Cow chase – As Far As The Eye Can See

A Rich Weekend

It is 4:29am on Monday November 3^rd. I woke up from a dream about an hour ago that has not left its grip on me. It was not a bad dream just a dream that touched on a lot of pieces of my weekend. It left me thinking. I had such a meaningful weekend. I am here to attempt to capture what it was.

Last week at this time Russ was looking ahead to our big November 1^st cow chase and he was worrying that we were short handed. For a few reasons many of our regulars were unavailable and several could only say “maybe.” The herd being moved was a large one, two herds that had already come some distance this fall and had been hanging out together 18 miles from home. (For those who know our ranch lingo they are the PF herd and the Manor cows). Bringing this big herd a full days ride home is a big job and Russ could not leave our crew situation to chance so he did a bit of recruiting. That resulted in five guests arriving at our home on Friday evening. Every bedroom and our guest space that we call “Clare Hall” was occupied. Of these guests one had been many times, one was on her third visit, one was on her second and two had never been in our home before. Over time chaos of old has subsided a bit and our spaces feel better and its kind’ve an enjoyable thing to dust and straighten and put out clean sheets and towels and just enjoy my home for what it is. I had that pleasure on Friday and it was a bit new to me. Usually getting ready for guests is a race to the finish line and involves an attempt to keep the situation to as little embarrassment as possible.

As it turned out all our “maybes” ended up being able to come and several of our firm “no” friends became “yes” when rain late in the week meant they were not working. By the time all was said and done we were at a solid 22 people on the trail by Saturday morning.

Saturday morning brought a chilly but beautiful sunrise for Laurie.

I had two helpers lined up for my part of the work, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. It turned out that my morning helper got a little more than she asked for but handled it like a champ.

It was strange when my phone rang at 8:45 and it was Patrick, one of the cowboys on the trail. My heart was in my mouth as I answered and true to my worries his voice was shaky. Russ was ok but was doing all he could in the first moments of a crisis with Coffee dog, holding his hand like a cinch on Coffee’s upper leg to slow bleeding caused by a deep cut. I needed to come. I dropped everything, changed into work pants, a jacket that could easily be laundered, I grabbed my rag bin and hit the road. Russ used a scarf of Sharon’s to create a tourniquet, loaded Coffee in the truck, Sharon and Hannah left the crew and headed my way. Enroute to meet them my job was to find a vet. We are so incredibly lucky to live in an area with several vets. I can’t state enough how huge a reality this is. I was so incredibly thankful when I found that one was available. Sharon, Hannah and I met part way just as vet details were getting finalized. I told Dr. Sid I could be there in 20 minutes, thinking after that was not true, I had more than a 20 minute journey ahead of me. It turns out I made it in 18 and beat him there. I stayed with Coffee until her general anaesthetic took effect and then sat in the waiting room. A second vet had been brought in and I was not needed, I didn’t realize a second vet was near and had imagined myself helping with the procedure. I like to think that I can do what is needed when necessary but I was quite relieved to have time to sit, breathe and message. It turns out that the profuse bleeding was caused by a cut artery. Noone knows what happened to Coffee, the first sign of trouble was that she was chasing cows with blood spurting out of her leg. What makes the most sense to Russ is that she cut herself on an exposed culvert. Murtada the vet observed that Coffee is brave and Sharon later reflected, she is resilient, she needed everything she had in these moments. I would be lying if I said experiences like this don’t affect me. At face value its just darn hard, but its triggering, hurt people and animals are all too common an occurrence in my world and there is some interior management required. As I sat in the waiting room I challenged myself to be totally honest. What I was facing down in those moments is how incredibly vulnerable I/we were. Russell, Dr. Sid and Murtada saved Coffee’s life, they are all that stood between a level of emotional devastation that I do not want to think about and a day that could end up feeling almost normal. I named that to Dr. Sid as we were saying goodbye. I needed to. To meet someone in their utter vulnerability and give of yourself is very holy ground. I stood on that ground with profound gratefulness on Saturday morning.

Meanwhile back at the ranch…….Vicki was following recipes and making things happen. She made me laugh when she spoke of her texting with her husband to check in, confessing her lack of felt direction he advised, “stir the soup.” The crew was running a little bit early as it turned out so when Coffee and I returned to the ranch and I got her settled I had to switch gears, it was tough but with Vicki’s help we arrived at the lunch spot only 10 minutes late. This spot has a dugout and grass for the cows so it is a priority to meet there versus wherever the crew happens to be when lunch is finally ready. My time with Coffee meant I didn’t get fresh biscuits made to go with the soups we were offering, knowing this I stopped at the store and got Melita Bakery bread and it was just fine, some thought it homemade. Lesson learned!

Sharon and I look pretty fresh for the morning we put in.

On the trail…..A new and unexpected crew member. We got a new cow dog this year after losing Bingo and Knightwing in the spring and summer. We were not expecting to have Zip on the trail until next year but sensing her good instincts and ability to listen Russ tried her out on a shorter job earlier this week. She did wonderfully. I was so proud when I heard this I wanted to do a whole blog post just about her! A dog on the trail who is younger than most of the calves! (Zip was born May 14^th) Based on this success she was brought along on Saturday. In Coffee’s absence, and with Paisley on vet ordered retirement from chasing cows (Paisley belongs to our friend Jen), we only had Maddie and Zip on the trail. She was needed. While not perfect she did super well. She took some rest periods, but not in the truck with Sharon, she rode with Jen and with Becca in their saddles. I love thinking about the view she had, as opposed to her regular perspective where its a lot of angles of ankles.

After helping serve lunch Vicki joined the crew for the rest of the ride and shortly after I got home to the ranch my friend Erin arrived. She has helped me many times, her daughters love to chase cows, so she moved in very naturally, got dishes done, did prep work, made one of her signature casseroles and visited easily. She is fun. We had a supper ready when at 5:30 the crew was in, a little earlier than projected. These helpers who come alongside make me look good and allow me to experience the joy of hospitality when otherwise I would be swearing and sweating.

After a very long day on the trail people don’t linger long after dessert is served, two of our house guests headed home and our day ended with a cozy visit of five people with a shared footstool between us sipping on tea. At 8:33 one of the circle looked at their watch and said, “well I made it to 8:30, that was my goal, I’m going to bed!” The party broke up and we were all resting before long. Coffee slept between Russ and I, her long body and her cone making for a bit of a bed hog.

