Springtime In Alberta....

Springtime in Alberta....Ian Tyson's voice keeps running thru my head!Springtime? Wait a minute, looks like maybe I missed a season...or two...Well, maybe not, 'cause winter's probably not done with us yet. As ol' Ian sings "Then without a warning, Another winter storm comes ragin' thru...." But today, it is 9 degrees C here, and feels like balm to ones' soul! Esp after the nasty cold snaps we've had, where the actual temperature reached -40 C, and then with the windchill on top of it. Those temps kill me, not so much for myself, but b/c I can't bring my critters in the house, and have to watch them outside, cold. And at the same time, I can't take my kidlets OUT of the house, so they go bonkers inside. Catch 22, all the way around. But anyways, I suppose you aren't reading this blog to hear me blather on about the weather! : )





I know, I've been a terrible, almost non existent blogger. But I have reasons, really! : ) You see, I had these big plans to write a cool post, telling about our wonderful holidays this summer (and they were superb!) but then, perfectionism, as Flylady would call it, got in the way, and I never did, and now so many of the details are lost in this empty space I try to call a memory....


So, I'll just try and forget it, and move on. Although, I'd still love to post some pix-but our new puppy ate the camera cord. But I'm getting ahead of myself! I'll try and begin at the beginning....





News here...Well, after we got back from holidays, I noticed a spot in Sabu's eye. We thought it might have been from her getting kicked or something, so gave it some time to heal. It didn't. In addition, she started losing control of her back end. We took her to the vet, only to find out my worst fears confirmed-she has both pannus and wobblers . This was so hard to take-she was only 8 yrs old when diagnosed. I have begun taking her to see a wonderful chiropractor (we are soo lucky to have Dr. Dan of Ravenwood, so close to us!) as well as, after reading "How to Have a Healthier Dog" adding vitamins b (a complex), c, and e to her diet, as well as giving her cod liver oil for the a and d. She also gets glucosamine. Anyways, while she is still with us, and still happy, it is painful for me to watch her deterioration. I knew that, although she is irreplaceable, we needed another dog-Sabu does so much for us, from helping with the livestock, to making me feel safe when Leroy isn't around, to just being an awesome companion. I wanted another Mottopride dog. So I contacted Sandi Evjen, of Mottopride German Shepherds, to see if she had another mature shepherd available. She didn't, but did have one female puppy in one litter, and another litter (of Copper's line-Sabu's sire) due. It was a tough decision-do we wait for one of Copper's grandbabies, or do we get this one puppy, from the current litter, while she was available? We decided to get the current puppy, not knowing if there would be a female in the next litter, and not knowing how much more time we had with Sabu. So, on December 4, 2007, Penny came home with us. She's the first puppy I've ever raised on my own, and I'm so glad she's a good one. Yes, she has chewed a few things, but not nearly as much as some puppies might, and usually only when there isn't something good, like a meaty bone, for her to chew on. She has transitioned well into everything-loves BARF and working livestock, and is attentive, and mostly obedient. I'm amazed at how quick she learns, and we love her so much (well, except maybe Sabu and Sandy (Jesse's spaniel/border collie mutt) who think she's a little over the top!





And then, on December 15, 2007, we lost Grandpa Bailey. It was after a really brief battle with lung cancer. I'm glad we were able to say goodbye, but I'm still struggling with how it all came about. I've known other people who've died, lost other much loved grandparents-but this time, it seems-closer? more real? I don't know how to explain it. It's hard, and harder watching my Grandma grieve. In some ways, it still doesn't feel real. "Time marches on" Tracy Lawrence sings-but it's still so hard. So many songs make me think, these days. One that describes Grandpa, almost to a T, is "Small Town Southern Man".



For Christmas, Leroy got me an Amautik!! It is the most wonderful garment EVER! Susie of Amautibaby sewed it for me! And was kind enough to have it done, and in the mail in time for me to pick it up from the post office Christmas Eve!! Thanks Susie!! You're the best!! : )

Wyatt loves the Amauti too!! I sure get a lot of looks when I wear it to town, that's for sure!! And it's awesome for doing chores, though it pains me immensely to get it dirty!! Here's a pic (kindly taken by my Auntie Mary Lee on Christmas Day, at the request of my Grandma Bailey, who was also enchanted by the Amauti!

