Santa visited Spring Plains in his usual way, presents for all, ham on the bone for lunch, swim in the dam and a few refreshments. All in all a good day. 2012 has been a shocking year for us, I lost my only 2 sisters 8 weeks apart from cancer. I miss them very much. Steve got ill at the start of the year which meant our fencing work went into the hotter months. I guess we all have these year and as you enter the next you just know it will be better. Steve and I have made some plans for next year and we look forward to a few trips away and family time. We are going on a cruise with the kids and their families plus we are also hoping to sneak away to the coast for a much needed rest.  
On the dog front I have a new (well very old actually) camper to go trialling. The old rig (my troopy) hit a cow and the cow won! Kaden's Dark Angel will be making her debut at Tara and I may give Ace a run as well. Bonnie will be there as well as good old Jack who Kate will work. We are looking forward to the trialling year but still will be only do a handful. The pups Georgie Girl and Faith are progressing really well. Training is a up and down thing which always amazes me. One day you take a pup out and you can't wipe the smile from you face when you finish the next run you are overcome with disappointment. I have learnt not to judge too quickly when training. A pup can go through many stages before finally giving you a finished article.
Ohutu Ace has continued to win my heart and now with Bonnie's help I have pups by him. He is such a great dog. I was very hesident when his training started. Taking on an untrained dog at his age was a risk but he has gone from strength to strength. His cast is wide and deep, his work is controlled and calm, his hold is good and his mind is strong. We had to learn everything from paddock work to riding on a quad, now in just a few short months he is a part of the mustering team and pulling his weight. Just keep watching for his daughter to start, I feel she could be something special!!
2013 will see 4 new additions to Kaden's Collies as well as Ace and Bonnie's daughter. I will have my hands full once again training and am really looking forward to it. Ace will be joined to Georgie Girl at the end of the year which is another litter I am excited about. We don't breed many litters per year but the ones we do we hope are quality litters.
Kate is home for Christmas and apart from a bit of dog training she has been enjoying her motorbike and swimming in the dam, she loves mud fights and tells me it is good for your skin as she pelts them at you. Her dog Gleeson is getting old and hopfully she will find another one out of this new lot of pups coming.
I am looking forward to 2013, I think it will be a good year! Hope it is for all of you
 

The dry season has finally come and my daughter Nicole decides it is safe to make the 140klm journey on the dirt to visit. She didn't factor in a flat tyre or that it took 15klm before she knew it was flat. It was wonderful to spend the day with her and the grand kids but it may be a while before I get the pleasure again.
Our trialling is just about done for the year and we managed another win at Barcaldine and a few places at Longreach. All up we had a fantastic run and were very pleased with how the dogs went. Old Gleeson did a fantastic job for Kate and took her to a improver final and nearly won the encourage at Longreach.
Angel is really becoming a star in the camp. She is very easy to train and is so switched on to her stock. We are now able to add a bit of yard work into our training as we now have yards, yes!. Jay has put on his L plates and has joined the cattle mustering camp  full time. He was so tired after his first day, he slept all the way home and then collasped when he finally got to his kennels. Good effort for the long day and it want be long before he can trade in those L plates. Our 4 new puppies are all growing quickly, Kismet and Faith will have a small amount of training over the next two months so we are very excited to see what they will produce. The baby of the 4, Trix, has had her first look at the sheep and she had a ball. She was more playing at this stage but she showed no fear so it is all good for the future. Georgie Girl was impressive on her second look. She showed a lot of eye and a good amount of strenght. She is a real cudddle pie that one and knows how to give the puppy eyes out.
Bonnie is due on heat and with most pups already booked I am really looking forward to this litter. The pups from her last litter, now 10.5 months old, by all reports are going fantastic. One pup completed a trans tasman course for a score of 70.
We invested in our campervan, bought over the net and it was a bit of a shock when it arrived. Thanks to my husdand who always comes to my rescue it has a new coat of paint, wheel trims and a few extras to make it look it Kate's words smexy!! She wants to add a peace sign and a few flowers but I am thinking hard on that one! Well the dog world is full of interesting people and lucky for me most are wonderful. I am very grateful for all the help I get and hopefully at Kaden's we give back a little so every one can experience what it is like to own one of these incrediable working dogs, The Border Collie..