teamwork – As Far As The Eye Can See

Sister Time

I am sitting on an airplane flying over the rocky mountains enrtoute to Regina. I have just spent about four days with my sister Jan, they were action packed days that created moments that I hope to remember.

Part of the purpose of my trip was to attend a concert that Jan invited me to. It was a Christmas concert featuring a handbell choir she has been conducting for the last year. Making her vision for the concert happen involves so much. I saw Jan juggling a huge number of human dynamics and also logistics. I have a fun anecdote to tell from the pre concert hours. Setting the stage for this story means telling you that Jan and her husband Ray and dog Belle live on the 24^th floor of a condominium in Port Moody. Elevators are a part of their everyday life. So it was that on concert day Jan and I worked as a team to get everything she needed for the unfolding of the concert out of their home, to the elevator, down 25 floors and into her car in the underground parkade. With some strategy we managed it in one trip. A cool experience began when the elevator doors opened to let us in. From what I could see I could not imagine that we would fit on, there was already 3 people and a dog on the elevator. However Jan and the other occupants didn’t hesitate to make the adjustments so that we could all fit on. I followed Jan as she pulled her wheeled cart on, and as I followed her I turned the electric piano I was carrying on its end, it was tight quarters but we were all on. I was fairly stunned when we stopped at another floor and a woman with her dog was waiting to get on. I totally expected someone would say, “oh no there is already a dog on and hardly room for another, you catch the next one.” There was none of that. We all just shifted and in she came with the dog, the dogs reacted to each other but were well contained by their owners and there wasn’t a sniff of trouble. I stood there enjoying the whole darn thing. By the time we got to the ground level six adults, two dogs, a wheeled cart full of Jan’s concert supplies (bags and bags of homemade treats for her ringers among the load), and a big gear bag holding a piano turned on its side had traveled about sixteen floors together. Among the adults I sensed there was a lot of diversity, for example one of the people was wearing a hoodie that said, “Hungover and Horny”. As Jan and I headed to her car I said, “well I think I might have just had my favorite moment of the trip.” She had some funny words to reply with, noting my favorite moment had nothing to do with what she had prepared for me, but letting me off the hook for my wacky statement. The thing is, my sense of my world is that people are pretty cautious about other people being in their space, fearful of conflicts, and on edge. Those moments reflected the opposite and they were a bit of a balm for my soul. Humans were accepting each other, compromising their space, managing their loads in order to make space even when none seemed to exist. I simply loved it.

But that was before the concert and so my favorite moment was soon superseded by other moments. I was so incredibly proud of Jan as I witnessed the various pieces of her planning coming together, I can’t get into the details of it here but its super complicated to make a handbell concert happen as there are so many moving pieces. Jan is committed to make the experience as good as possible for her 20 or so ringers, she is deeply concerned about the experience of the audience and passionate about musicality. So when each number ended and she turned to acknowledge her ringers to the audience, she had a mega watt smile that radiated her deep joy at what they had just done together. To see your sister so enlivened and joyful and to see her giving so much to other people so that they have opportunities is a really big deal, makes for really memorable moments. With my sentimental lenses on there is also the reality that our parents planted the seeds of this action in Jan and would be so unbelievably proud of what she is doing and how she is doing it.

Another thing about my trip is that it created some chances for some deep thinking. The concert itself gave me pretty good fodder for a decent sermon about teamwork. However, one new thing I was prompted to think about came from a facebook post Jan made the evening I arrived. It included a video snippet of her surprising me at the baggage carousel at the airport. I had thought we were meeting outside. She snuck up on me. It was really fun to experience her mischeviousness. Comments on her reel included feedback that Jan has a really awesome family. She does and the comment got me thinking. For the sake of honesty I find myself wanting to say, it was not and is not always like that. We don’t struggle as much as we used to but we still have to work at being mature about our needs, communicating well and giving each other grace and its not just always sunshine and roses. As I was sitting having a think I found myself wondering, what has made it possible to get past the tough times? One thing that came to me, and I am not sure if this is true but it struck me that it is, is that we have all been working on ourselves. We have all had to say, “I do not have my act together like I would like to, I can shift this, I will let myself grow, I will let myself be touched and changed by wisdom, people and processes I trust.” When you sense people you love trying to grow more whole it is not too hard to cut them some slack and take steps towards each other instead of building a wall. That’s all I have to say about that.

