When we went out the other morning (and I actually remembered to bring my camera!) we spent a lot of time doing nothing.
Ok. In MY opinion, doing nothing.
But for the kids…it was a blast.
For example….
My boy spent 15 minutes doing this….
I don’t get it….
But then, I’m not 1.
Look how happy he is.
My cutie-patootie….
Yesterday the temperature actually rose above -20C (!!!) so the kids and I headed out to play.
I had a blast!
And I think the kids had fun too…
This is a fort Cassie and her dad built a few weeks ago….
Nice and sturdy looking….
The kids burying themselves….
(yes, my house is now full of straw….)
The infamous fort….
Loved by all…
Well, almost all.
My girl thinking she is hilarious….
“This is what Farmer’s do, right mom?!”
My girlie has muscles!! I now know I don’t have to pull the sled anymore!! Score!
….this is how the flatland farmers tobaggan….
Find the biggest drift next to windfence and…
GO!
And the mess after….
Just keeping it real.
Love…
ME!!
My darling “boys”…
Love them!!
Have I mentioned that around here, January to February is beach season?!
Of course you are wondering what on earth I am talking about…January to February in Alberta, Canada is ridiculously cold and snowy; why would I be breaking out the bikini?! Well, these two months are what I like to call the “Farmer’s Summer”. While everyone else vacations and relaxes during the real summer season, farmers are out working through the long days growing their pay cheque. There is no time for long, lazy days at the lake or weekends spent fishing or camping. And so when Jan/Feb rolls around, and there are only cattle chores to do, we get to do our vacationing!
And this is when I get to spend long stretches of time with my husband and kids….generally we try to head somewhere hot like Mexico, Dominican, or Cuba. Rarely, if at all, do farmers take more than 2 days off in a row from March to November; But in January or February, if there is someone lined up to do chores, we are scot-free!
Ok, not scot-free….It would be fantastic if that was the truth, but in reality, in order for my husband to be able to leave for a day or two, or (if I’m lucky!!) a week….he puts in about 100 hours the week before our trip, in order to make sure that the farm will run smoothly while we are gone.
Step 1- pick a vacation…this is usually my job and it takes me about 30 seconds!
Step 2- find someone to do chores/take care of the farm while we are gone
- This is tricky, because not only does my husband have to trust this person with our home and livelihood, they have to be willing to take on this responsibility. And usually, they have their own chores/farm; so basically, we are asking them to double their workload for a week. My father-in-law is the one whom we usually ask and without fail, every time, he says yes. He’s fabulous!!
Step 3- Organize the farm.
- This is where the extra work for my husband comes in. He spends the week before we go repairing anything and everything, so that while we are gone, NOTHING will (hopefully) break-down. This includes water troughs, fence, tractors, bale shredders, vehicles, etc. He stocks up on any medications that the cattle or horses or dogs or cats might need (in case of emergency)and has all the feed for the cattle, horses, dogs, (you get the picture..) laid out and ready, so whomever is doing chores doesn’t have to waste time moving bales or hunting for bags of dog food. He makes sure all the vehicles are full of fuel and oil changed, and moves as much snow as he can so that the cattle can get to and from water and feed easily.
- Of course, rarely does Mother Nature play fair, especially when you want her to! So we are always on pins and needles the days before we leave. Not so much worried about whether or not our plane will be able to take off, but more about is it going to be -30….this means possible frozen waterers…which means thirsty cattle and A LOT of work to thaw out…more work for whomever is doing us a favour. AND if it’s this cold, extra straw bedding needs to be put out for the cattle, horses, and dogs (etc.) so they can hunker down and stay warm. My husband (again) usually does this before we leave…but over the course of a week, they sometimes need more. So, this falls on our help. (This “favour” is sounds like a lot of work, doesn’t it!!)
This year I hoping (begging) for a hot vacation and I think I am wearing my husband down….wish me luck! But for those of you who DO get to go away…this week I’ll be posting my personal packing and airplane lists….(have I mentioned I’m a list person?!) And please feel free to add to the list in the comment section, I need all the advice I can get when packing…I ALWAYS forget something!
Love you!
Cathryn
My darling husband was out clearing the snow in our yard (usually an all day job!) and took our baby boy big boy out with him. The girlie and I shoveled snow from our front steps and sidewalks…
I was frozen after about 15 minutes so we went in, but the boys kept moving snow. Apparently my big boy didn’t complain once…and after about an hour and 1/2…..
