The Good Stuff

On Saturday we trailed a small number of cows a fairly short distance.  With few cows and few miles we didn’t think of this as a full crew event.  It seemed like a good time to involve a cowboy we wanted to know better and kids that are just getting their feet wet as cowboys and cowgirls.  The weather was great and things went (mostly) well.   I was invited to be the truck driver which meant I had a different perspective and had a chance for the kind of pictures I have grown to love, close ups of the people.  The whole weekend was shaped by memorable people time.  Here are the images and thoughts I can share.

Jill came home for the weekend and brought her accordion.  She says she feels bad practicing it in her apartment.  While I worked on food prep she regaled me.  Here she is laughing at a rough sounding mistake.
Ron works with us year round, he is often spoken of but rarely photographed.  I caught him for a picture after he helped unload the trailer early on the chase day.
Callum is working on a nearby farm and hails from New Zealand.  He will soon head home.  We have enjoyed having him on several cow chases.  This day I learned of his ease in dealing with Russell’s ridiculous humor.
This is moments before Tucker jumped on a horse and his Grandpa, David, led him for his first cattle drive.  He did really well.
Cowgirl Gina getting ready to roll.
This is not Braylee’s first cow chase but this is her first year.  She is ready!
This is my favorite picture of the day.  In the moment this was just a “lets hurry and get these gloves on, we don’t want to keep anyone waiting!” kind of happening.  But the subtext of it strikes me.  I see Braylee with so much trust in her grandpa Laurie, its not likely top of her mind but its in her heart, “he loves me, he will help me, he will make sure I have what I need, he might be hurried but he will treat me gently.”  There is so much goodness here.
Ready to roll! Cowgirl Braylee with her Mama sharing her saddle. 
Lennox is getting to be a seasoned cowboy.  I believe this is his third year on the trail with us.
Our family picture for 2024.  Russ urged me to get on his horse for the photo.
My rig for the day.
Jill took a video of part of the days extra action.  This is a screen grab from it.  We had a sick calf, Russ roped it on his first try, Morg got a headloop on it, we meant to load it solo in the trailer and take it home.  When possible it would get medicine.  One problem…..it’s mother, a cow named “Snowman” is such a good mother it would not leave her calf alone or make any safe space for the crew to work.  This required a new plan, from my point of view it looked like there was alot of improvising.  End result…..the cow was roped and loaded, the calf was roped, given its medicine on the road, by Jill I believe, while Gina was securing ropes, I was holding 3 horses and a trailer door, and Morgan’s horse, one he was training, proved to be rather bomb proof as he was the lone man atop a horse through alot of bedlam.  The calf was loaded after it had its needles and taken home.  End End result….8 hours later the calf already looked alot better.  But what about the herd? Well….4 adults and 3 kids under 8 traveled with the herd for a full thirty minutes without their crew boss, half the adult crew or a trailer. Callum was the only adult who was able to give undivided attention to the cows, all other adults had a child on a horse to be watching over.  We were blessed to have their work go very smoothly.  We were also fortunate that the one car to approach was a rancher and she was patient and understanding.   Thanks Memarie!
Russ, Gina, Jill and Morgan had alot of catching up to do to get to the herd.  They did some fast riding, part way through Russ pulled out his phone and made a video.  This is it, I think it gives a bit of the exhilaration of riding and of sharing something awesome with your kids.
With Linda P holding the lane on the eastbound side I stopped things heading west as we did the highway crossing.  Jill was the lead cowgirl venturing out onto #18.  Luckily the highway was not too busy in these moments.
Progress!  According to the timestamp on several pictures this was all said and done in under 2 minutes. It feels like longer when you are watching those first cows try to decide if they will step forward,  meanwhile vehicles were accumulating behind me.
A grandson substitution after the crossing meant Tucker gave up his saddle to Hudson.  First day on the trail!
But later it became this!
Cowgirl Jill all done for another day!
Lacee brings a very kind and considerate presence to the trail, all done for another day and still smiling.
I love this impromptu family trail pic.  David and Linda with some of their grandkids.
Another good visit for Gina and Braylee.  It was not easy for Braylee to get her head around the fact that Gina does not live here and soon would fly away to Toronto.
A cold beer at the end of the trail. 
When the sun shines it is a gift.
With Gina heading home, not to return til April we had a little sampling of Christmas on Sunday morning.  Grandma Shirley came over for breakfast, here she is greeting Jill’s cat.
Here is a glimpse of our customary Christmas breakfast.   A notable thing here…. Russ recently created some different pasture fencing to make life easier, it means that grazing horses are several feet closer to the house windows at times.  As we ate breakfast our donkey could be seen outside.  His name is Elton John. It tickled my fancy to be able to say, “not everyone eats Christmas breakfast with Elton John hanging around.”
Some stockings for the “kids” and 1 gift each to open.  Coffee dog always helps Morgan.
I have extremely mixed feelings about personal moments being the object of my camera.  But this is life right?  But do I have to share it?  Well……I want to.  Just to uphold something.  To uphold that this is what life is about.  Letting ourselves love and adore and support and bond and feel and have a hard time saying goodbye.  My girls are good to each other and goodbye was not easy as Jill slipped back to Regina late Sunday.

I called this blog “The Good Stuff” because sunshine, fall landscapes, cows, kids and Christmas feel like some of the best stuff in life.  It was a good weekend!

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