Despite the exhaustion arising from the concert day Jan made an offer to me, to get on a ferry on Sunday after church and go to Nanaimo to visit our nephew and his family. I jumped at that chance. It was a great decision. I loved being on the ferry. Loved it. I loved seeing Brock, he is my first born nephew and I am one of his godparents. He is quite a delight and it is a gift to see him. Tamara his wife and Ryker his seven month old son were the other shining stars in this visit. Brock and Tam are some of the most nature oriented people that I know. It should not have been a surprise to Jan and I that they would want to go out for a walk once we got there, we in our church clothes. Jan and I figured we were up for a walk, picturing the stroller, the city streets and walking four abreast down some quiet streets. When we got out the front door, wearing Brock’s footwear and rain jackets, we didn’t load Ryker into a stroller we got in the car. I figured we were heading to a park. We were heading up the mountain. With Ryker on Brock’s back, and Tam bringing up the rear, we did a hike, to a really special spot for them. It was raining quite hard at times, Brock said we had 45 minutes of daylight left, we made the most of it. Like Jan brought me into her world of music and leadership, Brock and Tam swept us up into their deep joy with the forest and the hills. Jan and I decided afterwards that we should feel really proud of ourselves, not because we survived the hike in the midst of weariness, but because our nephew looked at his two aunties and didn’t question our ability to do it, he looked at us and said, “lets go!” I have to say, that feels great to ponder.

I am now sitting in a library at the U of R. Jill is in a study carrel behind me prepping for an exam. I am waiting til winds gusting to 90km/hr settle down before hitting the road back to the ranch. I am content and I am smiling as I think about the people that Jan introduced me to over these last few days. She has some really nice friends with a mixture of traits, ages, backgrounds and passions. It makes the world more human and fun to remember the moments I was invited into their worlds. In the course of my brief trip I was offered food and or drink in five different living rooms. One of them was a birthday party for one of Ray’s friends from the early days. Held in a home shaped by devout Catholic faith and Italian culture, I had the best cocktail and the best lasagna I have ever eaten. I felt loved and welcomed. My world is a bit bigger because of all the characters Jan introduced me to and I received a refresher in the wisdom I have been shown over and over in life, “just be yourself, let your unique self out, don’t be afraid of the “normal” world criticizing you, life is better when we let people see us.”

So that was my December 2025 trip to Vancouver, I would like to be a groupie and be at Jan’s next Fusion Handbells concert in May, but we will be deep in calving season. Russ could and did handle the ranch without me this time, in the midst of horrible cold weather and with extra duties placed on his shoulders in my absence. I am grateful he takes on the extra and gives me his blessing when trips like this are possible. It won’t be the same in May when those babies are coming. I will want to be near.

Here are some pictures to give a glimpse of some of the action..

Arrival at Vancouver airport after an easy direct flight from Regina.

The video Jan posted of her hi-jinks.

We took in some beautiful Christmas lights, this was part of a display placed around a small lake. I felt like I was in the middle of a Hallmark movie.

Jan, Ray and I just before the concert. Ray was the M.C. I got to see the many varied ways he did behind the scenes work to make the concert and our sister time possible on the same weekend.c

I love what the wind is doing to my hair in this ferry moment.

Brock and his son, we are about to get on the trail.

The two aunties, finding their strength.

At the U of R having lunch with Jill after our morning in the library. I love being on a campus.

Mid May, 2025 – Bar MW Post

Its now Friday May 16th and I am pretty gripped by a big feeling of thankfulness. We are on our third day with rain, it is a humongous blessing. Tomorrow our friends arrive from Halifax to spend two weeks with us, doing what we do, we enjoy them, ranching is more fun when we get to experience it through their eyes and the senses of humor they bring. Here are a few glimpses of the developments around since I last posted.

We lease a chunk of land from the government that has an invasive weed on it called “leafy spurge.” We have sprayed this weed with chemicals in the past but it just came back. It was then decided that our next best option would be to graze sheep on it, sheep will happily eat leafy spurge. Last week we picked up the sheep we contracted to buy, and we are now shepherds!!! This picture is in the moments after we unloaded them. They will stay at home until we have the chance to get the right fence going at the pasture. Our dog “Coffee” seems to be thrilled with this new addition to the ranch, her genetics clearly have her as a sheep dog. She stands in the middle of them and just wags her tail. It is so cute. Yesterday I caught her in a stalking pose and wondered what she was up to, I had never seen her do that before. I looked a little more widely and saw what she saw, the sheep were out. She was about to round them up.

