friends – As Far As The Eye Can See

Calving 2023 – 12 days in

As I sit to write this it’s shortly after 11am on April 20th, we are about 36 hours into a winter weather event, not exactly a blizzard but wet snow combined with wind has made conditions trying. An hour ago our power went out. This house is very quiet.

We are doing well. Having power for those first 36 hours meant some things were normal and options were plenty for warmth for humans and calves. As I vacuumed yesterday afternoon I found myself feeling so blessed. I have never felt getting to vacuum was a blessing before. I was mentally and physically preparing for a power outage, when it didn’t happen yesterday and I could clean I was feeling pretty lucky. I guess perspective is everything!

There is lots to say. I have been writing blogs constantly in my head, but finding no time to actually do the recording of them. Pictures tell the tale again in this blog.

Sunday morning before church I helped Russ and Anja when a delivery of twins and a calf needing to be pulled happened within minutes of each other. The pulled calf was huge and had weak ankles so Russ and Anja splinted the calf.

Jill came home on Sunday after work and joined Russ and Anja with Monday’s work. It was awesome to have her back.

I can’t remember why this calf was on the lawn and needing a bottle. After a while alot of things blur together.

Jill did saddle work, venturing beyond her usual calving roles. I think she really enjoyed it.

This is one of many moments where there has been exciting, dramatic and sometimes disgusting times when the creatures and the humans have had to share the cab.

Monday evening we were treated to a delicious meal in a calm and beautiful setting when the Sedors had us over. Here Anja shares pictures with Sue-lynn.

At 2:30am Tuesday morning Morgan was dropped off by his buddy’s Dad, Lee Stanley. Having landed safely in Regina after their big huge adventure, Lee brought him the last leg, we truly appreciated this. I got up, chatted with Morg in the porch, he unlaced his shoes and said to me, “I have not taken these off since I put them on in Rome 26 hours ago.” Then he gently placed them off to the side. He carried his suitcase downstairs. I grabbed my phone to take this picture. The shoes that had tread all over very distant and special places were back in their natural habitat. My boy was home. My heart felt good.

Tuesday we had an extra and familiar face on the crew. Our old friend Maja was back for a day. She came to Saskatchewan with a program like Anja’s a few years ago. She has returned and is working on a nearby farm. She has spent many hours on the trail with us but this day was calving cows!

I went to town Tuesday with much on my mind and a lengthy grocery list. I feel very nervous about all the unknown factors of weather systems like we are in. That was definitely my truth as I headed in, with my first stop being to plan a funeral with a family, the funeral scheduled for after the storm has passed. My usual route to town includes a low level crossing, it is currently filled with rushing water and not safe to cross. I drew this close to get a record of it.

The detour I took to avoid the crossing gave me this glimpse of the swollen creek in our valley. Water is mighty and damaging but also so beautiful and promising.

Tuesday afternoon – Cowboy Morgan is back in the saddle. I love this picture Anja took of him.

This is the first morning of the storm (yesterday), the guys came in for morning coffee after finding the 7 calves born overnight were all being cared for ok by their Mom’s. Russ asked for breakfast food figuring it would maybe be hours before they were able to get back.

Anja got this good picture of Ron hard at work. Ron spent many hours in the tractor getting hay and straw to strategic places.

In the late morning, as Russ predicted, things got hectic and the crew was stretched. On one trip through the yard as cow calf pairs were being brought in and calving cows were being brought home the call came requesting coffee to go. Russ asked for personalized lids.

Lunch eventually happened. Russ loves hot biscuits and we used our cell phones to coordinate when those biscuits went in the oven for ideal serving temp. How would we have fared when there were no cell phones?

Late in the day yesterday I took the truck and trailer up to the pasture so that the cowboys working up there could trailer home, it was days end. I want to paint a word picture for you. I nervously drove the truck down muddy roads, 40 km/hr max speed, once I turned into the pasture the trail was quite obvious and I made my way to the chute. I could see a few cowboys huddled against the wind holding onto their horses. I wanted to take a picture but there are times that its just not appropriate. As I hopped out I could hear Morgan say, “we will do three and two”, I said, “how can I help?” “Hold the trailer door Mom”, was the reply. That was easier said than done as the wind grabbing that wide door meant I was holding back alot of force. I did it. It was during these moments that an unexpected thing happened. As Morgan began loading the three horses into the front compartment David Powell appeared with a horse in hand, perhaps it was Russell’s or Anja’s. ( They were at home dealing with sick calves and stressed cows.) I had been told David was coming out after work but not staying for supper, I didn’t realize he would stay so late though, and through the wind and the wet sleet blowing at us his very cheerful face emerged with a hearty, “hello Kathy!” I couldn’t believe the cheer amid the trying, somewhat tense conditions. Now, he had not been at it all day like the rest of the crew, but was likely up at 5 to get his regular work done so he could come out. This cameraderie, support and willingness to suffer, qualities that Laurie, Anja and David all show in spades, give us added courage and we keep going.

