I have been hitting it hard this week, starting with this past weekend at the Sheep Farm.  It’s funny that it’s becoming what I would call more of the same, however there were some new adventures thrown in the mix. One of my adventures was to clean-out a stock trailer that hadn't been cleaned for several years. Below are the before and after photo’s that really don’t illustrate the great difference.

Before

After

In addition part of Saturday was spent assisting in the moving of items and furniture from the small house that shortly should be our new home. Progress was positive, however more has to be done so this promises to be part of this week’s adventures also.

I missed riding my bike on Monday, which all things considered was likely a good thing as I ended up working on the Sheep Ranch for four hours after work. This included unloading and loading two loads of hay bales (tis the season) and this was quite grueling. Further due to the lack of wind on this particular night my allergies had a “hay-day”, pun intended!

As mentioned in an earlier post, several babies are being weaned from their momma’s and this means the sound is rather intense for the last few days. The babies seem to very quickly adjust, the momma’s not so much as they have to be “dried” out which requires limited food and water… not pleasant to listen to their expression of their displeasure with the program.

Learned a valuable lesson yesterday, I have since getting my company truck been determined to keep it clean, however with my heavy schedule the last few weeks I have let it slip and dust has built up. Yes you guessed it, yesterday my boss needed to use it. How sad that all my previous hard work counted for nothing as it was noted that my truck needs some attention and appreciation! I do really; really appreciate it and how I wish I had been more diligent in the maintenance of it.

On Wednesday a co-worker inspired me to go with her for a bike ride and I got my first ride on my new “Hybrid” bike that I won through a contest at work. I posted a picture of the bike in my previous entry. It’s so awesome; I was better able to keep up with my co-worker and didn't feel as if I was holding her back so much. I look at the picture and I realize I have come a long way; however I also see that I still have a long way to go. I am motivated so that’s good, hope the motivation stays and I don’t get discouraged and let that impact my journey. Her rides are in preparation for a two day fundraising bike ride which I have linked too below. I am pretty certain I am not to that level yet, however next year I might be.  Here is the link. http://www.conquercancer.ca/site/TR/Events/Alberta2014?px=3554458&pg=personal&fr_id=1511

Currently I am working at my desk; I might have mentioned previously that I struggle with focus. One of the things that complicates this is when working on a task and then requiring something from someone else which results in my having to wait for a response. It throws me for a loop, anyhow will pause for a second or two, re-focus and carry on, on a new task.

In about an hour I am headed for a dentist appointment. I hate dentists because I don’t like the fact that unless my tooth hurts I’m not sure I’m getting the straight goods or not. Anyhow after years of not going I am leaving shortly so will definitely update you on what I find out. This dentist came highly recommended so we will see how this goes.

Doing the Paperwork

Current Magazines

The dentist was awesome, I’m very pleased with how it worked overall, got my first cleaning in decades, also I got a clear checkup (have decided to have two forty year old fillings replaced) and I will now go get routine cleanings and checkup’s. It’s almost exciting to finally have a dentist I trust. Hey the fact the waiting room magazines were current was a really good sign.

More working at my desk so far today, the gloomy sky’s, sprinkle of rain and wind have meant no bike ride today, however I am slated to do chores tonight and  that will have to count as my workout. The following are some pictures from chores last night.

One of the kittens that calls the barn home

The tire swing outside the door to the house

Amazing sky heading home.

Random Activity Post

I haven’t had much opportunity to go to the Sheep Ranch this week and I feel kind bad about that, however I’ve had a busy week and the nights I haven’t gone out I’ve taken the opportunity to catch up on my sleep a little.

This is going to be just a rambling post, I am going to post some random pictures that I’ve collected lately and that is pretty much it.

The first picture is compliments of Donna Ruthruff, Gloria’s cousin. She and her husband Jim live in the mountains overlooking Tucson Arizona. Donna has an amazing gift and I love her pictures and stories as she loves to “live” with zeal and the adventures she and Jim share are most enjoyable.  I am so grateful for the times when we have been able to share some adventures with them and look forward to more in the future.

I haven’t introduced you to Poppy yet, Poppy came to us from the SPCA in Calgary last fall. She’s very affectionate and inquisitive and very quickly made her way deep into our hearts. Unlike her predecessor Tigger, I am not allergic to her so enjoy the fact she’s very friendly and likes long cuddles. This is a picture of her sitting on the top of the kitchen cupboards watching Gloria as Gloria was packing for our move to the Sheep Ranch.

