Monochrome world

Aye, that was the sight which dawned on Friday morning, very much monochrome, cold, grey and white.

There wasn't actually that much snow around, just enough to whiten things and make life difficult.

Have to say I've been feeling kinda smug, somehow I've managed to miss the colder, snowier, frostier days for heading away out bye. I don't mind working in wintry weather, it's the travelling that is often the drawback, to date I have been fortunate, the odd day of wintry weather Tarset has experienced hasn't been the odd day I have to herd the tups out bye, like I say - lucky!

Until Friday morning that is.

Now the morning dawned kinda white, not a vast amount of the white stuff it has to be said, just a covering. I had intended to set away at daylight as a necessity to be back down the valley for lunch time could see the morning being a short one, however, the whiteness made me wait a while, hoping it would clear as more traffic hit the roads.

The thought did cross my mind to take our quad, but that was a bit of a wussy idea really, I mean, there was just a whitening, bad job if car and I couldn't manage the gradients we were going to face on our journey.

We trundled off, car and I. Obviously a 'new' car and as such an unknown entity on wintry roads as to date the need to try it out had not arisen. I now know it travels as well as I do on the slippy stuff. In all fairness we trundled along at my well known slow pace and managed to almost reach our destination without too much trouble other than the odd back end slew but momentum was kept up and all was well.

It wasn't until momentum had to come to a halt that all was not well. Just a few hundred yards from our final destination there was a gate required opening. I pulled the car up and walked towards the gate, only to notice from the corner of my eye that said motor was disappearing backwards back down the road. Oh Ho!

The drawback with the road conditions that morning resulted from the weather the previous evening. Rain, frost then snow. The snow wasn't deep enough to prevent tyres cutting through onto the ice so basically the journey had been done on 'white' ice, which resulted in the mishap or not at the gateway.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, if only..... if only I'd had sense to fling the gate open before trotting off to retrieve the motor. Laurel and Hardy really didn't seem to have a look in that morning, a black and white silent movie it indeed was. Did I say silent? That's probably an oversight as knowing me there would probably be some cause for an odd swear word or two to pass my lips.

So there I was, just about to open the gate when I noticed the car was disappearing backwards with no one in the driving seat, I trotted off after it, jumped into the empty seat and went to put the handbrake on. Handbrake was already on. I yarked it harder and stepped out of the motor and watched quizzically as it continued in a backwards direction without the wheels going around and again without anyone behind the steering wheel - my car was possessed!!

Next time this ever happens I will open the gate before running after the motor - promise!

Car wouldn't go forwards so we gracefully slid backwards until the soft grass verge halted our journey. I then got out and opened the gate (that was the easiest bit of the whole manouevre!) Car and I were reunited, it still where I left it this time, only I found it seemed to quite like being where I'd left it, going forward wasn't an option and it seemed going backwards wasn't going to be either, a combination of soft verge and icy, snowy road was trying to snooker me - well I'll be damned!

It felt like the longest part of my journey had been that gateway, I had to laugh at the ludicrousness of the whole situation although there was a slight concern of the drains on either side once some sort of movement occurred. It was a slow process, not a steep gradient at all but 'new' car and I were not seeing eye to eye on this one. Eventually I won. We made it to our destination.

Animals got fed, this Galloway cow just adding to the monochrome morning

Moss enjoyed his snow bath so at least someone was happy. I felt that I just had time to do the necessaries before turning around and heading back down the valley only to find road conditions had worsened with good old car giving me one or two almost heart stopping moments. We did both arrive at our final destination in one piece however and we never offered to budge again for the rest of the day, and for that matter the car remained stationary for a number of days to follow.

Friday evening saw I and other half heading to the local Town Hall for the Amateur Dramatics Christmas play 'Excalibur', only too grateful to accept a lift off friends so no need to drive again that day. I hadn't been the only one having fun, the other half found himself leading silage over into the Rede and he too had had 'fun' - so pleased the exciting moments were shared! albeit seperately.

