Merry Christmas

It's hard to believe it was one year ago that Sis had her puppies;  talk about a life changing event.  As I was reminiscing with friends the other day.....we came to the conclusion that one never knows how strong they are until they go through the hard times.  I learned I am strong......I can live without sleep.....I have great friends....and asking for help is part of life.

It's Christmas time and I am grateful for the reminder of all that is important to me: Relationships, Love, Time and Tolerance.  The things I don't like about Christmas is Expectations and Wrapping presents.  I solved my second dislike by buying boxes that look "already wrapped" and I use them year after year.  But how to creatively deal with Expectations?  I've been reminding myself daily to do all the things that make me happy for Christmas...and as I am doing them, stay in the moment.  This is a tough one for me......I struggle with the busyness of the holiday while others relax and do their thing.  Part of me would rather be out working dogs or all the bazillion other things I enjoy instead of Christmas preparation.  Then I bring it back to my list of "what is important" and I know it's a gift I give my family....gathering around good food and a comfortable home to share the day.

I'm here working on my second cup of coffee....most of the work has been done.  My little immediate family is coming tonight for dinner, gifts and perhaps Santa. Then tomorrow is a leftover brunch of all the good things to eat with more family.  My one wish is that the two days of Christmas be filled with love and laughter and surprises of the spontaneous.  I'll remind myself to keep my eyes open for the tiny miracles while not grasping, fist clenched to the demands of expectation. In fact, this is a good reminder for the coming year.

In non-Christmas news....Josephine is in heat!  gah.  The challenge of having an intact male dog has manifested three fold as Miss Josie is bringing her mama and her aunt Sal into heat too!  Poor Jon Snow...and poor me for that matter!  I'm mastering the dance of keeping dogs separate.  Josie is confused and Jon is super biddable...so far so good.  Once Josie is out of heat, my challenge will become a little easier as those two are besties.  Sal is the one I really have to worry about......she is a sneaky slut and has a history of oops litters.  If I knew of someone close, I would consider sending Jon off for a month......we will see!

My favorite week of the year is just around the corner.  I love the week after Christmas and all the fun work of remembering the closing year and looking ahead to the new year.  It's good work for me......

Merry Christmas to all of you......may the coming days be filled with all that is important to you......all the way into the new year!

Seize the Day

Fingerless Gloves

Fingerless gloves......I LOVE THEM!!!  I can still do all the things that I need fingers for...all while keeping my hands warm.  And if my fingertips get cold...I just tuck them in.  These gloves are also the first knitting I have done for myself and I use them daily.

Right now, with Christmas only a week and a half away...I am frantically knitting up fingerless gloves for everyone.  The gloves I am wearing are made from a sock weight yarn and take for-ev-er to knit.  With the help of Ravelry, I tweaked a pattern that uses a DK weight yarn and I've can knit a glove +  per day.

I hope all my people love them as much as I do.......until I fall hands first into the ankle deep mud while working sheep!

Seize the Day!

Be Careful What You Wish For

I was telling my friend, just the other day, that if I were 30 years younger....I'd run commercial sheep. Then the weekend happened....and I realized....I an not 30 years younger!  hahahahah

The first day started with frozen fog and a 300 acre field filled with lambs.....somewhere.

The goal was to sort off a handful of those lovely Romney crosses right there at the back.

After a super wet fall on newly planted annual rye grass, I quickly realized the Boss Lady was right and this was not going to be an easy task; not easy or clean!

With the help of an entire village, we got 'er done.  I can never figure out how sheep producers do it without a good dog.....because Bella was a rock star.  Even at 10, she can cut off lambs and hold the pressure.

Day two was at home sorting off round lambs to go back to the Boss Lady and sorting the new lambs into smaller groups.  Sorting, moving, loading, and working...I was a mini sheep operation.  Sis got most of the work till the end when Bella came out with experience trumping training.  My place is coming together but I see holes that need addressed to make the work a little smoother. That and not brining in border cheviots again....ever!  Next time I ask for the cute little border cheviots Boss Lady is supposed to say NO!!!  Wicked creatures from Hell!

