Clinic Day 3

     All the exhausting work was worth it. We pinpointed why Dare was so bad in Fla and Ga.  He isn't used to anyone being in the arena and it freaked him out.  He doesn't like someone holding sheep for him so guess what he is going to get lots of?
    We set up a duck ring or the last go round and he did a perfect outrun and stopped beautifully on the lift and then I didnt  let him have the ducks and called him back.   The next time he couldn't even do the outrun because it had just dawned on him that there were people at that end and it was toooooo scary.  He completely shut down .  He might as well have had his eyes closed on his outrun,he was that far out of it.   He did that in Fla too when Amy was holding sheep for him. 

Clinic Day 2

   Had some great aha moments.   Dare needs to do outruns more with someone else holding the sheep or standing in the field. Jan kinda freaked him out  and another person didn't make him much happier.  Worked a good exercise that I had forgotten about.  Flanking him around the livestock and making him stay at a certain distance and then stopping him and asking him to walk up and flanking there or asking him to out and flanking 20 or 30  or 50 ft out and staying at the circumference.   Also walking straight up on the livestock and catching the fading quicker.  Teaching him to hold and not let him flank .  All really good work today.
     Dually was fading today and not taking his walkups so will work on that. Also not letting him overrun the ducks and to pace himself better.  He was a good boy.
        All the dogs and handlers did really well. I was very pleased with my students and their dogs.   Everybody brought food and it was goooooodd!!

Day one Jan Wesen Winter clinic

    Why is it the cold exhausts me so much?  I can barely see straight tonight.  I got up at 6 to make breakfast for Jan and feed the animals and make sure they were ready to take over to the arena.  Nat called to say she was on her way, but I needed to get over there and set up so I left Kathy and my camper guest to help Nat load sheep. I took Jan, the dogs and the ducks. 
      We still had to set up pens for the livestock and create a divider across the arena to work in. Bob H was there to park the cars and help me along with Cindy,Laura, etc.   We set up the enclosed stall to heat and of course had trouble with the heater which turned out was the electrical plug not the heater which has of course another story about returning heaters that really aren't broken.  Then the we kept tripping the breaker in the tack room where the coffee pot was and 2 crockpots and another heater.  Got that straightened out sort of and on to the next issue.  Can't remember what that was.  In between dogs, the owner had to take horses out thru the middle of the arena and feed and water them in the middle of the day.  Not too much of a big deal. 
     Lunch was good. Everybody brought something and the food was good and plenty of it. Thanks.
Hopefully enough left for the rest of the weekend. (we'll be fine). 
    The dogs all did well I thought and we started a couple of new ones.  One dynamite sheltie and an 8 wk old pup on ducks.  The ducks held up well except for one bite and I am not sure if Dually did it or the dog before him.  The duck will live ..
     

Next Puppy

    oK It's official.  Jan Wesen is breeding Tempie to Mr Man(Dare's sire).  It wont' be until next winter. I'm first on the list after Jan, but she wants a bitch and I probably want another dog. So ... will I have 5 dogs or not when this pup is born?  I hope so.

New Storm coming

    We can't seem to get away from the snow this winter. We has 4-5in this morning and another 6 coming tomorrow.  I baked and angel food cake from scratch for my sister's birthday today and we were supposed to get together tonight , but she isn't feeling well so it got  canceled.  I may have a great deal of cake to eat..
     The first winter Jan Wesen clinic starts on Friday and I am tying up loose ends today.  I called to get the porta potti delivered tomorrow before the storm. I emailed my insurance company to get the address of the arena on the liability policy.  I pulled the cooler out of the cellar and cleaned it.  Soda was on sale at the grocery store so I picked up 4 12 packs.  yay....  Gotta go check plates and utensils and get the coffee pot out . Hmmm what else.  Heater for the viewing area and plastic to enclose it. Kathy and I are going to the arena tomorrow to set up and see what we will need for the livestock when we bring it up.
      I'm just about out of grain so I need to go buy some tomorrow along with propane for the camper.  One of the clinic participants is going to stay in the camper.  I'd like her to not freeze to death.
     The dogs are bored. The snow is too deep to walk in for me. They can hop but I hate to struggle thru it so I haven't been going out with them.  It's really funny to me how the dogs act when I get home from somewhere else.  Dare is usually really grouchy. Growling at the other dogs much more than normal and then the next day he is fine.  I guess it's just Dare that gets weird.  It's almost as if they have to reestablish pack hierarchy.  He only does it when we travel and come home even if all the dogs go. 
    Dually jumped on the hassock this afternoon to get petted and when he did that, Dare started to come over and Dually went kinda ballistic for him. Lots of deep meaningful growls and I know they meant something because Dare started to come for him. I hate that stuff.  Dare is usually fine but he does think he owns me and although any dog can come up to me, he is right behind them usually.

