Goals, Dreams & Aspirations

[WildFlower]

How fun to read about everyone else's goals/dreams!

 

Here are mine:

 

1. Sell my house! (Been trying for over 2 years now...)

2. Buy another house - hopefully with enough land to have a small flock of sheep, chickens, beehives, and a small organic garden. (Not all of this will happen at once of course!)

3. Keep training Devon and Daisy in stockwork.

4. Be able to trial Devon next year in Nursery.

5. Continue to have a creative outlet with my belly dancing hobby/business.

6. If time permits, meet a truly nice guy who can tolerate me and my crazy hobbies.

7. Continue to be thankful for my health and my awesome family and friends.

8. And last but not least, continue to be succesful in my career so I can afford to do all these wonderful things.

[Donald McCaig]

Dear Doggers,

Thanks to all. You helped me remember: THERE IS LIFE AFTER THE FINALS!

 

Donald McCaig

[Shoofly]

Dear Doggers,

Thanks to all. You helped me remember: THERE IS LIFE AFTER THE FINALS!

 

Donald McCaig

 

Huh?! What?! You gotta be kidding me?!! Oh wait, yeah, Edgeworth...

 

My goals - win the Finals, win Edgeworth, win Lexington, win Watercress. You get the picture...

 

Winter time, train up the youngsters, and then start the trial trail all over again. Go to ND in June, Soldier Hollow/Meeker/Finals in CO.

[PSmitty]

Ok, I gotta think about my goals. Just wanted to chime in and say I can't wait to try a beer magarita now! Thanks a lot, Linda.

[Northof49]

I have just one very simple goal - survive another year of living with Ivy!!

[stockdogranch]

Nice thread...for this next year:

 

Have enough points on both Open dogs for Finals (cattle, that is); Raskle is already qualified for Nursery....then bring home a buckle from Finals!

 

Tikkle was just bred--get her through her pregnancy safely, have a nice litter of outstanding pups, get those I can't keep into great working homes, and keep several to train up to sell

 

Once the truck is paid off (YAAY! in 3 months), start stashing away money to get out of CA when I retire

 

Maybe get to a few more trials than I have in recent years

 

Have patience to deal with college freshmen who really don't want to learn anything

 

Continue to be amazed and inspired by these wonderful dogs, and continue to have talented dogs to work with

 

Appreciate all the good things and people I have in my life

 

A

[Smokjbc]

- Concentrating a lot on work. Just got a new job in April that is exciting career-wise and I plan on staying at least two years (even though I badly wish to leave this town!) so that I can be more employable in a greener, sheep friendly place. Probably not going to do anything drastic until the economy gets on it's feet again.

 

- Getting Jet ready to trial Pro-Novice. Had hoped to trial her in Nursery last year but being laid off put a hold on almost all traveling. But I had lots of time to train, and it was good for her to have a year with just training and no pressure. Hope to be ready to move her to Open by next July but not going to push it. Short-term goal is start trialing again in November and complete a course with minimal "YOU LIE DOWN $*%$*$@!!!s"

 

- Learn not to be so attached to my sheep. I just sold about half my older ewes and it was tough but they don't challenge the dogs and were way too slow. Now they are helping a beginner get started. Keeping lots of lambs this year, so trying to keep "hands off" a good number of them until they are older and then the fun will begin! As much as I like the sheep, they are there to make the dogs better. Especially after this year of very stingy lamb buyers.

 

- Start working on strengthening the stockdog community here. Right now, we consist of a myself and a few casual hobbyists but now have a more serious working friend only 80 miles away (only!) plus the lady I sold my dog broke sheep to is enthusiastic about working on dog trials or clinics. Finding sheep and space will be the biggest challenge but will work on some fun trials first and go from there.

 

- Start and complete Nanowrimo (30 days, one novel) for the third time. Work is busy and dogs are busy, but got to fit in the time.

 

- Lose weight. Or at least start on that issue. Ugh, I need to stop watching Top Chef.

[PennyT]

Hire Mark.

[Star]

I love the 87 years old, margarita on the beach, young boyfriend goal! LOL!

 

Mine are:

Get Star started on agility (and maybe we'll accidently run into some sheep!)

Raise $50,000 to help find a cure for breast cancer.