Sunday morning had us returning to the cozy circle with cups of coffee. The time in the circle included thoughtful questions asked of me. People don’t ask me about myself too much and I quite enjoyed the chance to ponder and speak. It was the weirdest experience though to be fighting waves of nausea arising from a stubborn headache and sitting there speaking deeply, wanting to carry on as if nothing was wrong. I had to give myself a talking to. As much as I was enjoying the attention and conversation I had to tell myself it was okay to state where I was at, so I did, and of course people were very understanding and enjoyed the chance to ponder that this might be “morning sickness.” That had my mind wandering! At that point we were six days into our empty nest and I was not appalled at the thought of a baby. I am not sure what that says. I am actually enjoying the quiet and order of the house a lot, with modern technology I still hear my kids’ voices and know some of their stories and while its different around here, I am doing okay, but I could handle the thought of a new baby (at least I thought I could, reality would be much much different if that were to come to pass.)

The good-byes with our guests included some feedback that really touched me. I feel like I am bragging to share it but it has such meaning for us. We were told, “this experience is so unique, there aren’t many things I’ve done that are so tiring to the body but refreshing to the soul, there are layers of rest and depth that I hit when I come here that is just…….…..” I won’t say much more about this but basically that reflects one of the primo life goals that Russ and I have. I have pondered it many times since I heard it. It was a big part of my weekend.

Not long after everyone was gone I headed out to meet with a nearby congregation wrestling with decisions about future plans. I was there as a rep from the region and my only job was to listen and support as necessary. It was such an honest meeting shaped by fragile hope, confessions of grief and deep care. I am certain that this meeting was the launchpad for the dream I had that woke me up.

Despite having several hours of discretionary time later in the day I did not put away all the clean dishes that Vicki had whipped into shape while Russ and I were making breakfast and they sit beside me even yet. This is the privilege of the stage of life I am currently in. I can do a little bit of “I don’t feel like it” time and it is not the end of the world. What I did feel like was a bit of creative work on a gift for our ranch crew, I am really happy about this.

My writing spot today, clean dishes on side.

Another special thing that happened this weekend is that at one point I had the chance to listen to someones pain, I felt very very calm within as a story was unfolding. I noticed this and have pondered since, “was I detached from the situation or actually becoming the person I want to be, able to exist in the midst of great pain and be fully present?” It felt more like the second than the first. To put this in broader context though, what I have noticed about myself is that I am absolutely terrible about being present to pain that I have no chance to impact, so I have just about stopped watching the news, it just distresses me. Perhaps finally I have come to really believe in the power of just being present to people, listening and creating space for them to be honest and I can actually hold pain when asked to.

The dream I mentioned earlier felt absolutely major when I woke up, now I am not so sure. The turning points of it seem to be two things. The first part was very specific, I was dropping off something at my friend Linda Powell’s house and decided that there was no time like the present to do some work for the church that would help us understand things better. So I knocked on the door of her neighbor (I have absolutely no idea who that is in real life) and was given the chance to introduce myself. The transitions that happened I am totally fuzzy about right now but the next point in the dream is that I was at her kitchen table. I was able to communicate that I came with no agenda except to listen. She was able to say “that’s good, cause I was kind’ve offended at the start of this.” I don’t remember any of the conversation that followed. I told her I had no agenda but I know I did. I am not sure how this was communicated in the dream but I know I knocked on the door because I am so curious about and want to respect and respond helpfully to what is really going on in people’s lives. In our churches we are reckoning with the fact that fewer people attend. People have a lot going on and are tired and torn and the world is changing and technology is multiplying peoples’ options and so on and so on. In the midst of that, what needs are left unmet? What do people need? I have always thought it isn’t right to say, “how can we get butts in these pews”, that sounds a lot like self preservation, and we can do better. In place of that I want to ponder “what does the church offer that people need?” So as I was waking from this dream I was actively processing that if I went out one evening a week and knocked on the doors of an entire block, in the course of a year I could cover seven communities. Clearly that is not accurate, but in a dream anything is possible. The feeling I had in this dream is that listening was going to be key to the strategy. I was perhaps naïve to think that trust could be built quickly and what people really need could be explored but I think not naïve to believe that it feels way different to be listened to rather than talked at and being listened to and taken seriously is a big part of what people need. We don’t do this perfectly in our United Churches but we really try to welcome people as they are and experience together the good news that God loves us, as we are, and is actively working with us for greater wholeness for ourselves and the world.

As I ponder all this the theme I see is holy ground. Maybe that is a piece of what we all need. Is it fair to say that many of us are hungry for holy ground, for ground where we can be fully ourselves, vulnerable, human, hoping, chilled and thrilled by our adventures, and there we find God waiting for us. In the terrifying space between life and death, and when skilled hands and kind eyes meet us where we need them, in the midst of caring conversation, in the saying out loud our fragile hopes, in the love poured into a warm bowl of stirred soup? I can’t speak for others but that is where I found holy ground this weekend and I am so thankful.

Thanks to Jen and Becca for most of the photos in this blog.

A Dramatic Day

(This post was started 10 days ago, references to time might be a bit confusing.)

Yesterday was a big one. A big day. We were moving cows again. Two herds that had been moved from their summer spots to a shared fall pasture were on their way home to their winter home. It was a big group and we had a good sized crew working with us.

As the day started for me I had a bit of ease. I puttered around the kitchen, made some to-go breakfasts for the start up crew, drank some coffee and put alot of thought to my lists for the day. Before the work began in earnest I had the feeling that I wanted to go back to bed and pray. That is not exactly usual for me. I have struggled with prayer my whole life. Lately I think about this, if prayer is about nurturing a relationship with God than I should actually talk to God like a friend, not like someone I am trying to convince to do something. So I find myself pondering my longings and I talk to God about that. On chase days I have so many worries that brew below the surface. My main worry is that someone will get hurt. I also want for people to have a good time and to not suffer. Between the horses, cows, weather and other things there are so many factors that influence every chase day. So I talked to God about my longing for safety. However, in those moments I had to admit to myself that growth comes through challenge, we are not promised a rose garden and I wondered why I and we should be spared trouble when others suffer so greatly. It got a bit serious. I had to back up my request and just say, whatever goes down today God, my desire is that you are walking with us.

It was a day that had its tricky moments but I believe my prayer was heard.

