family – Page 2 – As Far As The Eye Can See

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.

25 Years Ago

It is 6:06am on May 30th, 2024. I am sitting in the basement of our ranch house, my son Morgan just popped in the door of our laundry room where I have a writing desk, dropped some clothes on the floor, and said, “hows it going Mom?” Upstairs there are five other cowboys, men and women ranging in age from 14-54, they are all taking first sips of coffee, within twenty minutes they are planning to be out the door. The vet and his technician will be here later to semen test our bulls. Our crew is going to get the bulls from pasture and bring them home to the working chute. This set of mammoth animals will turn in at the gate and trot through the yard. This is a pretty normal morning around here.

Twenty five years ago today I woke up in my Aunt Elva and Uncle Larry’s home in Regina. I was single, freshly done my theological training and I was going to attend the final day of the 1999 version of the United Church’s Annual Conference in Saskatchewan. At that conference I was to be ordained. That means that through a special ceremony I was granted a new status. I would no longer be Kathy Kyle, I would become Rev. Kathy Kyle and I would be given the permission and trust of the church to conduct the sacraments of marriage, baptism and communion. I have two memories of the personal preparations for that day. I remember ironing the garment I would wear in the ceremony, my alb, and I remember writing in my journal. Aunt Elva had a beautiful iron and I remember deciding for myself that I would buy myself a similiarly beautiful iron for the alb sessions that lay ahead.

I don’t suppose if someone had been able to give me a fast forward glimpse of this morning, twenty five years later, I could have believed it. My plan that morning was to live with my parents in Saskatoon for one more month then move to the place where the church had assigned me, two little towns called Gainsborough and Carievale. I would spend three years, the minimum requirement of the church at the time, then I would return to Saskatoon. Despite having had some really tough parts to my story, loss and illness in our family, I had experienced many wonderful unfoldings in life and I believed/planned that when I returned to Saskatoon, surely, the job of my dreams would be open and I would become the chaplain I had trained to be. So as this morning dawned twenty five years ago, I had a career plan of sorts, but I didn’t have a personal plan. How does an almost 31 year old woman move to a place where she doesn’t expect to find a mate, work for three years, move again, get settled and employed again, meet Mr. Right and have children before the biological clock has wound down? I didn’t know.

As I sit and ponder what I remember about that day I am struck again by my persistent inability to remember details. I remember it was a powerful experience. I remember that there were two people in the crowd whose feelings I had really hurt, not by being a jerk, just by being human, I think. I remember that many family gathered, some not used to the churchy stuff we were doing, and I felt a little curious and a little worried about how it was going down for them.

I remember my Mom. She was getting her head around the fact that her church was sending her daughter so very far away from her when she needed me. I had spent the prior year helping Mom with Dad’s care as he lived with dementia. I also remember that she had a special gift for me. When her beloved Grandma had died Mom received her wedding band. It was in her jewellery box for eleven years or so, until Mom tucked it into a ring box and brought it to Regina to present to me. My Great-Gram was 32 years old when the United Church was created. She was a church woman through and through, the United Church mattered a great deal to her. Mom presented me with her ring and said, “Grandma would be so proud to have a minister in the family, I want you to have this.” I put it on. It fit perfectly. I have worn it every day since. I call it my ordination ring and it reminds me of the identity and the promises that were part of the vows and the blessings that flowed that day.

Grandma’s band is now paired with a ring purchased a few years ago at a museum gift shop. Perhaps it was only $20, but its interlocking hearts reminds me of the way of life that Russ and I have committed to, as parents, ranchers, community members and spouses.

Other things……

In my first few months on the job in 1999 I led the church at Carievale as we baptised a little girl named Taylor. When I met with her parents to talk over the baptism, explore its meaning and how things would unfold I met her older sister, a small girl who impacted me that fall evening with how much she loved potatoes. This past Sunday I had the chance to baptize that potato loving girl’s first child, the beautiful baby was wearing the same dress that her Auntie Taylor had worn 25 years earlier when we baptized her. Yesterday I popped my head into the kitchen of the Carievale restaurant that Taylor has created. We quickly checked in about the start of preparations for her wedding this coming summer.

The things that unfolded in those days in 1999, meeting a local rancher, finding him to be a person whom I could release all my other plans for, and pursue a life with. Trying to live life as faithfully as possible. This has all meant a longevity of relationships that has seen me through a whole generation of life. Later this summer I will conduct a wedding for the daughter of one of those couples I conducted a wedding for in my first summers as a minister. That will be the first second generation wedding I conduct. Twenty five years truly has passed.

Probably eight minutes before I needed to head out the door to get to the Carievale church this past Sunday I grabbed that alb I wore the day I was ordained. It was wedged into the back of my closet. I only wear it now when I am leading worship where we celebrate baptism or communion. I hung the alb by the door and realized with a little chagrin that the bottom was very wrinkly from the congestion in the closet. I whipped it off the hanger, ran down to this laundry room, yanked out the load that was waiting in the dryer and threw it onto my desk chair, grabbed some wet laundry from the washer and put it in the dryer with my alb, the wet laundry had a job to do, create steam. I returned to find my trick had worked.

