She is starting to get better about long, road-warrior marathon car rides. No whining or fussing from her!
She LOVED the long walks we took.....exploring the big rocky outcroppings in search of treasures. 
We walked and walked.....and then.....we put her on sheep! Time will tell....but for now.....she is a fine traveler, has good respect, and slowly, slowly we will start this journey of working sheep.
More about the clinic tomorrow......until then.....
Seize the Day!
Last weekend, I got invited to see a local tiger couple. The male is a white Siberian tiger......
The female, a smaller but still huge to me, Bengal tiger.
The female was younger and full of herself......stalking the nearby grazing horses....who did not give a fig's leaf about her by the way.
It was all good and fun....until she decided to stalk me.....I could not control the primal instinct to run as she pounced at the fence.....giggling her tiger giggle, I'm sure! 
The ranch had the largest collection of Peacocks I have ever seen....not that I am an authority on Peacocks. They put on awesome display for those of us invading their territory.
Now, I am sure this blog post has left more questions than it has answered. All I know is, the owners of the tigers take splendid care of them and have a license to do so. They believe in preserving the genetics of these two tigers and know that if conservation efforts fail to keep the tiger living in the wild.....there will be tigers in the world for us to admire and respect. 
All that to be said, it was great meeting people who are living their dream. Filled with passion about what they are doing! May we embrace each and every day the same way.....
I drove to Longview, Washington to catch a game and then.....yep....on the way home I stopped to see a few more llamas. 
And I thought buying a llama would be easy.......
And a very nice judge....who is from Idaho....and I promise to not hold that against him....unless Boise State decides not take a good look at my youngest son....then we'll see.....
Getting to the finale of the single at the end of the show...... 
After the trial...I was supposed to stay the night with friends in Seattle....Bella's daughter Dahlia's peeps.....but my Nell came up sick! That certainly was not on my daytimer....grrr. So me and girls came home...and at 4:30 this morning I could not imagine another 4 1/2 hour one-way drive.....I am missing my sweet draw of 16th today......oh well, that is my new life! A life filled with wild rides and dramatic change of plans....and you know, I don't think I would have it any other way! Well, except to be running Sally today 16th......
Pretty cute.....
Check out those banana ears! 
What is it about baby animals that makes a person want to grab them...shove them into a dog crate and fly down the hill to take them home? Then I remembered I was there to find a new guard llama....one to fiercely protect my lambs back home....and a baby llama would fail miserably...I must get a grip! Looking out into the pasture of llamas....I wondered, how could I ever begin to decide. 
Kindly, the llama folks at Raindance had sorted a few of the female llamas that they felt might make a good guard......Ruby caught my eye...she is related to my Gingerbread.
You know, I have never ever been a good shopper!
Seize the Day!!!
Jack Knox is coming to Jefferson, Oregon to teach private lessons on Thursday, June 3rd, 2010. If you are interested in a private lesson with Jack Knox.....email me for more details at lora(at)rockingdogranch(dot)com. Understanding and training sheepdogs.....is like breathing to Jack. It comes so very naturally! He is one of the best.......
And then I see her stand up.......and I think..."oh my aching back".......and I remember to tip her well so I don't have to do this myself!
It also takes a small village to get the sheep and wool handled. Adele and Beau were in charge of moving the girls sporting new hair cuts around the barn to their pasture. Sounds easy but the sheep are very squirrelly from the shearing....and singles are not easy to work on the best of days. Adele had her work cut out for her.....and Beau did real fine.
Traci and Natch Kant filled the holding chutes and then skirted and bagged the fleeces. 
Kant's job was to shred the skirted off wool........well, she thought that was her job! 
The skirting and bagging job was a little different this year as many of the fleeces were WET! We have been having an unusually wet spring and 24 hours in the barn was not enough time to dry the girls out. So my work is not done just yet......half of the fleeces are drying up in my playroom much to my family's chagrin! Hubby says our house smells like the fair. I thought I would compliment that statement by having corn dogs and elephant ears for supper tonight!
Seize the day!!!!
