NORTHBOUND

The car is packed to the top and on the top. I am getting too old for the schlepping around of crates to the top of the trailblazer, but the money I had put aside for the hitch carrier went into the power steering problem this week. Sigh...
We are heading up north for the Collie Club of MN shows this weekend. Spice and Harold are bathed, blown out, brushed and fluffed. I'm exhausted. Jam is going along because he's Jam and I need him. I am so excited, Sahra and I are both staying at Peppi's and Amy is having a puppy party on Sat.
I'll check in again next week and give the show results--fingers crossed--it's Harold's first conformation show and I have a feeling he will be doing his automatic sit instead of standing. Oh well, he's so darn cute it makes up for it. :-)
Until next time...

Spice and Bryce Pics from Oshkosh

This is Spice's boyfriend, Bryce. Yea we know Spice and Bryce--it's a little "matchy, matchy" isn't it? This is Anstett's Allstar Is Bryce, CD, RN, etc, etc. owned by Sahra Jola. Fingers crossed that this weekend he outdoes himself and comes home with his CDX. He is also OFA hips excellent and normal eyed. Gorgeous, correct, sound and smart--can I be cliche and say "the total package"?


And here is Spice, Oak Knolls Pumpkin Spice, who we now know is extremely trainable. Thanks to Sahra who had her doing sit, down, stand, heel, sit pretty, nose poke and bow in 20 mins. The miracle of the clicker and an experienced trainer. By the way, Sahra's blue pants set Spice off beautifully don't they? :-)

As promised in a past post, here are a couple of pictures from Oshkosh. My thanks to Amy Ross for her superb photography skills!

HAROLD

HAROLD AND HIS DADDY FLETCHER

POO AND OTHER FUN STUFF

Yep, it's a post about poo. Apparently this is my tribute to Mike Rowe and "Dirty Jobs". It's now February in Iowa and we had warm (I use this term loosely) temps yesterday. This of course means one thing to multiple dog owners, poo patrol. I did about half of the house yard which may seem like very little until you consider the size of the yard, 8 dogs and the amount of poo they create. I finished it up today when it was not as warm, mainly due to going out at 8:30 a.m. fortified by 1/2 a pot of coffee. Having heard we were to get another 5 inches of snow I decided to chip away one of the many layers of frozen poo that have accumulated during this very long, cold winter. In defense of myself it does get difficult to keep the yard completely clear when you leave home in the dark and return in the dark 5 days a week. Flood lites for next year may be an option but I think that may be a job for Don Runge. I don't fool with electricity or plumbing. But I digress. I got out the hard core garden shovel and began chipping away at the frozen, half buried poo, filled my poo hauler (an old beat up rubbermaid tote--hmm...that would make an interesting commercial) and dumped it in the winter poo spot, otherwise known as the bean or corn field. I shall never have to worry about poo disposal as long as they keep farming around the property. Chalk another mark on the pro side of living in the middle of no where. I had alot of assistance this weekend in my poo patrol. Harold barked at me the whole time, dropping the odd toy into my hand every few minutes so I would throw it for him. He must love me because he never gives me the "geez mom you throw like a girl" look. Spice dive bombed my feet, Trace and Jam followed me every step of the way and Dora and Maddy looked bored and Bella and Rumor were horrified that I was taking away their fun of eating and playing with frozen poo. Well too bad baby girls.
We have had a good amount of snow but really not nearly as much as quite a few places this winter. It's the wind that I have problems with. It causes major drifting out here. After the last wind/snow storm my 5 foot yard fence disappeared in one corner and became an 18 inch fence. It was comical to see Collies and even Cardigans that climbed up the drift and just sat there looking out, watching me take trash out to the burn pile and take food to the garage for the farm cats. Not once have any of them even attempted to go over the fence. People are amazed when I tell them I have dogs that won't test fences, but it's true. I think that some of it came from our time on A Ave. in Cedar Rapids. Clara had helped me put up a 6 ft fence on the one side, but the front and back of the property I used 36 inch and 30inch ex-pens for fence. Maddy, Dora, Jam, Spice and Trace all lived there and I never had an issue with them. The funny thing was I had a Brussels Griffon at the time that would constantly climb the fence and be out visiting the neighborhood. You would think that a small dog wouldn't be a problem, but of course it's always the ones you don't think will cause an issue that do. Unfortunately the neighborhood was full of big dogs including pit bulls next door and siberian huskys on the other and I ended up sending him back to his breeder. I had nightmares of him being eaten alive. Especially since he didn't know he was a small dog and would literally challenge any other male dog. I miss the little dude, especially now that I'm out where he would be safe, but I felt better about sending him back than having him dead.
At least one of the good things about A Ave. was teaching my dogs to really know that a fence, no matter how high must not be breached. They have even made a ledge to lay on 1/2 way up. We have more snow 3-6 inch and wind so I have a feeling that ledge may be getting higher. A casualty of the winter has been the kennels. I shoveled them out once after a big windy snow storm and then gave up trying to keep them cleared out. And as all my friends knew anyway I wouldn't have used them. My babies just are not acclimated to the really cold stuff. I think the cats have taken up residence in the dog houses in the garage. If I was able to enclose the outdoor part of the runs more so that the snow wouldn't accumulate and keep more wind out than the tarps, I might, MIGHT consider leaving them outside during the day. Maybe next winter. Maybe not. :-)
Time to at least read this week's chapter and make some notes. I actually love my Statistics class but this instructor is a little heavy on exams and I have to make alot of notes for the formulas to keep them all straight. After this class I'll take a break until late summer. Still hoping for Spice puppies and I have shows planned starting in April, oh and more fence to put up and power tools to play with.
Until next time...

