New Show @ PDX Opens 4/4/12

Swaledale Moon

Tomorrow my show, Pastoral opens. It has been a really intense 6 months of work. I had to  juggle training, teaching, family...and some emotional upheavals...but I got it done. And now I feel that post partum feeling.
The only remedy is to get working again.

Wednesday is the reception, which I half dread. My other half, of course, is excited to see so many people I like so much in one space...looking at my work.

My friend Lynn asked me how I felt about the show....and today my answer was that I thought it looked like I had dropped by an elementary school, swept the shelf of projects, signed them and took them to PDX.  This made us both laugh. Swaledale Moon is my favorite.  Below are the felt sculptures.

Stall Work

Autumn Wolf

Irish Terrier

Herding

I'm not sure I have ever experienced anything as magical or as pure as being in the midst of a cloud on a mountain with my dog and 3 sheep. We herd up on a mountain that catches the clouds as they roll in...and clears as they roll out. Luckily! Michele had her camera and got some lovely shots of the day's lesson. Emma and I went into the field first and about an hour later Ike and I went in. You can see the difference clearly.

After last week's high jinx....at least a month with no sheep made the dogs nutso with excitement...this week was wonderfully thoughtful. Back to work. And while both dogs impress me...Emma is amazing right now...she has some primal knowledge of how to do this....More magic.

The Sport of Dogs

I was thinking this weekend...at the dog show.... that this is a sport that all of us who show, in whatever venue, have a role in....and it occurred to me that we can make a CHOICE about that role:  there are leaders (those who have a generous awareness and by example demonstrate good sportsmanship to everyone; managers (those who feel the need to talk about what others are doing wrong.); the workers who work their hearts out to make the events happen; and the solitary players.  All of us have probably been in each of those roles at one point.... and all of us have the power to pick the roles we want to play.

Both Emma and Fergus are really stalling on getting those OB legs....they turn in lovely performances...with one NQ moment...scamps.... This was Longview Kelso at St Helens in August.

Siri

Siri,  Lacewood Bright Star at Kensil has gone to live with Shannalee Michaelsky.....(this is her photograph I've lifted)....hopefully Shannalee will get her CH.   She is Ike's dam.

Emma Herding

FOCUS!

Slowly turning the lens to bring things into focus.... because focus is what I really want. There are so many venues, so many breeds, so many gorgeous puppies within the breeds; it is like a pastry shop and at times I am overwhelmed by desire, dreams, detours...

It occurred to me lately that the people who are achieving what I most want to achieve are doing it one, or at most two, dogs at a time. They are the people who create close, flexible, relationships with their dogs and the evidence is the trail of titles that glitters as they go. They don’t get distracted by the possibilities of every pretty new litter; they are committed to the dogs they have and they don’t have TIME to get distracted.

Yes, I want a CH in front of my dogs’ names...I like the balance of fore and aft, but that is not more important than any of the other titles I want to wear... or can earn with the dogs I have.  Emma has a UCH...and she may never get an AKC CH unless I send her off with a handler...or show 10x as much as I am doing now....

I love the breed ring, but it is the work in the obedience ring and the library and the sheep pen where I feel most challenged and most at home.