It's just a lot of fun, and I LOVE how the colour accents Wyatt's blue eyes (yes, they look like they're going to stay blue!!)

As for how the kids are doing-they're soo good!! Wyatt is crawling all over the place now, and can stand by himself! Jesse and Tabitha keep growing up, just too fast! Today, Tabitha took the bottle out to "Swiper" a baby goat we are bottle feeding, because his mother decided she only wanted his sister, and not him. By the time I got out there, she had already fed most of the bottle to him (correctly!) and was caressing him as he nursed, and Jesse had the pitchfork and was feeding the goats for me!! I cannot tell you just how big my heart swelled with pride at my lil farm kids!!! I got pix too! (Just can't upload them yet. Still haven't replaced the camera cord). Maybe tomorrow when I go to work, I can take the camera to Walmart and get a cd burned... Oh, yes, I'm working at Tim Hortons now. And loving it. But I think that's a post for another day, b/c my kids are calling me!! : )

It's Summer!!

It has been sooo hot here this summer-and I'm not great at handling hot weather!! Here's a picture of Jesse and Tabitha from last week, enjoying the pool Daddy bought for them:

Jesse started swimming lessons yesterday! He's still a bit nervous about the water, but he really likes the instructors "my teachers" he calls them, and they seem very patient and good with him. He is in "Tadpoles" this year! : ) Here are some pictures from yesterday's first swimming class:

This is one of Tabitha, playing in the lil pool. I don't think she finds it much fun without her big brother!!

Speaking of heat, my knitting needles should have been on fire from the workout they got the other evening, while watching, ironically, the movie "Heat" with Leroy. I pretty much finished my second Wooly Wonder soaker using 3 Irish Girls peregrine merino in colourway Donegan. All that's left is to finish the leg cuffs!! If i were to do it over again, I think I'd do the waistband and cuffs with a coordinating brown yarn. Love the aqua colour in it-would easily work for a boy or a girl!

Here's a picture of the pillowcase dress I started quite a while ago, finally all finished. I was a little frustrated to realize the bias tape I had chosen did NOT go with the purple at the bottom of the case/dress at all, but I didn't want to go back and choose another colour-I just wanted to finish it already!! So I did. I don't know what I was thinking, making something white for that girl of mine to wear, anyways!! Not too many articles of clothing survive more than one or two wearings from that lil tomboy!! I think this will be more of a nightgown....

I also got a new milk goat. Her new name will be Yvette (her mom's name is Renee). Don't have pix of her yet, but quite a good story about when I brought her home....

I traded 3 young goats for her (price works out to be about $150, which is about par for a good milking goat here). It was hard though-one of those kids was the spunky one I saved from floppy kid syndrome last year, and she was going for meat-I wanted to keep her, but at the same time-she didn't fit into my plans for a herd of milking does and I didn't have the cash to make it work otherwise. But I'm still very, very sad about her.Anyways, this new goat is actually a 2 yr old daughter of one of my best goats here, Renee. She's beautiful, and a nice easy milker. However, when I got her home, I tied her up to the truck rail and started milking. She panicked, pulled back and broke the binder twine, jumped off the truck, and jumped into our 5 strand electric fence. I thought at that point she'd see the other goats and stop. But she didn't see the other goats. :( So she kept heading east, jumped out of the (again, electric fence) and headed down the road, into a subdivision. I put Wyatt into his carseat and jumped in my car (pickup truck has a funky way of starting, which involves lifting the hood and using a screwdriver! ) and I had no time for that. I followed her into the subdivision, where some guys with beer maa'ed at her, which didn't distract her long. Then she went into a hayfield at the end of the subdivision (about 3/4 of a mile from our home). I jumped out of my car, left the door open, left Wyatt in the car (air conditioning) and ran after her. She headed for the bush at the end of the hayfield. I got in front of her, and she stopped, about a foot from the bush. We stood and stared at each other, both panting. Then she heard Wyatt crying in the car, and cocked her head in his direction. I took that second of distraction to grab her leg and hung on. I then led her back to my car with my hand in her bindertwine collar and holding onto her ear to encourage her to keep moving. I shoved her into the back of my car (on top of the big kids empty car seats) and ran the seatbelt thru the bindertwine collar. I held Wyatt on my lap b/c I was terrified she'd get away and jump on him. She is now home, tied in a stall in my barn with the two miniature horses, and I'm about to bring Renee up to stay with her, and help keep her company/settle her down (I hope! )

So far, she has been behaving herself, though I find myself a bit paranoid to put her out in the pasture....