I remember sleeping in tractors, grain trucks and combines…not a bad way to nap if I remember right!
Love you all!
This one’s my favorite….Danny stopped to do his “business” and my husband almost landed on his face in it! LOL…
And things went well till they hit some deep snow….and that’s the end of my baby sleigh…
Oh well…it was fun while it lasted!!
Although as soon as this one broke he wanted me to go find the other sled….no thanks!! My kiddies need SOMETHING to ride on this winter!!!
Love…
ME!!
p.s. since we did this…we’ve found a stone boat to hook up…we are planning to go out on Christmas Eve…I’ll take lots of pictures!!
It has been nice around here lately (NO SNOW!!) so we’ve my husband has managed to get a lot of fall work done! The cattle are all home and the calves have been weaned and shipped..lots of mooing and such for a few days, but all are happy and settled now. We also had our cattle preg-checked…which means we had the vet out to let us know which ladies were or weren’t pregnant and when exactly to expect these little babes…very handy info for my husband. (Here is a link that explains the how and why!) Makes life a little easier to plan come calving season! We even had a few vet students come out to help…great learning experience for them and a compliment to my husband. If the vet likes your handling system enough to want to have some students learn, you know you did a great job!
This is my boy watching….I think he was either concerned or confused….
Then the kids and I met up with a neighbour and went for a walk…
It was FREEZING!! So this is us “walking” home….
Hope your day is going fabulous and THANK YOU to all the past and present men and women who serve our countries.
Love…
Here are a few images to catch you up on all the goings on around here lately…
This is one area where we are storing the grain. The yellow auger is hooked up to the tractor and will be moved to load all the grain into the bins….
Daddy and his helpers watching the grain truck back up to the auger.
My husband opening the back of the truck to unload the wheat.
Our truck driver that day…my youngest (SINGLE!) brother-in-law…
He’s a fabulous Uncle…doesn’t this look like fun? (my poor baby…he loves it…)
And last, but not least…one of the combines working hard!!
Love…
A few weeks ago my husband and some friends competed in a Ranch Rodeo. This is a rodeo where the events mimic real life ranch chores…doctoring calves, loading calves in trailers, sorting them, and milking them….and so on and so forth.
Their team had a fantastic time and ended up winning third…not bad for their first time! My husband also took third in the mugging contest…which is the first picture, his job was to hold the cow still while the other cowboy milked it, took off the rope and then ran with both to the finish line.
We love our western lifestyle and raising our kids this way is a dream come true. And it looks like they love it too!
*all photos by Chaps 'n' Spurs Photography (heslop.elisabeth@gmail.com)*
Love…
I want to write a book. I’ve always wanted to write a book. There is just this image of me typing madly away in a coffee shop somewhere or sitting a big leather chair in front of a fire, proofreading.
The reality of this is that I’m here frantically typing while my kids are upstairs napping and my husband is out fixing equipment…these are the precious moments that I have to myself and I use them up doing this…..and I love every second of it.
What prompted me to actually sit down and start writing was the fact that I said it out loud one day to my husband.
“I’ve always wanted to write a book.”
And his reply was so….him.
“Why don’t you?” (Him in the way that it was to the point and as always 100% supportive no matter how crazy it seems.)
“I don’t know what I’d write about.”
“How about “Farm wives – the new generation.”
Hmmmmmmm…….that struck a chord. I mean it’s not an award-winning title or concept (not yet anyways!!)…but the idea behind it really resonated. I am a farmer’s wife….I am the new generation of this type of wife…and I’m not like the “typical” farm wife stereotype. And no matter what “type” of farm wife, our common bond is that we are all there supporting our families as they put the world’s food on the table. It’s not an easy life by any stretch of the imagination nor is it the poetic, idyllic life that the movies/TV tends to portray. It’s a way of life that is both stressful and rewarding at the same time. Living on a farm gives us numerous opportunities to enjoy our growing family and the gorgeous world around us. Taking a deep breath after a summer rain and being able to taste the air….watching your kids faces as they witness a calf being born….eating carrots right out of the garden (they taste better with the dirt on!) or watching your husband, sweaty and dirt-stained from the day, take your daughter’s tiny hand as they walk across the yard together.
These little moments are why we love what we do and are why we, generation after generation, we continue to do it.
And that is what I want to share with the world…
Oh, and this…
Love…