Anytime a few errands need to be done in Estevan it means a get away for Grandma Shirley and I. We always include a stop at Tim Hortons.

A couple weeks ago I was visiting with an old friend at a funeral lunch. I asked her about her renewed health, she told me about her gym routine. I have been wanting this for myself. I believe that strength training is the best way to get bone density and keep me ranching for a long time. I reached out to her and said, ” I haven’t talked myself into this yet, but if I do, would you help me get started at the gym?” She generously said yes. I am a complete newbie at this but she is so fun to spend time with at 5:30 in the morning. I am feeling really good about it. I didn’t see this coming.

Morgan’s friend Tad joined us for an evening round up on Friday last week. I believe the original plan was for him to come over so that he and Morgan could podcast. However, there was this job to do first and he good naturedly joined in. Tad is the cowboy on the road.

A beautiful evening sky with the cows just about in the gate. During the chase we discovered one of our calves had gone blind and was malnourished. These are hard moments. We are really lucky to have found that our cousins Jenn and Marty have the patience and interest to nurture calves like this one. For many years now we have called them when we have a calf that needs extra time that we just don’t have on an ongoing basis. They have so many success stories. Marty came from their acreage near Estevan to pick this calf up the day after we found it.

In this picture Clare is in the foreground. We were getting these cow calf pairs home to the yard pasture so that we could tag, brand and vaccinate them the next day.

This was a “branding” organized on short notice. Russ was getting anxious about the amount of grass we have at home so put a rush on getting cow calf pairs to summer pastures. We pulled together enough friends for a small group of calves to get branded on what was a very hot and windy afternoon. In this picture Russell has castrated, Laurie is preparing to brand, Clare has applied the “deadman” a collar that acts to restrain the calf and Cassia is juggling needles and taggers. I was guarding the opening to the calf pen. Maybe because of the extreme wind I was not too busy, the calves mostly stayed put so i was able to sneak close to get this picture.

Life is always better when Laurie is near.

Sunday brought a bigger herd and a bigger crew. Before we got going Cassia had a few moments to herself and she chose to sit with the calves. I thougth this might have been one of the cutest pictures I have taken this year.

In this moment I was not concerned about fashion and it shows. Morgan told me I look like Red Green. I am not exactly sure who that is but I know its not a compliment. Here is a selfie of me at my post on Sunday. On this day, with almost double the calves in the pen and alot more movement I was kept on my toes. It was fun.

On Saturday Morgan was the lone roper, on Sunday we had four ropers, with three working at a time, this is Trevor Gordon. He has roped a calf by both back heels and is dragging it to the area where Clare or Morgan will apply the neck restraint. This looks harsh. I was pretty on edge the first time I saw this practice at a neighbors branding a few years ago. At the time we were doing all this kind of work at our ranch with a tipping table as part of our chute system. It was slower, less fun and more monotonous. I have become okay with the method pictured here and the drag that is part of it. At the gym Kim has got me doing situps on an incline bench. She has it set very steep, I can only do a max of 4 at a time right now, but it feels so good to let gravity stretch out my back. I find myself thinking about that as these calves get a stretch. When all the treatments are done and the rope is released they pop up and go to find their Moms, showing no sign of harm. After a short truck ride they will have an entire summer at their Mama’s side under the prairie sky. They thrive on Mama’s milk, green grass and sunshine, their vaccines protect them and they are much less likely to be stolen with that brand on them. I think about all that.

In this picture we have two stations going, Kenzie and Clare are applying the deadman restraints, Trevor and Tyce on horseback are keeping ropes tight as the calves get handled, Laurie is cleaning the iron and Cassia is enroute to the supply table to refill taggers. With three ropers the ground crew was kept very busy.

After the branding work was done and a snack was shared at our table the work of the ranch was waiting. Cassia stayed to help. Here she took a time of waiting around to check cows from a new viewpoint.

I got a message from my sister early on Sunday, saying she had her mind on the women in our lives as Mother’s Day dawned. She had her breakfast on this plate and remembered them. The plate is something I made for a Christmas gift. All four of us sisters have a copy now. As for us at the ranch, we had decided to delay celebrating Mothers Day as we were branding and just couldn’t do both well. However, Sunday night I took my plate to the grief support group I am co-leading, there was “homework”, bringing this to share was part of mine.

