It Was A Good Weekend

I kicked my weekend off with a bang.  Friday night I did my standard three classes of agility basics.  Woot!  Went much better than last week as last week we had a wee bit of a situation.  I may or may not have needed to change my drawers...

You see, during Ryder's "crate" time, a lovely male Pit Bull got the Zoomies and accidentally banged into Ryder's crate, dislodging the pin that holds the door closed.  Ryder being Ryder, came out like his ass was on fire and went after the hapless Pit.  The hapless Pit reacted like he was under attack.  It ended with Ryder running back into his crate.  Thank the good Lord there was no damage to either dog.  Mostly noise was produced.  But very scary for me.  (And I'm sure the other owner.)

This week there was no near deaths.  Put a check in the WIN column.

Up early on Saturday, I hustled out to Drayton Valley.  It was back to basics for the dogs on stock.  I really want to fix some things I noticed during the November trials.  This was the first time both dogs had been on stock in ages.  And by ages I mean since the beginning of November.

It involved Ken speaking firmly with me and me running through the melty, sometimes icy and shifting snow.  Can we say buns of steel?  (Our weather has been freakishly warm this month!  Melting!!)  We began with Diva.  And she worked and I worked.  We worked some more.

I created this little video of her.  Please let me know if you can't view.

I found it humorous. (Ok - so it works on my computer... maybe not yours??)  Note Diva peeing as I walk to Ken and give him shit for still recording.  That girl has got to go the moment she gets any exercise!

Ryder was his soft and sensitive little self.

I just love his expression on the sheep.  Ken commented that he doesn't upset the sheep.  They seem to like him.  He also felt that Ryder showed more confidence on stock than he has in the past.  I'm wondering if the break was good for him.  

Because Ryder is terrified of the horses, Ken rode one of his colts while I worked Ryder.  I was very impressed with how brave Ryder was.  The filly was super cute too!  

To bring the end to my weekend, today I had a jumping lesson.  I think I have a perpetual smile on my face now.  I really, really needed this time with the critters.  Feeds my soul.  

This is Frank.  He's the lesson horse I jump on.  He's old and a character.  Probably one of the only "push" style rides I've ever had.  (Hey - I grew up on Arabs - and mine required very little leg!)

It Is Not Like Riding a Bike

You know how they say once you know how to ride a bike you never forget?  You can take time off, then hop on and off you go.

Yeah.

Roping, not so much...

I spent yesterday at Ken's I was up before six and on the road by seven.  I pulled into his yard at nine.  By ten we had horses saddled and were out in the pasture.  By pasture I mean 160 acres.  He wanted some help doctoring a cow and he needed to tag and vaccinate some late calves.  I was stoked.  This sounded like a ridiculous amount of fun!  After all I used to team rope...  I could totally do this...

The reality:

I was riding a horse I'd rode twice before.  It was my first time on a horse in close to a year.  I haven't picked up a rope in over 8 years.  I haven't done any pasture work in over 13 years.  And my personal favorite, Ken does not put rubber on his horn (this stops the rope from sliding when you dally).

Yeah....

We started off with Ken roping some calves.  He was riding a jittery gorgeous grey gelding.  It was a footstep away from being a wreck of epic proportions with the first calf.  The horse went up, Ken went to the side, his foot looking like it wanted to hang up in the stirrup, calf jumping around on the end of the rope...  He managed to get clear, get his horse working, and get the calf safely treated.  There's something so special about watching the little gaffers trotting off with their new ear tags flapping.  We settled in to work.  Ken roping and I held the herd in one spot.

We worked our way to the section where a lame cow was.  My job was to rope the cow.  Ken said she was pretty spicy so I should wear her out (lope her around) before roping her.  Yeah.  She was more than a little spicy.  Ken finally stepped in with his horse and ran her to a stop.  I looked at him and told him I thought she was ok.  She was moving fine on her foot.  I couldn't see any swelling or ickies in her hoof.  We decided she was on the mend and didn't need any intervention.  At this point Ken decided I should start roping calves.

Throw.  Miss.  Throw.  Miss.  Trying to get the horse to work for me.  Sigh.  Finding a calf lying down I threw and caught.  Dallied.  And couldn't figure out why the calf kept getting further and further away.  The dally was sliding with no rubber.  I'd like to add the calf was no longer sleeping peacefully...   Looking down and realizing my finger was in a very dangerous spot I undallied, and tried to pull the rope.  Meanwhile, the horse was not cooperating.  When the dust finally settle I had no coils in my hand, and an angry momma cow following as I dragged her calf to higher ground.  (It was in a low spot - read wet.)   It was ridiculous.

