We have had a busy and fun year. We are continuing to go to many dog events but have diversified a little. More on that later. I decided this year to do an email Christmas card.
Most people are now connected and computer savvy enough to be able to get this message.
Dan and I are doing well.
I am continuing to work at the Portage County Home three days a week. Even with all the other days off, I find I am still busy.
I am the Agility Trial Chair for the Wisconsin Rapids KC trials. We have a set of 3 day trials in March and September which are held at Camp Bandy. Actually we have about 8 different groups that use this facility but we all work as one. It is a really neat group of people who have just blended together to make it all work out. It is especially nice for us since we have to travel less and less. I have been again doing my dog agility seminars. I had a total of 5 days of seminars. These are fun to do and I get to work with quite the variety of dogs.
I am also the Co-Chair for our upcoming Herding trial at Camp Bandy. This has been a true learning experience for me as well. My Co-Chair is Cheryl Leatherman who has a Border Collie by the name of Cooper. Cheryl is more versed in the sheep herding department as she has her own sheep. I am taking lessons from both Cheryl and Caroline Weil. I will have to say that learning something new like this is very hard. I have trouble reading what the sheep are thinking, trying to watch the dog, and also trying to not get run over by some big dumb fluffy animals. Yikes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am only doing herding with Chica. My friend Laurie Bandy works with Ariba as she works at warp speed and I am not able to process all of this information fast enough to save my life and my knees. I am not interested in orthopedic surgery quite yet.
I continue to teach classes at Camp Bandy in Amherst Junction. I have been doing this for almost 8 years now. I teach class every Wed. We used to have just 2 classes but with the longevity of the TeamBrick group we are now on our second generation of dogs to work in agility so a Puppy Class was created. Most of the pups are now at least 2 years old but we continue with this class as we continue to fine tune their skills.
I had given up the job of being a Union Steward about 2 years ago for the County Home… but somehow got this job back.
I have really been getting back into Photography which was a hobby of my past. I have gotten many great photos. Thanks Dan for getting me a camera for Christmas last year.
Here are some of my photos.
Dan has been enjoying not working. He has been busy with learning a computer program and how to use it and how to make different programs work. This is way above my learning curve. I am just happy to know how to do my web site. He has also kept busy reading books. Cooking great meals. Taking the dogs for their daily hour walk in the morning. He buys lottery tickets but has not won anything big. I told him he should put them in my name….cuz I tend to be rather lucky. Won a raffle drawing at the last trial for a 25.00 gas card.
Daniel’s story is short because he is not into creative writing.
Misha has been doing really well. She is now 13.7 yrs. old. Misha was retired from active agility competition on 9-23-07. She ran her last run in style and took a First Place which was her norm in her agility career. We had the good fortune to finish our last run in the sparkly jacket provided by Becky Barr. Misha has always exceeded my expectations! She was almost 13.5 years old when she was retired which in itself is a phenomenal accomplishment! Most dogs retire much earlier….most of them around 10 years old. One of her great talents is that she loves to sing. I enjoy this so much as she has a wonderful voice. You can watch her video of singing at: http://www.nightflightbordercollie.com/misha.html Click on her howling picture.
Ariba is now 9.4 yrs. old. She has been excelling at agility. Ariba is listed in the Top 5 Border Collies in the Nation for the period up to Nov. 15th that relates to the AKC Invitational event. That is truly a phenomenal accomplishment because there are many Border Collies that dominate showing in agility. Besides agility, Ariba has been doing some herding. Laurie Bandy handled her to her second Herding Started leg. There are hopes that Ariba can pick up that last leg sometime next year.
Chica is now 2.2 years old. She is a very grown up dog for her years. Chica made her debut in agility at the WRKC Sept. trial this year. She is showing great promise and potential just like her mother. She easily garnered her Excellent titles in just 12 days of showing. This is a really great accomplishment. Even better was that her first Jumpers run in Excellent was the fastest time of all the Excellent dogs run. Wow!!!
Chica is a natural when it comes to sheep herding. She reads the sheep so much better than I do. It is this innate natural ability that has kept me interested in herding. It is hard for me to be green at something. J But Chica has taken it all in stride. I am lucky to have such great herding mentors of Caroline Weil, Laurie Bandy and Cheryl Leatherman to guide me on this journey. Chica finished her Pre-Trial Herding Test this fall. With some more training we should be able to finish another herding title next year. For a look at Chica herding go to: http://www.nightflightbordercollie.com/queenguinevere.htm
Then scroll down to the picture of the Border Collie and the sheep. She has such an astute knowledge of what she is doing…unfortunately I have less sheep talent than she does.
Chica finished her Tracking Dog Excellent title this fall as well. This is quite the elusive title as the usual pass rate is about 17%. Chica's TDX test was the third one she was entered in and she was drawn for track #3. Our tracklayer as had a dog by the name of Chica. How unusual.
So this is the Merry Christmas letter that is a little unconventional. Hope all of you are doing well. Wish to hear from all of you with your current life’s adventures.
Merry Christmas.
Cindy, Dan, Misha, Ariba and Chica.