Mouse alarm

    4:30 am  they started on the blocks of poison in the crawl space. gnaw,gnaw gnaw scrabble scratch yech. They could go to the  mouse trap but nooo , they wanted me awake.  I tried earplugs but I could hear them right thru them.  So an hour later I moved down to the couch where I could not hear them.  Fell asleep but Mikey decided he wanted to eat and at age 13 he is kinda demanding. He kept going in and out of the kitchen as I tried to ignore him. He would not be ignored. He decided to tip over the trash and then I had to get up.
       Okay 6 in of snow and still falling.  I got dressed and went out to feed.  The sheep are so happy with their hay they are almost never hungry anymore.  They came in and ate, but I almost feel they are doing me a favor.  I shoveled the back porch, out to the barn, in front of the barn, in back of the barn , to the camper, to the duck pen , to the driveway and the front walk and stairs.  When I was done, it looked like I hadn't done anything because the snow is still coming down. I will have to do it again today before I leave

     AS I was coming in from shoveling off the hay bales, I smelled something burning by the tank heater.  It looks like it was melting an adaptor that I had the heater connected to the cord with. I removed the adaptor and then the cord ending looked funny so I replaced the whole thing with another cord. Everything is an ordeal because the cord that I needed to use was under the snow and half in the barn and half out.  I dug it out and pulled it out of the barn thru a door that doesn't open (frozen shut) and then I decided not to use it anyway and used two other shorter cords which of course was all tangled up.  Everything is all untangled and hung up now and hopefully the tank heater is now safe.

Dare on ducks

     I got to the barn early today,because I thought my first lesson was at 12, but it was 1pm so it gave me time to work Dare.  For the first 30 minutes he was a kamakazi pilot.  I kept my cool and just kept sending him to fetch the ducks to me.  He would overflank and then his lift was pushy so they split a lot.  Finally he settled down(got tired?) and he stopped overflanking and stopped pushing.  It was poetry in motion if only he could do that all the time, but I am going to try and not be so reactive when he does stupid stuff because I know that increases his anxiety and he gets nutty.  He has all the talent  and he has most of the training but we need to come together as a team and that hasn't happened yet.  I'm glad I have someplace to work this year, because I am planning another road trip in April to Alabama and then to Indiana.  Whoo whooo here we go again..


      There is another freaking snowstorm predicted and it looks fairly heavy.  I have to go to Maine tomorrow and I would normally leave in the am but it looks like it will be heaviest then so I will go in the afternoon and get there late.  I'm not keen about driving in the snow but it should be light by the time I leave.

Another snow day????

    What's up with this weather?  We had another 6in last night .   It's 20 deg out and I don't want to do anything. I slept in until 9:30 and I'm  sure that means I wont' be able to sleep tonight.
     I just made some spaghetti sauce for dinner tonight.
     I have been searching the internet for ASCA trials in the next few months.  Most clubs have not yet published their 2011 calendars so it's a little hard to find trials.  There is one in April in Alabama and I'm hoping there will be one the following weekend in Indiana.  That's a long way to go but they are am/pm trials and both have cattle,sheep and ducks so I could potentially rack up a few Finals points.   If I am going to Wisconsin anyway, I might as well be in Finals.  I also have a possible travel mate which would be lots of fun going to Ala and Ind.

Puppies

    Ok not really about puppies, but the possibility of puppies.  I just heard about 2 possible potential breedings that would get me interested in a new pup.  It's always a big secret so I can say no more.  

Ducks at the arena

    I lugged 2 crates of ducks and some fencing up to the arena this afternoon for 2 lessons.  The fencing didn't want to stay up and the ducks got out of it a couple of times, but all in all it went pretty well. 
     I worked Dare and Dually afterwards and they were awesome! Where was that dog when I was trialing in Fla?  He was out wide and his lifts were nice .  He took all his flanks and most of this stops.  He was calm and collected.  He was not the same dog.