QUICK UPDATE

I asked myself today, what happened to January? The month is almost over and I think all I have accomplished is pushing snow around. Spring, spring, I long for spring. Except for mud, mud I can live without. Hmm...seems like I am never happy with the weather.
My statistics class started and I am finding it very interesting. All these years in medical billing and reporting and I had no idea just how much of statistics I've used. Mind you, I haven't known how to calculate things properly but somehow I have managed to use statistical calculations without knowing it. Another of life's amazing oddities.
Bella came into season a week ago. Oh joy. She is totally oblivious to the chaos she is causing. As predicted Trace now LOVES Bella heeheehee...Too bad, so sad Trace, not this time. Give her another year to grow up.
I spent the past weekend in Oshkosh WI. Yep, only true dog show people would travel in the winter to Oshkosh, b'gosh. Had a great time with Sahra and Amy and all the other Collie people. Met some facebook friends and put faces to names. Saw Michelle Tennis who still has my Riley's litter sister, Stormy. It was nice to chat with her. Long ago we bred her blue rough boy Isaac to a bitch. I also loved Isaac, a very sweet boy.
I owe a bucket full of thanks to Deb and Scott for watching my precious Jam and baby Rumor. Let's just say that the Spa Deb offers full service luxury for the doggies. They came home bathed, spoiled and in the case of Rumor, just a little more full of herself. Big hugs to them!
As usual when it comes to Amy there were loads of laughs! I think she is a bad influence, but she probably thinks the same about me. And I was happy to see that Jordie behaved for her on Sunday. I always get a mental picture of Amy flying out behind Jordie like a flag in the wind--apparently Jordie doesn't realize she is not a GSD. :-)
And lastly, Sahra and I have discovered that we both like at least 3 things too much. Collies, Mexican food and Gabbing. Yes, we are now looking for a 12 step program for Excessive Gabbers. Although Amy's suggestion was duct tape. So there was basically no sleep all weekend, except for my siesta in the chair at the show on Sun. a.m. Apparently I did NOT snore, but I was a little concerned I may have drooled. Amy took pics of Harold and his daddy Fletcher, I hope to post those later this week and I have at least one good shot of Spice and Sahra's Bryce.
So now it's on to working on grooming and training for Feb. MN Collie Club show. Winter had better be tucking itself away soon. Let us pray. :-)

Until next time...

WINTER DAY FUN

What does a bored Iowan do on a winter day when the high temp is 4? Bundles up, plays with the dogs and takes pictures. Enjoy!

The Gangs All Here!

Harold is the left background, Jam, Maddy, Bella, Spice,

Trace, Dora and Rumor in the right background.

Yep, the sign pretty much says it all.

Dora


Dora The Diva
aka Ch. Windy Hills Midnight Dream
Soon to be on her way to warmer days



Jam addresses the troops, as usual they
ignore him, poor baby

Spice-look she has hair!