Wednesday morning brought with it rain. It was such a welcome sight. It meant for some wet conditions. I got called with a request to deliver dry gloves. This allowed a good close up picture of these two in the pasture.

We had decided to celebrate Mother’s Day by going out for lunch with Grandma Shirley on Wednesday. We figured we could really relax only after getting the newly branded calves and their Mamas to their pastures and that meant Wednesday was the day. When I was deciding what to wear I spotted some old t shirts in my closet. They were given to me for Christmas about 15 years ago. The black one says “Morgan’s Mama Bear” with a picture of a sherriff’s badge on it. The green one says “Jill’s Number 1 Mom” with a picture of a lion and Gina’s says “Gina’s Mom” with a picture of a dog. I decided to wear all three in layers and put a sweatshirt over top and then slowly remove layers as lunch progressed. But it didn’t quite go that way. Russ insisted on a photoshoot by the banner at the Flying M. It was fun.

It was heartwarming to have my Bronco full as Russ, Morgan, Clare, Shirley and I left the restaurant and headed to Jean’s ice cream stand. It was cold and rainy but we were celebrating. Afterwards we ate ice cream in the car, cruised around town and did an errand together. I loved it. We dropped Shirley off eventually and headed home. There was goofiness that resulted from the music we loved and this is when the following picture was taken. Russ was driving dramatically and Morgan was into it.

Later that day I entered my final distance to complete this Mother’s Day virtual challenge, something I signed up for in an attempt to honor my Mom by taking care of myself. It had some really nice perks to it and they will be sending me a medal in the mail.

The three days with rain and wind have meant there are puddles all over which is wonderful but also the cows gave been stirred up and not doing so well with their job of mothering. The crew found lots of troubles like cows and calves separated by fences. The calf pictured below was brand new and abandoned. Its ear was bleeding leading Russ to think that a coyote had been nibbling on it. When he and Clare found it he called me to prepare the dog room for the arrival of a cold wet hungry 600 lb calf. He carried it in and then had to sit down and rest. It is huge. Clare stayed in and took care of it. It needed the attention that Clare had for it.

The linoleum is hard for calves to stand on so when this calf, whom Clare named “Clifford the big red Calf,” started perking up Clare guided it out to the mat in the porch. This video shows it taking its first real steps.

A couple hours later the guys came to pick up Clifford and take her back to the pasture, not very optimistic that the Mama cow would seek and find it. It was quite a load for Morgan to take down the stairs, making me appreciate Russ even more for the trip up the stairs. This video shows Clare’s progress with Clifford and the trip out.

The following video documents the moments when it was discovered after lunch that Clifford was in fact not motherless. It was quite a good news story that “Costco” had come to claim Cliford.

It’s now Saturday evening as I write, this cattle move happened last night, a herd of cows and calves came home for branding tomorrow. It was a crazy move, cows were moving fast, things went wrong, things went right, it was all hands on deck and Clare was worth her weight in gold. I took this picture from my spot where I was perched to turn the cows west towards home.

I found this amusing….Judy Blume and Tanya Tucker were having a water break with Coffee dog.

A good picture of Clare hard at work.

This was taken this morning at the Regina Airport, the Fentons have arrived! A fresh chapter of our spring season begins. From Halifax to Regina by 10:05am local time. Quite a day for them.

Signing off from the Bar MW😘

A Big Weekend

There are many things that have been taking our attention over recent days. I want to write about them and tell you a bit about how things affect me.

Can I tell you about Friday? We woke up to awful weather, snow falling on top of a good amount of rain, everything was icy and crusty and there was no sun to be seen. Buses were canceled so Morgan stayed home and helped at the ranch. Our goal for the day was to get regular chores done, then wean the grassers (the cows born late in the calving season who will stay with us through next summer). After weaning we needed to give them Ivomec and Vit A & D. After that we wanted to bring in our replacement heifers and take out their calf tags, install their cow tags and give them Ivomec and Vit A & D. The day didn’t go exactly smoothly with weather to contend with so we were very thankful Morgan was around. The problem is that on this particular day we didn’t have the luxury of things going over time. We were due in Carnduff at 6:30 to join friends Russell and Morgan had helped at their cattle sale last week. We were invited to a “thanks for your help” kind of gathering. A gloomy afternoon, a general feeling of struggle, a frustration that we were going to be late had me saying to Russ “can’t we wait to do the heifers?” Its always so hard to weigh what has to be done NOW and what can wait. When is social time and meeting social committments more important than checking things off the list? This is an eternal dilemma for many people. I posed my question to Russ, unsure of how he would be thinking about things. Before too long he said, “we are going to have to miss attending Valarie’s event on Sunday and we will do the heifers then.” It felt so good to be reasonable in our expectations of ourselves. We got to the Flying M on time and enjoyed visiting there, sharing relaxed moments with our friends who had worked so hard for so long. We came home and went straight to bed, anticipating a very stressful day with an early start on Saturday.

