Warm Air and Warm Sunshine!

I'm not going to say Spring is here, but it is definitely in the air. If I, even for a moment, begin to think winter is over, it will sure as hell snow tomorrow. For today, I'm enjoying the +11*C and the sunshine. We had our first beef calf today, so calving should be under way shortly.

Kelly has been in Nampa, Idaho at a PBR event this last week, so Jessie and I have been manning the fort by ourselves. We've become accustomed to being modern day grass widows and can handle pretty much anything that comes our way. It may mean Honey Nut Cheerios for supper because we are too tired to cook, but we survive. It is great that Jessie is old enough to ride along in the tractor and open gates. She can be a lot of help when she wants to be.

That is all I know for now. I'm heading back out to soak up the sun and check cows. Hope you have a great day.

Spring Isn't Springing!

So, I have decided that the Groundhog is a moron. Next time I see him, it will be through the scope of a high powered rifle. I'm going to turn him into a hat to keep warm. It is cold here. The wind is blowing out of the north and I drove through snow off and on all day coming home from Kelly's sister's. I have had it with this wintry wonderland.

Jessie is staying with her cousins for a few days. She was very excited to be going and quite put out that I spent last night with them. I was feeling unwanted. She knows as long as I am there, I can say no to everything Auntie lets her get away with. As I walked out the door, her Auntie was talking about buying her a hamster for her birthday. Yikes!!!! Just what we need.

So, I'm hoping for a few warm days while Jessie is away. I would like to ride, nap, and tomorrow I'm going for a massage. Due to busting my butt in the bull pen the other day because of ice, getting hit twice from behind in hockey the other night, and spending two hours on the water slides at West Edmonton Mall, I cannot turn my head.

That is really all I know for now. Life has been pretty dull around here lately. Chores, chores, and more chores are all that seems to be going on.

Have a good one.

I peeled myself out of my warm bed this morning at 6:45. I have to admit I stayed in bed a little longer than usual, but Kelly got up and made the coffee for once, so I thought I would wait until it was done. During the winter, we turn the radio on in the morning to listen to the local radio station for bus cancellations. Yes, during the winter. Today is March 10. Over the radio they announce that all county buses are cancelled. It is -33* Celsius. That is -27.4* Fahrenheit. Again, it is March! I'm beginning to think Global Warming is bologna.

Jessie's friends, Grady and Raina, are over for the day. They came running upstairs wanting to go play outside. I told them to come back in 10 minutes with a worse idea. Hopefully by lunch it will be at least -20 and then they can go out. Jessie has been dying for them to come over and play on "Snow Mountain." Kelly has been adding to it and skillfully sculpting it with the front end loader.




Jessie's hockey windup party is tonight, so yesterday I went to town and bought all the fixings for ice cream sundaes. I have yet to take the ice cream out of the back of the truck. What is the point? However, we may have to warm it up to scoop it out.

Well, that is all I know for now. I should get to work and make the most of this "Snow Day." Too bad it's too cold to even snow.

You've Got To Be Kidding Me!

It is March 3 and the snow is falling like you cannot believe. We have an antique horse, an injured horse and five cows along with calves stuffed in our barn. I'm so sick of packing water and straw I could scream.

It all started in the night with freezing rain. About the time the bus driver called and said she was turning around and going home, it started snowing. Jessie was outside enjoying what she thought was going to be a snow day when the neighbor called. Upon consultation, we decided it best that our kids went to school. Not for our sanity, but out of concern for their education of course. So, he came and picked up Jessie and they made their way to town.

Kelly and I bedded the barn, hauled water to the stock, and milked a cow so we could tube her calf that was born sometime last night and still hadn't sucked. Kelly is out on the tractor doing chores, and I'm supposed to be typing up a colorful biography of a cow to be sold online. In other words, I have to make her sound better than she is.



