Life in Paxton Valley

Boyz in the Hill

2012-02-12T16:35:00.000-08:00

Nice to get sheep jobs done. The Rams were herded into the barn, had a pedicure, de-wormed and just a good checking over. We have 3 rams, a purebred Katahdin which is a hair sheep bred for meat and sheds his coat, 2 North Country Cheviots which are also a good meat sheep but have wool and need to be sheared. We will need to up our number next year as the flock increases. We breed 1/3 of our Katahdin ewes to the Katahdin for replacement ewes and the rest to the North Country rams. They have a quicker weight gain and wider back so we can ship the lambs earlier. We chose the NC because they have the same vigor that the Kat lambs have and make a good cross.

Here are the boys and their friend/guardian horse Tripper who is 24 years old.

"Stan" the most even tempered ram ever - 4 years old

"Nevel Jr" NC will be 1 year old in March

"The Boyz"

Stan

"Spook" NC 2 years old in March

Growing boys like to eat

Trip says Thank heavens they left!

Crap, have to share again!

Motherly Love

2012-01-21T20:20:00.000-08:00

and how we made the Christmas Card....

2011-12-19T12:32:00.001-08:00

2011-12-19T11:59:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Brunners

Jingle Bells

2011-12-04T15:38:00.000-08:00

This is my favorite video for Christmas...

Change is as Good as a Rest

2011-11-28T09:22:00.000-08:00

Not that I have any Martha Stewart instinct in me, but it was necessary to change the house around because of internet conflicts. We are now with Rogers Internet which we are so happy to have. After the last 3 year fiascal with Xplornet, it is much cheaper and much much faster. Only problem was that the hub / antenna worked much better on the kitchen side of the house. So this is what had to happen:

Office is now the dining room (I guess it was meant to be)

Kitchen needs more stuff now! I dug out the old breakfast table but will put an island in the kitchen and a comfy chair in the far corner to sit in front of the wood stove.

and it's fun to hide back here...from what I am not sure :)

Finished Project

2011-11-12T18:16:00.000-08:00

The Self Feeding Sheep Feeder

The Start

building....

The finished Feeder. You chop the feed into the top door and then you have happy sheep. You can haul it around on the skids with a chain so areas don't get too muddy etc. Holds about a tonne of hay.

Just Watching

2011-10-26T19:51:00.001-07:00

PVSDT Scores

2011-10-09T21:24:00.000-07:00

Open Sat	HANDLER	DOG	OUT RUN PTS OFF	LIFT PTS OFF	FETCH PTS OFF	DRIVE PTS OFF	SHED PTS OFF	PEN PTS OFF	TOTAL PTS OFF	SCORE / 100
1	Bob Stephens	Pat	0	2	4	5	0	0	11	89
2	Chris Jobe	Fly	0	2	4	5	2	0	13	87
3	Brian Nelson	Pleat	1	1	2	5	10	0	19	81
4	Pam Boring	Mirk	0	2	5	10	2	0	19	81
5	Gayle Cochlan	Cap	0	2	3	14	1	0	20	80
6	Carol Nelson	Jess	0	1	6	6	7	0	20	80
7	Lee Lumb	Chica	0	3	4	10	3	1	21	79
8	Bob Stephens	Pete	6	3	3	6	5	0	23	77
9	Lisa Wright	Kate	1	2	7	13	1	0	24	76
10	Nancy Stephens	RMS Ike	1	2	2	10	10	0	25	75
11	Lynne Schweb	Dex	0	2	6	9	8	0	25	75
12	Wendy Schmaltz	Gin	0	1	6	9	9	3	28	72
13	Brian Nelson	Sweep	3	2	8	11	4	0	28	72
14	Nancy Stephens	RMS Tweed	1	2	11	4	10	0	28	72
15	Chris Jobe	Jill	8	1	3	13	3	2	30	70
16	Jennifer L'Arrivee	Spot	2	3	4	9	10	3	31	69
17	Jennifer Macdonnell	Diesel	0	1	5	11	10	5	32	68
18	Ruedi Birneheide	Teak	2	3	6	11	10	0	32	68
19	Brian Nelson	Beau	11	4	7	6	3	1	32	68
20	Jorgen Persson	Merckx	1	2	5	9	10	6	33	67
21	Nancy Stephens	Jenn	4	5	3	12	10	0	34	66
22	Gayle Cochlan	Meg	4	3	10	7	10	0	34	66
23	Carol Nelson	Zip	3	4	12	15	0	0	34	66
24	Holly Brunner	Kip	0	3	6	10	10	6	35	65
25	Kristi Oikawa	Lou	0	1	9	8	10	9	37	63
26	Bob Stephens	Jess	4	3	9	12	10	0	38	62
27	Gayle Cochlan	Leah	19	1	1	7	10	0	38	62
28	Ruedi Birneheide	Scot	5	7	12	12	3	0	39	61
29	Carol Nelson	Taff	4	3	7	12	10	10	46	54
30	Chris Hanson	Ben	2	4	12	17	10	9	54	46
31	Kristi Oikawa	Rex							0	RT
32	Pam Boring	Ben	2	5	8	15			30	RT
33	Louanne Twa	Meg							0	PULL
34	Lee Lumb	Nan	2	1	7	8		6	24	DQ

Open Sunday	HANDLER	DOG	OUT RUN PTS OFF	LIFT PTS OFF	FETCH PTS OFF	DRIVE PTS OFF	SHED PTS OFF	PEN PTS OFF	TOTAL PTS OFF	SCORE / 100
1	Lee Lumb	Chica	2	2	5	7	0	0	16	84
2	Ruedi Birneheide	Teak	0	1	2	11	5	0	19	81
3	Carol Nelson	Jess	0	2	4	6	10	0	22	78
4	Lee Lumb	Nan	2	1	5	11	2	1	22	78
5	Carol Nelson	Zip	0	2	5	6	10	0	23	77
6	Lisa Wright	Kate	2	2	8	9	2	0	23	77
7	Nancy Stephens	RMS Ike	1	3	11	8	0	0	23	77
8	Gayle Cochlan	Cap	0	1	3	12	10	0	26	74
9	Chris Jobe	Fly	0	2	3	9	10	2	26	74
10	Gayle Cochlan	Meg	5	2	4	10	5	0	26	74
11	Jennifer Macdonnell	Diesel	1	2	4	10	10	0	27	73
12	Gayle Cochlan	Leah	6	2	7	8	1	5	29	71
13	Pam Boring	Ben	4	5	7	6	8	0	30	70
14	Lynne Schweb	Dex	0	1	6	14	10	0	31	69
15	Nancy Stephens	RMS Tweed	5	3	4	9	10	1	32	68
16	Kristi Oikawa	Lou	0	0	10	13	10	0	33	67
17	Ruedi Birneheide	Scot	2	2	6	20	3	0	33	67
18	Wendy Schmaltz	Gin	1	2	6	11	10	4	34	66
19	Chris Jobe	Jill	0	1	7	17	10	0	35	65
20	Bob Stephens	Jess	1	2	8	11	10	4	36	64
21	Bob Stephens	Pat	3	3	4	17	10	0	37	63
22	Brian Nelson	Beau	5	2	3	11	10	6	37	63
23	Brian Nelson	Pleat	6	2	6	5	10	10	39	61
24	Bob Stephens	Pete	7	3	10	12	10	1	43	57
25	Nancy Stephens	Jenn	6	6	9	15	10	0	46	54
26	Chris Hanson	Teak	19	3	14	15	10	10	71	29
27	Jorgen Persson	Merckx							0	RT
28	Holly Brunner	Kip							0	RT
29	Jennifer L'Arrivee	Spot	2	1	5				8	RT
30	Louanne Twa	Meg							0	Pull
31	Brian Nelson	Sweep	2	1	7	14		0	24	DQ
32	Carol Nelson	Taff	6	6					12	DQ
33	Pam Boring	Mirk	1	5	7	8			21	DQ
34	Kristi Oikawa	Rex	4	0	16				20	DQ