Do you remember my Aunt’s high quality iron and my intention to provide that for myself? The dryer trick of this past weekend is telling. Twenty five years after that calm morning where I solemnly ironed my alb, there was not alot of calm. Final sermon preparations were interrupted by the need to unexpectedly go give a calf a bottle, I needed shortcuts like the dryer. Amid the chaos I had something better than a fantastic iron to tackle what was ahead. I had confidence. Born of experience but moreso the knowledge that I am part of a team. Russell is my greatest fan, believing in me and what I do. More than that, I have relied on the movement of the Holy Spirit to give me wisdom, strength, insight and clarity, over and over again as the years have gone by. I have not been let down. More than this my mission has been clarified. I am more convinced than I have ever been that this whole journey, for all of us, is about love. Jesus and I are a team in this. I take my cue from his way of seeing people, versus simply watching them. I take my cue from the fact that he never left anyone out. He stood up for people beat down by many forces in life. He was so smart.

I am still slightly in awe of the events of this day twenty five years ago, I am in awe of the wide variety of experiences it has allowed me and I am excited by the next twenty five years and the teamwork that lies ahead.

My Mom and my ministry mentor, Brian Walton as well as church representatives did the laying on of hands that in my mind was the core blessing of this ceremony. Notice that my green stole is hanging over my Mom’s arm. It would later be placed over me as part of the ceremony.

I received a Bible as part of the ceremony.

My Mom and Dad hosted a family reception at the Hotel Saskatchewan. My Aunt Elva and my nephew Brock are pictured with me here. In this picture the formal ministry continues, Brock recently began his studies to be a minister. His great great Gram would be smiling.

My Mom, Dad and my niece Bobbi-Lynn at the celebration

Russell took this picture at worship this past Sunday as we baptized this sweet girl. Its the same alb and the same stole, but a woman carrying a little more……more pounds, more memories, more stories about carrying my own children while wearing that alb, both in the womb and out, more grey hair and hopefully more wisdom.

K World – Part 2 of “Road to the Horse.”

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.

We found 2 beer in the fridge, with an amusing name on the cans. We very much appreciated a cold drink at the end of our long day.

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.

Morgan looked at Ken through the telling of the story but glanced at me for the 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.

The last glimpse picture, up she goes to security. A non stop flight to Toronto awaited her.

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.

Anja back in the saddle within moments of getting to the ranch.

Anja took this picture of Pat, Jenn, Russ and I when I dropped her off at the pasture.

Anja had an angel at her side. This man was her seat mate into Toronto. He too was heading to Regina. There was enough time to change planes but not enough to get lost and still make it. Anja is challenged with English and she had to change terminals. This man deftly guided her where they needed to be. She was so very grateful.

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.

These are the moments. Gina had not seen her Auntie Margie in a very long time.

We could have visited more in Regina while waiting for Anja’s flight but Jill and I are both introvert leaning people. When she was done work we went to a movie. It was great. Jill asked for a bathroom selfie after the movie. We look pretty good for 11pm at night!

Happy Monday!

Still Here!

Friday morning: April 5th – With my coffee beside me I am geared up to check in. I have hardly blogged this winter. I have thought about it a lot of times but time has felt hard to come by. I am hoping to do better. The fact is, it feels like I have hardly been home and a side truth of that is that I am counting my blessings.

Any day now our first calves will start coming. The first shift of our visiting calving crew have already arrived. My daughter Gina is here for another week, when I take her to the airport I am picking up Anja our friend from Switzerland, when I take her back to the airport in mid May I am picking up our friends from Nova Scotia who are coming for almost two weeks. We have friends and family to share this whole season of ranching with. I will be cooking a lot, I am looking forward to being home and focused.

Russ took this picture of Gina heading in for supper after the last check of the cows.

What shaped the first quarter of 2024 was travel. Russell volunteered to serve on a forum organized by “Farmers for Climate Solutions.” That had me joining him on three different workshop trips, he had meetings in all three prairie provinces. I will say more about this in another blog. Travelling with Russ was fun but more than that it allowed me some experiences I would never have had otherwise. The best part is we met some really nice people.

Last summer I let my mind wander into the territory of my hopes and longings for my life. I wrote it down. I want to travel was one thing that emerged clearly. I guess a person has to be careful what they wish for because for a while recently it seemed I was never home.

A quick summary of the last three weeks will give me a jumping off point for future blogs and if I never get back to them you will know that I am resting!

On Tuesday March 12th Russ and I headed west. We carpooled with a kindred spirit from the workshops Russ was attending. We had a very fun roadtrip that found us safely in Kananaskis by nightfall.

Saturday March 16th had us heading home, we had the chance to give a friend from Calgary a ride to Regina, which meant our car was full and our trip home felt like a party at times.

Before heading off again I had two days at home with some church leadership and two important meetings.

Morgan and I left Carnduff late on Tuesday the 19th in order to be on a plane out of Regina early the next morning. After a long travel day Wednesday we found ourselves walking into the night air outside the airport in Lexington, Kentucky.

4:10am – checked in and coffee in hand at the Regina Airport.

At 10:05pm Lexington time we were off the plane and saw this sign. It felt welcoming and a good photo op.

As we waited for our Uber our first moments in Lexington allowed us to savor the sight of pots of established tulips. Lovely!

Morgan and I spent the next four days attending an event at the Kentucky Horse Park called “Road to the Horse.” It was an awesome experience.

