Happy Birthday Jameson!

Congratulations Brian and Jennie!Welcome Jameson!

We are all set up

We are all set up. The dogs have assumed thier favorite position (minus Recee) to watch for unauthorized movement! They love the dashboard of the motor home. The rains held off until we were finished with awnings and dog yards. I should say they paused while we got set up. Brigands Hide Out is in an idyllic setting and even with the rain, a delight to be here. I am looking forward to seeing all of my Oregon cairn friends today and herding friends all week.

A Herding Camp!

I am so excited. I am headed down to Brigands Hide Out in Battle Ground, Washington for a week of herding! Well, not quite a week. Tuesday I get to come back to Seattle for the birth of my grandson. Brian and Jennie's first child. That in itself is exciting! What am I talking about.
So, back to the herding. A week long camp with a variety of instructors from around the U.S. It is such a wonderful experience and I am so blessed to be able to do things like this. I hope to be able to pick up a signal while I am there, I have my camera and I am sure there will be some hilarious stuff to write about. If not, I will try to remember it so I can have it documented. As they say in herding when something is finished. "That'll do"

A new blogspot!

Three of my four kids now have thier own blogspots. Yipeee. Jay has joined the fun. I have links on the right hand side of my page (under the dogs looking out the window) with my favorite links. Now we just have to get Kevin and Sherry up and running and we will have an ongoing story of our family. Everyone has to remember to read and comment on the others though, that is part of the fun. Well, of course we need to remember to be watching for the funny things going on in our lives....that is really fun. Like apricots!

Hunter

This is Hunter. He is a cairn friend of ours. He lives with Dena and Bill and his new cairn housemate Alex.

Visualize passion

Visualize a rainy spring day in Western Washington. A grassy field, a small flock of sheep grazing. A 55 year old woman in rain gear (muck boots with fleece socks, gortex pants, fleece lined gortex jacket, fleecelined gortex rainhat....notice fleece everything...yes it is chilly)standing, looking at the tranquil scene. A 40 pound long haired 3 year old puppy (not even her dog) sooooooooooo happy to be there that the field shrinks to the size of a small back yard as he gathers the sheep and pushes them to the exact plot of ground that the woman is standing on. Oh wait, she has a stick and she sent him to get those sheep and look at the smile on her face. What kind of a crazy woman stands in the rain in a field full of sheep and plays these silly games? The best kind...one enjoying her passion!

Agiltiy with Kula

Agiltiy with my darling girl is never a dull moment. To begin with on the way into the building she got so excited that she started coughing and wheezing and carrying on so much that I got concerned that something was seriously wrong. She had never pulled against her leash to cause any trauma and by the time it was time to get going, she was willing and eager. Then she decided that running out of the ring would be fun. There is a really nice lady in a wheel chair (perfect lap) that she just had to see. This lady does an amazing job with her dog "Rocky" and I am sure Kula just wanted to tell her that. Well, we shut the gate for her next run. She was doing pretty well until she Pooped...literally....on the course! There aren't many things that rattle me. Pooping in the performance ring is one of them. Everyone was very good natured and understanding. She is so darn cute and such a good girl after all. Third and final run to go.....she aced it....nearly...with just one little tiny blip on the weaves...redone perfectly....the best part of the night. Her huge big smile the entire time. SHE LOVES IT!!!!!

A new lesson

Here is one of the days that Kula and I worked as a team. Control wasn't such an issue that day. Well actually it was still an issue for her, I just outsmarted her that day! Doesn't she look happy? She realized I won.....

The new lesson, I learned how to put photo's into my blog!

Perfection or action

Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor. - Anne Lamott

I didn't exactly know who Anne Lamott was. I thought she was an author. I decided to do an internet search and check her out. Sure enough, she is and has written several books. Novels and non fiction as well.

I was looking for some little quote on perfection after reading Jennifer's blog. I can remember there was a time I thought I had to do everything perfectly. It is still something I fight.* Well, actually if I lived in a bubble, I wouldn't care. I would be out there trying all kinds of silly things. I just don't want someone else telling me it is wrong. Or even thinking inside thier own head it is wrong. If it is wrong to me, I will know and change something, or not. It is my experience.

That is part of what all the stuff I do with the dogs is all about. I know we are not perfect, but I am going out with them and having fun. It is not as important to me to get high in trial or best of breed (although that would be terrific) as it is for the dogs and me to have a good time and respect each other when we are coming out of the ring. I still need to have a conversation with Kula on this part of our time together trialing. Sometimes she thinks it is all about control....she is a terrier after all....and she thinks she is the alpha...she might be! Control, hmmm. There is another topic for a blog!

*This is possibly why I get so upset when Greg tries to "coach" me. I am out there for the experience and it is okay if it isn't quite right yet. It is HUGE that I am even out there at all. I will figure it out.

Added links

I am astounding myself!!! I just figured out how to add links to my blog. Now I am linked to Jennifer's, Jennie's and our Crofters Dream websites. The internet is truely amazing!

Snow for spring?!?

As I drove home from Lynnwood this morning, there it was....chunks...in the rain. What??? It is supposed to be all done with this nonsense. Jennifer's birthday was yesterday, the daffodils are up, birds are flying around, cherry trees are blooming...okay you get the picture. It should be spring! It should act like spring...smell like spring....and for heavens sake, not be raining chunks!

