Busy Day

We sent out 45 cow/calf pairs to the community pasture and I took a pic and the calves are looking good and healthy :)  The big one was dry and we just wanted her to be in for the sale in a couple days.

Kali was posing by the fence when I was out there too so she got her pic taken too

And that evening we headed to the neighbors to vaccinate his cows and brand his calves, he only had 14 so it didn't take very long but he is always good help for us so we try to help him too.

Picture Perfect and Friends for Jessie

I was riding the other day and looking back across to where the pasture ponies were, was Razz standing on a hill with all the cows behind her, thought it was kinda a cool shot so I tried to capture it. I think the second one is my favorite.

When I got back I decided it was probly time to let Bailey and Kali in with Jessie, they had been across the fence for a while and their hay was running out so they might as well be together.  Boy was Jessie excited to have friends!  While the others just wanted to eat, but she wanted to play, but they amused her for a while, lol

Alberta Floods

So there is a lot of water flooding out rivers in Alberta.  Everywhere on the news has coverage and its just kinda crazy, mostly cause it was so unexpected.  A rainfall warning was posted but no one thought it would get this bad.  All the sudden water was washing out roads in Canmore and Banff and then High River the whole town got flooded and then Calgary, 100 000 people evacuated.  Kinda amazing really and scary at the same time.  My sister got moved out Thursday night and the water is now up to her lawn but has not reached the house yet.  My Grampa also got moved out of his retirement home and is staying with my uncle.  I will just share a couple pics of the flooded area and a couple my sister sent me of her place.

(My Sisters road Thursday night)

(my sisters house is the first one on the corner, 

the ripples are all around the storm drain, 

this was Friday at noon)

(Macloed and 17th Ave yesterday afternoon)

(Calgary Zoo even had to be evacuated)

Daily Rides With Jessie

I am supposed to be riding every day and keeping Jessie in shape.  The longer I have to do this the more work it seems.  Pretty silly really since I really do like her and I really do enjoy riding her, but somehow when you HAVE to do it its not as much fun.  And I been riding by myself pretty much all year except a couple rides and lessons and brandings.  So to make it more interesting I try to have a plan in mind of where we will go and what we will do before the ride, last time was check the hay fields.

We go out North of our house and through the unused horse pasture, and then the gate is open on that end and we head East out towards the farm fields.  Neil has been cultivating again so its all nice and soft but we bypass it today.  Keep going and on the other side of the road is the first hayfeild.  The alfalfa sure is doing good this year, really seems to like the rain and cooler temps we been having (not like me).  It up past Jessie's knees already and still got a couple weeks to go before we think about cutting it.

I stopped and let her have a bite, pretty hard to resist that when its at nose height and since she doesn't try to eat grass on her own a treat is nice.  I also had a drink and a granola bar I had packed in my horn bags.  I have gotten so used to taking them with me everywhere, i love having a drink along.

Then we headed farther east and saw some Antelopes, for some reason they were kinda wild and run from us even though we were only walking.  Musta had babies somewhere although I did not see any.

Then we started our way home and we saw the school bus come into my neighbors yard, she is the bus driver and it always trying to get me to get my bus licence but I am trying to avoid it, lol.

And farther along we saw a curlew and boy was he noisy!  I wonder if we got to close to their nest, but never saw that either, finally he sat down and let me get a picture of him.

Then we headed home and since Jessie is terrible on walking in a straight line we quite often follow trails  out there to give her something to watch, but I still have to keep up with it or she is just wandering again.  So we do different trail training.

Then at home and the other girls are so happy to see us they make a big ruckus, wish the wouldn't that's why I have 2 in there but they still do.  Since it was kinda humid I gave her a hosing down and washed her tail and braided it  up, she looks all pretty like a show horse again :)

With her new fly sheet and mask on as well.  Never really used a mask but she seems to like it, I saw her out later grazing while the others were hiding in the shed.

Girls Getaway to Great Falls

On Friday me, my Sister Heidi, my Mom, and my sisters friend Liz went down to Great Falls to  get some shopping done.  We had planned on going this spring and it kept getting later and later and so we just picked a  weekend I wasn't branding and Liz had a babysitter and we headed out.  We left early Friday morning and we across the border by about noon, stopped for lunch in Shelby and kept going.  We checked in at the hotel right away.  It was a different hotel than any of us had ever stayed in cause apparently all hotels were booked cause Sarah Palin was in town.  We had no idea and we never saw her either.  But it was a different type of hotel but it was OK and not too expensive.

(was Flag Day on Friday and we saw this flag flying 

on our way to the hotel and was so pretty)

We headed out to go shopping and had a not too late night then got up early and started over.  Our hotel had breakfast and so that saved us some time too.  We got through a lot of stores and got most of our stuff bought by Sat night.  Sunday we finished up and then got on the road sometime after lunch.  I forget how much the girls like to shop.  I woulda been happy going to Fleet and Big R and Great West Ranch supply, lol   and maybe Hoglunds, but I didn't need boots this time.  But of course we went everywhere else too and got some real good deals.  Lots of groceries too, some stuff we don't have and some stuff that was super cheap. We even stopped at a few garage sales too, figured we might as well.

 (this torch was burning across from Walmart looked so purple)

 (a concrete lego block with cow bums etched in it at the border)

 (Heidi and Liz being goofy, lol)

(My mom in the truck, not being goofy)

I been there enough times now that I am getting to know my way around town pretty good and we never even got lost once.  I woulda liked to take them to the Lewis and Clarke Museum one time we are down there but we always seem to run out of time.  Me and Neil went there and to the Charlie Russell museum and I think they are both worth seeing.

 (Liz trying to lift a Dinosaur)

 (Mom rescuing me from the dino steppin on me!)

 (Posin by the dino, he was nicer by then ;)

(I got arrested by the North West Mounted Police too while down there :(  

Luckily they let me go home)

We stopped at the travel Alberta site cause I accidentally took the wrong road to the UFA and so we stopped to see and I asked if there was a list of places I could take my horses to ride and she said she didn't know :(  But I might call down she said there is usually a horse lady in there she directs questions to and she might know.  Lots of trail rides but I wanna take my own ponies.

Our 2013 Branding

It was kinda chaos on the day we branded here.  Because of the rain I was so far behind on the deck and I kinda wanted it done for branding.  Turns out the morning of branding i spent 5 hours screwing down deck boards.  Neil carried all the lumber over and his dad cut and drilled starter holes for me.  We got it so it was use able and had lots of compliments on it but wow I was tired by 2 and we hadn't even started branding yet.  It still needs the step around the outside and one up to the door, but close enough for now.

The riders showed up not long after that and the left about 3 to go round up.  I never helped again this year, too tired and they had lots of help.  I came inside and started getting the meal ready and then Neil's Mom and sister showed up and they helped and the Susan and Char showed up and they helped as well.  We got everything pretty well ready and so I took Susan and Char out to the corrals and we watched for a while.  I only got 3 pics of our whole branding but I was so busy talking I forgot to take some, lol.  We stayed a while then headed back inside to finish up the meal.

All in all it went well, everyone got lots to eat, I got a lot of visiting in and could finally relax and enjoy the deck that evening.  A couple hanger oners stayed till 11 visiting but it was nice out so we visited too.  I went to bed pretty well as soon as they left, I was exhausted.  Good thing the branding the next day wasn't till after lunch.

Veno Branding

We went to a branding last week and he has so much help that my job was to take pics :)  I knew he has  lots of help and that's why I brought my camera.