As the kitchen boss I was helped in two big ways. The first is that Friday night Russ and Morgan made a triple batch of chili. Russ thought that would feed 24 people but I knew better so lunch was well along but not totally done when the chili was in the fridge the night before. Russ is very particular about chili, has taken pride in showing Morgan how to make it and I think was genuinely happy to give me support. So the kitchen was a bit of a busy place Friday as I cooked supper while they did their thing. No cross words were heard but I was having a bit of an issue with my turf being shared. I did appreciate all that food ready for the next day I’ll tell you.

The other huge thing is that I had a hard working helper. My 2nd cousin Lisa arrived Friday from Regina. I always knew I was a family person but it becomes clearer in the moments like this, as we worked side by side I said, “Lisa, what would our Grandmas think if they could see us now?” Our grandmas were sisters and we agreed they would delight in the connection that remains after all the years. Lisa stepped in to help whereever she detected a hand was needed. Her presence eased the drama that was stirred up in me as Saturday unfolded.

The first drama was what many readers will already be aware of, that one of our crew was bucked off and his horse escaped. I sense the western nature of how all that unfolded would make a good blog post of its own. I know few details except Morgan tried his hardest to run that horse down, at one point Morgan was on the ground and a part of his tack, the breast strap got broken. I became aware of it all when Russell called. He asked me to sit down immediately and make a facebook post and tag everyone we know, alerting folks to the presence of a run away horse in the midst of a very foggy morning.

As I sat and did this posting Lisa worked away in the kitchen keeping the chicken stew preparations going, monitoring bread baking and just basically being a whole extra brain on the job when mine was absent. I needed that. Once the post was made there was really nothing that we could do to help that situation so we buckled down to work. It was shortly after this that Gina called. She was in a bit of trouble. She had been at an audition outside of Toronto, she had borrowed our friends’ car to get there, she was at a gas station enroute home, reporting in that the car wouldn’t start. From one perpsective this was not a dramatic situation, noone was hurt, there was no damage that was of Gina’s doing, she had already had the audition and was not short of time to get anywhere. But somehow, it held so much drama. There was the, “my kids needs me and I am 2500km away from her” inner tension in me. There was the dawning realization in Gina that her mother and father had no magic solution to get her out of this. There was that terribly uncomfortable dynamic that Gina was driving a borrowed car, making a breakdown even more awkward than it already is. There was the added dimension that I couldn’t stop what I was doing, not really, I had a whole crew of people to feed and not keep waiting. I was therefore scanning my packing list as we talked, collecting the various things we need and making a start at being ready to roll out. However, Gina was getting more upset not less, as the difficulty of the situation became clearer and clearer. She was not able to get ahold of our friends to get their advice or wishes for what to do with the car. I was brainstorming all the people we knew in Toronto that might be able to help. We were assessing their locations in proximity to her. We were discussing the merit of her calling an old boyfriend for help. Her phone battery was a little low and we figured out that Uber and Lyft didn’t cover where she was. It was starting to feel overwhelming. Then Lisa (who helps administer a bussing company in Regina) had a thought, she suggested Gina do a certain something with the gear shift and voila, the car started immediately. Gina’s response was like it was Christmas all over again, she declared that Lisa is her hero of the day. What a wave of relief swept through our call. Before hanging up so that we could get back to work we learned that the horse stunt work company that had seen Gina do her stuff were very happy, and spoke like her involvement in their event next May is a forgone conclusion. They also invited her back to ride horses anytime. Just a bit of drama had unfolded! Gina forged alot of new territory yesterday and we along with her.

Russ called to report that the crew was doing well, moving fast and

Well, this is as far as I got before I had to stop and 10 days later I am not sure what more I was going to say about that day. Bear with me if things are a bit vague.

Lisa and I got lunch delivered pretty much perfectly on time, although the crew, despite the earlier shenanigans, was running early. We arrived to find a very chilled crew. The earlier fog, with the moisture it brought, in combination with the lack of promised sun and high wind blowing right against everyone made things quite uncomfortable. Our menu was appreciated. It was part way through serving that we realized the cost of getting interrupted by Gina’s phone call. I had not finished counting and packing the cups we needed for both coffee and chili. We had lots, but not enough. When that dawned on us we had a saving grace. Russell’s chili is very thick, that is part of what defines it, he told Lisa that if I tried to add water to it in the morning it was her job to stop me. I didn’t even try or think about it! That thick chili was served directly onto the plates we passed out for holding cups and spoons and bread and stuff. It got cold fast but it was served and there were cups for coffee.

Cows tend to move well when moving into the wind, it refreshes them I think, and so the crew had the cows home and into the gate well before sunset. Lisa and I had to hustle to get supper ready and some extra silliness ready. It was the tenth birthday of our dogs Bingo and Maddie and coming up in a week was Coffee’s birthday. Russell had insisted we have a celebration. We had bought decorations, Lisa made ground beef cupcakes for the dogs and decorated them with mashed potatoes, bacon bits and cheese sticks. We sang them happy birthday, crowned them as birthday princesses and ate cake while they ate their cupcakes. It was fun! Those dogs are a real source of light in our days, it felt great to celebrate them.

As we ate there were stories shared of the day. Some details about the buck off got a little clearer, the fact that the rider was very sore also got clearer. Through the week details have been shared so that I understand even better what happened. Russell is convinced that a cougar or something like it was in the swamp beside the road. Russ says they smell strong and the horses detected it. Gary’s horse went absolutely crazy after sensing it, the “buck off” was among the most spectacular seen at our ranch. The horse then charged into the herd, straight into a cow which knocked another rider off her horse. She was okay. Russell’s horse was spooked but recovered, Russ did not get bucked off. After running what looks like 12 or more miles the horse was cornered and held at the feedlot north of the Martens ranch near Alameda. Paige held it there until Gary and Mike Hubbard could get there and Gary was able to get near and secure it. Gary saddled it later and rejoined the crew, the horse did not look very tired. Incredible.