When the event was over we had to get home so were on a plane out of Lexington early on the 25th. I had booked a decent flight schedule but it got changed after booking and it turned out we had an eight hour layover in Atlanta. Morgan and I found our way out of the Atlanta airport, got in an Uber and headed to the Martin Luther King Centre. This was a major experience for me. To be explored more in a future blog.

We landed back in Regina at 1:15am on the Tuesday. I had a hotel booked and we crashed for about six hours before Morgan headed back to Carnduff on his own. Russ came to Regina by mid afternoon, we met one of our oldest friends for supper and then attended the musical that Jill was in “The Prom.” It was a great show. The next day we spent time with Jill and did a bit of shopping. We were home in time for a later supper with Morgan.

Some sad developments at home meant that my schedule filled up quickly for the first six days back. Good Friday, Easter Sunday, three funerals and a board meeting for the music festival meant there was no down time. Towards the end of all that Gina flew into Regina and Jill drove her to the ranch. We had some family time. Jill went home last night. I am struggling with extreme weariness but I have so many things to think about.

Our first family supper in a very long while.

I have a personal standard for myself that a blog has to be interesting from a human or ranch perspective and/or funny. A recitation of what I have been up to is not interesting in my mind. Its just a list until the meaning of it can be unpacked. I really hope to poke at the pieces of whats here and share a few stories in the weeks ahead.

In the meantime, writing a full five days later now, I have this to say. Wow, am I tired. The demands of travel and leadership, but moreso I think just being out of routine has me feeling really disoriented and wow can I nap!

Our first calf arrived a couple days ago and there hasn’t been anything else since. Once things start I have the feeling we will be having lots of birth announcements. The first cow to calve this year was “Butter” and her calf was born on the day of the eclipse, so we named it Eclipse.

Here is a quote that fell out of my funeral notes as I put them away today, it ties up alot of what my recent days were all about.

Anne Lamott said: “Easter says that love is more powerful than death, bigger than the dark, bigger than cancer and bigger even then airport security lines.”

See you soon!

Vitamin T

I woke up this morning to find Russ sitting on the edge of the bed, fully dressed, watching TV. It was still dark. He brought me a coffee. I could read the signs. This guy was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. All he really said about it was, “its hard to sleep when the wind is howling.” I agree, I think it takes some strategies. One of mine is logic. I relaxed a bit when after our coffee I looked at my phone and realized that despite the horrific howling wind the wind chill was still above -50. I had thought it might be close to -60. I scanned my brain for all previous experiences where our cows suffer due to weather. I knew that they would be okay. They have lived this -46 before and when out of the wind its only -29 and that is totally in their skill set to live within. Logic.

A little later I told Russ, “I want to put up a blog today that just has something fun and encouraging in it, amid these conditions, but I can’t think of anything.” A little later a few things rumbled to the surface. A few things from yesterday that I am thankful for. There are lots of words that start with T that reflect things that are good for us and our relationships, like time, treats, touch, travel and teamwork, I have been known to call these Vitamin T. Today I am adding the word thankfulness to that.

I am thankful that yesterday morning when Morgan left for work and found that the truck he had plugged in wouldn’t start he had what seemed like a miracle happen. On his way back to the house he stopped at my Bronco and tried it. It started. It wasn’t plugged in and it was parked outside. He popped back in the house and asked for permission to take it. I said “yes, on one condition, you stop at Grandma Shirley’s and pick up the cake she made us.” ”I will on the way home,” Morgan replied. That was good to have clarified as it was only 7:15am or so. Morgan got to work and later returned with a carrot cake with cream cheese icing, Shirley had made it for Russ and I to celebrate our anniversary. Lots to be thankful for there.

Russ called in the late morning and asked if lunch would be thrown off if he and Ron just kept working til they were done chores and then came in for lunch, all done what they absolutely had to do. This meant a late lunch that coincided with Morgan’s return from work and time in the afternoon to relax together. Our TV is not in our living room. Its in our bedroom. We have a king sized bed, in the olden days with some strategy is was possible for all five of us and a couple pets to fit on it, it easily holds three three of us now watching TV, and still the pets too. I had quite a bit of energy yesterday and was not interested in TV time for the longest while, I am working on some organizing. When I did join the guys they were watching a DVD series called “Justified.” When the time is right to watch it together one of them will say to the other, “Let’s go to Kentucky.” Its their code, their bro language, and it refers to the place where the show is set. Anyways. Russ and Morg went to Kentucky and I later joined them. At that point I didn’t really want TV I just wanted to rest a bit with my guys. So, Russ got up and let me in, I lay in the middle of the bed, with Morg on one side, Russ on the other. I put my earbuds in, closed my eyes and started a podcast I had been wanting to try, it was a meditation for rest. It was a slightly hilarious scenario and I knew that as it was unfolding. As I was guided to take deep breaths and exhale strategically, which might seem a bit woo woo to some, the tight mood of “Justified” was in the background, Russell’s hand was occasionally straying under the cover of the blankets for a quick feel up and Morgan’s cuddle with Coffee Dog was not without some restlessness. This meant that as I was guided to relax I frequently had a part of a dog landing on me. It was my choice to be there and so I just took it all in stride. In truth, as I lay there, I knew, these are the best moments and I need to savor this. I did relax and eventually was recharged and left to make supper. I would be a fool not to be thankful for the warmth of those moments.

