"In the Path of Love"

 

for

"DeltaBluez Tess"
(July 13, 1998 - Feb 13, 2013)

by Diane Pagel

  

In the shadows of life.

a few leaves must fall

but the spring is near

and life will grow again.

 

The path is long and hard

and courage is earned

the sunlight is in our eyes

and the tears freely fall.

 

 photo by: Patricia Fix Anderson

 

You walked down the path

held my hand, taught me all

to let me go by myself

with my new courage. 

 photo by: Diane Pagel

and yet today I weep for you

but tomorrow i will be proud

knowing you are at the end of the path

and the rest of the journey is my own.

 

 



Shiro Haiku Contest

Time for another contest. I love giving prizes away!

 

I was looking at some old photos and found this one of Shiro as a puppy. This was taken by John Kohlsaat. She was about four months old. She was our first Border Collie and has crossed the rainbow bridge over four years ago.

 

Rules for the contest.

1 Haiku poem in the comment section. Each poem must have seperate comment to count as a entry

2. Enter as many times as you want. Even if you have won before, you can enter again.

3. Will ship to North America

4. Naughty is not allowed

5. Random pick by Tess or maybe someone else.

6. Each Haiku gets you a chance.

 

Contest ends Dec 20 at midnight. Winner will be annouced on/around Dec 21 and has one week to contact me, or second pick will get the prize.

 

 

The winner will get:

 

A really cool Lamb Bag for your groceries!

 

 

 

 

Are you smarter than a Sheep?

I found this test and thought you might like this. I got all of them right. Whew, it was a tough test but I managed to succeed. See if you are smarter than a Sheep!

I appreciate www.wooddogcrate.com  for making this post possible.

T	F	1	The ram went over the cliff because he did not see the "U" turn.
T	F	2	The ram committed suicide after hearing the hit song "There Will Never Be Another You."
T	F	3	Virgin Wool comes from sheep that are both fast and ugly.
T	F	4	The ewes did not get pregnant because they were under the weather.
T	F	5	During the breeding season, an odd number of rams must be put with the ewes. One ram will breed ewes; two will spend their time fighting; with 3 rams, 2 fight and one breeds, etc. , etc. , etc.
T	F	6	Willard Straight Hall (the Comell student union) is an example of a creep feeder .
T	F	7	If Papa Ram weighs 200 lb and Mama Ewe weighs 140, J.R. Ewing's ideal slaughter weight would be 102 lb.
T	F	8	Twin lambs can be said to be wombmates.
T	F	9	Half-sib twin lambs usually are produced by white-faced ewes because "blondes have more fun."
T	F	10	Aab, Aab, is the typical sound of a dyslectic lamb
T	F	11	A hot-house lamb must be potted before sale.
T	F	12	Ewe-tah is the most important sheep state in the U.S.
T	F	13	The Booroola Merino gene manifests itself in the double recessive (bb) form when lambs stand on their hind legs and say "booroola, booroola."
T	F	14	Corried Ale is a fermented beverage made from sheep's milk by Australian shepherds in the outback.
T	F	15	Orf; Orf, is a sound made by baby lambs when they are hungry.
T	F	16	Proper protocol requires that before disposal of a dead sheep, it must have the wool pulled over its eyes.
T	F	17	Rambo-llet is a synthetic breed developed by Sylvester Stallone.
T	F	18	Each year in March, sheep breeders in Finland gather together and enter their top rams in the finnish Land Race.
T	F	19	St. Croix is a church in France for shepherds.
T	F	20	The two hormones necessary to initiate and synchronize estrus in anestrous ewes are TLC and PTL.
T	F	21	Several rams competing for a cycling ewe in an accelerated lambing system is referred to as STAR wars.
T	F	22	The French have recently announced an improved old English breed, now called the Lincoln Continental.
T	F	23	Eileen is one of Brian Magee's ewes that grew up on a hillside with one set of legs shorter than the other.
T	F	24	Flushing is the process of giving sheep large quantities of water to clean out their system.
T	F	25	The Tunis was "Red" Skelton's favorite breed of sheep.
T	F	26	Fall-bom dwarf lambs are usually named Sneezy, Dopey, Doc, Bashful, etc., and sold as Hot-House lambs at 30 to 40 lb.
T	F	27	Sheep that don't pay their bills are known as I.O. Ewes.
T	F	28	Sssisss BOOM BAAaa! are the last three sounds of an exploding sheep.
T	F	29	The Happy Hunting Ground of Sheepdom is known as Ewe-topia.
T	F	30	The Southdown breed received its name when it was noted that all of the sheep face south when they lie down.
T	F	31	Blue tongue is a perceived disease of sheep usually occurring in August in sheep grazing pastures infested with wild blueberries.
T	F	32	The term "mob-stocking" originated in Chicago in the 1920's when Al Capone used shipments of ladies stockings to disguise contraband liquor.
T	F	33	Mulsing is a term originating in the 1800's in Australia when sheep were trailed into the outback behind mule drawn wagons.

