Transplanted Prairie Girl

My Favourite Time Of Day

2012-02-08T09:48:00.000-05:00

Every horse lover; whether they own a horse or not, has a favourite time of day to be around the horses. For me, it is first thing in the morning. Leaving the house, the sun light is just breaching the horizon sending fingers of light through the trees. The snow is crisp under foot, crunching as I make my way to the barn. I can hear my two mares moving restlessly as they, too, can hear my approach. Pulling open the barn door, I call a cheery “Good morning girls!” and I am answered by the deep, rumbling nicker of my younger mare, The Red Head. The Boss Mare is more dignified but I see her nostrils fluttering in response.

As I get the morning grain ready, The Red Head has her neck stretched around the edge of her stall, watching me to make sure that I don’t skimp on her breakfast. How she loves her food! As the girls eat their breakfast, I gather up the morning hay and haul it out to their paddock. The air is crisp enough that the skin on my face tightens. The birds are starting to chirp, and a squirrel runs down a tree on his way to his cache of food. Hay distributed around thepaddock, I open the water trough and make my way back to the barn to get the girls ready for the day.

The Red Head is impatient. She tosses her head up and down to say “Hey, let’s go!” She puts her head into the halter I hold out for her and stands quietly for me to do up the buckle. As soon as I drop her lead rope to go get The Boss Mare ready, the head tossing starts again, but this time it’s a game to fling the lead rope over the stall door. The Boss Mare knickers louder now; she wants to go out too. She politely puts her head in the halter, waits for me to buckle it up and invite her out of her stall. Standing patiently, she waits for me to let The Red Head out of her stall, and then the three of us head out of the barn.

As we walk to the paddock, The Boss Mare surveys her domain to see what has changed during the night. The Red Head jigs a bit, eager to go. Once we are through the gate and it’s latchedbehind us, I turn the girls to their field. Slipping off The Boss Mare’s halter, she strolls off without a backward glance. The Red Head turns her head to me so I can easily reach the halter buckle. I slip the halter off and The Red Head jumps immediately into the canter in order to get to the hay for that choice morsel before The Boss Mare arrives.

And the moment is over. The routine of the day has begun, but every day is started with time that I share with my horses.

Green Tomatoes!

2010-09-22T17:19:00.000-04:00

What to do with green tomatoes?

Since I just moved into my new home, I can not find any of my canning jars, etc. and fried green tomatoes can only use up so many... While searching on the internet to find something different to do with the toms, I came across a recipe on Epicurious for a Green Tomato soup.

Well I made the recipe using the bacon variation of the recipe (and without the bay leaf, 'cus I don't have any) and it was delish! Definitely something I would make again.

In fact, I still have some more green tomatoes left over so maybe I'll make soup and freeze it for later this winter when I'm craving a little green... :)

Sights of Home

2010-09-17T15:54:00.000-04:00

The weather has not been very cooperative as of late so I've been feeling a little uninspired. However, it's been sunny and calm today so I thought I'd get out with my camera to do a little shooting of the local flora and fauna...

A local resident: Mr. Toad

One of the three deer that wandered through the yard

Bluejay taking flight

And there are some plants in my new garden that I am unfamiliar with so feel free to comment on what they are and whether they are annual or perennial; in other words, do I pull them out when they die off in the fall, or do I leave them alone / cut them back for next year.

Grass # 1

Grass # 2

Grass # 3

Pretty sure this is bamboo but is it an annual or perennial?

A garlic family member?

This is growing by the tomatoes, but there's some in the grass garden too... Weed?

Pretty, but what is it?

This was planted in it's own container: Butterfly bush?

Our realtor came by and brought us some lovely fall chrysanthemums so some pics of those:

And a sign of an Ontario fall:

Homeward Bound

2010-09-15T12:20:00.000-04:00

Yes, we finally made it! About 4:30 pm ON time on September 3rd, we arrived at our new home. We made it on schedule! The dogs were thrilled to get out of the truck and run!

For those that haven't seen the photo album, view it in my FB photos.

We took 2 days to unload everything from the truck and trailer which was great as DH had to go back to work right away after the long weekend. And of course, we are still unpacking and figuring out where the heck to put stuff.

