Work

The shepherd skipped town...who could blame him.  New Zealand would be a nice place to visit for Christmas especially if there were family longing to see flesh and blood in person.  Of course it is summer there, a different view of the Christmas glass.

When the shepherd is away, the mice get to play.  The ranch owner being dog-less and maybe a little soft of heart.  Okay that can't be it....desperate might be a better word. The ranch owner, being dog-less and desperate, called me.   Me, well, I've dreamed of these days. 

After a successful ewe gather with Nell, Bella drew the lambs.  Lambs, the death of my best laid plans.  Not terribly flocky, nor a leader amongst them.  One of the most incredible scenes I have been witness to is a whirlpool of lambs...circling, circling...whilst the center lambs hold firm.   Lemmings following blindly needing a confident dog intervention.

The ranch owner might be a prankster.....or my Bella might have forgotten to count.  Be that as it may, I got a second chance at yet another fine day of "real" dog work...bringing in the left overs, or the whoopee cushions....whatever really happened I took it and gave Miss Nell the Christmas gift of lambs after her mature sheep gather of two days ago.

Today was a 4-wheeler kind of day......not so much of a work out for me but a necessity as the day was leaning towards Christmas Eve day.

The field was gathered, the lambs driven into the sorting barn, the count as it should be at the end of the day.

"And I, I took the road less traveled by.....and that has made all the difference."

Seize the Day!!!!