It was a hard day. My initial hope to have God walk with us through all it held……well….how do you measure whether such a prayer was answered or not? There was drama, there was injury, there was stress. But we make the choice to put ourselves in challenging and potentially dangerous situations, in situations where no outcome is guaranteed. My faith tells me that God is near. I see it. It was in the instinct to give that was brought to life in so many people, in my friend Tanya who lent Gina the car, Lisa giving me her whole weekend to lend a hand, the Co-op grocery clerk I didn’t know who asked me while I was shopping after lunch, if the horse had been found. She told me she had used part of her lunch break to go look for it, “I have horses” she said to explain her care for a situation that didn’t affect her life at all. The instinct to give was in the whole crew who suffered through cold and wind for us and our cows. Thats humbling. There were so many who shared info about the stray horses location and Paige’s time and energy given to protect the horse and ease our challenge. Its all evidence of God’s Spirit on the loose, as fast and far reaching as that horse. But there is more, I had alot to hold onto that day, alot of needs to meet, alot to be calm for, and I was. It was in part because of the great help I had and in part because I was calm. I was calm for a reason that I can’t explain. I have to go with “I was not alone.”

So anyways, from the bad smell of a cougar to pondering about prayer. I am done writing. It was quite a day. Here are pictures you might enjoy.

Laurie riding in the early morning fog.

David and Pat……the only cowboys in sight…..that I can see.

Jen and Cinder……a happy reunion of rider and horse.

I would love to know what both Laurie and Braylee were thinking in this moment.

The sun came out for a while after lunch. There are some bright smiles here too as Braylee and Lacee keep pushing ahead with the herd.

Having walked about 18 miles the herd is within steps of the gate here.

And in they go. This is a cool sight from our living room windows.

This is Lisa in the background. It is the only picture I have of her from the weekend. This fact does not honor the amount of support she provided. I took this picture to send to Braylee’s pal, our girl Gina.

A close-up of the dogs birthday cupcake.

Birthday cake for the humans.

Russ helped the dogs blow out their candles.

Bingo was quite intrigued.

The scene at lunch.

Having taken a chilling turn watching over the herd while most of the cowboys were getting their lunch, Jim rides in to camp.

Miles and I at the lunch station.

Coffee was essential on this chilly day. Bill smiled readily for the picture.

Everyone has been enjoying spending more time on the trail with Pat’s daughter Emory. She is doing great.

Hugs have the added benefit of sharing warmth. Its so great to see the friendships on the trail.

Pat and Jen are still smiling despite the weather conditions.

With no time to spare I was blowing up balloons and moving chairs around at the same time, prepping for the supper scene. I had no idea where I was going to put these balloons in the absence of helium. I was quite thrilled with myself when I found a spot for them in the tree (only one popped.)

It was Lisa’s idea to hang this banner in this spot. Looked perfect to me. Another thing she just took care of.

Tanya sent me this picture after Gina arrived back at her place with the car. Everything really was okay! (Even better yet, we now know that audition is looking to lead to three different opportunities, and she is definitely booked in to be a “horseback champion” for the medieval tournament in May. )

Gary back on his horse after the two were reunited. The gratitude that is part of this picture is very real.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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!

Beautiful Sights

I have not posted on the blog for four months. I will say a bit about that in a future post. This blog is to share a few beautiful things I have laid my eyes on in the past week. We are back at it with moving cows and for us that means time with family and friends. It means lots of action.

Gina flew in from Toronto this week, she and Jill came to the ranch on Friday morning. Later that afternoon this was the scene as Russ had all three of his kids working with him at the PFRA pasture.

Friday evening Clarence and Donna set up camp in our yard. This made it a little easier to be ready for that 5:45am departure out of the yard on Saturday. Donna sent me this beautiful picture of the northern lights over the corral.

The sunrise on Saturday was beautiful. It was another day when I wished that photographer Liz was on the trail with us. What magic this light is! In fact this was taken by my niece Brodie who has a drone photography business. I believe this is Gina and Morgan pictured here.

Becca sent me this picture. She is great about keeping me in the loop of what is going on while I am in the kitchen doing my part. I love her time stamps.

Fall in Saskatchewan. Fields are harvested, the scene is golden and once in a while, you find a herd of cows heading down the road.

My part of the chase on Saturday was to create a meal to be ready about 1pm when the crew got the cows to their destination. They were early, almost an hour early getting to the McNeil farm where the cows would spend the night. Luckily I had the help of Erin Nichols, we boogied and got there only a little late. We took 6 batches of potato beef and bacon soup and a batch of bread. There was enough for the 40 mouths we fed.

The earlier lunch was actually really helpful to me as I had a wedding to conduct at 4:30pm. Weddings can be quite exciting, as couples see their plans come to life. I had to fight back tears at one point in the service, I don’t think its because I was sleep deprived, some of the words they chose just really got me. At supper we sat with fun people and I got asked the question, “how did you know you wanted to be a minister?” I love getting asked questions that invite me to dig around inside, I do alot of listening in life and really only talk best when invited to, so this was a real treat to me.

Our alarm had rang at 3:45am so needless to say that we didn’t stay for the wedding dance. We got home and had a visit with our company, family from Saskatoon, thats when Jill took the following picture. It started being a picture of Jill’s cat, but I was making lists for the next day and the cat was perched on our government desk, so we hammed it up a bit, like I was conferring with him on the plan.

I found Sunday pretty special.  It was alot of work but it was special.  Part of it was the sunshine, the safety and smoothness we had and all the people action.

Jill got the feedback that Emma just loved seeing her again, the two of them rode together all day. I love this.

Erin and I were set up a little early for the arrival of the herd at lunch, we had time for pictures. Erin can really zoom and easily sees what needs to be done, making her invaluable help in the kitchen.

Erin and I were getting tables set up when the cows were getting across the Alameda dam. Dwayne sent me this picture, a glimpse of how it looked from his point of view.

Here is how it looked from our perspective at the lunch station.

The angle and sunshine allowed a cool silhouette of one of our cowboys stretching his legs.

I like this picture, it captures the tail end of the herd as they eased into the ditch just beyond us, Sharon in the truck having carefully trailed behind and a glimpse of our lunch set-up, ready for action.

I love the varieties of ages in this picture, and levels of warm clothing or not, this is a view I don’t often get, the lunch line from the very back.

It isn’t every meal that we spend the time surrounded by untethered horses so it struck me when this is the scene that emerged.

Bingo turns 10 years old in a couple of weeks. She has an amazing work ethic and works through alot of pain due to arthritis. A few of us are dealing with similiar dynamics. I loved opening this pail of cool water for her.

Gina made a new friend on the trail as evidenced by these pictures. Gina is not exactly a kid person, at least that is what she feels, so she was a little stunned to be enjoyed so much by her new friend.