I've been asked to show some pictures of the barn as these never seem to get included in the realtor listings but are of utmost import to us horsey types, "so without further ado whatsoever"... The barn is a full two stories. There is a balcony off the right side (obscured a bit by the tree branch in the foreground). It is obviously unfinished so we're going to wrap it this winter and finish siding it next spring. We're also going to put some windows for ventilation and light on the ground floor. As well as redo the doors (one visible, and one underneath the balcony). The windows in the gables will go in next spring as well as the huge triangular custom window for the north wall of the upper floor; opposite the balcony.

The barn, west face

The main floor of the barn has a very high ceiling making it perfect for those tall ponies...

The barn with the previous owner's things

Stairs to the upper level

Eastward Bound, Are We There Yet?

2010-09-15T11:58:00.000-04:00

I may have mentioned that Lake Superior is huge! It took an entire day to run along the shore of the lake from Thunder Bay to Sault Saint Marie (ahem, it's pronounced soo not sew). After a while, you really start wondering "Are we there yet?". I'm so glad that the dogs can't talk, although I know they were getting restless as there was a whole lot of pacing going on.

I think a bit part of the restlessness was all the road construction going on across ON. Wow, about every 100 km or so we'd have to stop for road construction (or destruction depending on the conditions!). I realize that summer = holiday season = road construction season but geez, Louise you'd think that there would be a better way to coordinate! And to top it off, we were heading right into the final long weekend of the summer. That's right, Labour Day weekend!

Before getting to SOO, we passed through White River which for anyone who is a Winnie the Pooh fan will know is of special significance.

And for the Twihard fans (can't remember if this was around Lake Superior or Lake Huron)...

After a night in SOO, we were back on the road (Sept 3rd) for our final leg of the journey; Homeward Bound!

Eastward Bound, continues

2010-09-15T11:32:00.000-04:00

Our first day on the road leaving Manitoba did see us putting in about 9 hours on the road. We made it as far as English River, ON. We stayed at a lovely little Inn that was right on the river and very nice hotel owners, who turned out to be very pet friendly! Gotta love people like that!

I did manage to get some pictures while I was driving. Yes, I was taking photos while driving so no comments about the quality! LOL!

We're in Ontario now, OneX

And yes, OneX was paying attention...

Yes mom, I'm paying attention!

I have to say, the dogs and cats traveled extremely well. Once we picked up the moving truck in MB, hubby took one of the dogs for company leaving me with the other 5 and the 2 cats. It worked very well actually. Although, I think the animals that got to ride with me had a better ride in my truck than those in the moving truck. I think the moving truck had square wheels and no shocks; it was apparently a very rough ride!

After leaving English River, ON we headed on our way. Around Thunder Bay, we got our first glimpse of Lake Superior. It is truly hard to fathom how immensely huge that lake is! Without knowing the location, you could almost think that you were looking at the Pacific Ocean...

First glimpse of Lake Superior

Our little convoy really confused people: my truck with the MB plates, the U-Haul truck from Florida with the U-Haul trailer from Arizona! Believe me, OPP tailed us and ran the plates A LOT!

My constant view: DH's hind end!

Dashboard buddies!

Eastward Bound

2010-09-15T10:57:00.000-04:00

I had intended to post to the blog along the way but internet and travel being the way it is made periodic posting just about impossible! So this is going to be one big post instead of multiple little ones...

The dogs getting ready for the big trip!

We started out from Vancouver Island about 12 hours behind our original schedule. Instead of leaving on Saturday afternoon (Aug 28th) we left on Sunday morning. We took the 5:15 am ferry from Duke Point, Nanaimo to the Tsawwassen ferry terminal in Vancouver. Our first day of driving was a very long one which eventually ended when we crossed into Manitoba at 11:40 am MB time. Yup, that's right - BC, AB, SK, and MB in one fell swoop! We did end up sleeping at a truck pullout location just out side of Moose Jaw for about 2.5 hours but that was it! We did make about 7 stops along the way for about 20 - 30 minutes at a time to refuel the truck and our coffee, and drain the spent coffee and the dogs!

Crossing the Georgia Strait. Bye bye V.I.!

