Busy busy...

Sigh.
Yawn.

Stretch.

It is busy and that is the reason why my blogging is rather sporadic at the moment.
Its not that I don't want to..
 I just do not have enough hours in my day
and my week is also a couple of days to short to get it all done.

The 4-H year for the kids is winding down.

This Saturday the kids have their horse achievement day.
That means washing the horses, cleaning tack, and then prepping them for show day.

Next Saturday is the Beef and Lamb Achievement day.
As I am the leader of the 4-H Sheep club,
I decided that it would be nice for the kids to learn some more grooming and showmanship skills.
I invited Heather to come over to give the kids a sheep grooming and showmanship clinic.

The kids looked like they had fun and I am sure they have learnt a lot from that.

After the sheep clinic,

Jess decided to rent the wash bays at our local Agriplex,

 in order to start prepping her steer for the show as well.

He was bathed, and scrubbed and had a full body massage.
He was then shaved, and trimmed.

Our kids came home and dutifully started prepping their lambs for show day.
it is always good to start right away, when the enthusiasm and motivation is still high!

Trimming hooves, clipping the wool, cleaning...

This is Roy's market lamb.

And this is Jess's ewe lamb project.

Ranch kids grow up and learn quickly about responsibility,

work ethic, chores and helping out.
Our kids get up at 6.30am and then head out to the barn to look after their steers, lambs and chickens.
Roy waters his garden before coming in to make breakfast for the family.
After school its back in the barn, helping out with general farm chores, feeding and watering.
Cleaning out the trailer is part and parcel of the deal.

Here is a great piece that I found over at the
Sagebushsea blog

I find it apt and true,

for kids and adults.

25 Things I Want My Ranch Kids to Know

MAY 24, 2012

1. You have chores, because we love you.

They seem tedious, but they are the building blocks for your future.  Responsibility, accountability, and basic life skills begin with sweeping the floor, scrubbing the toilet, and feeding pets and livestock.  We love you, we want you to find success in life.  Success comes from preparation, so we give you chores.

2. Boredom is a choice.

Don’t let me hear you say you are bored.  Boredom is a choice, when your backyard is the whole outdoors, there are chores to be done, and books to be read.  If you can’t entertain yourself with a stick and a bucket full of calf nuts, we’re doing something wrong.

3. There is magic in watching the sunrise.

Early mornings are hard,  we don’t rise as early and as easily as Dad.  Do it anyway.  The beauty you will witness with the awakening of the world is worth sleepy eyes and cold fingers.

4. A pet is more than a companion.

Your cats, dogs, calves, and ponies are more than friends and playmates.  They are lessons in empathy, responsibility, love, and letting go.

5. Grow your own food.

Our world is increasingly rife with poor food choices, the easiest response to unhealthy options is to grow your own food.  I don’t care it’s a single tomato plant or a garden large enough to feed 10 families, cultivate an appreciation for fresh, whole food.

6. Be open to learning.

In horsemanship and life, you will never know it all, never assume that you do.  A humble open, attitude towards learning will lead to new skills and experiences.

7. Dress appropriately for the occasion.

A cowboy’s uniform, hat, long-sleeved shirt, jeans, and boots, evolved out of necessity.  Protect yourself from the sun, wind and weather with the proper clothing.  I nag and question your clothing choices, because you are precious to me.

8. There is a time and a place for bad language.

Sometimes you just need to cuss; spew anger and frustration in one grand verbal barrage.  Smash your thumb with your shoeing hammer/fencing pliers, massive runback at the gate, ringy heifer won’t take her calf?  Yes.  At the dinner table,  the classroom, in front of your grandmother?  No.

9. Feed your help.

Neighbors, friends, or hired men?  It doesn’t matter, sometimes the best way to show your gratitude for a long day of hard work is a lovingly prepared hot meal and cold drink.

10.  Don’t judge, but if you do, judge them by their abilities, attitudes, actions not appearances.

Buckaroo or cowboy, flat or taco, slick or rubber? In some circles these comparisons can lead to heated debates, more often than not based strongly in personal opinion, rather than rooted in truth.  This is true outside of  the ranching world, as well.  Words have power to create divisiveness, do not use them to speak against yourself or gossip about others.