This picture is of the “Dragon” doing its part in helping us block off an escape route as we moved sheep from one area of the yard to another.

Once again this past weekend I was the recipient of an amazing super with Bob and Joyce. This was a burger accompanied by some awesome treats from the garden. I should have taken a picture of the strawberries and ice cream for dessert; however it was so good I ate it before I thought of the picture.

Every month at work they have a contest; if we do a “random act of kindness” or go above and beyond for someone then our name gets entered in a monthly draw for a prize. I had gotten acknowledged last month for a couple of instances and at the end of the month was very surprised to win! The following is the bike I won.

This week I had to make a quick trip to Jasper, Alberta. The following are some pictures taken on the trip. It was especially pleasant to be able to have lunch with my Auntie along the way. It was rainy and cool most of the day which also made it a little more pleasant than the extreme heat we have had of late.

The following picture was taken just outside Jasper, there is a large herd of elk that seem to live on the highway. We all had to stop and take a look, I took a picture of the people taking pictures!

This picture is of my Auntie in her new truck. 

The following is a collection of random pictures:

The forgoing was a "Stampede" breakfast I enjoyed last week.

The following was a picture of a truck I passed this week which had very little clearance.

The following picture was shared by Gloria's cousin on Facebook and I thought it was too funny so decided to share it again.

Well that's it for this time, I have a few things to wrap up here and I am off for the weekend. Where ever this weekend finds you I hope you have a good one.

My Saturday

Just sitting at the desk in the showroom, it’s a sunny July Saturday morning, the last weekend of Stampede 2014. I was asked to help cover the showroom so this is where my adventures take me this morning.

I got up fairly early, headed out for breakfast with my daughter. Then due to the fact she got her license this week she drove off on her own for work and I went to see if the work needing to be done on her truck had reached a successful conclusion. Yes the dragon is back in business, new starter and fixed air-conditioning mean the truck will be working just fine for us for now.

If my information is correct, Liam is working in Lloydminster today and tomorrow should be in the Penhold / Red Deer area at the start of the week and then further north after that. I don’t expect he will be back in the Calgary area until sometime in August.

Kelsey is spending the majority of next week at Didsbury #2 and then heading out to British Columbia for a week with her cousin.  She is working at St. Georges Stables for her coach today. It’s interesting she is so desperately wanting to be riding right now, however wouldn’t be able to be doing as much as she is regarding travelling etc. In fact this week she booked a ticket to fly out to Manitoba for a week in August with her cousins and grandma out there. That is planned to be followed by a week in the United States and then she will get down to the business of working in earnest.

Gloria and I are continuing to work on preparing for our move to the Sheep Ranch, in fact Gloria was giving a hand out there last night and I expect we will be back there sometime this weekend. I was at a work function until a little later and then I too went and did evening chores. Fortunately it was a rather routine evening and I ended up home and in bed around 11:00 PM. We had a large container delivered this week and so can get it packed and loaded and should be in good shape to get gone before the first of August… time continues to fly however so we will have to see how things unfold.

More new experiences on the Sheep Ranch this weekend. Thursday night I arrived after work and got busy with chores, shortly  into the process I discovered that the first load of hay for next winter was inbound. (Noted on previous post) Then Friday, it was more of the same as pictured below.

 This was to be repeated again of Friday evening and also to a lesser degree on Saturday.

Saturday afternoon the custom hay cutter arrived and the first field of two was quickly cut-down.

 I don't think I've introduced you to Cricket yet, he's not really very friendly. His job is to help protect the sheep from coyotes and this he seems to do quite well when he is around the sheep. He's always around the sheep at feeding time.

Sunday dawned cloudy and overcast, I slowly got mobile and headed off to meeting as the clouds began to break up and the temperature began to climb.

We were invited to the Sheep Ranch for supper so in the time preceding this I purged my closet and dresser and got my clothing sorted for the move. It's always exciting when you find clothes you can fit that once were too small.

Had a excellent supper, changed and helped with evening chores. It was a interesting weekend.

The photos below are of the salad and my plate at supper.

After a excellent supper I changed to help with chores as a thunderstorm rolled in. The following is a picture of a new Mom in the upper right corner welcoming her new little lamb to the world.