Even though it was still August, we did see new snow on the mountains through Roger's Pass. And in AB - serious brrrr! The prairies certainly looked like they've had a cool, poor summer. I hardly recognized Calgary as we circled around it on the new "ring" road (Stoney Trail). It's hard to believe how much that city has grown and changed! I honestly don't think I could live there again. We drove past Belle Plaine, SK where DH had also received a job offer... I'm glad he turned that one down as there is very little there (potash mine, fertilizer plant, and a salt plant, oh my).

Manitoba was cool and overcast, but fortunately the rain held off during the day (Aug 31st) as we were loading up all our worldly possessions from the storage facility they had been in for the last year. It took us about 8 hours to get everything loaded into the 26' truck. Fortunately we had a bit of help from my mother- and father-in-law who drove out from southern Saskatchewan to give us a hand.

We hit the road again at 6 am on September 1st and at least, the next few days were shorter in duration than the previous one...

2 Sleeps To Go

2010-08-27T01:15:00.000-04:00

Not long now before I hit the road and apparently there are some expectations out there for me to actually blog about my adventures in the cross country move. So I suppose I'll have to keep my trusty camera handy and maybe, if I'm not totally exhausted, post a few messages along the way. It should be interesting...So here we go. 2 days to go before I hit the road. Oh wait, I already said that! Most things are packed, there's just some odds and ends left to go. And the surprisingly huge amount of dog stuff that will get organized pretty much as the dogs (yes all 6 of them) get loaded into my truck. The horses are pretty much organized, or at least they will be by my wonderful barn owner / manager when the time comes for the horses to get on the trailer. Hopefully before I leave on Saturday, I will have the final itinerary for their last leg of the journey so we can figure out how much feed the horses will need to have shipped with them. The dogs and cats, on the other hand, are actually much easier to feed. If I run out of food on the road, well there's always options. Not so easy with the horses.Packing, as I said, is nearly done (yeah, right). Of course the last thing to get packed will be my trusty computer. I'm not sure what I will do without it. Hmm, maybe there's an iPod app for blogging. One more thing to add to my "To Do" before Saturday list.

On the Move Again

2010-08-08T12:06:00.000-04:00

As I look at my blog, I realize that I'm a terrible blogger - it's been nearly a year since my last post. This has to change, and now is a good time to make a decided effort to change.You see, I'm on the move again. School is finished; I've received my diploma. My dear husband is now back in Canada from working in Iraq and working in ON. So I'm packing up all the critters (yes, all the dogs, cats, and horses, oh my!) and am heading East.We've purchased a lovely 1878 brick farm house located on 14.5 acres in Eastern Ontario and we plan on making it our home. Yes, we're finally putting down roots! I thought that this blog was more aptly titled than I originally thought so I'm going to endeavor to post about our continuing adventures. For what they're worth! LOL!

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

2009-09-11T19:10:00.001-04:00

I always loved that Staples ad for their Back-To-School sales. Of course, this year it takes on a little bit of a different meaning as I am on my way back to school. Yes, I was in school last year, but all of my classes were infact online so it wasn't quite the same.

Classes started for everyone on Tuesday but I didn't have my first classes until Wednesday. On Wednesday, I had Digital Media Literacy and Interactive Communications. On Thursday, I had my Senior Media Studies Project class. These are third and fourth year classes that I and a few other students have been put into as our program was postponed for a year due to low enrollment. We have a steep learning curve to climb to catch up to the other students. I know we can do it, even if it seems a bit daunting on the first day (ok, ok, I admit, I thought my brain was going to explode). At least the 6 of us are in the same boat so we can help pull, push, and otherwise prod each other along!

In the end, I know that the final result will be well worth the bumps and bruises we may (read: will) experience along the way!

Stuff & Nonsense

2009-08-22T00:22:00.000-04:00

So, I've decided that I'm not a very good blogger. I'm inconsistent in my updating probably because I'm so busy working on websites (paying clients, yippee!), walking the dogs, and training my horses.

Speaking of dogs... My youngest dog participated in his first agility trial held in Nanaimo in July. He did really well, sort of. While we didn't have a clean round (he ran 3), we didn't go off course, he didn't pull any jump rails, he DID take the tire jump 2 out of 3 times, he did stay in the ring, and didn't visiting the judge, ring crew or any of the spectators. All in all, I'd call that a successful first trial.