Saturday we had the vet coming at 7am to check every adult cow for its pregnancy status. We were very nervous. The word around the area is that pregnancy rates have been lower than average. Its alot of mental work to reckon with that. My brain was wandering to, “what if?” and different scenarios unfolded. What if we had half our herd open, as in not pregnant, not bred…..what would we do? The bottom line I came to is that like everything else we have encountered on this ranch, we will figure it out as it goes. Those first few animals checked leave a person with baited breath, three in a row declared “good” by the vet lets a person breathe a little. It wasn’t long before I realized we were going to be okay. There was not an unfolding disaster. In fact, as the sun rose and flooded our working chute area through our big front door, as the results brought some ease to our thinking, as our crew grew we found the day going smoothly and we had some fun. I find days like this to be a spiritual work-out. I think anytime you reckon with a dance between worry, fear, and gratitude you are in spiritual territory. God and I had quite a few visits through the day.

That was my take on Saturday. Russell’s day was similiar territory of much concern and gratitude but from a different perspective as crew boss. He speaks of the logistics such as recruiting a crew to be on hand, including the vet there were 9 of us. It is no small thing to have all the cows ready to move into the working chute, that meant a 5am alarm, being at the barn and saddling up in order to get cows moved in as early as he, Morgan and Laurie could manage it. His planning worked. Cows were in the alleyway at 7am, extra cowboys were there at 8am for another round up of cows. That means alot of pieces fell into place. From my perspective I see Russ reckoning hard with his feelings of worry, frustration, pride, relief and gratitude and seeking to do so with wisdom. He manages this dance so well that I think most people don’t realize the load he carries, almost constantly.

Saturday night had us freshly showered and excited. For the first time ever we had been invited to Carnduff Filipino Christmas. Russ was thrilled, he has been wanting to attend for years. They had a theme, it was “Cowboy Christmas”, when we were given our invitation these words were said as it was handed over, “we can’t have Cowboy Christmas without the original Carnduff cowboy!” The Filipino community has been a vital and growing part of Carnduff and area for 17 years. Russell is maybe THEIR original Carnduff cowboy, but they didn’t get to see Bill Boyes or Larry Ewart in action. The original Carnduff cowboy goes much further back than my favorite cowboy! The Christmas celebration was vibrant, the hall was full and beautifully decorated and there was much love and joy, much community spirit and cultural pride in the air. It was noisy but it was great to be in the middle of. It really got me thinking about what makes community life healthy. I think our Filipino friends have alot of things figured out. There is something irresistible about good food, warm smiles, joy and caring, about being free to bust loose and be yourself. It was all evident on Saturday night. We left quite early, despite our gladness to be there, the alarm had gone off at 5am and we were whooped.

Sunday morning Russ and Morg did some ranch jobs and I got to go to church in our hometown. I was so torn really. I had awoken early and was going great guns making a Christmas present. I stopped at the absolute last minute, threw on some clothes and got to town. I was glad I did. Despite the fact that our church life is changing I love our little community and the online worship experience we share with Regina is something I am really enjoying.

Sunday afternoon had us doing the job we had put off on Friday. Morg, Russ and I got our replacement heifers through the chute. It went fine, they came in as really nice calves and left as young and promising cattle, their calf tag removed from them and their adult tag, with their lifetime name installed. This year we assigned our replacement heifers with names of restaurants and food we order in restaurants as our theme. It was a pretty fun one to work with. Working at the chute is always awkward for me at first. This is not my background or my strength, their is a bit of a dance that needs to happen as we figure out how best to manage all the various tasks that need to be done. It might seem obvious, but there are subtle variations that get figured out such as who has free partial moments to load taggers or syringes? If we can all be flexible and jump in to make each others work go more smoothly we can really become like a well oiled machine. It is often overwhelming for me at the start and feels pretty fantastic by the end. There is such a feeling of accomplishment. There is also a sense of learning, again and again, that chipping away at a big job, like putting the whole herd through the chute, one by one, will eventually see the job getting done. I think about this life wisdom every time as we are living it out.