Gina and Braylee saying goodbye after supper on Sunday.

Gina and Jill got a nap after lunch on Saturday.

It is always a highlight for me when my extended family can be near and take part in things. Here is my niece Brodie and my brother in law Gary. I love their smiles in this moment and hope that despite the pain caused by jumping on a horse after months away from it, they are glad they came and will come back.

Thinking back on the weekend, from my point of view I am struck by the variety of feelings I have. It reminds me of how I felt when I went into the hospital to have Jill. I remember being so amazed at how profound the experience was to birth Gina, but when the morning of my inducement with Jill dawned, I remember thinking “do I really have to do that today?” The reality of it was daunting. When the alarm goes on cow chase mornings there are similiar dynamics. Do I really have to get up and go go go and just hope the work is done before my energy runs out? Do I really have to be in my kitchen that much?!? (26,000 steps over 2 days, most in the confines of our kitchen.) But then the other side of the picture comes into focus. It is so very rewarding to feed grateful people. It is a joy to have their faces draw close at the food table and get a chance to check in. We had the chance to meet some strangers over the weekend and feed them, that was gratifying and gave Russ and I practice at being who we want to be. It is fun to be able to provide treats to kids, at least that is how I interpret the many choices of bags of chips that were on the menu Sunday. It felt good to have some nutrition on offer, apples, cucumbers and carrots, all prepped beautifully by Erin, the carrots from the garden at Joey and Matt’s, our neighbors. It felt great to serve gravy that tasted good, although I had trouble getting it thick enough. Thats when Erin told me about the joy of “blending flour” I will be getting some of that. Slow cooked beef on home-made buns made Russ happy. I really felt pleased. So although the days were daunting for Russ and I both we were very blessed by all the goodness that wove its way through. We have done a little sleeping since! We have some days left in this cow chase season but this weekend was our really big one and all is well.

Plans that Percolated

This first chunk of writing was done a couple weeks ago sitting in an airport.

About eight months ago there was some talk at our place about an ideal situation. This got started because both Morgan and our cousin Laurie have been fans of a televised competition called “Road to the Horse.” Russ said, “I would gladly pay the expenses for those two to drive to Kentucky and take that in.” I agreed with him but truth be told it seemed like something stirring among the men and I pretty much stayed out of it. Talk got a little more serious and it became clear that it would not be possible for Laurie to get away. Russ could not leave that close to calving season. Would Morgan just have to miss out on it? That most certainly would not be the end of the world. We don’t have to attend everything that interests us, in fact, of course, we can’t. However there were two details that kept us coming back to how to make this work. The first is that Morgan loves horse training.

A recent photo of Morgan working on one of four horses he is currently training.

This event was a chance to witness seasoned trainers apply their methods to never touched two year old horses. We felt this was not entertainment as much as an educational opportunity. We have spent precious little money on Morgan’s extra curricular interests thru the years. It felt like a good use of our resources to see if we could get him there. The second detail that really pulled at Russell’s heart strings is that 28 years ago he attended a horse training clinic led by a young trainer named Ken McNabb. That man was set to be one of the competitors at this years event. Russell so wanted Morgan to get to meet him and learn from him. So my little ‘ol brain started percolating.

What would it cost for Morgan and I to drive there and how much time would it take? We are not far from Minot, what would a flight from there cost? Those two inquiries led to figures I was not happy with, in terms of time and dollars. I tried one more thing. I checked out the Westjet site and found extremely reasonable ticket prices. I called Russ saying, “hey, can you believe this?” He said, “book it!” So it was that Morgan and I became official travel partners. I figured we would rent a car, I would drive Morgan to the facility and then return to our lodging where I would have four days to keep working on this book of ours. This screenshot of texts with Russ records the big moments.

When it came time to book tickets to the event, which I put off until January, 🫣 I checked with fear in my heart, we had plane tickets but no event tickets. I learned there were lots of good choices left. 🥵🤠 When I asked Morgan about where he wanted to sit he informed me that he really wanted me to attend with him. Huh. What was I to do? I am not that big into horses, and watching horses being trained sounded like something I could miss. On the other hand, how often does your teen say to you, “come with me Mom.” So, I agreed to attend and figured I would bring my laptop and try not to look too weird as I typed and others watched the events.

The days flew as they do and all of a sudden our trip was only days away. I was feeling pretty mixed about it. Russ and I have been away much more than usual as we went to his Farmers for Climate Solutions meetings three different times in recent months. I was not really excited about packing up and heading out one more time, especially to a very unfamiliar place. As much as I have travelled in the U.S. I had never been to Kentucky or Georgia. A Westjet schedule change after our tickets were purchased meant that we were to have an 8 hour layover in Atlanta. Was I up for this? I had to be. Last Tuesday after school Morgan and I headed to Regina in order to be there when our flight departed Wednesday morning at 5:30. We settled into seats I had spent a little extra money on to get extra leg room. With an open seat in our row we took off, feeling pretty darn comfortable, but moreso, blessed. Good-bye Saskatchewan! What started eight months earlier as some percolating ideas and hopes was now our reality, as real as the cups of coffee we held in the airport waiting lounge.

That is the end of chapter one of this story. There are several more chapters.

Today’s reality….

Calving has really started around here….

Yesterday morning the first heifer calved. It was Alanis Morisette, this morning Russ has reported that Rod Stewart calved. The crew found Bells and Dr. Seuss had calved on their last check last night. Unfortunately Apples delivered a stillborn preemie too. Morgan, Gina and Russ have just headed out to saddle up for the first check of the morning. Morgan will be at school in two hours, on time.

Russ needed to bring our biscuit heifers and grassers home yesterday. He somehow got me on a horse and I, Kathy Kyle, the usual cook and coffee lady, trailed cows for the first time in my whole life. It was a beautiful evening and I have to admit it was fun. Morgan let me ride his faithful pal “Warhorse”and it felt pretty easy. Russ was pretty excited and took lots of videos. Here is one. It has beautiful scenery.

As Russ is fond of declaring loudly, “we’re calving now!”

For the foreseeable future this ranch crew is staying home and travelers are coming to us!

Tribute to the Day 6 Team

After receiving about 10″ of snow in the last few days our plan for extended fall grazing in the pastures had to be changed. We decided we needed to get our cows home and soon. That meant that Russ asked some of our crew to be on hand today to get the cows home from “The Sheep Pasture.”