PN Sat	HANDLER	DOG	OUT RUN PTS OFF	LIFT PTS OFF	FETCH PTS OFF	DRIVE PTS OFF	PEN PTS OFF	TOTAL PTS OFF	SCORE / 90
1	Chris Jobe	Gwen	2	1	3	10	0	16	74
2	Lee Lumb	Cass	1	3	6	6	0	16	74
3	Chris Hanson	Teak	2	3	2	10	2	19	71
4	Lee Lumb	Jeb	0	1	7	11	0	19	71
5	Chris Hanson	Sadie	4	2	5	9	0	20	70
6	Bob Stephens	RMS Tim	7	2	3	10	0	22	68
7	Ian Ripley	DeeDee	6	2	8	6	0	22	68
8	Ian Ripley	JoJo	3	4	3	13	0	23	67
9	Lynne Schweb	Toss	3	2	7	11	0	23	67
10	Wendy Schmaltz	Floss	0	1	12	10	0	23	67
11	Pam Boring	Sophie	3	2	6	14	0	25	65
12	Kathy Williamson	Pepe	5	1	11	8	2	27	63
13	Jennifer Macdonnell	Boomer	14	1	11	8	2	36	54
14	Gord Lazzarotto	Oakley	6	2	13	16	0	37	53
15	Roy Vanryswyk	Katie	4	6	8	21	0	39	51
16	Bob Stephens	RMS Dirk	8	3	11	15	8	45	45
17	Roy Vanryswyk	Ryk	5	3	13	16	10	47	43
18	Jerry Kurbatoff	Jed	3	5	16	27	4	55	35
19	Gord Lazzarotto	Slick						0	RT
20	Wendy Schmaltz	Syd	9	5				14	RT
21	Ruedi Birenheide	Nell						0	DQ

PN Sunday	HANDLER	DOG	OUT RUN PTS OFF	LIFT PTS OFF	FETCH PTS OFF	DRIVE PTS OFF	PEN PTS OFF	TOTAL PTS OFF	SCORE / 90
1	Chris Hanson	Sadie	0	1	4	13	0	18	72
2	Chris Hanson	Teak	2	1	4	11	0	18	72
3	Ian Ripley	DeeDee	0	3	6	9	0	18	72
4	Lee Lumb	Jeb	0	1	7	8	5	21	69
5	Lee Lumb	Cass	5	1	4	12	0	22	68
6	Lynne Schweb	Toss	1	3	10	8	0	22	68
7	Bob Stephens	RMS Dirk	4	4	8	5	1	22	68
8	Chris Jobe	Gwen	0	1	7	7	10	25	65
9	Bob Stephens	RMS Tim	2	2	5	6	10	25	65
10	Ian Ripley	JoJo	6	4	6	9	0	25	65
11	Gord Lazarrato	Oakley	2	5	7	13	10	37	53
12	Kathy Williamson	Pepe	5	4	5	18	6	38	52
13	Roy Vanryswyk	Ryk	2	4	9	23	0	38	52
14	Roy Vanryswyk	Katie	7	7	7	20	0	41	49
15	Pam Boring	Sophie	4	3	13	22	0	42	48
16	Jennifer Macdonnell	Boomer	15	5	13	18	0	51	39
17	Ruedi Birenheide	Nell						0	RT
18	Gord Lazarrato	Slick	1	2				3	RT
19	Wendy Schmaltz	Floss	2	3	8			13	RT
20	Wendy Schmaltz	Syd	8	4	16			28	RT
21	Jerry Kurbatoff	Jed	5	5				10	DQ

Nursery Sat.	HANDLER	DOG	OUT RUN PTS OFF	LIFT PTS OFF	FETCH PTS OFF	DRIVE PTS OFF	PEN PTS OFF	TOTAL PTS OFF	SCORE / 90	OUTFIELD/50
1	Jorgen Persson	Bender	1	1	2	8	0	12	78	46
2	Jennifer L'Arrivee	Tweed	2	1	7	16	3	29	61	40
3	Jennifer L'Arrivee	Mitch	3	1	7	17	5	33	57	39
4	Chris Jobe	Gem	13	2	7	16	0	38	52	28
5	Lisa Wright	Ben	19	10				29	RT	21

Sun	HANDLER	DOG	OUT RUN PTS OFF	LIFT PTS OFF	FETCH PTS OFF	DRIVE PTS OFF	PEN PTS OFF	TOTAL PTS OFF	SCORE / 90	OUTFIELD/50
1	Jennifer L'Arrivee	Mitch	1	2	5	20	0	28	62	42
2	Jorgen Persson	Bender	0	1	12	10	5	28	62	37
3	Lisa Wright	Ben						0	RT	50
4	Jennifer L'Arrivee	Tweed	3	1	6			10	RT	40
5	Chris Jobe	Gem	7	2	8			17	RT	33

Paxton Valley SheepDog Trial

2011-10-09T21:05:00.000-07:00

It was a wonderful trial and we had such a good time seeing everyone, old friends and new. Corey Perry judged and did a great job. Lee Lumb and Lynne Schweb of course just did the trial director and trial secretary jobs to perfection. Len worked the takepens all weekend with help from Chris, Jennifer's Macdonnell's partner. So now Len has won best husband of the year award! Jennifer L'Arrivee came up a few days early and helped me set up. I wonder if after all the work I got her to do if she'll offer to do that again. Kristi Oikawa for helping me at the house. A big thanks to all who helped out! All in all, I think everyone had a good time.