After working pretty darn hard all weekend and spending the afternoon on tags with restaurant titles and meals Russ declared that we needed to go out for supper. We did. We were back at the Flying M, where some of our favorite Filipinos connect with us as they run the restaurant. It was a great way to end the weekend. But we were not quite done yet. We basically invited ourselves to cousin Laurie’s house afterward, where he and Lynn hosted us for drinks at their Tiki Bar and shared their fresh baked shortbread cookies. They were delicious.

Here are a few pictures from the days we had.

This was my workshop for creating tags this year, my laundry room desk. Thursday evening was consumed by this, three coats of ink on each tag takes a long time.

I caught a very cuddly moment between Morgan and Buster.

The scene Friday morning as Morgan headed out for work.

This was the scene as Russ, Morgan and Laurie headed into the valley after lunch on Friday to gather up the big herd of cows and get them close to home in preparation for the next days work. This was the second herd they had moved on this rough weather day. The morning included getting the late calves and their Moms in for weaning. You can see the guys on horseback at the middle left of this picture. It was the fourth blizzard like day that Russell asked Laurie to be on horseback in this fall/winter season alone. Russ quipped with Laurie, “you must think I really like blizzards.”

This is Russ Saturday morning running the controls on our chute. (A few wayward cows over the years mean that the original lever handles have been knocked off and Russ grabs the controls using the vice grips we have adapted as handles.)

Our friend Steve ran the alley, keeping animals moving forward toward the chute. This was his first time doing this job and he did great.

After Morgan got cows up to the working area Ron and Tenley were in charge of getting them to the crowding tub, where they are standing in this picture. They did really well as a team, it has been fun to hear each of them talk about the other since these moments.

Laurie was in charge of doing the Vitamin A & D injections.

This is our friend Miles on the left and Trevor the veterinarian on the right. Miles was doing my job in this moment, applying Ivomec on the backs of every bred cow. (Those cows that are not bred might get sold, however we can’t sell a cow for forty days after application of the Ivomec which is a dewormer and a delouser). This meant I couldn’t daydream as I had to be super attentive to Trevor’s findings and wait to hear him declare “good” and then very quickly get the Ivomec applied before the cow was released from the working chute. Trevor used an ultrasound wand transmitting to the goggles on his eyes to determine if the cow was indeed “good”.

This was a super happy moment for me. We were done early, I got to put my feet up and relax with my worries soothed for this day. Out the window is Morgan, Tenley and Steve returning to the corral after moving the checked cows down to the valley.

Morgan and Jordanna at Filipino Christmas.

This morning…..a Dr. Dolittle moment reflecting Bingo and Russell’s relationship of adoration. Bingo more adoring than Russell. I could hear Buster the cat purring from where I was taking the picture. These moments shock me, dogs on my bed!!!!, but, we love them and somehow its okay.

As I wrap this up I am unsure how to do it. I have been distracted in these days by the meaningfulness of so many things that are unfolding, some of them mentioned here, many things not. I have been absorbed in recent days and months by the story of a Jesuit priest named Father Gregory Boyle. He runs a gang rehab in L.A. I think I have mentioned him before. I am re-reading one of his books right now and was struck by this sentence this week, “being alert to the sacred in our midst is a choice that gets more sure as we practice it.” A couple months ago I conducted a funeral for someone involved with the AA movement. I wanted to understand some of the AA precepts better and I did some research. I read a line that connected with me so strongly that I wrote it down and taped it to the shelf in front of me at my desk. It contains the word “practice” just as that first quote did saying, “the healing process isn’t a cure, its a practice that must be undertaken daily.” A man named Jim Haggerty wrote that. Somehow these two quotes affect my sense of permission to recognize how dogs on the bed, dirty coveralls and muddy boots filling my porch, sharing space with such a variety of people and working so hard alongside people I love is all sacred and part of my healing from grief and despair about the world. I recognize God in the love and in the gratitude that is really affecting my days.