It was also a ridiculous amount of fun.  If I'm going to be doing more of this I'm going to be borrowing a friend's rope saddle, complete with rubber on the horn.  I'll also spend some time dummy roping.

I had forgot how much work roping was.  My entire body hurts.  While I was roping my hands hurt (why I was at Neurologists last week), but I didn't get really bad tremors.  I don't know if physically I can do this as a hobby, but I think I'll work at it a bit and test the waters.

I'm still smiling.

Yard Work

I've been working on my yard since my return from the US.  The previous owners either over planted or didn't keep up with the perennial beds.  They were a mess.  Last fall I cleaned out a truck load of plants.    The remaining plants that grew back are headed towards my sewage mound which I'm turning into a wildflower bed.  

This is the "cleaned" bed.  It took me about 6 hours to get all the weeds and plants out.  I'm leaving two rose bushes and the lillies.  Love lillies...

This is the sewage mound with sprayed grass and some of the perennials planted.  I plan to put down a wildflower seed mix on the rest.

This is the second bed that is still infested with weeds.  I need to move perennials, leave the lillies (they'll eventually end up in the other bed) and pull and spray the weeds.

This is my third perennial bed.  It was an overgrown mass of plants.  Because I managed to get most, it's now an overgrown mass of weeds.  I'll clean it up and begin the process of grooming it for other plants.  I haven't quite decided what I want to put there.

This is my other project.  There had been a junk shed here.  I moved a lot of junk and weeds from the area last year.  It's had two sprays this year.  Now I'll clean up the remaining weeds, removing the final bits and pieces of junk, put down some top soil and reseed it as grass.  Eventually I want to make it part of the dog run.  (I have enough panels.)

Here is my garden.  It's taken a beating with the weather we've had this year.  My poor corn is super stunted and some of my cucumber plants didn't survive.  I'll need to prune my tomato plants this week and give everything a shot of fertilizer.

This is one of my favorite plants.  I have two decks.  One north facing and one south facing.  This guy loves the shady north deck!

My favorite pansies.  Probably the only plant on my property that's doing well.  (Besides weeds...)

This little guy seems to prefer the cool rainy weather.  I think it's the pot.  I've decided next year the pot will get shade plants.

One of my front entrance barrels.  I put flax as the center piece but it HATED the rain and is quite stunted.

Love the colors here, but again with the rain they aren't as happy as they could be.  Time to deadhead...

This was one of my south deck "surprise" pots.  I had planted nicotia and wave petunias...  The nicotia must have been mislabeled because it was giant!  And the waves have done some very interesting things.  I put in a black petunia for interest but it's getting buried under the other plants.

Moxie Moves In And Assorted Acreage Announcements

With my hay in my barn I was worrying about mice and had begun the process of investigating cats.  After much thought I made the decision to move the kitties here.  A couple of weeks ago my parents noticed that Oscar went missing.  He hasn't returned which in farm cat world is an ominous sign.  This weekend I moved Moxie into my barn.  I set her up with a heated water bucket, food, litter tray, and a styrofoam cat house.  My little barn is insulated with south facing windows so it doesn't get crazy cold.  

She's a bit uncertain with and chatty, but seems to be settling in well.  I'm just happy to have a star mouser in charge of keeping my barn vermin free.  

Guinness is growing like a weed.  He's maintaining a nice going into winter weight.  I was thinking he was around 14 hh, until I was at a friend's looking at their stick.  He's probably closer to 14.2 or 14.3 and bum high right now!

Teaser Alert!
More horse news coming soon!

Yard Eye Candy

Here's a sampling of some of my pots I've put together.  Love, love flowers.

Begonia

Pansies - remind me of Grandma.

One of my favorite pots.

Cheerful Wave Petunias.

Pretty contrasts.

Delicate and feminine.

The Imposter.  Mixed in with my pink waves.  Needed it's own home.

These are all freshly planted.  Once summer is in "full bloom" I'll take some fresh pictures to share with you.

Smile

Not sure who owns this - pulled it off Facebook - but thought it was super cute!  True, t'boot.

