Halloween Pumpkin Carvings!

I can't carve a pumpkin worth a damm. But I admire those people who can. The best part about pumpkins is making (and of course, eating) pumpkin pie.

 

Here are some cool pumpkins. None done by me. If I did carve  one, you would rolling on the floor with laughter and might getting injured by laughing too hard and I don't want to be responsible for your injury.

 

I appreciate www.dogfencediy.com for making this post possible to provide you with the cool pumpkin designs.

 

This one is for Kristi Oikawa.

 

for some reason, I like this one...

 

no escape....

 

eating your young....

 

Anyone recognize this and from what movie?

 This is a good one! 

 

I think I dated this guy, once.

 I am going to quit drinking now!

 

Nice teeth!

 Somehow, I feel his pain

 

Spiderman, my hero.

This one took a bit of work.

 

 I like this one

This is just cool

 Pumpkin hedgehogs

 

This one took a lot of work

A new twist!

 

 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

 

 

 

Skipton Dog Sale in the UK

Sometimes the very best costs a little more. In the case of this remarkable sheepdog, quite a lot more. Marchup Midge is the world’s most expensive sheepdog after she was sold at auction for £8,400. New owner Eddie Thornalley, 45, believes her impeccable breeding, work ethic and sweet nature make her worth every penny.
 

Top dog: Marchup Midge, an 18-month-old, has been sold for

more than £8,000 - a world record

 

Old and new: World Champion breeder Shaun Richards (left), from Lancashire,

with Midge's new owner Eddie Thornalley (right)

Midge will become his right-hand border collie, taking charge of a team of five dogs which look after his flock of 200 sheep in East Anglia.

 

‘She’s an incredible little thing. Intelligent and stylish and with great working ability,’ he said.

Last Friday’s sale in Skipton, North Yorkshire, beat the previous world record of £6,300 set at the same place last year.

Breeder Shaun Richards was thrilled with the price. ‘I have not had a drink in two-and-a-half years,’ he said. ‘I feel like having one now!’

In action: Midge does what she does best -

whipping the sheep into shape (above and below)

 

 

Well bred: Midge has incredible strength, speed and instinct from

 her world class sheepdog genes

 

Skills: Experts say there is a lack of well-trained sheepdogs,

which is why Midge was so expensive to buy

Midge is so valuable because she comes from a family of outstanding sheepdogs, has been trained by a former world champion breeder and has become well known for her speed and agility as well as her ice-cool temperament.

Also, a large drop in trainers means that getting a top class sheepdog is getting more and more difficult - and increasingly expensive.
 

Her price, reached at Skipton Auction, North Yorkshire, smashed the previous record of 6,000 guineas - £6,300 -also achieved at Skipton last year for 13-month-old Dewi Fan.

Midge’s sister Marchup Sam was sold by Mr Richards at Skipton’s summer working dogs sale in July this year for 5,000 guineas - £5,250 - at the time the second highest price in the world ever paid at an official sale.

 

Mr Thornalley has now bought three dogs from Mr Richards and his latest acquisition will be used primarily as a work dog, as well as being used in local nursery trials by Mr Thornalley, who is a member of the East Anglian Sheep Dog Society.

Previous record holder John Bell, who was also present at the sale, was among the first to congratulate Mr Richards on his success. 'Records are there to be broken,' he said.Sheepdog breeder Shaun Richards, who sold 18-month-old Marchup Midge, said he was 'gobsmacked' by the final price.

The 45-year-old said: 'She exceeded all expectations. When the money started to go up I was speechless.
 

In the family: Midge's siblings have

previously been sold for huge sums at auction

One man and his new dog: Marchup Midge and

 new owner Eddie Thornalley, who will be

taking her to her new home in Suffolk

 

'She’ll go into the sheep dog trialling world after this, where she will excel. She has a lovely temperament, she was like a pet but also one hell of a good sheepdog as well.

'I’m sad to see her her go but I do this for a living so I am also happy to see the amazing amount of money. I got my first dog when I was 12 so I have been doing this a long time.

