End of an Era

You know, as life goes on, things change. It's inevitable. Comfortable things fade into the past, and new, and at first, scary things appear on the horizon. Change isn't my favorite thing, and it takes me a long time to accept it, but once I do, I am as they say "cool with it".

When I started herding with Lucy when she was just a pup, it was just amazing. I took to this activity like a fish to water. I would spend time chatting with others on discussion groups. I would think about the next time I could work my dog.

Lucy and I learned a lot, and one person comes to mind as a mentor who really stood out. I learned so much from them. I would go, work dogs, watch them work dogs, and generally I learned more than I ever thought I could.

As time wore on, I spent less time with my original mentor and branched out a bit. I went to clinics, and lessons and worked alone a lot more.

Soon the drives to lessons were becoming onerous. The whole day was shot. And, maybe I got a little bit less fun out of the sheep working time. I started to become a bit of a drain in my mentors. The term "wear out your welcome" came to my mind a lot. Nothing was said, but over time, it became clear, that I needed to grow my own gig. It had been several years, and now, I needed to go to the next level.

I had had sheep on rented property for just a few weeks when Lucy was not quite two, but the sheep were terrible, and the rent was too high, so I sold them.

I then acquired Danny. Danny, my first Border Collie. Boy, that was an eye opener. I thought a Border Collie would be so easy, compared to Lucy.. Wrong. Danny was extremely hard to start, and had a lot of tension. Still, I made the drive to work him and my mentors really really helped me a lot. But, the nagging feeling of being a pain in the butt to my mentors, really hung on.

So, knowing that I could not afford my own property (and I did not want to buy anything, being that my house is not far from being paid for), I brought up the notion of keeping sheep at my brother's place. To my surprise, he was all for it.

Still though, I had to make the big step of buying the fencing. That was NOT cheap. One day, I saw the fence I wanted on sale at Tractor Supply. That was the sign I needed.

And, so began the next chapter in my life. I got some nice Border Leicester ewes, and later this year added some Border Cheviot ewe lambs.

Life has pretty much been all about the sheep now. Not so much the dog training. I probably shouldn't put it like that, for I have worked my dogs, and Danny has come so far, it's pretty amazing. But, now that I have my own deal, there is no longer the concern about IF I can work my dogs, but rather, when I would like to. I no longer feel like I am pushing myself on others, and I am so much more relaxed working my dogs, because I have lots more time in the day to work dogs AND do other things.

It was time. Some people never really grow out of that neediness. They remain helpless, and never really progress to autonomy, and if you know me at all, you know that is my middle name.

Really good things are happening, and I have a plan for breeding my sheep, and producing some nice mule lines next fall. I have learned hard lessons, about hay for one (it is REALLY expensive, and my sheep don't eat the cheap stuff). And, I want to find someone to feed my sheep in the mornings, as I hate making them wait until afternoons, but other than that, it's all good.

Now, I can be of service to others. My mentors- maybe they can buy some sheep from me at a reduced rate, or maybe I can have them over to give lessons. I am definitely going to return the favor, as that is what life is all about.

There is no way on earth I can thank my mentors enough for what they have done. I will always be grateful.

So, one chapter has closed and another opened. It's good. It's ALL good.