     Dually was superb.  He did beautiful outruns and his lifts are picture perfect.  He was taking flanks which I didn't think he knew and he did some nice driving too.  What a nice dog.  Thanks Jeri and Jan.

-10 deg and its 8am --

    I haven't yet been outside. It's nice and toasty in here.  Although the pellet stove is having a little trouble keeping up. I could adjust it, but I  have been having a little trouble with the heat adjuster and I don't want to fool with it.  Sometimes it gets stuck and the only way to fix it , is to turn it off which is a pain in the butt.  It will warm up later and if it doesn't I can always turn the thermostat up, just have trouble turning it down again. I will be in the market for a new pellet stove this year I think. I have replaced almost everything on this one and last year I replaced the computer board and that is what is causing the problem this year.  It is 14 years old.  It had a good run.
     Even at - 10 deg. I have to bribe Mikey to get him to come back inside every day.  He sits or stands outside and barks at the door, but when I open it , he runs away. (as much as Mikey can run). I think it has something to do with the other dogs, but I am not entirely sure. It's 9am and it's all the way up to -8  yay

It's 10pm and it's almost 30 out there. go figure

WINTER HAY STORAGE

The line of hay bales. probably 10 or so left

Sheep eat thru the green panel and I move it every few days.

Fat , Healthy , Happy Sheepies

Dually

Dare

Working ducks

Well with almost 2 ft of snow there is not much work to be done outside so we went into the barn. I brought up 2 ducks and I think Mikey nailed one as I was walking to the barn with them in my hands.  Either that or Dually did when he went in to work. There was quite a bit of blood, but as Dad used to say, "It's a long way from their heart".
    So Kathy's pup Tru worked first. She was quite interested, but wanted to hold more than move them. But she showed sustained interest and  can't wait to see what she does the next time on ducks.
    Then I worked Dually. The first thing he did was to dive in and jump them.  He got soundly smacked over the head for that and then he was fine.  We worked on flanks with no body language and I did a little correcting on his down. He likes to take a few steps and I don't like that. It immediately got better. He is very sensible.
    Kathy worked Ben next. I had her work him also on flanking with no body language.  And his stop is slipping and she is going to  have to  get after him.  She also worked his walk up which interestingly enough was better when he was on Kathy's left side as opposed to her right.  He would whine and carryon if she asked him to walk up on her right.

WTCH doll and ribbon

    Dare got his WTCH in July 2010 and my friend Laura made my special WTCH doll which is a tradition in New England.  They are not normally handmade but it was for me.  It was needle felted with Dare's colors and the witch is carrying a blue hose and riding a green rake(training tools). It's very detailed and I think she said it took her about 45 hrs to make.  I'm very honored!

SNOW SNOW SNOW AND MORE SNOW

Winter Barn

Mikey enjoying the snow

      It snowed about 23in here yesterday.  The dogs loved it of course, but Dually must have bumped into Dare on the narrow path and Dare put him in his place. No blood but lots of growling and it sounded like they were killing each other.  They ran out to the new pasture but the snow was so deep, Mikey turned back. Dually ran(bounced) all the way to the top but nobody followed him so he came back down. Too deep for me to walk much in.
     I shoveled to the barn, to the duck pens, the front walk at least twice yesteday. I even pushed snow off the hay bales so it wouldn't freeze and make it impossible to move tarps later. I only went halfway because there is so  much hay, I think it will be spring before I get to the other end. At least I won't run out of hay this year.
     The ewes do not look like they are ready to lamb, --not even close yet. It makes me wonder now who actually bred them. They should have been bred in Aug by Sparks but maybe he couldn't do the job. I want to lamb in January so I can have them weaned for the 1st clinic in Apr/May. Nothing I can do about it now.

     I went over to My sisters to let her Weim out and he had a mini seizure or something.  He started to walk funny and then he went down and couldn't move but it only lasted a few seconds and then he got up and was fine within 30 secs.  He did something similar in Dec but it lasted much longer. He's old too.
     I came home and took dogs out.  I wasn't going to work anybody but I did.  Dare made me mad, he wouldn't take his flanks.  When the snow is this deep, the dogs tend to want to stay in the paths which is not conducive always to good livestock movement.  Dually did much better than Dare.  I sent him to get around and bring them.  Generally he waits until I move up with him, but I made him go without me. The first time was right up the middle, the2nd was straight at them and then around , 3rd was around and then I quit.  Dually gets in the middle and his face actually says uh oh while Dare just doesn't give a flying you know what.
   