 

'I’m topping sheepdog sales all over the country and I think that’s because I don’t trial them, just train then. I don’t keep the good ones for myself.'

 

Contract shepherd Eddie Thornalley, 45, who bought Marchup Midge, said: 'I’m very happy to have got her. I’ve had my eye on her since she was about 12 months old.

 

'She is very well bred with excellent workability, she’s absolutely fantastic.'
 

LINK TO ARTICLE

 

Arm Update- Good News

I went to the Ortho Doc today for the 4 week evaluation of my arm. He gave me the stink-eye last time as the big U fracture was not healing as quickly as it should. Needless to say, he put me on strict non-dog work which really hampered me in getting ready for the sheepdog trials. I could work the dogs far away but no close work and certainly no grabbing any sheep or sheep knocking me about.

 

I got the lecture if the U fracture didn't heal it would be a plate and screws so that scared me enough so I was very leery of using my arm for anything. Of course, he gave me  a bunch of physical therapy to do which hurt like hell but after getting the one stink-eye from him, I most certainly didn't want to get another one. So I dutifully did the PT. He told me not to drive further than town, which is a whole whopping 1.5 miles away. I didn't ask him if I could ride my horse into town, as his stink-eye look would go into massive overtime.

 

So I babied the hell out of my arm and that meant Getty and my students took over the heavier part of farm work, suck as bucking hay and tossing sheep into the air, oops, I mean grabbing sheep for worming, I wasn't even allowed to hoof trim but was able to carry the trimmers to the stall, since they weighed the same weight as my cell phone, I was not allowed to carry anything else heavier than that. I didn't work my young dogs as I know I would get knocked down and his stink-eye would break at that point!

 

Well, it all paid off as the U fracture is filling in well so no plate or screws. However the two big lines at the elbow head are still not filled in and quite big so I am still limited on some stuff. No long driving, twisting, turning and stuff like that. I can work up to carrying up to 25 pounds in 30 days and he gave the the stink-eye, which meant not to go home and toss 25 lbs bags of feed about. I have a month to work up to that. I go back in a month to see how that progresses.

 

He also moved my arm back/forth/sideways and so forth and said I was a good girl in doing the PT. Looks like no loss of function but as I get older, I will have issues with the two big crack in the elbow head. But I will have full function of the arm and that's good.

 

It's going good and it finally quite hurting like hell. I still get odd pain which means I have been pushing it so then I lay off for a bit. I never had a break or fracture before and I sure hope this will be my last one. It really affected my performance at the Finals as every time I would move my arm, I would get like a sharp knife stab in my elbow and almost pass out. I remember throwing my crook to the ground at the pen as the pain was unbearable. Too bad, I let my dog down by not being there for her.

 

So the arm is pretty much healed, aside from the two cracks at the elbow head. So if you see me really pushing the limit, speak up so I don't mess it up more. I am suppose to ease into using my arm but not jump into it at full force which is something I would do. As for the nevicular crack, that is pretty much healed up. It is filling in well and I am happy.

 

Best deal is I am out of wearing the sling. I was using less and less anyways. So I am going to slowly ease back into farm and working dogs again. Besides, I need to start running again, since I haven't done that since the accident. I have been eating well and not running so you know what that means! My jeans are tight!

 

I can go back to typing again but obviously not in great detail and quit when the arm hurts. I probably won't be doing any shot-putting though. I am happy that I can go back to my normal activities again. Life is grand.

 

Fire Ridge Double Lift

I didn't get into the Double Lift so stuck round and watched a few runs. Here is what I found for scores but I do not know who won. When I get more info I will update. I took some pix and will post them tomorrow.

 

Fire Ridge Scores - Open, PN and Nursery

Here are the scores for Fire Ridge. I didn't fare so well, partially due to lack of training due to the fractured arm and also being one step behind. I saw what I did wrong at least this time and have homework. I moved Rainey up to Open and it was a tough trail for a first time to the post for a dog in Open. The ewes are range ewes and will run or fight a dog since they have to fend for themselves against coyotes. I did not run in PN but judged PN on Saturday.