Chores were pretty much done before the heavy rain started but during the heaviest part of the rain the dogs took shelter with us in the barn.

Via Facebook last night I learned that while it was cooking us here in Alberta it was finally Monsooning in Tucson. Due to the massive amounts of moisture our neighbors to the east experienced this past week, I am fairly certain they would be glad it was them and not us!

Anyhow before I get too carried away I want to wish, “Happy Fourth of July” to our family, friends and neighbors to the south. I am grateful we are your neighbors and I just had to share the attached picture someone else posted earlier today.

Just a short update on the Sheep Ranch, I arrived shortly after work last night to help out and found that in addition to processing babies, we were loading some straw bales for “Calgary Stampede” celebrations which have gripped this town for the next ten days and the first order of new hay was arriving to be stored away safe and dry in the hay loft. Yes I definitely got a workout last night.

The following is a poster advertising the Stampede, despite living here for the past 24 years I have yet to attend this event and who knows, I might get around to it someday. I have been to the parade once and it was not my cup of tea, hence ever since I have done my best to avoid it.

The following show how the hay arrived and how it made it into the hay loft. It actually went quite smoothly all things considered and following a small breakdown which was quickly remedied we got the hay away safe and sound.

The next picture was taken of the shepherd himself on our way to get grain last night. It was his birthday, hopefully he gets his birthday supper sometime this weekend.

The last picture is of the sky as we wrapped up chores for the night.

Weekend Summary

I’m not sure where to begin, I should be working on an estimate and a schedule, however still waiting on parts for my computer and this throws me for a loop, I struggle to regain my focus and so finally when I’m totally discombobulated I decided to type some on this until I regain my equilibrium. My first meeting for today cancelled, my second appointment went off without a hitch, but then my third stop which was for my computer parts didn’t conclude successfully and so now I’m refocusing and I’m, busy re-planning the next steps and this for some reason is always hard for me when my day doesn’t unfold as hoped.The following picture was taken on my way to my first appointment. It was in a very pretty part of town.

I worked again on the Sheep Ranch Friday after work, all day Saturday and then again for a couple of hours in the afternoon yesterday. It was an interesting weekend with very little sleep on Friday night due to an asthma attack that kept me awake. I then put in several long hours on Saturday and I literally don’t remember when finally I fell asleep Saturday evening. The last thing I remember is sitting on the bed! The following picture is one of the bottle fed babies who while he doesn't get bottle fed any more still thinks he should!

One of my projects on Saturday was to construct some parts and pieces to make a creep pen for the baby lambs. They need to be able to eat some high quality feed without their mom’s getting it all. It was a fun and interesting exercise and I was very pleased with the final results. In fact helping move some of the pieces into place was my task on Sunday afternoon. I haven’t seen it work in person yet, however I am in receipt of a picture which showed happy lambs eating away.

Picture one is the work in progress, picture two is when it was all done.

Tasks at home are also piling up too, so likely tonight I will end up doing some work there. I have a fair bit to do so don’t want to wait too long to get it done. Last week I removed the old tub surround in our bathroom as it had deteriorated over time due to the poor choice of material the builder used when he built our place. Now it’s waiting to be put back together so there is no shortage of stuff for me to do.

The following are some pictures I took at a museum close to the farm. One is a painting of the original buildings on the farm. The next is a photo of when the original barn burnt down.

Well, Monday night I arrived home and cleaned a year’s debris from the gutters, water can now flow unimpeded once again. Tuesday, Canada Day, I got up at 4:30 AM and drove to a client’s job-site in Camrose, Alberta to deliver some materials they had ordered. This was a pleasant and uneventful road trip and I was back home by 11:30 AM. Then I thought I would grab a nap, this didn't happen as others in the household decided that they were done napping and we should all be up! I then went and cleaned a bunch of garbage out of the back of Kelsey’s truck (The Dragon) and went and got a new box liner for it. Following this task I tackled the back yard and got it cleaned up. Discovered two new trees growing right where I would want them too if I had chosen so was excited about that.

Now it’s a bright and sunny Wednesday morning. I have just delivered Cubber to work and I am finally sitting at my desk contemplating what to do next. There is a lot to be done and sooner rather than later I have to get to it. Hope you have an excellent day wherever you are when and if you read this.