What a gorgeous blonde, or so Spice thinks

The Cardigan Gals

Bella and Rumor

The chase is on

Rumor, Bella, Trace, Spice with Maddy bringing up the rear.

For a nearly 13 yr old dog, she sure keeps up with the kids.

Trace

Rumor hoping to catch up with the big guys

Bella finds Piglet in the snow

Harold and Trace race for ???

Bella, Spice and Trace

COWS ON THE MOVE

Apparently last night was only the prep work for the "cattle drive". This morning was the real loading time and it came dang early. 6 a.m. I hear Rick, Roni, Grandma Mary and Josh pull up and Rick get out the skid loader to move more snow and put some gravel down for traction. Of course once I am awake the dogs are all awake (with the exception of Jam who could sleep thru a force 5 hurricane unless someone said the word "cookie") and I had to let them outside. By the way, it's FRIGID here and at 8 a.m. it was -20 air temp. Yes, I cursed. Brought the dogs in, fed Rumor, gave everyone else a bribery cookie and put them in crates. Hence the need for bribery cookies. Maddy, Dora, Jam and I headed back to the cozy, now lukewarm bed and tried to catch another hour of snoozetime. Big ol' semi shows up at 7 a.m. and then we start to have off and then on, off and then on electricity. I am convinced the semi did it, but after a call to the REC find out they are working on a problem in the area. Finally give up and put on another pair of socks followed by a pot of coffee. Yes, I cursed, again. Yelled at the dogs to quiet down in the crates, cause they are not going out to bark at 7 a.m. at the semi, cows and company. The cow exodus was complete by 8 a.m. which at this point it is a balmy -16 degrees out.
After all the morning excitement I went to Independence to shop for something different to do. Picked up dog food and cookies, a few groceries and a couple of new books. Looks like a nice afternoon to cuddle up with a good book, a hot beverage and a warm dog on my feet.

UH-OH, COWS DEPARTING....

Dang it. Rick brought over the cow loading chute thingy about an hour ago and started moving snow drifts around. Looks like we can expect a cow exodus this evening. Dang it. The first time they moved cattle last year the semi-driver couldn't make the swing around the driveway curve and Rick had to push down about 60 feet of fence so he could get in. Dang it. But that was in late March and it wasn't nearly as frigid as tonight. I have the best landlords and Rick replaced posts and put the fence back up but of course moved it in to prevent future problems. What absolutely floors me is that the semi-driver that brings the big equipment in and out (ie, backhoes and that thing they use to dig trenchs for drainage tiles) never had a problem making the swing. The second set of cows left about 6 weeks after the first last year and that driver made it with tons of room to spare. I'm saying a prayer for a really talented driver. And why is it that they have to do this in the dark?? Dang it.
The dogs have been fed and are confined to quarters in the dog room until it's over. That means they will be all out of sorts later in the evening. Dang it. A group of herding dogs barking at the fence does not make it easier to load cattle.
Updates as the cow exodus continues...

HAPPY 2010!

Happy New Year! The dogs and I did not make it to midnight, I think we got to 11:20 CST, well I made it to 11:20, the dogs were all passed out on the floor and furniture well before that. They sure put on a good act of working hard to validate the obvious exhaustion. Heehee...
2009 was still a big transition year for me and held some personal and family challenges. Those issues have turned around and life on the farm has become a pleasant habit. The dogs had another terrific year and held up their mom in and out of the show ring.
I don't do resolutions because they are too easily dismissed within the first month of the new year. I have a short list of goals with the dogs but they are so dependant on outside forces, the weather, when Spice has puppies and the biggest of all, the money to spend on a few classes and show entries.
I have decided that 2010 WILL be a good year. Sometimes we have to keep up a positive attitude, look for all the good things that life brings and push away the negative to really hit that good year mark. So maybe I do have a resolution after all...

IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE

Yea, he has it rough...

