Our new Irish (holiday) home

So it's been a while since I updated this blog, very sorry for that! It's just we've been in Ireland so much the last year, and we have been very busy there. We have bought a holiday home with some land attached in county Mayo, and I have been working hard to get the house in good shape. Not only for our family, but also for visitors. And my next visit will be all out about fencing the land now, so we can put sheep on it. Yes, sheep!!

Here are some pictures from the garden around the house:

These are the fields behind the house:

In the meanwhile, the dogs and me explored the fields that belong with the house. They had a great time there, checking everything out and running and playing in this wonderful setting.We even have a stream at the boundaries, which is fun in summer for the dogs, but also will provide water for the sheep!

These are the fields at the other side of the road in front of the house:

I'm sure we're going to have a good time in our new Irish home :)

Bringing pregnant ewes home

Today was the day we brought the pregnant ewes back to the sheep farm.The first group was a small one, and on the way to the farm we picked up another group. In each group was a ram too, but they gave us no trouble.

We walked the streets and the fields to the farm, but there were only a few cars who had to slow down behind us so we were quite relaxed on our walk. The sheep even decided to try some grass along the way.

When we left the road, we walked via a small path to the big fields.There was a long line up there, really funny!

But then we got on to the big fields.

There is always one, isn't there? A ewe who gets a bit annoyed at Jessie because she urges her to follow. But nothing Jessie couldn't handle, though she had a bit of a stand off with this ewe. The ewe gave up in the end and rejoined the group.

We had to make the sheep jump over some ditches, that was a bit exiting and some of us got wet feet ( Not me, I have Muck Boots! ). Finally, we reached home...

The beautiful Suffolk ram didn't want his picture taken, but Jessie held him for me so I could taken one anyway.

A job well done, thank you Jessie!

walking with sheep

Today we moved sheep from Steendorp to Tielrode, acoording to Google maps about an 8 kilometer long walk. The sun was hiding behind a low cloud deck, and there was a chilly wind blowing. But the views were stunning, walking along the river Schelde. We had to cross the market place in Temse though, that was a bit exciting. But no worries, Jessie was on the job! She helped steering them in the right direction, and we arrived safe at our destination...

 Almost there...

A job well done...

Happy dog

 Tired dog...

The Irish National 2014

This year I was so lucky to be in Ireland at the right time to see the best of the best compete in the Irish National Sheep Dog Trials at the An Grianan Estate, Burt in co. Donegal. I was also happy to see some old friends and meeting some new friends too. The weather was mostly dry, apart from some drizzling now and again. And even when the sun peeped through the clouds, the chilly wind made sure everyone kept their jackets on. I managed to take some pictures too, and was very impressed with Claire Somers-Cashen's run:

 Claire shedding...

... and penning...

and taking the single!

Jessie was very interested and mesmerized by all the runs too:

Trying to make the most of it, I had to have some fish and chips of course, and since there were lots of stalls with food and drinks that was no problem. In the ISDS tent I bought Jullie Hill's latest book, finally the revised version is available and I can recommend it to everyone interested in Sheep Dog Training.

We had a nice day and I'm sure we will be back!

Moving sheep with Jessie & Jai

Today and yesterday, we moved some sheep on the dikes along the river Schelde again.
Jessie always guards the front flanks, so the sheep don't wander too far from the footpath.

They succeed to escape at least once anyway. The sneaky maidens just wait until she's covering a few on the left side, and then an other bunch of them just scoots down the other side towards the ditch. Fortunately I was aware this time, and while Jai and me covered one side, I sent Jessie very quietly around the other side so she could lift them gently up the slope again without any jumping in the ditch!

 Because there were a lot of bends and curves on our way to their new accommodations, it was really hard to keep them on the right track. Add that they were hungry, and you know how hard it was to keep them in line!

Finally we got to our destination, the ladies were happy to have fresh food, and the dogs were happy to have a rest.

Still keeping an eye on them though!!

Good boy, Jai!