Awesome Weekend

Here in Canada we have a holiday called Victoria Day.  Today.  My wonderful employer tacked on Friday as a day off turning my weekend into a four day weekend.  *sigh of contentment*  I needed it.  I should have worked on school work.  I should have spent a day at work catching up on stuff.  But I didn't!

Friday brought a new haircut, a trip to town with my brother, a trip home with a new push lawnmower, dinner with my family, and a walk in the grazing reserve with the dogs.  Saturday brought a run, a Kijiji buying expedition - a "new to me" riding lawnmower, a trip to town to buy a little mesh wagon that was on sale, BBQ with the family, a stock dog work, and an evening curled up with a trashy novel (something I haven't done in ages).  Sunday brought a run, a stock dog work (naughty Diva - sigh), a flat tire on my new mower, putting together the wagon, beginning the process of moving a gate, a long drawn out try to catch Guinness (apparently he's at that testing age), and more time well spent with family.  Monday brought hours of grass cutting, dinner at the country service (it's actually very good), a run in the park with the dogs, gopher control in the field, weed control in the yard, cleaning up the garden to prep it for planting, and lot's of laundry.  Let's not forget, baking of cookies - as a thank you for my brother who will move my gate tomorrow while I'm at work and before he flies north to the oil sands where he'll actually work.  (TeeHee - he worked all weekend for me.)

I spent the weekend outside doing things I enjoy with my dogs either ripping around with me or riding shot gun in the truck.  It was an awesome weekend.  So awesome, I had to do some dancing while mixing up my cookies.  (I like to call it dancing, some may call it a seizure...)

I sincerely hope everyone's weekend was as fabulous as mine!

Making It Worth While

We had our first sun in a long time today.  I spent the bulk of the day cleaning up my flower beds.  Because I took possession of my place in November, the beds were snowed on before I could do any of the normal fall things.  Here were my two little helpers posing by my pile of dead plants.

Taking a play break.

Watching for anything and everything.

My surprising discovery under all the dead growth.

And blooms!!!  In the beginning of May!!!

My dogs racing in the field.  You can see no green on the trees yet.  Soon.

Sand Paper

My eyes feel like sandpaper.  I'm tired.   I think.  But big cheer - I'm on spring break.  Spring break for me means writing three papers, getting a start on some major papers coming due in the next few weeks, finishing a project for my students to start in April.  In addition I'm going to go turn back for Jason, ride as much as I can, work my dogs - especially Ryder, deliver Hank (Ken's horse) back to Drayton Valley as well as the three woolly sheep, plus I want to make a trip to one of my dog guy's places to work Ryder (and visit!).  I think I may have enough to keep me out of trouble over the course of the next 10 days.

**Diva just climbed up on the couch and had a wild licking snuggle festival.***

I've been reading this book, "How to Speak Dog: Mastering the Art of Dog-Human Communication." by Stanley Coren.  Once I've finished it I'll give everybody an overview of what I've learned.  What I like is that the author is a scientist.  So far it's been pretty interesting.  Sometimes I think I should be looking at further studies in the area of dog/animal behavior.  Hmmm... I wonder if they'd accept me?

More to come at a later date when I'm more coherent.  Will charge camera to enable picture taking.

Sunny Winter Day

The snow from the storm is very fluffy.  It's the kind of snow that you see in movies and on postcards.  

View from my back deck.

The snowblower I bought in November and only now had to use.  Unheard of up here.  Be proud, very proud.  I used wrenches and mastered it.

Diva in the fluffy snow.  Neat contrast with the black and white.

Ryder the wimpo dog.  I think his feet were cold (it wasn't too bad today) but he still wanted to play.

Searching for the ball.

In pursuit of the ball.  (Which he eventually lost in the snow.)

The watcher.

Snow!

It's been so mild for so long that I had begun to think that winter no longer resided here.  Well, for the last 48ish hours we've been under a severe storm warning.  It's been downgraded to a snowfall warning.  We're supposed to get 10-15 cm  (1 inch is about 2.5 cm.) of snow.  Right now it's been snowing steady since some point in the night.  Based on the amount of snow I removed from my driveway and decks I'd guess we've passed that mark.  At least it's light and fluffy snow...