Rocky Ewe Winter Series Trial results - Dec 1

The trial was a success yesterday. The weather was not dumping rain, in fact, it was sunny and not windy, aside only during the lunch break. A couple of small rain showers during a couple of runs, but chilly but the weather held out. It's nice to be at a December trial and have no snow, dumping rain or gale force winds. The sheep were nice as they added more Katahdins and most of the runs were good. The handlers kept the dogs (for the most part) well off the sheep and the sheep trotted a nice pace through the course. Open was first, with a 350 yard outrun, and left hand drive and then pen and spilt. Since these sheep are hard to shed, I let the handlers take any two and it proved a lot more doable. I enjoy judging this trial and seeing how much better everyone gets from the last time I judged. I will talk about some of the runs but not all of them so if you don't see your name mention, don't take it personally. I will mention you next time!

 

Cindy Baker with her rescue, Brill, went out and laid down a screaming run. Not much to take off as she held a nice steady pace and got the shed just like a pro. She took a scared wee rescue Border Collie and turned him into a top Open dog. What a great story!

 

Brian Ricard with his new dog, Cody (Norm and Vicki Close) decided to show how you can take a pushy dog and gently guide the hair trigger ewes through the course. As I was talking to my scribe, saying if anyone can get a split, it would be Brian, then he waved his hand and had a text book split. I smiled like I planned it to happen that way. Thanks Brian for making me look good. His one set of missed panels was his only downfall to an otherwise perfect run. You could tell that Cody had tons of power but kept himself in check under Brian's guidance.

 

Tim and Nell sure can run a darn nice course and at the last second his sheep slid beside the fetch panels. Darn ewes! Linda and Pooka ran quite well and she can shed. She did the shed three times and finally Pooka held the shed but the fact, anyone can do three sheds is a miracle on these sheep. Pooka has a sweet way with her sheep and her sheep really like her. Again the missed panels didn't help. It seemed like the sheep would go through the panel, then at the last minutes scoot by on the side. No reason that I could see! Linda skillfully handled Pooka and made the run look easy. Another nice run to watch was Ursula and Pete. She got a hold of him on the fetch and he is a big, powerful dog and he handled him quite nicely throughout the course. Her drive was very nice, aside from the dratted missed panels, and she had one of the best post turns.  Marched the sheep into the pen like a pro and was working on the shed when time ran out. I think she would have gotten the shed  too! They are a nice team!

 

Jim with Amos and Sweep, had pretty much the same run and both of his dogs can be on the muscle but he handled them well. Jim is a quiet handler and if you don't watch out, he will kick your ass! He did his magic shed also!  He loves his dogs and his dogs adore him! Zot worships the ground he walks on!

 

 

Bonnie and her Bob had a nice run. Again those missed panels cost her! her outwork was tremendous and he can work the sheep! This team is one dynamic team and one to watch for when she moves up to Open. Ron and Kass had a nice run and she is fairly new to PN. She is a young dog and ran quite well. Kathleen with Gael and Josh, decided to cinch down third and fourth place. She is a top contender in PN and you will see that she is always near the top, if not at the top in PN. She runs her dogs well and trained her Kelpie, Josh by herself and he is one nice kelpie with good feel to the sheep. Vicki with Skye and Blitz, ran quite well and placed back to back. Again the darned panels cost her! Carolyn and Brynn did quite well with nice outwork. The sheep started to fuss on the second drive panel. so she let everyone settle, then got it all back together again and marched them down the last leg and popped them into the pen. Bryn had her idea of what she wanted to do but Carolyn was patient and insisted she did as she was told and then it was nice recovery. A lot of dogs had issues in that area as the sheep wanted to break to the exhaust and a few went way offline, but Carolyn got it under control and prevented that.  Judy and Britt had nice outwork and she is one pushy dog but quite nice.  Again those missed panels cost her! She is a very nice dog. Nora ran Joe and Gin. Joe is very nice to the sheep and she had a bit of trouble at the darn second panels but otherwise, he was one of the dogs that the sheep really liked. Gin is her new dog and they are so close to making it as a team. This is a good match!

 

The ranch class had a decent outrun and a first leg then pen. By this time, the sheep were not happy and didn't want to play but these handlers stepped up to the plate and ran well.  Cynthia Mills and Folly (kelpie) on a rerun, (the first run the setout dog "helped"), laid down a near perfect run. The sheep were really pulling on the drive but she was patient and held it and then stuffed them into the pen. Very excellent work and look for these two to be making future statements on the trial field. Cindy Baker, again with another rescue dog, Rook, laid down a nice run.  Cynthia ran her kelpie, Krayken in Novice and had an assisted drive and got a score of 62 (?).

