Do you hate those stupid WORD VERIFICATION puzzles?

They are one of the few things that I encounter daily that absolutely drive me CRAZY!

O.K.  I may have a short fuse.

But you have to admit, they ARE a pain in the butt!

GOOD NEWS!

We don't have to deal with those vision boggling, migraine inducing, word puzzles anymore!

No, no, no!

From now on

It's as simple as this:

Yes indeedy!  Just click on that little darlin' and it'll take you to a page that gives you the code for one of your very own!  Or, you can use the text version (seen on my sidebar) to accomplish the same thing.

Oh, but to have all the crap that makes one crazy be so simple to resolve...

You're Welcome!

;-)

P.S.  Be sure to go into your blog 'settings' and disable the comment verification to remove the evil puzzles for once and for all!

SIX YEARS...six posts!

Today is the sixth anniversary of my very first blog post.  I've been thinking a lot about what I want to say for today's post and have finally come to the conclusion that there is NO WAY that I can sum up the last six years in one post.  So, I'm going to do SIX posts today!  Yes, I know ~ I haven't been very good about doing ONE post a day and now I'm going to do six?!  Yes I am.

As in all of my blog posts, click on any image and it will 'biggify' so that you can see the details better.  I will also included links that take you back to some of my very favorite posts.  I debated whether I wanted to do a post for each year or posts of six different topics.  I've decided that it will be a combination of the two.

What the heck am I talking about?  I can't "plan" a blog post!  I just start writing and choosing photos and who knows where or when it will end...

2006

Wow!  Skimming over my old blog posts brings back
 all sorts of memories!  

Some good:

Like playing with the lambs.

Goofy rams!

(I was told Shetland sheep will eat snow, as opposed to drinking water in the winter.  That is true of my ewes but my wussy rams would trudge through chest-deep snow to get to their heated water bucket!
The wusses ;-)

 This being at attempt to get a GOOD photo of my breeding rams!

The shot I wanted!

 It was on April 30 of 2006 that my beloved "Zodiak" presented me with beautiful, twin, HST (white on the Head, Socks and Tail) ewe lambs.  One of which you all know as "DREAM"!

My trip (that almost wasn't!) to Italy with my Beautiful Baby Girl

My beautiful "Bellamica"

And some Not so Good:

The Letter

This REALLY SUCKS!

It has taken me over THREE HOURS to do this post!  Not because I am enjoying reminiscing over old photos (although I am), but because Blogger keeps messing with the formatting!  When I 'preview' what I have thus far, there are HUGE spaces between text and photos.  I have to go into 'edit html' in order to fix it but then it reverts back to the messed up form anyway!  If it looks right when I preview it now, I'm going to publish and go take my dogs for a walk!

six posts indeed!

Where'd my "widget" go?

I have a little widget, on top of my sidebar, that is supposed to count down the days until my blog's anniversary.  I know it was getting down to the wire and then the stupid thing stopped functioning!  I was afraid that I'd missed my own "Blogiversary".  Fortunately, through Blogger, I am able to go back to my very first post (that wasn't even actually published ~ it was just me 'testing the waters') and see that the date was actually Feb. 19, 2006.  So I still have a couple of days.  Which is a good thing as I want to do something special for that blog post.  Not sure just what it will be yet, but I want it to be special.

Watch:  the pressure of having just said that will make me not post at all...

The above photo was the original photo used on my blog.  It is one of my all-time-favorite photos.  It shows Alice, as a yearling, napping by the big tree in my pasture.  That tree was the centerpiece in many photographs that I took of my sheep over the years.  Even today, the two remaining sheep on my property, Kahlua and Tia Maria, have chosen the base of that tree as their favorite place to relax.

I'm heading outside now.  I want to take a BUNCH of pictures of the sheep and the dogs for another post.  Perhaps I'll sit with the sheep for a while and ponder what I want to do for my Blogiversary post...

Wishing you all a Spendiferous Day!

I apologize for the NEGLECT!

I realize that I have not been very consistent at posting on here as of late.  Truth be told, I had NO idea how incredibly time consuming setting up and running a canine rescue would be!  I did have some idea of how rewarding it would be and I was definitely right about that!

Here's a little video that may give you some idea of how adopting a shelter or rescue dog can change the world for that animal...

If you watched that without getting a tear in your eye
you're a lot tougher than I!
Wouldn't it be wonderful to make a homeless dog's dream come true?
Consider adopting a dog before the year is over.  You'll start the New Year with more love than you can imagine!

Did you happen to notice the "Chipin" gadget in the sidebar?

I am SO grateful to everyone that's made a donation to help me help homeless dogs!  There are only seven more days left of this fundraiser so if you've been thinking that it might be a worthwhile cause, maybe now is the time for you to pitch in.  I realize that not everyone wants ~ or is in a position to have ~ a pet.  Perhaps adoption isn't an option for you.  You can still make a difference!  You can be instrumental in making a lonely dog's dreams come true.  Your donation to Bluff Country Canine Rescue helps me to rescue a dog that is scheduled to be euthanized, and give it a second chance at a life where it can experience kindness and love.  A life where it can do what dogs do best:  shower someone with unconditional love and affection and devotion that isn't found anywhere else but in the heart of a dog.

