Cross training day

 Today , we worked on heeling which did not make me happy because he is not ready to move at all and we did this big long serpentine thing.   Ah well.  Edgie seemed a little off and at home he is favoring something but I can't quite tell  what .  Might be a back leg, Might be both back legs, Might be a toe or a back problem. I will have Eunice look at him tomorrow am.

Just got back from Home Despot and picked up 2 ceiling fans and the rest of the pergo flooring and new outlets and covers for the bedroom so they will be white again.

I was going to stop for an ice cream cone on the way home but the line was so long because it's so hot that I didn't even slow down as I passed the store.

I called my hay supplier and I am going to get last years hay 1200 lb bales for $30 each.  I think he is underpricing them but I don't think he will take more money. I will try but I haven't had any luck in the past.  If I get the cows on Sunday they can east the arena down until I can get the hay. Might try and get 6 cows until the clinic is done and then take 3 back and keep 3. 

AC is on

It's a bit warm today but I installed the air conditioner last week when it was colder than hell and now I reap the benefits. 

Geez it's 6:30 and I have done nothing today besides a few lessons this morning.  Well, I did dishes and vacuumed but nothing else besides surf the internet.

I meant to do taxes this afternoon but it was 4pm before I knew it and then it was oh well too late now. I have to run to Home Despot and get some fans for the back porch so when they get here on Sat they can install them.  It's beginning to look like a real room.

Cows will be coming this weekend.

  I found a guy, well Nat found a guy that would rent me young calves for the season and then I bring them back.  Sounds good to me.
So Sunday I will try and get a hold of him again and drive down there and pick up some young cows. Hopefully not too young.
I won today.,  the contractors came back and worked a 2nd day in a row because it was rainy this am and they couldn't go paint somebody elses house. Yay for me.  Now all the exterior walls are up and the electrical work is done . Sat they will be putting in windows .  I see the end in sight.  more pictures to come on Sat.  

Tracey came over to paint but we worked on the dog beds instead and she took one home to see how she could decorate it.  They are a little plain so hopefully she can make them beyootiful

Porch progress

 more framing

 roof trusses up

Zip wood and zip tape on roof to be followed by metal roof soon I hope.

Started out wet cold and windy

But the skies did clear although it did not warm up much.

I had a mission today and it was to go to the Charlton Flea Market. I was looking for a set of French doors to use as pantrydoors in my new kitchen but I didnt' find any.  I did score on a new hay fork because I still cannot find the one I lost.  I think it is under the hay and muck but it won't be found until I take the tractor out there.  I also found an old quilt with some damage but it only cost me $5.

I also cut and put together the bases for 5 dog beds and cut the canvas to go on them.  I realized as I  was cutting that I only ordered enough for 4 beds . duh.  I knew I needed 5 yards and blew it.  

I worked on my rebates for my appliances and they are ready to go out in the mail. That took a while. You want to make sure they are right.  $750 in rebates. 

Then I went out and weedwhacked for a while.  therapeutic.

Cold wet and raw day

  I  am soooooo glad I didn't enter the AKC trial this weekend.  It would have been miserable.  I gave a lesson this morning and then I had to come in and warm up and it's 4 hrs later and I'm still not warm enough.  The pellet stove is back on and the pellets are running out so I need to get another bag, but it's behind the back porch which I cannot get onto, so I will have to go out in the rain around the house and carry 40lbs into the house.  It's the rain that is slowing me down.  Maybe it will stop  in a few minutes. haha

I worked Edgie this morning on the lighter sheep in the control pen and he was very good.  AFter is bad bite on a sheep earlier this week I am a little gun shy..  Eunice came and sewed the sheep up today and hopefully she will heal quickly because I will need her for the trial.

I have all the paperwork ready for the trial but I need to go to Staples and get copies made today.   I have all my appliance rebates ready to go too and I need copies of all of those before I mail them in.

new fridge locate for a while in my living room

Gone Goat

Buried the little goat this morning and then gave a lesson .Life goes on for some of us.

They are working on my porch today , all day.  Yay for me.   I expect to see wall supports by the end of the day but no roof  yet.

Wall supports are up and the windows and door openings are taking shape but it's all covered up with tarps now because of incoming rain and I still can't go out the back door and use it yet because of the tarps.  Oh well, it was a full day of work and I am happy with it so far.

I went to Whitco toy and bought my new fridge, stove, micro and dishwasher for the new and upcoming kitchen. The fridge will be delivered on Friday and they will hold everything else until I need it.  I need the fridge although it's good exercise going up and down the cellar stairs for my food.

Tonight I am going to a local concert in which Michael is doing a trio and Joan and Michael are in the big band part of it.  Should be fun.

Life on a farm.

 Lost a goat tonight due to an accident.  I have a friend coming over to shoot her tonight so she doesn't continue to suffer.

Too late but we tried the stun gun anyway.  Neat little gun.  

Busy me

As I was getting ready for a lesson this morning, I worked Dare on the corner exercise and He was better at not breaking out and going to the head.

Then my lesson showed up and it went very well. This dog has not been here in a year and was hard to motivate in the past, but the owner got a new puppy and now the older dog is much keener. He even worked for me.  The puppy was really cool on sheep too. Hope they keep it up.

The livestock was still in the control pen so I worked Edge and we had another little lesson on not cutting one off and chasing it down.  Also worked on penning and lie down and call off again.  He was a star!
 And then we drove out to Greenfield to work with Denise Leonard.  I met Betty there and we both worked 2 dogs.  I wanted to work on the bigger outrun because I dont' get the opportunity.  I sent Dare first and he did a decent outrun but when he got to the top he squared it off as if there was a fence there. Uh oh  can't get rid of my fences.  We did get him to round off a bit and he was much better on the away side .  He will come in on balance on the away side and will not on the go bye side.  Interesting conundrum.

