Saturday as the sun rose over Dutchman’s Mountain I  planned to head to a herding trial with KAT Ballou…I decided to let common sense and concern for the other entrees with intact males rule … Instead Drover and I headed for the Border Collie Trials and Dog Festival in Huntersville, NC !  Wow!  Dock Diving …

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Birthday Week Celebration! At Maple Grove Farm!    Last week was my birthday…I was born on Halloween!  Hard to guess that one, right?!  Not a milestone birthday just the best one ever! How old am I?  Depends on what I think I can get by with telling someone…So no I am not telling!  Well at …

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  An evening of training at my farm starts by a quiet walk across the dam to go to the far field and gather the sheep.   At my side is a good dog. Smart, strong, eager to do what ever the work is! The quiet ringing of the sheep bells in the distance gives me …

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My Sweet Uncle Don brought me flowers Sunday!!!! I have been gifted by The Good Lord with many wonderful friends! Blessed beyond measure!  Last week my friend Kay came up from New Bern and took care of me during a shot in my knee and a shot for my hip! It was a tad rough …

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We had an awesome Jim Hartnagle Clinic October 4 thru 6 !  I learned so many tools to assist me on my journey. Jim is an amazing clinician.  We had an wonderful group at the clinic. Dogs, Sheep, People all learned and got along amazingly well. Folk were here from Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina. …

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You saw it coming! No time to even reach for the phone!  The dogs were happy with the cool weather the fun of being out to go feed the horses and gather the sheep   and bring them in for the night!  Journey and KAT have a game they play:  run as hard as they can …

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A cool evening. Crickets signing. Happy dogs. A magnificent sunset.  A sweet home grown tomato sandwich, complimented by fresh squeezed sweet lemonade.  A beautiful old quilt decorating our dining table.  Sheep softly speaking to each other and a bell here and there tinkling in the field. Even the dry condition of the farm and surrounding countryside…I …

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Sweet Aunt Peggy went to be with the Lord Jesus Christ Tuesday evening!   She had transferred from home Hospice care to Hospice House care while Les and I were on a short vacation.  We were in the mountains for some horseback riding and to get away for a few days…I called and Uncle Don relayed …

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I posted about my old ewe that was down and I dried her off and covered her up. That happened about 48 hours ago, and this afternoon she was sort of in labor… I had the instructions, the medications, the meds and things I I might need and a person on the phone if I …

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The frogs were singing “Oh Spring!” …The breeze said “Spring”!  The sun was not real bright…but my sun glasses said SUNSHINE!!!Spring!  The temps were in the 60’s and it felt warm…The air smelled so clean and everything felt free…Spring! Under foot the ground squished with our every step…Low land and high alike squish, squish, squish! …

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