Where is the summer going.......

Have been very busy doing so many different things. This past weekend we travelled to Wilkie SK (small, small town) for Shane's godmother's 80th Birthday. We were able to visit with family we don't get to see too often....... It was very nice.
Then this past Sunday headed out with Shelley, Tara and Camryn and travelled the hour and a bit to Provost AB for a visit with Debbie Markowski and her litter of Outstanding Aussie pups. These pups are some of the best you will ever find and the quality was outstanding. I was very excited to see these pups as my Rayne x Derby pups will be cousins to Deb's pups..... I was NOT disapointed! These pups were outstanding ~ Deb has a tough choice to make on who she's keeping and I have a tough wait for my pups next spring!!!
Back to work today (Monday) Will be looking forward to getting into my garden this week as it's gotten a little away from me.... Lots growing, peas, carrots, onions, potatoes, corn is coming along nicely.
Dogs are all good ~ enjoying their almost daily quad runs (as am I). We often come across some kind of wildlife that I love to sit and watch.......
Hope you are all enjoying the summer :)

Rayne didn't let me down

Well, I hit the road with bestie Shelley G and we headed to Southern Sk for 4 ASCA Shows. After having Rayne out of the show ring for well over a year I was hoping her and I both would just get around the ring! Well, we did more than that!
Rayne was "on" and we walked away with 2 Best of Breeds from the bred by class and 1 Best of Opposite over the 4 shows.

Couldn't be more proud to have this great young girl and to have the judges recognize and find her in a Winners Bitch class of Outstanding girls!

Thanks to PASE australian Shepherd club for hosting and thanks To Kelly Campbell for allowing us to stay in her motorhome......makes it easier to go "down the road" with a place to stay.

Thanks to great friends Terry Stickle and Deb Markowski for the laughs and good times! Loved seeing all the aussie folks that were there........

So, Rayne needs 2 final points to finish her ASCA Ch. Not sure when I will be able to get to another show but we hope to finish her soon :)

Jackie

Great Last 2 weeks!

It has been a busy 2 weeks!
Headed off to my "getaway" if you call sleeping in your truck for 3 nights, during a downpour watching dog/handler teams fight the sticky, yucky mud for 2 days a "getaway"............ I sure do!!! Loved every minute of it! I was trial secretary for the ASCA trials held at the lovely SwedeLee farms so I mostly got to sit in a nice warm truck and help time/scribe for the judges. You can learn so much by sitting with the judges ~ but it is always easier to see a handlers mistakes when your not the one in the middle of it!

Was able to get 2 good days of shooting in and picked up some helpful tips and pointers from good friend/mentor Cathy B.... I will never be able to repay her for everything she has given to me in advice.

Then it was a busy week at work followed by a busy weekend ~ attended the Lloydminster & District SPCA Dog Jog today and once again had my camera ready to take some pics. Was a great day followed by lovely supper with our neighbours.......life in the country is good :)

And now it's Sunday night and I can't wait to see what next week brings!

ta ta for now :)

Excited!

I have been looking forward to this week for a while now........ It's the herding clinic/trials at Swedelee farms starting Thursday. It's 4 days of working dogs, talking with other herding folks and I'm hoping getting LOTS of practice with my camera.......

This past month has been very hectic ~ the store girlfriend Tara and I own/run has gone through some changes including me being chief groomer girl. I have had years of grooming experience and have spent lots of time with our grooming team this past year learning a few new tricks, so when one gal left us for other pursuits and one gal getting sick and put in the hospital it was down to me to carry the load. It was a challenge but in the face of adversary you either rise up and face it or turn and run, I didn't have a choice ~ I faced all the dogs that have come into our shop and 99% are wonderful clients with only a few bad apples thrown in. I do have to say though that I am looking forward to a bit of a break.......

Will hopefully have some tales to tell and pictures to go with it!

Have posted a pic of Lia (Tray x Meg) daughter - 6 mths old helping with the flower pots this year........

All kids from Tray x Meg are doing fantastic ~ so pleased with them.....and their owners :)

tata for now.......

Catching up.........

