Flooding on The Red Deer River

On the 23rd of June we headed to Olds for a mix of a Mothers Day and Fathers Day Welcome Summer BBQ at my Moms house.  We wanted to stop at Dorothy and have a look over the bridge like we did in 2005 when it flooded last time.  It was kinda rainy and miserable so we got a few pics and then left.

On the way home the sun was shining so I got a few pics while we were driving, well Neil was driving this time so I got to take pics on the way.

Then we decided to stop at the Dorothy bridge, I think it looks so pretty in the summer when the grass is green and long.

It was much better stopping on the way home but I was sure glad we had bug spray cause were they sure bad out there!  We saw a couple neighbors who had the same idea and so that was fun to visit with them.

 Then almost home we thought we should stop at Finnegan and see the water there, they had pulled the ferry a few days before and so it wasn't in and I don't think the water was near as bad as last time.  But still kinda high.  We were a few hours before the predicted peak but still impressive.

As far as I know a few houses in the Drumheller/Lehigh area was flooded but otherwise much better prepared and so not so much damage done.

Slorstad Branding

This is my favorite branding, partly cause its the people I worked for for 3 1/2 years that introduced me to this county and partly (well mostly) cause they split the crew into a roundup crew and a branding crew and I get to be on the roundup crew. So we end up gathering all 3 bunches of cows while the other crew brands.

I got up early and it was raining a little, just enough to be annoying but I figured it would stop and over to the East where we were going it looked clear so I grabbed Bailey and quickly saddled her and loaded her so we didn't get too wet.  I had to be at my neighbors by 6:30 and it was still cold out so I ended up wearing my togue, lol which got a few laughs when we got there until their ears were cold and mine were not.

We got over there had a coffee and then went to gather the first bunch.  There was a lot of help!  Like 23 horses and 2 quads.  A bit much but that bunch lots of times does not want to come in but this time they did good.  how could they not with no holes to escape. There is always a few who help round up that will stay to rope in the first bunch.  Then breaky sandwiches were there and we all grabbed one before the other crew came.  As soon as they got started we left to go to the next field.  I was dropped off at the Texas gate and headed up East where there were a few cows and started bringing them over towards the other cows down south.  A bunch of 4 of us had probly a quarter of the cows at the gate before the others even had the rest of them moving, so we sat and visited till their cows were close then we got them all in no problem.  We hardly had to wait at all before the crew showed up so we all had a beer break while they sorted cows from calves then lunch was brought out and they started branding again.

We headed to the third field (each one keeps getting bigger with more cows in each time) and 4 of us headed south to get about a hundred that way while the others went east and north to get the rest.  We got them all almost to the gate and they tried to break away!  But we got them turned and back out the gate except for a couple ornery calves and  I just waited while a couple ropers went out and grabbed them and drug them back.  All in and then we were way too quick I guess cause it was over an hour before anyone from the other crew came.  That was nice, we sat in the shade and rested for a while, knowing we were mostly done our part.

The others showed up and went right to branding, everyone was helping and it was going quick cause the clouds started to gather and we wanted to get done before getting soaked.  We got about half of them done and then the clouds went around us so we took a break and got the rest done a little normal paced.  I got a few pics of branding there, none while riding cause I was unsure how much help I would need to be and I never thought to bring the little camera or hornbags till we were there of course.

I brought Bailey cause I knew the guy who raised her was gonna be there and he said she looks just like her mother (in a different color, her mom was sorrel) but has better feet and legs.  I think he was pretty impressed with the way she turned out, I really am too, she is a pretty nice ranch horse and she made me happy I took her that day.

A Horrible Day For a Ride

On most days I been trying to ride and so I it was getting warm but I thought I should go anyways, there was a little breeze so I thought the bugs would be not bad.  I got Jess ready and bug sprayed her and me and just as I got on the wind just died down.  Which woulda been nice but the bugs was real bad.  Heading North or South was buggy but tolerable, but going East and West was just like being swarmed.  It was a pretty miserable ride for us both and we ended up loping most of the way cause it was so awful.  I felt bad for her so after we got back and her all suited up I let her graze the yard for a while.

Then While she was doing that I sat on the deck and had one of the frozen coolers we brought back from Great Falls.  They are so good I wish I coulda brought more.

And then when Neil come in that night he had a couple wild roses with him.  They are pretty but also very fragile and they lasted only about a day in the house.