So that is all the exciting things that have happened, since I last posted!! Never a dull moment around here!

Updates!!

Ok, I know, I know, I've been a bad, bad blogger!! What have I been up to, you might ask? Well, lets see...

We managed to get Wyatt's blocked tear duct cleared up!! How?? Well, one day while Leroy was at the chiropractor's, for an adjustment, it occurred to me to ask them if an adjustment might help Wyatt. The good Dr. told me he couldn't promise anything, but they could try. So I took Wyatt in for an evaluation-whew, are those hard on Mommies! The Dr was very good, and warned me first before he did anything, and patiently explained everything-but did you know they hang the baby upside down by their legs? And do a "mock drop" to check reflexes? Anyways, Wyatt got thru those tests just fine, but when the Dr checked his neck, he started wailing! The Dr did an adjustment, using his own finger for precision, along with the activator. I took Wyatt home. I didn't notice anything different for the first couple of days, but then I realized-hardly any goo! Took him back, and another adjustment later-and his eye has been completely clear! His check up today was perfect-no adjustments needed!! Really made me a believer in Chiropractic medicine!! Here's a pic of Wyatt, happily grinning in his exersaucer!!

What else...Well, Grandma and Grandpa Herzog bought Wyatt his own pony! That's right, he is now (at 4 mos old!) the proud owner of a little brown and white pinto Miniature horse named Buddy! (Coincidentially, the same name that a certain little sorrel pony my Dad bought for me when I was little was named! And no, we didn't change any names-he came with it!) Big brother and sister have agreed to work with their baby brother's pony for him, til he's old enough to work with him himself!

Here's a pic of Buddy and also one of Tabitha's pony, Prince (Note: I refer to them as ponies, however, they are properly called Miniature Horses).

Along with bringing home Buddy, I also brought home a couple of young male llamas. Now, I didn't have the intent of keeping them, they had already been sold to a gentleman who lived near us. Unfortunately, he changed his mind. So, while we were dithering what to do with them (well, I was dithering, Leroy was FLIPPING! LOL!) I decided to shear them! Here are the "Before" and "After" pix.

My mom's wonderful, patient, versatile neighbor, Kay came over to lend me a hand! The boys behaved quite well, and now I have several bags of llama fiber to sort, and then Kay said she will teach me to spin! YAY!! The llamas were then rehomed, to a nice lady nearby, as companions for a horse (much to Leroy's relief!). Jesse wasn't very happy about it though-when I loaded them up to deliver them to the lady, he asked me why I was taking "his" llamas away, and when I told them they had to go to a new home, he hung his head down pathetically and "aww." and then looked up at me and said "Why yama's need new home?" It was heartbreaking-you had to be there, I guess.

At the end of June, we had two little piggies born. We originally thought Mama pig was eating her babies, and scheduled her for a date with the butcher, only to come out and find that, not only was the one "missing" fella there, but she'd had another. So her bacon was saved for another day! Aren't these guys sweet??

Dolly gave birth to a lovely, sturdy little black bull calf (as is her habit-haven't had a heifer out of her yet!) Still, a healthy calf is a wonderful thing! I should move Dolly and her calf out to a different pasture, but haven't yet, b/c I've been enjoying watching him and Taffy play, play, PLAY! Not much nicer than a warm summer's evening, watching two beautiful, sleek, healthy lil calves play "king of the castle" on the muck heap! Mind you, the lil bugger sucks off Gabi as much as his own mother, which is kind of a pain!

As for knitting news, I've finished off Wyatt's first soaker (out of "Sailor's Dread" by Doodlebird's Creations). I love, love LOVE it! And actually, it seems to keep him cooler during this incredibly hot weather we are experiencing right now! And did I mention it is Cute!!?!

I've almost finished Tabitha's lil Briar Rose dress. I LOVE Briar Rose Fibers, and I love this pattern (Vine Flower Dress by Knitspot)!! Can't wait to see it on my lil sweetheart!

