tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20307185572916956892012-01-27T23:37:52.113ZGreenhill Farm's gone to the dogs!The Sprollies 'n' Border Collieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17993614760240750546noreply@blogger.comBlogger359125the-dogs-of-greenhill-farmhttp://feedburner.google.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2030718557291695689.post-19815952178826143262012-01-15T16:30:00.000Z2012-01-15T16:30:14.915Z2012-01-15T16:30:14.915Z

Darkie is one very photogenic sheep. I hadn't taken her for a walk for a year, but she managed to lead well - as long as I offered her food. Judging by the size of her tummy, she is in lamb, which is great news. And I couldn't resist taking a close-up of her eye. I got that more by accident than anything else - sheep are even worse than dogs when it comes to staying still.

The Sprollies 'n' Border Collieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17993614760240750546noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2030718557291695689.post-79878290525117468872012-01-04T14:19:00.000Z2012-01-04T14:19:42.273Z2012-01-04T14:19:42.273Z

The other day, I found out that I could take photos on my camera and make a video at the same time. And lo, an opportunity to show you just how good at posing Teddy is, complete with funny noises.   And my two favourites after a little processing: Atta boy!

The Sprollies 'n' Border Collieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17993614760240750546noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2030718557291695689.post-82744290426048861652012-01-02T18:30:00.000Z2012-01-02T18:30:28.112Z2012-01-02T18:30:28.112Z

Fly's birthday is on New Year's Day every year because no-one bothered to write her actual birthday down. So her birthday could be today, tomorrow or several months away - we just don't know. But I think it's nice to have a date for her birthday, and at least you don't forget this one! Nineteen now, and what a pretty girl. Ben and his scruffy ears. At least we know when his birthday is.

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It's time for our yearly review of the year... By January the heavy snow of late 2010 has melted. I work on my indoor photography and find the 'sports' setting on my camera very useful indeed. The first twin lambs of the year are born, a girl and a boy. February sees the lambing in full swing, with most of the pet ewes having lambs this month. We sadly loose Panda, the first sheep I

The Sprollies 'n' Border Collieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17993614760240750546noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2030718557291695689.post-63209487366203148632011-12-30T10:40:00.000Z2011-12-30T10:40:15.818Z2011-12-30T10:40:15.818Z

The first lamb has arrived - meet Merc. He was born on the 28th in a field which meant that the poor fellow was quite cold when we got to him. This year, I thought it would be fun to name lambs after cars, and so Merc is named after the Mercedes brand, because of their smooth running and luxury reputation. When I opened the gate to Merc's field in order for Dad to drive through with the

The Sprollies 'n' Border Collieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17993614760240750546noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2030718557291695689.post-72359490486846386042011-12-29T15:59:00.000Z2011-12-29T15:59:23.385Z2011-12-29T15:59:23.385Z

Not everyone has a lazy Christmas in front of a crackling fire. Some people (emergency services and hospital workers being a good example) have to trudge on regardless. Another group of people who simply don't stop are farmers. Christmas morning for us was spent feeding the sheep. The ground is muddy because it's so saturated. The poor sheep. Flock by flock, the sheep are going

The Sprollies 'n' Border Collieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17993614760240750546noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2030718557291695689.post-84943677604935321052011-12-27T16:21:00.000Z2011-12-27T16:21:38.522Z2011-12-27T16:21:38.522Z

I know I should probably be showing you what we all got up to on Christmas Day, but Boxing Day was way more productive - I promised you a video of Pip working and I give you the 'Pip at Work' video! You'll get to see Pip and I gather a flock and you'll also see her attack the quad a little bit (much better than she was before I hasten to add). So sit back and relax, and have a little look at '

The Sprollies 'n' Border Collieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17993614760240750546noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2030718557291695689.post-51986291493081882882011-12-24T15:30:00.001Z2011-12-24T15:30:44.893Z2011-12-24T15:30:44.893Z

It's Christmas Eve, but what's that we hear? It's Christmas! As the dogs have just said, Merry Christmas, Everyone! (And bonus points to anyone who can guess the magazine whose cover I've based the Christmas Calling drawing on. I'll give you a clue - everyone wants a copy of it at Christmas so they're well prepared. Any ideas?)