The large dump of snow meant figuring out my snowblower.  Before, when I was on the farm I used a tractor for snow removal.  Now that I'm on an acreage I bought a snowblower.  There I was this afternoon studiously reading the operation manual.  Carefully, I pushed it out of my garage, filled it with gas, and started it up.  With caution I began working the levers occasionally ending with a face full of snow.  After I got the groove of operating it I began to have some fun.  The dogs were slightly frightened but willing to come to me for pets when called.

Putting the blower away I shoveled off my two decks.  In total it took me just under two hours to clear my driveway and decks.  It's still snowing and the snow is expected to fall until late tomorrow so I'm sure I'll have another opportunity to shovel or clear the driveway.  I must admit to having some heavy feeling arms and shoulders right now.  Even my abs are tight.  Moving snow is a righteous workout!  Pictures to come tomorrow!

Making It All Worth While

Today was one of those days that makes everything worth while.  It makes the hardships, the sacrifices, the tears and the sweat all seem insignificant.  I have been struggling with the lifestyle choices I've made.  Some days I think it would be so easy to live in a condo and board a horse at a stable.  Today I remembered why I don't.  

I woke up with a residual headache.  It made for a slow morning.  By the time I had ate breakfast and allowed the Advil to kick in it was closing in on 11:00.  I loaded up Diva and Ryder and headed out to the park.  We had a wonderful hour long hike.  The dogs ran and ran and ran.  Diva is really funny when she plays in the snow so I laughed and giggled at their antics.  We had a great walk until we met another hiker with a dog.  Apparently I need to start taking the little one's into town and remind them of their manners.  Such the disappointment.  (Mostly Diva.)  I think I'll do some one-one walking and work on leash manners and greeting dogs on leash.  We've just been hanging by ourselves so they need a refresher.  


Ryder and his temperamental tummy.  He had the trots on the walk leading me to decide not to work him once we got to the farm.


Next I drove to the farm.  There dad and I caught Hank (Ken's horse) who is a jittery bugger and really hard to catch.  Hank and Guinness both had some leading practice.  Guinness is getting cheeky - trying to nip at me.  I think a phone call into the vet is in order.  It's been so mild here I'm going to see if she'll geld him sooner than the planned spring.  He's growing like a weed and moved up to the yearling size halter.  

After our little leading session, dad and I dewormed Guinness.  The sheep were next.  We used the chute which worked pretty slick.  They all got their dosage of wormer.  


Once we finished I headed into the house where I sat with Tessa and snuggled her.  We sat on the recliner and she slept on my lap.  It funny to me how snuggling with Ryder or Diva isn't the same.  Tessa sleeping on my lap brings such a feeling of peace and rightness to my world.  I decided not to bring her home with me today, simply because it would be for such a short period of time and I didn't want to upset her or confuse her.  It was heart wrenching leaving her behind - sitting at the door.  Not something I wish to do again.  


When I returned to my house I kicked the dogs out and deciding it was such an outstanding day - I went for a ride.  This would be both my and Bacardi's first ride since around September.  Tying her up I began brushing her.  She had ants in her pants which made me opt for a saddle.  I ended up riding for close to 40 minutes.  Just around my little acreage.  This was a training run for the dogs.  I wanted to see how they'd be with me on a horse.  Diva followed along quite happily.  I'm sure she thought she was keeping the horse balanced to me, but didn't do any naughty behavior like dive bombing or nipping at the horse.  Ryder was freaked.  I climbed on the horse and he got spooked.  He kept a safe distance from us.  Preferring to lie down and watch - from behind the fence.  I'd call him and toss treats down for him.  Either way it looks like the dogs and I are good to go for a ride in the park.  They recalled to the horse and knew to attend to me.  It was bloody icy in my fields and I couldn't really do anything fun, but I'm stoked to go ride with the dogs.  I think it'll be great exercise for them.  


What a great day!

So You Think You Know The Cold??

I have been utterly spoiled this winter.  Warm balmy days with the sun on my face.  And now, finally, winter has reared it's ugly head.  It's cold.  Bloody cold.  Part of the problem is that I'm no longer acclimatized.  I've gotten soft like those people in Florida who sweater up when a cool breeze blows.  (No offense but us northerners do like to giggle about that.  All in good natured fun.)  Just as I'm sure anyone who lives further north than I do is giggling away at the absurdity of me thinking I know what cold is.