Leibster Award

So I got nominated for a Leibster award and am finally getting around to posting about it, thanks Marissa from over at Horseshoes and Hearts nominated me, her blog is very fun about Pony and their adventures, wish one day to ride bareback like she does!  Anyways the rules are as follows
1.Thank your nominator and link back to their blog.....done
2. List 11 random facts about yourself.......well lets see
     1.  I love woodworking and have a million projects on the go and yet I hate my woodshop so haven't done anything woody for over a year now.
     2.  I hate birds, but not really all birds, just the noisy obnoxious ones, like magpies and crows and ravens and blackbirds and sparrows. But I really like the big birds (and Big Bird himself too, lol) like hawks and eagles and owls, they are pretty cool
     3.  The only reason I am on Facebook is to play games.  I love the games and play them way to often, of course now there is lots of people on there I like to get updates from, but the games are what keeps me coming back.
     4.  I hate housework of any sort except laundry, I really don't mind doing laundry, not sure if its cause it can be stretched to an all day job while having lots of times that nothing needs doing.
     5.  I only have one  houseplant and that is only because my mother in law insisted I take it home last Christmas, I am sure there were many times it almost died and I think it hates me cause when I go away is the only time it blooms.
     6. This is hard, cant believe I'm only on 6.  I am not really a private person but wont share a lot unless asked about it, but then watch out, I am a talker.
     7.  I love it when people come out to our ranch but does not happen very often cause we are over an hour from any towns.
     8.  I always say we even when only talking about something I did.
     9.  I hate answering the phone, especially people who want to talk to Neil and are surprised when he is outside in the middle of the day, I think they think cause he doesn't leave the farm to work he must be inside.
     10.  Oh almost done, hmm lets see.  I love meat, actually I love to eat and I do it too often, I would like to lose weight but somehow in my mind because we were poor when I was a child we had plain food (never went hungry) and now we can afford it so I feel like I deserve good food.
     11.  I have a lot of stuff!  I keep trying to go through it and throw a bunch away but after going through 10 boxes and getting one Walmart bag to give away its just not working well.

3.Answer the 11 Questions given to me.  I am gonna answer Marissa's questions and the Louisa also asked everyone to answer her questions as well and so I will do that as well.
         1. What is your biggest accomplishment with horses

Well I dunno if I have any one big accomplishment with horses, I am pretty proud I can and have taken a few young horses and gotten them really broke so much so that others laugh and say they can do crazy stuff to and around my horses cause they are mine, lol.

         2. Do you have any hobbies apart from horses that you love?

Yes, I have more hobbies than i will ever have time to finish.  I love woodworking, gardening, cross-stitch, reading,  photography, sewing, I'm sure there is more I just am having a brain fart right now.

         3. What is your ultimate goal that you are working towards with your horses?

Well lets see, of course with Jessie I want to get better at cutting, not sure I wanna win the world on her or anything crazy like that, but just be consistent   Razz I want to get her into a real bridle and have her as broke as she can be.  I would really like her like one of the Vaqueros horses were.  Others, I am trying to sell, so no real goals with them right now.

          4. What is your favorite tv show?

Hmm I really like CSI New York, think that's my favorite right now, although also like NCIS and NCIS LA and some real life shows on the history and discovery channels.

          5. What kind of music do you listen to?

All Country, well a little other music like some Bon Jovi and Celine Dion.

          6. What is your personal love story? (With a husband/boyfriend/ex? If you don't want to go that deep, with a hobby? Or more obviously, with horses?)

I don't know how to answer this, I love my husband but no big story to go along with it, I am not that emotional and he gets nervous when its emotional so I dunno.  We knew each other for a while before we started dating and it just went from there, nothing fantastic, would  make a pretty boring book, but I like it :)

          7. What is your favorite love story? (Movie, books, etc?)

Well I am not really into love stories, I used to read a lot of Harlequin books and enjoyed them, but have moved over into the romantic suspense or just novels, guess love stories are not my thing.

         8. What is the most important thing to you when looking at a horse boarding facility? (Obviously our horses care is the first and foremost thing.  So lets skip that one and be really picky and selfish. So basically what is your favorite thing at your barn that you couldn't live without, or the thing you most wish you had. Lighted arena? Indoor Arena? Covered tack area? Trail access?)

