Quick Mumble & TMT #4

This blog has fallen by the way side.  Victim of sheep obsession.  We have been working a lot at the pasture, among other things.

For those of you who have emailed me asking about the next installment of the Photography Tips Series - please be patient.  I am almost done with the next four installments & will be posting them soon.  

That said....

My husband has been home everyday and driving me borderline wacko.  The other night after he vacuumed everything in the world, he decided to vacuum the inside of the vacuum.  It didn't stop there, he took it apart and WASHED the filters, cleaned out the canister & did other crazy things to our poor Dyson.

Now the washing machine is suffering from his cleaning frenzy.  I swear to doG I can hear it screaming at me, begging for mercy.

Seriously, if he does not get called back to work soon, I may have to beat him to death.  Maybe the washing machine will rise up in revolt and take care of the problem for me.  

But he does barbeque a mean steak,  does dishes, cleans the house, is easy on the eyes, smells good and I rather like him.  I am actually happy to have this time with him.  The last time he was on stand-by he was in a panic over money.  This time we were prepared and he is enjoying his first vacation in years.

It is all good. 

Since I don't have anything else to write at this very moment, I thought I would actually respond to Crooks & Crazies Tell Me Thursday...on THURSDAY!





Questions for today:

1. In sheepdog training (or lets call it *any* type of training), how do you keep from taking yourself, your dog, your lack of progress too seriously? posed by Ann

I try to set small achievable goals for each trial.  Sure, I would love to finish a course, or doG forbid - win.  However, to be realistic I make sure my goals are aligned with reality which enables me to feel good about our progress, no matter how small.  Every trial brings opportunity - even if it is just to see where you need to focus your training before the next one. 

I struggle with taking things too seriously, because this is a deeply personal journey for me.  Overcoming my anxiety and learning to keep my head in a healthy space is going to be a life long battle, on or off the trial field. 



2. How many crates do you have? For reals. 

3 in the garage
4 in the bedroom
2 in the car
1 in the guest room
10 Total (I think?). 


3. How do you keep your dogs in shape? 

Lots of work & running off leash.  Now that we have our own sheep the dogs are working almost every day.  The days they do not work we take them to the river or a near by field where they run their butts off. 

4. Who is your favorite movie/tv star eye candy at the moment? 

Who needs to dream when they have this to look at every day?

The ORIGINAL Eye Candy.  Ranger. 

5. What is your livestock situation? Have your own? Borrow? Herd the cats? (You can substitute other equipment for livestock if you don't work stock with your dogs). 

We rent a near-by 10 acre pasture where we keep our 5 Romney's,  5 Clun Forest, 3 Dorper/Katahdin mix, 1 ancient Black Belly Barb & a strange Llama named Jim.  We have entered into a co-op situation with a friend.  Monique will soon be adding her sheep and we will be breeding this winter for lambs in the spring.  YEAH!  

Red-Neck Sheep Hauler

Last week John and I needed to figure out how to get our three sheep from Vicki's house to the new pasture.  

We do not have a trailer - so we had to get a bit creative.  

John borrowed 5 pallets from our friend the pig farmer.  

He then constructed a 'crate' in the back of his truck with tie wire and strapping.  

The only problem this presented was how to get the sheep from ground level to the truck bed.  

Once I got them separated off from the flock of ewes at Vicki's, we cornered them near the truck between the truck, fence and gate.  I was able to grab Tobie and Tulip, lifted them up to the truck bed and shoved them in the crate - the heaviest was Daisy and she didn't weigh more than 150 lbs (John lifted her)

Vicki opened and closed the door for us.  

Viola.  Loaded sheep.  

The ride to the pasture went smoothly.  The sheep were secure and protected.  For most of the ride they were laying down.  

Brynn enjoyed the ride. 

"OMG there are sheep in the truck, sheep in the truck!"

"They are looking at me!"

Brynn slept soundly that night.  

Staring at sheep is hard work, dontcha know.

Tell me Thursday - on Sunday

Again, I am late to the game.

(1) How did you get into border collies (or whatever your dogs of choice are)? What started it all?