Part way through my supper efforts Jill called. I visited with her until supper was ready, then said, “Jill we either have to hang up or you need to come join us at supper.” She opted to join in, we made it a video call and set her at the table so that she could see us and we had a bit of a family dinner. She ate her dinner in Regina while we ate at the ranch. Then she kept us company while we did after supper clean up. Technology sure helps to keep us in close contact. I am thankful for that.

If you want to have a look at what action here looks like this on this snowy morning this 43 second video gives a glimpse. Russ was getting extra feed into the corral to accommodate cows looking for extra shelter. The corral is now quite full of cows that moved in from the shelter up north.

I hope that whatever your day holds you have time and opportunity for Vitamin T, whether its time together with pets or loved ones, treats, travel (maybe a youtube travel video?), touch, teamwork or thankfulness. Vitamin T is good for generating warmth.

Gruntled at Christmas

This week I was made aware of the word “gruntled”, the opposite of “disgruntled,” and much more positive! That word describes how I feel as I sit at my computer and consider the week we have known.

On Tuesday Russ and I headed to Regina to see Jill in the musical she was in. The days held some moments of real delight, moments that really encouraged me to feel gruntled.

We attended the show with my Aunt Danna and Uncle Vic. We caught up with Jill in the foyer at intermission. Jill’s role in the show was a parent of school children, that role extended to the foyer time where she was responsible to keep track of her stage kids as they all mingled with the crowd. This is Aunt Danna, Jill and one of her children.

This is a picture Jill shared with us that was taken by the Conexus Arts Centre photographer. It gives a sense of the staging. This was so well done.

A memorable scene from the show (which was “Matilda”) . This is the headmistress Ms. Trunchbull being her mean self. When Jill sent the picture she said, “I love the expressions!” (Another Conexus picture.)

Here is Jill with her stage son and stage daughter and our friend Gabrielle who was also in the show. She and her Mom hosted us in Regina, offering us such warm and generous hospitality. It was a lovely part of our Christmas week.

The time with Aunt Danna and Uncle Vic turned out to be the start of a trend. The next day Russ and I visited with another uncle and aunt. A couple days later I had a message on my phone, from an uncle in Toronto, it included the words “I love you Kath”. I spent the last few days in close contact with Shirley. I am wired in such a way that these moments with my elders and the messages they give me fill my cup. I knew as we pulled away from our Regina visits that a big part of my Christmas was already made.

Enroute home from Regina we detoured to Bengough area where we ended up buying a new to us horse trailer. The family that sold it was a treat to meet. We need a smaller trailer for times when Morgan is hauling only one or two horses for his activities. He is away from us more and more working for others and doing a bit of rodeo stuff. It was quite sobering to be at Bengough, it was 12 degrees there, no snow in sight and no moisture in sloughs. Another reminder of our current blessings. We stopped for supper in a tiny town called Ogema where we discovered a restaurant that served amazing brisket.

The next evening we were at our church for the Blue Christmas service. I was part of a team that worked on it. I put one of those candles in the long row. We placed and lit candles in honor of loved ones or challenges we have. In my memory my Mama’s light burns bright.

Russ has a tradition of gifting each of us a book he wants to share with us. He inscribes each one and does a great job of it.

By this point on Friday we knew that Canada Post had not delivered Gina her box with her stocking and gifts from us. She did not come home for Christmas. She is saving time off for calving season and cow chase, which is awesome when it happens but a pill for all of us to swallow in these days. Her days have been full. She and her room-mate have just moved to a new apartment, one of my favorite memories of her this week is the video she sent that Evelyn took. It was Gina driving a U-Haul moving truck through the streets of Toronto, singing and capable. It had a mood to it that I just loved. I am proud of Gina for her strength and resilience in moving, dealing with no gift box (it has been in Toronto for days but hasn’t made it to her house according to the tracking, now to be delivered tomorrow) and being away from all the family Christmas time hubbub. She has dealt with it honestly, both tears and a chin up. What a girl.

Later on Friday Morgan returned from shopping in Estevan. He had a few gifts bought for Jordanna. He and Russ posed, it strikes me that all three characters in this picture have beautiful eyes.

Christmas eve was special. There is a whole story here that might get told another day. An unexpected hi-lite was a long long visit with friends we had not seen in a while.

After church we spent some time with our advent candle wreath and opened up our ornaments for this year. Jill was glowing.

Russell’s ornament for this year marks the joy he found in inventing a beverage “recipe” and serving it to many friends over the year. It started when Anja was with us and Russ was worried he was working her too hard and she was going to fade away. They would come in for a 2nd breakfast in the morning and Russ would get things rolling by making Anja a hot chocolate. He got fancy with it and it delighted her and others over the year. When I ordered the ornament I knew it was hot chocolate he made, not coffee, I could picture the mountain of whipped cream, caramel and chocolate syrups drizzled over top, but mistakenly I called it Hobbit Coffee and I guess that is how on this ornament it will be memorialized. The word Hobbit is applied to the recipe because in the movie Lord of the Rings the hobbits eat several times a day, with glee. When Russ and Anja came in for a second breakfast (which Russ always cooked), they were living like Hobbits.