The bad weather is not expected to move on until tomorrow at this time. We are hopeful to have power restored before the end of the day. I am now sitting at Grandma Shirley’s kitchen table (she has power), I am poised to work on the funeral service for Saturday. There are plenty more pictures I want to share. These calving days are full of stories.

The Joy of Toronto

Russ and I are just home from a great getaway to Toronto. We had many experiences that helped me remember what makes life good. As a result I feel more rested, more loved and more thankful. We took pictures, these ones I have included will help you know what I am talking about.

We flew out of Regina, a non stop flight to Toronto, it flew on time and our baggage arrived with us. That’s a triple pile up of good things. We got to have lunch with Jill before we flew. We are loving having her in a city where it is so easy to get together. This time with Jill meant we had a hat-trick hug day. A good-bye hug with Morgan in the morning, hello and goodbye hugs with Jill mid-day and “ohhhh it’s you” hugs with Gina on a dark Toronto street standing beside a Lyft driver. All our kids on the same day. A day to savor.

When sitting in the departure lounge in Regina we had one of those “I know you!” conversations, started by the lady beside us. It turns out I conducted her father’s burial and she is first cousin to our buddy Miles. We had a big visit. The world is small.

Our plane was full, we chose seats near the back. As far as we are concerned, bathroom proximity is important on a flight. It turns out we were in the party section. An extended multi generation family group was enroute to Pakistan. There were children, there was visiting, and happiness in the air…..there was life! I usually find flights quiet and depressing. All us humans packed in together and ignoring each other. This was a fun flight, I felt lucky.

We used Lyft and arrived at our Air bnb to find Gina waiting for us. We had a late visit, our Air bnb hosts supplied milk, eggs and bread so Gina got right into a mug of milk and the chocolate chip cookies Grandma Shirley sent for her. That was pretty precious cargo Air Canada successfully carried! (The cookies I mean.)

The next day found us heading west to meet family. How did we get to Etobicoke? Moe gave us a ride. Who is Moe? A taxi driver we absolutely needed to know, according to our friend Crystal, who is one of our people in Nova Scotia. “You will love him!” she said before regaling us with stories about their times with Moe driving them at the Toronto Royal Fair. She gave us his cell number. It was a great contact to have, Moe was good to us. We enjoyed our cab visits and the feeling that we were in very good hands, especially on that first morning when it meant so much to me to get where we were going on time and I knew so little about transit. Once Moe dropped us off at the restaurant I had that surreal feeling that comes from anticipating the arrival of people very loved and rarely seen. It was great when we all gor there and found ourselves gathered at a circular table in a very busy and loud restaurant. It meant alot that my Uncle Ted could meet Gina again, this time as an adult. Gina’s affection for him rose fast. He has that effect on people. My cousin Lori was one of my heroes when I was a little girl, she joined us from St. Catharines. She still has a way of blessing me with her attention. Not in these pictures, having left for an appointment, is Susan, Uncle Ted’s partner. I am thankful for her and the visit we got to have.

After lunch we got on the subway and headed to “The Dog Lounge” a pet supply store and dog daycare where Gina works part time. She sold us a portable water dish and introduced us to her co-workers. I like being able to picture the spaces where my kids are. We also met some adorable dogs.

In a short time in Toronto Gina has become so good with public transit. She had us on the busses and subway and made it seem easy. After seeing the Dog Lounge we headed downtown.

Our minister Susan checked in via text just as we headed into a Subway station, so we took a selfie to send back to her. Just as we got that picture a stranger walked by, she turned and asked, “am I in your picture?” We said “no, but do you want to be?” She pulled off her Covid mask and we got this picture. I think she is beautiful. After the picture she talked until the subway came and later when she left the subway car she caught our eye and waved goodbye. We all loved these moments.

We saw some classic Toronto sites and ate delicious ice cream before settling into a lively pub to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

I made a mistake at this point. I ordered a green Caesar. It was terrible. Just nothing good going for it. I tried to get used to it. I switched to water and stole sips of Russell’s beer.

Gina had to work at her main job on Saturday so Russell and I took the day off. It was fabulous. We watched Seinfeld on Netflix, Russell cooked us bacon and eggs, we lingered, we rested….. I highly recommend hiding in an Air Bnb when you can. Gina was done work at 3 and joined us. We all got gussied up and headed out to see Gina’s roommate at work, (Evelyn is a friend from school in Victoria), then altogether we headed for the dinner show at Medieval Times.

Medieval Times is where Gina works, at this point about 3/4 time. It was great to see her in her element. Her role now is to care for the horses, she hopes to do more. She has worked there a month and is really really enjoying it.

Having been spotted in the crowd by her co-workers, Gina was crowned “Queen of Love and Beauty” at the end of the show. It was a super fun moment!