Home again Home again jiggety jig

    I went to bed at 8:30 last night.  I was tired.  I woke up at 1pm and  then Dare woke me up at 3 to go out.  I tried to go back to sleep until 4:30but I don't think I did.  Anyway at o dark thirty I was up and ready to roll.  I emptied all the water except in the water heater out of the trailer, drained the grey and black water tanks and let the dogs out to pee and got on the road.  There is not much traffic in DC at 5am . We cruised thru DC and Baltimore and even the NJ turnpike and then the damn GPS took over again and even though I was headed to the Tappan Zee it turned me around and sent me thru  the middle of Newark and back to the Friggin GW bridge.  I was so pissed at it. At least it wasnt' too backed up this time.
     I got home at 1:30 and Tim came over and helped me back it up the driveway and unhook and winterize the whole thing.  All done and ready for the storm tonight. Tim is the guy who plows my driveway and is my landscaper too. He lives close by and is a real gem.  He also noticed that the vent in the roof was askew and I would have had snow in the camper big time.  He got on the roof and put it back in place.  What a relief, I thought I as going to have to take it to the dealers this afternoon and frankly I'm just too pooped to pop.
     I was going to go out and get milk, supplies and dinner, but screw it, I won't starve.
     All in all the trip was fun, a great learning experience and I will have to think twice about going to Fla in Jan next year.  Maybe winter camping is not for me.   I'm so happy to be warm and I am going to go take a long,  truly hot shower and go to bed very early in my own lovely bed.
     Thanks for reading and all your comments.  I like knowing someone was reading.

Sunday night on the road and Monday travel

I got right on the road at 4pm ish and I drove until 11pm.  I stopped for the night in Fayetteville at a rest stop on 95 where they say no overnight parking.  Hmmm..  I was the only trailer there but there were a lot of truckers on the other side.  I turned the heat on and walked the dogs. When I came in, the heat shut off.  It wasn't up to temp yet so I was going WTF.  I turned it higher and it came on and then went off again.  It was a little confusing because the battery was working--water pump was fine.hot water heater was on too  and frig so I figured gas must be okay.  But I went outside and switched tanks anyway and that did the trick, the heat came back on.   I actually took a hot shower before I went to bed.  I had  a bit of trouble getting to sleep probably because the dogs didn't think it was a good place to be staying. I should have listened.     I finally fell asleep and at 2 am somebody was pounding on my door. I thought maybe cops since it clearly stated no overnight camping, but I said who is it and it was some woman begging for money for gas.  I turned her down without opening the door and within 2min the cops were there checking her out.  I didn't call them but someone must have. Maybe she was hitting up the sleepy truckers too. Needless to say , it took  a while before I could sleep again.
     I woke up at 7am and soon after the battery died and I had to get a move on or freeze to death.  It snowed there last night and the road were not very good. In 45min I was out of the snow and clear sailing.  I drove to DC and here I am in a very nice$$$ campground, but they did have a place for the dogs to run so they are happy. I have the gas heat and the electric heater on and I wont' be cold tonight!
     It was suggested that to avoid the traffic I leave at 5am or 10am.  I have to winterize the trailer so I think I will leave at 10am.  5am might put me on the NJ turnpike with all the morning commuters. Hopefully this will work out.  I am looking forward to a long hot shower in the bathhouse tonight

ACD Trial Day 2 I

It's 34 deg out there this morning.  I didn't bring my down jacket.  I have 3 layers of long underwear , a turtleneck ,sweatshirt and jacket. Not enough... I'm going to add a fleece shirt and change my jacket and hope that helps.  I am also going to put on my rainpants.  I cant' find the heat packs that I thought I packed.
 

We just ran sheep and he crossed over on the outrun and I had to call him back and resend him .  We made the cone nicely and he daylighted again thru the Y chute. Back thru and a little trouble with the z but we made the pen nicely.  He got them out of the pen really well and controlled and we sent them to 4. I flanked him on an away and of course I couldn't stop him so we Practically brought them back to me but after that he would stop and we got them thru the crossdrive and they went to the repen so I was able to have him push them back to 5.  I walked over to the repen and I had a really hard time getting him to stay there and watch those  sheep which were by the Y chute.  He wanted to go in the repen and work the sheep "behind the curtain".. Finally got them to the repen.. That was today's goal.  When they handed out ribbons they told me I Q'd with a 73.  I was quite excited but the secretary made a mistake and we didn't.  I gave the ribbon back.  Oh well.

