Edgeworth International Shedding Clinic

Again this year, my dogs and I participated in the Edgeworth Farm International Shedding Clinic.  The clinic was masterfully instructed by Tom Wilson, and the photo above shows Tom and his outstanding bitch Sly demonstrating the International Shed.  It was a cold January weekend, but everyone left with a much better understanding of how to successfully shed sheep.  Thank you, Tommy!!!

Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival

For the past few years, Mark Soper and I have provided the working sheepdog demonstrations at the MD Sheep & Wool Festival.  The crowds always love to watch the dogs maneuver the sheep around the arena and through the obstacles.  This year, we were very fortunate to have a fellow sheepdog enthusiast, Lynn Roberts, on hand to take some outstanding photos of our wonderful dogs.  Another sheepdog enthusiast, Betty Gillis, worked her photographic magic to transform a couple of Lynn's photos into works of art.  Many thanks to Lynn and Betty for these photos of my good dog, Kep.

Lambing Time is Here!

Lambing time has begun with two sets of twins. They came a couple days early, but they are nice, big lambs. There are four ewes in the drop paddock that are due this weekend, with lots more due in the next couple of weeks. The fun has begun!

Winter Weather

This winter, we have had more snow and colder temperatures than in previous years.  The dogs and sheep don't seem to mind, but I find these "weather events" to be more of a challenge than I would prefer. Yesterday, despite the forecast for a "dusting to an inch" of snow, we got seven inches of the fluffy white stuff.  And, to add insult to injury, the low temperature this morning was a frigid two degrees!  We have already had more than our share of the white stuff this winter, so I hope that we will fare better for the remainder of the winter.

Edgeworth Farm

The past two weekends , I have gone to sheepdog events at Tom and Florence Wilson's impressive Edgeworth Farm. The first weekend was for the third day of their winter trial, and the second weekend was for a training clinic. I had planned to run two of my dogs in the Open trial on Friday and Saturday of the first weekend, but the sub-freezing temperatures caused me to change those plans. So, I only went on Sunday when the Nursery and Ranch classes were held.


My youngster, Soot, did quite well in the Nursery classes, and she received many compliments about her work. It is always nice to hear good things about my dogs' work, but it is especially nice to hear those remarks from Christine Henry, the person from whom I bought Soot. I am really enjoying working with Soot, and with further training, I am sure that she will continue to improve. Dan King, who was also very complimentary of Soot, took the wonderful photo below during the trial.

Dan also thinks quite highly of my dog Drift, and the photo below is of Drift (thanks, Dan!).

The second weekend was back to Edgeworth for the clinic that focused on the international shed and was instructed by Tom Wilson. Well, I am not a seasoned Open handler, so I was apprehensive about my participation in the clinic. But, thanks to my good dogs Kep and Maid, we did all right. It is always wonderful to work dogs on the trial field there, and I am sure that we all benefited from the experience. Below is a photo (again taken by Dan King) of Kep and me working the shed.

Thank you Tom and Florence for hosting two outstanding events at your incredible Edgeworth Farm!

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to my new blog! I hope that you will enjoy reading the latest news from Trial & Error Acres.