Look who came for a visit!

Posted by kenleighacres on September 3, 2009
Posted in: Cardigan Welsh Corgi. 4 Comments

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My handsome boy Bentley!

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It was so good to see that he is still super goofy!

He is from the one and only litter of Cardigan puppies that we had here.  It was such a great litter – it consisted of him and his beautiful/intense sister, Zoey.

Bentley and Zoey

Here they are with their wonderful owners.  My sister owns Bentley and my great friend, Kristine owns Zoey.  They were a year old in this photo and they turned 5 this year.  I still find it unbelievable that they are 5 – Wow!     I love seeing both of them!  You can read about Zoey’s recent accomplishments here.  She is a rockstar!

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We finally got him to stand still long enough for a decent picture – he is such a wiggle worm!  He reminds me of another 5 year old little boy that I know 🙂

A walk at the dam

Posted by kenleighacres on September 2, 2009
Posted in: Border Collie, Cardigan Welsh Corgi, Dogs, family, whippet. Tagged: , , , . 2 Comments

We usually go for a bike ride or a walk at the park several times during the week, but today we went to the dam.  It isn’t a very long walk, so we took all the dogs.  We usually take Kate and Paisley, but Darby is limited on how far he can walk so he stays home most of the time.  He is a little heavy to be carrying back to the car – been there done that 🙂 

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He loves the dogs!

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He started off walking Darby, but Darby is kind of a mama’s boy and doesn’t like to run with Theron.

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He quickly traded me for Kate and they were off. 

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There were quite a few rowing teams out on the water today.  We both thought it was really funny when they rowed by singing ‘You’ve got that lovin’ feelin’.

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The Willamette river is so pretty in this area.

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I love this picture – happy, happy, happy!

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We found a little trail that went down to the water and Darby decided the whole trip was worth it.

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I’m not sure what she was trying to do, but she would have gotten a big surprise had she jumped over the barrier – it was very DEEP!

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It was a great walk and I think we will add this into our walking rotation.  On the way back Darby tried talking me into carrying him, but he was a muddy mess, so we just took it slow.  Poor guy isn’t a youngster anymore.

and the cycle starts again…

Posted by kenleighacres on August 30, 2009
Posted in: Jacob Sheep. Tagged: , . 5 Comments

It finally rained again!  It was so refreshing.  Unfortunately it didn’t last long enough.  We haven’t had any substantial rain since June and I think we all miss it a little.  Yesterday was also our scheduled day for turning the ewes in with the rams and I was hoping the weather change would give the rams a little more energy – they have been awfully lazy this summer. 

We moved 62 sheep from 3 pastures and split them up into 7.  We have a pasture of ram lambs, one with the ewe lambs and herding sheep, and 5 different pastures with breeding groups.  This all has to be strategically planned out because there needs to be empty space between all of the breeding groups.  We have learned this the hard way – rams will not think twice about going through a fence when there is a ewe in heat next door.  Kate had a blast moving everyone and Theron is really excited about his future Reno babies. 

Here are the different groups and I have added a 2009 Breeding Group page with individual pictures of the sheep.

Julian and girls

Green Water Julian with Kenleigh’s Infiniti, Kenleigh’s Pacifica, Zettle’s Harley, Windy Acres Darling, Windy Acres Dusty, Maverick Marloe, Meridian Shasta, and Kenleigh’s Legacy.

Abraham and girls

Patchwork Abraham with Kenleigh’s Chevelle, Kenleigh’s Aimee, Kenleigh’s Azera, Meridian Hailey, Kenleigh’s Celeste, and Kenleigh’s Sahara.

Junior and girls

Magic Moon Junior with Sagebrush Rae-Ann, Windy Acres Kate Lynn, bide a wee Althea, bide a wee Tess, Kenleigh’s Ellie, Painted Rock Jeslyn.

Reno and girls

Kenleigh’s Reno with Timber’s Hallelujah, Kenleigh’s Petunia, bide a wee Dolly Doll, Kenleigh’s Symphony, and Zettle’s Hattie.

