Kinloch Farm Blog

December 19, 2007: Shepherd's Crooks and Irish Shamrocks
Another eventful week for us. On Saturday we skipped off to a nursery trial near Annan. This was the first nursery trial we have been able to attend, as work commitments, injured dogs, or weather have conspired against us until now.

The day was cold with a hard frost overnight. But, the sun came out and as lunchtime fast approached, it was warm enough to get out of the car. The greetings from other participants and spectators was very warm indeed. The field used for this trial was compact with a few wee bumps. The outrun was about 300 yards with sheep being set out at the top of a wee 'bump.' The sheep were kind! Boyd Mundell, Bob Malcolm, Alistair Mundell, Joe McRobert, Gilbert Marshall and Wullie Todd battled it out for top six placings with some terrific runs. Angie and Roy, running in their first nursery did not disgrace themselves (completely) with an 8th placing overall (and, yes, there were more than 8 competitors!). George Smithson did the judging honours, and what a terrific job he did too. For those who don't know George - he is quite the character. A very good handler in his own right, George is perhaps more famous for his crook making abilities (among other things!). We each have a crook made by George and he has been kind enough to spend an afternoon sharing his trade secrets by showing us how he makes crooks. He is a genuinely nice 'gentleman' with a wicked sense of humour as well.

On Sunday we (including all the dogs) darted off to Ireland for a wee 'Christmas' holiday with our very good friends, John and Edith. We first met John and Edith two and a half years ago when we purchased our first dogs and attended a clinic together. As we plodded around a training field completely clueless and with 7 left feet (each), John was doing a darned good job of showing us 'how it should be done.' While at the time we lived thousands of miles apart, and we could barely understand each others' accents, we were united by some common threads...a love of border collies, a good sense of humour, Guinness beer, and Baileys Irish cream - not necessarily in that order! Of course we partook in all of these things on this visit.

All of our daylight hours were spent outside with a plethora of dogs and sheep. Between John, his brother, Joe, and us, we had something like 15 dogs to play around with. What fun we had...although perhaps the sheep thought it was overkill. When it got too dark to see sheep, we sat around a toasty warm fire laughing and teasing each other. Because John forgot to tell us we were actually invited for Christmas dinner (as in the meal eaten on Christmas Day), we had to ad lib and cook a New Zealand-style Christmas dinner a week ahead of schedule (OK, we confess, it was Scottish lamb that we inadvertently smuggled into Ireland!). Who was to know that an invite to come visit at Christmas time actually meant come for dinner on Christmas Day? I think something got lost in the translation but, ah well, although our visit was a week earlier than it should have been, it was no less fun.

It would be an under-exaggeration to say we had a terrific time. There can be no better moments in life than to sit around a warm fire with the best of friends swapping stories and laughing from the depths of one's soul. But the best moment came when John disappeared and came back with a brand new crook for each of us. He and Edith had a crook made especially for us...with an Irish shamrock on it (Shamrocks are said to bring good luck), engraved with our names, and perfectly sized and weighted for us. Oh my goodness! We were gobsmacked, dumbfounded and, well, words cannot describe how we both feel to have received such a treasured gift. The crooks could not be more perfect. What another magnificent Christmas season we are having ...but not because John and Edith have given us each a wonderful crook as a gift, but because they have given us and continue to give us the gift of their friendship. We surely must be among the luckiest people on this planet...and now we each have an Irish shamrock as well. Thanks John and Edith.

Merry Christmas to all those who celebrate the season. We hope you, too, are blessed with good friends and family and special moments.

Archives:

September 4, 2007: Blackies go to the Beauty Salon

August 25, 2007: Sheep Spa and Nationals

August 14, 2007: Roy goes Gathering for the First Time

August 7, 2007 Foot and Mouth Scare

August 3, 2007 Country bumpkins go to London

July 28, 2007 Whales and Wales

July 21, 2007 Blood sampling ewes.

July 16, 2007 A week of gathering sheep