Training of the horses is coming along well. My youngest is finally figuring out that the farrier is a good person and one that you really should cooperate with. Getting his feet done is getting easier (my farrier is thrilled, I'm sure). My 5 year old mare and I have started a training program with a great dressage coach and we're making huge progress! Not only is she learning really quickly, but I am also getting over some of my fear issues with being back in the saddle. This is a huge plus.

Recently, I took my two mares to the ISR/Oldenburg NA inspection. My older mare was placed in the Main Mare Book with a score of 103. I was thrilled. Then it was time for my 5 year old... She scored 105, which if she had her registration papers would have qualified her for PREMIUM! Woohoo! I knew I had a gem in her. Now if only the DNA results would hurry up and arrive (only been waiting 10 weeks for the results)...

School starts in 2.5 weeks and I will be one of those students heading off to class. It feels kind of surreal to be heading back to classes; I haven't been in this situation since 1995... Kind of weird, but very cool. I'm looking forward to being back in school. I love learning and the web program I am taking is fabulous! Maybe I'll have to find a way to turn this into a 4 year program instead of just 2...

Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow

2009-07-26T00:21:00.000-04:00

Do you ever feel like there is something waiting to happen if you could just get to the right place and time? Tomorrow... Tomorrow we will get word of this or that, tomorrow the cheque will be in the mail, tomorrow will be better... I'm so tired of waiting for the pieces to finally fall into place.

With the other half employed overseas for nearly two years now, and actively searching for a job back in Canada, it is so frustrating to be in this holding pattern for so long. Can't make any decisions to do this, or go there, or settle down here because we have no idea what is happening on a day to day basis. Which is one of the reasons why I decided to go back to school. I had to do something!

School starts in a few weeks and I have had some recent surprises regarding school. I recently received a scholarship from VIU based on "Academic Excellence". A nice little bonus to apply to next year's tuition. Also, I received a letter stating that I made the Dean's Honour List. Well, that's a nice little feather!

My client list is now slowly starting to build and I'm loving the work. I really love the web designing and creating something that the client loves. I have definitely found my calling! I guess if things didn't happen as they do, I would not have decided to go back to school and find this out.

I guess some good can come from standing on the edge of tomorrow... Who knows what tomorrow might bring?

Catching Up

2009-05-09T23:18:00.000-04:00

So much has happened lately that it makes my head spin.

I finished my first year of the web design program at VIU with 92.5% average. Amazing the difference that a little maturity makes from the last time I went to University! LOL! Or maybe it's because I REALLY enjoy this line of study!

Peter came home from Iraq and we headed back to our acreage to pack up our household and put the acreage up for sale. The night before the realtor was scheduled to come by, we had some people drive into the yard that were interested in the house. Two hours after viewing the house, we had a signed offer to purchase in our hands. Cancel realtor, sign papers with lawyer, pack up everything, and head back to BC. And then the buyers decide that "nah, they don't want the house after all". GRRR! So it'll be another trip back for me to once again meet with a realtor. I'll also be talking to the lawyer...

My colt, Fore, also had his big day with the friendly local vet on the 8th... It was gelding day. The vet commented that even though he's been doing this for 30 years, the "crunch" still makes him cringe and shrink a bit! Poor boys! I think the worst part is that I have to make him run around everyday to keep the swelling down. Now that has to hurt!

Time's a Flyin'

2009-03-29T13:04:00.000-04:00

Wow, I just had a look at my blog and realized that I haven't posted since mid-Feb and now it's the end of March. The time sure is flying! I have just under 3 weeks left now for this first year of my web design program at Vancouver Island University. I'm loving the program and have learned SO MUCH. Right now for my final project this year, I'm designing a website to showcase my cousin's art work. So it's a busy time! I'll try to post more once I'm finished this project!

Perfectly Persistent

2009-02-17T15:27:00.000-05:00

Ever since I purchased Willow in August of 2007, I have been trying to hunt down her sire in order to get her registered. When I purchased her, she was sold to me as a "grade" mare of Hanoverian / TB breeding. All I got was "her sire was an imported black Hanoverian that was standing in such and such area in Alberta" out of a Thoroughbred mare. The hunt was on. Trying to find an anonymous TB mare was going to be next to impossible, but how many black Hanoverian stallions could there be? From eWarmbloods discussion boards I got a name of a stallion; the only black Hanoverian stallion, standing in that area of Alberta in that time frame. With that name, I hunted through the Canadian Livestock Records Corporation and located the stallions registry numbers, breeder's name, and the last recorded owner. Getting closer! I also found out that the stallion was licensed for breeding with Canadian Warmblood Horse Breeders Association. After checking with them and finding out that they didn't have a DNA profile for the stallion, I continued hunting.

