Take the Long Way Home

Though the Bluegrass was over for me, my trip was far from ending.  I have to pause and say, sometimes this sheepdoggin' world amazes me....that, and FaceBook.  Before I had even put a mile beneath my tires, I decided that on my way home from Kentucky, I would try to make daily amusement park stops...aka...stops to talk dogs and work dogs along the way home thus providing the carrot before this horse; little things to look forward to.  And even before that, when I bought Miss L&M Belle (Bella) I was somehow adopted into the L&M family with a fan club in South Dakota.  Those South Dakotans seem to be of the mind.....".if you are a friend of my friend, then you are a friend of mine!"  And so, the seven degrees of Miss Bella brought me to  a visit to Jamie Springs, just a 'tad' out of the way but heck what is a couple hundred miles when you are driving thousands?

I think I drove through many of Jason Aldean's Fly Over States....

Take a ride across the badlands
Feel that freedom on your face
Breathe in all that open space

Indeed, I drove through the badlands and talk about open space!  Breathtaking!

The girls and I took a good long walk and then I noticed what I had no idea lived in South Dakota:

I alwasy think of cactus and Arizona, or New Mexico or Texas but not South Dakota.  No dog seemed to care but still...who knew?

I got to meet two of the cutest girls around.....and the dog that I have admired from afar....GIRLIE!  I had an empty dog crate...but Emma kept a sharp eye on Girlie so I do not have a new dog.

Emma showing me how Girlie walks on a leash

Joni smiling for the camera

I've also heard Emma is a puppy snatcher...when I have a litter of pups I so need one of these.

Jamie, whom I have never met in person, warmly welcomed me into her life.  As we chatted, I kept thinking how nice it would be to live closer but maybe it was best we didn't.  Somehow I think we could get into some serious over-thinking trouble together!

Jamie as caught by photographer Emma

Before we went out to work dogs, Emma gave us a brief sheepdog demonstration! I see no tension as she pulls those sheep off that fence.....such feel!

Jamie grabbed some open ewes and we headed out into the open badlands, where the cacti dot the landscape, and hardly a fence is to be seen.  I gave my camera to Emma, who is four by the way, going on 19, and she kept busy taking pictures.

sheep from a four-year old view point

Emma's Bella portrait

I tied my camera around Emma's neck so she could not drop it and told her I did not care how many pictures she took.  My one and only "rule" was to not take pictures of me.  When I got done working Bella, Emma confessed she had accidentally take a "few" pictures of me.  Yes, Emma, that is like owning a few pair of shoes, or a few border collies or better yet, Kentucky being only a few miles down the road!

Jamie had a go at shedding.

Then we ate lunch, Emma painted me a picture, and I was back on the road.  What an amazing day with amazing people.  My only regret was missing Laura Hicks...but that makes going back all the more exciting.  Maybe a sheepdog trial will be in order next visit!  Thank you, Springs family, for making me welcome and taking time out of your life to share it with me.

Seize the Day!