Sheep Dogs and Relationships

Every year in Heber Valley, Utah the Soldier Hollow Classic sheepdog trials take place. This is an extremely hard competition and people travel with their dogs from all over the world to compete. These trials require the sheep dog to travel far up a hillside while
their owner remains at the base of the hill. Using only whistles, the owner must have the dog guide the sheep through a course of gates, separate them into two groups, and end by herding them into a pen.

These dogs and owners spend a lot of time together and have a real working relationship based on trust and understanding. The dogs must be focused in order to hear the owners commands and the owners must show a real care for their dogs in order for their dogs to respond. I have been thinking a lot about this relationship recently and how these principles can apply to other areas in life. The journey that the dogs are on is a difficult one. There are many obstacles they have to overcome and they cannot see the finish from the start of the course. They have to trust their owner and be paying attention for the signals so they understand where to go. This trust can only be built through hard work on the owners part. The love of a dog is a great thing to have and has to be earned over time.

So often today many people are focused on success and making it to the next level. We sometimes believe that our family and friends will always be there for us and, because they want us to succeed, it is ok to put developing those relationships on the back burner while we pursue our goals. In his book "How Will You Measure Your Life?" Clayton Christensen discusses this topic and states that those relationships are too valuable to lose. Our relationships with our family and friends are the ones that need constant nourishment. After all, when we do succeed, what is success without having someone there to share it with?

I think that everyone wants to know that when they speak their friends will hear. When they need someone that their friends will be there for them. That relationship goes both ways and is in need of constant nourishment. The relationships we develop with our friends and family are the most important successes we can have in our lives.

This is Beaux. He is a border collie and is very smart. He would do anything for me because we have worked and are constantly working to build our relationship. 

Below is a video further detailing the sheep dog trails. Feel free to watch for more information. 

Interviews and Progress

This past week I had the opportunity to participate in a few mock interviews both with a panel of interviewers and online. This was a great opportunity because it helped me learn more about being both an interviewer and an interviewee. I know I write a lot about agriculture and it is because agriculture is my passion. I want to be involved in it and there are so many great lessons you can learn about life that come through participation. I want to work in agriculture which means I need to be able to interview and present myself well. It doesn't matter what field you find yourself going into, good interviewing skills are a must.
From my interviews I learned the few nervous ticks I have. Everyone has them and sometimes they can be very distracting and detracting from an interview. Now that I know what I do when I am nervous I can take counter measures to help me overcome that bad habit. I also learned that sometimes when I get excited about a subject I talk too much. This detracts from the interview as well because it takes up time needed to answer other questions. The resume feedback I got was great! A resume is an employers first impression of you and so it needs to fit both you and the job description. I learned where to expand on my experiences and what to cut out. The best part of this interview process was that I got to mock interview for a job I am really interested in. This meant I got to answer questions that really related to my desired line of work and figure out where I can improve. Answering questions like, "What makes you feel you are qualified for this job?" or, "Explain your major to me." or, "Tell me about your greatest weakness." all really help me evaluate my problem, action, result stories (PAR Stories) and become more confident in myself. Overall, these mock interviews were great experiences where I learned how to ask questions to find what I am looking for in an employee and how to answer questions to make myself look desirable to possible employers.

Chicken Wrangling in the Dark

On my farm we have two chicken coops. Each chicken coop is home to a flock of chickens. Because the weather was so nice at the beginning of the week we decided to let them out to roam and eat bugs. Now, we don't usually worry about our chickens going back into their coop at night because chickens like to roost at night. This means they sleep on perches above the ground to protect themselves. All we have to do is go lock up the chicken coop after all the chickens are inside where they to to sleep safe and sound from dogs or raccoons. 

http://danieldendy.blogspot.com/2011/02/curses-like-chickens-come-home-to-roost.html

Apparently, this flock of chickens that we have doesn't care to roost which means they didn't care to go back in the chicken coop. These chickens found it much more enjoyable to huddle outside on the ground with a view of the barn light. When they were in their coop they would sleep on the ground in the view of the barn light, but there they were protected. Because we couldn't leave them outside to get eaten my father and I spent a good amount of time chasing and catching the chickens and securing them in their coop. 