Nearly a year later, I had hit a dead end. Since eWarmbloods had been useful before, I went back to post all information I had in the hopes that someone could elaborate on what I had found. Well, cha-ching! The stallion's breeder contacted me and started to help me hunt. Through her sources, and coincidentally another breeder reading the forum, we located the current owner of the supposed sire of my mare! Yippee. We have been in touch and the owner is willing to help me out by making a DNA sample available. In a few weeks time, I should know if this horse is in fact Willow's daddy. Fingers crossed, because if it is, my girl is very well bred...

Absence makes the heart grow fungus? And scary horse moments!

2009-01-17T20:30:00.000-05:00

Fore is weaned and so it's time to put Spike back in with him and Willow. The three horses have been acting bored and pulling down the fence playing over it, so it's time to put them back together. Once done (Jan. 15th), it's obvious that there is no way Spike will let Fore nurse from her again even if the milk bar was stocked; which it isn't... Everything looks fine; but I'll check on everyone the next day just to make sure.

Nothing is quite scarier than going to the barn to see your ponies and finding one dragging their hind leg, or any leg, for that matter. But that's what I found yesterday. Talk about making your heart stop. Willow, instead of being her usual, happy sociable self, was at the far end of the field; by herself. She didn't even come up for hay when her afternoon snack arrived. OMG - something is seriously wrong. This horse does not miss a meal: ever.

So I grab a halter and go down to see her. She doesn't even try to evade me. Definitely something wrong. Leading her up the hill to flat, dry ground; she walks really slowly, dragging the toe of her right hind leg. I check her over; starting at the bottom looking for swelling, scuffs, cuts, bumps; feeling for heat; anything that might give me a clue as to what is going on. Nothing. Hmm. I get to the stifle (please not a stifle injury), still nothing. So pull off the blankets to look for something higher... And that's when I see it... A HUGE muscle knot in the big muscles between the hip and buttock. Ouch, that has to hurt. I run my hand over it and she just about falls down. Poor thing. Judging from the height and force required to make the lump, it's obvious that Spike belted her one. After some ice, and walking Willow is starting to move better.

Of course, today is an entirely different story... They're all bucking, racing around like idiots; Willow is doing sliding stops through the mud and spinning to make a reining horse jealous (hmm, warmbloods can be reiners, can't they?) it's obvious that she's just fine!

New Beginnings

2009-01-06T00:54:00.000-05:00

Well the weather is finally starting to break here on the Island and things are no longer in a snowbound holding pattern! It's amazing how a little snow; ok, it was a lot of snow, can grind a place to a halt! But I digress...

Today, OneX and I managed to get to our second agility class for December. Oh wait, it's now January... Ok, so fast forward 3 weeks of agility classes into January. We had a great class today. Normally we have 4 dogs in the class but today there was only 2 of us. Maybe some people are still a bit frazzled by the snow but we took it in stride. OneX was a star and was running like a pro. But I see I am really going to have to concentrate on reinforcing the startline wait or face the same issue (non-existent start line wait) as with Soot. We so don't want to go there. I guess I'll have to reinforce, reinforce and then introduce the "Edmonton twitch"... We were only doing 10" jumps in class but I told the instructor that I would like the jumps to be gradually raised over the next few weeks as OneX's fitness increases as he is going to have to jump 26" in AAC. She paused, "Oh, you're not going to wait to start him in competition when he can go into Veterans for the lower jump height?" Huh? OneX will be fine in Regulars at 26" and if he shows any issues, we'll move to Specials, but I'm not waiting 4 more years to find out...

Of course the lovely aspect of all of the snow melting is that all the horse manure that has, up until now, been frozen and buried in 2' of snow is now thawing out. Oh what a lovely sloppy mess that is! To top it off, the ponies need their toes done and boy that is going to be so much fun for the farrier. Manure caked, soaked legs - I'd hose them off but with the horses having no indoor stalls or warm water, I really don't want to soak their legs. Yuck... Gotta love mud season...