Light at the end of the tunnel, frigid air and other unrelated material

I'm in my last week of Finite Mathematics. I can see the light at the end of this particular tunnel. I'd be elated if I wasn't exhausted. The final to take by Sunday and I'm done. Once again I will be thankful to pass the class even it ends up as a C. Now, do I take Statistics or give myself a break? It's not as if there is alot going on in the next 8 weeks, I could probably work through that and then be done with classes related to MATH. I equate the word MATH to the other 4 letter words of SNOW and COLD. Put them in the same category as all other nasty words. We had a foot plus of snow, which led to drifts up to my hips in all sorts of places on the farm. Including the dog runs, which probably won't see the dogs until spring. Now it's turned really really cold and I believe that COLD is worse than SNOW. It will get warmer again but then of course I'll complain because there will be more SNOW.
Let's see, in the unrelated material category I'm still waiting on Spice to come in season. Typical of Spice she is probably waiting until the worst winter weather day known to Iowans in a century to come in. I just keep repeating, "it will be worth it, it will be worth it". Jam is totally into his sabbatical from training. It's so cute to have him "ask" me to work. He'll throw random obedience stuff at me just to get a reaction from me. It's actually making him focus on me more now that I've stopped training.
On another note I have to mention the cows. This years cows seem brighter than the last bunch. The last ones were very sweet and docile and with the exception of the two "jailbreaks" were very good. This batch has something up their collective hooves. First they watch all the time and are very interested in the gates. The back gate was replaced/repaired and I think they gave up on that one. The front gate has been beat to death and back again. They managed to push and bump and rub enough to break two of the four gate bars. They didn't try to escape, but I think it's because they could not figure out how to step over the bottom bar and duck at the same time. Rick fixed the gate but I swear they are still plotting a winter adventure.
Driving to and from work has been dicey more times than I would like this winter and I am grateful beyond words for the Trailblazer, and it's heated seats. Now if only it had a remote starter.
I asked "Santa" (aka, my bank account) for tools this year. A circular saw and drill. I suspect that both Jean and Kim think I'm out of my mind again and worried I'll end up in the ER again. I promise guys, safety goggles and I will actually read the directions on how to use them before I start. Which as a side note, I did not do today while trying to get the postage machine to lick the envelopes for me and no I did not get it to work. Sometimes the old fashioned way is the best. I had visions of building something along the lines of a mini-loafing shed to use as with more kennels, but I'm not sure my methods of duct tape and zip-strips to fix things will hold up an entire building.
And of course the usual feeling of being cooped up is already settling in and my mind is wandering to dog shows and trials. I probably need to get off my rear end and start training again huh? Hmm...maybe after a cup of hot something...

DORA SEEKS ELVIS

Dora is getting a new home! She will be going to live in the Memphis TN area and will no doubt be wanting a tour of Graceland hoping to catch a glimpse of Elvis. Seriously, she will be heading out to live with my sister, her husband and my nephew, Ben. Ben is 5 now and is so excited to be getting a dog. When he was a baby they had a very old Rough Collie that had been a rescue I got from NE. Sam was such a great babysitter and Ben would lay on him and crawl all over him. Ben was asking mom tonight if he was going to be able to give Dora her food and water and if she could sleep in his room. In his room? Try in his bed. I wonder if Ben will share his trains with her? I'll miss her but I have to be practical when it comes to the dogs, that's part of showing and breeding dogs. Otherwise you end up with 25+ dogs of various breeds, alot of them not part of your breeding program and spending their days crated doing nothing. So I've made a committment to keeping only one or two dogs (okay maybe 3) that aren't a part of my breeding program. Of course Dora would stay here forever if I hadn't found such a great home, but I'm tickled that Kim,Scott and Ben will be welcoming her into theirs. As Elvis would say "Thank you, thank you very much".

AN AHHH MOMENT

Here are Trace and his 1/2 sister, Rumor. When I first brought Rumor home Trace was disgusted. He had just decided to tolerate Bella and in walked Rumor. Bella and Rumor bonded immediately and I believe they plot to annoy Trace. Trace and his Collie buddy Spice are only about 6 weeks apart in age and were raised together so he is a Collie. So these new Cardigan girls are, well, you know, beneath him. (There's a small ha-ha in there somewhere!)

After a long morning playing outside here is what I found in the living room. Trace and Rumor cuddled up together. Please note Rumor also likes to sleep on top of a pile of toys (I think that's a Nemo fish under her). And yes, the living room rug always looks like this, dogs, dog toys, dog bowls (because Maddy brings them all out to the living room after a meal--and no I have no idea why) and of course, dog hair. :-)

So this is my ahhh moment for today, Trace's acceptance Rumor, if he only knew how much fun she will someday be!