After the snow last week, Kelly had to clear the driveway with the tractor, so he piles it all up for Jessie. She calls it Snow Mountain. Snow Mountain contains tunnels, luge runs, and more recently a sled jump built by myself. I thought it would be fun to sled down snow mountain, hit the jump and skid down the icy driveway. Every kid likes to catch a little air. So, up the hill she goes and down she comes. She hits my Olympic jump and the sled comes to a complete standstill. The seven year old does a lip stand that should have required a cast or stitches. She spits out the snow and yells at me a little for my less than adequate jump building techniques. So, I promised to fix it. I built it up higher, made a gentle upward curve and a slope that physicists would be proud of. I smoothed it all down with the sole of my snow boots, and we were away. Up the hill again. With a little sled adjustment at the top, she comes careening down to hit the perfect jump. Now, I blame it on the fact that she wasn't leaning back enough to correctly perform the maneuver required to land a perfect ten. She, again, blames it on the jump. Once again, the saucer comes to a complete stop, but with the angle of the jump and the speed at which she was traveling, she caught air. As I said, the landing was not a perfect 10, but a perfect X. She landed spread eagle on the driveway. I was trying not to laugh. Kelly was calling me sadistic so he looked like the good guy, all the while stifling back hysterics. She jumps up and Kelly yells "GET HER, She did that to you." I was under attack by one mad little girl. She pounded me with a few snowballs and then was quickly over it. She resorted to having the three legged dog pull her around the driveway on her saucer. The mom was not so much fun to play with.

So, for now, I should get on with something productive in the house. Not that that sounds appealing at all, but snow days are to be taken advantage of. There is laundry to be done and beds to be made. Hope you have a good one.

February

So, February is halfway over, and I've yet to post anything. I have to apologize to you faithful followers. Life here has been chaotic since Kelly's mother passed away. Thanks everyone for the cards, prayers, and kind words. We really appreciate it.

Jessie is still busy with hockey. She won another medal last weekend. She was most proud when she stopped a shot while playing goal. After she did it, she looked up in the stands and gave the thumbs up as best she could with a hockey glove on.

I got to escape the Armstrong Family Three Ring Circus last night and went roping. It was a much needed break. My horses are fat and out of shape, but they worked great. I've decided I need to learn to heel because Jessie's horse, Mighty Mouse, is a whole lot of fun to rope on. I just wish he was bigger or I was a heeler. I did get two feet roped. Now I just have to learn to dally. I even got a few turned on old Lucky. He worked great. It is nice to have him sound again and rearing to go. At 18, he has not slowed up one bit. He is still a lot of fun to rope on.

Well, I need to keep this short. I have four holsteing calves in the barn who I'm sure are waiting impatiently for their milk. There are two hungry horses that are in the barn as well because they were too sweaty to spend the night in below zero temps.

Hope all is well with everyone.

The Nice Weather Never Lasts Here!

It is not fit for man or beast out there right now. The windchill is only -25, but I would swear it was -50. My face is beginning to thaw and it is painful. I went out to sort out a mess that the horses created last night by opening a gate to the yearling bull pen. Instead of fixing it last night when the weather was decent, I put it off until this morning. I should've paid closer attention to the forecast. Needless to say, it is done and I put Copper and Mighty Mouse in the barn. I figure the 38 year old horse and the one witnessing his first Canadian winter definitely deserve a place out of the wind. The others will make their way back to the bush to seek shelter.

Today is hockey day and reading log, so I plugged the truck in when I went out. I need to get to town to the grocery store, but that may have to wait. They are giving blowing snow and poor road conditions on the radio. However, I can make it to reading log and hockey with only driving on about two miles of pavement.

With not much else going on, I thought I might just post some pics I've taken the last couple of days.


A True Canadian Birthday Party


Race on the Pond




Sunning


My Sweet Little Mare


38 Years Old


Armstrong Pork

Chinooks!

The worst part about winter in Alberta , or I should say one of them, is that the weather man gets you all geared up for warmer temperatures. Well, in order for those warm temperatures to happen, the wind has to blow gail force out of the west. It is beautiful outstide right now until you step out from behind the shelter of the trees and buildings. I had big plans to ride in all the deep snow. It doesn't look like that is going to happen.