Here are some pictures on Picasa:

From PVSDT

Driving

2011-10-05T07:40:00.000-07:00

Swamp Swimmin'

2011-09-24T17:28:00.000-07:00

It was a very hot September Day so I thought it would be fun to take the dogs up to the pond in the top field and let them swim and play. My Mom is here so I threw the dogs in the truck and drove up. Here are the pictures of them at play! It is a large pond but a lot of bullrushes this year so just played in the far end.

Mirk is always the loner :) He likes to have his own stick.

Yeahaa!

Hank supervising from the other bank.

Die stick Die says Jenjen

Throw the stick.............

Time to kennel up, get in the truck! We have to go home.

USCBHA National Sheepdog Finals

2011-09-12T17:01:00.000-07:00

Armstong IPE and Pro-Rodeo

2011-09-04T00:58:00.000-07:00

I know this is shocking to some that I have posted twice in the span of a week! Don't get too used to it!
It's Fair Weekend with the 112th Anniversary of the Interior Provincial Exibition and Pro Rodeo.So off we went into Armstong today to visit with the family. Len's niece, her husband and their 2 very grown up teenage boys that were visiting from Barrhead. His brother and wife were there from southern BC as well as his sister and her husband from Kelowna, and Len's Mom of course.
We did the usual fair thing, looked at all the animal barns, ran into people we knew and had great visits and ATE....and ate and ate. What is it about fairs that make you think you should eat all the junkfood that you turned down all year?
Tonight was the Rodeo and we had pre purchased tickets so we all sat together. There was some good roping, riding and bullridin'
So here are some pictures from the Rodeo taken with the iphone so quality varies.

2011-08-31T09:03:00.000-07:00

2011 CBCA and Western Canadian Finals

Pictures and Video by Kristi Oikawa

The dog picture at 0:18 is my little Kip. She loves to work!

2011 Canadian Border Collie Association Finals and Western Canadian Finals

2011-08-29T21:24:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Scott Glen and Don, the 2011 CBCA and Western Canadian Champions and Dennis Gellings and Jan Reserve Champions. Scott Glen and Reba are the new CBCA and Western Nursery Champions and CBCA Reserve is Amanda Milliken and Dory, Western Reserve is Lee Lumb and Cass.
It was a great 4 days of trialling in a beautiful setting on the Pine Butte Ranch. I know people took lots of dog pictures so I opted to do some people shots.

The Concession with the great Crepe Wraps!

What a View to wake up to!

Louanne at the Post. Very warm that day.

Penny Ohanjanian who was a wonderful trial organizer. George Stambulic behind her looked after the sheep end of things.

Loved the girly porta potties!

Norm Close waiting his turn to run.

Various "under the tent" shots. Some serious looks on those faces .

The judge Faansie Basson from South Africa

Handlers and spectators

Happy Birthday

2011-08-19T08:48:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Nana.

This is a picture of my Nana (Emma Margaret (Murphy) McWilliams) when she was 49, who passed away in 1960 when she was 50 years old from Breast Cancer. At that time she was too shy to discuss this and when she finally asked her neice who was a nurse about a lump she had, it was too late. I was only 5 when she passed away and my Mom was in her early twenties. I am so glad I still have my Mom who also had breast cancer and is a survivor.

Time Flies

2011-07-22T22:22:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been a month since I posted. Time flies when you're having fun! I will try and do the Reader's Digest Condensed version for the past month.
Went to Lee's Coldstream ProNovice and Novice Trial, my first big outing with the new trailer. Learned lots of trailer-ing stuff and had a great time. Met some new handlers and was happy to see so many new faces starting out!
We watch the rain, and we watch the rain and try to cut grass in between. Len planted about 40 acres of new seeding and the rain did help it come up. We just need some heat! My garden looks about 2 weeks old and it's been in the ground for a month.
Then it was time to head out to the Wild Rose Classic at Olds and then the Calgary Stampede! Yeeha! Off I went solo but Lee was ahead of me with her trailer so we traveled "together". Nice to have company when we stopped to run the dogs and grab a bite to eat.
Here are a few pictures I took and the last 2 pictures were taken by Chris Jobe and Wendy Schmaltz ( my new "hat" sister). I HAVE to start taking the camera out of the trailer!

These are the clouds of the impending tornado that touched down not that far from us on the Thursday night when we arrived.

Then came the hail....

but the next day was very nice to trial in. Great field and great hosts, we'll be back.

Camping was a tad different for the Stampede. We are in a concrete fenced area in the Ogden Industrial Area. Glad we just sleep there :) Nice part is walking to the gate and catching the shuttle back and forth to the Stampede so no driving.

Here we are all cleaned up at the Handler's Meeting. If we had known how well Dale would do, we could have slipped something in his coffee. Just joking..big Congrats to Dale Montgomery who won, Dave Claypool for 2nd place and Jill Brodie who won the dog trailer! Gotta study those penning videos. What am I missing?

Holding Kip so she won't take off before the sheep are out. She looked much happier after she saw sheep :)

Then it was off to the Rodeo to watch some fun!

I promise I will take the camera out at Bassano!

Goin' in Style

2011-06-18T08:56:00.000-07:00

So, the dogs and I will be trialing in style this year. We might even bring Len if I can pry him off the farm. Here are some pictures of our new RV. It's 24 feet and has a great floor plan and a slide where the couch is. The pictures don't do the size justice but we love it. Went to lunch one Saturday at Squire's Pub and when we came out, Len drove down the street to Rosman RV in Vernon. Len now thinks it was a really expensive lunch :) The RV people were great and I am pretty sure I have a handle on the whole trailer thing now...Click on the link below and check it out:

Trailer

Lyn

2011-06-16T18:03:00.000-07:00

Lyn 1998-2011

Bye Lynnie, run free, chase lambs, stare at cats. We love you.

Taking the Bus to Lee's House

2011-05-07T21:54:00.000-07:00

Len borrowed a liner and brought the truck home last night. We loaded up most of the flock this morning and took them into Lee's to acclimatize themsleves for the trial at Coldstream. Lee also has lots of grass, we are still feeding, so I really appreciate being able to take them in early. Good thing Len's mom, Millie was out and took pictures because I thought about taking some after we were done. The sad part of the morning was Clairice crying with every bunch we loaded. She is one of the Livestock Guardian Dogs and although she has the lambs and about 30 sheep left to look after, she didn't want the flock to go.
Here are pictures of the morning:

Kip bringing the first group for the back half of the top level. We found it easier to load them in groups. I was very pleased with Kip, she has alot of stock sense and was always in the right place at the right time.

