Photo Challenge – Morning – Day Seven

On August 12, 2016 By colleengbergIn Photo Challenges1 Comment

This has been a fun week utilizing the weekly photo challenge – morning – as a personal daily challenge for me. I saved the best for last.

Thanks to my mom and dearly-departed dad, my morning now must begin with their ritual………coffee, chocolate and half a muffin.

You see, they would start their day in the kitchen reading their respective favourite sections of the newspaper over coffee (a most revered beverage in our family), a piece of dark (and it has to be at least 70% dark) chocolate, and one homemade muffin split in half to share between them.

Although dad now delights in his heavenly coffee, chocolate and muffins….mom faithfully continues the tradition every morning and I’m sure that in so doing, she feels a little closer to him.

It makes me feel closer to both of them!

Photo Challenge – Morning – Day Six

On August 11, 2016 By colleengbergIn Photo Challenges3 Comments

It’s Morning and we have fresh-from-the-oven muffins. Need I say more?

Photo Challenge – Morning -Day Five

On August 10, 2016 By colleengbergIn Photo Challenges2 Comments

I believe the creator of this Photo Challenge had suggested we share photos that depart from the typical sunrise but how could I not post this image from a very early Morning moment a few days ago?

Photo Challenge – Morning – Day Four

On August 9, 2016August 9, 2016 By colleengbergIn Domestic Animals, Photo Challenges5 Comments

On our ranch, Morning means our precious hard-working, intelligent, gentle and sensitive border collie, Patty gets to come into the house for a little AM visit to start everyone’s day on the right foot.

She works so hard for us with the cattle that we like to give her a little appreciation and now we’re all hooked on the morning habit, including Patty.

Photo Challenge – Morning – Day Three

On August 8, 2016 By colleengbergIn Agriculture, Domestic Animals, Photo Challenges5 Comments

I elected to use the Photo Challenge – Morning more as a “Morning Story” for Day three. Today…we check pastures and for sure that means we treat cows and calves. We have come across some incidents of foot rot more so this very moist year and so we need to get going early in the morning!!!

So, my job is to corral the animals that hubby brings in on horseback. I wait by the corrals in the very abundant grass and weed growth pacing back and forth to capture these critters…..this groundwork can get wet!!! I need to aspire to the horseback position!

We have fairly rudimentary corrals out in the pasture for this type of thing but it’s certainly a step-up from just roping a sick animal and tying her to a tree. Our old chute system from the home corrals has retired to the north pasture.

The cows come in nice and peaceful

But the bulls have to show up in “wrestle-mode”. Always has to be drama with these fellas .

However
I got ’em corralled

Our morning story. In our pasture, almost an hour away, we rounded up and treated three cows and one calf and loaded up two rascally bulls for home all before noon.

Countrified Blessings-Cheerful Labor

On August 7, 2016 By colleengbergIn Agriculture, Countrified Blessings1 Comment

I feel so blessed to have a step-daughter, who happens to be a brilliant teacher [subsequently has the whole summer free] and best of all is ready, willing, cheerful and able to rake hay.

She has happily taken over this task for me this haying season and is having the time of her life [I think] working alongside her dad in the fields. She’s on the rake a few swaths ahead of him while he’s working the baler.

Couldn’t be a more countrified blessing than your children wanting to work on the farm. Here she is negotiating with her dad to keep going instead of his suggestion for her to “call it a day”. Yes, we are blessed!

Photo Challenge – Morning – Day Two

On August 7, 2016 By colleengbergIn Photo Challenges3 Comments

I like mornings so much that I am going to “play” the WordPress Photo Challenge every day this week.

Morning brings dew and great rim lighting. Characteristics unique to mornings.

This photograph clearly depicts the very wet, wet summer we’re experiencing right now. So very welcome after last year’s challenging drought.

Photo Challenge – Morning – Day One

On August 6, 2016 By colleengbergIn Photo Challenges5 Comments

My most favorite time of day – Morning – happens to be the Photo Challenge for this week. What a way to recharge myself at blogging. I do believe I’ll have no problem sharing something special about mornings every day!

I always feel cheated if I’ve slept in beyond 6AM. Some of the best scenery goes on during the early misty minutes of predawn. The silence is intoxicating!

Photo Challenge – Narrow

On August 5, 2016August 5, 2016 By colleengbergIn Photo ChallengesLeave a comment

This week’s photo challenge ties in nicely with my little adventure yesterday. For some reason and without warning…my fancy Dodge Ram truck wouldn’t start after I returned from walking through my contented cows.

I had dropped in at one of our pastures along the highway on my way home from the city still half an hour from home. Guess my fancy truck felt she’d give me a little attitude because she maybe thought pasture-checking was beneath her and she had just had such a fine time cruising the paved streets of the city for a few days????

Most folks might not think this trailer bed is Narrow but this gal sure did. Didn’t know I would be required to steer [no power steering when the truck won’t start] this big old girl up this “narrow” ramp while the tow truck driver winched us up. It felt like the early stages of a midway ride when you slowly crawl up to scary heights unknown because you can’t see at all where your tires are.

Turns out we got ourselves lined up mighty fine.

Vacation

On August 5, 2016 By colleengbergIn Agriculture, EntertainmentLeave a comment

So when my hubby and I finally take a vacation…..where do we go? Well to hang out with more cows and more horses and more bulls….we go to a stampede!

The Ponoka Stampede in fact! A two and a half drive from the ranch. We drive away from our peaceful, comfortable homey ranch to set up our trailer in this conglomeration of others seeking “time away” a “change of routine” a “break” some “rest and relaxation”.

We really did end up having a great time away from “the routine” and we truly enjoyed the socializing and the entertainment that we are blessed with on a daily basis at a professional rodeo type event….I find myself wanting to be one of these guys though…right in the arena catching the action WAY more closeup than my telephoto allows me from the grandstands.

Ends up though that there really are lots of photo opportunities to satisfy this rodeo-photographer-wanna-be even from her perch in the stands.

I’m afraid this “vacation-mode” compelled me to take a short vacation from my blog! Operative word…”short”. That’s what a vacation is for. To get recharged with gusto to carry on!