Tuesday was Jessie's school ski trip to Canyon Ski Hill. It is only an hour away. It has one chair lift, a t-bar and a tow rope. It is a perfect place to take kids who are learning. Out of the 100 kids in the school, seven stayed behind. The kids all take morning lessons and then get to ski until 2:00. We had a lot of fun. Jessie is getting to be quite the little skier. I have to tell her to slow down every once in a while. She is getting enough confidence to ski straight at someone standing at the bottom and blow snow on them when she stops. It's all fun and games until she doesn't get the stop just right. She was getting on and off the chair lift by herself as well. The only time she fell is when I tried "helping" her. I did get an earful a couple of times.



Kelly is hauling hay, so I've been busy entertaining myself today. Now, I realize some of you might think this is a mean thing to a weiner dog, but he wanted to follow so I let him. He's in the house laying in a sunny spot now. Not to worry, no animals were harmed or lost in the shooting of these pictures







Well, it's back to work now. Have a good one.

Happy New Year!

I hope that this is finding everyone's New Year going well so far. We all made it home safe and sound from Texas. We even had decent weather to welcome us. I'm not saying it is overly warm or anything. It just isn't blizzarding. We even took Jessie sledding on Sunday.



Christmas in Texas was lots of fun. The best was Cita's Christmas surprise. Bobby was not impressed at all, but thanks to the Harkey family, Sarah and I have a place to celebrate Christmas next year. Betsy assures us that no gifts are required. Nestor, the long eared Christmas donkey, is winning over hearts quickly. Even the braeing has made Bobby smile a time or two. We are sure that this is a Christmas gift that will keep on giving. It has given Cita a job, Jessie something to play with while in Texas, Bobby one more thing to grumble about, and Kelly and Sarah endless ass jokes. Kelly was not allowed in on the surprise. When we asked him if he could keep a secret, he said "NOPE!" Chase felt this was quite unfair that he was punished because of Kelly's loud mouth and did not get to see Nestor before Christmas morning.

Needless, to say, Sarah and I owe the Harkey's a big Thanks for helping us pull off Operation Christmas Ass. They hid the donkey in their barn for a few days and Logan, the donkey whisperer, gentled him down a bit. If anyone ever needs assistance in the donkey area, I highly recommend Harkey's Mule Barn.


Christmas Day, of course, we branded calves. Chase held off going to his family Christmas, so he could brand at ours. Poor guy has no excitement in his life. Kelly taught him to brand and was very impressed with his abilities. I am hiring Chase as my replacement. He did not get yelled at once. So not fair! If you are going to get the full Armstrong/Byars branding experience, someone needs to get yelled at.

And of course in true Byars family tradition, why not end the holiday with shooting something. We gave a donkey for a Christmas gift, we branded on Christmas day, so Bobby and I completed the holiday season by killing a pig. You might be a redneck.....!





Now, the holiday excitement is over. We are back to the grind. Jessie has hockey practices two days a week. I have hockey games at least once a week (we don't practice). Kelly is wanting to ivomec today, and I'm trying to talk myself into riding a horse or two. It is barely below freezing, but I'm still finding it tough to get out there. The novelty has worn off of snow.

Best of Wishes in the New Year!

'Twas a Week Until Winter...

And school was cancelled because it was -30* this morning with windchills of -45*. However, as luck would have it, Jessie has spent the morning throwing up and only one waterer was frozen. LOVELY!! It is supposed to warm up to -11 tomorrow with windchills of -25. This means buses will run and there will be hockey practice.

Kelly spent last week in Vegas at the NFR. I stayed home to do chores and take on dance recitals and hockey tournaments. Cita came up to help out. Luckily, the weather was nice while he was gone.

Jessie has been busy wrapping up dance class and playing hockey. She had a tournament last weekend and was extremely pleased to get a medal. She even scored her first goal. It was more of a deflection and she didn't even realize it. She is really enjoying hockey and is getting to be a good skater.






Other than that, life is pretty much routine around here. Kelly is out doing chores as I type this. I went out this morning to check on my horses. They were surviving the cold, so I came back inside. Today, I get to bake cookies for school and clean house. WooHoo!

