My Babe!

Meet our other sweet gal!  This is our Jazzy and she came home with us one year ago today!  Once a reserve dog, she landed herself in the *Pound!* Fortunately, luck was on her side and she was rescued before the pound could determine her fate!  Jazzy ended up being fostered by the most amazing and kind-hearted soul!  She took this very timid little spirit and truly turned her life around and eventually made it possible for us to adopt her and provide her with her furever home!  Although Jazzy loves her entire family, I must admit she is my 'shadow' but I also know that her Foster Mom holds a very special part of her heart as well!  

Yes, Miss Jazzy made our hound population 3 ... but who wouldn't rescue a beautiful gal with those big, sweet brown eyes?  They match her personality 100%

Our Hooter!

Look who I spotted while choring late this afternoon!  Yes, our resident Great Horned Owl actually stuck around long enough for me to actually grab a wee portrait shot of him/her!  Of course, only one portrait shot is allowed! 

Blue Antics Again

With a dash of freezing rain, snow flurries, and 2 minutes of sun ... my desire to head out to the great outdoors fizzled but I was fortunate enough to once again be entertained by the antics of our Blue Jay crew!  

Inverted Mountains

Yes, we toured to Southern Alberta today!  Home Sweet Home ... or at least Southern Alberta and its rivers, creeks and coulees will always call me home!  

Goodbye ...

It's been a bit hectic around home lately but today we bid farewell to a load of calves... :(

Hoo's In The Night

A horrible image but I still had to share ... meet our "Hooting-Tom!"  Lately, He/She has been lurking outside our bedroom window ... "hooting" us to sleep with his subtle "hoo-hoo's" in the night!  This wonderful Great Horned Owl seems to have taken up residence in our yard ... now if only I could spy on him during the day!!!

Frost Laden

I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order. 

~John Burroughs

It might have been -17C this morning but with the sun shining on a frost laden landscape, one certainly did not feel cold!  

November Gloom

After the wind HOWLED all night, our day was a bit grey and gloomy with a dash of snow flurries here and there ...

Elusive ...

This small flock of Pine Grosbeaks have been coming "quickly" into our yard each morning ... but as fast as they land and scout the surroundings (and I attempt to take a picture), they are gone again!  

Frosted ...

It was CRISP this morning but that never stops our hounds from getting me outside!  LOL!  Meet just one of our crazy, much loved and very loveable hounds ... 'Girlie!'  Yes, 'Girlie-Girl' is her name and no, her personality does not match her name!  If there is a 'Tomboy' in the crowd, Girlie would be it!  This past week, Girlie just celebrated her 1st anniversary in her 'furever home!'  We found and met this sweet girl at a local SPCA last November and somehow, we couldn't leave her behind!  Full of energy and sweetness, she is truly a loved character in our house!  She might look serious from time to time but trust me ... she explodes with goofy energy moments later!

Blue Antics

While our *deep freeze* continued (although cold ... it's definitely not the coldest it has or could be) today, the frost glistened in the sunshine and I listened and watched the antics of the Blue Jays in my yard.  These colourful characters certainly add some entertainment throughout the winter ... especially when you add Magpies in the mix!  

Purpose ...

The air is crisp and the dust from feeding and bedding cattle lingered in that *fresh* air. The girls are happy to be home and it always makes us happy to have them home!  Despite the cold weather, there is just something about the atmosphere of working outside and working with livestock that makes one feel alive!  There's a new sense of purpose during these long winter months ...

Remember Them ...

So many of us have so much to be thankful for, more than we can ever imagine!  To the Men and Women that made the ultimate sacrifice, to those that sacrificed and made it home and to those still in the trenches, fighting to keep what was fought for so long ago ... THANK YOU!  

Let us also be a strong voice that stands behind those that return ... WE NEED THEM and THEY NEED US!  

Hometown Battlefield

North Winds ...

You know 'Winter' has officially arrived to stay when the temperatures plummet and the north winds howl making the windchill hover towards -30C.  'Winter' ... I wasn't quite ready to see you!  

James & Molly

The dawn of this new day brought a few inches of fresh, COLD snow!!!  However, that did not deter our new little 4-H members from taking their steer and heifer to the 4-H beef club's weigh in!  Meet 'James' the steer and 'Molly' the heifer!  The boys are really excited about being in 4-H this year and are very eager to raise their calves!

Moooooooving Out And Moving Home

A calm, crisp Fall morning with the temperatures hovering around +5C!  A perfect day for moving the bovine crew home!    

The girls seemed excited to go!  Perhaps they have an inkling about the weather!

It was a great day for their journey back home!  Winter is on it's way!  

Prairie Horizon

The days may not be so bright and balmy—yet the quiet and melancholy that linger around them is fraught with glory. Over everything connected with autumn there lingers some golden spell—some unseen influence that penetrates the soul with its mysterious power. 

~Northern Advocate

Beautiful light as we head into a Friday night and a wide open prairie horizon!  Have a fantastic weekend everyone!  

Sunshine Delight

A setting sun still whispers a promise for tomorrow. 

~Jeb Dickerson,

After a very dull, grey day, the sun eventually came out to play!

Short Days

Even with the light of a 'BIG' ole' moon ... I dislike how short our days have become!  

Startled ...

Ooops ... I crossed paths and startled this poor Mama Moose and her Babe this morning!  

A Snapshot ...

There is a way that nature speaks, that land speaks. Most of the time we are simply not patient enough, quiet enough to pay attention to the story. 

~Linda Hogan

Nothing fancy, a snapshot ... just a pause in my day while checking cows.  It's the transition zone between the Aspen Parkland and Mixed Grass Prairie.  They say beauty is in the "eye of the beholder" and I can attest ... I behold this beautiful land, for it speaks volumes!    

Winter ...

If you stand still outside you can hear it... Winter’s footsteps

 ~Animal Crossing:

Although the calendar still says "Autumn" ... it never fails that in November, we can usually hear and see "Winter's Footsteps!" 

Fallen

The tree is more than first a seed, then a stem, then a living trunk, and then dead timber. The tree is a slow, enduring force straining to win the sky. 

~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

November has arrived and there is a sadness in the air as the landscape has become blanketed in muted grey and brown tones.  The winds have claimed most of the golden leaves and the trees that had towered over this prairie landscape for many, many years have fallen giving room for the next generation ...