It was cold this morning when they started out, the high for the day was -6, the crew had about a four hour ride and it was into the wind. The willingness of these crew members is just amazing to me.

Russ said the day was simplified as much as possible by only having three dogs on the trail, Maddie and Coffee stayed home, they had no kids and they didn’t even have a truck trailing them. These were open range cowboys today.

I was a part of the action in the first part of the day, once everyone was unloaded and saddled up I drove the truck and trailer to the pasture where the crew was headed. Before I took off I got some pictures of the crew. That is pretty much all I have from this day and all I have time to post as well. So without further ado….the tough and ready crew of Day 6, they are a stunning bunch.

Lynn, a Swiss Farmstay worker hosted on a nearby grain farm. She is spicy and created lots of smiles today.

Here is Jen, she made the day extra special by chasing cows on her birthday. Her Mom sent a birthday cake with her from Regina, a carrot cake that was quite exceptional.

Morgan Bayliss, Morg, Morgie, Cowboy, my boy……all names apply.

In the distance is Ron, he helped get the crew to the pasture and then went and did some work to help one of our neighbors. He does a lot of being in the right place at the right time.

Patrick. I enjoyed a text from Pat yesterday telling of how much he was looking forward to this day. I can see it in his face!

Russ. Not only was Russ the trail boss but he was the head cook today too. I had a meeting this morning so Russ cooked up a pot of his famous chili last night and all I had to do was pop it in the crockpot. I added biscuits when I got home from my meeting, Jen brought cake and voila, lunch was made when the crew got back to the house for a late lunch.

We are thankful for a good day on the trail with a great team.

Saturday – 5:13am

I woke up to these next pictures waiting for me. Our friend Sharlene was heading to her family farm and caught our crew coming and going. Thanks Sharlene!

Day 5 – Cow Chase Season 2023

All of a sudden its Wednesday. If I don’t get this blog written it won’t happen. We are in the midst of a flurry of busy days. Flurry……hmmm, I wonder if that slipped out because there is a lot of snow accumulating out of my window. Our little corner of Saskatchewan is supposed to get as much as 8 inches of snow before the morning. I think we are almost there.

Looking at these pictures it seems to me that the star of the show for this 5th day on the trail this fall, was sun, and the amazing ways it casts it light. I was sent some really beautiful pictures. In addition to the light the sun did its job cutting through the morning cold, which was startling for the crew. By midday the truck was full of clothes, one of the riders told me at lunch, “thats what I like to see, a truck full of clothes.”

We were bringing our bred heifers and open cows home from the Carievale area and stopped along the way to pick up a group of cow calf pairs from their summer pasture near Carnduff.

Jenn took this first picture, it catches the frost on ground we have recently worked up in order to plant new hay seed in the spring. We can’t figure out who the rider is in the foreground.

Morning sun is gorgeous. Thanks for the picture Tenley! Clara and Elton John are in the front.

The sun and the herd are very beautifully lined up in this moment that Maja captured. Thats Gina and Laurie in front and Jenn and Morgan behind.

There is alot going on in this picture between the dogs, cows, horses and riders. The sun is kissing it all. Russ says one of the big deals of this picture is that we were trespassing but with permission and the access given meant alot to the herd. It meant three miles of grassland versus gravel and Russ had not been through there in 30 years. He said it felt “old-timey.”

We were happy to have our old friend Maja on the trail again. Jenn took this picture.

Steve caught these long morning shadows.

If you drove near Precision Ag at about 12:30 last Saturday you would have seen the cows crossing the highway and just off to the north me getting this set up going. I appreciate seeing glimpses of my part of the action as Becca has given here.

Russ keeping a watchful eye as the cows moved across the highway. The RCMP were able to have an officer on hand which helps reduce the stress relating to human behaviour. At times like this though Russ is watching to see how the cows will react to lines on the highway and in this case the crew had just gone over a train track. Both can cause trouble. It went quite well.

It seems Tenley’s horse needed a little shade over the lunch hour.

Clara sent this awesome photo of our donkey Elton John, just basking in the sun at lunchtime. Clara was our donkey trainer on this chase.

Laurie caught this moment, featuring four generations of Connellys, including Laurie’s cousin Barry visiting from Toronto. He said he really enjoyed the experience of being on the trail. It was a really comfortable lunch hour time. Laurie’s parents Mona and George have been helping us move trucks and trailers from trail start to end for a few years now. Its a huge help.

While the crew eats the cows still need to be supervised. Usually Russ and a few others keep watch while other experienced crew grab a quick lunch then come back and relieve the first shift. This is Dwayne taking his place on the second shift at lunch. Becca took his picture.

Here is Barry and Laurie, I am not sure what the story was here, a break from riding is sometimes a good thing. Lacee caught this moment.

Patrick took this picture of three generations of Connellys. The clouds are lit and interesting.

Tenley is a fan of Mike’s jacket and sent this picture for that reason. It looks especially good in the glow of the sun. Thats Jenn beside Mike.

Lacee’s selfie with her boy Lennox in the back. He had a great day.

Sharon caught this moment when her granddaughter Hannah and husband Bill were together, the clouds are gathering.

Sharon caught these smiles. Her grand-daughter Emma and a new friend Briella just met on this chase and really enjoyed the day together.

This picture features Dwayne’s shadow and Jane in what Russ calls her “self propelled” gear. She is very good at that. That is Knightwing in front of Jane.

Dwayne’s camera caught Liam, the day’s youngest cowboy on our mule Dick. Thats Merrick beside Liam.

Our good ol mules Dick and Jane hosting the days youngest riders Liam and Lennox. They look like two young boys off on an adventure, no other human or creature in sight! A photo of Becca’s.

The sun really lights up Chester’s mane in this picture Dwayne captured from his saddle.

Cowboy silhouettes are captured in this photo from Dwayne. This is Griffin, Meadow, Gina and Tenley, with Emerson off to the side.

Tenley grabbed this important moment when the herd got to the pasture gate.

Morgan tells me that Becca used a snapchat thing to make a time stamped picture of the herd going through the gate.

The same process allowed Becca to record her start for the day, before any sun had touched the day. That is quite a span of time her horse was on duty, and the whole crew!