The play was well worth seeing, an excellent production. Far better than the roads which were deteriorating rapidly due to slush and ice, even the main routes were covered in black ice.

The following morning saw me heading away out bye with our quad, wussy or not, I really didn't care, car and I were not going to be made a fool of again! We probably arrived at our destination a lot quicker but also a lot colder!

Not quite such a monochrome day as we had had the day previous, the hard frost ensured some sunshine once the flightering on of snow ceased.

At least the clarts weren't too bad, and there were some 'pretty' moments.

The day was a cold one, time was running short and not all tasks were completed, again probably my fault for not heading out there as soon as I ought to, more a desire to wait till the frost gave a little, although I doubt very much that it did give at all. The view as I left had a 'warmth' about it which I couldn't feel but could appreciate with the eye.

There is no doubt that the ground is white and crisp and even. Crisp being the optimum description with -5 and -4 recorded at my back door these past couple of nights, that is all to change if we believe the weather forecasters, mild weather and rain is heading our way, ground will be bottomless but roads safer to travel - there's no winning!

Away day again... The Holme (Newcastleton) blue grey sale

 

Once again Shep disappeared off to a mart. Just over the border into Scotland is Newcastleton, renowned for it's two day sale of blue grey cattle. Yup! you heard right - cattle, not sheep for once. Once again the offer of a lift was made and Shep took it up, I was grinning to myself that I keep turning up at marts with different fellas - they say variety is the spice of life!

Newcastleton Mart has long been a focal point for blue grey cattle sales, a trip down memory lane as in my youth, when first working, the boss and I used to sell cattle there and low and behold, the mart and sale still exist. Other sales we attended at Haltwhistle, Rothbury and Bellingham no longer exist but Newcastleton does!

I did attend the mart half a dozen years ago but since then there have been further changes, subtle and necessary changes. The pens have been rebuilt, wooden gates have been replaced by metal ones, but other than that there is little difference since many years ago when we would be selling cattle there. The mart still retains it's character.Quite a treat nowadays!

I've written in the past that I have a soft spot for the humble Galloway cow, a black, hairy, hardy beast which used to prolific in hill areas. The blue grey is a cross bred beast out of the Galloway, sire being a White Shorthorn. The end result being a hardy beast with less hair than the mother possesses, a good carcase animal which will cross well with continental breeds. It also tends to take on a grey look, which I guess is what you get when you cross black with white! There are a variety of colourations, with 'red' ones thrown on occasion also.

 

Cattle waiting to enter the ring

 

suckler calves in the ring being sold There are a range of ages of heifers on sale on the first day of the two day sale, there are ones such as these known as sucklers, weaned straight off their mothers and taken to be sold. These were off Ottercops and realised £460 each.

 

There are then bulling heifers such as the ones above from High Thorneyburn. These are mature, a year older than the suckler calves and old enough to go to the bull, hence the reason they are known as bulling heifers. The consigment from this particular farm averaged £1,027 a head. It is also possible to buy incalf heifers at the sale. Those which have been run with a bull and served, they have usually been 'scanned' and are guaranteed in calf.

 

Cattle penned up after they have been sold, as you can see, there is an odd 'red' one. Notice the numbered labels on their rumps, these are attached to the beast prior to going into the ring, quite literally stuck on with glue which eventually weathers off and causes no discomfort to the animal at all. The numbered labels give everyone a quick and easy reference as to the animal and who bought it. These cattle are now waiting to be loaded onto a wagon and head for their new homes where they will hopefully live and breed for a few years to come.

The day didn't quite go as planned, there were issues with cars, trying to be organised Shep waited patiently outside her cottage for the arranged lift to appear, not knowing they were trying to 'phone me to inform me they had broken down. There must be something in the air.......... Eventually all was sorted and I found myself able to return favours, come to the rescue and take my own car, which still looks clean and respectable due to the fact I have only had it for a week, my passengers didn't have cause to hold their noses during the journey!

