Monday, July 27, 2009

A "Monderful" Monday Morning


The mists rising off of the river. A pretty doe standing in the hay field up here near the house.Freshly mown hay laying in the field and the morning sunshine. It is a "monderful" Monday to be sure!
Today when the dew dries off the hay it will be raked and baled into large round bales.
Yesterday was a beautiful sunny summery day too. In the early morning we did our chores. My husband went over to the haymeadow on the other side of the river. He was bucking the blow down and moving it out of the way so that the tractor and swather could get in there. Woody and I went looking for the trail at one point and gave up and came back got out the coffee and cookies and paraphenalia that goes along with that. Put it out near the bench on the bank in the shade and sure enough along came Dennis and then Hubert and then Al and some friends from Sherbrooke Quebec
! Nobody was in a hurry and sat around eating cookies and drinking coffee and talking about things that should be getting done, have been done, and will be done!
Eventually all of us decided it was time to actually get into action heat or no heat.
I finished baking bread and made ham and potato salad. Hubert came in and ate with us. We then headed off to house church and Hubert went home taking some movies with him.
We dropped off Bob and his wee daughter after church. Bob is an artist that comes to church with us usually walking from his home. He has two little ones. He told us he doesn't get many visitors at his house cause he doesn't drink anymore. We will make a concerted effort to drop by not that we go out that often but we can stop by as he is on this end of the reservation.

Today I am getting ready to do some mundane housework things but I love to do that so it is not mundane to me just to write about. I want to finish tracing a shirt pattern and finish sewing a shirt I am making for our son-in-law for his birthday which was on Sunday. I guess better late than never is my motto! I am behind on some birthday presents but slowly but surely I am getting them caught up. That is my goal.

For You are my lamp, O LORD;
The LORD shall enlighten my darkness.
2 Samuel 22:29

God bless and have a
MONDERFUL MONDAY!
Roxanne
ps one of our grandsons that was here on the week-end loved the Donald Duck picture! So it is for him

Monday, July 20, 2009

Singing of the Mercies of the LORD!



The last few days have been so very busy here even with all the rainstorms. This week-end was the Billy Barker Days week-end. For those of you who do not know what that is it is a time when the town of Quesnel takes time to celebrate the beginnings of the town. Its history especially how it got kick started with the Gold rush days of the 1800's. Billy Barker made the first big strike in the now ghost town of Barkerville. That town is resurrected and a big tourist attraction. All done up in the days of it livliehood. Houses and stores and courthouse etc are all restored. Because of the gold there Quesnel grew. People dress-up in the clothes that were popular at that time period.(not all people dressup but lots do) There is many things to do from mud-bogging to rodeoing.Parade and fireworks and the dreaded beer gardens get set up but all in all there is lots of ways to spend your hard earned cash. Lots of street booths with pretties to buy and don't forget the carnival grounds where you can go on tons of rides. Music in the park and church service there too. I have only mentioned some things cause I really did not mean to get off on a trail about Billy Barker Days. The exciting part for us was getting a chance to see a couple of our sons that were passing through town. One was working and going onto somewhere else the other one was rodeoing in Alberta. He came with his buddies who were participating in the BBDAys rodeo. Even a grandson or two were there at the rodeo grounds.
We did not stay in town long though. Came ho
me changed and went to work here. I ran the push weed whacker and my husband got himself all oily working on the truck.
This morning finds us under a beautiful clear blue summery sky. Heavy dew with a temperature of about 3 above. Or
maybe 36 in farenheit.Thereabouts anyhow. The sunshine is quickly warming the ground and it won't be too long before the dew evaporates. The mist along the riverbanks looks so awesome in the early morning but it too is already burning off. I have more weed-whacking to do and the list of things to do today would choke a horse. I won't bother posting all the things I have to do or should do or hope to do. Just suffice it to say that there is lots to do!
Our little happy h
ens are laying eight eggs a day most of the time so that is fun. We have eggs!! Cleaning their house would be another to-do thing today.
The piggie
s are really growing. The last time we had some grandchildren here the boys were running around playing with the little piggies. Not so sure they would want to play with them now that is how fast they have grown.
I can hardly wait for the grasses and flowers to dry off this morning. I want to press a bunch of flowers. I love doing that just have not decided
what to do with them after they are dry but I have lots of ideas just nothing settled yet.
My tea cup is running low so will go fill it up again.

I will sing of the mercies of the LORD forever:
with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness
to all generations.

