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Joy is in Process

Australian Kelpie stock dogs

The other day I took Coyote Mic around back to bring wether lambs into the building. I returned to the house, put Mic inside and took BlackJack and Copo out. BlackJack and I worked the lambs inside the building until they settled a bit. Then I swapped dogs again and did some training on Copo, the greenhorn. Using the experienced dog to bring training lambs in, working the semi-experienced dog to settle the training lambs, and then working the greenhorn dog, just means one has too many dogs.

I recall having to move the first hundred odd sheep and using my first border collie to do so. Oh, how little we knew and how elated we were at the try. Every accomplishment we had with that first flock was a small miracle because when we stepped out to do it we didn’t know how these things got done. There was no experienced dog to use, nor any experienced handler, nor any experienced sheep for that matter. We didn’t know what we didn’t know and the mere try was success. And amazingly, within that unknowing was the joy of the process. And even if we didn’t manage to get the particular task done or it went all the way south, we always ended up where we needed to be.

Fast forward several years; when I work the dogs I find myself regularly doing a mental check up, not necessarily looking for anything joyful but looking for meaning, value and understanding, all of which equates to a sense of well being, a sense of internal joy – for them and for me. When working that first dog I wasn’t aware enough to recognize that finding joy in the process was something to strive for. Nowadays we’re all looking for it, needing to be reminded to slow down enough to be able to enjoy the process.

I hope this post serves as one reminder for today.

livestock guardian dog

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On Warmer Days

livestock guardian dog

On warmer days Oakley finds a place on higher ground; the flock is just over our shoulder feeding on hay.

On warmer days I sit and watch him watch, being there but not with him. A small moment of life well enjoyed by both of us I think. I love watching the dogs in this way of not being together all the time. Such moments are everything and more to me because of the intangible gift they give and I always breath a little lighter afterward.

Winter season in saskatchewan gets a pretty bad rap because it is so brutally cold but it is also brutally beautiful.

sun dog prairie scene

I catch myself stewing about the sheep and dogs, wondering if they are bedded well enough and did they stay out the wind or did they move. Has the wind changed direction again. Allen repeatedly assures me they are fine. How quickly I forget how often all the critters have handled each season for what it is.

Recently the yearlings have really taken to playing, especially on the warmer days, and thus give me a regular reminder.

sheep at play

Last evening I watched them race up and down a hill, bucking and kicking just like young lambs do during lambing time. To see them acting so freely tells me Allen is right, they are doing just fine and taking the cold as it comes because that is what they know to do. Witnessing them adjust so readily makes me thankful to be raising sheep.

sheep at play
sheep at play

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Studio News

The last half year has been a dive in and go deep journey and while I have been writing about some of those deep topics there are several wonderful and light things occurring that have not been shared here with you yet.

I’ve been staying busy with creating artwork and keeping up with social media on that front. It’s a new ball game for me and I’m still figuring out how to manage the pace of regular posting on social media.

fibre artwork livestock guardian dogs
Patrolling Pair, 36 x 22 inches, Not for sale at this time
fibre artwork flock of sheep
First Warm Day 24 x 30 inches, $550

The prairie, the flock of sheep, the stock dogs, the guardian dogs – each one so closely connected to the well being of the other and each one so much a part of the whole of my land and livestock life I do not see one without the other. If I had to choose one subject for the artwork though it might just be the livestock guardian dogs. Thankfully I don’t have to make the choice.

Early on the year an interview article about our place landed in Sheep Canada Magazine. The writer, Stuart Chutter, did a very generous job of portraying our place and taking tidbits from my previous blog to give it a real personal spin. This issue also marks the third time a photo of mine makes the cover of this magazine. I am so pleased with that. You can read the article by following the Sheep Canada link above.

I am once again organizing the fibre showcase for the provincial sheep show which is a national event this year as it’s Saskatchewan’s turn to host the Canadian Classic Sheep Show. The fibre showcase is not a large affair but oddly enough this is a tough event to organize and promote. Fibre fans are reluctant to step out to a sheep show without knowing there is ample public traffic and support for their wares, and sheep producers in this province remain reluctant to embrace the meaning and value of fibre even though it is something they produce. Marrying the two fractions is a hard sell. Nonetheless I will set up a table this year because I feel it is important to showcase fibre, particularly at a national sheep event.

I’ve also applied for a vendor spot at the second annual Biggar Fibre Fair, and I’ve registered to be a participant in the local Studio Trail Art Event. All three events take place across the months of June/July. Given May/June will be swamped with lambing I’m trying to get prepared ahead of time.

I have also fulfilled a couple recent commission requests and finally tackled the long job of building/updating the artwork page into a respectable gallery of images. The photography page is underway and will be added to as new photos emerge. It has indeed been a creative, dive in kind of year thus far.

fibre artwork
Finding Our Flow, 36 x 12 inches, Commissioned Work
fibre artwork
Karrawarra Roo, 26 x 13 inches, Commissioned Work

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