And I've started on another soaker for Wyatt, out of Donegan, by Irish Baby Knits/3 Irish Girls, on their squishy Peregrine Merino!!

I have promised Jesse a sweater next...

I also sewed up a pair of cute lil trainer pants for Tabitha, which she just adores!

I'm not sure if this covers the whole 2 mos + I seem to have been missing from the blogosphere, but at least it catches up a little bit on the hilights! (I hope!)

I will endeavor to be a more diligent blogger, henceforth!! : )

Some knitting news!

Ok, time to post some knitting stuff!!

First of all-

This GORGEOUS skein is "Sea Pearl" by Briar Rose Fibers that I won in a contest put on by Connie of Pick Up Sticks. She asked us to guess the correct total number of skeins of Briar Rose she had ordered. My guess was 94! This skein is destined to become a pair of socks for me, I think!!

Next - some works in progress:


These are a pair of socks I'm knitting for my Mom out of "Emily" by Posh Yarn. 80% lambswool, 10% cashmere and 10% angora - YUM!! Pattern: Openwork Rib from Sensational Knitted Socks Needles: Aero 2.5mm dpns. The beautiful beaded stitch counter is courtesy of my friend, Sherri D of Intuibead.

This is my very first soaker, intended for Wyatt. I'm knitting it with soaker wool by Doodlebird's Creations , colourway "Sailor's Dread", using the Mini WonderSoaker pattern by WoolyWonders. So far, I'm loving how the colours are knitting up, and the pattern seems really easy to follow and knit. I am kinda regretting choosing to do the Mini soaker though, b/c the way Wyatt is growing, if I don't get it done soon, I'm rather afraid he's not going to fit it!! Yes, those are Knitpicks options circular knitting needles pictured-I just got them, and learned how to do the Magic Loop, and am loving every minute of working with them!!


And finally-a Finished Object!! Actually-a PAIR!! Yes-can you believe it! LOL!! Here are Dad's Llama wool socks (80% Llama fiber, 20% wool). Pattern: Crossover Rib from Sensational Knitted Socks Needles: Aero 2.5 mm dpns. Now if only Dad would hurry up and come visit and get them before a) He moves to Belize, where it'll be too warm to wear them or b) I am tempted to keep them and wear them, even though they'll be too big!

Well that's all for now, folks! Stay tuned for more news on another upcoming project (yep, already forgot my "rule" of only onething on the needles at a time!)

It's a heifer!!

Gabi (finally!!) calved! We found a beautiful red/brown heifer calf, already on the ground and licked off this morning!! I was SOO excited to see it was a girl-her Daddy was Eric, my reg'd Dexter bull, whom I sold last falll. She's that pretty red/brown colour all over, except for some white on her tummy and a few hairs in her tail. I would say she is over 80 lbs-I can't pick her up!! But looong legs!! I'm planning on keeping her. I'm thinking of Taffeta (Taffy).

One of our mares, Wonder, kept getting in my way when I went out there with the camera to get some baby pix (this is the last one I'm waiting on to foal). Well, I thought she was just being curious at first. Then-she suddenly went for Gabi-ears pinned back, teeth bared. Gabi backed up, snorted, and shook her horns at the mare, then moved towards the calf again-and the mare repeated these actions!! I think maybe she thought she should be able to adopt the calf! She's never been agressive towards the cows before. Anyways, enough was enough for me! I grabbed a halter and tied up the mare, and moved Gabi and baby into the barn and shut the gate to give them some private time!

Gabi's bag is VERY FULL!! I had to milk her back teats out with thumb and forefinger-that's all the room there was on her overfull teats, til I took some pressure off!! And of course, she's a little sore (can't blame her!) and concerned about her baby. And the mosquitos here are TERRIBLE!! Still, she behaved quite well-I'm so proud of her! I cannot describe just what a joy it is to have a milk cow, even through the trying times, and times like this-new sweet baby calf and fresh milk on the way-are just perfection!!

A Sad Day...