Kip, the Queen of the Trailer Loadin' Dogs

The Day After

2011-05-01T09:31:00.000-07:00

See Previous Post..'nuff said

The part I left out yesterday when doing "sheepday" was the injuries. Len fared well, only bumped his head on one of the center posts in the barn. Not sure how that happened?? Jumping out of the alleyway prehaps? I cut my palm with the new sharp hoof trimmers and thought I had been blinded when one of my sheep spit the Valbazan straight back into my face and one eye. You can picture this: Me yelling for water, Len grabs my water bottle which had cran-water in it and I'm yelling..no no get some clean water.. Now I would have grabbed the bottle, dumped out the cran-water and filled it up at the waterer not far from the barn. Not my husband. He ran all the way to the house, searched for a container and brought me some clean water. Poor guy could hardly breath but he ran all the way. My hero!

Ok, where the heck is that Aleve?

About 400 Feet

2011-04-30T20:02:00.000-07:00

For a couple of weeks now we have been saying we need to trim the sheep's feet, replace eartags, de-worm and get them ready for Lee's trial at Coldstream and breeding for November when they get back.
Here's the start:

This is the group of open ewes and the 20 new ewes from Jennifer L'Arrives's flock. The weaned ewes were next and they are doing great and bags drying up just fine!

Jennifer's sheep tried to get to the phone and call for Greyhound tickets to McBride and the SPCA They were actually pretty good for being new to the place and different systems but like ours, they love to eat! They were happy to hear that they didn't have to go to the sheep trial this year. They are new to my flock and it wouldn't be fair to them or the handlers so they get to stay home with the Guardian Dogs.

Tilt Squeeze table which we haven't used for awhile. When we just had a few sheep it was easier to just tip them and do feet...or so I thought! Len made a few improvements to it like a breakaway floor after they are tilted so it is more stable to let them down. We have the scale under the table so get a digital readout for the sheep's weights. Wow Jen, those 3 Suffolk girls weight 204, 206 and 210!! No wonder they move me when they bump into me.

Had to stop to make some adjustments.

You want us to what????????????? The sheep aren't bad to go into the chute but next plan is to build a round pen with a crowding tub. Makes moving the sheep easier and more curves are better.

Len taking a break, coffee and turkey sandwiches.

Sonny would like to know when we are finishing so I can feed him supper.

And if the sheep think they are tired, they should see us.....................

April Blahs no April Blog

2011-04-10T11:22:00.000-07:00

Still waiting for that warm Spring Weather, like everyone else it seems. Not much happening these days so here's what we've been up to.

Putting the canopy back on farmer style after hauling a minibag (ton) of barley. My little camper waiting in the background to go to a Dog Trial!

Yep, April 10 and that's snow up there but the fields are finally bare. As you can see no green out there yet.

Handy Man Len putting the aluminum bars on the canopy windows to haul some ewes to McBride next weekend. Replacement ewes going up so Jen has some light sheep to work for the summer, the rest of the ewes we bought coming here.

Spring is Here or Vacuum Cleaner Overtime

2011-03-25T09:08:00.000-07:00

Lambs 2011

2011-02-19T18:37:00.000-08:00

It's the winter lambing but we have been very lucky for warm temperatures, a large barn and nice pens. Instead of me prattling on forever, here are the pictures. Just click on the Pictures to go to Picasa and click Slideshow to see the rest.

2011-02-11T13:59:00.000-08:00

Len & Holly February 2004

Making Progress

2011-01-02T19:23:00.000-08:00

What a great day! Our friends Lee and Brian offered to come out and give us a hand with the lambing barn. It was amazing how much more we got done with extra help. We really appreciated it. After the roof was on, we had lunch and a good visit. Didn't get pictures while we were working but here is what we got done and some more farm-y type pictures.

The roof is on, now just need to do the front and finish the sides.

Clairice says "try out the new digs"

Kip says " I put them in there ;) "

Food for the sheep

Hank thinks he is helping feed, he's holding them behind the closed gate

I'll watch 'em while you get the hay for the rams

Addition to the Lambing Barn

2010-12-04T19:58:00.000-08:00

Nothing like putting yourself under pressure. Breed your sheep for Febuary and then realize your lambing barn isn't big enough to house everyone. So off to the lumber store for all kinds of 4 by's and 6 by somethings and tin for the roof and home we came. We started off great, got 40 feet done in the back. Front will get finished in a couple weeks. So here are some pictures of the job halted by Len trying to cut off a finger while putting up the tin. So 5 stitches and no pictures of the finger...

Here we are home from town

Just a cute replacement ewe

Mr. Handsome

If you have no food we're leaving

So far so good

It's Fall

2010-10-31T16:18:00.000-07:00

Looks like Fall....

I haven't blogged in so long and after reading Louanne's blog I started feeling a tad guilty..but not too much as I know there are lots of delinquent bloggers out there.
Yesterday I went to Lee's Stirling Acres Arena Trial and had a great time. Was good to see faces I haven't seen for a while.
Today we put the posts in to extend the lambing barn since I increased the numbers and we will be lambing earlier. I want room for all 85 ewes in the barn. I have decided after this winter lambing that I will breed all the ewes in June for November lambing. I can sell the lambs for a much higher price before Easter to cover the feed which I would be using the same amount if I lamb in Febuary and had to feed to the middle of May. Nice thing about Katahdins is they can be bred all year round and I will sponge them to make sure they all cycle for June. That means an adult flock to run in mine and Lee's spring trials next year.

No, that is not snow on the ground. It is a compostable bedding that we are trying. Will put in underneath the shavings in the barn for more absorbency. Hope it works like they say it will.

Len was nice to go out and feed the sheep today. We are trying to use up the square bales as I find the round bales easier to feed through the winter when I work off the farm.

Sunny Fall Day

2010-09-29T21:11:00.000-07:00

Well, it was the perfect fall day. Looked like fall but with lots of warmth from the sun. On the way home from Chase, I took our neighbor for a drive up to China Valley. It is even more remote than I am but so pretty. I was able to get a couple shots with the iphone.

Lots of cow shelters but didn't see the cows!

This isn't a driveway, it's the road.

Woodpeckers in the Trees

2010-09-07T10:18:00.003-07:00

Could hear the tapping outside this morning. Every year we have woodpeckers around and usually they are on our hydro pole! I caught these pics in the trees just on the other side of the driveway.

Movies

2010-08-30T15:11:00.000-07:00

More Puppy Pictures

2010-08-10T09:19:00.000-07:00

Just a Tuesday

2010-07-27T12:35:00.000-07:00

These days the biggest project is getting everything done before noon so I don't fry! Today's job was taking the "hay houses" out of the dog runs. I build them in the fall for the warmth but they are quite good insulators in the summer...well maybe not but it is a good excuse for being a couple months late getting them out. Maybe because there wasn't much moisture so they stayed dry and didn't get wet and mouldy. I have a canopy over them in the summer for shade and in the winter I sort of wrap it in a huge hay tarp. Works well and someday we'll get real snazzy kennels built..after the shop, garage, addition to hay shed...you get the picture.