Curtain Call

If you are a WordPress subscriber to the blog you will have already seen the link for this content in your email, under a different title. I have had a glitch with sharing on facebook and I am trying to get by it by duplicating the post and using a different title. Sorry for putting duplicated content in your email.

I am sitting in the Chopper K Auction Mart with Russ and Morgan. We are on hand to watch our calves sell. It is always a big deal to get to this day but with the market being very strong we have been holding our breath, hoping for things to keep until we got here.

The story of this day definitely starts with calving season. Here are a few pictures serving as reminders of the work of those days.

When the calves were small enough to sit on our laps.

A calf needed orthopedic help, Russ splinted with duct tape.

When the calves were small enough that Jill could throw one over her shoulder.

Many beautiful summer days and crisp fall ones, with a temporary return of winter for a week or so, got the calves a long way to being ready for sale day.

The predominant experience of recent days is gratitude. We have been experiencing mild weather. That can bring about some health challenges for a cow calf herd. We have been thankful to see ours remaining well. We worked closely with our animals over the last couple days with no injuries to report. I am always super grateful for that. We seem to have made it to sale day with markets holding strong. Gratitude.

Its the next day now…..our calves came into the ring and all blogging was finished.

It is always a little thrilling to hear Farren the auctioneer say, “we’ve got the Bar MW calves coming in next.” I don’t know how much of this is in my head and how much is real but it seems there is a particular feeling in the air at that point. It maybe arises from the fact that the buyers are engaged, we are on pins and needles, and we are proud.

We have a relationship with those calves. Its not the kind that makes me grieve when they are gone, this process stirs other things. I know I’m a bit of a whackjob but it’s like this huge drama unfolds every year at the ranch, there are so many roles and so much action. The calves are the heart of the action. After letting us know them through the vulnerability of their birthing days and all the ups and downs that follow, mostly ups for them, we watch them grow with a certain awe. In the fall they come home from summer pastures, our big cow chase crew has laid their eyes on each and every one of them. Alot of human and bovine protective instinct has been directed at them. Now, at the auction mart, as they enter the sale pen, it’s like the final scene at the Bar MW Ranch has taken place and this is their curtain call. They enter, and in our hearts we give them a standing ovation. After this they move behind and they are no longer ours. I don’t have grief, instead it seems gratitude for them is stirred.

The hours leading up to the sale held lots of action. This first set of pictures captures some of the faces and scenes as the herd came down the centre alley to be sorted.

Ron ran the gate that opened to the cows pen.

Laurie ran the gate that opened onto the heifer pen.

I ran the steer pen gate and a clicker counter.

We had a stunningly gorgeous morning to work. This was a huge contrast to last year when it was about -40 with the wind.

Russ sorted in the alley, he weaved some magic, at one point he was able to peel 8 heifer calves away from the pack and send them down to Laurie’s gate. This picture captures the moment when the cowboys had just advanced a fresh group of cows into the sorting area. It would quickly become less congested as cows moved out of the pack and Russ let them by to the gate where Ron was waiting to let them in.

This picture captures the cowboys after their big job of the day was done. Dwayne, Morgan and Crystal made sure we always had cows ready for the sorting pen. At this point they are helping to get the heifers moved around to the sorting pen again. We needed to decide which of these female calves we would keep instead of sell, so that they might become Bar MW cattle.

Amid great weather and markets we had another perk, a special visitor joined us this week. One of our Nova Scotia friends was here for several days. Crystal brought with her an abundance of humor, a heart the size of Texas, readiness for adventure, generosity and much appreciation for us.

I caught this picture of Crystal after she got off her horse.

After lunch and getting semis loaded Russ, Crystal and I got ready to go to Regina. Crystal had a plane to catch. The first leg of her journey was a ride with our wonderful trucker Harold. He gave her a glimpse of the semi experience. We followed him to the stop sign 5 miles west of us and then stole Crystal back. We left Morgan and Ron to load the last truckload.

We were relieved to get to Regina safely and with time to get supper before Crystal was due at the airport. Jill already had supper plans with friends, so we went to the same restaurant and admired her from afar. Russ and I found this comforting. (We recognize this is somewhat creepy🤭🥰).

After a quick hug with Crystal at the airport departures curb Russ and I got in the car and headed straight for the ranch. I am thankful our trip was very smooth. We were home and sleeping by midnight.

The next morning included farm jobs for all of us before getting to the auction mart to watch our calves sell.