Be a better Christian and always work toward being a better steward of my time, treasure, and loved ones.

[Sue R]

Hire Mark.

[alligande]

Learn to drive my new Ferrari on an agility course, and do everything in my power not to slow Rievaulx down so I can keep up......

 

Persuade Brody that he wants to become a Ferrari, although I will settle for a performance sedan..... truthfully I would be thrilled if he just stopped lounging on the top of the A frame.

 

Get in better shape so I can keep up with Rievaulx -

 

Hope the rumor is true that a trainer will be using fields closer to my home so I can start Rievaulx on sheep.

 

Continue to build my business so that I can afford to play with my dogs - which sadly means less trialing as I work weekends, shame people don't get married during the week.

[Pipedream Farm]

Mark's booked up for the next few decades.

[Sue R]

Mark's booked up for the next few decades.

Well, there go both PennyT's and my dream plans...

[Alchemist]

Love this thread!

 

Goals (in no particular order):

1) Something ejano said resonated in me: "to live up to my dog's expectations". I would love to get Duncan to the point where we can identify suitable activities that will provide him with the mental stimulation a Border collie demands. ("Pet tricks" don't really count).

2) To make time to attend more sheepdog trials, so that I can make connections with this remarkable community.

3) Home remodeling (ugh, the stuff of nightmares for me) - get my roof replaced and some trees removed so that I can finally grow grass in my back yard again.

4) Work (part 1) - get the proposal funded I'm working on now so that my students and I can embark on some new, exciting, and meaningful areas of research.

5) Work (part 2) - develop a new class for this spring that will stimulate my students to think creatively and work through open-ended problems.

6) Establish exactly the right level of "scaffolding" for our two sons (one a freshman in college, the other a freshman in high school) so that they can continue to master the ability to function on their own, while making only those mistakes from which they'll learn, rather than those they would rue for life.

7) Convince the family to eat more sustainably (it's worth getting up at dawn on Saturdays to go to the farmer's market; it's even worth eating vegetarian, if only once a week). Especially persuade younger son that certain vegetables (kale, chard, okra, baby bok choi) are, in fact, delicious and are not a sinister plot.

8) Learn to spin and to dye yarn

9) Work on taking better photographs (the BC Board members are a continual source of inspiration!)

10) Be the kind of person my DH thinks I am!

 

Dreams/Aspirations:

1) Find a trainer willing to work with a newbie handler (me) and a green pup on stock

2) Add a second dog to our household (who is it who said that Border collies are like potato chips - you can't have just one?)

3) Move farther afield to a house with more land so that we can raise some of our own (organic, to the extent possible) food (vegetables, chickens and eggs, rabbits... aw, since I'm dreamin', why not include sheep!)

[NorthfieldNick]

This is a fun thread

 

I'm thinking that the Vashon trial in October will be Nick & my last Novice run. After that, I'll definitely play around with Ranch & PN in our winter trial series. They're pretty laid back & you can cross-enter, so it's a great time to practice. My goal is to run PN at Lacamas next year.

 

Hoot is heading up to BC for Sheepdog Bootcamp right after the Vashon trial. My goal is to get him going well enough to be a useful farm dog, and to trial in Nursery. Finals are in Klamath in 2012, will hopefully be on this side of the country in 2012, and I plan on qualifying. [Correction added to avoid confusion & rumors!]

 

I finally feel like my sheep flock is at a place where I can start getting pretty picky about the traits I'm breeding for. When I took over this flock, there were a bunch of unbred yearlings, and a bunch of ewes who were about 12. Six of them keeled over from old age in the first six months I managed this flock! I've worked hard to turn the flock into a productive bunch, and I hope to continue that.

 

The pastured poultry side of the farm has been growing every year. Next year, I'd like to invest in some Buckeye chickens (a very rare, and very cool breed) and start raising them. I just might keep some of the Royal Palm turkeys I have out there now, too. I'll continue providing people with sustainable food, and educating people on the wonders of heritage breeds.

 

I have an interview for a job dealing with farmland preservation this week. It's a grant-funded job, with an end date, but it also has the possibility to lead to something more permanent. Then there's always the bakery, and the custom cakes, which I absolutely love doing.

 

Maybe this year Scott & I will get to travel a little more. I'm spending nearly two weeks in Italy this fall (which I am insanely excited about), but unfortunately, due to his parents' health issues, Scott is unable to come with me.

