Working & hiking without Taz

I actually worked Craig today! We worked sheep for the first time since we got back from Canada—for all of half an hour. This winter has been tough for us, and we just haven't been able to get out. (I really, REALLY, need my own sheep...) It was freezing cold with a horrible whipping wind. We had an okay session, I guess. I'm actually surprised it went as well as it did, given it's been nearly a month since I've worked a dog (I actually had to think about which side was come bye and which was away to me when we were driving). I wanted to work on squaring Craig's flanks and thought I could practice what I learned with Scott, but things didn't go quite according to plan. For one thing, I had a hard time transitioning from sending him to driving with him. We were working in the arena, and the various draws were quite strong for the sheep, so Cathy suggested we just work on counteracting the draws and moving slowly on a line, instead of being sucked in by the sheep. Despite the long period of inactivity, after a rough start we did get a nice flow going by the end of the session.

So, without the opportunity to do much stockwork lately, we've been spending time hiking a bit. Last weekend, a couple of friends and I explored the South Boulder Creek trail. I took a few photos...

Three people, five border collies, and one Sophiedawg

It was very pretty!

Sophie (my other dog, who thinks she deserves a mention here every once in a while)

Craigor MacGregor (who is very happy Taz is finally out of the house—more attention for him!)

What good lookin' dogs!

Taz's sister Sage (left) and uncle Ben

A good time was had by all, but of course we missed Taz. But I've gotten some tidbits on how he's doing, and tomorrow I'll write a little update :)