The valley has been unseasonably hot and I keep a watchful eye on the flock: radical temperature changes seem to invite the likes of pneumonia and cocci and the dreaded "just lay down and die for no good reason" disease that sheep seem to get on occasion. My culls keep their gifts to themselves and I wonder if I might be that "crazy sheep lady"...obsessed with udders, vulvas and watching. This year, I have new neighbors and a smaller flock than years gone by....I now have three nice, tall green grass fields with trees for shade and that makes for happy sheep that can't quite get all the mowing done. I'll wean this week and with that, phase one of the Rocking Dog Ranch plan for the future starts: cull hard, no lambing, small flock over winter, buy in lambs and culls for spring. Doors begin to close...and I'm back to the theme of watching for windows.
Bella is doing PT now.....that plus laser twice a week and massages every night before bed has promoted Bella to Princess Bella, thank you very much. She still has a hitch in her giddy up on a few steps but I wonder how much that might be habit as it is a dab of tender. I do 'close at hand' work with her; easy work and she opened up her come bye flank last night without my reminder......she is getting there.
Dot has had a very exciting spring with her meeting three top handlers and getting their autographs. With Dot, I continue to dig into the "make" versus "get" theory of life through dogs with a new twist; I've added "tell". That 'tell, make, get" is a heady cocktail; the fumes from the mixing rising up and almost making me lose my way into the world of responsibility and understanding of the job. My biggest challenge right now it to look at what my correction and my asking is doing to my dog(s). And in the blink of an eye, I am right back to this whole darn dog journey being about me. I soldier on, I know what I want with each of my dogs and that is: relationship and each of us understanding the dance of being accountable for our part of the journey.
I've pondered many a moment of pondering about "gracefully letting go of what is not meant for me". How do I know what is meant for me and what is not meant for me? When I sign up for a trial, I get into the mode of sports psychology, dreaming of how the trip will unfold, visualizing runs, preparing for the good and what might happen in between. I don't vacation in the way others might, so often my road trip trial extravaganzas become my getting away from it all vacation time. Sometimes I find when the going gets tough, I need to just dig deeper, want it more, find out who I really am with letting go of all distractions to get there and run. Then there are other times when I need to let go, change plans, rest. Finding the balance in all that is challenging me right now, but it is a good challenge. I know it is life....not just dogs but all of life.
Lemonade is very refreshing!
Seize the Day.
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