Had a really rough day yesterday. We lost our Etta (Cartrs Blackjack Etta) to a complication during foaling. It was totally unexpected, and happened so quickly, we are all left reeling and sad, wondering what we could've done different. We also lost the foal.
Etta liked Leroy best, and he returned her feelings. She had an incredible temperament (typical of the Canadian breed) and allowed Jesse to ride her in his (and Etta's too!) first horse show. Keeping in mind, she hadn't been broke until age 9, although she took to it so well, one would've thought she'd been born trained! She also allowed me to watch her give birth to our "Wonder" horse, born on mine and Leroy's 3rd wedding anniversary-the first foal I'd ever seen born. She was our lead horse, and the herd out there, comprised of her daughters and granddaughter, as well as our stallion, are pretty forlorn and lost without her.
I know farming isn't always easy, but this is one of the toughest things ever to go through-I've seen death and loss before, lots even-but this is unimaginable-she wasn't even very old, and so unexpected...
Etta's loss will be felt for a very long time to come.

Happy 4th Birthday, Jesse!!

I can't believe it!! My first born is 4 years old already!! (Yes, it makes me a little weepy!!) Yesterday, April 14, was his birthday.
He requested a dinosaur cake, so I did a search and found this site:
http://tinyurl.com/38meys
Here's my rendition:

I also baked a spare sheet cake, in case things went wrong with the first. Because things worked out the first time and I didn't use it, I decided to decorate it too!

Here's a pic:
I was rather annoyed with the pattern on that site-they didn't have the pattern posted in actual size, and what a pain to guesstimate the size to make! But it turned out alright-at least Jesse was thrilled! Didn't taste too bad either! I was more organized for this party than I've ever been, but I was still VERY glad when my Mom phoned to see if I needed anything in town-I'd forgotten munchies and ice cream!! So she very kindly brought those for me!! Thanks Mom!!

Jesse was spoiled rotten with gifts, and Tabitha and Wyatt weren't left out either! We are soo blessed with such generous family and friends-it's overwhelming!
Jesse blowing out his candles:

(Note the dinosaur party hats)

We went last minute shopping for birthday hats and Jesse requested "dinosaur party hats" (his words-I just LOVE hearing him talk!) Of course, I couldn't FIND any dinosaur hats to buy, but I determinedly thought to myself "there must be some printable ones on the net!" Well, I was in luck! I found some here:
http://tinyurl.com/3xk5pn
I was thrilled-and so were Jesse and his guests!

And then, when the party was over (so we thought) and all the guests had gone home-we got another surprise! Grandpa Dave phoned from Uncle David's house and said they were coming over and bringing KFC!
Good thing I had that other cake!!
All in all, I think a great day was had by all!! The kids all slept well last nite, that's for sure!!

Family Pix and More Wyatt Pix!

Our family photos came in on the 11th, so I'll post a few here! Before I do, let me tell you-the Walmart photographer who took them deserves a medal!! Her subjects were rather-uncooperative, shall we say? Between tears, tantrums,spilled pop, and more, she still managed to get some fairly worthy shots!

The whole family!

Proud Big Brother and Big Sister with Wyatt!

and Baby Wyatt on his own...

I also wanted to share a few more shots of Wyatt!!

Wyatt trying out his sling for the first time!

First bath!

Getting dried off after his bath!

Wyatt and Great-Grandma Bailey

Wyatt and Great-Grandpa Bailey

Wyatt trying out the handmade heirloom cradle made by Great-Uncle Dave Waddell, and given to Mommy and Daddy when Jesse was born.

Big Brother and Sister with Wyatt

Jesse holding Wyatt on his own

What a Cutie!!

Foal Pix!

Here's the shots of the new foal, as promised! Apologies in advance, they quality isn't great, b/c they came from our video camera, which I had grabbed on my way out the door, in hopes that she wouldn't need help and I could film the birth (which, if you read my earlier post, you know didn't happen!).

Mama (Neena) and Baby getting to know each other!

Grandma horse (Etta) checking out the new arrival. (Leroy is just shooing her away-we were a little concerned she may have been entertaining thoughts of taking over the baby!)

The (as of yet unnamed) foal continues to thrive. Will try and get some clearer photos of her-if she ever stands still ong enough-now that she's mastered those legs, she doesn't stand still much!

SO Tired!!