Weaning Calves!

I'm back. Sorry I'm not keeping up with this very well, but the fall has been so beautiful that we rarely spend a day inside. However, that should not be an excuse as it is getting dark at 4:30 and as I'm typing this at 8:00 am, it is not quite daylight. This, I do not care for.

We spent the day weaning calves and preg testing yesterday. Now to some, this might be a low stress everyday job. When you add 75 mothers of bucking bulls into the mix, it turns into complete chaos. They are upside down, backwards, and inside out going down the alley. I had two near death experiences when posts came flying at me. Seeing that our pens have to be somewhat higher than the average cow/calf operator, these posts are about level to the neck when they get kicked out from behind a cow. Vets, along with wives, are not easily talked into showing up on this day either. We have a vet drive an hour to come. He is the only one brave enough within this distance. He showed up yesterday and strapped on a backpack, some kind of virtual glasses, and wielding a wand, he proceeded to preg check cows. Now, if that isn't the answer, I don't know what is. It sped up the process and he wasn't risking his life for near as long by doing it the old fashioned way.

Kelly was, of course, in his usual high stress, temper flaring mode. He threw one of his famous screaming cussing fits because he let a few cows through forgetting to Ivomec and let a couple more go the wrong way. I sit back on the alley walkway and laugh to myself, of course, at the vein popping out in his forehead. I truly believe that sometimes you get what your deserve and the universe will act on this in strange ways sometimes. As he is throwing one of his fits, the side bar on the squeeze comes undone and falls and hits him right square in the top of the head. I restrained myself from laughing out loud and even bit my tongue. This may surprise some of you, but that is hard for me to do. It would have been best if it had knocked him out and the vet and I could have finished in peace. No such luck. However, it did mellow him a little bit.

Last night when I came in the house covered in blood from dehorning a couple of cows, snot from being hooked at through the fence, and the excretions from the opposite end of the cow, I told Jessie to get dressed and brush her hair. When asked why, I told her because dad is taking us out to eat tonight. She broke the news to her dad the minute he stepped in the door. He dared not argue. After a quick shot of Crown with very patient vet, we headed into town.

Jessie is full swing into hockey. She is skating very well. Stopping is another thing, but that will come. She played in her first game on Saturday. They won, so she was ecstatic. Next weekend, they play in a tournament in Stettler. They are so much fun to watch. There are kids as young as four. The last game, one of the little girls got tired, so she crawled on her hands and knees back to the bench and the coaches had to lift her off the ice. Jessie played goal twice. She stands right inside the net. Even if she stops the puck, the other team is going to score.

Well, that is the excitement in our life as of today. I am headed out to catch horses for the horseshoer. I found out last week that Legend has navicular, Lucky has a sore suspensory, and last night the vet was looking at Chula and said she was trying to grow a club foot. Now would that not be just my luck. So, today I am having a horseshoer to the wagon burners come out. I think if he can fix all the problems on the chuck wagon racing circuit, he can surely deal with these problems.

Have a super day!

Trick or Treat!!

Halloween is over and the sugar high keeps going and going! I'm slowly throwing away candy so as not to be noticed. However, I do eat the homemade popcorn balls. I would hate for those to go to waste.

Hannah Montana cruised the streets of Big Valley with Raina while we followed along behind. This is the first year I can remember that the Halloween costume did not have to be pulled over a snow suit. There wasn't even snow on the ground. It was beautiful. Of course, there are a few houses that we hit where Jessie gets special treats. So, there is no shortage of junk food around here.





The weather has been amazing here when the wind hasn't been blowing. I got three horses ridden yesterday and never put on a coat. Now, that is weather I can live with. Kelly is hoping it stays like this because I'm a little easier to tolerate.

I better hit the road for now. It is supposed to be warm again today, so we have a big day planned of doctoring calves, dummying bulls, and getting some horses ridden.

Winter It's a Coming!

