Busy few weeks coming.....

[BCSnob]

Next week I’m bringing home an old “friend” from my Father: 1966 Mustang GT fastback. He bought it the fall of my second year in college; it was for sale by a freshman. I had a 1966 coup at that time.

Next weekend we will be taking our RV to a sheepdog trial.
http://leatherstockingsheepdogtrials.com/
Lee and Grant will be running; the other border collies will be watching.

We’re home for Labor Day weekend and the following weekend just me, my wife, and Lee will be driving to CO (without the RV).
https://www.sheepdogfinals.com/
The preliminary round of 150 dogs is Tuesday-Friday. Hopefully we’ll make the top 40 which will run Saturday. I will be helping with a 2 day BAER and dna sample collection clinic in support of the Health and Education Foundation’s (I’m a director) ongoing efforts to identify the causative mutation for early adult onset deafness (onset at 3-7 year old) and building our dna sample database. Renee will also be getting a new puppy from a breeder/competitor coming from MO.

[BCSnob]

I’m talking relative to our previous 16 border collies

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

ROFL!! Mark, you raise *BORDER COLLIES*. Why would this amaze you? 😉

[BCSnob]

We have our hands full with Hattie. Very quick learner; learned sit in less than a day. Learned down the next day and is quickly learning more. She also learned that when one door was closed preventing her into the dining room to go to the other. She wanted into the mud room; jumping at the Dutch door. We turned her out the front door in case she needed to go out and she ran to the back door to get into the mud room.

[BCSnob]

Our preliminary round was late Thursday afternoon. It was windy and dogs were having difficulty hearing the whistles. Lee could not hear and needed my help with difficult sheep. He got frustrated and inappropriately gripped one leading to a DQ. Other dogs were not able to move the sheep from where they were set at the start; Lee brought me the sheep mostly on his own (since he couldn’t hear me). There were many retires and dqs during the time were ran.

[corgi-traveler]

How did you do in CO? A friend was there watching, gave great commentary of a few runs on FB.

[BCSnob]

Lee ran when the wind made it difficult for him to hear my whistles and voice; the sheep were tough and he needed my help. He got frustrated and “gripped off”.

Hattie the new pup is wonderful.

[DOTLDaddy]

BCSnob wrote:
Lee was 4th on Saturday and 1st on Sunday out of 66 dogs each day. We won the long road award (highest combined score for a dog trained by its handler)...

Woohoo . . . . good going! :C

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

Way to go, Mark and Lee!!!

[dturm]

Well done Lee!!!

[BCSnob]

Lee was 4th on Saturday and 1st on Sunday out of 66 dogs each day. We won the long road award (highest combined score for a dog trained by its handler).

His prize money will go towards buying new tires for the van, the ones put on last week made the handling of our rig worse than the worn Michelins

[BCSnob]

A section of the old copper water lines in our house (I’ve replaced some of the old lines) has developed a pin hole leak; so add to my plans replacing some sections of water lines Labor Day weekend. The trick is to replace the leaking section without creating a new leak in another section (like the hot and cold supply lines that run floor to ceiling inside the living room next to the wall).

[RBak]

Good luck and have safe journeys - especially out to Colorado. We were there in early May - our 10th time - and wish we could go back now but my husband is recuperating from a nasty fall he took in July so we're keeping our travels to less than 500 miles. Keep us posted on your runs and how you like it out there. I'm always ready to go back!

Rita

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

Now I feel like a Grandma - I remember Lee when he was born!! Good luck in the finals, and have fun with that Mustang!

[gbopp]

So, what will you do in your spare time :@