible, but even easier when there is someone at the homestead to make sure animals get fed.

Thankfully, we just had a couple that WWOOF'd with us for three weeks which renewed my hope that these arrangements can work out.  Self-starters that collected their own eggs, milked their own sheep milk, and learned to butcher their own animals while having all their housing, food and utility needs met.  We do not financially benefit from any of those efforts as we don't sell our products, unless we have way too much!  All we asked for was them to feed and water our animals (approximately 1 hour, possibly 1.5 hours if you really stretched it, of work) each day.  All eggs went to them.  All milk was theirs. They butchered their own animals for their own consumption, so it's not like I was benefitting from any of it before any of you say or think otherwise.  She would put in online orders for the grocery store, which I paid for and picked up.  It was helpful to have two young people just be present and take care of the bare minimum, which is all I have wanted.  We were waiting for our ewes to start lambing, which they did, two days after our WWOOF'ers left!
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Another update: As of June 3, 2025, we had 18 babies born this year.  We are growing out five rams to butcher.  We will have a new lamb crop next winter. One girl that is off-schedule may lamb in a few months.  

Take care y'all.