I am a very sentimental person. I will always remember this part of my Christmas experience. I had lots of help with final preparations but when Russ and Jill finally went to bed, thinking almost everything was done, Grandma Shirley wouldn’t quit me. We had been working on wrapping together for a long while with a pretty good strategy. I got the paper in place and she applied the tape. Our shared effort, her earnest seriousness about her job and her 90 year old fingers just combined to make some holy moments. A humorous moment topped it all off, we will likely fold into family lore as the years go by. At 1:24am we were done. Shirley went to the kitchen. She popped back to the table and said, “is the time on the stove right?” I said, “I’m not sure Shirley.” I checked my watch, “its 1:24 Shirley, what does the stove say?” She replied, “it says 5:20, and I was thinking, if its 5:20am we don’t even need to bother going to bed!” I love that zest. She is legendary!

Knightwing came inside for the start of the morning and made sure she was the first to get a greeting from Grandma Shirley when she arose (this was 7:25am).

At our place whoever has the job of handing out gifts from the tree has to put the hat on, we take turns being “Santa.” I started it off and Russ made me pose. I am pretty thrilled by the new Christmas Onesie I am wearing. A result of discovering, thanks to my sister Margie, that Old Navy sells many clothes for tall women.

Russ wanted Morg to have these goggles for the times when we cowboy in blizzards, they were part of his Christmas morning plunder. I can’t find the words to talk about this picture though.

As the sun rose it revealed a beautiful still morning and hoar frost on the trees. It was a white Christmas for us, in more than one way.

We had a nice visit with Jordanna’s family mid afternoon on this gorgeous Christmas day.

We have had new traditions develop in recent years, they include gathering with friends and family for a planned potluck Christmas supper. The guest list changes every year depending on who is available. We had a really fun supper last night.

Our friend Mark is in this picture with Grandma Shirley. Mark and Russ have been friends with Shirley’s family since their school days.

While sitting in my spot I got a text from Jill who was further down the table. It is seen here below.

I love this text. It says to me, “I see you Mom.” She knows how my brain works.

Sharon was extremely popular when clean-up started.

In the coming week Russ and I will be celebrating our 23rd wedding anniversary. The way time flies just wows me.

A little housekeeping….I checked with my people here and the guests in the pictures and they say the words and pictures shared of them are okay.

And in conclusion, I am tired but I feel more whole than I did a week ago, I am definitely gruntled. These days are full and hard and wonderful and trying and very capable of stirring so many feelings. I hope in these days after Christmas the pace of things allows the gruntled moments to shine bright for you.

A Rebuttal to Stress

This post is mostly just fun stuff, parts of the last few days that have nothing to do with the regular stress of life. The weather and schedule have allowed these moments.

Morgan and Russ spent much of Saturday on their horses working at the back at the Chopper K Auction Mart. Our friends were selling much of their herd there. Russ and Morg ushered cows, bulls and calves to the pens after they were done in the auction ring. It was a beautiful day and they had lots of hours side by side.

Grandma Shirley came over Sunday afternoon to help us decorate for Christmas. Knightwing loves her, and seemed to sense her presence in the car, she never came near my door but went straight to Shirley’s side.

After the initial greeting Knightwing stopped all movement to the door when she flopped herself down in front of Shirley and posed herself for a belly rub. Grandma Shirley obliged her.

It has become our tradition to enjoy favorite snacks while we decorate the tree. The last couple of years we have started with a charcuterie board of our treats and a sit down feast time.

Russ and Bingo had the job of encouraging the tree decorators. I wonder what they were saying to each other in this moment.

When these arm-less glasses came out of the decor box Russ got busy making a photoshoot happen. This is the smile that can light up an arena, yep, thats Jordanna.

Jill arrived home late Saturday, she made Christmas decorating a priority in her schedule.

I took this picture for Gina before I hung her ornament from last year on the tree. FDC stands for “Fight Directors of Canada”, she got her intermediate certification last year, her ornament marked that achievement. We are missing her.

Today Russ had ambitions to get as many bales hauled as possible but ran into a flat tire and realized he really needed to get all new tires to make his work as safe as possible. He was very fortunate when the tire shop closest to the field had the tires he needed. He was travelling with Kngihtwing and Bingo at this point. They managed life on the hoist very well.

Today my phone rang about 3:30, it was Morgan, “hey Mom, whatcha doing?” I was working on my laptop and drinking a mocha. My presence was being requested to pull the “heel-a-matic”, a roping dummy on wheels that Morg can use for roping practice. Honestly, I didn’t want to. I had been working on the house all day and I had just settled in at my computer. But……in an effort to be a good Mom I bargained for time to finish my mocha and then headed out. Of course, it was fun and I was glad to be there. Its usually like that with kids. Here is the view in my rear view mirror.

This is a glimpse of the heel-a-matic pal I pulled.

It gave me a feeling of deep contentment, a glimpse of the old normal, to be working on supper and have Morgan at the counter doing homework and Jill working on a project. I had to grab a picture.

While at the counter Jill had a look at the last blog I published. She said it was good but it was missing this picture. This was a screenshot of the Whatsapp call that linked Regina, Carnduff, Alameda and Halifax while our calves were selling on Thursday. This call was a first, but we are lucky to have these folks that care alot about us and how things are going.