After tromping through calf-deep mud the day before.....the hard frozen ground at my place was like working out on cement! When I finally walked in the house at 4 it was all I could do to cook dinner and not go to bed!   And so today, Bella and I are sore, tired and a little grateful that the Boss Lady's crew can handle the work on the preggers today without us.  I think I'll just stick with being Boss Lady's intern......it's a great life.

Seize the Day.

ps all photos by Boss Lady......

All By Myself......

I train by myself most of the time.  I don't mind, actually, I enjoy it.  Yet, surprise, surprise, I end up with holes that can only be fixed with other people!  I totally know it is common for young dogs to want to hold to the set out people when they begin to trial.  I "know" that but when it happens to my young dog....I remember!  Back to the drawing board and time for some time and miles and miles and miles!

Another set of eyes on training can be beneficial if not necessary.  Sometimes I get in my own head and need a push myself to see things from a different perspective.  With two "new to trialing" dogs and two puppies getting started.....every now and then a tune-up is in order.  My personal  mission is to find the balance between a dog doing things natural and my being able to over-ride that when necessary. Sisters, Sal and Sis are opposite sides of that knife: Sal being all about her...and Sis being all about me.  I'm working on helping Sal find a better method while allowing me some input every now and then.  All the while, Sis is being asked to be a little more responsible and get some things done on her own.  And then there is me....it is so easy for me to just tell Sis what to do...and get mad at Sal of not letting me tell her what to do!  Oh the life of working and training sheepdogs!

Then there are the "puppies" who are 11 months old and not really puppies any more.  They are two sides of a knife as well....very different.  Jon Snow is thoughtful and all about having fun.  I was reminded yesterday that perhaps it is time to start developing his method on sheep.  He is so nice when he is working well and thoughtful.  I know he is too close but I wonder about opening him up or stopping him to show him what distance feels like.  Watching another way of developing method was exactly why tunes ups with like minds are so important for me!

Josie is going to be nice in her own way. She is fast footed and quick minded and serious as a heart attack.  I've taken a few weeks off with her....and yesterday she seemed like she ready for more.  She is all about the "come on" and I'm wrestling with pace and not having her flank out of that pressure point instead of pushing through it.  I want to keep that forward for sure.....but I don't want to encourage flanking.....so that dance begins.

I have always believed it is important to seek advice from trainers who are like-minded with my mission.  I believe, given a chance...my dogs will find answers amongst the sheep and I have to die to all the things i could do to make them "perfect".  Putting pressure on them to open them up, lying them down to keep them out of trouble, giving them too much trouble for messes or not enough accountability for small infractions that I might just ignore;  that's my dance.  Lastly, when I work with a trainer, I want honesty.  I really despise sugar coated "your dogs look great" when I'm really longing to learn and develop a better relationship with each of my dogs.  In addition, I prefer honesty that has the end result of my getting better.

The take away from my time yesterday looks like this:

Sal....perhaps I am spoiling her too much (LOL LOL)  I need to continue working on getting in her head and having her respect me; she blows me off a lot!  I need to work on my different correction tones (applies to puppies too) and maybe try some disappointment.  My personal thought includes the fact I don't believe Sal trusts me nor believes in herself......so I'll work on that while I work on the respect.

The puppies both need to work on developing their method on sheep.  That's what we will be focusing on for a while.  The biggest confirmation was...YES they are ready for more and their little widows of learning are wide open. I thought that but was glad to hear I'm seeing things accurately......now the journey gets fun. Sunshine is coming next week........you'll find me in my bottom field in the new 250X300 pen I built for winter puppy training.

Seize the day!

All The Things

I've dipped my toe back into the ocean of sheepdog trialing.  Meeker has always been a bucket list trial for me and when I saw my name in the first draw I knew it was time to walk to the post and give Bella her Meeker spin.  I'm so glad I did.

Meeker was all I had dreamed of with a side of more and a bit of less.  For one, I thought the sheep were going to be dog eaters...and not a single dog was made a meal of or a snack for that matter.  It was also very hot......the kind of hot that had us searching for shade mid day and thankful for the park along side the river that flows through Meeker.  I spent many an afternoon under this tree with the girls.