New faces

Aren't they the cutest? Thank you Brian for the wonderful header. He just created it for me while he was "fooling around" on the computer. I love it. He prefers the one he created with Hattie on the right hand side, saying it is more balanced. I agree, but there is nothing about a pack of cairns that is balanced. They are a constantly moving unit of energy! Hattie could not be by herself! Of course as I make that observation, the three of them are laying on the couch next to me, lined up like cord wood. It is our morning ritual, breakfast for them, then up to "my room" for my latte ...Kona and Hattie waiting quietly for the foam....and then a little news, computer and getting ready for the day. As soon as my latte foam is gone, everyone crashes while I get ready for the day. Before we go downstairs, the cairns spend several minutes chasing the ball, each other and having a wonderful time. What a blessing they are in our lives.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENNIFER!

Today my oldest child turns___. I won't say how old, just that I am not old enough to have a child that old!! She is a terrific person, wife, mother, daughter. She spends too much time thinking....hehe. Just like her dad in that respect. Certainly NOT like me. We now know that was the problem as we were growing up. Yes, we. There is no doubt it was a growth process for all of us. I will tell you that if you are a control freak (yes I was...believe it or not), kids will teach you a lesson there, if you are ready to learn. As I now know at 56 (almost) I was never really in control anyway. So, off of my soap box, Jennifer, have a great 35th birthday!!! oops, did I do that?

Fidos Farm

I forgot to mention my sheep adventures were at Fidos Farm. The most fantastic place for people and dogs that I can imagine! This place is on Evergreen Road in the Olympia area (actually Nisqually).

There is something for every dog owner there! Agility, Obedience, Daycare, Boarding, Herding, Play yard for a romp in the field. If you are looking for caring direction for you and your dog, check them out!

This is where I take herding lessons with my mom's dog (a Bearded Collie) Enslow. We drive down once a week (and would go more often if we lived closer). At Fidos Farm, they have sheep or ducks available, beginner to advanced level lessons and herding experiences. Chris and her staff bring in national and internationally ranked herding experts for clinics and camps. It is an awesome place.

Sheep and me

Saturday I got to be a stock handler! I had been entered in a stock dog trial with my mom's dog Enslow. As it turned out he had to have a minor surgery which prevented him from being able to participate in the trial. So, I got to be stock handler. Big thanks to Chris Soderstrom and Rosie for allowing me this special chance to learn some big lessons. I worked for about 8 hours setting the sheep for the other participants. I never thought I would ever have so much fun in a ranch yard/barn. Now, I have to say that Rosie was not really in to me giving her direction. She prefers the whistle to voice commands. So, we can up with some special commands for her. Instead of the command, "Away to me", I used "Today to me". She was so slow at times I wondered if we would ever get the sheep for the next set. I think maybe that was rookie nerves. (mine). Anyway, that is the way I spent my last Saturday of the winter of 2007. The good news is, the rain held off until about 10 minutes before we were done for the day!

Blogger catastrophe

I did it! I got past the blogger catastrophe...at least I hope I did. For some reason, yesterday I was not able to get to the place where I could write a blog. Now normally I would not perservere and get through the "issues" of being able to write the blog. Google changed some things and I was having a bit of a challenge following the instructions. But, I did it! I am so proud of myself.

Spring?!?

Must be here, I have been cleaning and organizing and weeding and sneezing. Today was wonderful, actually quite warm. Jennifer was in a short sleeve shirt! I didn't go quite that far, but I did have my sweater off while I was working in the garage. Greg came home a little early and snipped at some of the roses, they all know it is spring. I have been each day trying to get some of those pesky weeds up before they can go to seed. I should have done it in the fall, but when the weather turns cold and rainy, I am inside! Tomorrow it is supposed to rain again, but for today, we got a head start.

Agility class with Kula

We started agility classes again last night. It was so much fun. We go to Academy of Canine Behavior in Woodinville. Kula was so happy. She is so funny, she loves it so much. She has the silliest look on her face the entire time we are there. If I think about it, I feel bad that we ever stop.

There was a woman there doing agility with her dog and she was in a wheelchair! Now there is dedication to having a relationship with your dog! They both did an amazing job. It was incredible to watch her dog keying to the position of the wheelchair. If you don't think body position matters you should come to my class and watch this team.

Back to Kula. We haven't practiced at all since at least September. We stopped classes sometime during the summer because we were going to miss too many seasons being out of town. I still would practice in the backyard until the weather got to yucky. The only thing she was challenged by was....you guessed it, weave poles! She was just being stinky about them too. "They" say that if you want a truely good dog in agility you have to do weave poles EVERY day.....well last night was proof!

My friend Janice and her cairn Bo Sox were supposed to start again too, but there was some sort of glitch and they didn't get into the room. The doors were locked or something goofy. I hope they can work things out so that they can be in the class too, it makes it more fun to have them there.

I am now a blogger!

I am so proud of myself. I am now officially a blogger. I am not sure why I think this is so important, but tonight, right now, it seems to be. Maybe it has something to do with how cute my son and daughter-in-law's blog is. Who knows. Brian (the blogger) has all kinds of statistics about how many people blog and how much time is spent blogging. I have never really cared too much about statistics, but it seems fun. People have always said you should journal. I have started that many times, this is kind of the same thing, except you are journaling with the intent that other people will be reading it. We shall see how disciplined I am about this. I guess the idea is you share the blog with your friends and family so that you have someone interested in reading your blog. So what do you think friends and family?