 

I'll leave you with this shot of two Highland heifers which were the last cattle through the ring, I thought they looked cute, a bit of a teddy bear look about them. The second day of the sale is for bullocks (castrated male calves) which will also range from 6 - 18 months of age. Shep wont be in attendance, breeding sales are more interesting and work needs to be done.

Have wheels, will travel (chapter three)

Bet you're all wondering if this is the final chapter...........

Sunday had seen faithful old car limp to it's final resting place. Monday morning dawned and the shepherd from out bye duly arrived to pick me up, obviously the inconvenience of coming to collect me was less than the inconvenience of not having my assistance for the day.

The night previous I had scoured the internet looking for a suitable motor and thought I'd found one, it was over a hundred miles away, a long way to travel to find it was no good and anyhow, when would I get the time to go, who would take me and would it be sold by then? Aargh!!

I guess I wasn't the brightest bunny on the Monday, sulky probably, preoccupied more than likely, grumpy even - I'll hold my hands up to all three.

I set off to gather sheep, dogs as happy as larry (there is much to be learnt from dogs!). It was a simple gather, not too much ground to cover, fenced in areas of hill ground, bike tracks to follow, fairly easy viewing of proceedings, not too much could go wrong you wouldn't think.

I had been entrusted to do a simple task, gather these sheep, pen them, tail, dose, keel etc, return them to their pastures and head home with the works landrover. Easy! The shepherd was going to meet up at the sheep pens mid morning before excusing himself for a prior engagement - fine by me.

It was an alright sort of morning, but the forecast was poor, the quicker I got on the less chance there would be of receiving a good soaking. With luck on my side all would be well.

The air turned blue - well and truly! Half way through the 'easy' gather I found the quad bikes wheels were no longer going around. For once it wasn't due to that sinking feeling, I hadn't got myself bogged as I am so prone to doing, no, I hadn't sunk into some soft boggy ground I had risen and to say the bike wheels were no longer going round was a bit unfair, they were going round they just weren't making purchase and so were taking me nowhere. Aargh!

Often, when found in this position, shifting your weight around so that you are rocking the bike from side to side will enable you to make purchase and resume your journey - that didn't work. Getting off and pushing whilst keeping pressure on the thumb throttle will often get you out of a sticky predicament - that didn't work. Physically lifting either the front end of the bike or the back end of the bike can move it far enough to 'dismount' from the offending article - that didn't work.

By this time the language wasn't fit to repeat, I was absolutely furious to say the least, temper was finding an inner strength which had me lifting the bike almost onto it's nose but to no avail. I wandered off, found a fence post, returned with my trophy and commenced trying to lift the bike from the middle of it's body to the point I thought I would end up tipping the damn thing onto it's side but all was to no avail. I was hot and bothered, in a foul fettle, had wasted at least twenty minutes and had got no where. My gathering resumed on foot.

I don't know what was worse, getting the bike stuck or having to ask the shepherd for a hand to get me out of my predicament. Small consolation was his exclamation of "quite bizarre" when he too found he couldn't move the bike and it took two of us to remove it from the bull snoot (hump) it had found itself wedged upon, on a track both of us had travelled hundreds of times before with no problems what so ever.

So there I was, on my tod for the day, at the sheep pens away from the farmhouse, in a grump, full of self pity, failing to manage a simple task, losing time, then it began to rain, the day was getting on, I hadn't carried any bait (packed lunch) as I hadn't intended the task would take as long, fed up didn't have a look in, the only positive was that I was working alone, humour such as mine wasn't fit to share with anyone, alone was the best place to be.

I had managed a 'high' moment, we all need to find something to marvel in and whilst gathering on foot I had set a snipe up, the wind was very strong and it was slow to rise and struggled to shoot off in it's zig zag flight pattern, I had time to appreciate the beauty of the bird, the brown and golden stripe patterns of the plummage on its back, the stumpy shape of it's body, the bright eye and prominant beak. A fleeting moment but one which had brought me back to earth, a moment I had appreciated.

There I was, in the sheep pens, rain getting heavier by the minute, tummy grumbling, headache keeping me company, battling on to get finished and seek shelter when a voice asked if I would like a cup of tea.