Now, what is the point of this story? Chickens like light. They like to be in the light for as long as they can each day. Light is a good thing, but in this case, their focus on the light was endangering their safety. In our lives it can be so easy to become focused on a good thing. It might be graduating from high school or college. It might be securing that dream job or saving enough money to buy that dream house or car. Focusing on and accomplishing these things is great, however, sometimes we need to step back and check where we are. Has our focus on that good thing led us to a place where we are in danger? Have we been so focused on that good thing that we have missed other opportunities that could bring us much more joy and happiness along the way? If all we do is focus on graduating from high school or college we will miss out on many amazing experiences. We may not be in danger of being eaten by a dog or raccoon, but we will be in danger of losing chances to make friends and grow in many other ways. Focus on the light, but don't be like the chickens. Remember that there are many opportunities out there if you take a moment to look around and see them. Don't be so focused on the future that you miss the present because the present is the best part. 

The Oh so Scary Something

There is a saying that goes, "Horses are only afraid of two things: (1) Things that move and (2) things that don't." This saying is sadly all too true. This week while riding at the arena one of our horses had a large freak out because she was afraid of a piece of farm equipment parked outside the arena. The piece of equipment was not making any noise or even moving, yet it was very, very, very scary to this horse. This fear kept her from performing her best and made the ride a struggle.

What fears do we have that hold us back? What fears do we have that keep us from reaching our full potential? Some people are afraid of heights. This fear can keep them from experiencing amazing views from a hot air balloon or experiencing a large adrenaline rush from rock climbing. Some people are afraid of spiders and that can keep them from enjoying the outdoors and all the beauty it has to offer.

Later in the ride this same horse spooked at something she couldn't even see. The wind was blowing and the compost pile near the arena had a few tree branches on it and she thought something behind them was scary. Nothing was there however, convincing her of that was a challenge. We all have fears that we can't see. Things like failure, rejection, speaking in public or talking to people. If we let those fears control us we can miss out on amazing opportunities and successes.

Everyone has fears both seen and unseen. It is how we deal with those fears that decides who we will be. If we let our fears get the best of us, like the horse did, we will have a "bad ride" and not reach our full potential.

The horse I was riding was scared of the same things. The difference was his reaction. When he saw something scary and I walked him up to investigate it, he faced the scary thing head on. By looking at his fear he was able to overcome it and we had a nice ride.

We need to be more like my horse. It is impossible to avoid all our fears if we want to have a fulfilling life. Overcoming scary things is part of growing up and growing stronger. We need to face our fears head on and view them objectively. Then we may realize that the scary thing is no more than a simple piece of farm equipment. When we can overcome our fears we can reach new heights and rise to a potential we never knew was possible. 

The Grass Is Always Greener....

For the last few months we have had a few cows in the pasture at my house. These cows are dairy steers that we are finishing out to eat. Our pasture is quite large and full of good grass but for some reason, a couple of the cows decided it was not enough. No matter how much hay and grain we kept feeding them, on top of free range grass, they were constantly reaching through the fence to eat the grass on the other side. These cows are pretty big, and they are pretty strong. A fence can only handle so much which meant they ended up pushing through and getting out. 

This experience got me thinking about the "grass is always greener" principle. It is when, no matter our situation, something else looks better. Maybe you have been working to get a really good job and once you get it you see another job that looks better. Maybe you find a great apartment but after you move in you find something that looks better. Maybe it is something as simple as going to a movie and then wishing you went bowling instead. These are all examples of the "grass is always greener" principle.

One lesson I learned as I thought about this experience this week is to enjoy yourself. Lift where you stand. Be happy on your side of the fence. There will always be other options that present themselves. We can't do everything and we can't be everywhere but we can choose to be happy with the current situation we are in. If we spend our whole life looking on the other side of the fence and wishing we were there we will miss a lot of great opportunities that are happening right under our noses.