 

Nan's run was decent, and I had to flank her out as she wanted to cross. About 50% of the dogs on the first day either DQ, RT and about 12 crossed. Directly in front of the handler's post, down 500 yards was a huge silver trailer that reflected light and it caught many dog's eyes, mine included. All of my dogs stopped when I asked and took a nice redirect so they did not cross.  Nan had a nice lift and little offline and just missed the fetch panel, a bit of a bobble at the turn and very on the muscle on the drive and we missed the panels. Nice shed and at the pen, one ewe who had been trying to break away throughout the course, made a run for it. Nan flew up in the air, with her teeth in full force and I shouted her out of the grip and the ewe came back. She got the pen.

 

Rain took the redirect, and I had to help her get behind the sheep and she had a nice, quiet, slow lift. Dead online to the panel until I foolishly tried to help her and then the line wavered like a chicken with it's head cut off and as a result we had to unwind at the post. She had to work hard to do the drive and one ewe stood her off again and again, and she slowly worked it. These sheep were very tough for her and she gripped the challenger on the ass, twice to get her to drive and was then DQ. But  I was happy that she tried to move the ewe, than fade away and took a couple of grips to try to get her to move more. She ran her heart out and it was over her head, but she didn't give up.

 

Maid had a redirect on her outrun and took it like a champion and then came nice behind the sheep. The sheep broke down the hill and she tried to head them but stopped when I asked and went back behind the sheep as I asked her. Her fetch was smooth as butter, and at the last second, the ewes slipped past the panels. The turn was slow and the run was going smooth. She had to work to keep them online for the first drive but they lined out and three went through the panel while two missed. Those two ewes were fussy all the way and I gave her a big comebye flank to turn them so she reached down, grabbed one of the ewes by the hock and pulled her back through the panel. I am sure if she gave it a quick hock, it might have OK but the yanking the ewe a few feet  was not OK. She got a DQ and I could not figure out why she did that but up to that point it was one of better runs.  I did have to come down hard on her at the fetch panels for a down so that might have been the tension that started it.

 

On the second round, the sheep were move about 600 yards to the left and on a ridge. Their night pen was behind them. You had to rotate about 120 degree from the first run. The sheep blended in the brown patched of the alfalfa.  Rain was sure the trailer in front of me (500 yds plus) was the sheep and I stopped her and reflanked her. You could tell she was sure the trailer was the sheep but went on my blind trust to leave that "huge silver sheep" behind and go blindly in the direction I sent her. She did see the sheep and cast out nice behind them. She started to have a nice lift but the sheep broke towards the setout along the ridge line so she had to work the two front runaways and the three that stopped to graze. It was tough as she had two sets and had to go back and forth between the two groups and tuck and tuck but 200 yards later, she got all of them grouped and then down to the fetch line and came just in front of the fetch panels. They trotted smartly to me and a turn that she had to work to get but she got it. The first leg was down a driveway and directly to their night pen. They broke and she stopped them about 50 feet past the panels and had to work hard but get them to turn and to the second panels. We just missed the panels and one faced her off and she was slowly working her but we timed out. It was tough and she didn't fade or back down when the ewes charged her but didn't have the tough pushy to their faces. She held her ground and would kindly work the ewes but she needed Maid's "Don't *&&**&% walkup". Regardless, she gave me all she could and got a low score but worked her heart out.

 

Maid was not listening to me when at the post I told her to look up the field and keep looking at the trailer. I told her no and re walked her so she could see the sheep in front of her but she kept craning her neck to see the trailer. Finally, she saw the sheep and people moving about, so I thought and I sent her. She ran out 100 yards and began to cross. I hit her with a HUGE down and she ignored me and I hit her with more and my voice. She almost crossed and finally took the redirect but pretty much ran up the field, spied the sheep and went in like a heat seeking missile. The lift was hard and fetch was ragged but the post turn was smooth and quiet. I thought she was all settled down and relaxed until the sheep ran down the driveway at full speed. I flanked her for a comebye and she went away so I stopped her. I gave her another comebye and she broke away on the away side. Again I stopped her and gave a comebye and she  finally took it and sliced in and grabbed a ewe and spun her like a top. I was sad.