Once again, I have to apologize for my lack of blog entries lately. It seems that the pace of life never slows around here. It only gets faster. October is flying by. We have spent the last week getting cows closer to home. Kelly and I brought the Angus cows home yesterday. The Lone Ranger opted to ride his trusty steed Silver, so I picked the most broke horse we own because I knew he would be absolutely no help. Not to my surprise, I was right. As the cows were trying to elude us in a willow patch, he was riding around the outside telling me what to do. One willow branch nearly lodged in my thigh, laying flat as I could to get through the bush, I emerged successfully with the bull and cows I went into get. Solo! No help from the self proclaimed boss of the operation. As I was loping up a hill covered in dead fall and bush, I realized how nice it was to ride a quiet horse for a change. There was no spooking, no hump in the back, nothing. For a minute it was boring, then I nearly stepped on two deer. They jumped up and headed out. Nothing, not even the slightest reaction. If I had been riding anything else, I would have been a goner. Luckily for Ray Hunt, I spooked them off before he came along later. We went on to sort and load without incident. No one got hooked, chased, run over. Nothing. At the end of the day, I came to the conclusion that I love Angus cows and broke horses. It leads to less stress and definitely fewer screaming cussing fits.
No protrusions of blood vessels across the forehead, which around here is something of a blessing.

Jessie has been doing quite well with her hip hop class. They are dancing to the Lean on Me remix. She definitely has her Saucy's dancing ability. Of course, practicing with her ipod in front of a mirror has helped tremendously. Kelly just shakes his head and grumbles. He nearly had a meltdown when she asked me to take the princess picture off of her CD player so she could take it to school. He asked why she didn't want the princesses anymore, and the reply was...."Uhh Daaaaaad, I'm too old for princesses now." His blood pressure sky rocketed leading to vein protrusion in the forehead. I'm quite sure by the time she is 16 well will be visiting him in a home where he is not allowed to handle silverware without supervision.

So, this wraps up the life of the Armstrong's lately. Tune in next time for more experiences of life in the North.

I'm Still Alive!

Yes, I do exist. However, with this Indian Summer we've been having, I tend to stay outside and busy. The weather has been absolutely beautiful here the last two weeks. Winter will be here soon, so we've been roping every afternoon and getting everything closer to home.

Kelly found a new truck this week. Thank Goodness! Truck shopping is painful. I get the question, "Well, what do you think about this one?" It looks like another truck to me. I don't know the difference between a Detroit, Cat or Mercedes motor. Nor do I care. Why should it make a difference to me if it is 18 speed or 13 speed. I can't drive it. Nor do I care to. We ended up getting a Freightliner just like the other one, which is good I guess. We can use parts from the wrecked truck on this one. Kelly's happy with, so I don't care. Jessie thinks it's "awesome" because she got her bunk beds back plus a refrigerator. She requested a flat screen be installed. Kelly told her that might be asking a little much. She is no longer allowed to watch the truck makeover show on CMT.

Kelly is at the Canadian Tour Finals this weekend in Calgary, Jessie is off to the grandparents, and Bossy's Blues are back on the ice for their '08/09 season. Due to the fact that our team is aging and we lost the youngest member, I foresee us attending our first team funeral this year. It could be mine seeing that we play two games today and one tomorrow. There have been 0 practices and only one girl on our team exercises more than just her drinking arm. We are bound for glory. Let me tell you.

Well, I better get on with it. I've gotta go tape my stick and sharpen my skates. Have a good one.

Jessie's Birthday!

Saturday was Jessie's 7th birthday. I know it is very hard to believe. Of course, she decided on a slumber party. So, I mumbled and groaned, allowed only four invitations, and got a room at the Ramada. Yes, you heard me, the Ramada. It was the best idea I have ever had. They swam for an hour and a half, finished off a large pizza and half of the birthday cake and then swam for two more hours. I'm quite sure the waterslide has never seen that much action. The best part about the whole weekend was leaving the mess for someone else to clean up, and I came home to a clean house. I'm not even denying the fact that it might have been a little selfish. I did make the cake myself, so I feel that makes up for it.

