Kingston Sheep Dog Trials

August 13, 2012

We spent a wonderful weekend in Kingston, Ontario, watching the Sheep Dog Trials at Grass Creek Park. This year was the 25th anniversary of these trials and also the Canadian National Championships. The competition was excellent, with well-known competitors from all over North America. Of course, home-town hero Amanda Milliken was the one to beat, and many of the 150 entrants gave it a good try. Laurie Cunningham put on a really great show with her dog Matt, as did so many others. And Bev Lambert from our wonderful state of Connecticut did a great job both on the field and doing some commentary.

Here's just a few shots of some of the dogs and their handlers doing their job with the sheep.

Border collie and handler 'dance' with the sheep

Teamwork

The border collie 'eye'

Border collie - sheep face-off

Lori Cunningham and Matt

On Deck

Here's the link to the Kingston Sheep Dog Trials if you want to check out their results.

Winter with no snow

Will doesn't mind no snow

Bare ground at the golf course

Checking out the rebuilt stone wall

Will watches Emma, wondering what keeps her amused

This has been such an unusual winter in the northeast, as in other parts of the country, and the world. For us, we have had only a few inches of snow this year, that has melted within a day or two. The normal amount falls closer to 11 or `12 inches for the months of January and February. I am not complaining! As much as I love snow, I am enjoying our outdoor time this year without it. Last year was a bit much, with record amounts of snow here (about 110 inches total), roofs caving in, ice dams causing flood damage, and just no end of winter. But this year, we're enjoying lots of sunshine, warm temperatures and little snow or rain.

At least it's been cold enough for the ground to be frozen, and easy to walk on. I've even been noticing the earth cracking and drying out with the lack of snow and moisture. I'm afraid for the farmers this year with such little precipitation. It probably means that prices will be higher for lots of our produce and other crops. I would guess it'll be higher prices for gas, too, since it's made with ethanol, which is made from corn, which will be more expensive if the crops are in shortage this year. Will it never end?

Practice with flash photography

I bought the flash for my camera shortly after I purchased my first digital SLR, but never took the time to try it out and get used to the settings and controls. The other day, I had to learn how it worked because I had volunteered to take photos at a meeting the other day, and thought it was wise to do some practice shots to try out the best settings. So what better subjects than two housebound border collies! While I fiddled with the settings, and deciphered the manual (after I finally found it!), Will and Emma settled in nearby in the kitchen. They were not the best at posing, but they didn't run away either, so I had my chance to try fill light and vary the flash settings. The shot of Will with a kind of strange look on his face is my favorite shot from the afternoon. He couldn't figure out why I was just standing at the kitchen island, and kept bringing me frisbees. If I had the camera in my hand, I think he figured it was time to go for a walk, and what do we bring on the walks, but a frisbee!
Emma poses for the camera

Are we done yet?

Will brings in a frisbee Do you want two frisbees? You choose!

Ok, if you won't choose one, I choose this one!

Ok, now what?

Weather Report: Fog

Foggy morning at Tulmeadow Farm

Last week was the first snow of the year, and it came after an afternoon of rain, and was followed by a morning of rain. It was a mess. Not exactly the winter of heavy snow that the farmer's almanac had predicted for the northeast.

Later on Thursday and then again Friday, following the snow/rain mix, came the fog. And with it brought flight delays. Jim had been away all week, and was trying sadly to get home from Houston, via Chicago O'Hare Airport, which can be a nightmare at the best of times. But introduce the least little bit of weather and it becomes delay after delay.

After arriving very late into O'Hare, they actually boarded the plane that was to bring him to Bradley Airport in Hartford. That was 11:30 pm. It amazed me that they hadn't cancelled that flight! They sat on the runway and waited to take off for an hour, then when they finally got to Bradley, the pilot circled three times attempting to find the runway but the fog was too thick, and he could barely see the lights. So off they went to Syracuse! They landed there at 3:20 am, and even though the passengers were told that they would be flown to Bradley, they ended up saying that they had to get a bus! In the end, Jim decided to fly to LaGuardia in New York City instead, where he rented a car and drove himself the two hour drive back to CT.

The joys of business travel!

