Saratoga comes alive this time of the year.  This moose found his way to the entry way of the race track.  However, I doubt that he will be welcomed at the starting gate.

One of my fondest memories as a child is traveling to Saratoga with my family  to vistit the Mackay’s during the summer when they were staying with their mother’s family, the Collamaria’s, a long time Saratoga family with close ties to the horse racing world.

My friend, Bobby Mackay, proposed to his wife at an early morning track side breakfast.  He had made arrangements with the track announcer to have his proposal aired via the loudspeaker system.

I always looked forward to misty track side early morning breakfasts of blueberry muffins and enjoyed watching the thoroughbreds running by for their morning training.  I collected autographs from numerous jockeys and admired the beauty of the horses.  My early morning memories of the track are shown in this photo.  Sara and I plan spend a day at the races this summer.  With special arrangements through the Collamaria’s,  we hope to get into the backside of the track, an area that the public doesn’t get to visit.

Altered using Adobe Photoshop

Armed with a digital camera, a photo editing program, a computer, and a bit of patience, every amateur can create fabulous photos. These flowers started out as a large hanging basket of purple Impatiens. With a few clicks of the mouse they were transformed into an entirely different image.

After waiting for more than four years we purchased a Cannon XSI Digital SLR camera several weeks ago.  Prices have finally dropped enough so that they are affordable and with a bit of price comparison shopping I found a good deal.

The photo of the turtle was transformed with color selections.  Pollution of Lake Champlain has not turned the snappers pink and green, nor is this turtle in the midst of a sexual identity crisis.

Sara's photo with some color.

What is it about fishing with the boys that has lured men away from their families for decades? Is the call of the wild, anticipation of the big prize money, or those cold beers waiting in the cooler at the end of the day?

Living on the shore of Lake Champlain has given me an opportunity to witness numerous fishing tournaments and all that goes with it. First it’s the bass boat, then the trailer, then the camper, and so it goes. I wonder if their wives look forward to their departure with the same enthusiasm as they do?

The Lake Champlain International Fishing Tournament has become a huge draw, attracting some of the countrie’s best fresh water fishermen. This bunch camped out for the week next to our property as they joined in this year’s competition. They certainly seemed to enjoy themselves and kept adding more and more friends as the week progressed.

Hopefully they got the big one! It’s gotta be a guy thing.

Just couldn’t decide wether (OK, I couldn’t help myself) to put Cramer under Friend or Foe in the photo section.    He finally was awarded his own paragraph. Ooooooops, he probably doesn’t need any additions to his ego.

Believe it or not, CNBC actually has Cramer widgets, sounds, and ringtones for uploading to cell phones, and web and social networking sites.  I started to add his widget to this site but quickly came to my senses and opted only to include a thumbnail image of the self anointed one. When Larry Kudlow offers widgets I can rejoice. Here you go Cramerica!

Not a cooperative subject!

When early June arrives so do the snappers. They instinctively meander onto our property from the lake searching for a sandy spot to lay their eggs.

Our dirt roads are one of their favorite places to dig egg holes, so we use caution when driving. Occasionally, Sara will find a nest of eggs incubating in the warm sun. Sometimes she’ll try to protect the eggs from predators, such as foxes and skunks, who seem to delight on feasting on turtle eggs. I think the mortality rate of hatch lings must be over 75% due to the number of egg shells that we regularly find.

Laying eggs in the sand

The turtles range from tiny, under six inches, all the way up to eighteen or more inches in length. They are never glad to see us and would be quite happy chewing on our fingers.

Meet Val

We’re not sure what happened, but two veterinary emergency calls later, a uterine prolapse, followed by a rectal prolapse, and she was gone. When searching for some answers I spoke with three vets, including one who is a Tunis breeder, and none of them had ever heard of such a thing. Life is perverse. Why did it have to happen to our Grand Champion and why didn’t she have a ewe lamb last year so that at least we’d have her offspring? Sara sat with her in the pen, attempting to comfort her, until just before the vet arrived, and then said her goodbyes.

With show season just around the corner and a late lamb crop, placing anywhere near the top of the classes this season was out of the question. Last year a combination of circumstances knocked Sara out of the show circuit and it seemed like we were about to have a repeat. We hadn’t really planned on buying any new sheep this spring but off we went to Massachusetts to look for a lamb and a yearling.

Thirty-five miles from Boston we met Bill Kerns busily vaccinating and trimming the lambs he had picked out for us to select from. Sara thoroughly studied the choices, narrowed it down to three, and finally chose the new addition to her flock, an early February lamb with nice color, good body length, and a large frame. A few words of wisdom from Bill and we were on our way to Winchendon to look at a yearling.

The McDonough’s remembered me from conversations we’d had at a show in years past and in few minutes we were like old friends. I always thought that they had a nice flock and was glad to have the opportunity to visit them at the David Brown Farm. When we spoke over the phone Maryanne mentioned that they had a bottle baby from last year that needed to find a good home for and that the ewe recently had placed well at the MA Sheep and Wool Festival. It took only seconds for both Sara and I to realize that this ewe was coming home with us. In addition to being exactly what we want in a Tunis, we could tell that her personality would be a perfect fit for our flock.

Her name is Val, short for Valentine, as she arrived on February 14. She likes to eat dog biscuts, open gates, follow us around like a puppy, and doesn’t hesitate to holler when she wants us. If Panda is looking down on us from that big pasture in the sky I think she would approve. I know we do.

I’ve raised sheep for almost twenty years and every once and while one of them capture’s my heart. Such is the case with Belle.

She was born the smallest of a set of twins, weighing only about six pounds, as compared to her nine pound brother. I can only conclude that she must have been crowded out of space in utero by her larger sibling. Consequently when Belle was born she couldn’t walk. Her front legs were fine but her rear legs were not strong enough to support her weight, nor did she have the coordination to move them forward.

At the time I wasn’t sure if there was nerve damage or if she just needed some time to build up strength. I wasn’t optimistic but it just didn’t seem right to let her die. For some reason there was no school that day and Sara had spent hours in the barn putting Belle inside her jacket in order to keep her body temperature up and holding her up so that she could nurse from her mother. After twenty-four hours of intensive care Belle began to develop just enough strength in her rear legs to awkwardly move forward. As the day progressed, so did her stamina and coordination. By evening Belle was freely moving around on her own and by the next day she was jumping.

Nursing without Mom’s cooperation was the next hurdle but as Belle gained strength her mother gradually accepted her. Within three days Belle was off the bottle and back with her Mom. To look at her now, you’d never know that she almost didn’t make it.

When I go into the barn Belle always is the first sheep who reaches the gate to greet me, bringing a smile to my face. Unfortunately she has a large black spot on one side, a trait which judges frown upon, so she won’t be show material in the Tunis world. One thing’s for sure, she won’t be freezer material either. She’s a keeper!

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Lake Champlain is beautiful this time of year.  The Adirondacks are full of life and each spring brings not only fresh hopes, but new lambs.

Whether its a 6 am kayak on a glassy surface, or a starry midnight walk, your heart will certainly be warmed with scenes like this.