     Now It is 10:15sam and I am back at the trailer and packing it up. I have decided to travel a while tonight at least thru  Ga since there is a storm coming.  I really don't want to be stuck here in nowheresville.

     I waited all day for my stupid duck run.  I must be nuts.  We got an 82. BUT he was totally out of it.  way off contact and not working stock just flanking.   It felt really weird.  He must have been tired.
    .

N Fla Trial Day one

watching and waiting

Trial arena

     I wish I had something really positive to write but...  It just wasn't that great.  We had our sheep run about 10am this morning and ran ducks at 4:30.  The campground is within spitting distance and tomorrow I will come back and rest.
     The sheep were like F'g deer!!!  Dare did do an outrun and we didnt make the cone but went straight to daylighting the Y chute. I turned them around and they went back thru and I decided to go onto the Zchute where they got stuck. We pushed them out but they wanted to come to me and I gave up on the corner and went to the pen.  They zipped around the pen and Dare ran one down and turned it and she called the run on me. Gosh I just dont' get it.   Only 4 out of 11  in that class Q'd I think.
      8 entries on ducks.  I was going to send him away to me because that is his better side even though it was a go bye course and then when I went to set up he told me he wanted to go bye so   I let him.  He did a tight outrun, but he did down at the lift and they lifted hard and fast.  We did  bobble around the cone and the entrance to the Y  but the z was good and pretty much right into the pen.  HOWEVER,   He wouldnt' let them out of the pen and I had to really get down and use hands and body  pressure to push them out and then he put them back in and getting them out the 2nd time was even worse.  Finally they got out and they boogied down to 4 and since he dives in on close flanks I decided to send him go bye and that pushed them back to me but I got him to continue the flank and he caught them before they went past the plane of the crossdrive. We got them thru the crossdrive panels to 5 and then he held them in the corner and we repenned. The repen wasn't perfect because he came in too close on the fence and I probably didn't have the damn gate open wide enough.  We got them in but not completely straight.  Anyway we ended up with and 83 and ta da 5th place.
      I didnt' enter on the cattle and I wish I had.  I think he would have done well. It's a nice site with nice shade not that we needed shade.  It was windy and cold all day and I am really glad to be back in my nice warm trailer.

      I have been told that there is a rainstorm coming thru tomorrow night into Monday and it was suggested that maybe I won't want to travel in it especially thru NCarolina which can turn to ice.  I'm going to be checking the weather. If I stay another night, I don't think it will be here--This is out in the middle of nowheresville !!!

Leaving Amy's today

     I got up a little early and had some fresh squeezed oj(Thanks Amy's Mom Leslie)  Gosh it was good. I can't wait to break into my oranges, but I am not looking forward to squeezing them.  But boy do I love it fresh.  Amy went into work late today so we could work dogs before I left.  We worked in a new field to see what Dare would do.  He was a bit weird.  Amy was holding the sheep for us and he went half way out and then cut across and went to sniffing.  Hmmm.  I sent him again and he did this beautiful wide to the fence outrun and went way out in back for the lift.  Hmmm not normal either. Third time he crossed over again and 4 th time he was just about perfect and his lift was fab.  We did just a bit of driving and then quit.  I have no idea what I am going to get tomorrow.  I don't care, just love my dogs.
     Dually worked the front sheep too and he did very nicely .  He only dove in on them once and again he was telling me the whole time he was going to do it so I should have picked up his line but duh I didn't . When will I learn?
     So we hooked up the trailer and I drove it to Amy's workplace where we filled the tires in the trailer with air, They were at 30lbs and should have b een at 50lbs.  On the road by 11:30 and at the campground by 3:30.  I like short driving days.   After driving into this campground which is kinda dumpy, I never expected to  have wifi but Yay I do and a hot shower available too. What more could a girl want.  Oh maybe  a decent place to let the dogs run.  there isn't anyplace to let them off leash.  Too close to the highway.
     Weather says it's going to be 30 tonight.  Maybe I should try camping in warm weather?