A cup of tea! God could I kill a cup of tea! I wasn't dreaming, this really was an offer of a life saving cup of tea. These sheep pens are situated at the far extremeties of the farm, where once upon a day the second shepherd lived. Nowadays there is just one shepherd on the farm and the house is a private let. The householder had realised there was activity in the sheep pens and decided to come out and offer a cuppa.

When the tea arrived the pair of us took shelter in the hayshed. For someone feeling so out of sorts with the world I was surprised to find it was good to have some human company. The weather was discussed as is so often the case, general crack all about nowt then I was asked if I knew anyone who wanted to buy a car. Did I know anyone who wanted to buy a car?Rather none commital I trotted along to view the said car, enquired what sort of price they were asking, stood, looked, thought, looked a bit more, thought again...... then found myself agreeing to buy the car.

Tea was drunk and I resumed my duties in the sheep pens, just twenty four hours from parking up my broken car I had found another car, or had it found me?

Sometimes luck is on your side. Beggars can't be choosers, I once again have wheels. Not my chosen motor, not a diesel, not the make I would have liked, but to date it goes, it also stops when asked, there is room for the dogs - it has a sunroof! it isn't a dark colour! It will see me through for the time being, I can get to work, I don't have to go ones errand and find a car right this minute and who knows, it may be economical to run, it may last a year or two. I have an open mind and will wait and see.

That Monday was quite a memorable day. Coincidences. Had I not got the bike stuck, had I not lost a lot of time I wouldn't have been around mid afternoon in the pouring rain to have been offered a cup of tea, I would not have known there was a car available to buy. Who would expect to find a car away out in the back of beyond? The day was memorable for another reason, disapointing in some respects but logical in others, I have spent much time and energy lately considering every aspect of applying for one particular full time job, I now realise that this particular job is not the one for me, not unless the quad bike has a winch fitted to it to get me out of those sticky predicaments I so frequently find myself in!

Have wheels, will travel (chapter two)

No wheels, can't travel! That's a lie, my car has four wheels, they still go around, she still starts and will stop when asked, it may be fair to say she has a limp on the near far, unfortunately it would appear it is a limp which is incurable. A problem which can arise with sheep, they too can suffer injuries which on occasion can be incurable, it is then that problems arise.

There are many rules and regulations in life. Cars for instance have to be roadworthy or else they are deemed illegal, mine still has MOT, an annual health check which every car over a certain age has to undergo, however, this no longer means it is roadworthy, it ain't, it's old and infirm. Sheep don't need an annual MOT although they are checked throughout the year by those looking after them and issues resolved if and when they arise.

An incurable problem with sheep can also be a problem for the farmer/shepherd. There are welfare issues to respond to, vets bills may occur, the outcome may not be satisfactory, some animals may be able to travel for slaughter with certification from a vet, others may not. Those which cannot travel may be slaughtered on farm and even butchered but only for personal consumption, others however may have to be slaughtered on farm then collected by the dead cart with additional expenses incured. All in all it is rarely a happy scenario.

My car is hardly the same as dealing with livestock but all the same it is a sad sight, faithful old motor, home to spiders on the inside and lichens on the outside, it has come to the end of its days. I have been on the look out for quite a while now to find a replacement motor, long before she gave up the ghost and fell to pieces I have been scouring adverts looking for something suitable to take her place.

Spare time has been of a premium this year, the opportunity to get away and view suitable vehicles has rarely arisen, but then suitable motors have been hard to find, they are usually miles away in the big towns and cities, many have higher mileages than my car does for far less years. Any which have seemed suitable have been snapped up in no time, those that aren't snapped up obviously mustn't have been suitable!

Do I really want to spend a few thousand pounds on something which will carry three dogs and end up looking like mud wrestlers have competed inside it, something which will find itself dirtier on the inside than the outside? Personally I would say no, most definitely no. Money is hard earned as it is, I'm not keen on throwing it away. Anyhow, who's to say one of those expensive second hand cars isn't going to blow it's engine up in disgust with the way it is treat?