WHY COLLIES AND CARDIS ARE "MEANT TO BE"

I was hauling stuff upstairs and happened to look out the stairway window today and saw this. I ran quickly downstairs to grab the camera and got a couple of halfway decent shots thru the window. That's why the quality is rough. But these pics of Harold and Rumor are the epitome of why Collies and Cardigans go so well together.

BELLA

I was taking pics today and there was Bella standing there just begging to have her pic taken. She's growing up and looking good right now. She's been doing that puppy thing, one day level, one day high in rear, then level. I just quit looking after a while. She did great at her first show weekend in Sioux Falls and came home with a RWB. Right now she's into growing up, bugging Jam, annoying Trace and perfecting her cardigan wiggle butt maneuver.

SPREADING RUMORS

Introducing "Rumor", Qwaynt's Something To Talk About. Nope, she is not named after the movie with Julia Roberts, she is named after a song by Bonnie Rait. Just a bit of trivia for you all! I have my brindle again-yippee! She is out of Jean's, Danni (Kennebec Qwaynts Miss Danielle) and Webster (Am/Fin Ch. Yardican Cardiridge Weli Welho). This makes her a 1/2 sister to Trace (Ch Qwaynt's Mystery Man) as they share the same mom. Now this should make my Cardigans complete, okay well I could get a red and complete the color palate, but maybe someday Trace and Rumor will produce a red.

With half-bro Trace and "Auntie Maddy" Dang it--this place has a fence!

SIGNS OF THE SEASON

Just a few pictures of the signs of the season. Let's call this one, pre-winter.

KENNELS READY FOR WINTER

These runs go into the garage runs, note new motion detector light

on the corner of the garage--Thanks Don!!

BARE WALNUT TREES IN THE SOUTH YARD

Most of the agility equipment is put away-you can see one

of the weave poles in the bottom right corner, those will be

the last to come in for the year.

BALES OF CORN HUSKS DOT THE LANDSCAPE

THE COWS PLANNING THEIR NEXT WINTER ESCAPE

Grandma Mary and Josh were over yesterday a.m. to rig up

this temporary solution. These are some smart cows, they

have managed to dismantle parts of the gate. Note that the

black cow with the backwards "7" on his head and the one

next to him are 2 that I made friends with this year--I hope they

aren't thinking that if they escape they get to some in the house...

MANURE SPREAD ON A HARVESTED FIELD

HARVESTED BEAN FIELDS

PLAYING THE WAITING GAME, AGAIN

Let's just say I am not always a patient person. I do try and have been told that there are times I do show more patience than I should. But there are times that I just am not and get antsy. Spice is supposed to be in season soon and I am antsy. Apparently the old saying, "a watched pot never boils" is true about dogs and heat cycles. A watched Collie never comes in season...sigh. I do feel sorry for Spice. It must be heck having your owner plop you on the grooming table each and every night and look at your backside. And of course, because I want it so badly I'm doing the same to Dora. Spice takes it in stride and couldn't care less. On the other hand Dora always looks offended. And I don't really expect Dora to come in, that's just wishful thinking at this point. But ohhhh...Spice puppies, I really want Spice puppies badly. Of course I did my usual "name the litter" thing and that has been a curse in the past. I was bored at work on day and came up with an entire list of names. It's the "R" litter. Why? Who knows, it just came to me. My first and favorite is Maiwae Rendezvous with a call name of Tryst. That kind of got the ball rolling, reverberate, revolution, resonance, you get the picture. So I have a list of 8 top names and call names to go with them to choose from. I have to confess, if she has a small litter of really, really nice puppies it's going to be hard not to keep them all to show. Of course that would mean more kennels and fencing. I was recruited to answer the phones one day last week and had time to map out additional kennel runs and fencing ideas, what a mistake that was! Now I know with a little work on layout and some free labor (any volunteers??) next spring I could eventually have 7 to 9 indoor/outdoor runs and an additional 8-10 outdoor only runs. Now if can talk the landlord into letting me have the small outbuilding....
And yes, I know, I don't need nor will I ever be able to have as many dogs as I could actually house. Unless Prince Charming arrives with a full size van, a full time job and has some type of wholesale dog food connection! LOL! (Oh and let's not forget he has to have a riding lawn mower too!)
Until next time...

