A few weeks after Peter came home we went to a farm to play with some sheep and meet the farmer who works dogs and gave us a lesson – his name is Jim Luce. It is at a place called Bungonia which is somewhere near Marulan, the other side of Gouburn about 90 minutes away. It was fun.
We had a wonderful time at the farm– although Ailsa complained about the drive because we had over 30k of dirt road which was full of pot holes and it had been foggy and raining was very slippy. We came home a different way and got lost in the dark as well. Eventually, though, we got home safely which was good because we were both tired and hungry and went to bed as soon as we had had dinner.
Jim is a really nice man and he liked me – he said I was wasted as a canine companion and should have been a farm dog because I work my sheep very nicely. Ailsa pointed out to me that farm dogs do not get roast chicken for dinner, long car rides, or to sleep on a soft bed in front of the heater and said she cannot manage without me though so I am going to stay with her. Best thing of all was that he said we could have private lessons if we wanted so when Ailsa has a free day we can go out just the two of us and have fun with his sheep. She is a bit busy at the moment trying to earn enough money to pay for that tooth but as soon as I see a free day I am going to push for a trip to Bungonia to see Jim. He and his wife are moving soon because the owners have sold their farm to subdivide it so he and his wife are retiring to their own place near Cowra and he says we can go and see him there as well.
Two weeks later we went to another new farm at Michelago on the way to the Snowy Mountains for a sheepdog school with Robert and the sheep. All the people were complaining about it being cold, especially yesterday, but it must have been at least 4 degrees and it was not snowing so I don’t know what they were complaining about – nothing to stop them putting on some more clothing and I had nothing but my fur. I like it down there because apart from the sheep there are also Harry and Lucinda who live on the farm and are my friends. They are about the same age as me and we all like to play and I got to give them both a good licking.
We had lots of fun with the sheep – Robert let them out of the pen and when he and Ailsa followed them I could not see why because there were a lot of fresh ones in the next field so I stayed in the pen and waited for them to come to their senses and come back and get new ones. Then it happened, Ailsa was walking backwards up the hill and she tripped over an old tree root and fell backwards. I rushed up to see if she was OK but she was surrounded by sheep so I told them to back off. Once I was sure she was OK I made it pretty clear that I thought she was wasting good sheep time and should get up and get on with it, so she did although she complained about having lots of bruises on her back for the rest of the weekend. I did not laugh because I am aware she is getting old and if she hurts herself who is going to look after her? I often worry about not having an opposable thumb – life would be so much easier with one. She has a badly bruised back, very badly bruised dignity and pride and a bad headache from banging her head on the frozen ground - she is hoping none of these injuries is serious or long term. She really should be more careful at her age. Without an opposable thumb there is a limit to what I can do to look after her no matter how much I love her.
Imagine my surprise when on Sunday they let the sheep out again when there were perfectly good ones waiting for us – what do they think I am? Do they think I have nothing better to do than chase some tired sheep back down the mountain when we already have some fresh ones waiting? Anyway, Robert let me bring some fresh ones into our pen and then I gave them a good working and he encouraged me to take them backwards and forwards between the two pens so Ailsa could practice working the gates. It must be quite complex because she needed a lot of practice.
We had a wonderful time at the farm– although Ailsa complained about the drive because we had over 30k of dirt road which was full of pot holes and it had been foggy and raining was very slippy. We came home a different way and got lost in the dark as well. Eventually, though, we got home safely which was good because we were both tired and hungry and went to bed as soon as we had had dinner.
Jim is a really nice man and he liked me – he said I was wasted as a canine companion and should have been a farm dog because I work my sheep very nicely. Ailsa pointed out to me that farm dogs do not get roast chicken for dinner, long car rides, or to sleep on a soft bed in front of the heater and said she cannot manage without me though so I am going to stay with her. Best thing of all was that he said we could have private lessons if we wanted so when Ailsa has a free day we can go out just the two of us and have fun with his sheep. She is a bit busy at the moment trying to earn enough money to pay for that tooth but as soon as I see a free day I am going to push for a trip to Bungonia to see Jim. He and his wife are moving soon because the owners have sold their farm to subdivide it so he and his wife are retiring to their own place near Cowra and he says we can go and see him there as well.
Two weeks later we went to another new farm at Michelago on the way to the Snowy Mountains for a sheepdog school with Robert and the sheep. All the people were complaining about it being cold, especially yesterday, but it must have been at least 4 degrees and it was not snowing so I don’t know what they were complaining about – nothing to stop them putting on some more clothing and I had nothing but my fur. I like it down there because apart from the sheep there are also Harry and Lucinda who live on the farm and are my friends. They are about the same age as me and we all like to play and I got to give them both a good licking.
We had lots of fun with the sheep – Robert let them out of the pen and when he and Ailsa followed them I could not see why because there were a lot of fresh ones in the next field so I stayed in the pen and waited for them to come to their senses and come back and get new ones. Then it happened, Ailsa was walking backwards up the hill and she tripped over an old tree root and fell backwards. I rushed up to see if she was OK but she was surrounded by sheep so I told them to back off. Once I was sure she was OK I made it pretty clear that I thought she was wasting good sheep time and should get up and get on with it, so she did although she complained about having lots of bruises on her back for the rest of the weekend. I did not laugh because I am aware she is getting old and if she hurts herself who is going to look after her? I often worry about not having an opposable thumb – life would be so much easier with one. She has a badly bruised back, very badly bruised dignity and pride and a bad headache from banging her head on the frozen ground - she is hoping none of these injuries is serious or long term. She really should be more careful at her age. Without an opposable thumb there is a limit to what I can do to look after her no matter how much I love her.
Imagine my surprise when on Sunday they let the sheep out again when there were perfectly good ones waiting for us – what do they think I am? Do they think I have nothing better to do than chase some tired sheep back down the mountain when we already have some fresh ones waiting? Anyway, Robert let me bring some fresh ones into our pen and then I gave them a good working and he encouraged me to take them backwards and forwards between the two pens so Ailsa could practice working the gates. It must be quite complex because she needed a lot of practice.
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