I've never been a car snob, I just require something that goes when asked and stops when told - quite simple really. Except I would like another diesel, preferably with a sunroof like my old one, preferably the same make, although I ain't fussy about the colour except dark cars aren't as easily seen on country roads........ I haven't been asking for a lot other than my old car reincarnated - is that a lot to ask for?

Anyhow, regardless, I found myself in the unenviable position of being without a car, work booked in for days to come, no opportunity to get away and try to find a car and yet no car to get to work in........ Oh!

Have wheels, will travel (chapter one)

Is that a saying? "Have wheels, will travel" or is it one of them things that exists in Sheps vocabulary and no one elses? As I am often prone to saying.... "I know what I mean"!

Not being a normal shepherd (in fact probably not even being 'normal'), I do have a necessity for wheels - a form of transport, a way of travelling from farm to farm as and when my assistance is required for whatever task is on hand at the time. Wheels are a very important part of my day to day existence.

Tarset is a rural parish and buses tend not to run, I do believe there is a public bus service which does run once a day a few miles further down the valley but where I live there are no buses and even if there were chances are they wouldn't be running to which ever farm I was likely to be working on. Then there is the question of dogs, would a bus permit three dogs on board as well? Questionable. But then not a question I need to consider as the opportunity is not there so why wonder?

So it is, Shep needs a form of transport and indeed for a number of years now I have had my trusty stead, a creature I have become quite fond of, learnt and accepted it's peculiar little quirks and probably taken it very much for granted.

My car has served me well, of that there is no doubt. It has always fit my requirements well, start when asked and stop when requested - never failed on either counts, what more could anyone ask of a motor?

There is no doubt my car has probably had a rough life, it was transformed from a family hatchback to a mobile dog kennel, expected to carry three dogs, clipping machines, shears, dirty wellies, boots, wet coats - you name it anything a normal family hatchback wouldn't be carrying mine would. She never once complained, although I'm sure on the rare occasion I have had a human passenger there may well have been one or two silent comments.

Most cars travel on tarmac roads, get washed on Sundays and valeted frequently. Mine got valeted when due it's annual MOT, washed when it rained and was as accustomed to driving through clarts (mud) and hoggin roads as it was to being on tarmac. She even had a blackfaced ewe standing on the bonnet one day whilst parked in a farm yard. On a positive note she did get serviced twice yearly, oils and filters changed to keep her sweet and in repayment she always started when asked and stopped when told to. We were happy with our arrangement.

Sunday 15th October saw car and I, plus the usual dogs and anything else rattling around in the interior of the motor, take off to work away out bye. A hoggin (stoned) road for a mile or two, plus a fair amount of clarts due to timber being felled and stacked on the roadside, which saw the old car sliding and struggling slightly but on we went and reached our destination in one piece. That particular day was blood donors day. Blood donors take place down in our local middle school and the session runs from 11am - 4pm (or something like that).

Anyhow, the job in hand found itself sorted away out bye and discussions ensued as to whether to try and attend blood donors or not, the shepherd was weary and couldn't really be bothered, I was recovering from a cold and felt sure my offerings would be rejected, but to hell with it, blood is important to someone, we'll go!

Two of us headed down the valley as the shepherd required a lift to collect his vehicle so two birds could be killed with one stone so to speak. Time was getting on and I have to say my poor little motor travelled down through the forestry on pot holey and muddy roads at a rate of knots it would be unaccustomed to. It wasn't until we were further down the valley and on tarmac roads that I asked my passenger what the noise in the back was. "Are the dogs chewing something?"