Last night I got a message from my friend Lindsay. She had time today to come and be with me to tackle the cleaning work. Of course I said yes. So, the really great reality as this day unwinds is that our home has received lots of TLC and the walls have heard some good conversation.

The days ahead are really busy and hold some pressure as we get the last of the big fall jobs done on the ranch and I lead a funeral. It is very good to have these lighter moments, special people and images to ponder as we tackle what lies ahead.

When I read this to the family here and asked for their feedback, asked what they would want to see changed, it went like this……

Russ wanted it noted that this was Jordanna’s first time helping us get ready for Christmas and this is a big moment for him (Russ), he not so secretly wants Jordanna to be his daughter in law.

Jill thought the following three pictures should be added.

Jill enjoyed participating in Russ and Morg’s cow moving job at the sale on Saturday via a whatsapp video call from Russ, catching her on her break.

Jill glimpsed the Shirley and Knightwing action from the door and grabbed a picture. This is her perspective on those tender moments.

Today Jill did a few hours with Russ as he moved bales home. They had a fun time together.

Morgan offered this quote in my voice that he wanted included, “Morgan didn’t start out as our favorite but he quickly rose to the top, he did this by his postiive can-do attitude and strong work ethic that he demonstrates in his day to day life.”

My reply to that was to turn to Russ and say, “he’s writing his own report card!”

Jill’s rebuttal……Jill remains our favorite, through her postive can-do attitude and her strong work ethic and in addition, her tremendous cool vibes and endless spice and immense talent (followed by her ferral laugh, she is not comfortable tooting her own horn.)

Russ felt it was imperative to include Gina in this conversation. He was lucky to catch her at this late hour in Toronto, she and Jack (her boyfriend) were watching a show. She got straight to the point in rebutting Morgan saying,

“Morgan cannot say he has a positive can-do attitude because he is rude and angry when he has to help people that don’t know how to ride horses.” This very much offends Gina, Morgan’s defense is, “Because wer’e not f-in ‘heartland'”, and, in addition….Gina feels that Jill is the favorite.

So there it is, a simple blog that got a bit crazy.

Jill just said, “if people make it to the end of the blog they deserve a little fun.”

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.

We kicked off the season on Truth and Reconciliation day in Canada. Jen shared this picture with me. She had a headstall made that captures a value that is very important to many on the trail this day. For Jen it starts with the fact that her Dad, of the Dene nation, lived through a childhood spent in residential schools. We appreciate having Jen’s perspective on our crew.

Our friend Steve sent me this picture from the morning saddling and loading up time. It says alot.

Emerson was thinking well at such an early start in the day. As the crew started to leave the yard she remembered that Elton John our donkey had not been loaded. He is an intact male and doesn’t pasture with the mares. Emerson’s Mom Jen grabbed this picture as Russ went and caught this sweetheart.

I wonder what Laurie was thinking here, he was wedged into a truck cab filled with dogs and people. He always seems ready for anything. Sometimes when I apologize to him for the chaos around he says, “oh! I didn’t even notice.” I am guessing the chaos of these moments was hard to miss.

Arrival at the Manor pasture. Logan sent me this picture with Jen in the foreground. The sun rising is so beautiful.

My niece Brodie was here for the weekend and brought her friend Claire. We met Claire last year, so Russ knew that she was the perfect person for a job he had in mind. That was to ride our donkey (Elton John). Claire brought her adventurous spirit, her petite frame, and her determination and did a great job. Russ had contracted with her a $25 payment for the days duties. This created some humorous moments when the other cowboys jested that they too were going to line up for their pay.

Jen shared this picture with herself, her daughter Emerson and Grif, ready to roll.

This morning light is beautiful. I really like this shot that Jen got, there is my boy Morg in the foreground. Griff, Emet and Rhett in the back.

David has a solidarity with aboriginal people that has its beginings in a story that I don’t know. However, evidence is seen here in the multiple layers of orange and beadwork he wore as the day began.

The sun on Steve’s face and his posture makes me think this is a moment of inner preparation. It was kind’ve a big day for Steve. It was his first big cow chase with us after several days of helping Russ with smaller jobs. He did great. Jen took this picture.

Marisol helped us so much on the ranch this summer. She was on the payroll for a couple months as she raked hay. This means we have spent alot of time together. She is super special to us. That Coffee dog is too.

Russ sent this picture of Cowboy Medhi. He has a place of fame on the crew this year. Recently Medhi witnessed Cowboy Laurie get bucked off in such a way that Laurie earned an award for “the biggest buck off of 2023.” Not to be outdone, perhaps, shortly into yesterday’s chase Medhi stole that award from Laurie. It was quite spectacular. He took some Advil and rode the entire day. I carried quite a bit of worry in my heart for him.

Russ sent this video. The crew is on the trail! Its a nice review of the whole crew.

Emet grabbed this picture. I like the light on Coffee dog. Emet’s dog ‘KK’ is ahead.

When a sick calf was spotted on the trail Morgan got his rope going, in order to restrain it and give it treatment for pneumonia. Logan caught this moment.

With Marisol on one rope and Morgan on the other Russ got in close and got the calf needled. As it turned out this was a calf named by our Swiss friend Anja when she took it under her wing back in April. She named it “Saskatchewan”. So her tag has a SK added to it.

