Restart

I had grande plans for this blog. I was going to post something everyday about what I was doing.  Boy was that overly ambitious.  Somedays were just not worth reporting.  Somedays were just plain boring.  So who wants to read about that?  So I think from now on, I will write about things that happen that I think would be neat to write about.  Plus that takes the pressure off of me to find something great to write about on a day to day basis.
So I hope you will keep reading, even though things won't be posted everyday.
It will be like a surprise!

New Critters!

So way back in August I went and saw some animals.  They were owned by a lady that worked at the post office in town.  She was moving away to PEI and was looking for homes for her creatures.  She had sold me some alpaca yarn a few weeks ago, and we got to talking about alpacas and goats and all manner of smaller livestock.  She mentioned she had some LaMancha goats and some Saanen mix goats that she was looking for homes for.  She said I should come out and see them.  Since I was interested in doing my own milk, and I don't have room for a cow at this time, I said I would.  So I drove out with my husband and took a look.  The LaMancha's weirded me out a bit, since they are bred to not have ears, and they looked odd.  There was one mom, and two little ones, a doeling an a whether.  I was not interested in males, so I declined the LaManchas.  The Saanen mix mom had two doelings and her personality was pretty laid back.  I liked that.  I decided to take them.
We also wandered about the farm, while Joan tried to convince me I needed hair sheep too (she knew I made things out of yarn).  I said I was not interested in sheep, since I don't like them.  But I may be interested in the alpacas if they did not have homes.  Joan said someone might want them and she would let me know.  So a few weeks pass and in September I get a phone call saying that I am now the proud owner of three goats and two alpacas, and that I can come get them any time.
Time passes.  Things happen.  It is now January and they have only arrived last week.
They are all girls.  One of the alpacas is peach coloured so I called her Peach.  She is not a happy girl.  She has spit at me twice already.  The other alpaca is dark brown.  Her name is Mocha.  She is a little skittish, but has friendly eyes.  The mom goat is all white with the 'traditional' goat beard.  She has been dehorned, not by me, but by someone else.  Her name is Mama G.  One of the doelings is also all white and she is called Caspar.  The other doeling is black and white, which is not traditional Saanen colour, so there is a mix going on somewhere.  Her name is Trouble.  I started calling her Little Shit, because she likes to cause problems, but I figured I shouldn't be yelling that out loud, so I changed her name to something more PC. So far I am really enjoying them...except for Peach. We have a rocky relationship.  I am waiting for the vet to come out, to see if she has something medically wrong, or if she is just crabby.  They all have quite the personalities.  Mama G is afraid of nothing and likes to make sure I am not hiding food in my hands.  The little ones like the tires we put in there for them and they like trying to climb on Peach and Mocha. 
This spring Peach and Mocha go for shearing and their roving will be spun into yarn.  If anyone wants any, let me know!

First Snow Fall

It snowed last night. Not a lot, but enough to gather in low places and be swept up against fences by the wind. It is just a skiff, really. It sits and gathers in the long grasses and along the ditches, but not on the road.  It sits on my roof and on the deck, but not in the short grass in my yard.  If it sticks around for the whole day I can consider it the 'First' snow fall. I have rules you know about this sort of thing.  If it snows and it doesn't stick, it doesn't count. If it snows and it sticks, but for less than a day, it doesn't count. So, we shall see how this snow stacks up.

I love fall, as some of you probably know. I just love it. And I love the first snow even more. I love to watch the heavy clouds drift across the sky and watch the sheets of snow fall out of the sky.  I love to wake up in the morning and see snow on the ground.  It is like a tiny little surprise. In fact, when I went out this morning, I looked at the ground and said 'Oh! Snow!' And I was a little bit happy. I think why I love snow so much is because it reminds me of being a kid. It reminds me of how much fun I used to have in winter building forts and snowmen and playing street hockey.  It reminds me that when you are a kid, you don't hate it.  You only start to hate winter when you grow up.  How come?  I encourage everyone to embrace snow this winter. Go out in it. Take a walk in the cold afternoon and listen to the snow crunch on your boot. Listen to the wind in the power line.  Listen to the birds calling to each other in the crisp air.  Watch the sun shine off the snow crystals.  Marvel at the hoar frost on a fence, on a tree, on the antenna of your car.  Winter is beautiful. You just have to know how to look at it.