The Sprollies 'n' Border Collieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17993614760240750546noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2030718557291695689.post-16984082571627891442011-12-22T17:21:00.000Z2011-12-22T17:21:19.052Z2011-12-22T17:21:19.052Z

It was around this time last year when I, dad and Kim were moving the now heavily pregnant ewes around. This year, with Kim off to a new home, it's down to Pip to move them. When rounding up ewes which are in lamb, it's important to take them slowly so that they don't get injured or too panicked for the safety of the unborn lambs. Pip's almost gotten over her quad-attack phase now, only

The Sprollies 'n' Border Collieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17993614760240750546noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2030718557291695689.post-76861256713314254122011-12-18T15:37:00.002Z2011-12-22T16:34:51.121Z2011-12-22T16:34:51.121Z

Teddy: Frost is cold. And yet Mum made me sit in it so that she and Stay could do their photo thing. But I wasn't the only one to suffer. They made Uncle Ben and Auntie Pip sit in it too. But then Auntie Pip got all rebellious and refused to sit in the frosty grass. But I'm a good dog so I sat down again. You may be wondering why I have a muddy nose. Turns out even

The Sprollies 'n' Border Collieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17993614760240750546noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2030718557291695689.post-41435956468789956242011-12-17T14:01:00.000Z2011-12-22T16:35:40.493Z2011-12-22T16:35:40.493Z

Pip: Stay isn't very good at getting ready for Christmas. He's (it's a he now. He just looks like a he) got no arms or paws to speak of, no oppose-able thumbs to plug in the Christmas lights. I on the other hand have a very important part to play. I have to make sure that the tree goes in the right place. The humans had this silly idea this year for putting the tree in another room. I told

The Sprollies 'n' Border Collieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17993614760240750546noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2030718557291695689.post-56120125709200548172011-12-16T10:23:00.000Z2011-12-16T10:24:49.602Z2011-12-16T10:24:49.602Z

That's what sheep are. I took Teddy into a field full of sheep to see his reaction. There was lots of this: A little bit o' this: And even some of this: Now, that last one is the most promising of the lot. That classic sheepdog pose - tail down, head low. Shame it lasted for less than five seconds, but at least it was there. It's something to work with. You what now?

The Sprollies 'n' Border Collieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17993614760240750546noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2030718557291695689.post-64037397127969844832011-12-15T22:12:00.000Z2011-12-16T10:24:37.295Z2011-12-16T10:24:37.295Z

Nothing gets past Teddy. His eyes are like pig sponges, soaking up all that's going on (and my ability to create similes is like trying to come up with a new name for a blog post when your imagination has run away). Even when you're standing behind him, he knows what you're doing. He stares... He knows. And even when he's pretending to look somewhere else, he's probably looking

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I've become obsessed with the circles of confusion (instead of watch the people in Merlin, I'm watching the circles. It's so annoying. Gah!). Their very name creates confusion. Ironic, really. Basically, the out-of-focus area of a picture is called the 'bokeh'. The circles of confusion happen when the bokeh has little circles in it. Not so confusing now, eh? They're cased by large apertures.