11. Stewardship.

Dad and I choose to be responsible for landscapes and livestock, this lifestyle defines who we are.  Sometimes that means ballgames are trumped by pasture rotations and dinner time is delayed by cesarean sections, it does not mean we love you any less.  I hope you approach the world with a sense of respect and connectedness.

12. Fake it till you make it.

You don’t have to be confident in everything you do, but taking a deep breath and acting like you are helps you get through it.  This can be applied in the arena, the sorting alley, to horses or people, and life as a whole.  Stand up straight and look the challenge in the eye, as you gain experience confidence will catch up with you.

13.  That said, don’t mistake arrogance for confidence.

No one likes a swaggering braggart, even if he is a competent swaggering braggart.  There is honor in being unheralded, if you enjoy your work.

14. Low-stress is best. . .

. . .for you and for livestock.   Don’t let it defeat your spirit and energy.  Don’t let it impact your livestock health.

15. The only dumb question is the unasked question.

Where is  the gate?  Which calf? Can you help me?  Ask questions, no one will think less of you.  Clear communication helps prevent misunderstandings.

16. Always do your best.

There are days when your best is better than others, recognize that.  Avoid self-judgement, abuse, and regret and enjoy the process.

17.    “There comes a time when you’re gonna get bucked and you’re gonna need to know what to do so you don’t get stepped on.“  -Betsy Swain, 1875

  Do not let fear of pain or disappointment stand in the way of new experiences.  What I regret most in my life are opportunities missed out of fear.  Pain and disappointment are a part of living, learn to take them in stride and keep moving forward.

18. Be polite and kind.

Enough said.

19.  But, don’t be a pushover.

Stand up for yourself.

20. Develop a sense of place.

Wherever you may live, learn the names of plants, rocks, and animals, visit old homesteads (or neighborhoods) and educate yourself about Indigenous cultures.  In doing so, you gain roots, a sense of belonging that will lend you stability in all that you do.

21. Break a sweat everyday.

Pound a steel post or take a jog, whatever you do, break a sweat daily.  Your mind and body will thank you for it.

22. Be present.

If you are mindful of the moment, it is easier to catch a mistake before it happens, redirect a broncy horse before wreck, and have better relationships.  It might surprise you, what you observe and what you achieve when you are fully in the moment.

23. Unplug.

Go to cow camp.  Leave the computer screen, TV, and cell phones behind.  Watch the chipmunks and rock dogs, read a book, or share a conversation with your family.

24. Sometimes the hard decisions are the right ones.

We cannot rationalize suffering and pain to animals.  Sometimes the best decision is the hardest one to make, know when to let them go.

25. You do not have to maintain this lifestyle, but please appreciate it.

I don’t expect you to grow up and follow in our footsteps, the long hours and low pay aren’t for everyone.  Carry these early horseback mornings in your heart.

Have a good day.

Sheepdog trialing

Corey Perry's Mirk at High Prairie Field trial.

My passion for sheepdog trialing began when I was a teenager and living in South Africa.

(I should one day elaborate on this story)
Here are some bare essentials for now..
Before my step into the sheep dog world,
 I was working and training a German Shepherd Dog in obedience, companion dog, tracking and some man work.
I was sweet 16 and  passionate about my dogs.

I  was finally allowed to get another pup from my parents and decided to get a border collie pup.
His name was Ace.
Little, did I know then where this would take me on my life's journey...

Now Ace was one of those dogs that was in for everything and anything.

I did everything I possible could with him, from obedience trials, to agility, to tracking, man-work, search and rescue and even showing...
He was  a show champion,
and a clown
and my best friend.
He was not equally good at everything,
 but we learnt a lot and had a good time doing it.

However, I felt I did not have a well rounded collie, as  he did not work sheep.
 So, after watching a demo, reading a book and finding some sheep,
 we started on our sheep-dogging adventures.