Our temperatures today without the wind chill hovered around the -30 C mark.  Not bad.  Factor in the wind chill and we're sitting at a tropical -40 C.  Did you know that -40 is the same in both Fahrenheit and Celsius?  It is!  *This factoid courtesy the friendly neighborhood Internet.*  I noticed while out cleaning the dog run that the dogs are resisting any outside time.  Who blames them?  This is the weather when you need to watch for colic (horses don't drink as much because of the cold water).  This is the weather when you need to free feed hay to your outside critters.  And this is the weather where you want to crawl back into bed and pull the covers over you head.  *Thanks Jeanne for that little tidbit.*

We don't even have wonderful luscious fluffy snow to make it bearable.  In fact the snow blower I bought in the fall?  Still has tags on.  Hasn't been used once if you can fathom that!

Here's a lovely picture of my fab farm winter look.  Just a side note - when it's cold enough to freeze your exposed flesh in under 10 minutes - it's cold enough to toss any sense of style to the side.  (That wonderful tidbit was according to Environment Canada - we have an extreme wind chill warning in effect.)  Goodie!

Do Something That Scares You

I'm a confident driver.  You might even label me aggressive.  I grew up driving Alberta country roads, can handle snow, ice, gravel and roads with no lines on them.  I've also been driving a truck and trailer since I was 18.  My parents did not believe anyone younger had sufficient driving experience to manage a live load.  I began hauling with my mom riding shotgun to local horse shows.  With time I was hauling to gymkhana and shows alone.  Soon I was hauling hours to get to the rodeos and roping's I was competing in. I learned how to navigate a section with a loaded trailer full of cowboy's horses (and a truck full of often intoxicated cowboys) to get closer to the cattle we needed to check.

When I moved to Consort I learned how to manage hauling my horses through an isolated and sometimes hostile environment.  I remember once after doing grand entry for a ProRodeo a couple of hours away the wind came up.  (Out there when the wind came up - it came UP!)  Across the rolling prairie I could see the wall of dirt off the fields headed towards me.  Knowing I quickly would see nothing I began to slow and pull onto the shoulder of the highway.  As the wind rocked and buffeted the truck and trailer I could hear steel screeching.  When the dirt storm moved past I notice the wind had peeled the rock guard off the front of the trailer.  Once on my midnight trek home from roping (I used to travel 140km each way to practice roping.)  I split a herd of deer in two as they settled on the highway in front of me.  While not one of those natural drivers who can park and maneuver a trailer in tight spaces I am competent and comfortable with a loaded trailer.

Yesterday I made attempt number two at Fort St. John.  My brother who works up there had just flown back from his vacation would follow me in his car up north.  We pulled out of the yard at around 8:30.  We reached our destination around 5:00.  For the vast majority of the drive it was lovely.  It was sunny, and the highway was dry and clear.  The final four hours involved driving into a head wind which is always lovely for fuel economy, and there was something wrong with my trailer brakes because they kept grabbing on the rough road.  Also lovely for fuel economy.  Once we reached Dawson Creek my brother and his wife hopped in with me.  We would go the remainder of the distance together.  This last hour and half stretch is the stretch that had me scared.  It involved a serious hill/mountain over a metal bridge and then into the bush on secondary roads.

I had turned off my trailer breaks because they weren't working well.  Baby (my 3/4 ton Chev diesel) is equipped with an engine break and this is what I planned to use.  Easing off the pedal we passed the signs telling people we were entering a chains and winter tire mandatory area.  We passed the signs and pull out where the semis were required to check their breaks before continuing on.  As the road began to drop and twist out beneath us I began to tap and release my breaks to keep the rig from gaining momentum.  It took a few minutes for Baby to figure out that we were doing some serious work, but she quickly kicked in the engine break and slowed the truck to a crawl.  With the engine roaring we crept down, down, down and past the final hair pin turn.  Next we began the incline up the long, long, long metal bridge.  With the truck and trailer shimmying I tried to keep a steady hand on the wheel and a steady pressure on the pedal.  Huffing out a breath I looked over at my wide eyed brother and said "See why I was scared?"

Steadying myself we began to work our way off the beaten path.  We had 30km of back roads to reach the ranch where Whiskey was moving to.  As we cleared the city of Fort St. John, I realized the dry clear roads had come to an end.  Keeping my pace slow but steady I began navigating the chunks and sheets of ice.  Reminding myself to breath we forged on.  And then it happened, as we began an incline the truck hit ice and the hind end shifted.  My brother chanting "Easy, easy, don't break, don't break." I managed to keep the truck (and trailer) under control and on the road.  At this point if I had been alone I would have been crying.  Pulling into the middle of the road (secondary highway), I tried to keep my tires on the rough sanded looking part, and crawled up the hill.  And then it got really, really scary.

