This is the next part of the story I wrote in the airport a few weeks ago. Re-reading it I realized I don’t usually get to use my favorite letter so many times in one bit of writing. So here we are…..Kathy Kyle and her kiddo in Kentucky, fighting a Keurig and photographing Ken at the Kentucky Horse Park. The last half of the blog is an update on the current scene at the Bar MW Ranch.
Our travels went smoothly, we spent enough time in Calgary to get through US customs with no stress and then off to Atlanta where we had a few hours. Late in the evening we landed in Lexington, Kentucky home of the Kentucky Horse Park. We left the baggage claim with both our suitcases (always a relief) and headed out into the warm but crisp Kentucky night air.
As we waited for our Lyft ride I took delight in seeing the tulips around us.
When we arrived at our Air Bnb just north of Lexington in the old and vibrant city of Georgetown we were feeling many things, lots of relief being top of the list, we had made it through the many steps that this day required and we were still upright and walking. We found ourselves in a really cool Air Bnb, a historic hotel had been renewed into a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom space with high ceilings, dark beautiful wood floors and a totally modern kitchen. We were poised for some good rest.
The next morning had us figuring out how to work the Keurig for our am coffee, it was not straightforward. We learned that the traffic plan for the Kentucky Horse Park didn’t match the reality of a multitude of cars heading in at the same time, but the congestion we landed in on wasn’t nearly as bad as it could be our driver told us. We also learned how best to access the seats at the Alltech Arena so that we stepped over as few people as possible. This would be home for the next four days.
We were there a bit early and had a chance to start wandering through the booths. This is when a very cool set of moments happened. Earlier as Russell was hyping us up for this trip he said, “you gotta talk to Ken McNabb and ask him if he remembers getting bucked off a horse in 1996?” Ever the practical person I flipped back to him, “Russell that was almost 30 years ago, as if he is going to remember that!” Ever the hopeful person Russ informed me that it was the first time Ken had been bucked off in ten years, he might just remember it. I never imagined that the featured horse trainers would be mingling with the crowd but as we made our way around the arena there was Ken, at a booth his training business had set up, Morg insisted we stop and speak to Ken as Russ had asked us to. I shrunk back like a wallflower, feeling a bit foolish for bugging this man. Morgan handled it beautifully, “Hello, my name is Morgan Bayliss, I was sent here with a question, do you remember getting bucked off a horse at a clinic in Shiloh, Manitoba in 1996?” A split second passed, Ken replied, “Yes, Yes I do” and he went on to tell his version of the story. It turned out he was part of two tricky situations that weekend and he was bucked off twice. Russ had told us about that 2nd situation as well as the buck off that was thanks to his horse. Ken described his experience exactly as Russell had told us. It was pretty awesome. Morgan was happy to tell this mentor of Russell’s that the man who brought that horse to the 1996 clinic was his Dad and it was real nice to get the chance to meet Ken. It seemed to make Ken happy to have the chance to tell the two stories again and I got a definite sense that I could quit feeling bashful and take a picture.
We headed on, we came across another booth of interest to Morgan, a social media presence, a fairly famous cowboy named “Booger Brown” had a booth and there was Booger himself. Morgan said, “hey I want to talk to this guy.” For pities sake, this kid was not bashful. We doubled back to him and Morg didn’t bug him, just introduced himself, told him he liked watching his show and I grabbed a picture. It made for an exciting start to our day.
Now….back to the present
Its Monday April 15th and calving season is definitely picking up steam. The biggest development is that we have had a change in staffing. I dropped Gina off at the Regina airport on Saturday at noon.
We had really enjoyed her visit. So quickly we get used to how things used to be. For example I found myself worrying about the amount of noise in the house this morning, I didn’t want to wake up Gina. I had to think through who was actually in the house. I realized again that Gina was not here and everyone was already up. That everyone included Anja whom Jill and I picked up at the Regina airport later on Saturday. Anja is our friend from Switzerland who loves the life of a Canadian rancher and spends much of her vacation with us. It was a joy to see her again.
Other friends, new and old are joining us in bits and pieces too. Carnduff had visiting theatre teachers from the Missoula Children’s Theatre company last week. Our friend Carol hosted them and brought them out Saturday to show them the ranching life. They liked it and checked cows with Russ and Morgan, on horseback, three times in the next 18 hours! I never got to meet them but I admire their spirit of adventure!
Jenn and Patrick were here helping Russ and Morgan while I was in Regina. Steve camped in the yard last night and is on the calving crew this morning. Kayla arrived at Grandma Shirley’s yesterday and joined the crew this morning. Each person brings their own charm. I am anticipating that lunch time will be very interesting today.
On the calving front……things are going fairly well. We had a pair of twins arriving backward on Friday night. Russ needed Dr. Marcel’s help and he got it. The calves are doing well and Russ was able to successfully adopt one onto the cow that lost her premature calf earlier in the week. The guys worked very hard while I was gone and then cooked for themselves, except that Jenn and Patrick sent out an incredible meal for them. I was so happy to hear that. The men here multi-task extremely well, calving, cooking as neccesary and hosting visitors. The love sure flows back to them too. I found a hundred dollars in the fridge this morning, with some handwriting I recognize! (Thank you!) Steve was up early and walked through the calving heifers this morning. He discovered two births had happened over night. Stevey Nicks and John Denver both calved this morning. Yesterday it was Joan Jett and Pat Benatar.
Saturday morning Taylor Swift had her calf. We are really enjoying the name theme for this years heifers. In the main herd Dr. Seuss calved, thats her second calf. It seems this cow is as fanciful as her namesake. She seems flighty, leaving her calf behind, maybe appearing to forget she had it. Enchant is often seen to have twins, because she is stepping in and looking out for Dr. Seuss’s baby. If you know Dr. Seuss’s story of Horton the Elephant it is a bit like that. Enchant is like Horton guarding that egg. Dr. Seuss the cow is like Maysie………..off having adventures, forgetting she is mothering. Anyways……….things are rolling here and we will see what today brings.
A few more pictures….I know some worry about my self care. I created some options in these last days. Gina and I left the ranch a day before we needed to, we picked up Jill in Regina and went all the way to Saskatoon where we visited family and friends before whizzing back to Regina on Saturday to get Jill to work and Gina on her plane. These moments mean alot to me.
Happy Monday!
As Far As The Eye Can See 