Where's Alice?

That's Alice's dog house in the back.
But I can't find Alice.

Oh, there she is!
Can't you see her?

Here.
I'll go in closer...

HI, ALICE!

(The rear view)

New Kids On The Block

WHAT THE...?!

 

Skid Day

I am in Montana for a couple of days while one of our dogs visits a specialist down here.  After dropping him off at the vet this morning, Skid and I had the day to ourselves.
No border collies anywhere.
So for our Mommy and Me activity we decided to follow the trail along the Missouri river.

Skid just wanted to watch the ducks

but what he had forgotten was that an activity with Mom means posing for pictures.

Lots of pictures.

There's no point in fighting it.

SKID!

LOOK AT THE CAMERA!

It's exhausting having to pose all day.

Ode To An Old Collie

My mother's dog Tag was a beautiful and athletic dog.

Nirvana's Taggus McTaggert

My mother had wanted a collie of her own for several years.
She told me she wanted to do agility with him so I figured I better find her a clever one.
I found a breeder who still bred her collies to work sheep and my mother picked out her favorite pup.
Tag was a great herding dog.  He had rare talent for his breed.  Often, I would only take him for a week or two before we tried a new level in competition and he learned so fast that he would always get a new title.

7 month old Tag learning his herding basics

My mother always enjoyed him in agility.
Whenever they qualified, they always came home with a blue or red ribbon.  There was never anything in the middle.  It was all or nothing for Tag and he lived his whole life with gusto.

Tag practicing his agility jumps

Tag's enthusiasm followed into his home life too.  Anytime I came to visit, he barked with joy and ran to get his favorite toy for me to throw.  If you didn't pay attention to his insistent collie barks, he was likely to untie your shoes or steal something you might need.

Tag stealing my father's slipper

We thought he would never slow down, but as he approached the twilight of his life, he didn't run as fast or jump as high and it was time for retirement.  He hated staying behind while my mother took the younger collie out to do the agility he used to do. So she would sometimes take him with her to just fool around when the "serious" dogs were finished with their lessons.
Although he didn't move the same, he still had his sense of humor and a twinkle in his eye.

Still stealing stuff at 12 years old

It happens to all of us who own pets.  They can't stay with us forever and this morning, Tag told my mother he was ready to take his last rest.  He didn't want to be sore and confused anymore, and so with great regret, and many tears, they said goodbye.
It's a good thing my mother's other collie is a certified therapy dog.  She'll need the comfort.

My mother and Tag at 12 years old.

I was hoping I could see Tag one more time when I visited again this fall but I understand.
I'll see you another time, Tag.

Home!

After almost 10 weeks of traveling, we are finally home!
The guardian dogs, who were the only dogs left behind, were very happy to see us.
(Togo cried)

And Poe was eager to show us all that he had destroyed in our absence.
(our bedroom will never be the same)

The grass is as high as an elephants eye,
(well, Queen's eye anyway)

but our hay field is already cut thanks to our neighbor.

 Scott got right to work on the over grown front yard,

and then finished the day on the under worked dogs.

It's good to be back home!

I Ran Away And Joined The Circus

Well, just for the morning anyway.
We are in Wisconsin and the nearby town of Baraboo used to be the winter quarters of Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey's Circus.
I couldn't pass up the opportunity to visit the grounds.
They had a museum of old circus wagons and new ones -
like this one from the movie Water For Elephants.

I'm pretty sure that with all the collies on this poster, that this is actually a picture of our travels.
Isn't Scott quite dapper in his top hat?
Don't I look good up there driving that horse?

Oh, wait!  That isn't me.  We DON'T HAVE any horses.
Maybe I could have this one.
It's small and looks well behaved.

Most of the time anyway.

Or, maybe I could have the real thing?

After watching this next act, I now have a new threat to Skid that if he doesn't behave, I'm going to sell him to the circus.
These dogs were actually working for a living. 
In the heat.
While Skid slept in his air conditioned camper.

Skid could do this.
OK, he might need a little push.

This part didn't impress me. 
Togo is bigger than that Great Dane.
I'd RATHER HAVE A HORSE.

And finally, what's a circus without an elephant act?

Then, all too soon, I was reminded of my responsibilites.

so I went back to attend our dogs.

Meanwhile, Back At The Ranch...

Apparently we are still lambing!

Our favorite ewe, "The Cocker Spaniel", finally decided to grace us with a lamb this year.

Thanks to Amanda for the picture!