He looked over his shoulder and replied "Umm......... no....... your... um... the... err... what do you call it? Er... umm... Wheel strut I think."
"Wheel strut what?" I asked
"It's trying to pop through your wheel arch"
"Yes! Sure! What are the dogs chewing?"
"Seriously" came the reply "I'll steer and you have a look"
Now, if he thought I was going to let go of the steering wheel whilst driving and turn around in my seat to look behind me he had another think coming, especially as I didn't believe him and wasn't going to be wound up that easily.
"Sure - stop taking the piss, dogs are chewing something" Just as I hit a pothole in the road the reply came back
"That's done it, it's definitely the wheel strut, I can see it now, it's sticking up in the boot with the dogs"
"Yer, sure!" came my reply.

The next couple of miles saw me driving slightly steadier, on being questioned about road handling and did the car not lean to one side I replied no, everything seemed quite normal really apart from a funny noise and my passenger irritating me coz he couldn't realise that no matter how hard he tried to wind me up he wasn't going to succeed, I've been caught out with his wit before, I'm not that gullible, I was not going to be taken in, my car is fine, everyone mocks my car, she's fine, starts and stops - fine - end of story!

Unfortunately, upon arriving at our destination, parking up and looking into the back of the car I soon realised that it was not a piss take, it was indeed true, the dogs were sharing their area with a rear wheel strut, fortunately still attached to the wheel and obviously the wheel was still going around but there was no doubting the fact that it had pushed its way from the dark gloomy place it had lived in for the last sixteen years and finally found daylight........ Umm!

I was ready for a lie down after that, blood pumped out of my arm quite nicely and as for my passenger, he later informed me he had 'phoned a friend' and requested a lift, not just too happy to travel in my faithful old car anymore.
"What d'y mean? She still goes......."

I gently drove home, musing all the way. I had thought of finding a great big boulder and placing it over the top of the strut, bound to push it back into place you would think, but then the rear springs are getting hard up and might not carry the weight. A request later to the other half to weld something over the top to hold things in place was greeted with a snort and the retort "you can't weld onto rust"

Oh dear. I do like my car, it starts and stops, never been any bother and now it is illegal, tired, rusty, old, worn out, strong of heart but weak in body. If it were a sheep you would get rid of it................. Oh!

looking skywards

Tues 9th August saw Shep stuck in a shed all day. Unfortunate, as it was one of those rare dry days, with sunshine as well, but the shed beckoned.

It was a long day, needlessly long really. Shep entered the shed at 8.30am and didn't exit until early evening. Shearing was the task in hand, late in the season but there are still sheep needing shorn and I was available to give a local shearer a hand out with 300 odd sheep which needed their wool off.

A pleasurable day it was and probably too relaxed, working for a really pleasant family shearing the last of their 1400 hexham blackfaced sheep. Everyone was smiling when we left the shed in the early evening. The farm was clipped out, our job was finally done and the sun was still shining.

The farm sat up on a hillside looking away across both the North Tyne and Rede valleys, a beautiful, clear and sunny evening the low light was accentuating all the rig and furrows on the hillsides. I loaded my gear into the car and just sat and soaked up the view. Pressure off it was a pleasure to enjoy the last sunshine of the day and soak up a view I was unaccustomed to, working out which farms I was looking upon from a different angle I was used too. Eventually a final crack with those I'd been working for and with, farewells were given and I went my way.

As I headed the car towards home I was aware of beginning to feel stiff, tired and hungry too. The final hours clipping had caught me out. Occasionally this season and invariably towards the end of the day I have taken the 'shakes'. A frustrating position to be in but one to be dealt with. The problem will arise from the fact that I don't always feel hungry and so when we stop for our tea time bait a cuppa will suffice, however and hour later and the body complains. The ideal solution is to devour a banana, high in potassium and energy it is a miracle cure and will set you on the way. Foolishly I had no banana on hand but a Mars Bar did as a substitute.

And so it was, my banana substitute was wearing off and dinner was beckoning as I drove home. But then I noticed an unusual sight in the sky and ended up pulling over and trying to get a photo.