The whole experience was great, it was entertaining and the food was delicious! Russ, our family horse expert was impressed with the training, condition and disposition of the horses. Gina has grown to love them as if they are her own. She was proud to watch them doing their work and wooing the crowd. Following the show Gina got permission to show us around the stables. We were the first strangers to tour the barn since Covid. We met some of her co-workers and her boss. We got close to those beautiful horses. We felt really lucky. Again, I am appreciating picturing where Gina spends her days.

Sunday morning at 7 Gina was back at work and by 9:30 Russ and I were back on the couch and into Seinfeld. More rest. Our joy this trip came not from the tourist sights but the people and the rest. Gina came over after work and we headed to my friend Tanya’s for supper. Moe was on duty for the ride. It was his day off but he worked us into his personal schedule. We didn’t expect such service, we didn’t know his schedule until he told us he was dashing off to watch soccer with buddies after delivering us to Tanya’s.

Moe and Russ enroute to Tanya and Greg’s

Our visit at Tanya’s included our friend Sharon and Tanya’s family. It was fun. Special for me in a way that is deep. 32 years ago we spent a year together traveling with “Up With People.” Years have passed but the bond and the love is still there. Seeing the faces, feeling the hugs, hearing the voices….32 years vanished and I feel a little more whole. Tanya has an unforgettable sense of humor. One of my favorite moments of the night was when Tanya spoke of her menu planning. She casually said that she was considering making a turkey and cauliflower casserole with banana sauce. It took a moment for Russ to realize that she was mocking him out, her delivery was flawless, the man who cannot stand turkey, cauliflower or bananas was given the message, “I see you” and he loved it. The menu turned out to be many of my favorite things. We contributed a hillbilly 1/2 gallon jug of wine, one of our favorites bottled here in Saskatchewan at Minhas. I had packed it in bubble wrap before stowing it in my suitcase. Air Canada delivered those cookies AND the wine all in one piece. That was a relief!

When we couldn’t plan ahead to use Moe we used Lyft alot. We would have walked more but my darn knee problem seems complicated, and I had to limit walking. We had good conversations with most of our Lyft drivers. All of them were immigrants. I found the rides very interesting, at times sobering and sometimes really fun. One of our drivers told us life in Toronto is torture. Another shared very logically and aso vividly what he thinks when he sees “F*ck Trudeau” flags, (he is not on board, especially given what he knows from his home country about freedom and government). That same man was filled with joy and delighted us with his prediction of just how it will look when he walks down the streets of Toronto after his family joins him in Canada. They have been apart for four years. He could barely keep his hands on the wheel as he predicted how he would walk. It was awesome. Most of our drivers talked about the ridiculous cost of living in Toronto.

Monday we limited our Seinfeld episodes. My friend Patty had an opening in her busy life and met us for lunch. Patty is another person I traveled with in Up With People. My sense of connection to her arises from the years since we traveled, thanks to Facebook. Russell has a connection too. He watchd her on TV in a time in his life when he was struggling and had only the CBC channel on his television. Patty’s morning kid’s program brightened those days. He was happy to meet her. Time flew, it was a three hour lunch. Thinking back on our conversation, with our vastly different life circumstances, it was heartwarming to see how much we have in common. Another encounter that reminds me that I am not alone.

After lunch we hoped to take in a museum but my knee acted up. We decided Seinfeld was waiting for us.

Our last evening found us with my cousin Susan and part of her family. I am profoundly touched by what the bonds of family add to my life. Last night it was a deep seated feeling of contentment. A sense of wonder about my Grandma being Susan’s Grandma too. Delight in enjoying each other’s family. And a sense of awe at the ways that affection and genetics and loyalty bind us together and compel us. It all serves to make me feel more whole.

Russell had Gordon try on his hat. He suited it perfectly I think.

This morning our plans got a bit complicated at first. We hopped a bus with suitcases in hand when Lyft let us down enroute to breakfast (heading to a restaurant we then found closed). The bus trip created a thrilling moment for Russ, his first time on a “bendy bus.” Russ is proud that he stood in the bend the whole time. Later Moe picked us up for the trip to the airport and very quickly all felt right in the world. He left us both with a souvenir from Egypt.

How does a rancher leave behind his operation, all those creatures that depend on him? Partly by grabbing the right dates, when disruption is less, and mostly by leaving things in good hands. Ron and Morgan were the hands and feet on the job. Our good friend Sharon came and filled in much of what I do. We are blessed to have Morgan’s reliable attention to and passion for the ranch and Ron’s deep rooted ability and effort and Sharon’s generous and capable heart available to us. We are very very blessed.

Sharon sent this picture today, from a session of feeding grain to the herds.

As I wrap this up the lights of our place are almost in sight. We have turned onto our gravel road. We woke up in the midst of a city of millions. We will fall asleep with our pups and our son close by, under a big sky, sounds of coyotes are likely. We return to our normal. Our thoughts will be turning back to these vivid days of moments shared with special people. That was a really great trip.