This

There are so many things I loved about Bella's run....it was not perfect for sure but so much of our relationship was shown on that Meeker field.  Once Bella got a hold of the sheep....it was exactly what Bella loves and does the best....the feeling and handling of those tough range sheep.  Heat, altitude and age were not our friends and when we got to the pen, I was out of dog.  But we touched the pen after her fantastic shed and her run earned us the "Shining Star" award for a first time at Meeker handler.  I'm grateful to her for the honor!

I touched the pen at Meeker!!!!

For me personally, I have taken some trial time off after my Carbondale Finals.  I had lost myself...or perhaps I was just lost....traveling all over, going to trial after trial, filming and chasing....always chasing to capture something a trial win might provide.  I know I've hashed it out over and over in my head and here.  My time off from the road has given me some grounding and insight into what is most important to me.  Life, relationships, learning....those details have become a focus point.  Sometimes I find myself off line a little....like in the movie Moana, I put my hand up and find my North Star and change my course back in the direction that is right for me.

Which brings me right back to my Rocking Dog Ranch blog.....it's time for a change here too.  I want to be able to look back at my words and see my life...which is filled with my dogs, for sure, but is more than just training and trialing.  My Nell is turning 11..gah where did the time go...and has career changed into nose work.  It's a little search and rescue game but we just rescue odors that have been hidden in crooks and crannies at places like Lowes, Wilco and my barn!  She loves it and tells me first thing in the morning, "it's Tuesday!" which is her class day!  I've got my bees and all I'm learning ...first and foremost concurring my fear of them!  I've taken up knitting which is a mind saver now that winter is coming and the days are shorter and shorter.  And through Divine Intervention...I've embraced my inner child and am now the owner of a pony.  Her name is Gloria and she ran with a big mob of valley sheep until she became too much for all the loading and hauling.  Before that, rumor has it, she was ridden and taught to drive.....I'm now in search of a harness and pony cart for my tiny bundle of amazing heart happiness.

Living in the moment!

Indeed the thing that gets me up in the morning is the dogs and their sheep work.  My worst days of working for my good friend beats some of my better days not working dogs.  The journey of training the dogs, looking for holes and finding ways to have the dogs find their answers is indescribable.  It's a very humbling experience.....especially now that I am getting my two puppies started. They are so different I'm digging deep to find their pace and methods.

The best adventures are shared with friends

So, here's to blogging about life......let it be filled with amazing adventure.....a life worth writing about.

Seize the Day!!!!

I Kept Two

The puppies are growing up...probably not puppies any more.  Perhaps they are teenagers.....because we most certainly have some naughty going on.  I have a huge bolder rock wall that separates the upper deck parking in front of the garage from the back cement slab off the puppy hallway.  Jon Snow LOVES to climb those rocks.  One jump off  a medium bolder had me cringing and when he tried to do it again (gah) I put up orange snow fence.  He still climbs the rocks but the fence requires him to take a path down so he can squeeze under to play with Jo.  Lesson 101 from puppy raising...be very careful what theme you pick for puppy litter name!  I should have gone with the Sound of Music!  Instead I have Jon Snow.....Master of the Watch of the Wall!  May he go on to be ruler of the world with Daenerys when the show resumes!  That's all I have to say on this matter!

I'm taking a "puppy class" which is really private lessons with an agility lady, gasp  I'm really enjoying the classes which happen every other week.  The gal has great ideas for things the pups and I can work on....all of which will help with core body strength in the future.  This class motivates me to work with the puppies regularly.  It also forces me to get them in the van and off of the ranch!  I take them weekly to Nell's nosework class too...so they are getting van time.

Jon Snow is going through a growth spurt right now.  One of my challenges has ben to have him put his front paws on a low box and then to sit without moving his paws off the box.  Poor boy has resorted to putting his paws on the box, then stepping off to sit, after which he puts his paws back on the box.....ta da!!!!  So freaking cute and smart.  Of course tiny bug Josie can keep her paws on the box and sit, she can also sit on the box, lay on the box and put her hind legs on the box.  Clever girl with fabulous body awareness!