After fumbling along, Jill Rankin decided to take me under her wing to guide and coach me.
We became firm friends and most of what I learnt, was all due to her.

Every weekend was spent on their farm, learning to run dogs, learning to read sheep and helping out with chores.

I ran a number of trials in South Africa.
I did okay, and the pinnacle of my South African Sheep dog career was that I once won the Top Lady Handler at the South African Nationals.
Those where the days when people felt that ladies needed more encouragement to participate in trials and so had a special prize just for women handlers!!

In the mean time, in between my sheep-dogging, I completed my Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Natal.

I decided to spend a year and travel around Europe with my beloved collie Ace.

On my travels I met Eric and as you know, after 23 years, we still have border collies.
In the Netherlands, I was given another collie, and then bought a third and so got involved in sheep dog trials in Europe.
We traveled far and wide, did clinics, judging, training and trialing and made some lifelong friends.
We spent a lot of time travelling up and down to the UK looking at dogs.

Eric had been fairly successful with his dog Digo at the Continental Sheepdog Championships.
I started having some success with a collie called Djan.
When she was 18 months old we had qualified for the Continental ( this is the top trial on the European mainland, due to quarantine laws in  the UK). Young Djan, qualified for the finals, I went home and spent the evening teaching her a look back for the double gather the following day.

Djan ended up fouth and I won  the Top Lady handler award (again).

She was a good little bitch and a great work dog.

I won the the Dutch National Farm Dog Championship with her.
This is a practical working competition and not a traditional ISDS sheep dog trial.
And, then following this I again qualified with some of my dogs to run in the Continental Sheepdog Championships and,
 once again ended up fourth in the finals.
I never did better than this fourth place at the Continentals!

However, as the years went on and we became more involved with sheep farming, raising kids and not spending enough time trial training our work dogs.
The trailing started taking a second place.

We still had our regular Sunday morning training and we kept working our dogs,
 however the trialing became less of a priority.
I am sure, not having a top trial dog at that time, may have also contributed to  not having such a interest in the trails anymore.
Having a good trails dog does motivate you more, than taking  a rough work dog to a trial;
who then goes out onto the course and grips off because a ewe decided to be somewhat obstinate...

After we moved to Canada, I believe we have run one or two arena trials, two field trials and that is the sum total of our trialing here.

We have hosted a field trial 3 years ago and an arena trial.
So, after a late night beer,  Ken Price and Eric decided it was time to do another trial.

Now, we know that most people who trial do not want to make the long hike up to the north,
nor do they like running on our tough sheep..
but what the heck,
 we do need  a few more trials in the north so we decided to host this one on our ranch.

 We decided to keep things simple,
 have low entry fees, have fun and work dogs on some challenging sheep.

Corey Perry, Wayne Roberts and Ken Price discuss a run.

We had a good trail, 30 dogs ran.
The crowd ( all 6) enjoyed the friendly atmosphere.
 One competitor flew in from Ontario to run her dog ( fanatic?)
the others were all north country folks.
Yes, the sheep were tough,
"sort of like Meeker" some of the die hards suggested.

Your dog needed skill, balance, oversight, power and you needed to sharpen up on your handling skills.
Things looked a bit dismal at the start with a top score of 26,
 however the dogs and the handlers got their act together and had some good runs.
The top score over  the two days was a 90 by Ken Price and his Creed.
 However, Wayne Robert's pretty much cleaned up in most of the classes.

Sheila and I penning.

I ran Lad and failed dismally.
With Sheila I ended up somewhere in the middle.
Running my dogs again made me realize how rusty I had become.
I do not think I will have the same passion for trialing as I did years ago; but
I love watching a good dog work and love working my dogs in everyday ranching situations.

Eric was judge and we did not hear too many complaints,
so that is good!!

The plan is organize another one in the not so distant future.
For those people that intend going to Meeker,
you are welcome to come for some practice runs on our tough sheep.

