This Didn't Happen To Me - Thank God

So today, with all the rain, I would say it is quite nipply. Speaking about nipples, my friend relayed this story to me - look out for those fences!

"So the other day I thought I would put on my push up and divide bra, you know improve the silohette, well was that ever a bad idea when you have to work with electric fence!!!! I needed to lean over some farm fence to unhook the power. Well to my dismay the power was touching the farm fence and guess what touched the fence. Yes, I nearly fried my nipples off. Who really cares if your boobs are pushed up and divided hey. I had a few laughs after caressing my boobs for a minute or two. Man that hurt. Fried Nipples Naomi"

Wonder if it would be the same effect on fake boobs? Sounds like an episode for Mythbusters.

Winds of War - Part 2

Well, after the completion of the Big One, we all moved south to go to Joni Swanke's for the Slash J trial. The morning of the trial, we saw the Big One as a far away memory.

The set out people were made of mostly of those who stayed at Joni's house. I stayed in the chalet (aka dog kennel). Sheep were set by horse, and mornings were early...very early.

It didn't take long for a program to work out, Tom had twisted his ankle helping Jim (Notso) Swift pull out his camper out of the field after have gotten stuck, so that ended Tom's job as cowboy. The likes of Amanda, Joni, Mindy, Terri and myself had to fill into his very large boots.


After we ran our dogs on the (once again) challenging field, we would go up on top to help.

Most of us would catch some shut eye anywhere we could get it.

There was one blistering hot day, and North Dakota looked like the beaches of Mexico. All that was missing was the Mexican Midgets.

Like all trials, we brought out the new dogs to get accustomed to the trial atmosphere. Louanne's Joe will possibly run nursery in 2013. The Chihuahua Stakes.

Gin made sure her youngsters toed the line. Ty tried his best not to.

One day he will learn.

After burning the tips of my ears, I went shopping for a hat. Who could think $1.00 could buy such a fashionable statement.

Fly, even though she has been retired, was determine to help each and every handler with their run.

Speaking about fashion, the illlustrious USBCHA President Herbert Holmes showed off his new spring line in the way of man purses.

The night before the double lift, we had a sing-a-long. Some sang along, some thought they sang along.

Our food court was always ready with food-Amanda's Ristorante!

Every day it was watching the dogs, visiting with friends from all corners of North America.

Even the dogs watched.

Our eyes judged every run. Barbara Ray the real judge could have slept, we could have done her job for her.

Even Creed judged the runs.

And the Zoerb dogs scribed.

Gin and I with 14 other teams got to play in the double lift. I made sure I wore my lucky hat.

Allison Holmes had a prettier lucky hat than me.

Denis Gellings had a real lucky hat - he was one of the few who successfully penned.

In the end, the Amazing Amanda walked away with the gold plate (okay, really it was nice pottery).

The sheep were not sad to see us go, but little did they know they had a date with Aled Owen the next few days. They probably counted dogs at night to fall asleep.

Stay tuned next time, when the next episode visits Moses, as the parting of the waters occur. Holy Moses.

Dog Trialing In North Dakota aka Winds of War

Okay, I searched for the pictures of the Bluegrass trip - but I can't find the photo-chip-thing-a-ma-jig that I took out of my camera - I have a sneaking suspicion I may have thrown it out. At least there is no evidence.

So.....we will begin the slide show with the North Dakota trip.

They take speeding very seriously in North Dakota, and speed traps are everywhere. However, the fake police car takes the prize. I still slow down to a crawl when I pass this thing every time. Funny though, on the way back through the car was gone - maybe it was taken in for a tune up.
So, the trial started with the Big One, just north of Bowman at the Kerr Ranch. It is a massive bute, and a real challenge to the dogs and handlers.
They came from far and wide, Georgia, North Carolina, Ontario, Virginia....

....Alberta, Saskatchewan,....


...and the metropolis of Neville, Saskatchewan. Mayor Winters made a special appearance.

Louanne and Craig did good things at the Big One, and Craig learned to keep well off of the crazy ewes.

The setting was done by horseback and dog. It was a wonder they didn't get blown off by the winds that were blowing.

Creed found his sheep on the bute.

It was not all dog trialing of course, we held a homemaker's meeting and many women were in attendance.

There were warm days occasionally...well, maybe not to the standards of some, but I dug out my shorts out.

Lisa Wright (notice no hands in pocket), and Kate managed to tame the beasts.

Louanne's Craig also managed to tame these shrews.

After the end of the Big One, in which many of us bit the big one, we headed off to Joni Swanke's place for the Slash J. Stay tuned for the ongoing saga of .....

Winds Of War.

Back From Travels

Well, it was an eventful time the last two weeks - and since I had to quickly travel back to work, I have not had time to put up any pictures yet. It may look I have lost my little blue chip containing the Bluegrass trip - and really I did go - maybe I will find it when I clean out Dora (the Explorer). The travel started with the Big One in Bowman - I got in just as they were finishing the first few who ran the first night - I had a chance to run on that day, but decided not to. Stupid me - with the wind in the back, it turned out to be the best day to run. The wind decided to turn 180 degrees and blow right into your face. Hearing was a feat to say the least. It is a really good test of your dog's ability, the sheep can be challenging, and the supper the Kerrs put on is to die for. Then it was off to Joni Swanke's trial (Bowman Classic) - once again the wind blew, but there was one day I could put on the shorts. I worked like a rented mule for the trial, since Joni let me stay in the dog kennel. Wake up was 5 am every morning, with the clanking of the dog dishes (the dogs played with the dishes). In the end, Gin got in the double lift, and finished fairly well. Canadians in total did quite well - on one day, out of the 9 payouts, the Canadians took 6 paying spots. Room to improve I guess. After the trial, I made it home - that is the new home - in Mankota, Saskatchewan. A post office box was obtained in McCord - mostly because of the huge library that is in the town (okay, the library consists of a single book rack, but the selection is to die for). I have to say, Chris did a good job in choosing the location - I hadn't seen the place before, and it it fantastic. Granted, it is a year in which there has been a lot of rain, and the green grass is plentiful. We are right against the US border, and will likely be smuggling in Mexican Midgets in the near future for my nephew. It was a good opportunity to work the dogs on the cows, since we had to brand. The cows got worked, and the calves got branded with the help of our new neighbors. A job at the local vet clinic was found in Mankota, and a new phone number (yes there are phones) was obtained. Don't try to call our cells though - there is no service at all. Smoke signals may work however. Coming home, was a slight fiasco - it had rained a little, and I decided to try the unimproved road for a short cut - smooth move Exlax - it was Mankota Mud Bog at it's best. I do believe I have about 30 pounds of extra soil on my vehicle, and a huge shudder of the vehicle when the odometer went to 98km/hour. Needless to say, it was a very long ride back home and to work. After 10 hours of sleep, I feel much better. I must start resting up for my next adventure.