I traded in my car for a caravan...back to the mom car for me.  I LOVE IT!!! I've loaded it full of crates and can take dogs with me places in comfort.  The pups can jump up in it without help now.....so awesome.  If I were desperate I could even sleep beside the crates!!  I love the options and ease...it makes me load the pups up more and take them places.

I also think it has come time to separate the pups a little.  I am "thinking" of sending Josie off for a couple of weeks to a friend...and when I pick her up, leave Jon Snow.  It will give them a month without each other and me two weeks with each of them.  I'm working towards that end.

Every now and then, I am overwhelmed by my commitment.  But then I breath...and enjoy the ride.  I feel very fortunate to be able to keep two puppies.....and Sis is grateful too. She loves them both....in fact right now she is over in the corner playing bitey face with Josie.  Yep, I kept two.

Seize the Day

Shearing With a Twist

2017 shearing is now in the books...... what a shearing it was!  Last fall, my new found friend, Marie from Olive Knits asked if she could do a little field trip during shearing.  Sure...why not?  Sounded like a great idea and something that was in line with what I want this ranch to become.....going back to roots.  In mid January, when my shearing friend called to book a date....the second weekend in April sounded perfect!  It was a little later than last year but I figured the date would make for better field trip weather!

Marie contacted me again to finalize the plans for the field trip and a couple of weeks ago I went into overdrive.  The overdrive of....must beautify the place....people are coming!  My nephew came out and we applied the next layer of beautifying the barn so field trip attendees could walk  through and watch.  Old barn wood was moved, walk ways swept of decades of crud, ancient milk stations torn down and the treasures of the deep things found in the feed that had fallen between the cracks hauled out.  I wonder without answers when the milking portion of the barn was added?  It can't be original 1856 because of the concrete that was used, or so I think.

But back to beautifying....I hauled in a dumpster and got rid of most of the garbage that was left behind post estate sale.  Last on my list of things to do was: put up more lighting and buy new plywood.....which I put off to the last minute.  Friday dawned and the wind storm that was predicted hit with full force and I found myself in 40 mph wind gust trying to finish up!

Not thinking to ask until the last minute how many people were coming....Marie told me...15!  GAH! I began to plan how to park that many cars, plus all the help that was needed for the main event.  My friend was also planning on brining her sheep over the night before.....another 20 or so headed through the barn with her trailer housing her rams overnight.  Mother Nature took care of some of the parking....my friend could not get the sheep here early enough to have them be dry for shearing.  She stayed home and will shear in May.  Details were falling into place.

Saturday dawned bringing with it a little sun peaking through the dark clouds.  I got up early and had the lighting and pens set so when the shearer arrived, he just needed to set his equipment.....and sounds system.  I had been running the sheep through the barn all week to get them used to going in.  Last year was crazy...this year, the sheep were perfect.  We loaded the staging area and then waited.

The field trip attendees arrived and fun began.  Jake, my shearer, is a professional shearer.  He travels around shearing big mobs...I think he said he is a 5th generation shearer.  He took a few breaks to talk to the ladies about the details of shearing.  My sheep producing friend, Emily talked about sheep production in the valley.  My friend, Adele, taught them about all things wool. The whole day had a festive feel to it........while the sheep were shorn and tended to....feet trimmed, sheep wormed and vaccinated.  I ended the day with a little demo...ala Bella...down in the big field.  She LOVED showing off and of course, did not want to come back up once we were done.

I'm hoping Maria does a little write up on the day for her blog.  I have no photos of the day to share myself.....I stole this off my friend's Facebook page......

Now, Instagram is filled with pictures and stories of the field trip from new friends.  @rockingdog tags are allowing me to see the day through other's eyes.  I wish I could steal some of those photos....but alas, I can't figure out how to do that on Instagram.

I soldier on, my list of "what is important" hangs on the wall behind my computer.  Relationships are top of that list.....through all the interactions, work, help, and fun..... the day of shearing was THAT.

Seize the day.