Classes have now begun again for the spring semester. Isn't that a lovely thought: Spring. Not that the winter has been much of a burden out here but I always think Spring is such a cheery thought. Anyway, classes have begun again and I am looking forward to getting back in the swing of it. One thing is for sure, I'm enjoying university so much more this time around. Could it be the courses, or simply the maturity of the student?

Happy New Year 2009!

2008-12-31T20:22:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year to everyone.

I know that it is traditionally a time that everyone makes resolutions for the coming year. So here's my resolutions:

My family will once again be living under the same roof.
I will get my dogs out to more agility competitions.
I will start riding (my) horses on a regular basis.

I wish everyone a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2009!

Families apart at Christmas

2008-12-25T02:23:00.000-05:00

There is not much worse than being apart from your loved ones on Christmas. To all those families that are apart, especially our Canadian military families with their loved ones in Afganistan, may you soon be safely home and together.

To my husband, who is overseas: I miss you and wish you were here. Merry Christmas from the furkids and I. We'll see you soon.

West Coast snow

2008-12-19T21:33:00.000-05:00

I've been told, and it's being reported on the news, that this is the most snow this area of the West Coast has received since 1996. Go figure, it happens when I move out; hoping to have my first green Christmas. I guess the West Coast is just trying to make sure that I don't feel homesick! :-) I am receiving a lot of comments about bringing the prairie winter with me! I'm sure everyone will be wishing for the snow when the rain starts again (first they wish for snow, and now they wish for rain! LOL!).

A West Coast morning

The dogs wrestling in the snow

The horses enjoy the snow

And even more snow (there's over 24" now)

And it keeps coming down in really big flakes (can you see the water?)

But it sure does look pretty. A view across the water:

Running to the finish line!

2008-12-13T02:21:00.000-05:00

Well time is running down as the end of semester nears. The big final projects are due within the next 24 - 48 hours. I'm not panicking... Yet. I still have 24 hours to get the stupid button to make a sound in my Flash project. Oh the music works, and I finally got the buttons working as movie clips (the only way that they would work) but can I get a) the buttons to work, AND b) have a sound effect with the button action that doesn't sound like repetitive machine gun fire? Nooooooo. Sigh. Oh well, maybe I'll have a eureka moment tomorrow.

As for the website design, well I have 48 hours to get that finished... Let's hope the rollover buttons on that project don't cause me as much grief!

Winter blahs? I don't think so!

2008-12-11T15:00:00.000-05:00

I might be a prairie girl, but I've never really enjoyed the prairie winters. Granted, Calgary winters weren't too bad so long as you aren't one of those individuals that get "Chinook Headaches". I did, but having temperatures on the plus side in winter sure makes the winters shorter. Manitoba winters, on the other hand, have no appeal to me. Sure everyone says that they have the most sunshine compared to anywhere in the country during the winter. But, and this is a huge, BUT... It is so cold, that you can only enjoy the sunshine from indoors. Might as well not have any sunshine at all for the amount you can enjoy it.

So this year, I'm spending the winter on the West Coast. Okay, not a lot of sunshine but you can go OUTSIDE! Put on your raincoat, which I have to say, I haven't really needed a whole lot yet and go out. It's fabulous! If you miss the sun, get a "happy lamp" and take some Vit D. But the point is you can go outside, don't have to worry about slipping on ice, throwing your back out trying to shovel the snow, cursing when you forget to plug in your car the night before, etc. It's heaven!

And to top it off, the horses are loving it out here. Dear primadonna, Spike, is finally not cold! In fact, I've been feeding her like she was back in MB and to get the weight back on her after weaning her colt and I suddenly have found myself with a chubby horse! I was shocked; the only time I have ever seen her chubby was when she was 9 - 11 months preggers! So she's actually, gasp!, going on a diet! I'm flabbergasted.

The other joy of a West Coast winter is that it has given me the opportunity to get back into doing agility whilst the other half is still working overseas. OneX and I are taking agility classes with a lovely woman and we're having a blast! I know that Fiona of Creekside will be thrilled to hear that we're back into the swing of things, and who knows, we may even find some sheep to chase!