Today was picture day at school, so this morning, of course, there was quite the drama over what to wear. As I'm sitting on the floor in Jessie's room, I hear a noise. I looked under the bed praying that a cat had snuck in at some point. My biggest fear is a mouse in the house. I would probably have to move if this happened. I creeped around the bed toward the scratching noise as bravely as possible. The sound seemed to be coming from the box of Legos. Ready to freak out at any moment, I peered into the box and just about succumbed to cardiac arrest when this was looking back at me.......




I'm not sure what the hell it is. Better yet, how did it get in my house and into a Lego box? I think it's a salamander or a gecko or something. Being the brave man of the house, Kelly got some toilet paper and picked it up and we put it in a plastic box with some grass. Now what? I do not know. I think these things are meant to live in the tropics, and right now it is far from that here. I guess he hasn't heard there is snow forecast for next weekend. Jessie said her principal has lots of stuff like this. She was going to ask him if he wanted it. I hope he does. I'm pretty sure he won't make it through the week here.

Back in The Swing of Things!

Day 1 of School

Well, we made it home from Texas with no major catastrophes which is new for us. We could hardly believe it. Jessie made it to school on Wednesday at about 11. She only missed the first six days of school. She was glad to be back and shocked at the fact that 28 desks could be crammed into her classroom. There are only about 100 kids in the school and 28 are in Jessie's class.

Day 2: Jessie picks her own clothes

Since we have been home, it has been business as usual. Of course day 1 of school, the horses are loaded as soon as the bus leaves and off we go to bring yearling bulls home. Well, that went wrong in every possible way. By the time we had two horses in full lather, we had four bulls in four different pastures and were headed home, which was still seven miles away, in the rain.

We called in backup before we got home. We had two new horses tied in the barn drying off when we got here. They got saddled and away we went to get the renegades. We got two roped and drug in the trailer. One was nowhere to be found, and another just brushed up and got away. So, 50% around here isn't too bad. We did find the other bull yesterday, so now we are waiting to find someone willing to put their horse through that to help.

Saturday, we got to bring recip cows home. Jessie went along for this trip. It was only 5 miles, so she and Legend plodded along with us. I'm sure if Legend could speak he would have been complaining as much as Jessie. However, I have learned that you don't take Jessie riding without a saddlebag full of food. So, she rode along and ate strawberries and drank a juice box not caring that we were 1/2 a mile behind the cows. I think by Saturday afternoon, Kelly was figuring that I was done, so I got to go to a barrel race. Believe it or not, Kelly even went. I see him being lynched if he ever goes to another one. You shouldn't maybe laugh out loud.

Last night we dummied 23 of our own yearling bulls and 21 for another guy at our house. I got a new camera, so I sat around and took pictures.

That is all I know for now. I'm off to install a closet organizer which I have already determined, after drilling six holes in the wall of my closet, that the instructions that came with it are way off. I know it is not my precise measurements.

Conversations With Jessie.

So, we've been watching the Olympics around here every night. Jessie loves the gymnastics. The other night we were watching the men's diving. Kelly and I were commenting on a low score given to one of the divers, and Jessie pipes in saying, "Maybe if he wore a boy's bathing suit instead of those panties, they would give him a higher score."

Last night, as we were watching the recap of the Olympics, they were talking about table tennis. Once again, Jessie lets us know what she's thinking. "Ping Pong as an Olympic sport! You have got to be kidding me! Ping Pong?"

You never have to wonder what is going on inside her head.

The Road Goes On Forever......

As per usual around the Armstrong hacienda, something has to go wrong. Thankfully, yesterday, it didn't go as wrong as it could have. Kelly and I got up and sorted bulls so he could begin his 14 hour trip to Kamloops, B.C. Jessie and I opted out of that. He left here at 8:30. At 10 I get a phone call. I've been in a wreck, I'm okay the truck is @#$%ed. Someone crossed the center line in a minivan and hit the truck right under the door then bounced back and hit another SUV. Miraculously the driver of the van, after being flown away from the crash, only has a concussion and some broken ribs. Everyone else is fine. One bull had to come home. He is still up and around this morning. We are not sure what is wrong with him, but he definitely has a problem. Kelly borrowed a truck from a friend who came to the crash. He hooked on to his trailer and hauled the bulls to an auction mart to unload. Finally, at 4:30 yesterday afternoon, he left. He said they got there at 5:30 this morning. Needless to say, we have something to be very thankful for today. Kelly definitely had a guardian angel with him yesterday. As for the Freightliner, I believe she is going to pass on to truck heaven. She will be missed by all.