 

 

It was a nice day to be judging. There were a lot of good, controlled runs and you could see some of the top scores were only a 1/2 point spread.  I  did a non-compete run with Maid and she did quite well. She wanted to go on the away side on the first time than my come-bye at the turn at the first crossdrive panel but she did go the way I wanted her to go. On the turn at the cross panels, she wanted to go away as the sheep were starting to break and it would be the easy catch but she easily took the come-bye flank and tucked them in line and had a stunning shed. I gave her a wide comebye flank and she went like a champ. She settled the sheep in the ring and waited for me to set up the split.  She flew in like Superman and before the sheep knew it was was a hold. They saw her and decided they should listen to her! She really tried hard for me and took the downs well especially on the outwork. We are getting better on each run. She tried hard for me at this trial and I was very happy with her.

 

We finished before dark and then they had fun runs. My brain was tired and soon I passed out at home, snuggled with my dogs.

Happy (belated) Birthday, DeltaBluez Rainey

Five years ago, on November 10, 2007, a special little angel entered our lives. Her name is Rainey.

 

It's hard to believe that five years have flown by. It seems like the other day that Tess had pups and Jeff got one of them as his Christmas present. But the days and flown by, the pups are all grown up now and Rainey just turned five years old. She was the runt of the litter, half the size of her brothers but she was feisty. She would push her brothers aside to get the best seat at the milk bar and had the loudest shriek. We always keep a female from each litter so this selection was easy. Somehow she knew she was the chosen one and grew up to be the DIVA.

 

Rainey, as per tradition, was named after a female musician. She was named after Ma Rainey. She has various other nicknames such as Petunia, Bug, Bunny, Rain-bug, Princess, Baby, Diva and Baby-Girl. She is quite spoiled and her mother Tess still dotes on her. She will come into the house, soaking wet and Tess will lick her dry. At night, she sleep in my arms or next to me on the bed. But she gives me everything I ask of her. She is my right hand on the farm and my Open Dog.

 

I appreciate www.dogbarkcollar.com for making this post possible.

 

As a puppy, Tess and Rain would snuggle together.

 

She started her sheep work early. Here she is practicing a take down. 

She needed an education on working sheep so read various sheep books, then went to Scott Glen for her foundation training.

She was the Christmas gift to Getty. She is his dog and will be here forever. She won't work for him as she is a one person dog but is his lapwarmer and watches football in his lap.

 

She is my lapwarmer at trials. She has taken over the role from her mother, Tess.

 

 

She was slow to mature and finally began to run well at 3 years old. Janet Thorpe ran her in Novice and Ranch until one day, Rainey decided she only wanted to run for me. She ran quite well for Janet too! We have no idea what happened but you couuld see at the trial, she decided to switch handlers. She will work for Janet if I am not home but if I am home, she ignores everyone else.

 

She is not the pushiest dog but is super obedient. She has a bit of eye so I have to manage her. She won't back down if a ewe charges her and is kind to her sheep.  Her drive is the hardest part for her but she has gotten much better. She did great in PN, winning or placing high. After her third trial in PN, people began to ask when she was going to move to Open. When I first started to run her, I had no expectations and just wanted us to have fun. Many hours of practice, she got better and she began to shine. She runs different than Maid or Nan and is very senstive. She won Reserve PN dog of the year in the WASH Stockdog Club last year. I just moved her up to Open this fall.

 

She has a nice way with her sheep and they like her. On heavy sheep, she will struggle. Oddly enough she does well on range or hair sheep. She got third at Palm Cottage in PN.

At LaCamas in PN, she did well too and place fifth.

She  does great turns at the post. On tough sheep, I have to keep  her moving due to her eye and she won't quit. She loves to trial!  In her mind, she thinks she is a winner.

She just moved up to Open. Some trials have been a struggle for her. At Fire Ridge, she didn't give up.The sheep tried numerous time to break away and she patiently kept bringing them back. She timed out on the last leg but her heart was huge.She wanted to cross but took my redirect on the fly and went blindly to where I told her. She trusts me and I trust her. She won't be the top Open dog, not for the lack of try but not having that extra push. But she does everything I ask of her and is a shedding machine and pens greats. Her outwork is awesome but her drive is hard. This Sunday was the longest drive in Open, that we have had at a local trial, and she did it. One ewe wanted to break away but she held her to the group. We timed out as she came in for the shed and it was the best shed. The sheep are some of the toughest to shed and she had the shed in seconds. I had no hole, but called her in, she made the shed and held the stomping ewes off. I will pick and chose the trials for her but she is fun to run.

 

Rain is like her mother is some ways. Loving and willing to do what you want of her. She is a small version in look of her father, Delmar Scot and has his working style but not his push. At the farm, she moves anything I ask of her, will grip as needed and goes where I send her, with no sheep in sight, but trusting me that they are out there. She puts the poultry away for me and does most of the farm chores. She loves to swim and is a water dog. Rain loves to watch football, upside in Getty's lap and is quite spoiled. She adores my mom and Aunt Kimiko and is their shadow. No matter how well or not, she does at trial, she is here to stay. She is our little Princess and the love of our life. Tess made sure she has left a pup of hers that we can spoil and love as much as we love her.She loves to cuddle and if often next to me on the couch.

Happy Birthday, Bunny!