Emma watches for Will, foggy field in the background

Footprints in the snow - this is all we got! Just enough to leave a footprint.

First Snow at Kerncliffe Park

Snow, finally! Only just a bit, and only up on the mountain in Burlington so far. I went for a walk with the Will and Emma, my sister, Lori and her Springer, Jazz. I think the dogs felt like they were in heaven with the snow in the air and on the ground. What a treat! We went to Kerncliffe Park, where the Bruce Trail winds along the side of the escarpment in north Burlington. It's one of our favorite places to let the dogs run off leash, which they love. Here's just a few shots from the day.

Waiting for Lori and Jazz to arrive

Jazz on the trail

Lori and Jazz take a break

Boxing Day frisbee at the park

Av view of Lake Ontario

Boxing Day Walk

Like most of North America this year, people in our hometown of Burlington, Ontario have been celebrating a green Christmas. There's not a speck of snow in sight. So when we took a walk to Spencer Smith Park, along the shore of Lake Ontario, and came across a pile of snow scraped from the ice rink, Will couldn't believe his eyes. He was so excited that he had to have a good, long roll in it! We know that both Will and Emma love snow, but didn't realize how much they were missing it until we saw his excitement in this little pile. Just like a kid on the first day of snow.

Jim and Emma walk the walk at Spencer Smith Park, a popular place no matter what time of year

Will discovers the snow pile from the ice rink

A roll in the snow - it feels so good!

Is there more snow out there?

Back at Simsbury Farms

Will at the first tee at Simsbury Farms, waiting for Emma to run and play with him

Time to run in the open spaces

Tug-of-war with the frisbee, a favorite pastime.

Will

Emma

Finally, the golf season is at an end (or almost). There is still no snow in Connecticut, but the ground is frozen and the golfers have disappeared from the Simsbury Farms Golf Course. We have been waiting for this day! This is the first week we've been able to go back for our walk around the course, and we are loving it! It's so open, and wonderful to have the space to ourselves, or mostly. There are periodically other dog walkers from the area, and the sounds of the paddle tennis players in the courts alongside the course, but it's wide open for the dogs to run and chase the frisbee.

It is hunting season in Connecticut right now, and we've been trying to avoid the woods at Tulmeadow Farm where we usually enjoy our twice daily walks. They are really out hunting, with either their bow and arrows or their rifles. We usually put the orange vests on the dogs, in hopes that will bring attention to them, but we've been 'scolded' by a hunter for letting the dogs run loose in the woods, because they scare the deer away. I had a long chat with one of the hunters, asking him when are they likely to be in the woods, so we knew when to avoid. He told me they are there mainly a couple of hours after dawn, and a couple hours before sunset, so we tried to walk in the middle of the day. Well, last time I did that, there was a hunter in the woods, and it was 1 pm in the afternoon! So we decided to avoid it altogether during the week. We are free to walk there Sunday, since that is a day that they don't hunt. I guess they take that biblical idea of the 'day of rest' seriously.

Last Sunday, we took advantage of the freedom from gunfire, and took the chainsaw into the woods to clear the trail a bit. On October 30, there was a wicked freak snowstorm in Connecticut, which dumped 13 inches of heavy, wet snow in our area. It fell on the large oaks and other trees, that still were bearing leaves, and it was too much for the trees to handle. The devastation and damage to the tall oaks was unbelievable. Power was out for more than a week, tree crews were here cutting dangerous limbs, and it took Jim and I about 10 days to cut and clear all the fallen branches from out property alone. We had planned to help the Land Trust to clear the trail so it's walkable again, and this was the first chance we had to do that. We can now pass through the trail, and stick to the path. There are still lots of broken limbs dangling from tall tree tops, but we can't get to them to cut them down. Even on our own property, we are hiring someone to do that, since they need to climb the 100 foot tall trees to get to the limbs. The devastation was the worst sight that I've ever seen in terms of damage from a winter storm. It took the FEMA funded trucks about 3 weeks to go through the town just picking up the branches and tree debris from curbside. It's clear now, ready for a real winter snow storm!

So needless to say, we are very happy that the golf course is available now, since hunting season goes until the end of December and we know they won't be on the golf course!