I have always loved border collies.  I adopted my first border collie when we were stationed at Fort Bragg in NC when my kids were very small & I was pregnant with my third baby.  His name was Mikey.  He adored my middle son and watched over him as he crawled around the house & was my buddy while my husband was deployed.  We had him a few months when he suddenly became ill and passed away.  I was devastated.  It took me several years to adopt another dog.  After we adopted Katie in 1999 I was hooked.  When Katie started to exceed a normal life expectancy I accepted it might not be long.  Her long time companion Elmo had passed away, and I wanted a dog in our home to help ease the inevitable passing of my Katie.  We adopted Ranger, then Beth.  We went over the deep edge when we adopted Bonnie.  Katie was still hanging in there and in Nov 2008 she passed away peacefully in my arms at the age of 17.  As I type this I can see Katie's paw prints and a lock of her hair in a memorial box - she will always hold a special place in my heart.  6 months after Katie passed we adopted Brynn, and finally brought Bea into our pack last November.  Katie was the catalyst, prompting this incredible journey. 

(2) How many dogs do you have? All dog math variations accepted.  

We have five.  Ranger, Beth, Bonnie, Brynn & Bea

(3) What do you do for a day job?

I like to pretend I am a professional photographer.

(4) What questions would you like to answer (or ask)?

Why are some clouds dark but others lighter?
Are your socks supposed to match your underwear?
What do you prefer? Pizza or Teriyaki?

(5) What was for dinner last night?

I am not sure if I am supposed to answer this for Wednesday night or last night, so I am going to go with Wednesday night.  Broiled salmon fillet served with tomato/basil relish, steamed asparagus & jalapeno/cheese pan bread.  Yummy. 

Blame it on the Sheep

Sheep are getting in the way of blogging.  We have been working the dogs almost every day and doing sheep related chores, which has taken up a great deal of our time.  I am loving every single moment. 

Last weekend John had his first experience with shearing & getting personal with an uncooperative ewe. 

This is the same ewe that tried to kill me twice.  Well, maybe not kill me.  But she aims for me when she has the chance.  Thankfully, she is not my ewe, rather belongs to the land-owner and will be going along her merry way once he sells what is left of his flock.

When they were shearing the sheep, Monique and I trimmed all the feet. 

Jim the Llama was sheared on Saturday too.

He was not impressed.

He was in serious need of the hair cut.  

To safely shear him they tied him down in a harness of sorts.  Jim willingly went down and rolled over without too much drama.  

When one side was completed they flipped him over and started on the other. 

It was fascinating to watch them work on him. 

After Jim was bald.  As the land-owner said....Bald as the Dalai Lama.  In Jim's case that would be LLama. 

Later that day we saw Jim out in the freshly mowed pasture, rolling around hither and yon.  A happy, much cooler llama...who unfortunately got a wee bit of sunburn and has been hiding out in the shelter the first part of the week. 

Between shearing and having the pasture mowed John and I were running back and forth to Yelm for lessons with Dianne Deal at Ronnie Smith's farm. 

After working through some of the issues I wanted to tackle on Friday & Saturday, Dianne started Brynn shedding on Sunday.  

The idea is for me to learn how to do this too.

It really emphasizes why the flanks need to be square and absolutely no stepping forward.  There was a huge light-bulb moment for me in this session. 

All of our sessions actually.  I took home oodles of homework and a plan of what I need to work on before Lacamas - which is right around the corner. 

Our new field & sheep are ideal for Brynn at this stage in her training.  She is having to work double hard to read the pressure, draw and holding a line.  Which is exactly what we need to work on the most.

I have been breaking the sheep up into groups that are not completely bonded yet.  Three cluns, with the romneys.  It makes Brynn work twice as hard to keep them together.  Each set reacts to her differently.  If she pushes too hard they take off.  She is having to really feel that 'sweet-spot' between catching their eye, hooking them and keeping them moving. 

John has been re-learning how to work Beth.  So many things have changed in the way I trained her from when he started her.  It is a learning curve for him. 

And for Beth...who is none too pleased with these recent developments. 

She is a wee bit confused.  She is also taking HUGE advantage of him.  She is slicing flanks, busting the sheep up, being a turd.  Basically Beth's typical M.O.  I have learned how read her mannerisms, which allows me to stop her stinky behavior before it starts - most of the time. 

"Manipulative? Who? Me?"

My challenge is to keep my mouth shut and let him learn how to do things on his own.  I feel a little like I am tossing him to the lions, but the only way he will really learn & we can avoid divorce court is for me to step back and let him do this, and be gracious when he asks for help. 

They will come together soon.  He is running her in novice at his first trial EVER in September at Judy's Rocky Ewe Trial in Yelm over Labor Day. 

Our new Romney ewes are slowly getting into shape.  I have been careful about how much I work them so they can gradually build up endurance.  I am also selective about what type of drills and exercises I do with them so we can keep them fresh. 