 

Nan ran out and I had to give her a little redirect and she took it and came in nice behind the sheep. This group had broke back to the night pen twice before Nan was sent so they were ready to break back again. As soon she she came in, the setout crew backed out and the sheep split into two group and ran past her. She tried to catch them but the groups split over the hill and we retired.

 

 

 

I judged PN on Saturday. I moved the turn post down the hill as the sheep would break back to the exhaust pen for the first two rounds. It worked as most of the runs were completed and the RT and DQ were due to grips or handler calling their run.  Karen and Cam laid down  a pretty flawless run, followed by Lee Lumb and Guss. Quite a few of the PN runs had scores in the 80s.

 

 Lee won Nursery with Rando, with Bob Stephen and Black Lux, only a 1/2 point difference. This is the third year I have judged this and I really enjoy it.

 

I have some serious homework to do with my dogs when the Ortho doc gives me the OK to work the dogs again. I know what my winter projects will be. More on Fire Ridge later this week.

 

 

Don't Text and Drive!

Some dog cartoons

Well, wonder what his tick records is like!

 

I have never done this!

 

  I like this debate.

This will teach you to trespass!!

 

A sign type of day

I fell kind of lazy today and my arm is hurting so you will get some signs to keep you entertained. Will be back in the grooze of dog stuff tomorrow.

 

Our machine at work is broken as I keep hitting the"Bacon Button" and never get any bacon.





 Oh I love this one!

 

 Canadian humour, at it's best.

Someone sure has a great sense of humor.

Parents and Pups at the farm

My mom and Aunt Kimiko came over to the farm on Sunday. We had the "Kodiak Memorial Service" and then we went down to the barn. I think Kodi waited until these pups were born to leave, making sure he had a replacement.

My mom and Kimiko with "Bear'. Bear is named that in honor of Kodi who was named after the Kodiak Bear.  I kept a female, Heidi as well and these two pups will be spoiled like Kodi was. As you can see, I told them the pups have to be socialized and be handled more. They grabbed Bear and loved on him.

I can't wait to see them try this when he is fully grown at 100 lbs plus. They were speaking to him in Japanese and his tail wagged. I am sure he understood what they said. I know when my mom speaks to me in Japanese it is either related to food or I am in trouble.

I think Kimiko wanted to steal Bear but since she lives in a condo, she wised up.

Bear sure enjoyed all the attention. By the end, he was their best friend. Heidi saw this action and came over for her share of attention. I didn't take any pixs of her as I was too busy petting her.

 

Since my right arm is busted and I cannot do any farm  chores, my mom did the feeding. Rainey and Tess love it when my mom does chores. She feeds them handfuls of bread and says "oh, I dropped it" and they gobble it up. The sheep see her and all come running. She fed the chickens, ducks, geese and guineas. I told my mom no more than one slice of bread for Tess, Rainey, Maid and Nan.  It was more like 7 pieces of bread before I told her no more. She just laughed at me.  What can I say? It was fun to see my mom so happy! Notice in this photo, I just caught my mom feeding bread to Tess and Rainey. BUSTED!!

Notice the four girls are waiting for the treats from Kimiko. They swarm around my mom and Kimiko in the kitchen and they get tons of treats. Not only they got bread but a bag of dog treats and leftovers from lunch. They are so excited when they show up. They run, jump up, bark and act like hooligans and not the well mannered obedient Border Collies they really are. They pretty much ignore me and follow them. I let them as my mom and Kimiko really enjoy spoiling the dogs. Maid has it down pat as she puts her ears down, gives a sad wag to her tail and gives the woeful eyes and soon she is rewarded.

 

I love it when they come out. They love to fed the animals and enjoy the farm for a few hours. They get farm eggs and garden vegetables. I get a Japanese home cooked meal and their wonderful company. It's great to have such cool parents! Total score and the dogs sure agree with me on this!

Obama's Horses and Bayonets