There are blissfully unaware of how they stand out in a crowd.
The flock had just moved into a new pasture when this photo was taken. The pastures looks a little bleak and they are, however, there are greens lying close to the earth and hidden by all the dying tall grass.
Unfortunately, or maybe it is fortunate from his point of view, this fellow has become a farm dog rather than a guardian dog. Over two years of time and effort toward making him a guardian dog and I have to concede that he won’t be the flock dog we need. He is active at night, and I hear his barking way off in the distance, most often in the direction the sheep are located. I trust he’s serving some purpose in that regard, even if he’s not sitting with the sheep at all times. On some mornings he is out with the flock but on most mornings he’s waiting for the Kelpies and I and he joins us on our daily walks now.
The alpha pair of livestock guardian dogs have taken it upon themselves to carry the work load so I know part of this youngsters failing to stay with the flock is due to not being allowed to be with them. Another part of his failing is due to his nature and his lack of bonding with the sheep when he was a wee pup. Sometimes dogs can also slip through the cracks and not get what they need when they need it. Since selling dogs seems to be a permanent hardship for me, he’ll likely stay around for awhile which will be both an ease and a frustration.
It has been awhile and every time I let this blog slip through the cracks it’s that much harder to start up again. Believing I have any ability to write words worth reading has always been the toughest for me to grasp.
I’ve been meaning to get a blog post up this summer though and the recent discouragement with social media has spurred me on. Social media apps all seem to be moving toward video content so those of us who enjoy photography, who take pride in capturing a notable still image, are left out in the cold. With a barrage of quick video taking over the apps it all feels rather chaotic out there. But blogs are still one place where the speed of life slows down instead of ramping up. I am reminded to stay beyond the rat race and if I can invite you to do the same for a minute, that seems worth it.
Aside from this social media frustration the year so far has been a sleepy one. The flock is smaller and the day to day tasks are light. With fewer ewes there are less frequent moves to new pastures and keeping up with the water station is the largest task of any given week. Allen is away much of the time so the larger two man projects we might accomplish in the warm season are on hold.
And the guardian dogs? There are fewer of them here now with the passing of a couple of the elder dogs this past year. Lily and Hawkeye are the pair stationed with the flock and they have taken on a new mission to drive the pair of younger dogs off. One of these younger dogs is the black Kangal cross and I’ve had to concede he’s not going to measure up to being the flock dog I need anyway. He’s become rather fond of the Kelpies and I, and of being a good ole farm dog. The other outlier is Birdie, my female Maremma. Not being allowed to stay with the sheep she’s just not sure what she should be doing. Then there is the senior Anatolian Shepherd and he resides with a handful of bottle lambs and dogging sheep, content as can be but becoming more and more fragile with each passing month.
The stock dog crew remains the same although they are also an aging group of dogs with the youngest coming in at five years and the oldest sleeping away the days at thirteen years of age. I have not added any dogs (stock dogs or guardians) and I have little desire to do so again because the appeal for new dogs seems to have left me along with the appeal for any more sheep. Yet I sense the time for a new guardian pup is coming and I must get my head around to the idea. It is that or I sell more ewes and downsize again to a tidy fibre flock that does not require as many canines looking after it.
