All that and a bag of chips....

I am on a blog updating mission tonight! Gosh....life sort of got in the way of writing about it! What has happened since Scio.....okay.....you asked.......

First off, I went to Dry Lake....a really fab trial put on by Geri Byrne and friends. The good from the trial for me was meeting Herbert Holmes....and hanging out with great people.

What I learned....well, Sally and I have some outrun work to do. The trial field was REALLLY HUGE and the course was HUGE but felt like a postage stamp on an envelope....the sheep were set at REALLY FAR BACK....and well, let's just leave it at that! See how HUGE it all is???

After Dry Lake.....I graduated my son from high school.....

He is the one in the middle....first born, funny, bright, and loves to play baseball! Gosh who knew I had a life outside of sheepdogs?

Then it was on to a Jack Knox clinic! My biggest brain freeze at the clinic came when Jack told me, "when you get Sally to stop for you because she wants to and not because you forced her to, you will have succeeded" or something like that! Hmmmm

My next trial was Sue Wessel's Dirt Blowing Trial. Dirt Blowing.....really? How is there any dirt left when year after year, people take all that blowing dirt away from the trial site in their rigs?? Sally's outrun was spot on.....brought tears to my eyes....and then......as she brought them on the fetch....the sheep and dog went into this gully ravine affair.....and I had no idea what to do! So it was part of the course to loose site of your sheep and dog on the run....but gosh.....I had no idea what to say/whistle/pray.....especially when it was sort of a mess when I lost sight of them all! Will the lessons ever end???? I think not....

I should have known I was in trouble when this was the judge and the judges tent! I wonder if he could see what my dog was doing when I couldn't.....cheater!After all that Blowing Dirt....I took a field trip to the Idaho desert....meeting Diane Deal for some personal counseling sessions! 15 hours of driving for two hours in the desert with Diane, sheep, and my dogs....priceless!The MacDonald's famous end of June trial was yet another opportunity to put Sally in a different situation. Her run on Sunday on the coop/scottish black face mix gave me hope of runs to come!
My latest adventure in my journey of working sheep dogs included a "handlers clinic" with Bev Lambert. My head is spinning....full of thoughts, ideas, and the precision she demands in her training and trialing!The Sheepthillz Sheepdog trial ended my time with Bev Lambert. The trial was hot, the sheep were complicated, but what lessons presented themselves! My Nell had a nice go in Pro Novice showing me that time and miles will soften her into the teammate that works well with me. And well, using excuse #6 out of my "book of excuses"....Sally was in standing heat!

I am now busily packing the car for my journey east.....off to Missouri for some face time with the Knox family.....and the end goal of having Nell meet her husband!

I am so excited for the adventure that lies ahead......

Seize the day!