Wrangler and girls

Kenleigh’s Wrangler with Meridian Bronwen, Windy Acres Amber, Rolling Hills Veronica, Kenleigh’s Aurora, Kenleigh’s Liberty, and Mud Ranch Jonquil.

It looks like I may have timed things nicely because Amber was bred last night and the boys were chasing a few more girls around tonight.  So, our first lambs should be arriving at the end of January.

How is it that time of year again?

Posted by kenleighacres on August 20, 2009
Posted in: Jacob Sheep. Tagged: . 6 Comments

Breeding season has snuck up on me this year!  We are using 5 rams…

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Kenleigh’s Wrangler

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Magic Moon Junior

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Greenwater Julian

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Patchwork Abraham

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and Theron is starting his little flock this year by breeding a few ewes to Kenleigh’s Reno.

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Now I just have to figure out who is going with who 🙂

Breeding Jacobs can be rather difficult at times and I sometimes think that just opening the gate and sorting off 6 ewes to go with each ram would create better results than agonizing over the combinations.  I think my son has the best plan – when I asked him what 3 ewes he wanted to breed to Reno, he very quickly said Dolly because he loves her and she is very friendly, the second one was Lulu because she was talking to him and he thinks she is cute, and the third was Petunia because she was standing there looking at him!  I can’t wait to see those results.

The ewes are going with the rams next week and I will post pictures and breeding groups once I have them sorted. 

Despite the fact that I don’t know who is going with who yet,  am very excited about lambs next year!  You know you are still passionate about your breed when your excitement increases each year 🙂

Bagpipes, Kilts, and a great weekend

Posted by kenleighacres on August 17, 2009
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , . 2 Comments

It is so nice to have a friend that I can call and say – hey you wanna go to a celtic festival with some dogs and sheep and camp for the weekend and have them say ‘yes’!  Kristine is such a friend and we have had many adventures together – this weekend was no different.  We took 4 dogs and 5 sheep to the 17th Annual Celtic Highland Games in Winston, OR.

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Packing the car was a very strategic process.  Paisley, Kate, and Zoey were in the back and Riley was cozied in behind my seat.  We also had a tent, ez ups, photography equipment, fiber stuff, chairs, tables, generator, ice chest, sleeping bags, pillows, clothes, water buckets, etc.  It was a good thing we weren’t going very far! 

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I can’t pull our stock trailer with my car and we couldn’t put all of the dogs in our truck, so my husband fixed up our utility trailer to haul the sheep and panels.  I had to provide the pen for the sheep to stay in.  This worked really well.

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Even Holly thought it was ok!

When we got there we couldn’t find the person who knew where to set the sheep up, so we went to the camping area and set up our tent and camping stuff first.  We encountered a few unsavory individuals and were planning our sleeping arrangements – Kate in front of the door and a hammer laying next to our pillow.  We were aware of our surrounding and trying to keep a good sense of humor about it.  We finally found where the sheep were going to be setup and made their pen – the whole thing was very laid back and we weren’t really sure the best way to do things.  

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Luckily, the owner of this beautiful girl came to our rescue.  She has been coming for several years and has it figured out.  Unfortunately, that meant we had to move EVERYTHING!!!  We got several strange glances as we moved our partially setup tent and camping stuff.  We were in a much better location and felt a lot safer.  The sheep were setup against a fence, which made their pen bigger and them more comfortable.  Sheep are not goats and they do not like to be pet by strangers 😉 

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During all of the moving and setting up we had the pleasure of listening to this fabulous group – The Golden Bough  They played Saturday and Sunday as well and I really enjoyed them. 

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I gave 2 herding demonstrations daily.  The field that was provided didn’t have any fencing and the rv’s were right on the perimeter.  Luckily I had complete faith in my dog and sheep and they didn’t let me down. 

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There were kilts everywhere and by the end of the weekend, I was starting to feel a little out of place in my jeans.