A P.S…..added Thursday…. This post began noting a hat trick hug day. We had one on the way home too and made sure we got pictures. Many of them were posed but still the real deal.

Things got goofy. The pictures all fell off that shelf within the next 2 seconds.

The Last Round-up for 2022

Just in the nick of time all the cows are home. As I sit to start writing the words that go with the pictures I have received and assembled, the snow is flying, the wind is blowing, it is so wintery feeling. Down in the south east corner of the province we are the last to get hit with winters blow. We are thankful we had the time we did to get our fall work done up as much as possible. The biggest piece of that is getting our cows and their calves home from their fall and summer pastures.

Now that the cows are home we turn a definite corner. The work shifts towards ensuring the cows are fed and have access to water, and we start strategizing for the marketing part of our work. The season ahead holds more evening hours in the house, usually, we are definitely ready for that.

The last part of our cow chase work took place over this past Friday and Saturday. There are some nice pictures that tell the stories of the days.

Griffin shared this amazing sunrise picture from Friday with me. It was still and very cold as evidenced by the frost on the grass. We were bringing cows from “the Vanstone pasture”, east of Carnduff, to home pastures.

Griffin also shared this picture. Thats Teanna, Gina, Russ and Rhett. There was no school so it was a great day to invite the teens of our circle to help bring these cows home. Russ notes that he and Rhett had switched horses for a time, Rhett was trying out Russell’s saddle, which meant riding “Sundance”, who is notoriously grumpy and a challenge to ride. Not many would do what Rhett is doing in this picture.

Laurie couldn’t join the crew for the day but was available to help block the highway at the point where the herd crossed. He was able to catch this picture. What is it? In the very chilly morning temps Russ got craving a coffee. When it had warmed to about -6 he called ahead to Precision Ag, where we usually buy mineral, salt, fertilizer and pet food. Russ asked about customer perks and wondered if they could get five coffees to go. Sure enough, upon arrival, the place that is not a coffee shop had hot coffee in to go cups ready to pass out. Thats a happy memory.

Gina grabbed this picture from her perspective at the pasture gate. The first group of cows for the day was home and it was time to go home for lunch.

Emet got this picture of his dog and Coffee hanging out on a bale. Its cute!

After lunch the crew was off to bring another herd home. This time they headed to what we call “The Sheep Pasture”, I drove part of the crew and so was there when many things were getting done to be ready to go again. I grabbed this cute picture of Russ. That is the Viterra grain elevator in the background.

Dani flashed a great smile when she looked up from dealing with her horse.

Sharon took this picture of Russ ready to roll. Thats Coffee, Knightwing and Bingo in the picture with him.

Sharon grabbed this picture of Teanna and Dani.

Gina took the passenger seat and let Dani drive home from the pasture at the end of the chase. Maddie is healing from an injury and didn’t get to chase, but got to be part of this time with Dani.

Russ wasn’t sure how it would go to juggle two different moves in the same day. Both herds moved more quickly then he thought, the crew did great and both lunch and supper were served an hour before Russ had estimated. I’ll be honest, as the cook, I struggled with the changing details, it was good in the long haul, but I didn’t find the flexing too easy to do.

Tenley sent me this amazing picture of the scene at sunrise on Saturday. The crew had left the yard about 6:45am and they headed to “the Boyes pasture” in the Glen Ewen valley. In contrast to the day before the skies were brooding, but at this point the air was quite still and it was warmer.

Griffin caught a moment when Morgan was being unusual. I am not sure what he was doing. Maybe I can ask him before I post this.

Sharon shared this moment where her grand-daughter Emma is ready to roll for the day. Emma has been on lots of Bayliss cow chases but this was the first for this year.

Griffin caught a cool sunrise picture, it also allowed me to see Emet’s dog in the saddle with him.

Jen saw this moment, the sun still rising and beautiful, Morgan ready to roll.

Becca sent this glimpse of the getting ready process. The sky is still intriguing.

Jen does excellent selfies, the sun on her face and Russ in the background makes this an especially nice one. I am guessing this was the last time the sun was seen on this day.

Becca brought her brother to his first cow chase in a long, long time. He was a good sport through what was a tough day because of the weather.

Sharon’s grand-daughter Hannah was back on the trail.

This is Bill in the centre with his granddaughters on either side of him. Sharon took this picture.

As the cows made the final mile before crossing the highway Becca took this picture.

Dwayne sent me this close up picture of the process of getting across the highway. In the background you can see the Mounties stopping traffic and keeping everyone safe.

I think Becca took this picture once across the highway and looking back at what was behind her.

Russ invited the Mountie on duty to pose for him, he obliged. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could direct the cows with hand signals like this? The RCMP are made aware of our plans, if it works into the demands of their day we get their help, but obviously other things take on greater urgency at times.