I love this nice clear picture of these two smiling faces, so important in our everyday story of ranching, not just chase season. Jen sent this, its she and David.

This is what it looks like when 140 cow calf pairs are on the road. Brodie grabbbed this picture.

This is my brother in law Gary and one of the toughest cowgirls on the trail, Briella. This was her first chase without her Dad Kent there. Her Grandpa John was on the truck moving crew and I enjoyed seeing the two of them. Russ shared this picture.

A wee glimpse of the lunchtime scene. With the Chuckwagon having a suspicious leak and no license because I totally forgot to do that, the Expedition was the lunch wagon. After lunch as I cleaned up the scene, the crew went by with the cows. In this picture Sharon was doing what she does all day. She was the feet on the ground that assisted with the practical things the crew needed on the trail. In this case, to help my brother in law Gary rid himself of his coat. It got quite warm over the lunch hour. Just beside Sharon is cowboy Steve. He brought 4 containers of baking with him from Estevan. His wife Treasure is quite the cookie maker. We fed 27 people taco in a bag for lunch. I was so thankful to have that baking provided.

This is Auntie Mona and Uncle George, Laurie’s parents. They helped Ron and John move vehicles from the start point to the end point of the chase. A very important job. In addition Mona helped me serve up lunch and got a wasp bite as a souvenir.

There was another t shirt theme on the trail, these t shirts featured here were created by my niece Brodie to make known her drone photography business, “Aerial Photography by Brodie.” Claire took this picture.

Gary took a break from riding but didn’t take a break from being a great human to have on the trail. Look at that smile!

Cowboy Laurie on the trail but taking care of business, getting rid of a can into the truckbox.

Logan took this very cool picture as Russ was getting everyone set up for a crew picture at the end of the trail. Russ said this was harder than it should have been. But it was worth it!

The chase went quite well and when the crew arrived back at the ranch there was time to relax for a bit before having supper. Morgan gave Medhi some roping lessons.

This morning some breakfast gathering happened in the kitchen. On the counter are cups of hot chocolate that Russ crafted with love. He has a “recipe” he calls “Hobbit Hot Chocolate.” Behind those sliding doors I was trying valiantly to finish the sermon for church today. It was hard though. I love having my family here so much.

At one point I set the timer for 5 minutes and popped out and hung out.

Tonight while I was working on the blog the dogs started barking so sharply. I knew what that meant. A car was pulling in. It was Jill. This girl rose early and worked an incredibly busy shift at Starbucks. One of her regular customers took her drink when it was ready and instead of saying “thank you” as she usually does, she said to Jill, “good luck!” As soon as work was done Jill sped over to Sterling headquarters for cast photos for their next production. Then she headed for the ranch. We had a cheesecake party when she got here. I think this photo means, “Bayliss Strong.”

Russ made sure I got to be part of the strong action. I had a tricky weekend, perhaps that will be the subject of another blog. Being a human is hard sometimes.

I am ending the blog with this picture of Jen and her sweater. As I think about Jen and the way she sits in a saddle but moreso the way she treats other people, the word “dignity” is on my mind. I long for every child to know their God-given dignity. I am thankful that in Canada we have this time to reflect and to honor the stories that have been lived. RusselI and I and many of our crew long to be part of a solution so that our society is one where every child truly knows that they matter.

A different week

We are having a different week around here and that calls for a different kind of week in review post.

When the kids were really small we fell into a pattern that has continued to this day. That pattern is about days of the week and saying grace. At the table, “grace” is another word for a prayer of thanks that gets said before the meal. As an ordained minister I often get called upon to offer the grace at meals outside our home. I would rather not be the expert on call regarding this, not when we all have the ability to speak and thoughts in our heads. Most especially not when in God’s heart noone’s word matters more than another. (In our way of understanding). So, one inspired day the plan emerged that the day of the week that one of us was born would be our day to be responsible for grace.

Morgan was born on a Monday, so that is his day to decide if he will say grace himself, delegate the leadership to another, or lead in a spoken or sung prayer that we all join in. Most times Morgan says it himself, it is very short and to the point, and it usually includes the word “awesome.” He used to give thanks for awesome food but these days usually doesn’t mention the food and gives thanks for the work that got done that day. His sincerity is there so while I might rib him about not caring about the food, I am just glad it goes as well as it does.

So Monday is Morgan’s day. What is going on in Morgan’s life these days and how did it get started? Morgan is knee deep in cowboy realities. On Monday this week I helped him with roping practice by using my car to pull his roping dummy around the back area. (The picture below). He helped at two different horse sales this week and has done lots of hours on his horse looking after our herd. We has been given alot of responsibility this week and has carried it well.

So that is how this week went for Morgan, now a little flashback to how it all got started.

When Morgan was about eight months old Russ took him on his saddle for the tail end of a ride up the road to the ranch, Russ and a crew were chasing horses home. Russ figures that maybe the ranch boss (his Dad) had been over optimistic about what could get done in a day and this chase was therefore ending in the dark. There is a dip in the road just west of our place and it was therefore with some horror that Russell realized that a big oil tanker was coming fast towards them. He knew that driver would never see a herd of black Percheron horses in the dark, with the dip in the road making them invisible to the trucker. He therefore gripped Morgan tightly and galloped to the front where he could get the drivers attention and get him to slow down. Morgan didn’t cry but seemed exhilerated Russ says.