Oh, boy. Soo tired today! And no, Wyatt isn't the one keeping me up-he continues to be a dream baby!-no, it's these mares! I wish they would just hurry up and foal already!! Neena is waxing like crazy (waxing: a yellowish, honey like secretion from the teats). She lost her baby last year (BIG colt, and he got stuck, and we were too late to help him, though we still had to pull him out). That incident was a good part my fault, b/c I checked her at 10:00 pm, and she was acting normal, like she wasn't planning on foaling at all that night. I had however, locked her mother, Etta, up, b/c I thought she was pretty close. Then I set my alarm for what I thought was midnight-except it wasn't-it was for noon! My husband came home at 1:00 am and woke me up, saying "come help, she's having trouble!". I asked him "Etta?" (Etta's had several foals, without incident). He said "No, Neena" (Neena's my "baby" so I was pretty upset!) So anyways, we had to pull the foal, a big black colt-I was soo soo sad. So was Neena. I stayed up most of the rest of the night with her.
Then, that afternoon, Etta kept pacing her paddock, and glaring at me-I knew she was close to foaling, and she was doing her best to make it VERY clear she did NOT want to foal in the pen!-I finally gave in and said to Leroy-I betcha she'll have that foal in a couple hours if we let her out, but she doesn't want to foal in that pen. So we gave in and freed her. Sure enough, within 2 hours, she'd laid down on the straw right outside the pen and had another big black colt-would've been a perfect match to Neena's baby. Neena wanted to steal that foal SOO badly, but Etta would have none of it!!
So anyways, all this to say, we are watching Neena VERY carefully this time-but it is making me VERY tired!!

UPDATE!!!

Ok-I just typed that post, and saved it, b/c my Grandma and Grandpa Bailey came to give Jesse his b-day present this morning (his 4th!birthday is tommorrow, but they were coming this way today). They brought him two wonderful new DVD's that he was pretty thrilled with (so is Tabitha and Mommy too!!-"Land Before Time-The Great Day of the Flyers" and "Charlotte's Web 2") as well as some yummy cupcakes Grandma made, that disappeared rather quickly!!

Anyways, as they were leaving, Leroy came in and said "Neena's having her foal-I think we may have to help her!". So we said a hurried goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa (actually, I think I forgot to say goodbye to poor Grandpa!) and put on a movie for Tabitha and dashed out to help Neena (Jesse came with us). We did indeed have to help her-the foal had a foot turned back inside Momma, so Leroy righted it and helped pull a little-we did NOT want to lose this baby too!! I stood at Neena's head and encouraged her. And then she was born-a pretty little chestnut filly!! On Friday the 13th!! Momma and baby are both doing just fine-baby stood shortly after birth-just popped right up! and has already nursed. Neena's mothering her like a champ! Etta came over and acted like she was maybe going to swipe the baby, but has since relented.

This year is "T" names for Canadians-I'm considering "Teak" or "Tequila" or "Thirteen" for her!! Leroy's a little disappointed-he likes the black horses-but I'm kind of excited-it's neat to see a little splash of colour out there, amongst all the blacks (and one buckskin-old Kye!! but he's not a Canadian!). Anyways, I think the next two foals will be black, so that will make him happy.

I have to dash now, to get ready for Jesse's birthday tomorrow-but will try and post some pix of the new arrival soon (Got a really cute one of Momma and Baby right after birth-I think-so long as I remembered to turn the video camera on...)

Bye for now!

Baby Pix!

Here are some pix!

Jesse and Tabitha, with Wyatt in Utero! Taken just before leaving for the hospital.

Checking Baby's heart rate...

In the tub.....

Just born!!

Daddy holds Wyatt for the first time! Note the vernix all over Daddy's shirt!

Daddy and Wyatt....
'Nother pic of Daddy and Wyatt...
Grandpa Dave and Wyatt (and Mommy and Tabitha)

Grandma Margo and Wyatt

Auntie Christine (who was my Doula!) and Wyatt

Cousin Jade and Wyatt

Awww-T00 Sweet!!

Grandma Julie, with Wyatt and proud big siblings Tabitha and Jesse


Trying out the bouncer seat!

Crashed in Daddy's arms!

Caught a baby smile!!

Half awake!!

There aren't too many pix of Mommy, b/c I wasn't dressed for most of them!!

We're getting family photos done on Thursday though!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures as much as I enjoyed sharing them!