Wayne Roberts pens sheep with Llangwm Rex (from Aled Owen)

Carl Sneddon working Meg  (she came from Kevin Evans)

Jess from Carl Sneddon marches an obstinate ewe away.
( She is a granddaughter of Serge van der Zweeps Glen)

Friday Photo bombing

We went from a snow storm last week,

to plus 28C this week.

Never mind having spring!

So, it was a nice evening and I decided I needed to get some photo's of the two pups

Mali and Cindy.

These sarplaninac pups are now coming on 9 months old.

Mali ( the grey one) is a pup from Katcha and Vuk.

Cindy is one of the orphans from Snowy and Beli.

Cindy actually quite likes her photo taken:

Mali, on the other hand can be a little photo shy (just like her dad)

She  will try ( just like some people do) to  hide behind others,

 blend in,

try not to be noticed,

 pretend that her photo is not been taken

and that nothing is happening...

Sometimes, I can catch her without her looking away.

Sometimes, I need to take a phone photo of her while getting some loving..

Then, finally I take this picture of her,

which I totally love,

 due to her expression and the way she is watching me..

I needed to make a small adjustment to the camera, when

 my next frame,

is totally "photo-bombed" by dorky Cindy.

(Who feels she needs to be in the lime light.)

You can actually see Mali still laying in the same position,

before Cindy decided to be full frame!!

I managed later to get this one,

(which I also like).

without it being photo-bombed.

Finally, ended the evening with the sun setting and the two pups watching me leave them behind.

Both, by the way  are doing really great with the sheep, they are living full time with a group of about 150.

Have a great weekend!

A "Gus" update, part 2

Sometime last week I posted this story on Facebook, some people have been asking me how things are going with the little fellow.
Well, he has a name, and that is Gus, (when they get names here, it usually means that their momma is not doing too good...)
So, for those who missed the facebook post here it is to catch you up with that part of this saga.

  This morning (last week then) started off with a dead sheep and a lost calf.
 Now, if the sheep has already departed from this life, then there is nothing I can possibly do to fix, save or revive it. That is a lost cause.
 However, a missing calf,  still has the potential to still be alive.
So, my efforts went into looking for the lost baby calf..

I could see that this young heifer (first time calver) had calved, however she was standing in with the other cows, chewing her hay and not showing any maternal instincts whatsoever.
So, I started my search.
 Now, our cows have the run of a pretty big, heavily forested pasture to calve in. This provides them with shelter from snowstorms but, does make it hard to find lost newborns. So, I spent about 2 hours combing through a foot of snow in the bushes, looking behind stumps and trees, and inspecting all mounds.
I found no signs of a calving spot, no body, lots of coyote tracks and I started fearing the worse. 

Even, if a calf dies or is stillborn I do like to have an actual body.
 I don't like open ends.
Anyways, after resigning myself to the fact that the little calf was probably not around I ended my search.

 Tonight, while doing my afternoon round I decided to extend my search a bit further and low and behold, lying in a puddle of water was this little red heap of cold calf.
Alive.
So, I picked him/her up, tossed it over my shoulder ( he was small)  and headed back to cow civilization.
 I asked Eric to get a warm bottle of colostrum ready to feed the babe. I managed to herd the uninterested momma in a makeshift pen, stomach tubed baby and reunited the two... So, now I am happy that we found this little one, it kind of makes the day good again.

Okay, since that event, here is what has been happening;
his mother is still not licking his ears, or nuzzling him, or allowing him to drink.
He was pretty weak, so ever time she stepped away, he would fall over and he got a bit disheartened about getting a drink.

This is the scatter brain mother of Gus! 

So, I rigged up a gate so that I could squeeze her in and then allow Gus to suck through the gate.
He was doing okay,
She is not a mean heifer and would not kick at him or anything, just would not allow him to drink.

Usually, after a few days of this, most cows will accept the baby and things will be all hunky dory.

OMG, I look like the wild women of the north....

However, not with her.
So, to make sure that Gus got stronger we started to bottle feed him.
We figured if he got stronger, he could "demand" milk and be able to latch onto her a bit better.

