Amanda’s Back!

Amanda Milliken is back as our guest blogger, complete with her brand-new Iphone that she has made great strides in mastering.  Here, she reports on day 1 of the Gold Country Sheepdog Trial in Plymouth, California:

*****

The trial field was expected to be big a flat but it is big and hilly and charming.The green is refreshing in the extreme.The outrun takes dogs in complicated undulations out three hundred and fifty yards or so in a field punctuated with live oaks, both the leaved type and those that will get leaves.Nothing prepared me for its beauty.Vista, vista and vista.It is me and Vie de Sackville-West.

The sheep have been good too.Yearlings.Range fine wools.They have bags of tricks that some dogs and hands have handled ok,They meted out enough trouble to post retirement and disqualification notices to the board–many sheep winners but more sheep victims.   Suzy Applegate and Jeff Blackstone leading the charge with tied 79's.It was so windy, I did not see so many more scores since they took the score board down to prevent its blowing in the wind.

The rainy weather from Friday gave way to bright chilly weather on Saturday. It was a stalwart Californian who could sit out in that north wind all day, tenacious, brisk and cool.

Roz was disappointment, chased off the field by an opportunistic ewe.  If she had just leveled an old-fashioned head grip in the first place none of this would have happened.I could even see the humour in it, but it would have been way funnier had been someone else, like Beverly.

Clive was pretty good.He ran last of the day, at dusk.We had trouble of that pen where I became suspicious of the intentions of couple of my ewes and their plans to go in different directions.After a few moments of costly chaos they went in.

The trial is not over with about ten dogs to run this morning.I never did see my own score as the wind was too much for the score board.

We found a lovely little cafe in Amador City, Andrea's bakery, where the coffee is good, and the almond croissants are as good as I have ever had.

Joni Swanke, Michelle Howard, Sandra Milberg and I all had a great supper last night at a good restaurant across the way–duck with raspberry reduction.  I will try to send in some results later.