Snow is falling at a fast rate as I write this at the end of November. It has been falling all afternoon and into the night. At this rate, we may have a half a foot here at our place in Upstate New York. In the elevations of The Taconics and Berkshire Hills, more than that! I am glad I got the snowblower tuned up! The Border Collies know that a big change is here. Less work by far for them. Goose control now may be finished for the year, depending on snow and ice on ponds of clients in different spots of our locations. Wild Geese have been hanging around in now limited locations this late fall, as they usually do until Winter really sets in. And some of our clients who are “lucky” enough to have these very large flocks have kept us busy.
But as I sit here writing this, with 7-year-old Blade and our only “non Border Collie” Nash on the couch next to me, I know as they do, the heavy lifting is about done. The months of goose control, which started in late March this year, the sheepdog trialing and all the training will give way to rest and romps in the snow. There still will be taking care of our sheep and chicken and ducks. And herding training will continue as long as the footing is good.
But while Nash, a mixed breed, is happy to take it easy, the Border Collies, would like a good amount of work daily I think. I…on the other hand, am ready for some downtime. If goose control starts with an early Spring in February or even early March, that is not too far off. As I run the snowblower in the morning, our youngest Border Collie, Moses, and our oldest female Border Collie,Skye, will probably play in the flying snow. I will keep an eye out as always for their safety. Lori will shovel out the sheep and poultry doors and feed the now snow-bound sheep, chickens and ducks. I bet the sheep will wonder what happened to the grass they love to eat! The ducks will make due as ducks do.They seem oblivious of rain and snow. The chickens might venture out over the cold white stuff to look for “an open area” where they might find fallen seeds or even bare ground to “scratch in”.Then Lori will take the dogs for the daily walk which they love.
But as these things go, our client, a school, in the Connecticut Valley, might have not gotten a fraction of this snow. Or, or a client in the Hudson Valley near Albany, a homeowners association, may still have geese and want them flown. Another remaining client, a school on the edge of wetlands where the wild geese rest and fly in from had tons of geese this week. The shallow open water was frozen and the hundreds of geese were using the playing fields to rest on. But anywhere around here, wild geese in December are a rare thing. A bit to our south you might see them year-round. Bet that might make the Border collies happy! But after all the chores are done tomorrow, if the snow is easy enough for the sheep to walk on,I think we will try some herding training. Blade needs practice at maintaining the proper pace, after all. Moses who is a great goose dog needs his time working with sheep to make him a solid working dog. And our small Border Collie, Tara, can work on staying calm and being precise. It may just be the beginning of an enjoyable Winter.