Only worked dogs once today

     I goofed off this morning and did a little sightseeing.  I went back to Lowes(we went last night) and returned the thing  I got to open the hot water heater and drain it.  I bought a whole ratchet set tonight.  Hopefully one of them will fit. But I need to pick up another gal of antifreeze on my way home. I am almost out of dog food too and we tried to find some tonight but none available.
     So we went to dinner and then we played a neat and fast moving group solitaire game.  I lost but it was still fun.  Amy and her Mom beat the pants off me. 
     I got some good pics of the dogs today.  I will post some soon.
     We are going to work the dogs in the morning one more time before I leave tomorrow.  I plan to leave around noonish.  Dare worked today but we worked him in the smaller area and he was doing some thinking, but we shall see if any of it will carry over to the trial.  No camping on the trial site so I guess I will be at a campground for the weekend. I hope they have wifi.
   

Cold Herding in Fla

Driving

Dually Today

Goat TV

working with his toy

Wed

     I worked Dare this am.  He was a jerk.  He is getting worse and worse about his down and staying off the stock.  So I put the pinch, a long line, and we went into the small pen. We worked downs and square flanks and outs.  He did get better. I think I worked him about an hr.  I think I will do that again this afternoon and see if it holds up in the big field tomorrow.    I also did a couple of sheds because the sheep and the goats split so naturally. 

Tuesday

     I worked both dogs this am.  Dually got worked on a pinch and a long line.  He kept running into the end of the line, but by the time I worked him tonight he didn't think that was such a good idea anymore.  He did a couple of drop dean georgous outruns. He kept getting wider and wider on his own.  I like it a lot!!
     Dare was stupid this am but this afternoon he was a good boy. I got a wicked good outrun on him but not from my side... I had to walk a bit towards the sheep, but still I was happy with it.  Tomorrow we are going to fool around a bit with whistles and maybe I will do some shedding.  It's so easy to set up because the sheep and the goats separate naturally. 
    I took a trip into town today too and went to a used book store and picked up a couple of books.  I didn't bring any with me , and I have had a little time to read in the past couple of days. I have books on tape for the ride home.

Tuesday

     Apparently after blowing the breaker yesterday, I also blew a fuse which of course I cannot see.  I may have spare fuses under the trailer, I will check soon. So 2 outlets don't work and the microwave doesn't work.
     I was able to let the dogs right out the door this am because the whole yard is completely fenced. And then I brought them into the back pasture to run.  It's a nice big area, maybe 100 by 200.  It's also where the sheep and goats are, but my dogs are used to running where the livestock live and it's not a problem.
     I brought one bag of dog food with me but it looks like I will run out in a couple of days. I  have some errands to do anyway so I will see if I can find a place to buy it this am.  I am going to work both dogs before I go out into the town of Eustis today.  I'll let you know how that turns out.

Monday

Monday – I made the mistake of using the microwave and the electric heater at the same time this morning and I tripped the breaker which wouldn’t be so bad, if I knew where the breakers were.  I do now!   After I got on the road , I looked for  an RV place to stop at and they showed me where the electrical panel was and that a breaker was tripped.  He also told me that I should have the tires filled to 50lbs of air.  I happen to know that they are only at 30 uh oh—and that is probably not good for gas mileage.

     I got  to Amy Hills at 3pm and we set up the trailer and then worked dogs.   She worked Abbey, a  nice little bitch on driving and I worked Dare on his terrible cutting in on the outrun problem.  Amy has a few sheep , maybe 7  and a bunch of goats.   I worked Dare and Dually on the whole bunch.  Dare went to do his normal cutting in outrun but because they didn’t run, he ended up in the middle of them and he knew I wasn’t happy with that. The next outrun was better and more thoughtful and he got behind most of them.  5 or so didn’t want to  move and they stopped and waited for  him to make them.  He patiently stood there  until they moved and he brought them to the rest. 

     Dually fetched them nicely but when we tried to drive , he kept diving off the pressure and around them.  Tomorrow he goes on line and hopefully I won’t hurt him like I did the last time.

    No internet out here in the trailer, but I do have electicity !

Camping

    I stopped at Cecil Bay campground.  There are less than 10 RV's here. It's right on the highway, but I don't care about the noise, I have earplugs. The man and woman who run it are very nice, They even let me run the dogs sans leashes  and when I went to do laundry I didnt' know you had to bring your own soap so they gave me some.  Thank goodness, because the clothes were getting low.   Gotta love the red Georgia clay too.
    Now I have wifi here and cable tv but apparently you need to bring your own cable.  I wonder if I have one socked away someplace.  And yes Kathy, I do have a flat screen something, just not sure it's a tv or how it might work.