 

I'm slowly learning to just shut up & ignore the inconsequential things Scott does that drive me nuts I'd like it if he'd learn a little more about dealing with the dogs the way I do (maybe they'd listen to him better...), but I'm happy for what he does do with them.

 

Get back on my damn bicycle, and get back on my damn horse!

[Donald McCaig]

Ms. Alchemist wishes to:

 

" persuade younger son that certain vegetables (kale, chard, okra, baby bok choi) are, in fact, delicious and are not a sinister plot."

 

Your son is right. They are the veggie version of black helicopters.

 

Donald McCaig

[Shoofly]

Nick said "Finals are in Klamath in 2012, and I plan on qualifying."

 

Where did you hear this?

[PSmitty]

Let's see, for the dogs, I don't really have any set goals. Other than the most important, which is to keep them all healthy and happy.

 

With Alex, I plan to continue agility and flyball, but I don't really have goals in mind. I just kind of assume if we keep plugging along, the next titles will come eventually. He'll soon get his Flyball Master Champion title, I can't even remember if that's what it's called. In agility, I'd like to do more NADAC and USDAA, and it sure would be nice to actually Q in Excellent some day. The only stock work we've been doing is on ducks, and the last two times out were not stellar. I'm putting him up for at least a month, and we'll see if he's interested again later in the year.

 

Lilly will continue to be the Princess Biscuit Eater Couch Warmer that she is now.

 

Will is going to do flyball with my husband. His goal is to be running in tournaments by November or December, and he's on track to do that. I am thinking about starting agility with him after the first of the year, I'm not sure yet. We put him on sheep last week, and he showed a teensy bit more promise, so I'm going to bring him along to lessons and see where that leads.

 

Jack will continue his sheep lessons. He doesn't have a lot of talent, so I am realistic about not worrying about trialing. I will learn as much as I can, he loves it, and as long as we don't stall out, we'll keep plugging along. I hope to build some knowledge/experience that I can build upon when the right next dog comes along for me. I'm also going to take him dock diving soon. Not to ever compete, but I think he might love it.

 

Which brings me to my biggest aspiration, and I know this is a tough one: to find a good young dog in rescue with enough talent to take me further in the stock working world. I have NO goals about making it to Finals in 2020, but I would like to walk to a post somewhere, someday. Oh, and there's no timetable for this goal, since it just depends on if/when the right dog comes along, and if the timing is right.

 

General stuff:

--Save more money and get in a better place financially

--Do a lot more work on our house and yard, including a new fence, new flooring and painting.

--Be a nicer, more patient person

--Spend more time with my family

[NorthfieldNick]

Nick said "Finals are in Klamath in 2012, and I plan on qualifying."

 

Where did you hear this?

 

 

Sorry, Robin, I guess I should have said, "Finals should be on this side of the country in 2012." I don't know exactly where they'll be. They were in Klamath last year & my brain was fried from working on a grant writing sample all day.

[Shoofly]

Okay, thanks. Thought maybe you had some info i hadn't heard yet.

[Stoga]

Find some obscure factlet about North American border collie history that Penny doesn't already know about...

[Alchemist]

Ms. Alchemist wishes to:

 

" persuade younger son that certain vegetables (kale, chard, okra, baby bok choi) are, in fact, delicious and are not a sinister plot."

 

Your son is right. They are the veggie version of black helicopters.

 

Donald McCaig

 

Mr. McCaig: with all due respect - perhaps you've never encountered these vegetables cooked properly?

 

I lived in England for several years during the 1970s. Vegetables in those days were prepared according to a standard recipe: "boil until gray". This was a recipe my grandmother followed dutifully, even though she was many generations removed from the Brits. But somehow she felt that no food - animal or vegetable alike - was Safe unless cooked to submission.

 

Last night we had okra for dinner. Fresh, from the farmer's market. If you slice fresh okra pods after drying them thoroughly after washing them, they don't exude slime. Stir fry them in oil with some chili peppers until slightly brown-crunchy-tender... well, you'd have to be a philistine (or a 14-year-old adolescent) not to appreciate them. Just as well younger son didn't want any of them, as DH and I scarfed every crumb.

