Sheepdog Trials

We went over to see a bit of the Sheepdog Trials Saturday.
It was pretty interesting. The Fuzz's Sweetie saw something about it in the local paper. We had heard of it before, but never thought to go.
As you can see in the picture above, there were a lot of these black and white dogs there.
This was a first for us. The Fuzz's Sweetie brought along a friend who was interested also. The folks out there seemed nice enough. They were willing to answer The Fuzz's pretty basic questions about what was going on out there. We enjoyed it.
First the dog has to run all the way across the field to get the sheep. These shots were taken with a zoomy-type lens so the distance is a bit distorted. It was really a pretty good ways across.
The dog has to herd the 4 sheep back across the field to the handler, who I guess is a sheepherder. On the way they are supposed to pass though a gate out there in the middle of the middle. You can see that happening in that 2nd pix. After they get to the handler, he/she sends them back out to pass though a couple more gates out in the field. The handler is using a whistle to tell the dog where to take the sheep. When they get back again, the dog and handler have to separate the sheep into two groups. This seems to be a bit tricky as the sheep don't seem to like it. That's what they're doing in those next couple pix. After that, they put them in a small pen. All this has to happen in 9 min. The dog in that next pix looks just a little different than the others. The woman said it has a bit of Bearded Collie in it. What ever it was, it seemed to do the best out of the few we saw.And here's a couple of the spectators taking it easy in the shade.

Turtles Of The East

Since we're on this Turtle Thing, The Fuzz thought it might be a good time for this wonderful
Turtle Combo.

This was a collaborative effort by a couple of local unknowns.
Hope you enjoy it.

More Turtles

And since we're on the subject, here's a look at some more Turtles in a rendition by one of The Fuzz's favorite Little Known Local Artists.

Slow Visitor

Things have been a bit slow around here lately. We have been staying busy, but not much of anything new or exciting. Until now.
As The Fuzz looked out the window the other day, (We won't go into detail on what he was doing at the time) he saw this visitor out in the yard by the edge of the woods.As you can see, he's a pretty good sized fellow. And mean. I suppose The Fuzz might have aggravated him a little, but this does seem to be a bit of overreaction.
He couldn't even get along with the Kitty Cats. What a Grouch!The Fuzz doesn't understand why he was so unsociable, but in the end there was nothing left for it but to just leave him to himself. But The Fuzz was thankful to still have all his fingers. We got tiered of waiting for him to leave, so we just went back to our own affairs. Later in the day, he was gone, who knows where.

Alice Packer

The Fuzz took Alice camping this weekend.
His Sweetie and Young Daughter went too. Here is a picture of Alice, his ALICE pack. In this shot Alice has been removed from the frame The Fuzz rides her on. This is a handy feature since it's easier to squeeze her into the tent with His Sweetie and himself. The Fuzz picked up Alice one day at work some time ago. That was back before the New World Order where the trash is never handled by real people.
In that situation, Alice would have been doomed. But thankfully, those were saner days, and Alice was rescued. Still, she had no visible means of support at the time, but that big hearted Fuzz took her in anyway. Just a little modification was all that was needed to make her a match for his old pack frame, and they have gone on to serve together quite effectively.
They did have a fine camping trip. It was short, only 1 night, but the weather was excellent. It was good to get off into the mountains again even if only for a short time.

His Ride

Since the weather has warmed up a bit, The Fuzz has been using his bike for his daily commute. It's a nice ride into town with the mist lying in the fields and sun rising behind the trees.

Here is a portrait of his beat up old bike, done by a little known, local artist.

It's nothing fancy, but it gets him there.

The Final Piece

Here is the last instalment of the saga of the destruction of our tea kettle.
Last time, we showed you our Brand New Whistling Tea Kettle. But you may recall, that this was all brought about by a catastrophic failure of one of the large burners on our excellent cook stove. And so, that also was replaced. And here is a look at that. And so, the repairs are compleat. Isn't life exciting?