It was decided that quick progress meant a late lunch at home versus lunch on the trail was quite do-able and preferable given how windy and miserable it felt. However, a break for the cows was needed, the riders took advantage of the chance to stretch their legs. Sharon got this picture of Gary.

Sharon also got this picture of Bill making some adjustments.

Sharon took this picture right around the break.

Teanna and Dani grabbed a quick lie down in the ditch moment. Sharon was on the job with her camera.

Sharon has always been one to document our adventures, Becca got this shot just after Sharon finished a picture.

Jen’s selfie records a fashion moment, she and Griff have matching sunglasses, thanks to Griff wrestling an old bent out of shape pair into service.

Jen grabbed this moment when a good friendship was easy to see.

Jen and Dani….the queen of selfies strikes again.

Becca shared lots of pictures, including this selfie which reveals a nice spread of the cows behind her.

Becca captured her brother Dylan guarding an approach.

Following the break things got hard. Rain began and never quit until the ride was over. Tenley told Gina she has never been so cold on a Bayliss cow chase, which is saying quite a lot. The rain soaked through and challenged everyone. I got lunch set up for everyone in the house and left just as the crew was drawing near. I came across these cowboys coming home after getting the cows into the pasture. I was on my way into town to sing at a funeral. By the time I returned home everyone had eaten and most had gone home to find warm showers. It was hard to miss out on the meal, the chatter, and the words that might celebrate that the cows are all home, however the deceased was a friend of ours and I wanted to be there representing our family. Listening to the stories that came from lunch I sense that everyone was in survival mode and the celebratory mood would need to wait for another time.

The final quarter mile of the 2022 season.

Liz Griffin took this picture in the first half mile of the 2022 season. This captures the fact that we started with fog and ended with rain. There was no snow this on the trail this year, high wind at times but not like other years, we had some great sunny days.

Its November 7th, a few hours ago I reduced the table back down so it seats just six. Jill and I did up the last of the dishes lingering from the weekend. We watched two movies last night. The cows are home. We had a safe and successful season of moving them. The best thing, we had time with people we love so much, we met new people, we experienced teamwork and the sense that others have our back. I have been encouraged through the readers and comments with the blog. With a little rest in our bodies, and the sound of the wind just whistling around our house, our sense of gratitude rises to the surface in a very big way. We heard that one of our cowgirls cries for a half hour every year when everything is over. Russell says, “we know how she feels.”

Day 5 Cow Chase Season 2022

The crew from the ranch was on the trail again this weekend. It was a very memorable one. It was really only one day of chasing, Saturday, but it was a long day, as we mostly expected, and it held lots of moments that we will be talking about for a long time. I have had a ton of pictures shared with me, the story of the day will emerge through the pictures.

Our work for the weekend began on Friday when Russ, Gina, Laurie and Morgan went to check pastures. They were assessing animal health and pasture conditions. Russ was deciding if we needed to bring a herd home on Sunday but decided that the herd could stay for one more week in the pasture, there is enough grass.

The day started early, the crew was ready to leave the yard by 6:25am. Some of my family from Saskatoon were here for the weekend which made the weekend extra exciting for me. My brother in law Gary took this picture of the morning darkness.

Sharon offered this glimpse of the cows in the pasture, before departure.

Before departure, it was a bit nippy in the morning, bundled up to ride are Kaitlyn, Dani and Dwayne. Sharon took the photo.

Cowgirl Kaitlyn ready to go. A pic shared by Sharon.

The fabulous smile of Tenley. Sharon shared this picture.

Sharon grabbed this early morning photo of Jesse.

Gina and Meadow at the gate. Another Sharon picture.

Seth, who is my nephew, sent this cool picture, about 3/4 mile down the trail. They were able to go cross country at this point. The cross country sections of the trail really help, to cut down the distances and make less corners neccesary.

During the day there were seven calves that needed to be caught and put in a trailer to be transported home. There were two reasons for this. As soon as we hit the trail it was discovered that we had some sick calves. Russ figures the snow and rain of earlier in the week was the reason that four of the calves had symptoms of pneumonia. We needed to rope them, push/drag/wrestle them into the trailer and then treat them. Russ had brought a small kit with usual medicines in it, just in case. This came in really handy. The next pictures show some of this action.

Gary S (my brother in law) (we also had a Gary M) sent this picture. Thats Morgan and Meadow working to rope this calf. I don’t know where this roping fell into the order of things. There were four in total that were discovered to be sick.

Teanna sent this great picture of success with roping. Meadow caught the head, Morgan the feet, Russ is with it giving it two needles full of Nuflor, Jim is standing by, Bingo is on alert and Ron is ready to get the trailer door open. (That Nuflor will save their lives and return them to health, their suffering is minimized this way. One of the sick calves was already dead when they got to the pasture. Nuflor in time would have prevented that. Supporting antibiotic free beef has hard consequences for the animals. In this highly regulatred industry that Nuflor will be gone long before they enter the foodchain, any further antibiotics given require a clearly prescribed waiting period before they go for butcher.)