Please Mom don't wreck my house!

Kennels clean, barrels in place, everyone is happy.

Then I sat and had a look around the yard. It is getting dry but not too bad yet for this time of year.

Beside the 3 rows of rasberries and 2 rows of strawberries (that Rosie steals all the time) Len built me a couple of raised beds. They are better for watering and weeding and will grow almost as much as half of our big garden did. Not bad considering I only planted it a month ago.

The tomatoes in the green house are doing great...

In the middle of all these goings on, I had to go out into the pasture /trial field to get the pen down and bring in in so we could mow the field. I decided to go in using the 10 foot gate off the driveway but once you start driving in, you have to turn right away becasue (yes Len I know) I built the takepens too close to the gate opening. So...I kind of "shaved" the post....

Oh...sh*t!

Baby Hank

2010-07-24T15:42:00.000-07:00

Hank's baby pictures. His dam is Lana Rowley's Mint and her puppy picture is bottom left corner. His sire is Elizabeth Baker's Rye and his puppy picture is the center bottom. Hank arrives Friday, July 30th!

Wow, Time Flies!

2010-07-13T16:57:00.000-07:00

I just noticed that my last post was May 30th. We have done a bunch of stuff since then. Hayed down below and had rain, hayed here without rain, been to 2 sheep dog trials and got the yard in shape and graden planted and lambs weaned!
We did buy a JohnDeere ride on lawn mower. I have enjoyed as much as Len. Makes life a lot easier and quicker to get the lawns done. Len built 2 - 12x4 foot raised beds for a garden and I planted the garden which is actually coming up now. Planted 4 fruit trees and maybe we will have fruit next year!
We are concentrating on our place this year and dropped the hay contract that we did down in Falkland. Just not enough time. So,here is Len bringing in the hay from the 30 acres...and it's now in the hay shed.

Then there are the lambs that have been weaned and are being babysat by the year old replacement ewes. They are growing by leaps and bounds!

And here is old Lynnie who supervises all the farm goings on...and what is prettier than this face?

Catch Up

2010-05-30T19:36:00.000-07:00

Since I am pretty much stuck to the house (and I don't do sick well) I thought I would catch the blog up! Len did most of the work this weekend while I spent time on the couch. I kept watching the fertilized lawn and thought one day we should cut it. Then it rained, and rained and wouldn't dry out enough in between to get it mowed.

Len struggled through the now very tall grass and I hear we are buying a ride on lawn mower now.
He thankfully stopped to take a break when his Mom phoned.

A friend that we used to buy cattle from likes to bring over a few steers to put in the top field that we don't hay because it's too many rocks and hilly. Len went up the back way to check the fences and the two "young girls" ran with the quad. He came back on the road so I was lucky to have the camera handy and take these pictures of Len, Rosie and Kip.

Sunday Scores PVSDT

2010-05-24T18:58:00.000-07:00

Open
Carol Nelson Jess 92
Thad Buckler Nic 88
Bob Stephens RMS Pat 86
Wendy Schmaltz Gin 85
Nancy Stephens RMS Ike 84
Corey Perry Jill 84
Wendy Legare Towie 84
Brian Nelson Pleat 84
Lee Lumb Nan 83
Pam Boring Jake 83
Norman Close Gwen 82
Carol Nelson Cal 82
Brian Nelson Sweep 80
Wendy Legare Dee 80
Lorne Landry Cassie 79
Bob Stephens Jess 78
Wayne Roberts Cora 78
Holly Brunner Mirk 78
Bob Stephens Pete 76
Lorne Landry Robbie 76
Wendy Schmaltz Fly 74
Norman Close Jake 71
Lee Lumb Chica 69
Susan Taylor Kyu 66
Nancy Stephens Jenn 61
Charmaine HendersonReo 60
Lynne Schweb Dex 60
Vickie Close Hanna 60
Pearse Ward Cal 58
Pam Boring Mirk 57
Jennifer L'ArriveeSpot 56
Kristi Oikawa Lou 50
Pearse Ward Riel rt
Thad Buckler Trax rt
Aileen McConnellPeg dq
Vickie Close Gail pull

ProNovice

Tess Davidson Dell 73
Ian Ripley DeeDee 71
Bob Stephens RMS Dirk69
Carl Sneddon Fan 65
Norman Close Blaze 65
Chris Hanson Zac 64
Judy Snell Tag 60
Holly Brunner Rosie 60
Jennifer L'ArriveeMint 60
Holly Brunner Kip 58
Carol Nelson Zip 57
Kathy Williams Pepe 52
Brian Nelson Beau 51
Fran MacPherson Mirk 51
Kathy Williams Skye 49
Lorne Landry Jace 49
Linda Larsson Bella 47
Kristi Oikawa Rex 44
Roy van Ryswyk Ryk 33
Judy Snell Betty 18
Wayne Roberts Bud rt
Pam Boring Ben rt
Aileen McConnellChance rt
Nancy StephensRMSTweed rt
Jill Brodie Sweep rt
Roy van Ryswyk Katie rt
Jill Brodie Ryder rt
Wendy Schmaltz Annie rt
Chris Hanson Ben rt

Nursery

Ian Ripley (Lee Lumb) JoJo68
Carol Nelson Taff 64
Wendy Schmaltz Creed 63
Lee Lumb Jeb 58
Vickie Close Jess 43
Corey Perry Callie rt

Saturday Scores PVSDT

2010-05-22T21:31:00.000-07:00

The trIAl went really well...except for the rain, rain and rain. Cleared off for a bit this afternoon and then for the handler's pot luck dinner..which was great! We are all ready for tomorrow...

Saturday Open Scores

Bob Stephens RMS Pat 89
Lee Lumb Nan 88
Carol Nelson Jess 88
Thad Buckler Nic 88
Corey Perry Jill 87
Nancy Stephens RMS Ike 86
Lorne Landry Robbie 85
Pam Boring Mirk 85
Wendy Schmaltz Fly 81
Thad Buckler Trax 78
Nancy Stephens Jenn 78
Lee Lumb Chica 76
Bob Stephens Jess 76
Bob Stephens Pete 74
Brian Nelson Sweep 73
Aileen McConnellTess 73
Kristi Oikawa Lou 70
Carol Nelson Cal 70
Lynne Schweb Dex 69
Wendy Legare Towie 67
Pearse Ward Riel 67
Norman Close Gwen 66
Jennifer L'ArriveeSpot 65
Brian Nelson Pleat 65
Wayne Roberts Cora 65
Vickie Close Hanna 63
Wendy Schmaltz Gin 63
Pam Boring Jake 62
Lorne Landry Cassie 61
Holly Brunner Mirk 58
Pearse Ward Cal 54
Susan Taylor Kyu 52
Charmaine HendersonReo 0
Wendy Legare Dee rt
Norman Close Jake rt
Vickie Close Gail rt