The Replacement

In the previous post we related the story behind the loss of our faithful tea kettle. While it is possible to boil tea water in any sauce pan, there is nothing like the whistling tea kettle. If nothing else, tradition demands it. And so as it was a rainy morning, we went off to the city in search of a suitable replacement. And here, The Fuzz is proud to present, our Brand New Shiny Tea Kettle!
Now all that remains, is for The Fuzz to find a replacement burner for our "cooker". With luck, things should be back to normal by tomorrow evening.

Fire in the Hole

With the Young Daughter off on an overnight visit, The Fuzz and His Sweetie had the evening to themselves.
So after stopping by the old place to take care of some yard work, they went out their favorite Mexican Restaurant for some dinner. Then it was back to the woods for some coffee and an evening at home.
That was pretty nice.
In the morning they even got to stay in the bed until they actually wanted to get up. Again a nice change.
Yet it did turn out to be an exciting morning after all. You will note, in the above pix, the somewhat damaged burner to the cook stove. As the tea kettle was happily heating up, there was a sudden pop and flash of light. This turned into the sound of what seemed to be an arc welder as sparks and smoke flew up from the stove.
It seems that we experienced a burner blowout here. Unfortunately it also blew out out our water kettle. (Note at the red arrow) And as can be seen at the right, in this interior view, the kettle is ruint.
But things could have been worse. What would have happened if The Fuzz and His Sweetie had not been right there to witness this? Would they now be sitting out there in the rain sadly looking over the charred ruins of their home? I don't know, but it did make for an exciting morning around here.

What's Going On

The Fuzz just couldn't resist another Dogwood pix. He sees them every day when he looks out the window.
You will also notice how the trees have finally leafed out. It's nice to have a bit of shade since the sun can get pretty hot even this early in the year.
But then, it's not really all that early anymore. The Fuzz was a little surprised to see that April is already half gone.
We have been keeping ourselves occupied with yard work, gardens and such. The Fuzz is also getting started on a workshop out here. Not much has been done yet as you can see, but at least it is a start.
This is the planned location. If one looks close*, one might see the stakes locating the future corners of the place.
We're not talking huge here, maybe 224 sq ft. just some room for the table saw and welder.
The Fuzz's Sweetie has been living with these items in her house (how many wives are so fortunate to have an arc welder in their very own kitchen!) for close to 30 years.
Well, God willing, this may change soon.
We'll also try to get some pix up of our exciting new Brick Patio soon.



*Yes, you can click on the pix for a better look.

Now The Truth Can Be Told

Well, that Canuck came closest. Shoot we might as well give him credit for it. It is the track on this bridge building equipment, although not it's "imprint". Here is a look* at the machine itself. From a distance. But you can see the new bridge!These are some pix The Fuzz made a while back on one of his motorcycle rides.
The Fuzz wanted me to apologize for not keeping up on these posts. He has been busy with another project that we won't go into here. But he says he will try to do better in the future.


*Click on the Pix for a better look!

Next Clue

Does it help?

Yet Another M.P.

This one might not be so easy.
So we'll post another clue tomorrow night.

Even Another Mystery Pix

Good Luck!

A Dogwood Update

Here's an update on those Dogwoods. Now they're looking better. A older fellow told me one time that the way to know when to plant corn, was when the Dogwoods were blooming.
Well, The Fuzz isn't planning on planting any corn this year, but he still likes to see those Dogwood trees blooming out in the woods.
With the temperature in the high 80's, and the sun out, we'll be wanting some shade soon. Shoot, we want it now! The trees are starting to leaf out, but it will take a few more days yet. At least it's not snowing anymore.
And as you can see, even our Froggy Friend is enjoying the Springtime.

Clue For Exciting Mystery Pix

Exciting New Mystery Pix!

Spring is moving in on us here in NC. Here are some of the Dogwoods starting to open. They don't quite have their true color yet. But we'll keep y'all posted.
And while we were in the Big City the other day, The Fuzz got this exciting Mystery Pix for y'all.

You can guess now, or wait for the next clue in 12 hours.

Puppy Fun

Puppies just like to have fun.This one has her paws full with this kitty though.

Lazy Kitty

Kicking back, what cats do best.

And here's a bit of Fuzzy Thinking for you.

Darkness