Sharon sent me this picture of Gary S doing his part to get a roped calf into the trailer. The calves were large and the effort very significant. Knightwing is hopefully helping with moral support at this point.

Sharon sent this pic of Russ starting to deal with a roped calf.

Sharon sent this picture of Russ pushing and Meadow securing a calf.

Gary took this picture while riding our mule Dick. Thats Emet on the left and Stephanie on the right. We were on the road.

Russ grabbed this picture of Bailey riding Wrangle. Bailey was one of three riders who had never experienced the BAR MW trail before. Quite an introduction with the day that it was.

Meanwhile back at the ranch…..my cousin had come for the weekend to give me a hand with cooking. We were working away at creating taco in a bag. Lisa prepared a well appreciated amount of fried onions. I asked her to prep three peppers, it wasn’t enough. We fed 33 people. I wasn’t always thinking straight with the prep. I am so grateful for her help. Our Grandmas were sisters.

The extra action in the morning had meant delays and it was a late lunch break. Here is the lunch crew. Jill dressed up to celebrate halloween. Sharon took our picture.

The cows were moving slow, lunch was late, some of our usual riders were not able to be with us, (I really missed them), many riders were feeling a bit of pain, the feeling in the air at lunch was subdued, except…….Jill. Her costume brought so many smiles at different points.

I grabbed this extremely goofy moment. It was a situation which began when Gina phoned me in the morning, “Mom, can you bring a calf bottle to lunch, I want to see if Moo would be interested in it.” Moo is our ox who once was a bottle fed calf and then Morgan’s 4H steer. He is now 2200 lbs plus and we use him to guide the herds home. Jill put a bit of water in it and with hope set off to offer it to Moo. I have no idea what was in his head as he saw Jill. Lets just say he had very little interest in the bottle. Was his effort to get away from her a result of her weird outfit? Not sure. Thats Moo with the white head patch just off to Jill’s right and looking at her.

Moo and Morgan in 2015. They have both grown. In the days when a bottle meant everything to Moo.

After lunch Seth was done with his job of moving trucks and he got in the saddle and on the mule he was sharing with his Dad. Here is Seth ready to roll.

After lunch Bill got back on his horse and I just had to grab this picture before he rode away. I had the privilege of conducting Bill’s wedding this past summer. He married my singing partner’s sister Caley. Bill and Russell met at the wedding and hit it off. The plan to get Bill on the trail was hatched then. Russell really loved having him along. He was VERY complimentary of my cooking which I really appreciated.

On the trail after lunch, Seth got this picture.

Gary S gave me this picture of the head guy, he looks fairly relaxed at this point.

Gary sent this picture of my niece Brodie (on Smoky) and her friend Clare on our red mule Jane (who Russ tells me has been herding cows since 1997). We were really happy to have Brodie back on the trail and to introduce Clare to trail life. She was a great sport.

Gina, Brodie and Clare on the trail, as seen by Gary S.

Gary S sent me this picture and he captioned it “The Bayliss Crew” and I feel that title so deeply. Russ, Morgan, Gina, cousin Laurie, Bingo and Coffee are all there. They were all working their butts off, and with a big herd like this, one or two of these crew are usually at the front, which could be as much as a mile away, Russ likes to stay at the back. This was a rare moment. They are joined in this picture by one of the crew from the White Ranch, thats Jordanna furthest to the right.

Things got pretty serious in the afternoon when three of our calves broke into the neighbors pasture. I am not totally clear of how everything went down but the bottom line is that Sherry our neighbor got nominated for neighbor of the year. She was gracious and understanding and helpful when some of our crew went into her pasture to rope those calves and get them out of her herd of yearlings and into the trailer. Morgan and Meadow were on roping duty again. This picture features Sherry in the back and Sharon looking uber relaxed on the right.

Gary S grabbed this moment on the trail. The bright sun was a gift.

Another nomination …..Russell nominated Gina for cowgirl of the day. I said, “Russ, she got it last time.” He said, “you should see that girl Kathy, her foot still isn’t right but she won’t stop, she was in charge of the whole operation when I was off dealing with those calves, she isn’t going to be here much longer, I am nominating her.” Gina sent me this picture because she spotted our cow named “Kathy” and got this selfie with Kathy grazing in the background.

Close to the end of the day Gina phoned me and said, “I have a nomination for cowboy of the day.” It was this crew member, Dwayne Henderson, she had some significant help from him with a problem earlier in the day and she just observed how calm and focused he was all day, and it was a long day. It was an epic day. Thats six times using day in one caption. It was epic. Laurie timed just over ten hours on the trail.

Russ took this fine picture of Morgan. The evening sun is nice.