Saturday ProNovice Scores

Nancy Stephens RMS Tweed75
Tess Davidson Dell 72
Judy Snell Tag 66
Norman Close Blaze 65
Lorne Landry Jace 62
Chris Hanson Zac 61
Brian Nelson Beau 56
Holly Brunner Rosie 56
Kristi Oikawa Rex 54
Ian Ripley DeeDee 54
Bob Stephens RMS Dirk 54
Chris Hanson Ben 53
Kathy Williams Pepe 52
Pam Boring Ben 52
Holly Brunner Kip 51
Fran MacPherson Mirk 48
Jennifer L'Arrivee Mint 43
Judy Snell Betty 39
Roy van Ryswyk Katie 17
Roy van Ryswyk Ryk 15
Jill Brodie Ryder rt
Kathy Williams Skye rt
Aileen McConnellChance rt
* Linda Larsson Bella rt
Carl Sneddon Fan rt
Wendy Schmaltz Annie rt
Wayne Roberts Bud rt
Carol Nelson Zip rt
Jill Brodie Sweep rt

Saturday Nursery

Lee Lumb Jeb 81
Ian Ripley (Lee Lumb) JoJo 79
Corey Perry Callie 65
Vickie Close Jess 53
Carol Nelson Taff rt
Wendy Schmaltz Creed rt

Tick Tock

2010-05-14T12:43:00.000-07:00

Lambing is over and now I am scrambling to get things ready for the Paxton Valley Sheepdog Trial. Well, not actually scrambling since after 7 years, it just happens. Lee ACD (awesome Course Director) will be out tomorrow to set up the course and we shall have that done. Just need to take panels up to the top for the exhaust pen and then put up the tarps..and haul a few miscellaneous things down to the field. You know, flowers for in front of the outhouse and stuff like that!

Lambies Lambies

2010-04-24T21:10:00.000-07:00

We started lambing last Saturday with one single ram lamb. Nothing again till Monday at noon, then it all broke loose! So far 44+ to date and a little over half done.
Here is a link to some pictures at Picasa:

2010_0422Lambs

Calves in the Spring at Wishnowski's

2010-04-09T11:33:00.000-07:00

Roz and Ralph's Place with all the new calves.

Just click on the picture to take you to Picasa and then click on Slideshow. Enjoy Mom!

Thinking of things to come

2010-03-30T09:15:00.000-07:00

Well I am getting a tad bit excited about the Paxton Valley Sheep Dog Trial we are having in May for the 7th year! It will be great to see all the familiar faces probably for the first time this year. I found this old picture I sent out the first year we had changed the field.

Tweaked the field some by taking out the sharp corner where the fence goes up to the shelter on the Away side. Should help the Open outruns flow better.

The trial is now full with a waiting list so that is a good thing..except the people on the waiting list :(

So until May......................

I Am Catching Up

2010-03-16T19:10:00.000-07:00

Feeling kind of guilty that I am not keeping my blog up, I have at least gone out and taken Pictures today....It's boys day at the farm. When Tripper retired to being the only horse, he was lonely so we put the rams out with him. Now he has friends and guards them faithfully and shares his hay but not with as much enthusiasm.

Just a Nice Saturday at Home

2010-02-20T16:07:00.000-08:00

Well since I am a bit lazy on the weekends, pictures seem to be the easiest way to keep my blog updated. So after working the Border Collies and being happy with that, I took a walk to check some fence changes we are going to make and took some pictures.

Clairice who is 7 years old now.

Sonny aka "Bubba" now 11 months old.

Sheep doing what they do best..Eating!

Lambies

These kids play me out

"Mom, open the door"

The old girls

Cute ones

Fire Sale

2010-01-31T20:54:00.000-08:00

Remember when we got evacuated this summer/fall because of the fires? The sheep were all seperated in nice pens at their "foster home" but the ram lambs had to figure out that the opening in the waterer between pens was just big enough to fit their bodies through so they joined the "girls". Luckily Len and I came out in the yard just after it happened but now we have 9 lambs from 5 ewes. The boys were busy. So here are some pictures of a few of the bandit boys offspring:

Three hour old lambs.

Here are the lamb watchers...can be sung to the tune of "I'm a girl watcher", just substitute lamb for girl.

Merry Christmas to all

2009-12-25T13:08:00.000-08:00

And so it is Christmas, words in a song but it is Christmas Day! Started out having to work 3 hours but was home at 9:30 to have coffee and open our gifts, then a big breakfast. We both did very well in the gift department but the hit was Len's Wii! So far we have been boxing..yes I was a knock out but I kicked his butt at the shooting range Ha! It certainly is an addictive thing to have around me thinks.
So now you have to endure the doggie present pictures since we don't have kids opening presents pictures. After they entertained us with some antics, we all went for a big walk out to the back field. I should have taken the camera. What a gorgeous sunny day!
So notice in the pictures the livingroom flooring that we ordered did NOT get here in time for Christmas but we can live with plywood for another week.

Mirk wonders why the girls are hogging all the toys...

Rosie likes the sheep that honks and has a really long neck...

Jen says "Indestructible my foot!"

Lyn says "Look at my new bed and toys"

The Weekend and Mom's Visit

2009-12-05T17:39:00.000-08:00

Here it is the weekend..yahoo! Len's Mom came out to visit and we went out to string Christmas lights and then I worked dogs but Mom was getting chilly so no working dog pictures. Here we go....

Millie's car..she has arrived!

Sonny likes to see what is happening in the yard.

There, just rip the screen or stand up higher.

And the sheep wonder what the big white dog is doing...

Millie and I in our finest outfits.

Here are Rosie and Kip waiting to go work.

O Christmas lights, O Christmas lights...squint...then you can see them.

Fire in the Night

2009-11-28T18:27:00.000-08:00

It was a snowy but warm Saturday so Len decided to burn the "burn pile" since it was safe. It was a roaring blaze most of the day but had died down for the night. Took these pictures in the dark and snow.

Look in the middle toward the back of the picture. There are the gremlins in the dark...waiting for the "let's go" command to race up the driveway.

Bits and Pieces

2009-11-13T11:57:00.000-08:00

Well it is snowing here today, not much but enough to cover the ground. I am still "flu-bound" and a big haha to friends who phone and oink their hello-s. Three more days and I'll be good to go!

We had a sad week when we lost Will (2005-2009)to medical problems. He was my buddy and was the dog that stuck with me when doing chores even if the others were off playing, just in case I needed him. Was a little different walking alone those first few days. The pack setting has changed too, nothing I can describe in words but Rosie is missing him the most.