The weather forecast for the following day was for heavy rain, we had all been discussing the fact prior to leaving the farm, unbelievable on such a bright and cheerful night, not a sign of rain clouds anywhere. This tiny spot of a rainbow caught my fascination (top right hand corner of photo). I had been watching this multi coloured little spot for a number of miles worth of driving, probably to the detriment of my road handling abilities, I'm not aware of having seen such a sight before. Eventually I just had to stop, sit and enjoy.I also mused, trying to work out why no proper rainbow, why just a beautiful, minuscule spot of colour? (I have since been informed that this phenomena is known as a sundog)

The spot didn't fade or grow any bigger and eventually my desire to lie in a hot bath, don clean clothes and fill my belly with food had me on the road home again. Until I got even closer to home when once again I ground to a halt.

This point of the road is a sure sign I'm nearly home, a descent of a mile or two will see me in the house, not far to go now, but once again the sky got the better of me and stop I did. I stiffly clambered out of the driving seat and wandered forward to photograph the setting sun before looking skywards in all directions. Behind the sky was fairly none descript but to south (I think) the cloud formations caught my eye

not just cloud but the moon as well, almost glowing like a sun in the sky. South westerly saw an equally fascinating cloud formation

Whilst north easterly saw yet another variation

Wherever I seemed to look the sky was different and changing by the minute. There wasn't a soul around, sheep grazing on the hillsides were my only company as I stood and soaked up the spectacle transforming by the minute in front of my eyes. The sunset finally caught my attention one last time, one last time which I may add probably lasted a good quarter of an hour.

Eventually the light became poor, the sun had almost set and the light show I had been appreciating had gone out, faded with the light of the day. I shivered. The air was cool now. I realised that the feelings of hunger and tiredness were still present, they had just been overlooked during my enthralment of nature and her beauty. Once again I climbed into the car, turning on my headlights this time and didn't stop until I arrived home. The other half greeted me with "long day?" "Umm, needlessly tho'" was my reply.

The following day it did indeed rain, in fact it came just an hour or two after the beautiful sight I had revelled in, the weather forecasters did not disappoint. I found myself in the company of the elderly cumbrian farmer whom I work for, an opportunity for him to visit my area and view the stock and farms he hears much about. A modest and humble gentleman prone to philosiphising we lightly covered the subject of the problems some of our cities were facing at that point in time. He quietly said "It's a bad job when people have to have, when they can't just appreciate the simple things around them" The memories of the past evening came to the fore and I appreciated how lucky we are compared to many.

Glens misdemeanors

Glen - the sheepdog, you should know the fella by now, he keeps getting posts written about himself every now and again. You may recall that last summer he managed to win a red rossette at the twicey show even though he had a swollen face which later ran into vets bills for some pretty serious dentistry work.

He trotted along to the twicey show again this year, was entered in the class titled "the best looking collie dog" and hey presto! once again he won the red (1st prize) rossette which is no mean feat for a dog clocking on 11 year old and with half his teeth missing, not to mention a slightly bent leg! The show were even kinder this year and split the class between dogs and bitches which then meant good ol' Glen had to strut his stuff against the first prize bitch to try and take the championship.

Fortunately for him and unfortunately for her she was coming in heat, me being wise I decided to follow her around the ring which had Glen up on his toes, showing his best side and trying to woo the female, she wasn't too impressed with the idea and tucked her tail tight between her legs, glowered at him and spent her time looking for the exit route. Believe it or not but he won the Championship rossette - bless him!

 

I have to say he seemed quite pleased with his little self but couldn't quite understand why he wasn't allowed to get to know the bitch dog a little bit better!

There's no doubt he is a very bonny dog and considering his age he doesn't show it, not a grey hair to be seen (not like some of us!)Infact Glen is more than just a bonny dog, he's one of the kindest natured dogs I've ever had, a true gent, not an ounce of bad in him unless it's dead and rancid or female and on heat. Over the years he has also proven to be one of the most expensive dogs I've ever had. The accountant has even queried the vets bills although I quickly explain and do remind him that he is still working and as such is still a business expense.

This year was looking up. Other than his daily medication for arthritis the dog hadn't incurred any other costs - amazing! That is until he decided to misbehave.