 

Kale - with a bit of garlic and finished with balsamic vinegar? Chard - cooked (as we had it tonight) just until barely tender, again with a bit of garlic (is there any food, other than ice cream, that isn't improved by the addition of garlic?), in olive oil and vegetable or chicken stock?

 

I admit there are, indeed, vegetables that I won't try again. My sole foray into dandelion leaves revealed them to be Nasty. I won't touch fruitcake either. Disgusting stuff. But other than candied fruit or cooked dandelion leaves ... I've never met foods I didn't like, provided that they were prepared correctly.

[ejano]

Best recipe for dandelions...pick the blossoms and give them to someone who knows how to make wine ....your other recipes sound great! I will add to my goals...eat healthier!

 

Liz

 

Mr. McCaig: with all due respect - perhaps you've never encountered these vegetables cooked properly?

 

I lived in England for several years during the 1970s. Vegetables in those days were prepared according to a standard recipe: "boil until gray". This was a recipe my grandmother followed dutifully, even though she was many generations removed from the Brits. But somehow she felt that no food - animal or vegetable alike - was Safe unless cooked to submission.

 

Last night we had okra for dinner. Fresh, from the farmer's market. If you slice fresh okra pods after drying them thoroughly after washing them, they don't exude slime. Stir fry them in oil with some chili peppers until slightly brown-crunchy-tender... well, you'd have to be a philistine (or a 14-year-old adolescent) not to appreciate them. Just as well younger son didn't want any of them, as DH and I scarfed every crumb.

 

Kale - with a bit of garlic and finished with balsamic vinegar? Chard - cooked (as we had it tonight) just until barely tender, again with a bit of garlic (is there any food, other than ice cream, that isn't improved by the addition of garlic?), in olive oil and vegetable or chicken stock?

 

I admit there are, indeed, vegetables that I won't try again. My sole foray into dandelion leaves revealed them to be Nasty. I won't touch fruitcake either. Disgusting stuff. But other than candied fruit or cooked dandelion leaves ... I've never met foods I didn't like, provided that they were prepared correctly.

[havenjm]

Goal:

To make a living as a shepherd (cheesemaker) and sheepdog trainer.

 

Dreams:

To write a book worth reading.

To free the Border Collie from the clutches of the AKC.

[PennyT]

Anne and Donald McCaig are cooks with dedication, authenticity, and expertise that I no longer aspire to. They make their brown sauce from stock which they boil down from hooves. I never had their Bordelaise; I can but dream. Eleven years later I remember their brown sauce. I'm from New Orleans and we remember culinary events like that. If he isn't convinced by now about greens, he never will be. Suggest cold kale with sesame. I don't know a recipe. Whole Foods does it well if heavy-handed on the soy sauce.

 

Thanks for the saute tip on okra. I only got it right once out of every ten tries. Gave it up.

 

I do have a new goal: work my new pup more by learning to move new, theoretically halter broken guard donkey easily.

 

Penny

 

 

Mr. McCaig: with all due respect - perhaps you've never encountered these vegetables cooked properly?

 

I lived in England for several years during the 1970s. Vegetables in those days were prepared according to a standard recipe: "boil until gray". This was a recipe my grandmother followed dutifully, even though she was many generations removed from the Brits. But somehow she felt that no food - animal or vegetable alike - was Safe unless cooked to submission.

 

Last night we had okra for dinner. Fresh, from the farmer's market. If you slice fresh okra pods after drying them thoroughly after washing them, they don't exude slime. Stir fry them in oil with some chili peppers until slightly brown-crunchy-tender... well, you'd have to be a philistine (or a 14-year-old adolescent) not to appreciate them. Just as well younger son didn't want any of them, as DH and I scarfed every crumb.

 

Kale - with a bit of garlic and finished with balsamic vinegar? Chard - cooked (as we had it tonight) just until barely tender, again with a bit of garlic (is there any food, other than ice cream, that isn't improved by the addition of garlic?), in olive oil and vegetable or chicken stock?

 

I admit there are, indeed, vegetables that I won't try again. My sole foray into dandelion leaves revealed them to be Nasty. I won't touch fruitcake either. Disgusting stuff. But other than candied fruit or cooked dandelion leaves ... I've never met foods I didn't like, provided that they were prepared correctly.