Well how time flies.......days seem to march by quickly these days ~ maybe it's the 100+ hour winds we have been having this last week!
Was able to make a trek to Provost to visit with Mentor Cathy and good friends Deb and Terry and Terry's lovely litter of puppies. These pups are special to me as they are Ice's Grandbabies. What a lovely lovely bunch of puppies ~ fell in love with all of them and would love to bring one home if I had room/time for another little soul........need to concentrate on the kids here first.

Congrats to Talise & Pauline (Meg x Tray daughter)for picking up their first leg in Novice Rally Obedience over the weekend. Talise is just over 6 months old and from pics and video's Pauline sends is doing great! Will enjoy watching this team.......

Also Congrats to Jo & Rojo (another Meg Tray puppy) as they entered their first conformation show over the weekend. From what Jo says Rojo did very well ~ with his only competition being his housemate "Gunny" (a mature male) this show was a good learning experience.

Looking forward to the Herding Clinic/Trials coming up this June in Central Alberta. 4 days of catching up and gaining herding experience from people much more experienced than I.......(If you would like more info email me at jackie@vispera.ca)

Looking forward to some nice warm weather and getting out in the yard ~ hope you do the same!

Spring is here - I think...........

The past few weeks have been full of adventure :)

Lets start with a week ago yesterday and my friend Tara's litter being born. Tara has Rotties and now has her very first litter on the ground (we are excited for her :), the puppies are now a week old and I am so thankful I was able to be there when they were born. Abbey the mom was in labour but hadn't started strong contractions all day so at 4pm we decided to pack her up and head to the vet just to see if we could get an xray and see if anyone was blocking progress, sure enough! A big boy was blocking the way and thus Abbey couldn't get started. So, we prepared her for a c-section. I was able to help prepare her (thanks Animal Hospital) and be one of the puppy rubbers :). I LOVED it ~ grabbing those wiggly little black lives and getting them going is a feeling unlike any other........
So, When it was all said and done Abbey was the proud mommy of 11 babies!!!

Will be exciting to visit a litter and not have to be responsible for it ;)
Then I was able to help dock their tails (a simple banding procedure).
My next excitement was going to Camrose with Shelley G! Was so very excited to get away to a dog show for a few days and spend some time with friends. It was great to catch up with the "aussie" world for a few days and see what everyone has been up to. Some nice dogs were being shown and some good times were had. And when we got home I promptly got our truck stuck! And by stuck I mean BURIED in our driveway!! To make matters worse my hubby Shane was out on the road for work so it was just Camryn and I at home..... Thank goodness for family! My mom and dad and the plow man came to my rescue!!!!



Then good friend Terry Stickle from Adelyn Aussies had a litter of 10 puppies! These pups are sired by an "Ice" son and I was thrilled to be able to go see them and help Terry with her tails :) A wonderful bunch of pups that I am excited to watch grow.

So, spring is in the air ~ pups are being born and snow is melting!

Middle of March already......

Geez, where is this year going? Things are pretty quiet around here. I am enjoying a day off today and have accomplished alot! Cleaned bathrooms, floors, laundry is all caught up (even dog bedding!!)Baked cinnamon buns and bread.... Garage is cleaned out and crates rearranged.... I know I'm obsessed with crates because I have at least 20 and keep rearranging them.... (for 3 dogs??)

Looking forward to best friend Tara's upcoming Rottie litter. The whole whelping process is probably my favorite. I love holding those brand new babies as they take their first breaths! Tara's rottie girl is a big girl and with just under a week to go we are excited! I have my overnight bag packed for when that call comes :)

As I look outside I can still imagine my dream of having 20-30 sheep and a few paddocks to work them..... I know this year isn't going to be a reality but I hope soon...
I really want to become a herding judge and can't wait to get trialling my dogs again and get on the path to become one.. I spent some very valuable time with a friend/mentor Heather Forbes last summer at Dog Tale Ranch and she cemented in me my love of judging and why I want to stand out in the sun and watch dog after dog try to achieve that perfect run........

Well, off to find something else to clean or bake....... hmmmmm