My next road was their gravel road.  This road was white and shiny with rained on snow.  It was a skating rink.  Popping my truck into 4x4, I began easing my way down it.  Chanting "scared, scared, scared" I slowly, carefully made my way the 5 km to their driveway.  We did the entire 5k doing 30 km/h.  As I eyeballed the driveway and wondered if we'd make it up it, Jay looked and me and said "giver" we'd made it this far.  By this time daylight was quickly fading into black and I was eager to beat a hasty retreat.

Settling Whiskey in, we went into the house to do the paperwork.  She couldn't remember how much we had agreed on and I was oh so tempted to up the price.  Restraining myself I stayed honest.  Tempted though.  Very, very tempted.  (Does this make me bad?)  She was very impressed with Whiskey (as most people are who meet her) and kept muttering what a nice horse she was.  Paperwork done, we began to head back to civilization.  Thrilled at the prospect of driving back over the scary roads I took some deep breaths, patted Baby, asked her to be good, and pulled out.  It felt surreal to leave Whiskey behind.  I'm not sure it's really set in that she's not coming back.  Ridiculous I know.  I know she'll be cared for and loved.  I know she'll have some really, really nice babies.

We made it through the roads from the devil and headed to the next town where my brother is currently living (working a job).  But the fun wasn't done.  I still had to park the truck and trailer in his apartment parking lot, which as many things are in Northern BC, was on an incline and icy.  Parked and safely in his apartment I shook with exhaustion.  After a short visit, I took an Advil and crashed.  An adrenalin hangover if you will.  You know how they say you should do something that scares you every day?  Well I say HOGWASH!!!!  I hate that feeling.  I don't care that everything worked out in the end.

The golden lining was the time spent with family.  Due to decisions he's made in the past my relationship with my brother is shaky and somewhat fractured.  We've only begun to carefully rebuild a relationship.  His support meant the world to me.  I tear up when I think how he made sure I didn't have to do this alone.  He knew how stressed I was about doing it.  I think the whole reason Whiskey was destined to go north and I was destined to drive it once he was back in town was for us to have the chance to spend time together.  I took the opportunity to visit with his wife and get to know her better, and I think that all of us have a deeper understanding of each other.  It was a great building block and I feel more connected with my brother.

That being said, I've reached my quota for risky and scary behavior the last couple of days...

Now off to spend time with my needy and active dogs.

Going Nowhere Fast

Last night I carefully checked the road reports, carefully packed up my supplies, my dog supplies,  walked around the trailer and added things that I thought I'd need.  This morning I was going to attempt a run at Fort St. John, British Columbia which is where Whiskey's new home is.  Click here to see the Google Map.  This was no small undertaking.  My plan?  Get up early, drive, deliver, turn around and come home. I was looking at around 16-18 hours of driving.

Here's what really happened.  I got up, showered, loaded my truck while playing with the dogs and feeding the horse.  My tummy was upset so I chugged some PeptoBismal and packed that as well as a kit full of my "safe" foods.  I then took the dogs out for their final pre-leaving potty.  And Ryder had the trots.  Fabulous.  I had planned to take Ryder and Diva, with my mom scheduled to come and take Tessa to the farm until I returned.  Leaving Ryder behind meant I'd also leave Diva (so they had play buddies).  This also meant rearranging my garage so that they couldn't eat anything they're not supposed to - such as recycling or shoes.  I took the Exercise pens out of their boxes and created a barrier, leaving them the one parking space, front and access to the doggy doors.  I filled up an extra water bowl and placed it in their area, and pulled their collars off.  I didn't want to risk them hooking their collars on anything or getting tangled while wrestling.  (This is why I love Sherry's slip collars!)  This change of plans set my departure time back by an hour.