Well since I only board in the winter, what I am looking for is a indoor arena (preferably heated) and a individual pen for my horse/horses.  I like to be able to go in the day time, and I like to know what is going on so I don't have to come ride when a million others are there either.

          9. What is the most lavish thing you have ever had at a barn? Or, considering a lot of us board at something that is awesome for the horse and not so awesome for us, what do you wish you had in your wildest barn dream? (Air conditioned riders lounge? Heated tack area? Showers and lockers for riders? Couches?)

Well i worked at a pretty fancy jumping barn in the past and they had all kinds of crazy things, the barn was warm enough to go with out a coat in the winter, air conditioning in parts for summer, it had showers, no lockers, was small enough no tack woulda gone missing without knowing who had taken it, had couches and chairs, a  full bar, offices, it was a bit crazy!  Would like something cool like that, but the longer I am around the more I want just plain, but it sure was nice to work in.

          10. I think my questions have been pretty awesome, but I'm seriously running out of steam.  Did you guys like my questions?

Lol i hear you I do not know how I am gonna think up 11 new questions, I think you did a pretty good job.

          11.  Who is your hero and why?

Hmm not sure I have a real hero, but if I had to I would say my old boss, really nice guy, fair, well liked, easy to get along with, not a pushover, one day I wanna be like that.

OK now onto Louisa's questions, this is turning out longer than i expected.

         1. Why did you start blogging?

I started reading blogs long before I ever had a blog but it sounded cool so one day I just ventured in and started my own.

         2. Have you ever had a 'heart horse', if so - tell me about him/her!

No I don't think so, i really like my Razz horse, I think she is my favorite, but I am not sure she feels the same about me, she likes me but I am not emotional enough to put that kind of feeling into it I think.

       3. What kind of vehicle do you drive? 

I drive a 2011 dodge half ton, I love it I would not buy any other brand, and really don't think I need more than a half ton even though lots of horse people cant believe you can pull 3 horses with it.

       4. What is one of the best lessons that horses have taught you?

Hmm easy peasy.  They have taught me that sometimes slow is fast.  I was always in a hurry and still always late but now I don't seem to rush and am much happier (as are my horses) and sometimes I am still late but less than before.
     5. What is your career? 

I don't have a career, I am one of the lucky ones who does not have to work just be on the ranch and help out and ride horses the rest of the time, not saying i don't work, but not in a organized scheduled get paid twice a month kind of way.
     6. How many horses do you own?

Well we have 9 here on the ranch and 8 are mine (too many really)
     7. What is your a) favourite and b) least favourite thing about the place you board at? (if you board at home, answer it anyway! haha)

Well I do board at home, and my favorite thing is lots and lots of places to ride and lots of grazing and I can keep an eye on my ponies.  Least favorite thing is no arena and no barn.
     8. What is one food you absolutely hate?

Well I don't like sweet peppers, not sure I really hate them will eat em if I have to and trying to like them (even though its not working well)
     9. Do you cook - if you do, what's your favourite recipe/dish to make?I do cook, lunch and dinner every day if I am home, I don't have a favorite, I love to eat so food is all good, but I do really like Mexican food, could eat tacos everyday...oh and perogies, mmmm.
     10. What is your weakness?

 Hmm auction sales, especially if the have horse stuff, I always come home with a truck load, so I try to stay away, haven't gone to anythings year, I am feeling withdrawal.
     11. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?

I love Arizona in the winter, much to hot in summer, and way to crowded, I think at home in summer would be perfect.

5. Pick 11 questions for your nominations to answer.  

This is kinda hard, I am gonna try to come up with a few different ones 

1.If you could try any discipline what would it be?

2.Do you have an emergency plan in place for your horses and other animals?

3.What peice of tack would you buy if money was no objection?

4.What is the place you board like? What would you change?

5.What do you feed your horse and why?

6.What is your ideal temperature (for relaxing or for working)

7.If you could travel anywhere in the world where would it be?

8.What kind of cell phone do you have...would you get it again?

9.What is your favorite kind of excersize (besides horseback riding)?

10.What kind of touristy things are around where you live?

11.If you could ride anywhere where would it be?

6. Choose 11 blogger with 200 followers or less and nominate them.  Well I think I am gonna cheat on this and nominate all my blogger friends :)  If you have already been nominated that's alright I wont make you answer the questions again but you can if you want.