This became the worse moment of the day for his mother!
(I called her all kinds of really nasty and horrid names and I actually feel very justified in doing so.
Even though it may not help the "situation" it does help release some frustrations on my part).
And,  the highlight of Gus's day. 
He would first be helped to drink sweet warm milk from the cow and that would be followed with a nice bottle of milk from me.

I would whisper sweet nothings in his ears, so that he would feel loved.

Today, while out with the reluctant cow,
Eric decided it was time to put an end to all her juggling about.
It was time now to quit her nonsense,
man up and face her motherly duties of raising little Gus.
She was duly haltered, (in the process she banged Eric's hand on the railing, and now it is  swollen)
and is now tied up.
In tying her, she cannot walk away or jiggle around, and in this way Gus can have a better chance of steling a drink.

We will see how this turns out... will be continued.

Mmmm,

why, do all my stories end up having "parts" to them, 

why could it not have been that heifer 29,
 found her baby and loved it forever more
and they lived happily ever after?

Reflections..

"Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out."
~ Anton Chekhov

I have decided to write a reflection on the last 4-5 weeks of lambing and calving.
It was a rough one.
The weather certainly did not help, today is May 2nd and we still have some snow left. 

Winter started on October 10 , 2012
 it has been a long snowy winter.

Last year during breeding time we decided to combine calving and lambing at the same time, (if you are out checking in any case you may as well check both, was the theory behind that thought..) and we decided to extend the lambing season by a few more weeks ( because the weather will be nice and we can then do two sheep breeding cycles..).

 Eric said he would take some time off his work to come and help at home.
However, things did not pan out that way, as he was promoted and took over running a new office in a town a bit further away. His new job commenced just as lambing and calving started, and he could not take any time off. That meant that he was only available to help out in the evenings after work. However, we were expecting some help; a man from the Netherlands would come and help out for 4 weeks during lambing time. This was a big relief, an extra pair of hand to help with daily chores, feeding and watering does make a huge difference.

Lambing was underway when our help arrived.
After a long flight he was rather tired, however we needed to get going as lambing was speeding up and I needed to teach him the basics of looking after the sheep.
After a few days, I started having some doubts whether this man would be a help to us or not.
Not because of a lack of trying on his part, but rather due to an overestimation (that he would be able to do more, quicker) on my part and an underestimation (how busy and tiring the work can be) on his part.

Things slowly started to disintegrate between us. I battled to work around his inertia, deal with his depressions and handle his mindset. After two weeks of stress, an overload in work, dealing with weak, premature lambs, Eric and I decided to ask him to leave our ranch.
The stress of having him here, was just too much for us to handle.
Asking him to leave was a tough decision; we knew it would be for the best; however it is still hard to do.
It created a lot of stress that we really did not need right then. 

Looking back on this, we do realise that perhaps this man was not fully aware on how much time and work goes into running a ranch like ours, the physical demands and 24 hour days can be tough. However, the problems that presented themselves where more of a mental nature than physical. We can deal with people who are tired, clueless and slow, but we cannot deal with another persons’ fragile state of mind at a time when we are working on the edge ourselves.

The lesson we learn from this experience is that sometimes people cannot judge for themselves in what mental or physical state they are in.  All we can do in the future is make very clear what we expect, explain the workload and have a built in “trial period”. I think sometimes people forget that when they come to help on our ranch, it feels like a holiday to them, however it is our work, day in and day out.

 We too have stresses,
irritability, 
have disagreements,
and are sometimes downright grouchy.
We make long days, worry about paying the bills, juggle commitments and the care for the animals. Sometimes life on the ranch is not always about smelling the roses, cuddling cute lambs and playing with the puppies.

Anyway back to the lambing; after we had sorted out the ewes that were due to lamb, we put them in the barn. Lambing came fast and furious.
What made the work so much intense this round, was the large number of smaller lambs being born and the care required to keep them going.

 We did lose some of the premature lambs, weak ones and had a whole bunch of mothers who were just not interested in looking after their little ones.
Eric and I made the decision to cull every ewe that did not raise a lamb this spring.
 So, every ewe that lost her baby, abandoned it or did not raise it got a big red X on her butt and was added to the cull list.