Gina sent me this picture as her picture of the day. Its her Uncle Gary and she is so happy to have shared a day on the trail with him. He spent most of the day in the saddle and did incredibly.

Dani sent this picture in for her picture of the day. What a moment. Gina and Teanna approached the last mile of the chase, the ranch in sight, holding hands because their hands were cold and the truck with their gloves was nowhere in sight. The picture also allows mention of a nomination that Becca made, she texted me, “I would like to nominate Gina for the most fabulously dressed cowgirl today! Her shirt added flare to her cowgirl attire!” Her school friends will recognize it as her favorite shirt for dance and one she wore every Thursday for Jazz class.

Jill took this picture back at the ranch during supper hour. Bingo chilled with the crew.

Russ took this shot of Morgan and Knightwing……a significant amount of weariness!

Jill found a way to include Buster in the cow chase blog,.

Gina shared this pic of after supper visiting, most cowboys gone home, but not Bill, the furthest drive and the most endurance. He headed home to Brandon shortly after this. I love how Seth is sitting on Russell’s knee and laughing at something with Bill who you can hardly see.

This was earlier today. The cows home and grazing in the west pasture. Brodie took this with her drone. She makes awesome calendars with her drone photo shots from all over the Saskatoon and north area. I can get you one.

Russ, Morgan and Laurie helped our friends move their yearlings and cows this morning, whipped home for a late lunch with us and then we sent all our company back north. Gary took this.

Gary took this picture of our crew earlier today.

Now…….our cowgirl Becca took many great photos but a technological challenge meant that I just got them. I am tired. I can’t go back and tuck them in. So here is a glimpse of the day thru Becca’s lense and only just a tiny bit of captioning because you know almost everything already by this point anyways.

This picture features Emet in the foreground working the back of the herd. We are glad to see this picture, giving us the chance to say that his work on the crew has developed quickly this year. Gina tells me that twice yesterday she said to herself, “thank goodness for Emet.” Being in the right place at the right time doing the right thing is everything.

These are Becca’s kids Peyton and Matthew. They were great crew members and super cute. Their personalities made for memorable conversations, they really made us smile.

Chit Chat Over Coffee

There is a little tiny joke in this picture. Can you see it?

Its 9:36am on September 1^st. I am writing to you live from the Chopper K Auction Mart. Russ, Gina, Jill and I are here to watch our grassers sell. These are calves we kept many extra months to grow up a bit. We got here early after dropping Morgan off for his first day of grade 10.

The sale hasn’t started yet, so we have been privy to the auction mart waking up and people getting in position for the work before them. I just learned that it’s the first sale since June, so we are really witnessing the very beginning of a new season. I have always enjoyed “good morning” type chit chat so its good to be here. Gina reports that the action at this point reminds her of behind the scenes when the curtain is about to open in shows she has been in. That is kind’ve fun to think about.

The four of us free to hang out while others buzz about. The auction mart dog “Tina” came and wedged in between Russ and I. She is quite dear.

There have been a few things to check in about.

Gina is home! Our girl who completed her musical theatre diploma in May and then extra training in stage combat since, finished up her lease in Victoria and moved home for a bit before carrying on to Toronto. She has shown a lot of bravery this summer, going to big cities to study and learning subway systems and new people. It has been awesome to see. The big deal this week is that she loaded her car and drove home, boarding a ferry at 5:30am and driving til 10:30 that night, she spent some hours sleeping in her car in Strathmore, Alberta before heading on and getting home by 3:30pm the next day. She really enjoyed the mountain driving. What a monkey though, she wanted to surprise me so she didn’t give me accurate info about her location. So….she got home and I wasn’t there. I had been called to town and decided to have tea with Grandma Shirley while I was there, I thought I had time. So, when I wandered into the house with my arms full of groceries, there she was sitting at our kitchen counter sipping a cold drink and video taping my reaction. Honestly. She hid her car behind the barn and had way too much fun catching me off guard! It was my joy to soon see all my kids sitting down for supper.

Yesterday we unloaded her car and I have to say it was impressive how much she had stashed in it!

How the car looked in the driveway the first night. Russ was impressed that Gina packed alot of stuff and kept her sight lines all around.

Gina’s pal Ernie spent the last two years in Victoria and accompanied her in the front seat on the way home. He told me not to tell Gina but he is glad to be back on the prairies.

Backtracking a bit…..My friend Deb and her girls visited over the weekend. We enjoyed the visits, the storytelling, the wisdom shared, the laughs, there were some great hours spent together.

A fun idea was hatched during our last breakfast, that idea is a cookbook. We are both good cooks and we have been friends for 45 years. I have a vivid memory of walking down the street together when we were about 11, talking about what we thought about becoming women. We have talked about almost every dimension of womanhood that has unfolded since then. It seems like maybe we could make some fun title out of that and create something, even if its a cookbook just for our kids. It was fun to dream about it at the table and brainstorm what recipes would need to be included. It was the cinnamon buns we were eating that …..