Here are some pictures of the whiskey jacks that came in to help clean up where we had butchered. They love the fat scraps and I save the fat trimmings for the winter and put it in suet boxes and hang it in the trees for them.

So I have sent Len to town to do grocery shopping. This could be really good or really bad. I will report about this later.

Carrot Eatin' Dog

2009-10-19T18:06:00.000-07:00

This is what I woke up to this morning when I looked out. I wondered if squirrels or various beasts have been visiting in the night. I wandered off to do the day's chores and then watched the guys take the range cow and calf home that had wandered onto our property on the other side of the road.
Let the dogs out for their afternoon run and when I looked out I saw this..the culprit. Kip must really like her veggies. She pulled out the carrots, chomped them off to the root and left the green...wonder if she knew how well carrots go with chicken backs?

Maple Creek Open

2009-10-12T21:05:00.000-07:00

Maple Creek Saskatchewan...a fun place to go for a sheepdog trial but we had one little glitch this time. Where the heck did winter come from? We arrived there on Friday night..yes proud as punch with the camper and the dogs. As Bev Sommer (who had arrived just before we did) and I stood at the trial field Friday night in the very cold windy snowy weather, we looked at Len and Norm the husbands and said...Wagons ho..the motel is 5 mintues away and that is where we are staying. No camping in this weather!
The field is a great field to work in, dips and hills and carragana bushes. On Sunday they do the Open outrun straight up the side of a hill (ok big dune)and Mirk did an awesome job of it. Alas, we didn’t pen so no shed either. Saturday wasn’t great for us. They just put the sheep out, no setting dog so Mirk went out, the sheep were behind a small hill and he was looking where he thought they were supposed to be, he started to cross at the top and Honestly! When I tried to whistle him back, my whistle was frozen! Not the only handler with that problem that day. Then I had the ewe that didn’t wanna stay with the others, made it all the way through to the pen and she broke and went to the exhaust. Dog trialling huh?

Will came in 7th place both days..good runs, didn’t pen. They just stood there and won’t move or moved darn fast. Kit was the 1st one up in ProNov on Saturday and it was her very first trial and she couldn’t find her sheep..white sheep, white snow you know the problem. They suggested that I run her in non compete on Sat. Worked great, she found her sheep and the next day no problem in ProNovice. She did a great outrun and when we started to drive, they wanted to break badly to exhaust so I walked from the post and we drove them there. No use trying to frustrate a dog that has just started driving. Put Rosie in non compete class as well….she did her outrun, lift and gripped both days on the fetch but took her lie downs and was steady. We leave it that she was a little stressed…we’ll put it down to know what to work on and her first trial. Len says she had the fastest grip time...what a cheering section!
It was a great weekend though and no one can control the weather so you make the best of it and have a good time!

Check here for pictures of the trial.

2009_1012MapleCreek

It's About Time

2009-09-20T08:49:00.000-07:00

Well I am finally going to post something. It has been hectic at home but things are all back to normal now...or as normal as they get. Fall is here and it is actually a welcome sight. Warm in the day, cold at night and lots of dew and rain. You'd hardly know that it was so dry here this summer. A little moisture goes a long way.

The wild animals were quite displaced by the fire and we had a new pack of coyotes move in that didn't know the Guardian Dog rules. They were quite brazen and came right into the sheep area. They grabbed two sheep but the brave Clairice chased them off with Sonny's help and saved them. Sonny isn't experienced with age but he is big. We treated them with antibiotics and washed the wounds up and this is the one ewe after a week. She had been grabbed on the top and bottom of her jaw as I am sure the coyote was trying to grab her throat. The other ewe had 2 punctures in her chest and is doing fine.

Here is a picture of Sonny growing by leaps and bounds.

Len is building a new pump house since the 10 year old temporary one collapsed. This one is very fancy, new insulated door and all! I am making new curtains and hanging blinds in the "new to us" camper.

Everyone is on their way to the USBCHA Finals so it'll be a long week of watching the computer for results. Good luck to all!

Home Again

2009-09-08T06:40:00.000-07:00

A quick note to say we are home again. Will blog more as I find all my stuff and get life organized again. That is funny for those who know me well..organzied ha!

Gone

2009-09-02T09:46:00.000-07:00

Just a short blurb. We were given Official Evacuation Orders as of 3:30 PM yesterday. So, once you're out, no going back in till they take off the Order. We are comfortable and staying with friends where the sheep are. The Border Collies think we are at a dog trial so they are settled in.
They have structure crews guarding the houses so we are fairly safe in that aspect. I don't think we will lose anything to fire. They are more concerned with loss of life so they hustled us out.
Will blog again when I have more news.

Martin Mountain Fire

2009-08-30T09:25:00.000-07:00

As most of my friends know, we have been put on Fire Notice for our area. This means that we have to be on stand by to be ready to leave in an hour's notice. Of course I was at the Canadian and Western Canadian Finals and came home as soon as I was done running the second go around. Len didn't tell me what was happening until all the animals had been moved. What a good husband he is. All the sheep have been taken by friends to their sheep fenced place and Clairice, one of the maremmas. Sonny is the younger maremma and at 5 months is too boisterous to send down with the sheep to a small pen and busy area so he would be non stop barking. The horse is gone to stay at another friend's and former owner. My husband and his friends loaded up horse trailers with the "can't replace stuff" and it is gone. So if anything happens I just have to throw Sonny and the Border Collies in the truck and go. We couldn't have done this without our friends and we really really appreciate them.
Here are some pictures that my husband Len took on Friday when the fire started. These were taken from the top of the trial field (above the handler's gate).

You can find out the information on this page:

http://bcwildfire.ca/hprScripts/WildfireNews/OneFire.asp and click on Pritchard(Martin Mountain)

And another month is here

2009-08-03T11:52:00.000-07:00

It is very smokey here today. The fire at Terrace Mountain flared up again and the wind is just blowing the right way. Amazing how far smoke can travel. When they had really bad fires south of the Border a few years ago and a long way from us...we had really thick smoke every day.
So went out to graze sheep off the driveway and they decided that fresh cut straight out of the baler was better than grass on the ground...silly sheep.

There isn't a lot to do when it's hotter than hot and so I decided to tackle the large job of getting Sonny's puppy coat un-matted and loosened up so he would shed better. He loved the attention:

Here is our lawn these days on the driveway side...we really need rain, forecast for 3 days of rain at the end of the week. Need the water for animals and such over watering the lawns.

The garden is watered out of the pond at the bottom of the hill by pumping it up through some irrigation lines.

Here is my favorite thing in the garden. It is a solar butterfly that changes colors all night long.

