Homework

The boys and I have been working on our homework from our last lesson, as best we can. The days are getting shorter, fast...and sometimes getting home after work takes a long time! Like today the eleven mile trip took an hour and 15 minutes due to an accident. Oh dear. No dog work today.

Regardless when we do get to the sheep we are giving it a go to do the best we can. Ryme is thinking about his pace a little more. Coal is a bit more flexible. It's all good (I hope). We're looking forward to Hopland and Dunnigan (well I am and I'm sure they will be happy about it once we get there). Those will be big tests of how well we have done our homework, but they are two of my very favorite trials.

Saturday we had an NCWSA Board meeting in Pleasanton. We met at a sunny park not far from the Alameda County Fairgrounds, where the Scottish Games are held. Pleasanton was sort of equidistant for everybody to drive.  It was a good meeting. We are trying very hard to plan some good stuff for the club members for next year.Everyone on the board took home some homework to do. It has been very hard to keep the club going and to plan events. I am not so sure why it's so hard...but I would love to hear from folks what would help them to gain experiences to make the next level in their training or trialling. What would help novice people the most to become more intermediate? Let me know. Being president of the club has been really hard for me. I have to chunk down some of the things I have done in the past year and get them delegated,  otherwise I can't do it again....

Something else really fun has been happening. A very dear old friend with a lovely rehomed dog asked if we could take him to sheep. We gave him a couple of sessions lately and each time he gets better. He is a very happy dog, very nice on stock and really fun! So now we get his owner up to speed. Another sheepdog addict is born. Yeah! I think he will make a great beginner's dog.

There's a new sheepdog club in town, or rather in our part of the West: the High Desert Sheepdog Association. Check out their new website on my sheepdog club links. I would love to get to some of the fun trials but not sure about driving that many hours at $4.49/gallon. But those who are closer should be thrilled that sheepdog events are picking up again in western Nevada.