Back at the house for a late afternoon snack before everyone heading off, there was hangout time in the living room. Thats Morgan and Jordanna, with Jo’s sister Clara grabbing the picture. This is cute. But it also lets me tell you that last night after supper, on the 3rd anniversary of my Mom’s passing, something that was a bit of bear to feel out this year, I went to this same spot to read. I had not been here long when Morgan came and asked me to shove over he was going to join me. I said to him, “I’m not as skinny as Jordanna,” he replied with something witty and didn’t relent. The two of us stayed there together about an hour. It was uncomfortable but deeply comforting to me.

Jordanna, Tenley and Becca, sunny faces, sunny spirits on a beautiful, sunny fall day.

Day 4 – Chase Season 2023

Sunday morning our crew was back at it. Most of the crew staying in the house and yard were off by 6:00am. They headed back to McNeils ranch to get saddled up and get sorting the large herd of the day before. The schedule for the Bayliss cows included a late in the day game of golf. Actually, they just got to watch the golf. They were headed for the pasture we rent that lines up with the Alameda golf course. To my eyes it feels like the day was full a variety of things that made it interesting. I don’t have the brain power to get the pictures from the day into chronological order, so I am just going to invite you to dance back and forth through the day with me.

This first thing is a video that catches some of the action as the cows were being sorted. Russ filmed and narrated.

Laurie sent me this picture from the scene at lunch time. Jill made two adorable cakes to share with the crew, a horse and a cow. I was so proud of Jill’s efforts I walked them around the lunch site so that everyone could see them before they were cut for dessert. I rooked the creator into this photo before Laurie took it. The cakes were delicious!

Our route with the cows included crossing the Alameda dam. Sharon caught this moment. The still water tells you we had little wind to reckon with. Its a beautiful set of moments when the crossing happens. It can be tricky cow wise and as it turned out it was this day.

Jill had her camera ready when Marisol decided to try some roping practice. She is growing so much as a cowgirl. In this picture she is riding one of the most demanding horses on our ranch. Coffee dog, seen here, is also growing alot in her skills, she has been working quite well this season. I love that dog almost as much as I love my kids.

This picture is special in a few ways. At my side is a new friend. Treasure is a teacher in Estevan, her husband Steve and her kids have been riding with us over the last several weeks. She gave up alot of her personal time to work at my side all day and make the cooking side of the day a success. She brought with her a pan of brown sugar fudge. Treasure grew up only a couple hours from my families homes in Nova Scotia. Brown sugar fudge is a piece of my family lore. She hit the nail on the head with that! It touched me alot. Also, when I was asked what they could bring I said a case of pop. I usually supply juice and water but I can see how much it is enjoyed when there is pop there. They brought three cases. They are generous and Russ and I feel very appreciated.

The menu was roast beef, gravy and buns, with veggie sides. Russell loves this menu. The advance cooking I had hoped to do didn’t happen, so these buns were served a little too fresh, if you catch my drift. I was nervous about getting it all done and we were a little late for lunch. Thank goodness Treasure was there.

Jill took this selfie off the back of her favorite horse Cinder, the sisters have been enjoying being near to each other for the first time in a long time.

Jimmy grabbed this moment. The cooking crew. With Grandma’s Shirley’s grand-daughter Kayla on the trail it was a given that we would pick her up and she could help us serve and get a glimpse of the action. It is always good to have 90 years of experience at your side.

In the center of this photo is our youngest rider on this day, Merrick Ross and the mule Jane put in a long day. Gary and Miles are in the photo as well.

Sharon got this view from the truck she drove so many hours over the course of the weekend. This captures the moments before the herd got onto the dam.

Esther, Teanna, Marisol, Emerson and Dani – Russ just looked at this picture and commented that all these cowgirls have what it takes. Sharon took this photo.

Teanna sent me this picture of her and Pat. I really love this picture of T, if I was to say all the reasons why I would embarrass her. I am very glad to have this record of her day on the trail with us.

Tenley sent this awesome photo of the action from the middle of the crossing of the Alameda dam.

Tenley sent this picture of just before lunch when the RCMP were on hand to help us make a safe crossing of highway 9 at Alameda. We give them lots of notice and they usually are able to help us out. We appreciate that sense of partnership alot.

Jordanna sent us this moment when Morgan convinced Jen to stand on her horse. I am pretty darn impressed by this skill.

Esther is a new cowgirl on the Bar MW trail this year. When I asked for pics from the crew she sent me this. She is always polite and cheerful, thats Teanna with her.

Jenn took this photo of the lunch scene. Grandma Shirley got people organized with plates and buns, I added meat and Treasure took care of gravy and stocking the chips. Veggies were self serve. A little tidbit about them……3 minutes from the ranch, enroute to pick up Shirley, Treasure and I realized that we left all the veggies in the fridge. Russ and I had just chatted and I sensed that our late-ness was going to be a problem. However, he pondered that our total to feed was even higher than we had predicted. We needed all the food we could get. We wheeled around and got the sliced carrots, cucs and apples. I was thankful many times that we had. They were almost all gone by the time all the cowboys got through the line.

Derek and Matt, the RCMP members were great sports. They stopped for lunch and while with us they took up the challenge to try on Russell and Morgan’s hats and hop on the Currie horses. At the time Jill and I were serving desserts, Jill looked up and said, “well that puts the M in RCMP.” I loved her quick thinking.

Dwayne caught these moments as the herd drew near to the pasture gate, he would have been ahead to get the gate opened.

Dwayne offered this glimpse of Miles and Gina supervising the cows getting through the gate and into the pasture. After walking for parts of three days this marks a very big moment.

Becca shared this selfie with me, those cows stretched out behind her as they cross the Alameda dam make a pretty cool backdrop.

Becca grabbed this picture of the scene where we ate lunch.

Its hard to tell there are 115 pairs and 30 plus cowboys on the damn in this picture I took from quite a ways away.

This is quite the line-up for me personally. It includes lots of my family that were visiting but also our friend Roy who at the last minute jumped in and helped us get trucks and trailers moved. We had a huge crew this day and the job of getting trucks moved took many hours. Gina and Jill so enjoyed getting to see Roy, a family friend for as long as they can remember.

Steven, Russ, Gina, Kayla, Laurie and Jenn as captured by Jill’s camera.

The weekend was fun but it was also really heartwarming for us. Our girls were home!

One last photo, its of Saturday’s events, but this shot of Russ and Jimmy means alot to me. Russ was so excited when Jimmy arrived, he yelled from the kitchen, at the top of his lungs, “JIIMMMMMYYYYYYY”, the weekend had begun. The optimistic and open hearted look in Russell’s face here says alot.