OK
I hear you.
It's time for this blog to get back to being about sheep & shepherding!  You may be happy to know that I just finished a blog specifically for Bluff Country Canine Rescue.  Now, I won't have to do all the posts related to rescue on here.  If you'd still like to know what's going on in my world of Rescue ~ just follow along on the new blog!  I even have a Facebook Page devoted to the world of Canine Rescue!  The blog is still a work in progress and I have much more to add but I feel like it's a good start.  The new blog will be the "Official Home" of BCCR.  Once the initial set up is completed, it shouldn't take up too much of my time ~ just updates on new rescues and promoting dogs that are available for adoption.
(and of course, the never ending plea for money to make it all possible!)

Thank you all for your patience, your encouragement and your contributions.  I am truly blessed and...

Live is GOOD in the Bluff Country!

I got a Face Lift!!!

Well, not really "I", as in "me". 

More like my Blog.

My Blog got a Face lift!

Do you like it?

My regularly scheduled readers may remember a few weeks ago when I declared winter officially over in the Bluff Country.   Lately, I've been dying a lot of yarn

and roving 

and mohair locks into bright, cheery colors.

I am so sick of dull, drab gray and brown that I could scream!

So I decided to change the background of my Blog.  I didn't want to go too  crazy.

It's not like there are flowers blooming or green grass in my peaceful, little valley in SE Minnesota. 

At least not YET!    But soon.

DREAM says...

"Oh, I HOPE  it's soon, Mom!

I'm really sick of the drab colors too and some fresh grass would taste mighty good, right about now!"

Don't forget to hop on over to Verde Farm's blog to link up with lots of other FARM FRIEND FRIDAY bloggers!

P.S.  I wish I could get a face lift that easily!

And the Winners are....

Mom says we're  the winners because we have great friends like YOU!

Thank you for joining our family and following along with A Shepherd's Voice!

Since Mom did promise some prizes, here we go:

For her incredible  knowledge of all things Bluff Country,

Jean, from MN. has won herself one of the

limited edition

DREAM figurines!

Congratulations, Jean and thanks for being such a loyal follower!

Late last night, I googled a 'random number selector' and it drew the comment made by TheCrazySheepLady ~ of "Punkins Patch"

 

Send me your snail mail address Sara and I'll

get your "sheep on a cart" out to you!

As a special thank you to our 100th 'follower',

Patrice will be receiving her choice of shape and fragrance in a bar of homemade goat milk soap.  Welcome to "our family" ~ I'll need your info to get that in the mail to you, Patrice.

I do want to apologize for taking SO long to get this post up today!

I must have partied too hard yesterday!  I actually slept until NOON!

That is just not heard of around here.

And then, I woke up to

Thunder Snow!!!

The Piggles desperately trying to get into the chicken coop, while I was out feeding animals and gathering eggs when the snow let up!

DREAM says...

"Aren't you supposed to EAT those Piggles or something???"

DREAMER!!!



Sharing our Birthday and Farm Friend Friday...

DREAM says...



"It's my BIRTHDAY!"

"I'm FIVE YEARS OLD!"

"We're going to have a PARTY!"

"I'm supposed to be the one talking, Dazzle."

Hold it a minute Girls!

It's not your birthday Dreamer. 

It's going to be the Blog's birthday, this Saturday!

It's been five years since I started writing "A Shepherd's Voice".

You were right ~ we ARE going to have a party!

There will be games and contests and prizes and ALL SORTS of fun.

Stop back tomorrow for details!

But First...

Don't forget Farm Friend Friday!

Go visit Amy at Verde Farm for long list of fabulous farms that are blogging about life in rural America!  Have fun!!!

"But don't forget to come back for my, er...The BLOG's party on Saturday!"

Introducing..."ALICE"!

You may be wondering why I would be introducing  Alice?

Seeing as most of you met her LONG ago....

These two photos of Alice were actually posted in one of my very first blog posts in 2006!

You can see the first post about Alice  HERE

Look how YOUNG she was!

The reason for the reintroduction is to announce that this Saturday, FEB. 19 will be the FIVE YEAR ANNIVERSARY  of "A Shepherd's Voice"!

Five years.

Over NINE HUNDRED POSTS!

DREAM says...

"We're going to have a BIRTHDAY  PARTY!!!

There will be games and prizes and contests and the chance for you to re-visit your favorite posts!  Oh, I do hope that you will  join us!"

Me too, Dreamer!  While I'm working on some of the games and contests, perhaps our readers might want to request a Flashback to a favorite, older post.

If there's a post that you'd like to see again, you can either put the link to it in a comment or tell me about it and I'll find the link for you! 

For now, link or no link, I'd like everyone that has a favorite post from "A Shepherd's Voice" to tell us what it is...

If you don't have a favorite post, perhaps you could tell us what you like the best about A Shepherd's Voice...

DREAM Says...

I'm terribly disappointed in you.

Mom said that two-hundred people visited our blog yesterday but only TWO of you took the time to leave a comment. 

And only ONE of those comments even mentioned ME...

Thank you, Shula!

You know, it's not easy getting Mom to post on this blog regularly.  Sometimes I really have to NAG her.  I've got other things I could be doing besides providing inspiration!

I'm not one to complain but

a girl could use a little recognition!

A show of appreciation wouold be nice.
I'm just sayin...

Would it hurt you to take a minute?

Oh, MY! 

I think perhaps the heat is getting to our Dreamer.

Perhaps some cookies will help...