01/09/2023 A Mid-winter Break

Lookit me. Posting again. What an overachiever. ? I decided I've been struggling with blogging off and on because I'm really not a 'heart on my sleeve, need validation, share with strangers' type of gal. And though I could blog about something else entirely, we all know my muses are not the 'let's just keep it in and ignore it' type of beings. So there you have it. Compromises must be made. I'm rather wishing Mother Nature subscribed to that theory. It's been a bit hard to get any training in for the past month and a half or more. One of the drawbacks to living in the upper midwest. When it wasn't cold, it was wet. So we had a lot of this

01/01/2023 Happy New Year

Surprise! I'm still here. In case you haven't noticed, I haven't blogged in quite some time. Haven't really written much of anything, to be honest. And since writing has always been my therapy, I guess that means I wasn't going to therapy very often either. :D Probably not a good thing. Definitely not a good thing. 2022 was

06/20/2022 The Thing That Happened

Sometimes things just happen. Good, bad, or in between, everyone's life is beset by things happening. There are things we celebrate, things we rail against, things we learn to accept, things that scar us for life, things that change everything for the better, and some things we will just never understand. Some of these things happen to us, some despite us, and some we do to ourselves. I'm going to suggest the latest thing to happen here falls completely in the category of Sometimes Things Just Happen

06/02/2022 And Just Like That

WHAM! It's summer. And it's been a busy start, during which I've learned quite a bit about myself and my dogs. More accurately, I was reminded of certain traits I have that occasionally interfere with the progress I think I'm making with my dogs. Though I do foundation/dry work, I tend to rush through it without ensuring my dog is rock solid on what I'm asking before moving on. Seeing success while training prompts me to believe my dog knows what I'm asking and I move along. When I think my dog should know something, I can be quite obtuse when they don't exhibit that knowledge. I tend to go into a session at close to Level 10 energy/emotion and then wonder why my dog is being so damn twitchy.   What can I say? It was a long winter and I train alone far too often. Thankfully, Steve paid his

05/17/2022 Spring Cleaning

This is my dog shelf. All the dogs I've lost in my adult life (with the exception of one) reside on this shelf. All with a photo or a trinket or two. Momentos of our time together, something that reminds me of them, or something gifted me at their passing. All with a piece of my heart. Several times a year that shelf, along with the rest of the bookcase, gets a thorough cleaning as opposed to just a quick dusting. Those are the times each box, each token, is picked up, handled, remembered. Those are the times the Sad likes to pay a visit. Just how strongly it does so depends on what song is playing on Spotify, what my mood is, and how many glasses of wine I've had. Yes, wine while cleaning is a thing. There is also occasional dancing while cleaning. It all depends on the previously mentioned

04/21/2022 Catching Up

Yes, I know, I've been a bit negligent about posting. No real reason. Partly I just didn't feel I had anything of much interest to write about, partly I was having my yearly internal debate about whether or not to continue the blog, or perhaps turn it into something else (no, I don't know what -- if you have a suggestion, feel free to pass it along). If I'm being honest, I think I'm still adjusting to how much my life has changed since the pre-pandemic era. I'm sure I'm not the only one feeling that way, it's changed quite a bit for a lot of people. It seems rather odd I would be bothered by that (which also serves to annoy me) as I'm pretty good with change and always enjoy a challenge. Plus, some of what's transpired were things I'd actually dreamt about. Then again, maybe I succumbed to

02/07/2022 After a Break

According to the Chinese New Year, 2022 is the Year of the Tiger which sounds a whole lot better than the past couple years -- you know, the Year of the Unmitigated Shit Show and the Year of the Disillusioned Quokka. A quick Google search suggests that for those who celebrate the Chinese lunar year, the tiger symbolizes hope amid challenges. In Chinese mythology the tiger is called upon by the Jade Emperor, the ruler of heaven, to exorcise demons. A purging of evil, as it were. Well, let's hope it works. Go Tiger! Around here, 2022 is going to be the Year of Training. Not that I won't do any trialing--I'd like to get Dillon's WTCH and Finn's started cattle as well as a couple Farm Trial titles for them both. Dillon's WTCH and Finn's started titles, however, will require more consistent exposure to cattle and I'm not sure if

12/22/2021 Zoomies

Finn loves to play even if no one else wants to, he's been that way since he was a puppy. He'll amuse himself with a stick, a pile of leaves, a chunk of ice, or zoomies through the tall grass. It's a behavior which never ceases to both baffle and annoy Dillon, especially when Finn does everything in his power to get Dillon to join in. There are times Dillon loosens up and romps a bit. Other times

11/15/2021 Finn’s Big Adventure

The ASCA National Specialty can be overwhelming for first-timers. Especially first-timers who apparently haven't been off the farm a whole lot except to visit other farms. And though Finn weathered the traveling just fine, his first couple days at the Brazos County Expo grounds had him just a wee bit anxious. He'd never seen bleachers, large covered arenas, lots of people and dogs he didn't know milling about (Are they staring at me? I think they're staring at me. I don't like it.), or any of the other strangeness he was subjected to. Thankfully he had his good buddy Ziva along to help bolster his confidence. We spent quite a bit of our free time just strolling around, letting Finn get used to the sites and sounds. Some of which took quite a bit of patience, more than a few treats, and a healthy dose of confidence. His first couple of