Minimal Monday - Even More Random Pictures

Togo - always on guard

Our lake this morning

Hemp works sheep on a dark day

Harvest moon

Togo "watching"

Brother From Another Mother

Scott's daughter, Jessie, came out to the farm last week and brought over her new dog, Chico.
Jessie has just moved into a new house and decided that no home is complete without a dog. So she rescued Chico from the local pound.This makes him Skid's new step brother.
When they met, it was brotherly love at first sight.
They played,and played,and played.Skid can't wait for him to visit again!

Whoop Up Days!

Every year, Lethbridge (the closest "large" town to us) hosts Whoop Up Days which is like a mini Calgary Stampede.
It kicks off with a parade that is perfect for socializing the current puppy in the kennel.
This year it was Bliss' turn.
I decided to bring Jed along as support because nothing ever scares him.Bliss was very good and made friends. There were lots of equestrian entriesbut we enjoyed seeing our friends from Go Dog Go! dog sports the best.
Jane led the group in case something needed killin' she'd get it first,and Amanda and her corgi's Wicca and Pixel just enjoyed themselves.Jed enjoyed all the floats,but this one was his favorite.As an adopted Canadian, my favorite part was the Mounties.It was a big day for a little puppy and by the time it was all over there was nothing left to do except take a nap.

Minimal Monday - Random Pictures

Hangin' With The Big Dogs

A few weeks ago, when I was traveling in Northern Alberta, a couple friends and I got an invite to visit Louise Liebenberg at her farm The Grazerie and meet her guardian dogs.Louise shares my fascination with them and when she lived in Europe, she started breeding Sarplaninac, which is the same breed as Togo's mother.
Because Sarplaninac bloodlines are rare in North America, Louise is still importing pups. Her most recent baby, Katcha, came all the way from the Czech Republic and is just starting her training. Louise has a wealth of information and was likely exhausted by the time I left because I quizzed her mercilessly in order to learn as much as I could.
Her tour around the farm was like a timeline in a young guardian dog's life. After they are a little older than Katcha, they will often go into a pen with yearling lambs and an older dog to keep them in line.
Fena keeps an eye on pup, Bear, to make sure he doesn't get too rough with the sheep.Does he remind you of anyone?After visiting the "nursery" we headed out to the main flock to check out Snow and Storm, two pups that are the same age as Togo. They were being supervised by their father, Beli, just to make sure they didn't make any mistakes.Beli is the king of the farm and knows exactly what to do to defend his flock, be it from, wolves, coyotes and even bears. All of which are real threats in the area they live in.
I had a wonderful visit and I thank Louise for being so helpful with her information.Love me those big fluffy workin' dogs!

Minimal Monday : Lessons From A Sunflower

Even if it's raining and the skies are greykeep reaching for the sun

Raining Cats and Dogs

It has rained all day today. Really. ALL Day.
It didn't stop Salem from sneaking outside though.
However, after a few hours, I walked past my dining room hallway and saw this:

Wonder what he wants?Wish I spoke cat.Poe? Any ideas on what he wants from me?All right. Just kidding!Tee-hee hee!