More New Things

I know that February is a short month, but it seems to have flown by faster than usual here in Stanford Valley.  The weather has been alternately more-than-balmy and bone-chillingly cold.  Monday, February 2, was warm, but around 10 on Tuesday the cold air began whistling south, making me glad I had taken a jacket to herding practice.  This is what the pasture below the house looked like when the dogs and I went out for a short walk on Wednesday.  There wasn't a lot of snow, but we welcomed the moisture.  This winter has been especially dry.

The birds were glad I had stocked the feeders.  We saw plenty of cardinals, chipping sparrows and dark-eyed juncos.  

There was even this handsome spotted towhee with his bright red eye.

All month the thermometer has looked like a pogo stick.  We arrived in Junction, TX, on Wednesday afternoon, February 16, for the Junction of the Pecos Sheep Dog Trial after battling strong south winds the entire trip.  Fortunately, Falcon and the Royals fifth wheel handled them with no problem. Our stay at the fairgrounds was only our second time boon- docking in the rig, and we were very pleased with the way it handled the changing temperatures.  Here is an early-morning shot of the parking area.

Then, on Thursday the wind switched directions and came howling out of the north with a vengeance.  We ran our dogs facing the wind and blowing our whistles as loud as possible in hopes the dogs would be able to hear our commands.  The sheep were mostly black-headed dorpers.  They were almost as fast and strong as the wind, and were a challenge for the dogs.

Cody had his best run of the weekend in spite of the difficult conditions and some less-than-cooperative sheep.  We missed a couple of panels, but pulled off a good pen that we really had to work for.  

Bo, on the other hand, had a less than stellar debut on our first-ever-together sheep trial.  I won’t go into detail, but just know that I called our run and took away his sheep after he seemed determined to drive them off the course!

Thursday night was cold and blustery, but we had a wonderful grilled lamb dinner courtesy of Jill and Tommy Hefner.  Fellow herders provided the sides and desserts, and we stuffed ourselves in preparation for Friday’s trials.  

On Friday Cody again gave me a good effort.  His outrun, lift, fetch and drive were better than the day before, but we ran out of time before we could pen our sheep.  Unfortunately, the video John shot was at too great a distance to give us any still images

Bo and I worked hard on our communication, and on Friday we managed…just barely…to get the treasured “numbers instead of letters.”  We have a lot of work to do, especially in making sure he understands the whistle commands I give him.  Because he has trained under a couple of different people, he has had to learn each person’s particular style…and I have to learn to blow commands that make sense to him.  We look forward to polishing up our communications and doing better when we go to Gatesville this weekend for another sheep dog trial.

Here are some photos of the trial field and our fellow handlers and dogs.

The Peanut Gallery

Terri and Lucky at the pen

Wilda and Jackie watch the action

Jim thought Pearl was really cute

She was unimpressed and backed him off with her Border Collie Smile

It was a great trial, though.  We enjoyed time with our friends and their dogs.  

But that wasn’t all that happened during February.  The annual fundraiser for the Bosque Arts Center involved both friends and family.  

Cousin Kathy Cash (on the left) and good friend Mickie Tigner performed in the “talent show” to raise funds for the Center.  They were (as you may or may not be able to tell) Viking warrior maidens.  The show was well received, and featured a number of our Bosque County friends, including our pastor, Brother Brian Barrett, who played guitar and sang in another skit.  

In addition to social activities, we have kept busy feeding cows and breaking ice on various troughs so our cows have water to drink and putting out range cubes and hay to keep them fed.  We pray for rain, but so far haven’t had much.  We hope spring will bring more moisture to Stanford Valley and give us a break.  

This new-to-us Kawasaki mule has made our jobs much easier.  There is room not only for 4-6 people, but for us, our four dogs and the bags and buckets of cow feed.  All I have to say is "load up," and the dogs are ready to go.

All Things New

It’s not just a new year, it’s a new month!  We have worked our way through January, and are very glad to welcome February.  We're glad for several reasons:

For one, our barn is finally finished!  We began work on it in January of 2021, never in our wildest dreams imagining it would take a year to complete.  Covid, however, and related supply chain and labor issues pushed completion further and further back.  One last electrical gremlin had to be eliminated, and now we are officially done.  Here are some progress photos, beginning last January.  

Site work 

Slab prep

Setting the tornado shelter

Up she goes

Skin and lean-tos in place

Interior complete

Lots of insulation

Almost done

Finishing the parking areas

And for another, we have our first RV visitors.  Steve and Gail Dixon arrived on February 2 with their Volvo tractor and Spacecraft coach.  We have known Gail and Steve since 2009 when we attended our first HDT (Heavy Duty Truck) Rally in Hutchinson, KS.  We have camped together a number of times, and always enjoy each others' company.  

Their rig made it up our hill with no trouble, and Steve had the coach parked under its lean-to in time for the four of us to drive into Cranfills for lunch at the Horny Toad Bar and Grill.

And it’s a good thing they arrived when they did.  Yesterday, Wednesday, February 2 was a cool, blustery day.  Overnight, however, the temperature dropped like a rock, and some very welcome rain fell as well (we think about one inch!!!)  It was much appreciated, and when we woke this morning it was 23 degrees and we found an inch of sleet/snow covering the patio.   I put out more seed for our birds, and they showed up in hungry flocks.

Travel is somewhat hazardous today, so we’re glad Steve and Gail are snug in their spot beside the barn.  (I don’t know what Punxsutawney Phil the groundhog predicted, but Winter has definitely come to Stanford Valley.  We just hope it doesn’t last six more weeks.)The Dixons will be visiting for the next month or so, and you’ll likely see photos of some of our adventures soon. 

And there’s another New Thing in our lives…Bo the border collie officially joined the Bagley Pack on February 1.  Bo spent the previous three weeks with us, making sure he was happy as a member of our pack, and that he and I will work together well herding sheep.  

Bo fitted in with Kota, Rue and Cody very quickly, and proved himself to be a good traveler and a willing and enthusiastic partner on the field.  He will join Cody and me competing at several sheep trials coming up later this year.  Here is a photo of him working sheep at Allen and Kay Mills' place in Goldthwaite.

The dogs were all excited this morning to see the white stuff on the ground.  Kota was disappointed that it wasn’t the soft, fluffy snow like last year, but the border collies had a grand time running and playing in it.

Bo was in high gear as he raced around the yard.

Looks like Cody and Rue were impressed.

Stay tuned for more adventures!