Feeling somewhat strange I loaded and left.  It's weird for me not to travel with at least one dog.  Hitting Whitecourt (about 2 hours in) I had a great conversation with an older man who was filling up next to me.  (Part of my strategy was to top off my tank at each larger center - this is my wilderness driving strategy!)  He asked where I was headed and then informed me they were calling for freezing rain.  Pointing my truck north I kept driving.  It was drizzling off and on but our temperature was hovering around the melting mark so I figured I'd be okay.  Because my homemade CDs would not work (!!!) I was flicking and finding radio stations as each area lost reception.  It was in the Grand Prairie radio zone when they announced a freezing rain warning was in effect and that it was anticipated freezing rain would last the next 24 hours.  Nervous now, I kept driving.  I kept driving through the increasing rain.

I was about 15 minutes from reaching Valleyview.  (To get to Valleyview takes about 3.5 hours.)  My phone rang.  It was Kelly (where I was headed).  She said it had started snowing 20 minutes ago.  Eeek. I am an admitted wimpo.  I'll admit it scares me to drive the mountain passes in the winter with a trailer.  It makes me nervous without a trailer when there's snow on the ground.  Yes I have 4x4, but I don't have chains - and that was the type of country I was headed into.  I told her I'd think about what I was going to do.  I needed to decide if I was going to turn around or push through.  The road I was driving on was wet.  This meant once dark hit there was potential for ice.  Even more potential for ice if the storm hit.  My gut clenched with stress I called my mom.  I wanted to get her opinion.  Valleyview was my point of no return.  Any further and it would just be shorter to keep on to my destination (still 4-5 hours away).  I stopped at a truck stop, parked and fretted.  Weighing the various options.  I didn't have time to get a hotel and wait it out.  (Which could take 1-2 days.)  Plus I didn't pack a bale of hay for the horse - who I could turn loose in the stock trailer, making it into a stall.  Finally my fear of the mountain passes during a storm pushed me into a decision.  I decided to turn back.  I called Kelly to let her know.  Of course she tells me the snow seems to be letting up.  That's fine given the fact that there's still 500 km (about 310 miles) to drive.  With the rain warning in effect I would basically be driving into the storm front and not away from it.  This made me worry.  Even if I made it safely to BC I still had to make it safely home.  My gut was screaming at me that it wasn't a good decision to continue on.  I decided to listen to it.

So I turned around.  Poor Whiskey.  What a good girl.  When I got home and unloaded her she looked around, seemingly confused.  You could see her thinking - isn't this where I just left?  The trailer is a mess and I need to take it to the farm to clean out and put fresh shavings in.

Tentative plan is to make another attempt on Friday - once the weather up north clears.  My brother who lives up north will be back from his trip and I'll have some extra people around.  This makes me feel a bit more secure and safe.

New Friend

Yesterday was one of the perfect days for me.  It's December and the temperature was not minus frigid.  I got to load my truck with dogs and had a trailer on behind me.  We ended up spending the day at Ken's.  I was going to pick up a yearling to take to keep Guinness company.  Both babies were to be moved to my place.

I pulled into his yard and promptly tried to get the truck and trailer stuck.  Hitting a soft spot in the snow = not cool.  I managed to solve the problem myself with some creative language, sweat, and ace maneuvering.  One of my favorite things about Ken's is that I have someone who loves horses and dogs just as much as I do.  Our first job was to catch his baby, trim his feet, tie him up, and make sure he loads.  While we were doing this we chatted horses.  Ken has a lovely, lovely 3 year old that was his top futurity prospect (cutting).  She got caught up in oil lease wire and tore the tar outta her hock.  It was heartbreaking because she's now worth virtually nothing and the oil company won't pay the vet bill (1900 and counting) or loss of value.  He is understandably frustrated.   We went and looked at his weanlings.  I picked out my favorite.  *huge smile*

Next I worked Ryder.  He gave me some feedback on things I'm doing and gave me some things to think about.  On leash Ryder was really weird.  Ken has a young guardian pup that Ryder took a dislike to.  No ruffled back, just growling.  I could lie Ryder down, move him around, have him focus on me.  Yet he continued to growl at the pup.  Any suggestions for making him "give up" the behavior?  He was completely in control and didn't make any negative moves towards the other dog.  Just staying in heel or sit/stay.  But growled.  Big sigh.  He's normally so soft so I was slightly startled that he was that determined to keep growling.

Afterwards horse was loaded, dogs had a potty break and we hit the road.  Once home at the farm, Guinness was a naughty brat who decided he was not leading.  Not. For.  Anything.  Yes, it's timely he comes home for some work.

Here's his new bud.  (As of yet - no name.)