Day 2 & 3 – Chase Season 2023

The days around here lately have held many feelings. Most of them good. Thursday afternoon we got pictures from the Regina airport.

The above sign was the result of info shared in our family chat, as seen in this screenshot below.

I am not sure if Jill or Russell had the idea that if Gina needed a sign it should be a pretty spicy one. It was Jill that made it happen when she wrote on the back side of the sign something to raise a few eyebrows.

Gina had landed safely and she and Jill were soon to be on the loose in Regina. They had a 7:45pm flight to meet, and then would be bringing their adopted cousin Kayla to join us for a mega weekend of cow chasing. When the girls got safely to our driveway after dropping off Kayla at Grandma Shirley’s, the dogs and I were darn excited. When Russ greeted them in the morning it was pretty clear that we were about to experience some of the high points of our year.

What follows are moments from the first two of three days trailing cows this weekend. It is the 2nd and 3rd day of the 2023 chase season. The story told here is mostly through pictures, and through the eyes of those who were there.

On Friday a crew of 14 gathered at the barn just after lunch to head to the public pasture. This pasture is located about 70km from us. All summer we have had cows grazing there, under the supervision of a fantastic pasture manager. Our cows shared quarters with cows from the McNeil and Cowan ranches. Crew from all three ranches met at the pasture on Friday to get to the far reaches of these quarters and gather all the cows together. The goal was to get them out and moved a couple miles to a nearby quarter that friends of ours own. Our friends let the cows sleep over for the night there.

Gina sent me this picture of she and Morgan. Gina was darn happy to be back on the Bar MW trail.

Laurie took this picture of Morgan and Frances Smith holding a roped calf so that it could be treated for pneumonia. You can see Russell’s hatted head and Miles’ back as Miles administers the antibiotic.

Laurie sent this fun moment which happened back at the ranch when the crew came in for supper. Love the smiles.

That is all I have from Friday. As the work was getting done at the pasture I was zooming around getting the house and cowboy cottage ready for the weekend ahead. It was poised to be a big one in every way. One of the ways it was big is on a heart level, all our kids were home with us AND some of our Saskatoon family was here. I needed all of that.

A few details came together to make my Saturday morning very different than usual chase mornings. My cook helper Sandy had offered to bring a big pot of soup, so I had less morning prep to do. Our ranch photographer Liz Griffin was on hand and all my kids were on the trail. It was suggested that I should go to the pasture as they got started. I did. It was fun! I got to take photos of the photographer and I saw first hand the frenzy of activity that takes place as the crew arrives and gets ready to ride. We got a family picture taken. Pretty sweet!

Gina took a really amusing video of the dogs trying to boss Russell around. He had been bustling to get everybody ready to go. The dogs had no patience left.

I love Paisley’s interest in Liz’s camera.

The herd is in the distance. I really love this picture of Liz.

I took this picture of my girl while I was hanging out with Liz. Gina B riding our new horse “Shadow” on the trail!

Laurie caught this moment of Russ checking in with Jill before the ride.

I really like this picture that Tenley took. It is the herd on the move, in all their multi ranch, multi color splendor!

Claire was back at the ranch, having caught a ride from Saskatoon with my cousin. She put in another weekend of donkey training and is doing great! She is officially a grade 12 student but her business card could include her abilities to get the best out of donkeys. Behind her is Steve, he just met us in August and this day graduated to one of our real ranch horses (Thunderbird), after learning to ride on the older and more laid back horses. He had a good day.

Sharon captured Emerson, Teanna, Esther and Dani in this picture. It strikes me they are very relaxed riders.

Sharon captured Morgan and his new horse Padre in this picture. The fact that there are no cows in sight tells me that Morg has just been very effective at getting some cows out of the cattails and swamp. That is not a fun job.

Here is Kayla, usually a first year college student in Lethbridge but a cowgirl for the weekend. We enjoy her. Grandma Shirley was gracious to have her grand-daughter around for the weekend but with us most of the time.

When Brodie needed a cinch tightened she got some great help from these guys, Miles McNeil and Morgan, but they all got a bit behind. Sharon took this picture as they caught up with the herd. Brodie is my niece and normally a grade 12 student in Saskatoon. She is more and more a bonafide cowgirl.

The McNeil ranch team included brothers Orrin and Nolan, here they are with Gary McConnell in a picture that Sharon took.

Gina sent me this picture of Alyx, one of our people from Saskatoon. They are really bonded to our family after a couple years of dating my nephew. The ride for Alyx was made better by a little walk it seems, it was also about cuddling a stray cat that had found its way to the trail and was following the cows for a while.

Having flushed the cows out of the huge public pasture the day before, the ride this day was a very reasonable length. The crew walked the cows about 10 miles to the McNeil ranch where they were given a pasture to rest overnight and the crew was given a late lunch.

Claire tried on Gina’s hat at lunch time. This was the result. Brodie took the picture. Behind Claire is John, a part of our circle in Carnduff. He helped move trucks and trailers from the starting point to the end point of this chase.

This picture that Sharon took is pretty special to me. My friend Sandy has been very kind to our family over the years. She was eager to help me when I floated the idea and not only gave her time but brought a huge amount of soup and some special bread. We have alot in common, most vividly that we are both funeral leaders in our communities. We had a lot of work to get done as we prepped this lunch for a crew that numbered quite a few more than I was anticipating. Sandy was a lifesaver! About the hats…..Gina saw them in a party/costume store in Regina and bought them for Sandy and I. She knows Sandy has a great sense of playfulness!

As soon as I finish writing this post I will be starting on the next. Day four of this cow chase season happened on Sunday. It was such a good day and full of unusual details and fun things to remember.

Just in……a sneak peek from Liz from the photoshoot. We love it! This is Tenley and Jordanna.

It Begins – Chase Season 2023

At the Bar MW Ranch there is a 5th season of the year. It is a season that approaches with a bit of trepidation for Russ and I, “are we ready?” is a central question in our minds. It is a season that holds alot of anticipation, we are going to have lots of time with our friends and our creatures. It is a season that ends with a super satisfying feeling that all of our cows are home. Its “Chase Season” and the 2023 version began yesterday. I invited the crew to share favorite pictures of the day. Several took me up on that. Lots of captioned pictures tell the story of the day.