A Long Week and Announcement

It's been one of those long weeks. I've been putting in extra hours on the math class. I will say it is easier than Algebra, but there is alot of work. I'm down to needing to take this weeks test and I'm done for this week. Work has been crazier than usual. This is a bad time of year for our patients on Medicare. Many of them have accumulated the maximum for prescription drug coverage and are now required to pay the full cost for their meds. So I have had a flood of patients looking for assistance. Not to mention we have had more than our usual amount of patients that have insurance but either have huge out of pocket costs for treatment or their insurance won't cover their treatment. The paperwork on my desk quadrupled this week, my phone was nearly constantly busy and Iwas about ready to put up CAUTION tape across my cubicle to keep the nursing staff out. The best part of my week was being able to get a patient with no Medicare prescription drug coverage a very expensive ($1400 for 10 pills) drug for free and turn it around from getting the problem on Monday to delivering the medicine to her door on Wed. It made my week!
The weekend is supposed to be lovely and I can't wait to spend time outside with the kids. I still need to clear out the one side of the garage and move some more stuff around upstairs. Rick is in the bean fields, he was out there most of the evening. It has finally dried up enough around here to get the farmers in the fields. So I expect continual combining this weekend since the farm is surrounded by fields of bean and corn. With harvest season comes the NO OFF LEASH rule. Same as during planting season. But I'm hoping that the weather holds for a few more weekends, because those harvested bean fields make great tracking areas. I've been wanting to work Trace more in tracking if only just for fun.
We have a new arrival coming soon to the gang at Maiwae. Going to try a bit different dog than we have now. Oh and I finalized plans for Spice's breeding to Trigger. Fingers crossed, I'm thinking gorgeous puppies--let's all think Smooooth versus the hairy ones. 2 of those are enough for now! :-)
Until next time...

Weekend

Had a good productive weekend. Since Sat was pretty blustery around the farm the dogs and I spent most of the day inside. They "helped" me take out the air conditioners, I got those pesky bugs that look like ladybugs but aren't all sucked up in the vaccum, the upstairs rooms have all the windows plasticed (probably not a real word), the airbeds are deflated and everything put away for winter dog workouts. Moved a few empty boxes to the upstairs closets as well as some items sitting in that front hallway. This week I need to go and buy some more window plastic and some of the heavy plastic stuff for to seal up the unfinished rooms upstairs. The farmhouse is awesome, but they only finished up 2 bedrooms and a 1/2 bath upstairs. The other 2 rooms are pretty much the same as the day the house was built, so I put heavy duty plastic up on those windows and the doors that lead into the other rooms. The heat vents have all been removed to those areas so no heat gets lost thru them. Which is good because LP bills will make you gag for the winter.

Today was wonderful, the sun was shining, the dogs and I spent most of the a.m. outside. I worked on the kennels, moved a couple of the dog houses inside around and Harold is getting moved to an outside run with Bella in the middle. I found more signs of her damn digging again and at least if she digs in the middle kennel all she gets is either Harold or Spice and not freedom. Trace will go back in with Spice until she comes in season,since that kennel is the bigger one. Put up more tarps for wind breaks. I think we'll be fine until next spring. Then I'm going to have to decide to either expand another set of indoor/outdoor runs out the back or on the other side of the garage for the additional dogs. Or I'll need to just set up outside runs with really good dog houses. I hate to put up more indoor/outdoor runs because the other sides of the garage fast NW. Oh well, all winter to think about that one!

Laundry, laundry, laundry and I put away all the dog show stuff for the year. I still have some things to do in the garage and get the crates re-arranged in the dog room and of course a few more windows to be done for the year.

I hate the fact that it's 8:00 and I'm about ready for bed. My body doesn't get the time change thing, it will be a long week. Although I do love that I'll be driving in to work in daylight, the driving home at night and then having it be dark when I get home will really stink. Oh yea, still need to work out a light system so I can see to scoop the kennels after work.

Started Finite Math this week and it went well. I actually understood it and didn't panic. Still wondering if my brain was high-jacked for the week and the real brain will kick in on week 2 and I'll be confused, but maybe I'll luck out this sudden understanding of math systems will remain with me for the next 7 weeks.

More later!