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.
I appreciate being able to come here for your stunning photographs, as well as the news of your flocks and canines. The move to video (reels) on Instagram saddens me. I definitely prefer the still photographs which give me a moment to pause and reflect. Thank you for this post. It’s a breath of fresh air in my day. And thank you for your words — they enhance the pictures with a better understanding of what the visual might be saying.
Bless you for writing this Amy. The struggle and sadness with Instagram is real and as another fan of the still photograph it is a great disappointment to have them be shelved and not even shown because of an algorithm. I am immensely grateful to know there are a few people who check in with blogs and my spirit is lifted considerably to see your comment here. The move by Instagram is what returned me to this blog and I figured it would be just me and the crickets. Thank you for helping me see otherwise.