Even though the cows pushed and pushed to get through the fence, once they got to the other side they started looking for the next great thing. If we are constantly looking ahead and wishing we were somewhere else we are going to miss a lot of life. I think we need to slow down and enjoy where we are at in life or we will miss out on a lot. I think we need to stop second guessing ourselves when we make decisions and go forth with vigor when we make a decision. I think we need to enjoy the moment and pay attention to the little things. Only then will we realize that the grass is NOT always greener on the other side, and that we are standing in a field full of endless possibilities. 

Roping Horses and Comfort Zones

This week I had the opportunity to rope with some friends. We got the four-wheeler out and attached the roping dummy to it, then took turns roping off our horses for most of the night. I am not an experienced roper so I got to be the dummy driver. It was a lot of fun! Up and down the arena we would go. Sometimes it was a clean catch, other times it was a huge miss. Everyone had roped before and the horses were pretty experienced. They knew to follow the dummy and listen to their rider. After a little while we noticed that the horses did well going up the arena however, going down they always veered off to the left. When we stopped to talk about this, one of the riders said he believed they were following the security of the fence line.

As I was thinking about this experience a familiar quote came to mind. "There is no growth in a comfort zone and no comfort in a growth zone." My friend tells me this anytime I am hesitant or reluctant to try something new because I am scared. I think this quote applies to this situation and to many in life. The roping horses were well trained in what to do. They knew to listen to their rider and, as we could see going up the arena, were good at trailing the roping dummy. On the way down the arena they were hesitant to leave the security of the fence line which ultimately pulled them off course. How often do we get so caught up in the security of something that we fall trap to staying in our comfort zones? How often do we miss opportunities that we are well trained for because we are playing it safe?  I recently read a book titled "What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20" by Tina Seelig. In this book she emphasizes that we need to "give ourselves permission." We need to give ourselves permission to try new things, to quit, to learn and to fail. These all involve stepping outside our comfort zone into a growth zone. We have so much potential and we are capable of more than we let ourselves believe. On the runs where the horses stayed away from the fence and created a new path the riders were able to catch the dummy and succeed. Sometimes mistakes were still made on the riders part, but at least they were given the chance to try. There are so many opportunities out there that we will miss if we just "follow the fence line." We need to step out of our comfort zones and into a growth zone because that is where life really lies.

This is an example of what a roping dummy looks like. You put it on a bale of straw or hay in a four-wheeler trailer and bam! You have a transportable dummy.





 

 

Farm Field Days: A Lesson in Attitude

This week was Farm Field Days. It is a four-day event where second graders come to learn about the different aspects of farming, livestock production, and soil. By the last day almost 3,000 second graders had come through the rotations and learned a little more about where their food comes from. I was in charge of the livestock stations. We had chickens, sheep, goats, cows, a rabbit, and a horse.

Each day, different students would come from high schools around the area to volunteer at each station. At my station it was very important that the volunteers had previous knowledge about livestock in order to correctly present to the kids. Throughout the week as I monitored and gave feedback to their presentations I came to two very important conclusions:

     1. Simple is sometimes better.
     2. Attitude is everything.

I think it is crazy how we can get get so caught up in the details of something that we lose focus of what is really important. In this case, some of the volunteers had extensive knowledge of livestock so they gave too much detail in their presentations. Because it was hard for the second graders to understand, it did not make a lasting impact. The volunteers that gave the best presentations stuck to the simple information. It may have seemed extremely basic to them, but it was interesting to the second graders and was presented in a way that they could learn and understand. This taught me that simple really is sometimes better and helped me reevaluate a lot of situations in my life.

The other lesson I learned from this experience is that attitude is everything. Even though I gave the same information to each group of volunteers regarding the rotation, every day the presentations were different. Some days the volunteers were really involved with the students and made it fun an interesting without much encouragement from me. Other days however, it was a struggle to get the volunteers to have enough energy to interact with the students and I was constantly reminding them that this is a fun event where they need to be positive and energetic. In the end, it all came down to attitude. My attitude affected the volunteers and their attitude affected the students. The biggest thing I had to remind myself was that, no matter how hard you try, you cannot always change another persons attitude. I did my best to make it a fun event for the second graders and I hoped my attitude would rub off on some of the volunteers. Sometimes it did, and sometimes it didn't. Attitude really is everything in any situation. You also have to remember that the only attitude you really have control over is your own, so you better make it count.