Trial Day Two

     I slept in till 7 today which by the way is still o pitch dark.  I think the trial started on time.  The judge today was Kathy  Walker.   She was very nice on ducks, sheep was another story. So Dare did an decent outrun lift and the fetch was off line, I had trouble getting them around the cone  because I had one duck that wanted to  be by himself and let and went back to the repen area.  I had to leave the ducks up the other end and go back and get him and he proved to be a problem later too.  And then when I should have skimmed the Y chute , I daylighted and put them thru it. I think I was still working on the cone and realized too late that I was on the Y chute.   I got them thru the z with independent duck trying to backtrack the whole way and finally I got 4 into the hold pen and mr I was still trying to back track so while Dare was working the one, the other 4 kept coming out of the hold pen.  Finally I get them all in and we Hold them .  I  take them out and they actually did a nice set up for the cross drive but then blew by it and I skimmed 5 and called it a day.
    I didn't think we could Q but we did with another 3rd place and his ADV duck title. 

Sheep on the other hand.    Since he went around behind me yesterday on the outrun, I decided to stand in front of him and send him. He tried it again, but I blocked him and he went but he started to go straight in so I tried to stop him and out him.  It got him all confused and he started circling. Finally I got to redirect him and he was doing a beautiful wide outrun, but he didn't get behind them and then he couldn't get them to me and the judge called our run.  She didn't give us much of a chance,but we were the 3rd dog in a row that I couldn't see a reason to call the run on.  The 2 before me were much furthur along and it was a puzzle.  To me and to them.
     So I waited till the end and I Thanked Doyle and Claire Ivey for their hospitality. Doyle invited me down again and said to come a few days early so we could work stock. He liked Dare.  Thanks I will come back.

Trial Day one

I had  a short day of driving on Friday.  I still didn’t get here until 5pm but that worked out fine.  They offered me electric  and water  and a Place right outside the arena to park.  SWEET!

I tried and tried and tried and finally got the hot water bypasses open.  So I should have hot water, but not much seems to be coming out of the tap. Sometimes nothing comes out in the kitchen sink.  I must think about this. No hot shower for me tonight….. ahhhh not good.

 I set the alarm for 6am.  It’s still pitch dark at 6am.  I was the only fool awake it seems.  I was out walking dogs in the frickin dark.  But at least I was prepared.

The trial started around 8:30 with adv ducks.  The ducks were not behaving v ery well.    I had a plan, but alas , the ducks were not buying into it.  We had a lousy lift and fetch, missed the cone , got all the  Y chute, z chute and hold pen.  Completely missed the crossdrive and still Q’d with 72 and 3^rd place.  Thank you judge Barbara!

Sheep were a bit light which shouldn’t be a problem, and then I remember which dog I have entered.  The outrun  should have been a go bye and  again he snuck behind be to go the opposite way.  And then the little bugger cut it short and had a lousy lift and actually left one sheep behind which I had to make him go back and get.  We made the cone and 2 thru the Y chute. 1 skimmed.  We made the Z chute but they were trying to break back so Dare did  what he does best-he held them.  I finally got him to release enough to get them into the hold pen.  We got them out and then he pushed them on top of me and was a holding maniac.  They wanted to break really bad and he wouldn’t hold the pressure and just let them walk.  He grabbed wool big time on one and we didn’t get excused so I sort let it go, but then he got into chase mode and I ran down the arena and downed him and excused us.  Tomorrow is another day and I think a much tougher judge.

The trial ended about 2pm and then it started to pour and it poured for hours. The dogs are wet , the trailer is wet , but I’m hoping the bed is dry.

But  I figured out the water filters on the faucets were clogged and once I got that done I took a shower and tried to take a nap before dinner.  Of course I was just drifting off to sleep and I smell this –well you know—Peaches had diarrhea in her vari  kennel(thnk goodness) So clean that up and her and walk every body again and it’s time for dinner.

I was invited to eat at the Roadhouse (you would assume restaurant right?)   No it was the renovated chicken house at the end of the road where we had a sumptuous homemade repast of ham, turkey, gravy, sweet potato casserole,green bean casserole, homemade cranberry chutney,hot biscuits  and then for dessert, ice cream and brownies and chocolate sauce or a pecan pie which was to die for good.   Claire Hamilton made the pie. MMMmmmmm good.  I met and talked to lots of very nice people and had a very good time.   Can I remember any names.  No but I will check the catalog and write them down tomorrow maybe.