Gone in 60 Seconds....Or Less

On Tuesday this week I was in High River harvesting vegetables out of my garden.  The man's mom has a half acre garden plot on her acreage, so this year we shared it.  So on Tuesday I was out there, enjoying the sunshine, picking beans and peas, digging some carrots and some potatoes and picking raspberries.  The weather that day said there was a chance of thundershowers in the afternoon. No big deal, since it is summer now and that happens often in the afternoon.  We picked our produce and chatted and we commented on how wonderful the garden looked this year.  I thought I might even get some corn and pumpkins since we have had a warm summer.  I looked to the north and saw a thunderstorm blowing in.  It took a few hours.  By the time it arrived, my mother in law and I were shelling peas in the shade of the house and drinking ginger ale.  It was a great day!  As we sat there the clouds started to rumble and some lightening was seen.  We thought we would have a good amount of time to shell peas. We were wrong.  The storm came boiling out of the north with a violnet wind.  We grabbed our peas and bowls and ran into the house.  At first the storm was just rain and wind, with some lightening and thunder.  Suddenly we heard a bang on the sky light in the kitchen.  I looked out the front window and there was marble sized hail coming sideways out of the sky.  The rain and hail mix drowned out the sound of thunder and obscured the lightening.  The hail just kept coming, getting heavier and heavier, louder and louder.  The house started to shake and we had to yell at each other to be heard.  Then suddenly, it was all over.  The storm blew over and the sun started to come out.  I looked out the back window and saw my garden. Or what was left of it.  My corn was broken in half, all of my vegetables were pulverized into the mud.  There were no leaves left on the sunflowers.  In other words, my garden was done for the year.  All I have left now is potatoes and carrots, because they are underground.  Sigh. Sometimes gardening on the prairie can be so heart breaking.
In other news, a shop down the road was struck by lightening. Here are some pictures:

Close Encounters of the Wild Kind....Update

I read the local rag today.  On page 11 I saw a familiar face.  Except, instead of this face being alive like last time I saw it, today it was dead.  I am talking about the wolf.  The article goes on to say that this wolf, thought to be a Beta male between two and three, was shot in the back with a shotgun and crawled into a farmer's dog house to die.  He was a lone wolf, trying to make a go of it out of his element, on the prairie.
I have to admit I am not surprised he is dead, but I am sad.

The Flies Have Landed

It is summer and I have flies everywhere.  And I am not just talking about outside.  I have flies everywhere INSIDE my house.  I don't have a screen door, so in the evening, when it is cool I open the back door to let in cool air...and flies.  I have fly strips up in the living room, in the kitchen and in the bathroom.  You know those sticky ones that are oh so classy.  I feel like I should be running one of those low class diners you see in movies that signal a red-neck town.  I imagine a conversation between a sun burned man wearing a ball cap perched on top of his, flannel shirt, even though it is plus a billion, jeans and ropers and the salty, bleached haired waitress that has seen and heard it all.

Scene 24: Interior. Mid day on a hot August afternoon. FLIES buzz and get stuck to fly strips.  The pie rotator thing squeaks in the background. Old timey country tunes play softly in the background from a beat up radio perched on an even more beat up shelf on the wall.  The sun filters through dusty venetian blinds pulled over dirty windows.  A fan lazily turns the air.  The smell of coffee and grease permeats the establishment. In the front of the room is a little opening where the kitchen is just visible.  A long counter runs north-south, with wear spots in front of all the stools.  The stools have ripped vinyl seats. A salty bleached haired waitress in a stained pistachio green outfit leans on the counter, snapping her gum. Enter local red neck.

