The Last Day of May

It will sure be sad to have to turn the page on my Wallace and Gromit calendar tomorrow. What does it say that the two best reflections of our lives seem to be Wallace and Gromit and The Far Side?

We Get By

...with a little help from our friends.

Thanks Ewenice for taking such good care of the baby while I was sick (nailed by the summer crud). He would have sure been lonely if he hadn't had your good company. I think of everyone else as being pretty self sufficient emotionally, but it made me feel that much better when T-Bone and Handy were so excited to hang out with me the first evening I was able to do more than just make sure everyone had food, water, shade and a fan.

They like me. They really like me.

"The Bluegrass"

The Bluegrass Classic Stock Dog Trial in Lexington, Kentucky, is one of the oldest and most popular and prestigious Border Collie trials in this country. It draws top handlers from all over and we are very fortunate to have this wonderful venue right in our backyard. Between visiting with friends, watching the sheep and dogs and fitting in a little spinning, this is by far my favorite weekend of the year.

This year was especially enjoyable because I took McTeagle with me on Saturday. He was good company for me and a popular destination for everyone else. He had fun visiting with his previous mom and several of his favorite aunts and there are probably more than a few Border Collies that walked away shaking their heads upon seeing a sheep on a leash.

Towards the end of the day I took a break and sat out in front of the Punkin’s Patch tent and watched several nice runs. McTeagle sat down next to me and watched as well.


While I could listen to the whistles and watch those amazing dogs all day, perhaps my favorite part is when the day's work is through and they turn all the sheep out on the course to graze.

Good night my friends. Travel home safe.

April Showers...

A lovely Clematis in our yard. One of my favorites!

Um....No.

There ain't a lamb around that can get into as much trouble as fast as McTeagle.

Baby SIT-ting

Sweet Iris. Such a willing worker. When I need to put McTeagle in his "playpen" (or as he likes to refer to it, prison) I ask her if she can babysit. And she "sits". Miss Tilly is actually Ewen's best friend, but she is unreliable as a.) she has no conscience and b.) she's small enough to fit through the openings. She and Brushy are good at lending moral support though until something better comes along. What a motley crew.

Ba Ba Bad Sheep

"Seriously! You want me to eat what!?! Sheep food!?! Are you crazy!?! Why would I want to eat that? I like cat food or dog food or chicken feed or bird seed much better. Oh, and Miss Tilly taught me how to catch and eat hard shell beetles last night. They're the best!"

I am actually contemplating putting his sheep food up on this table and telling him "Whatever you do, DO NOT EAT THIS FOOD!" He'll be all over it.

Up To Code

Caught this work in progress as I was mowing around our tree "nursery" last week. I would line the inside of my nest with wool, but my nest would probably fall apart and we'd find ourselves sitting on the ground next to the neighbor who used it for structure.

Here is the completed nest. Usually I find our sheep's wool in the robin nests. I'm not sure who set out these little white speckled eggs.

A True Story

One summer during college I worked at a fancy Thoroughbred breeding farm. Every morning we brought up all the mares and foals to eat breakfast, checked them over for any bumps or bruises and then turned them back out. Every day I watched Leonard, an older gentleman who had worked on the farm for many years, pick up four leafed clovers as we made our many trips to and from the paddocks. Lots of four leafed clovers. I never saw a four leafed clover. Never.

I asked him how he found them and he told me it was magic. A little later he told me that a person is either born to find them or someone has to give them the gift. “Can you give me the gift?” I would ask, and he would always reply that he didn’t know if he could. "Maybe someday". As the summer progressed, I really searched those alleyways. Surely if Leonard could find six or eight each morning, I could find one. Never.

One day towards the end of the summer, we were walking back up to the main barn after our last turnout run and Leonard stopped, called me over and said, sweeping his arm over a big patch of clover, “Somewhere in this patch you’ll find a four leafed clover.” I looked down and immediately saw it. I’ve been able to find them ever since. Here is the first one I’ve seen this spring.

Some more pictures from the porch. The view is all good.

Zzzzzz

Billy Goat Gruff

Ewen McTeagle is turning into the Big Billy Goat Gruff, not by going up the hillside to make himself fat, but by drinking goat's milk. He's very particular about WHAT he eats, HOW he eats it and HOW his "blankies" are arranged for sleeping. We, of course, try to accomodate him with the right bottle with the right milk and a soft bed.

Now, how did I get up here before?

Poor Brushy.

Settling inside on a rainy day.