Tuesday is Gina’s day. She was born at 2:19am on a Tuesday. My memory of having Gina around the table is that she preferred the sung graces. We have one called “The Brown Cow”, I believe she preferred that one because of some humor that Russ injected into it. There is a line, “thank the pig for the bacon on the grill,” one day he told the kids we should always check the road for runaway pigs at that line, so when we are feeling up to it even yet there is a little extra action at that point. Anyways, on Gina’s day we can report in that she is delighting in her horses she is working with. She sent this picture this week. She and another staff had clipped this horse’s legs and Gina took a picture of Oedsen and Rachel. Afterwards he was intent on looking at the picture. I wonder what was going through Gina’s head as she offered her phone to show show him the picture. It is really making her smile.

This is an old picture of Gina but captures what is on her mind these days. She has been staying late at work and watching the knights doing sword fighting practice. This picture was taken at school in Victoria. She loves stage combat, and especially sword work.

How did all this get started?

Gina was riding solo and defying gravity from an early age. Often we would put Abba singing “Dancing Queen” on in the background and she would jolly jump with such happiness.

Wednesday is Russell’s day. He was born on a Thursday but back when we got the prayer schedule figured out he had Lion’s Club meetings at supper time every 2nd week. I thought I was born on a Thursday, (I was wrong), so I took Thursday and Russ took Wednesday and it has stayed that way to this day. Russ is always very grateful in his prayers, sometimes goofy and does the best job of any of us of thinking about people that can’t be with us.

These days Russ is thinking about cow chase work quite a bit. It is a fairly big deal to be organized for the six weeks that are ahead. Liz Griffin took this picture of Russ on the trail last year. The background behind this picture is that he has co-ordinated a multitude of pieces to be working in a pretty fine tuned manner.

What did all this look like almost 30 years ago?

Russell’s friend Lee took this picture. I think this illustrates pretty well how things were in the earlier part of Russell’s life with horses. It was a pretty wild situation for a long time and from the stories I have heard it seemed Russ really enjoyed that. This particular moment is described by Russ like this, “this is Comanche who turned out to be one of my best horses, I still dream about him and when I get to heaven this is the horse I want to ride. In this picture I was training him, he was in the midst of several bucks and I had not yet landed back in the saddle.”

Thursday is my assigned day for prayer at meals. It turns out that I was born on a Tuesday, already Gina’s day, so mistakenly assigning myself Thursday works okay. I almost always make up a fresh prayer, based on what the action is that day and the blessings we have known. I always says at the end, “may this food strengthen us to be people of love and peace in your world,” or something close to that. It feels important to me. Anyways, reporting in on my day of the week, my life is pretty much revolving around stories these days. More specifically, words. More specifically, getting progress made on the book I am writing. That has meant alot of weaving. Bringing history, words, hopes, and new information altogether. The book is about ranching in relationship to the world. It uses Liz Griffin’s photographs for great illustration of key points. Today I learned that 1% of the world’s population does the work that feeds the other 99%. We are part of that 1%. That feels really meaningful. It will find its way into the book. I don’t have a picture of me at my computer lately. But these words tell you how its going. I do have access to some old pictures that illumine how it all started.

This fuzzy picture doesn’t surprise me to see. I have loved the words in books for as long as I can remember. I believe I was two in this picture.

This picture from a few years later catches me doing one of my favorite things in my childhood, playing with our Fisher Price toys. I always loved the chance to set the stage for stories to unfold.

Friday is the day of the week that Russell and I got married. So that is our day to pray, we pretty casually, on the spot, figure out who is up for making prayer happen on this day, but its one of us, because this is an us day.

And what did it look like when it was all getting started? Like this…..we went to Brandon on one of our first dates, we were in search of some Tim Horton’s coffee and Estevan didn’t have any in 1999. Russ showed me the swinging bridge at Souris on the way home. One of us had a camera and got these moments in time.

It seems kind’ve appropriate that I was wearing Bar MW yellow on this day.

Jilly was born at noon hour on a Saturday so she is the boss of prayer on Saturdays. Jill’s life is very touched by music these days, as it has been for most of her life. She most often chooses a sung prayer for grace. This week she has been learning the music necessary to be part of the vocal chorus for the next Sterling Production in Regina. (Rocky Horror Picture Show). She will be auditioning soon for the Christmas musical. She is relieving her brain of all the words and choreography she learned for Seussical and moving on. She sent us this picture of herself and one of her people after the Seussical shows.

How did it all start? With a passion for fun outfits, costumes, movies, musical theatre, dance and an interest in piano, cello, guitar, fiddle and singing that has never gone very far from her heart.

By Sunday everyone but Buster the cat and Ron our hired man have had a turn so we often will use silent prayer. We each just say what is on our minds, in the quiet of our thoughts. I like that.

Is there a picture to go with that? Maybe this one?

It is amazing to think about this table, the weeks that have passed that saw the five of us pulling up a chair day after day, the sights that Buster has seen, and those that have pulled up a chair to join us. Very often some of the first words they heard at our table were “whose day is it?” I suppose I will spend the rest of my life thinking of Monday, Tuesday and Saturday as my kids’ special days. Perhaps the biggest grace in my life has been the chance to walk their journey’s with them.