Mixing the sheep up is a good way of keeping them light and a wee bit unpredictable.   Wait, didn't I say that earlier? 

I love cute sheep butts.  Over the hill they go...

The other day before the pasture was mowed I put Bea on sheep again. 

It was a bit of a rodeo. 

And I accidentally whacked her in the face with my stick, then promptly fell over. 

My first tumble in the new field.  I shot this picture right before I went arse over tea-kettle.

NOTE:  Do not try to shoot pictures while walking backward in an new field with waist tall grass and a pup with fetchy sheep.

Bea thought it was funny though, I heard her laughing all the way across the pasture as she chased the sheep into the trees.

Exhausted Mental Meandering

A dream really did come true. Having our own place to work sheep is a culmination of years of hope. A long with it comes work, work and more work. I am still a happy camper because it is ours. 

I had a lesson with Dianne today at Ronnie's in Yelm.  She told me I was working Brynn dog better than she has ever seen (yeah!) so all this work is paying off. I am learning, becoming more comfortable with commands, corrections and confident that I am doing the right things.

Then Dianne said, she wished I could work like that during a trial. She made me laugh when she told me something Jeanne B. said earlier in the day, "you need to be speakin' not freakin'!" Meaning you need to talk to your dog calmly, help them, relax and don't freak out. Since Dianne was at Palm Cottage last week she witnessed my 'scary shrill nervous whistling' and subsequent harried meltdown when things started to fall apart. I am getting better (I don't hyperventilate, cry or scream at the post anymore) but I have a long way to go.

I know I will get there. I am confident that every trial I make a step in the right direction. Every day I work my dog with the right attitude, I am moving forward.

I feel good about where we are. This whole positive energy, attitude thing is kinda sinking in, and I like it.  It sure feels nicer than beating myself up.  I had an epiphany the other day - being positive and feeling good about yourself is GOOD, it does not mean you are egotistical, self centered, or stuck up - it just means you feel good about yourself.  Feeling good about yourself is a healthy, happy thing.

I wish I could have learned this years ago.

Having my head in a positive space is good thing because my husband John just got layed off his job. He was put on stand-by for a month or two. To look at this positively - we are really saving a lot of money by having our own sheep and think about how much money we will save not paying for his gas to commute to work every day. Yeah!

In every cloud there is a silver lining.  You just have to look for it. 

That reminds me, John had a lesson with Beth today. I have finally committed to giving Beth back to John to work. It breaks my heart, because I adore her. She is the perfect chore dog. I don't even have to tell her what I want, she just knows. On the trial field, it is another story - we both succumb to nerves and Beth doesn't have fun.

She thrives on farm work - I will miss working her. She has been my right hand in doing any type of chore. Now it is time for Brynn to step up and I need to trust her and teach her how to do the same things Beth does every day. 

John has set a goal. He is going to run Beth in his first trial this September.

I don't know if any of you remember, but John started Beth, right after we adopted her.

He actually is the one who fell in love with her first when we visited her foster home.

He attended lessons with her, even a few Scott Glen clinics.

When he started working overtime at Microsoft a few years ago I took Beth over....then never gave her back.  Blame it on addiction.  I was addicted to sheepdogs.  It is a treacherous road to go down, it leads you to places you never thought you would be.

Like yesterday when we were helping with shearing.  I was trimming feet.  One of the ewes started struggling.  I grabbed her behind and my fingers slipped into an place (certain orifice) I did not anticipate - or the ewe for that matter.

See what I mean?  It takes you places...strange places with green schmutz that gets under your finger nails.

Speaking of places - my co-op partner posted a blog today about working on the field.  She shot great pictures of the field.  She determined the sheep need some training and she is just the person to do it.  They are sheep with ill intentions that aim for people.  One particular ewe is the devil incarnate.  She has taken me out twice - she drops her head and aims for me... every-single-time.  If she does it again, I will personally dispatch her to the big sheep farm in the sky - with my bare hands.  She belongs to the land-owner and is for sale.  I hope she leaves soon.

Speaking of which, he has 10 ewes for sale.  Some Romney and a few Columbia/Rambouillet.  They are all in excellent health.  No foot rot, good moms (all twin'ed) bags are great, 5-6 years old & recently sheared.  These ewes are massive, they have never missed a meal, big boned, sturdy sheep.  Please drop me an email if you are interested.  I can put you in contact with him. 

Monique's blog is here Behaviors of a Dog Mom

Tomorrow we shear Jim the llama.  This will be a new experience.  After I have another lesson with Dianne in the evening.

Another long, but happy day.