 Breeding from bad mothers, breeds more bad mothers down the road. We had made the decision in the Netherlands years ago to cull all the bad ones and that did payoff;

 down the road we had a flock that was low maintenance, easy keepers and a pleasure to work with.
We have spent the last five years building up our flock and have not done any serious culling. This year will be a deciding year for many of these sheep.

Calving has actually been ok. It started off with a dead calf, and then a cow that stole a calf from another cow; she later had her own baby and wanted nothing to do with her own baby, all she was focused on was the stolen one. After a few bottles, building a corral, catching the thieving cow, forcing her to love her own baby, removing the stolen calf and its momma…
The cow finally took her own calf back and the stolen calf was given back to its mom.

No real big calving problems, but we did lose a calf in a snowstorm.
The same decision applies to the cows as to the sheep, if you do not raise a baby this year, you are out. 

We had a little hiccup with a heifer that calved and misplaced her own calf… that story may have a follow up. Those who follow me on facebook might have seen that little story come by this past week.

Sadly, during all of this, we also lost one of our nicest and best border collies in this period.  Zac, one of Eric’s collies was eleven years old. He was still working on the ranch and was such a great dog to have around. He was hard working, dedicated and was the local star at the “Muttin Busting” at our two local rodeos every year.  He was fine one day, the following day he was “down”, his gums a little yellow. The next day he was sick, wobbly and very jaundiced. I took him to the vet, while we where there, made the decision to have him euthanized  He was extremely ill.
As the vet later said; “sometimes the kindest decisions are the hardest to make”

And, then a big snow storm rolled in,
our lambs had been lounging around in the sun.
With this storm, we decided it would be wise choice to move all the ewes and lambs back into the barn.
this was a full days work, we spent lots of time checking lambs, stomach tubing and bottling weak ones.
A big move at this stage is never a good idea, however leaving the babies out in a wicked snow storm is also not a great plan.
We hunkered down, worked hard and moved over 300 lambs and their moms back indoors.

 With lambing every few months, we do get into a routine.
Eric works the evening shift until 1am, while I sleep.
I go out and do the 2-4 am shift.
Somebody, sometimes the kids do a check before school.
The days are filled with feeding, marking, tagging, registering, docking, checking, bottles, vaccinating.
Feeding is the big day time job.

 As always, life goes on, even if we are living in a haze of exhaustion, lambs and have a feeling that the barn is our entire world.
We have  4-H sheep meetings, a spring rodeo, training with the horses, Jess getting ready for a trip to Ottawa, Eric a new job, school and other daily commitments.
I have not had the time, nor the energy to want to blog during this period.
 I hope this one will update you, with what has been happening here.

Jess is in the middle on the blaze face sorrel.

By the way, I don’t want any sympathy when I tell you  how busy we are.
These are choices we make,
although  we may bitch and complain now and again....

We have about 5 ewes left to lamb and about 7 cows to calve. 

So, the end is in sight.

We are now hoping that spring will start.

Cuteness

Every baby animal is unique and adorable, and there is no greater love than that between a mother and her young. It is the power of this love that explains why humans have always sought the company of young animals.

~Anonymous

Lambing has been going steady.
We are way over 200 lambs now.
This lambing has been more problematic than the one in January, perhaps due to the long winter this has taken a toll on the ewes.

However, we keep ploughing through and help those that need additional help.

It is rewarding to watch the lambs thriving and enjoying the warm sunny days.

Calving has been slow,
one a day.
Yesterday we had a little calving surge, we had 4 new little heifers.

I tried to sneak up to one to tag it.
As I was ready to tag it, it bawled,
and within seconds I had a whole bunch of irate cows rushing in to save baby.

Needless to say, I let the babe go,
without tag.

Here are some photo's for you to enjoy.

Uhmmm,

cow,
its not your turn yet,
you have to wait, and produce a cute baby
 before you can be on my blog...