Dually was much wider but he too, squared off at the top. He was much easier to widen and round out.  We did a mock BC run and at the pen , I needed a square go bye flank and he so came in and busted the sheep around the pen.  Back to the square flank drawing board.

Home around 6pm and turned the pellet stove on because there might be frost tonight and it's a bit cool in here.  Dinner was a pork chop and it was delicious.  I was hungry.

Comments please

I know some of you have a hard time signing up on this site to comment, but try again so you can comment.  Nobody has commented in ages and it's like writing to a big black hole. 

Edgie can't walk and bedroom

Poor Edgie spent the morning fence running while I gave lessons and now he can barely stand or walk.  I turned him over and found some burrs stuck on his hair around his balls so I cut it off  (the  burrs).  I thought it would be just too lucky if that was the problem.  It was not the problem so he is resting on one of the dog beds and I gave him some traumeel because that is all I have. I would give him some rymadyl , but I dont' have any left. Hope he recovers.

Ed worked on the bedroom Pergo and It looks really good. It's interesting how much color it reflects from the walls.  The walls are blue and the flooring is white but it looks blue.

No work on the porch today because it was a little rainy and I suppose they didn't want to uncover the tarps just in case the heavens opened up, but darn I hope they come someday this week and get this going.

 This was the green that I tried and decided it was too dark

 Closet after louvre doors were removed and before I clean it and add shelves on each side.

 New wall color that I am sticking with and half the pergo floor in--It's called coastal pine

 Closet with new floor in it

 Better closet floor

The other half of the bedroom with old floor and all my junk.

No sugar no problem

Well it's kind of a problem.  I gave up sugar and ice cream about 1month ago for the 2nd time this year.  I crave soda sometimes.  It's really horrible. It passes but it's a very strong physical feeling.  But  it turns out Soda keeps me up at night even if it's diet soda so I have cut that out too.  Sometimes it's hard to find something to drink so I am drinking water with limes or iced tea which of course is sweetened either with sweet and low or Xylotol which I understand is deadly to dogs.  Well I just wont' give them any.

Anyway because I can sleep all night, I have lots of energy and because I am not eating sugar, I don't have sugar highs and lows.  Yay for me so I should be getting more done than I am.  Oh well

I vacuumed this am did dishes, laundry, baked cookies and then went to obed drop ins at Tails.  I took 3 dogs but only worked Dare.  He had his ginger pills before he got in the car and he seems to getting more relaxed about it.  I am not seeing a lot of drool in the crate and he seems to be lying down and not twirling.   It would be nice if he wanted to go in the car again.   He was very eager to work , jumping around like a maniac, but he did well, not up to my standards, but what do you expect when you don't practice. He does get distracted easily and I don't think he could qualify yet in a trial but soon maybe.  Maybe Aug when there is an ASCA obed trial only going on.

Edgie

 He nearly wore himself out running the fenceline while Dually was sorting sheep for  him.  I'm not sure I have ever worked him on sheep so I took 3 heavy ones out to the 100 by 100 arena.  I reallized I was spending a lot of time in the control pen and needed to get out a bit more. 

I thought he did really well. He got back when I asked and he downed and stayed when I asked .  He was not trying to head them all the time unlike Dare and Dually.  I will have to try some lighter sheep next time because these would not move all that well. I dont' like sheep anywhere near me and these wanted to be kinda close.   They also turned and stamped at him , Damn that Olive and Maizie was thinking about it too, but I smacked her and she thought better of it.  I wish I had caught Olive before she did it though.

Today was a do nothing day. took a nap.  planted the tomatoes.  worked on the computer all day.  did nothing played with my new phone.

Sat is busy

So the contractors showed up at 8 with  bunch of stuff.  I locked Dare in the kennel with the roof on it and put Dually and Edge out in the upper field. Dually jumped out through the top of the gate and so I put him in a kennel and put Peaches out with Edge.  The contractors worked till about 11 and Brian left. He called a few minutes later to say there was a dog up the street that looked like my dogs so I took a count . 1,2,3 and no 4... Dare had climbed out and somehow had gotten through the wire at the top and instead of going towards Brookfield , he went towards Sturbridge which is always busier. Brian said he saw him at the intersection of Allen and New Boston so I drove out there and a little way farther but didnt' see him so I came back to grab a whistle and go the other direction because I just couldn't believe he went that way. As I am driving towards Brookfield, Bill calls me to tell  me he is much farther down New Boston so I go back that way and they are pulled over, but no dog. They said he went behind a house and that was the last they saw of him. I whistled and whistled and nothing. They Ed came down and he started to drive back and forth to try and find him .Finally Ed gave up and went back to painting and I was sitting in the car calling the dog officer and I see Dare up ahead of me sort of behind a house.  I drove up and he was unsure who I was for a minute but he came to me and then he was very willing ( for him ) to get in the car. He was luckily unhurt and I haven't left him alone outside since. But I am planning an upgrade on the kennel roof that he cannot get out of.

So the insulation is done for the porch but the flooring is not on and they won't be back until next Sat.  This seems to be taking a long time.But they are only working 4 hrs every SAT so it will take a while.

Meanwhile,, Ed painted the bedroom and I went out and bought some crown molding to put in there. I think it will dress it up a bit.  The blue bauble paint looks nice. And the white woodwork looks great! No flooring today and Ed thinks the walls will need another coat so who knows if the flooring will go in next week.

I got another price quote on 4 appliances at Whitco in Spencer and I think I will buy them there. The fridge is going to be bigger than I am used to and it will have ice and water in the door.  Mmmmm The first quote was Home Depot and the quotes are similar.