A fairly quiet time of the year here, we have had more rain, but things are still very dry.
Due to the lack of rain last year the soil has become so dry that the water is not soaking in. A lot of the good rain we had has simply run off the top, as it was a bit heavy.
More is expected next week so we are hoping for steady soaking rain.
We do have green feed though but the sheep are hungrily eating it as fast as it can grow.
The weather has cooled down and we are keeping the fire going all the time to keep the house warm.
On the 22nd of May Sam and I travelled to Northam for the inaugural one day yard trial held at Swan Hill.
The event was organized and run by Neil Kristianson. Neil also judged the novice and the open events.
It proved to be a challenging and well run event, and all competitors enjoyed it immensely as did the spectators.
It was run in conjunction with the Historical, Agricultural and Environmental Festival, and there was lots on entertainment, including clydesdale horses, scottish bands and dancing and lots of stalls.
A feature was a giant sculpture of a clydesdale horse made of wire.
I took Caleb, Driftz and Bella.
Caleb did well and I was pleased with him, we finished in sixth place in the novice and tenth in the open. He worked happily and backed well. He was not covering as well as he usually does though, and it cost him points when sheep hit the fence. He has a lot of presence in a yard and sheep dont like him, so they tend to break back a lot.
Driftz was feral and she tried her best but the sheep did not suit her. In the novice the sheep were fairly pingy and her leaping around didn’t help.
I had to leave for home a bit early as Sam needed to get organized for boarding school so I scratched Driftz from the open event. The sheep had settled a lot better by then and the scores showed it.
As Bella is an open dog she only had one run. She’s been acting oddly since being in season and ‘visiting’ the stud dog and did it show. She refused to do anything, sniffing the ground, refusing to back the sheep and even trying to leave the yard. Hopefully it is just hormones.
Full trial report and results here. www.westaustralianworkingsheepdogs.com.au
The next trial is a 3 sheep at Avondale Discovery Farm near Beverly on the 16th to the 19th of June.
I am hoping to get there and perhaps enter Balto or Yindi or both. Or perhaps not.
And there is a new edition to my doggy family. 
We haven't decided on a name yet, in fact we havent even decided what colour he is.
Either red, black, chocolate or sable, quite unusual anyway.
The sire is my Kumbark Caleb and the mother is Andrew Gortons Just Bounce. Whatever his colour, he is a lovely little fellow and loves to sleep in my arms. A name will come soon, although it sometimes takes us a while to name puppies. And if anyone is interested in him, Andrew still has one left in the litter. See his website here. | 