Oh……

Our calves are coming into the ring to sell. Time to close the laptop.

Here are our observers. Jill with calculator in hand, this is her job for us every sale.

Here is a minute of what that kind of action looks like.

9 hours later…..

Well the selling phase of the day was good but certainly anxiety producing. The prices we received are quite improved over recent years and that is well timed. The drought and storms of recent memory have been so hard. Cattle prices have not kept pace with expenses. We are thankful for this morning.

Our John Deere tractor is in the hospital. It has been a hard reality to work around, slowing our progress with baling, but just one of those things. A significant problem started last Friday making it not driveable. Russ called our family at Fast Trucking and there was a truck in the yard within half an hour to pick up the tractor and take it to Oxbow. We are extremely blessed.

Loading the tractor with its problems was very nerve wracking for Russ.

Further problems have arisen, so the tractor is still in Oxbow, Russ is getting familiar with the staff at the John Deere hospital and things are going well between them.

About baling………we have all the bales we need for feed and are so close to being done we can just about say we are done. This is a relief. We will now begin baling some straw (likely once the tractor is out of the hospital) but that is less of a stressful thing, usually. It is such a relief to head into winter feeling only minimally concerned about feed and water. We know that a year like this is a total blessing.

To make a morning like the one we had today happen there are many steps. First we have to get the animals in from pasture and ready to load onto transport. I was able to take a good video of the grassers coming into the yard yesterday morning. Our friends Jackie and Marisol joined Russ, Gina and Morgan to move them down the road and also helped with getting them sorted and prepped to load. Here is the video, they move in quickly and it makes for an action packed minute.

Last Friday night we joined a crowd in Oxbow to see the province wide touring group Saskatchewan Express. It was a really entertaining production and we had a special interest in it. One of Gina’s friends from college was a performer. Liz was the understudy that portrayed Shrek to Gina’s Fiona in all the performances we saw. We hosted her for supper while we were in Victoria. It was pretty nice to have a familiar face on the stage in Oxbow. She was excellent. There are some people in our small communities who work really hard to make our life together warmer, more interesting, and more connected. Concerts like this one are a result of their efforts, it is a very good thing.

Maybe that’s enough of a check in. I hope this finds you well and ready to face what this new season holds.

Oh wait….the joke……

Some of the people in this house love cats. We have cat mugs. I picked one by chance tonight, to hold my decaf coffee. Then I took a picture of the mug to use as a lead image for this blog. But wouldn’t you know it, right beside those cats was a mouse. A computer mouse. My fairly stressed brain was quite amused by the cat and mouse story going on on my desk. You got the joke right off the top didn’t you? I probably didn’t even need to explain. Sweet dreams!

My Life

Tonight Russell and I went out on a date, as the rain made the hayfield too wet to work. Yes, rain, I wasn’t sure I was ever going to be able to say that again. At different times as we rolled towards Alameda to meet friends for a double date the song “In My Life” was in my head, one line in particular, it goes like this, “though I know I’ll never lose affection for people and things that went before, I know I’ll often stop and think about them, but in my life, I’ll love you more.” It was funny to arrive at the restaurant and find our friends there and seated at the next table was my singing partner Erin. It was Erin who introduced me to the song and we now sing it as part of our set list. Living in a small area really has its perks, its very fun to accidentally run into people who are important to you. We really enjoyed our meal and our visit, another episode of life feeling more normal again and getting strength from friends. As we pulled into the driveway when we got home, that same line was in my head again, I found myself analyzing what I was really singing and then turned to Russell as I was heading up the walk and said to him, “do you know what I’m singing?” “I am singing that as much as I am missing my Mom and Dad, and I am missing them both alot lately, as much as I love them and always will, I, (and at this point I hit him on the shoulder with the charging cord I was carrying), I love YOU more.” That realization hit me hard. Russell responded very quickly. He said, “well you should.” He followed that up by saying “you have committed your whole life to me, if you don’t love me more you should leave me and find something better.” It was not a confrontative moment at all, it was like a discovery moment, me discovering that as much as my missing is normal, I have something as full and nourishing right beside me, my choice and my life option. This was a reminder maybe, to live in the present. Thats it. Thats what happened.

A 30 second clip of the song in my head.

A picture of my parents I keep on my desk. Dad was 2 years past his dementia diagnosis at this time.

A Liz Griffin picture, Russ and I a year ago this week, when we renewed our vows.

And it was glorious….

9am Monday – A quick blog post about yesterday, again, little writing and mostly pictures. I didn’t think I would get to do this today but what I am needed for outside has been delayed. The guys have some calving troubles to deal with before we put a small group, 40 cows and calves thru the chute, maybe I can get this done.

If you read the post “horsing around” you will know that the cowboys brought 80 pairs down the road to home late on Saturday. Those 80 pairs were the focus of our attention on Sunday.