Red Neck: Howdy Darlene. It shore is a hot one out there today.  Whatcha got for a man's parched throat? (Sits at a stool)
Darlene: We got the same thing we got everyday Wyatt.  Coffee, water, soda. It ain't changed since yesterday. (sighs and snaps gum)
Wyatt: I'll take a coffee then. (Removes sweat stained ball cap.) You shore do got a lot a dem flies in here. I think you got more'n here than there is on the outside.
Darlene:  They come in through the door. We don't got a screen, so they jest fly on in here.
Wyatt: Mebbe you should invest ina screen door.
Darlene: We got fly strips. It's cheaper.
Wyatt: I can see you got at least three o' them.  You find they do the job ok? 
Darlene: Wyatt, I ain't got time to think on the effectiveness of a fly strip. They are there. Flies stick to 'em. What do I care how effective they is or ain't?
Wyatt: (hand up in surrender) Now, now, don't get your panties in a bunch. I was just makin' conversation.
Darlene: (epic sigh, eye roll) You want some pie with that coffe or no?
Wyatt: Yep. Pie an coffee souns just about perfect. What kind?
Darlene: (walks over to pie turner thing) chocolate, lemon, rhubarb.
Wyatt: Lemon.
Darlene: (cuts slice, and chucks it on a plate. Throws it down in front of Wyatt) You want whipped topping?
Wyatt: Shore.
Darlene: (squirts some whipped topping on the pie)
Wyatt: (Picks up fork, stabs piece of pie. As he brings it to mouth, it is engulfed in flies. He throws down his fork, puts on his hat, gets up to leave and says) I think you need to think on the effectiveness of them fly strips.  (Walks to the door, opens it. A million flies come in. Door closes.  Restaurant is empty.)
Darlene: Damn you flies!

Too Much No

First off, I would like to appologize for the lack of posts lately.  I have to admit I have been hibernating inside since it has been so hot.  I am not a fan of summer...at all. I count the days till fall and winter.  I know, I know. I am crazy. But I don't do hot very well.
Anyway, on with today's post.
A few months ago, in a town near here there was a controversy.  A large company wanted to open a waste transfer area.  It would have brought jobs into the area they said and it would have been a place where recycling of industrial waste would occur.  Well, the town freaked out. Some were for it, some were against it.  Many months went by of debates, public meetings, letters to the editor, friend against friend.  Personally, I did and still do not have an opinion either way.  So the people who were against 'the dump' as they called it, starting putting signs up on fence posts that bordered the highway.  Now, I am not against signs or stating your opinion, but these signs made me crazy every time I drove by them.  I will tell you what was on them.
First, the back ground was white.  In black letters were the words 'No Dump.'  Fine, that's all good.  Next was a red circle around the words, with a red line THROUGH the words.  Now, correct me if I am wrong, but does the red circle and line denote the idea of 'no'?
So theoretically these signs were saying 'No No Dump.'  That's a double negative.  It's like Homer Simpson saying 'I'm not NOT licking toads.' Which in his case he WAS licking toads.  So does the sign say,  'Yes, come to us dump, we love you!'  I don't know.  The signs made me mental.  I wanted to shout 'Pick the circle and the line, or the word 'no' but not both! It's redundant!' Gah! Whoever thought of the signs really needed to understand the red circle and the line.  Or....and this just occured to me, maybe those who were not in favour of the dump were so passionate about it, they needed to say 'no' twice, to really hammer their point home.  I don't know. It is all too much for me, these 'No No Dump' signs.
And to make matters worse, they are still around, even though the dump was not approved.  I wonder if people think if the signs are taken down, the dump will sneak back, like a thief in the night.  And when everyone wakes up in the morning, there it is!! Oh my goodness! How did that get there! I KNEW we should have left the 'No No Dump' signs up! Look what has happened! This stupid dump has snuck right back into our community!
I don't know....do you?