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There was a clan parade each day.

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The bagpipes were incredible and we woke to them each morning.

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The weekend was all about the highland games – throwing heavy stuff and sharp objects.  Everything is authentic and there aren’t very many safety precautions taken!  At one point they were lifting 142 lb. rocks over their head and throwing them!!!  We were in awe!

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There were many dogs and several showed their heritage along with their owners.

The news was there and you can see their piece here – http://kezi.com/news/local/137882

There was an amazing knife thrower that we nicknamed ‘warrior boy’ and he gets quite a bit of air time in the piece.

They enjoyed every minute!

Posted by kenleighacres on August 14, 2009
Posted in: Dog Photography, Dogs, Lure Coursing. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

I took pictures at the Chintimini Kennel Club Lure Coursing trial this last weekend in Junction City.  The weather was perfect and it appeared that everyone had a great time – especially the dogs!

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Look at the grin on this big guy – you would think he was chasing a real rabbit instead of a plastic bag 😉

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There are always a few dogs that grab me and this was one of them at this trial.  He is a young Ibizan and he was there with his brother and sister.

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This is his sister, Dina.  They all had eyes that could penetrate right through you.  I love those ears.

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Afghans are so much fun to photograph because of all that hair.

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Both of these dogs are Salukis, the one in the foreground is a smooth.

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I absolutely love Borzoi’s.  If I was a big dog person, then this is the breed I would have.

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The whippets are so impressive to watch – they are so FAST!

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These guys were so proud of their catch.  They ran around the field playing tug of war and just enjoying the moment!

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At the end of the day, each dog that wins the Best of Breed award can come back and run against each other for Best in Field.  Here is the Whippet, Rhodesian Ridgeback, and Basenji running together.  The Whippet won both days, but that isn’t always the case.  I was personally rooting for the Greyhound on Sunday. 

To see more pictures from the weekend, go here.

This weekend I am headed south to camp and give herding dog demos at the Celtic Highland Games in Winston, OR.  I am going with my good friend Kristine and I am really looking forward to it!  We have been on numerous trips together and always have an adventure or two 😉

Enjoy your weekend!

Taking a moment…

Posted by kenleighacres on August 12, 2009
Posted in: Jacob Sheep. Tagged: , . 3 Comments

to enjoy the wildflowers. 

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The dandelions are always cheerful.

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I don’t know what this little flower is, but it grows REALLY tall – there are some that are a foot over my head!  The flower is a very small daisy.

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We have wild morning glory everywhere and it is one of the plants that is still green.  All of our grass is very brown at the moment.

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I don’t know what this one is either, but it is by far my favorite!  It looks very exotic.

I was also taking a moment to admire the following lambs.

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This is Chance – isn’t she pretty?  Her horns just get better and better.  My favorites are the really wide 2-horn girls.  Poor thing I thought she was a boy for the first couple days of her life.  She had such big horn buds that I didn’t even bother looking, it wasn’t until a couple days later that I saw her peeing like a girl 🙂

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This is her brother Reason.  He is also a really wide 2-horn.  Their mom was the narrowest ewe I had.  Her horns pointed straight back and their dad wasn’t very wide either.  I think their horns trace back to their grandpa…

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Jaq –  here he is as a yearling!!!  He was so handsome, unfortunately he didn’t have a very nice personality. 

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Flirt is still my favorite lamb from this year. 

Have a great day!

I find chickens…

Posted by kenleighacres on August 5, 2009
Posted in: Chickens. Tagged: . 3 Comments

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to be fun…

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a little scary looking at times…

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downright bizarre…

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and so serious in a silly way that makes me laugh!!!

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It was all about the chickens this morning.  My brother brought a couple silkie cross roosters over that I’m not really sure we needed, but they have really cool markings and are very friendly.

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Our other rooster left a little while ago because he did this to my poor hen.  She had such pretty feathers!!!  Hopefully they grow back before it gets too chilly or else I’ll have to knit her a sweater 🙂

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The new boys are handsome and my favorite of the two has some interesting colors.  His feathers are half blue, half red.