We were connected virtually with Halifax, Carnduff and Regina while our calves were sold. In Regina Jill had the right mug for the day, and the timing of our calves selling lined up with her break at work. She was able to watch the first 100 sell. She sent us this picture.

I sat beside the sale pen for a bit while some of our calves sold. I needed one last good look at them. That allowed this closeup picture in the pen.

I was amused to hear Morgan’s spurs scraping against the stands. When I had a look at his boots I became obsessed with getting a picture of them. Those boots tell a story, and another one and another one and…..

So then I wondered about Russell’s boots. He had on his “go to town” boots.

And how about my feet? I found comfortable cowboy boots this summer and have been wearing them alot. I still struggle with whether I deserve to wear them when I don’t even know how to saddle a horse. Yesterday I noted something. At a point in the sale when the ring girl was struggling to get calves moving in the right direction I felt within myself the instinct and confidence to jump in that pen and get the job done. I stayed in my seat but my self concept clearly includes something that means I should wear the boots.

A celebration in the Chopper K Steakhouse, (attached to the auction barn) when we were all done selling. This is a pretty sweet moment. It was a bit of a tough fall for our marriage. We are finding our groove again.

The current Bar MW home crew. A shared moment of relief and joy.

It’s our tradition to get a “Kim handing us the cheque” photo when we are on hand to watch our calves sell.

Russ and I were at the bank this morning. I usually do the banking but I wanted Russ to have the thrill of the deposit this time.

Thankful all the way to the bank.

The story of this day definitely starts with calving season. Here are a few pictures serving as reminders of the work of those days.

Many beautiful summer days and crisp fall ones, with a temporary return of winter for a week or so, got the calves a long way to being ready for sale day.

Its the next day now…..our calves came into the ring and all blogging was finished.

The hours leading up to the sale held lots of action. This first set of pictures captures some of the faces and scenes as the herd came down the centre alley to be sorted.

Day 7 – Not A Day for Ice Cream.

What a day. We successfully got the cows from the pasture we rent near Alameda to the home ranch. That is a big move. Russell especially is so relieved that amid the cold and slippery conditions we had safety for all and our herd is now nearly all home. We had a good sized crew despite the bitter wind and cold temps and they stayed so positive. It is a pretty incredible experience to work among such people. I took quite a few pictures, I think few others did, because who wants to ever take their gloves off on a day like that? A few pictures were sent to me to share though.

Steve captured the low hanging clouds and the cows far off in the distance before leaving the pasture.

Steve also caught this more hopeful image, the sun is rising on the day, although it didn’t stay for long. That is Laurie in the foreground.

This herd was the Manor and PF cows, they had been vacationing together at the golf course in Alameda for a couple weeks. We had a alot of pairs coming down the road today, Dwayne’s pic captures this.

Sharon captured this moody, almost black and white, almost silhouette picture. It’s cool.

Duane’s selfie gives a good glimpse of just how chilly this was.

The truck and trailer swung home with 4 calves that looked sickly. They are now in the barn, have been treated and will beat this pneumonia. Paisley dog got a road trip out of that and Merrick made this picture happen.

Patrick shared this wide angle image of the herd on the move cross country.

A new and brave friend, Joanne, came from Regina with my friend Vicki. This isn’t the best picture of her but perhaps captures her appreciation of her lunch.

Morgan really got into this potatoe soup.

After finishing his shift guarding the cows Russ got his lunch. The scenery struck me as beautiful.

Esther and her horse having lunch. That’s Cassia in the background.

After lunch Vicki and I followed the herd for a bit and I got this picture of Jen, Patrick David, Russ, Laurie, Steve, Joanne and Emerson.

Russ caught 18 seconds of the scene in this video.

Dwayne caught this moment where the cows got to their destination. At 3:57 Russ was closing the gate and all were tucked in where they should be. That is such a good time for arrival.

Morg back at it, forcing people (in this case Griff) to cuddle with him on the chaise lounge.

A huge part of my day was the help I had from my friend Vicki. We have been friends since I was 19, she is really special to me and so capable in being a kitchen team player. She took an immense load off my shoulders and made a very challenging day really enjoyable. I did not take any pictures of her at work except this one.

Tribute to the Day 6 Team

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Saturday – 5:13am

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

Day 5 – Cow Chase Season 2023

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Steve caught these long morning shadows.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Day 4 – Chase Season 2023

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Day 2 & 3 – Chase Season 2023

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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