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Earlier this week, Ben turned two-years-old, so now it's time to see how this year went. Celebrating his birthday at 1 year. At 1 year, 1 month Ben spends a lot of time indoors. At 1 year, 2 months Ben celebrated his Gotcha Day! At 1 year, 3 months I made Ben wear a party hat, 'cause I'm mean like that. At 1 year, 4 months poor Ben had a bath. He didn't like it. At 1

The Sprollies 'n' Border Collieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17993614760240750546noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2030718557291695689.post-31355181746833305412011-12-05T18:43:00.001Z2011-12-05T19:08:55.147Z2011-12-05T19:08:55.147Z

...For almost two years. On this day, two years ago, a Sprollie puppy was born. It's hard to believe that Ben's reached this age already... was he not a puppy yesterday? Ben celebrated his big day with a pair of friendly faces - Jack the Sprollie... And Teddy the Border Collie. Sadly for Ben, there was no present. I'm on a photographer's budget now, eg. I spend all of my money

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Some would say, as they see me now, that I was scared. I wouldn’t say that. Cautious may be a better description. After all, I’ve been on many walks with the Aunties and Uncle. They always run way too fast for my currently little paws to keep up. And when grown-ups run towards you at full pelt, it’s very hard to get out of the way fast enough. That why I am cautious today and keep my

The Sprollies 'n' Border Collieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17993614760240750546noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2030718557291695689.post-21144779588584372011-11-28T19:06:00.001Z2011-11-28T19:21:50.848Z2011-11-28T19:21:50.848Z

This is one of my new favourite shots of the Tedster (new nick-name, actually like it, will use it more often). In it he is being awesomely cute and adorable, and well-behaved. Did I mention cute? You may have spotted by now that one of his ears has decided to rebel, and fold backwards. Evil Ear of Doom! Sometimes, though, it decides to rebel the other way, and tip forwards. Or

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First off, I'm sorry. No updates for two whole weeks, with no real excuses. Lack of motivation, perhaps? I dunno, but I am terribly sorry. I actually felt bad leaving you all for so long. And as for not commenting on your blogs - it's unforgivable and for that I'm also sorry, as you all never fail to comment on here. Thank you all for you all for your comments, I can only hope to catch up with

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Poor Teddy. Pip has taken a shine to him and constantly attacks him. Run, Teddy! It was getting dark very quickly, so it was time for group shots! The group at sunset. Can I go chase Teddy now? No. More photos. Three in a row.

The Sprollies 'n' Border Collieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17993614760240750546noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2030718557291695689.post-1992800900637101152011-11-06T17:02:00.000Z2011-11-27T14:10:03.327Z2011-11-27T14:10:03.327Z

With some really awkward heaving and shoving with one hand, protecting the camera in the other, I managed to get both of the brown dogs onto a wall. I stepped back to take a shot… And Pip jumped off the wall. Then she did a lap of the yard and jumped back onto the wall again, with no assistance from me. *Sigh* As you can see, both dogs are terribly tall. Especially Pip

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It took a long time to get this photograph. I don’t know how I did. Fly and Jack aren’t there because they are both rubbish at sitting still. Plus, Fly’s old, so she gets out of a lot of things. Sheila actually stayed still for a minute. Ben’s tail never stays still. This is the way Sheila drinks – it’s not at all strange. She fell in once, which was

The Sprollies 'n' Border Collieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17993614760240750546noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2030718557291695689.post-74354767872373601942011-11-01T20:47:00.003Z2011-11-27T14:12:28.339Z2011-11-27T14:12:28.339Z

It’s funny how many times I can use the same bench for taking photos. I think the reason that I always return here is because it’s hard to get the lighting right. The dark colours of the leaves and the bench itself make things pretty difficult. Teddy has nice eyes, just like Ben. Ah, what is this? A photograph somewhere new? My goodness!

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We all know that sometimes dogs get terrified over the Halloween period, what with the constant banging of fireworks and bangers during the night. Being in the countryside, we don’t really have that problem, apart from poor Jack who stays in his kennel for hours on end at the sound of a gunshot/firework/banger in the distance. So for Jack, and all of your poor city dogs who get terrified

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It is Halloween tomorrow, and the annual Halloween Photos of Spookiness have been taken. Well, they’re not exactly spooky, but they have got pumpkins and lights and even a ghost. Ben is completely enthusiastic about the whole thing. Last year’s Halloween photos included two pumpkins, a hedge and a bale of straw (you can have a peek here). This year we have The Chair and some

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