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I love the colors and patterns.

After we got the boys settled in, we went over to the neighbors where there were a couple unwanted roosters.  The dad was ok with putting them in the stew pot, but the little girls who raised them from cute little chicks weren’t.  I am so used to our banty and banty cross chickens – these guys were HUGE!  My brother agreed to take them and I was even happier with our little guys. 

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My brother also helped me open up the other pens out front so the chickens can go exploring in the jungle.  Everyone was roosting in the barn tonight and all seems well with the new arrivals. 

The Chosen Ones

Posted by kenleighacres on August 1, 2009
Posted in: Farm Life, Herding, Jacob Sheep. Tagged: , , , . 5 Comments

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These are the lucky lambs, even though they may not agree 🙂  In most jacob flocks they would be considered culls and they will never be used for breeding here, but they serve a very important purpose…

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they are used for herding lessons. 

They would normally be headed to the freezer this fall (some may still end up there) but for now they are earning their keep.  Kate helped me dog break them and they are working out great for lessons.  Dog broke sheep are accustomed to being worked by dogs and are a must have for teaching beginning dogs.  The sheep tend to stay next to the person and your focus can be on the dog and not the sheep.  Jacob sheep aren’t usually used but they have worked well for us and it gives these guys a job.  

There are a lot of criteria that a jacob sheep has to meet to be registered, plus I have certain flock goals, which means we have a lot of lambs that aren’t sold as breeding stock.  They have to have the right coloring, correct structure, good horns, nice fleece, and an acceptable temperament.    

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This guy is missing black around his one eye and his horns on the left have issues.

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This girl is a little dark in color and her side horns aren’t as strong as I would like.

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This boys major draw back is that he is a 2-horn.  There isn’t a very big market for 2-horn jacob rams, everybody likes the impressive 4-horns.  So unless there is something really special about the 2-horn boys, I wether them.  This guy’s horns took a funny dip when I wethered him and it makes him look a little silly.

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Here is another one with silly horns.  I think she actually has 6-horns with the top ones fused together.  She is also missing the black around her right eye.

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This girl was originally sold as breeding stock, but her horns started tipping forward.  I wasn’t sure how bad they would end up being, so I replaced her with another lamb.  I’ll wait to see how she looks as a yearling.

The rest are mainly 2-horn boys.  In addition to being used for herding lessons they will also provide some really nice fleeces.

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This is Teia – a blue merle australian shepherd – owned by Tammy.  She is just over a year old and is learning how to be a sheep dog.

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She has a great sense of humor…

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that I don’t think the sheep appreciate 🙂

Doing chores in triple digit weather

Posted by kenleighacres on July 30, 2009
Posted in: family, Farm Life. 3 Comments

I have vowed not to complain about our HOT weather, but good golly!  We are on our third day of record breaking heat.  I feel very lucky that we live somewhere that rarely goes over 100 degrees.  I like hot weather, but not this hot.  The animals are doing ok – drinking a lot of water and seeking out the shade.

Evening chores have been very sweaty and I have come up with a great way to beat it –

First – dress in clothes that you don’t mind getting wet 🙂

Second – go out and do about 10 minutes of chores and then go take a dunk in the kiddie pool.  If you don’t have a kiddie pool that’s ok, a stock tank would also work and if you are in a real pinch then you could dump a bucket of water over your head.  Make sure and take a good dip so you can stay cool for the next part of chores.

Third – continue on with chores until you start sweating again.  Head back to the kiddie pool and take another dip.  Continue until you are done.  

It takes a little longer then normal, but so worth it!

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Here is my helper demonstrating the correct way to take a dip in the pool.

We visited our local park to swim in the creek and it wasn’t very refreshing because the water was so warm, but Kate and Theron had a great time running and splashing as kids and dogs should do in the summer time.  It looks like it will only be in the mid 90’s tomorrow – YAY!!!