Summer Days

2009-07-28T22:15:00.000-07:00

It isn't getting any cooler any time soon. The fires in BC are still burning in places but are under control for now. Let's hope it stays that way. Long range is for the same hot weather and no rain.
I hauled in the round bales out of the grass field today and Kit was very happy to have somewhere to play King (Queen) of the Castle.

I told Len last year we needed to have a water tank in case of spot fires. Something I could throw in the back of my pickup.....so this is what he brought home. Bigger is better...and try and get the old farm truck started when I need it :)

Decided to do something with the dogs. Will and Cole wanted to take the bike but since neither can drive or find the key we went for a walk.

Took the dogs for a walk in the dust....

Then they all had to have a big drink....

Cole who belongs to Norm Sommer is here for a month or so for "manners" training. Here he is doing his version of Lie down and having a drink at the same time....

Should've had a camera

2009-07-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

Well the oddest thing happened the other day...and me without my camera. I was grazing sheep and one of the Maremmas (Livestock Guardian Dogs)started screaming, yes it was a scream. When I went running to Georgia, she was holding her foot up so I thought she had been stung. Lo and behold, there was a vole (field mouse) hanging onto her foot. She is the great white hunter and probably stepped on it to catch her prey and it got her. Talk about your elephant and the mouse story. No fairy tale ending here, Georgia ate her attacker.
I am sure we have all complained in the Okanagan about the heat and dry pastures enough, but we aren't done yet. Most devasating are the fires that come with this. Not a good thing. Still remember evacuating sheep in 2003 when we were on alert. Chris and Terri Hanson with stock trailers at 2AM trying to load 200 sheep and lambs. Jill Brodie was here helping. Jill and Lynne Schweb and I had gone to the Kimberley Sheep Dog Trial and ended up racing for home. Best excuse I ever had for a bad run. Lynne had already been evacuated and we were on stand-by. Friends are so great when we need them! We should appreciate each other more some days!

Hot Summer Days

2009-07-12T13:57:00.000-07:00

Hot summer days...reminds me of Meatloaf's song...It was a hot summer night....that is really dating me isn't it? So back to the present and some new pictures.

Sonny is growing in leaps and bounds. He is as big as the Border Collies now and knows the command "Go to your sheep". He hangs his head and slowly trudges out to his flock. Makes you feel like the mean one of the century but they need to learn. Ahhh tough love. He got brushed today and loved all the attention. He looks very handsome now.

So not much was done this weekend because of the heat. We put out some electric fence up so the sheep can graze the short barley before it burns off. It is dry again even after all the rain.

The tomatoes and peppers in the greenhouse are doing fine though.

Hilltop Trial

2009-07-06T21:59:00.000-07:00

Well after along day of doing nothing, not that I had nothing to do, I decided to at least catch my blog up. Had a great time at Wendy and Chris Schmaltz's Hilltop Trial on Friday and Saturday. Drove down on Thursday to a field on Hwy 21 in Alberta about 20 minutes north of Strathmore.

Stayed with Lee in her new trailer..a 29'footer that is awesome inside. Brought Rosie and Kit for their travelling experience and Will and Mirk were entered.

The sheep were tough but interesting to work. Friday I was very happy with the boys handling of the sheep even if we weren't in the money. Saturday, well that makes one go home and work on a few things. Mind you the wind howling at 90 MPH is not a fixable thing and anything weather wise can happen at a trial.

It was great to see everyone and have just have fun!!!

Since I forgot the camera (what else is new??)Bev Sommer took some pictures and sent them to me. Here is Mirk and I on Friday...

Just workin' Dogs

2009-06-30T20:43:00.000-07:00

What a great day to work dogs, warm but a nice breeze so we didn't bake. Lee and Lynne came out and we took turns setting and working. Had coffee and muffins before we started and lunch afterwards.

My Jen and Lee's Shae were setters and supervisors:

Lee and Chica:

Lynne and Dex....a far away shot:

My Will and Lynne's Dex sharing the water tub:

We had some great progress with the dogs, didn't get a chance to get any of the younger dogs...next time!

Off to Alberta on Thursday so will post after the Trial at Irricana.

Grazing

2009-06-28T11:28:00.001-07:00

Today I decided to graze the top area by the barley field. So armed with my dog, my book, reading glasses, water and a chair we went out for our 3 hour stint.
This is where I wanted the sheep to graze:

This is where they thought they wanted to go. The barbless barley with a bit of alfalfa left over from the last planting.

It was a nice day, warm but with a gentle wind. My mini vacation was being able to read a book. Jen the BC hung out with me. She is a great dog to graze with, not afraid to get into the bush, has a wide outrun so that helps when the sheep are spread out and will hang out for hours just watching.

Here are some pictures of our morning:

Yes, that is the fence to the barley but the Border Collie is there!

A Sunny Day on the Mountain

2009-06-27T08:48:00.001-07:00

Woke up to birds singing and then the noises of the crusher down in the government pit. Oh well, the things that go with getting the roads fixed. The sheep are out grazing with Len keeping a close eye that they don't hit the barley field this morning.

When I went down to shut the bottom gate, the Border Collies came for a run and a quick swim. Here is Will after his swim and then a major excavation for a mouse!

Sat on the deck and had coffee before cooking breakfast and the view was nice...

So have a great day where ever you are....and here's a flower for you.

Calamity "Holly"

2009-06-24T12:14:00.001-07:00

Got up early, made ham and eggs for breakfast and headed out to weed the rasberries. Hard to see the rasberries for the weeds....

While I was weeding I thought I should rotate the sheep around. We have 2 flocks. One flock is the ewes and ewe lambs and the other is the rams and the ram lambs. To be efficient we graze them on a good grass / alfalfa for a few hours and then put them back in their paddocks to rest for a few hours.
Now those of you that use herding dogs will understand this following scenerio very well. The only one hurt in the making of this production was me.

I decided to use one of the younger inexperienced dogs, how else are they going to learn? Famous last words. So I choose Rosie...

She has been working well but she is what some people might describe as a little "hot". The idea was go out and get the flock and bring them into the paddock. Two fetches was all it should take. Rosie had a memory lapse and forgot what "lie down" was and when we got to the paddock the sheep went right by the gate except for the 5 that went in with Rosie behind them.

Now in the meantime, the two older Liverstock Guardian Dogs decided to get into a very vocal discussion over a bone.....so as I watching this, I neglected to see Rosie's sheep coming out of the shed in the paddock at a high rate of speed, knocking me butt over tea kettle with Rosie in pursuit.
"X" marks the spot where I landed...Do you see the dent?

After jumping up and getting control of the situation, Rosie had a couple "lie down" lessons and we finished up our chores.

The sheep are of course just happy to eat and aren't at all concerned about the "hit and run".

Took a couple advil, phoned a "dog friend", had a great laugh because we have all been there and decided tonight's training schedule would include heading back into the round pen for some close up training.