Category Fun

Almost Christmas

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Ours is a big family. I believe all are coming to Christmas Dinner and that means 30+ people. That is unless a cousin or two, or some neighbour that we find out doesn’t have anyone to have dinner with, wants to join.

I’m done shopping. Well, at least for the grandchildren and great grandchildren. Our own kids have been a bit difficult to give the “family treasures” and “things I don’t want to throw out” to. The only way I have found to get these things out of my care is to give them to them as “Christmas Presents”.

It is fun hearing the “Oh Mom” reaction when I hand them out but… I know them fairly well and in the end the “junk” I give them is at very least somewhat interesting or useful or worth a laugh.

Our Christmas Party is always full of laughter and I am so very grateful that all of my family treat each other with love and respect. Doubly important to me as I didn’t see that as a child.

The horses are out on winter pasture. The pasture is very good and some are becoming obese. In a couple of days the weather is going to be in the -20s in the daytime. They need to be fat and furry and have good shelter and feed when the Alberta weather is in an Arctic blast. Having watched horses in the natural winter pastures for many years, it never ceases to amaze me how well they can handle cold if given the right environment.

I still need to paint some Christmas cards. I’ll don’t even aspire to be a great painter, LOL, I just like doing it. In fact, lately I think I may be getting worse at it. LOL

Busy time. That is good and I am just grateful to still be able to be busy.

Lynn
“Though he’d be a poorer man if he never saw an eagle fly”

Lynn riding a horse on Easter Island

Camera Lenses

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One day this week I took my new telephoto lens for my walk down the pasture. Sure enough the skies were flamboyant. Need more wide angle. So… next day took the wider angle lens. Yup. Beautiful flock of geese flew directly over the beautiful row of fall colored trees. A deer stood and looked at me for ages instead of instantly bounding into the trees but just a little too far away to be a good photo of a deer with that lens.

Unless I develop the ability to foresee the future or want to carry a heavy bag full of lenses, I guess I will just have to accept that some things are just for my eyes to enjoy. I’m resisting carrying more stuff.

Kind of like travelling. I like to bring all my toys. In the old days you could check 2 suitcases so full you could barely drag them along and take another smaller case and your big purse on the plane with you. Not that way now.

I’m kind of good with this. On a fully booked flight to Easter Island at Christmas time a few years back every seat had a person (for some reason there were a lot of large people on the flight) and there were bags and piles of gifts to the ceiling of the plane in the middle section. Lots of people ended up sitting on the floor or walking around during the flight. You could just feel that it all was too heavy. There was a lot of ocean between takeoff and landing to ponder on.

It took me a long time but I am finally starting to see the freedom that comes from not carrying a lot of baggage. LOL In more ways than one.

Dabbler

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Dabbler according to Google AI:

A “dabbler” is a person who takes a casual, non-serious interest in a subject or activity, or a person who tries something for a short time without serious commitment. The term can sometimes have negative connotations, implying a lack of persistence or depth, but it can also describe someone who simply enjoys learning for the sake of enjoyment and doesn’t feel the need to become an expert. 

I may be a dabbler. I need to try a lot of things, enjoy them for awhile and then something else catches my eye and mind.

Well, except for a few things like family, work and horses.

Horses because that has been so since I can remember. I was born loving them. Work because I come from a time when it was a source of pride and accomplishment. And family because I may have the best darned family in the world!

Dabbler – my new label for myself. LOL

The Beaver Pond

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I missed spending time at the Beaver Pond this year. I love to ride my horses down there and see what those busy little beavers have been up to. I’ve been watching them for 40 years now and they have made some big changes in that time.

This year there was a canola crop between home and the beaver pond. Between the near impossibility of riding through canola crops and the extreme heat, I made very few trips down to the pond.

So my walk down to the pond today, Halloween, was very interesting. Much has happened over the summer. The beaver are basically moving the whole pond over to where a grove of trees that are of interest to them are standing. They made a lot of progress in one summer. Almost all my trails, mostly game trails, along this side of the pond are blocked with fallen trees and brand new trails have been developed. Some of my old trails will likely be under water next year.

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Draft Horses Working In the Field

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Grab the old folks and the kids. There is something happening in west central Alberta this weekend that they all will enjoy. Wild Rose Draft Horse Field & Pioneer Days on June 1 & 2 at Double Tree Village Museum. Gates open at 9 AM. It is 2 whole days of fun with something for everyone.

I’m going to start right off with my favorite part. It is the Draft Horses working in the field. Few people remember when that was “how it was done”. The turning point – when the amount of tractor power overtook the amount of horse power on American farms – was 1945. Jobs for draft horses were pretty scarce after that.

The draft horses at the Double Tree Museum give all those youngsters under 75 a chance to see horses working in the field. Actually putting in a crop. In a beautiful setting which includes a whole village filled with interesting things from the past.

You can tour a village reminiscent of the early villages in Alberta stocked with thousands of items. Join in the Jam Session and Cowboy Poetry Sat. at 5:00, vendors, Handicrafts, Pack Horse Demo, Hand work demos, Mini horses and much more… 

There is a concession but if you are trying to have some fun with the family but on a severe budget, bring some fried chicken and potato salad, a nice big watermelon and lots of water and enjoy a whole day of fun for just a General Admission of $5.00 per person. There are places to sit and eat or rest. There are wagon rides to and from where the horses are working in the field.

Maybe you would like to purchase supper provided by the Spruce View Lions Club on Saturday evening during the jam session. Or breakfast which includes Cowboy Gospel singing as breakfast is served. You will be welcomed with true western hospitality.

6 miles west of Spruce View on Hwy 54 to RR41, turn north as the sign and follow the road into the village.

Contact us at 403-729-3875 or 403-391-3645 or email dbltreem@telus.net

We also have an extraordinary setting for family and wedding pictures.

Interesting short article “Horses Finally Lose Their Jobs“.

Exchanging Remotes for Reins..

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Post by Melody Garner-Skiba
Rocking Heart Ranch

Every day each of us gets a little older. It does not matter what industry you work in or what job you do, days go by so quickly and none of us get any younger. This is especially important to remember if you want to ensure your way of life, your business, and your passion will continue long after you are gone. The horse industry is not immune to this circle and unless we get our kids to exchange remotes for a set of reins, we could find ourselves in a bit of a conundrum down the road.

RHR-ColtChallenge17-190

It is with this potential pitfall down the road, that our ranch started to work on a vision of getting Youth Back in the Saddle several years ago. Our mission is to encourage up and comers of all ages to get involved in the industry and contribute to ensuring this way of life that we all love will be around for future generations. One of the projects that our ranch is undertaking to meet this vision, is our 60-day Colt Starting Challenge. This challenge focuses on promoting up and coming trainers who are trying to ensure that people of all ages get back into the saddle and stay in the saddle! Continue reading “Exchanging Remotes for Reins..” →