At lambing time he was bequethed to the other half. I had Moss, top dog, and of course the little whipper snapper Kale to contend with, the logistics of Glen as well was all too much so he was left at home to keep an eye on the other half, or was it the other way around? Anyhow, he became tractor dog until I returned when he decided he really was a sheep dog and would sooner travel with me and the other two.

Odd days he would be left behind with his new 'owner' and on one of these occasions he had found himself barred up in the dog run. However, life wasn't that simple, the other half found he had vanished, after first ripping up the weld mesh of the dog run. A 'phone call received from a farmer a few miles up the road soon had him tracked down. Bloodied and lame he was collected and returned to where he belonged.

A car had passed him on the road, apparently going like the clappers and it was presumed by the driver that the dog may have been hit by a vehicle as his white bib had quite a pinkish/reddish hue about it, he was also lame. The car driver very kindly offered Glen a lift and took him to the nearest farm which fortunately was one we work on and the dog was recognised.

No. he didn't get a trip down to the vets, he likes those vets far too much in my mind, anyhow, he might have won £6 prize money but that wasn't even going to pay to repair the dog run let alone a trip to the vets. A thorough inspection of his battered body showed that it wasn't battered at all but all totally self inflicted, bloodied mouth and sore feet from tugging at the weld mesh. Upon my return I got a sheepish wag of the tail, when I scolded him and threatened him with a gun I got a bigger wag of the tail! huh! them dogs have just about got the upper hand on me!

The other half got scolded as well for not looking after his dog properly, after all he was always an angel in my care!

The incident was put behind us and Glen was put to work for the next few weeks, he loves penning sheep and is very useful at clipping time, except he hasn't yet learnt how to open gates, otherwise he will work his butt off in the pens keeping sheep forward all day to be clipped.

 

I kept reminding him he had bills to pay and needed to work harder, of course I may as well have been talking in kiswahili or bangladeshi coz he would just wag his tail and take any words as words of endearment - what it must be to be so easily pleased!

Many days he would be filthy, covered in sheep shit and clarts from running back and forwards on concrete pens, where possible he was always taken down to the burn at the end of the day to at least get the rough of it off his coat.

 

The only dog I've ever had who loves swimming, he is at least easily encouraged to enter water and as he now lives in the house it does pay to get him cleaned off a bit.

Eventually the dog run was repaired and all was looking well when once again Glen took a funny turn. The four of us were actually working at the farm which had taken Glen in after he was picked up on the road, I say four of us were working........ Glen had been left in the car whilst Moss and I, with Kale trotting along on a learning curve, brought sheep in to the pens. Once in the pens Glen appeared. Oh! It wasn't really a problem and I just presumed that I'd left the window of the car too far down and he'd jumped out (although he has never jumped out of a car window before)

A little later and the farmer came up from the buildings and asked if I'd wanted air conditioning in my car. A puzzled look and a frown made him laugh as he explained the drivers door window was shattered.

It was no joke, good old Glen had gone one further and managed to smash the window. A dog who has travelled in a car all his life, never attempted to escape and here he was, as happy as a sand boy in the sheep pens leaving carnage behind him. !?**?**/! Aargh...........! I got home at night and ranted to the other half "YOUR dog......... he was never like that when he was MY dog!"

An online trip to a scrap yard eventually tracked down a replacement window which other half and nephew fitted and dog was back out of the dog house. Until....... he finally won and got a trip down to the vets - Aargh!

Don't worry, there's nothing wrong with him. I've raided his piggy bank and paid for the privelege of being told his is very well. Unfortunately new regulations saw him unable to receive his repeat prescription for his anti inflammatory painkiller until he had had a check up. Seemingly this is a new policy with animals checked every six months. The vets and receptionists were so pleased to see him, after all he did spend a lot of time in their care a few years back and like everyone else who meets him, they do like him.

A few minutes with a vet who sounded his heart and told him what a lovely dog he was and off we went, medicine in hand and a few quid lighter in the pocket. The old bugger is worth it tho' but I do keep warning him that a bullet would be a lot cheaper, he just wags his tail!