Kelly gets home Monday. We are hoping to leave Wednesday for the NBBA finals in Fort Worth. I'm working on all the paperwork to get the bulls across the border and trying to get my paperwork done for my permanent resident card that I have to carry to cross the border and not get deported. It expires in November, and I should have done this a long time ago. It isn't a quick process. I'm mailing them my itinerary for our flights in December in hopes it will give them some incentive to get it done in less than their usual time frame. Jessie cried and said she's not going when I told her we had to drive to Texas. This is going to be a pleasant trip. We have to make it straight through because there isn't too many places to unload bucking bulls between here and there. Jessie is also missing the first week of school. Not good, but such is life.

Jessie is going to Saskatchewan with her grandparents this weekend. Kelly's sister turns 40 and our niece is trick riding at a rodeo, so the whole family is gathering in Maple Creek. I get to stay home and care for an injured bull and try to get packed to head south.

Jessie's friend, Hailey had a tea party for her birthday the other day, so the girls all dressed up and put on their jewels and went for a tea party. They looked beautiful and had a great time. It was so good that they called that night to ask if they could sleep over. Jessie and her best bud Raina showed up at noon the next day looking exhausted and still wearing the party dresses.

That is all I know for now. I am off to town to get a passport photo taken and secure my spot in the Great White North. Have a good one, and hope to see some of you in the next couple of weeks.

Harvest Is Upon Us!

It is 10pm, the tractor is still running and the silage wagon is pulling in and out of the yard. The neighbors are helping Kelly cut silage. Actually, they are doing all the cutting and Kelly is packing the silage pit. I even did the farmer's wife thing and fed them supper in the field tonight. It was complete with homemade sourdough bread and peach cobbler. Talk about the domestic housewife.

The fields are already turning yellow. I've heard rumors of leaves already changing colors in places. A friend of mine who lives about 15 miles away told me that on August 2nd, the hose leading to her horse troughs had ice in it that morning. This, I do not find humor in. Summer is not long enough here.

Because we were going to silage this week, we thought we'd take Jessie out and take her picture in the barley before it got cut. She was none too happy about this, but the pictures turned out great.

We were in Olds for the rodeo this past weekend. Jessie got to play with her friends Cooper and Charlee. They are the pick up man's kids. They set up barrels and roping dummies and terrorize rodeo clowns, cowboys, and innocent bystanders. Barrel racers despise them.

Well, that is all I know for now. It is bedtime on the farm!

What Year Is This?

Could it be 1978 or is it 2008? You could never tell from the cap he insists on wearing that he found in Shane's basement.

A Little Summer Fun!

I took a few pics yesterday of Jessie outside. She had the sprinkler under the trampoline and put dish soap all over the trampoline. Talk about fun. I'm sure we broke every rule in the owner's manual. Heck, I bet they haven't even written one about dish soap. However, she had fun.



Yesterday was Ella's birthday, so Kelly went to town and picked her up. He took her for a drive and then brought her out for supper. We had steak, pasta salad and ceasar salad, made from lettuce out of the garden. I made Saskatoon/Raspberry Cobbler using Peggy's awesome recipe. It was so good. I can't even screw it up. Oh and the Saskatoons and Raspberries came out of the backyard as well. I think Ella enjoyed herself. We didn't get her back to town until 9:00.

While she was here, Jessie had to show her how she could ride a bucking horse. Ella thought it was so funny, and the horse was beat.







We met Kelly's sister in Brooks today and dropped Jessie off. She is staying until Tuesday she says. They are finishing up the visit with a trip to the amusement park in Calgary.