Yesterday's herding lesson was a complete success, from moving the sheep around the fields to speaking with the trainer. I was polite and ladylike but didn't mince words and, I believe, she heard and understood what I was sharing.
Loch displayed some really weird behaviors during our session but by the end of our hour he had settled down. Border Collies are complicated creatures, certain things can really throw them off and they remember all of it. I think part of the behaviors was a power play - he likes to get his own way (typical man!) while I insist upon being the alpha female (don't say it). He knows he is more experienced on the field, and I do also, but he has to listen to my commands, even if he "knows" he is correct.
I asked our trainer if we could come for another session on Friday. I have to pick up Oldest Son in the early afternoon and the farm is only a half hour or so from his college. Loch and I could train for an hour and then swing over to put up my boy.
Our discussions about my personal goals for trialing lead to another development, our trainer offered her sheep for practice once a week without her having to be present. I told her I would pay for the time and that would be great. It will really help me "read" the sheep without worrying about understanding what she is seeing.
All in all it was a really good session.
Unfortunately I did not get to swim yesterday. I had planned to catch the 5:00 PM lap swim at the Y but when that golden 4:30 mark rolled around I realized I was completely incapable of doing it. I was tired from the day and from running around the field with Loch. Which means, on Friday if we have a lesson, I will have to shoot for the 7:00 AM lap swim then herd later. I know I will have enough in me working in that direction. Of course, I may not be able to keep my eyes open after 8:00 that night, but that's okay.
I haven't been in the water since Thursday. That is not good. I am going today and will probably have to increase my time spent swimming just to get to the distance goal. I expect to be very sore, almost like starting over again. Not something I am looking forward to. I could have gone on Monday but when we woke up Hubby said, "You aren't planning on swimming today, are you?" I took that as meaning we would ride the Harley starting in the morning. I told him no and then he went to work "for a little while."
Fast forward to 1:00 PM when he strolled back into the house after working and then stopping to visit with one of his buddies. I was kind of ripped that I missed a workout while he was chatting up a storm. I could have been back by 12:30, showered and ready to ride by 1:00. I told him this later in the afternoon, after I had cooled down and my tongue was securely under my brain's control. Sometimes I'm a smart girl.
At first, he was telling me I was wrong, I could have gone. Yep, I could have if he let me know his plan to stop off at his friend's house. I pointed this out because one of the things that bothers me is his habit of giving me only part of the story or information. Being the boss at work and only telling your employees "what they need to know" doesn't necessarily mean you're the boss at home.
Then when he sort of gave me that point I continued (of course). Because he couldn't understand why I was upset I put the situation in his terms: What if I told him something that caused HIM to miss one of HIS workouts? Oh, yeah, he said. Dah. Dah. Dah.
And while I was at it, I had another point to make. Why leave things alone when you're on such a roll? I talked to him about my training with Loch. He wants me to do it but he doesn't really actively support it. It's not a bad thing, it just is. He wants Loch and I to do well at trials and is a little disturbed we stopped trialing mid-way through the season. So, I explained to him, "What if you were training for a competitive, athletic event and you could only practice for an hour once a week and sometimes only one hour a month, then you were expected to attend the event, do well and even place high enough to bring home a ribbon or two. Could you do it?" Oh, he said. "Could you?" I asked again. No, of course not.
I think this discussion could have prompted the farm talk of yesterday morning.
After that we had a very nice lunch, afternoon and evening together. Discussing things in a mature manner always works better than stomping a foot and spewing pea soup, although it's not quite as fun.