Psalm 89:1

God Bless Your week
Roxanne

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Cows,Black Fox, and a Coyote




Not sure where to start today. How about with the rain we need but not really wanted by most folks. Being as it is suppose to be summer and the theme song is Summer in the City or Summertime Blues doesn't seem to really fit here. No steaming heat rising off the dirt(no pavement)
But we do have the dirty dust-raising cows and logging trucks.The cows have been giving us a run for our money the last few days. Yesterday we managed to get them all into the corrals. I think there is still a couple around the back fence but not sure where they got off to. There is now some 40 head of c
ows bunched into the corrals waiting to be pushed back out onto the range where they are suppose to be. Where there is tons of grass and salt blocks out there for them and lots of water. In other words they are here only because they are brats and like getting into the big hay-meadow. So far only a few of them have gotten into there.
Day before we had put some cows inside the corrals and were leaving to go finish the log house we were painting. About to pull out of the driveway I said look there is our black fox. Sure enough I could almost step on the little fella. (it might have been a little gal) He is most definitely black to look straight onto but as he turns his side to you one sees why the black fox is also the silver fox. What a beautiful coat in this very deep dark silver. The underhairs are black.
Back to the rain t
hat is ever so gently falling. Our little pond mostly dried up and now we have to make our pump work and the hoses reach from a drilled well. It will take some water to water the garden and not sure how long it will take for the well to recover. We are very thankful for some rain as the garden was pretty dry yesterday when I was down working in it.
I am so excited to say we have tomatoes! Little green tomatoes. (in the greenhouse that is) Dennis is pruning my jungle of tomato plants. Some are chest high. It is so fun. And the green peppers are getting flowers on them. Woo woo
Yesterday when I was almost finished working for the day in the garden I saw something coming down the bank on the far side of a pasture fence. There was a young coyote just lightly springing down the hill. I love watching how they walk. So quiet and light. He came across the small end of the pasture through the fence and to the old original cabins. Poking his nose in the one an
d sort of looking at the one with the roof caved in. He still didn't see me standing in the garden watching. The cabins didn't look to interesting to him so he started to the garden and got almost to the gate when he stopped and our eyes met. I softly spoke to him ~ What do you want here?~~Standing very still looking at me he said ~~I want to eat you up! Haha no he didn't speak at all! I told him you can go away now for there is nothing here in my garden for you. He made a couple steps forward. I told him go now. He turned and sprinted a little ways away when I told him the dogs will see you you better run. He looked over his shoulder but was not in a very big hurry to leave. Finally I said in a louder voice~ go~ and he did go back up the hill. I do not mind him hunting for mice or rats in the old cabins but we are not far there from the chicken coop. Now the chickens I do not want to share with him or her.
It is getting on here so had better get a few things done. I am so excited that we can go to town today and actually buy groceries. It has been quite awhile since we
have bought groceries. At least in any sizable quantity.

The light of the eyes rejoiceth the heart:
and a good report maketh the bones fat.
Proverbs 15:30

May Jesus sparkle your day
Roxanne

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Here is a photo or two of the grandchildren and friends and an Auntie. They are from the last big birthday bash. Actually it wasn't real big but it sounds good and the three words starting with "b" together look rather poetic!
Our day is not going as planned. We were hoping to go finish the last half of the painting of the pastors' log house but it is raining and then the last herd of cows that was here (18 of them) came back off the range this morning with a whole bunch more buddies!! :(
so our plans are not our own. Imagine that!
Instead I am doing laundry and some baking and we will putter around here waiting for these silly cows to come back down the fenceline into the back corral. We got them off the road and had a gate that is very convenient for them to go into open and so they stampede themselves right past the gate. That lead cow is going to end up in a canning jar pretty soon. She is so aggravating. She is almost 40 years old~~ well would you believe about 14? Nonetheless the only thing saving her from a canning jar is she throws good calves.
I am pressing flowers and that is fun. I love pansies they turn out so pretty. Haven't decided what to do with them yet but have lots of ideas.
Better go feed some hungry dogs.

...to rejoice in his labour;
this is the gift of God.
Ecclesiastes 5:19

I think that verse is telling me to even rejoice in
bad behaviour cows!
Have a great day no matter what comes your way
Roxanne

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Morning Sunshine through the Mist


The sun shining through the morning mist, the mist rising off the river and the hay-meadow, small herd of cows LOCKED into a large corral, this is my morning. Today is the day thecows and calves that are here will have their perspective changed and will be herded back WAAAAY back onto the range and prayerfully won't be back here till fall. (well one can dream can't one?)
A fun birthday party yesterday for a friend and one of our now sweet little six year old grandsons. They really do grow up too fast. I know it is an old cliche but it seems like just the other day he was a baby. It is fun to see them grow up. And Granpa made their day (evening) by rallying the truck for them and blowing the muffler once again. There was a little crew of grandson
s under the truck helping him tie it back up. LOL and cheers of "do it again granpa!!" aaahh NO but he did!
We have a very loud truck for awhile.

Company coming for the week-end and that should all be fun fun. They want to fish in this famous fishing river we live on ~~and claim as "our" river as if a river ever belonged to anyone.
Smoke in the air for the last couple of days. Not sure where that is coming from. Someone mentioned last night that there was a fire up around Whitehorse Yukon. I just pray it isn't nearby. One would think with all the rain we have had the last few weeks that nothing could burn. Not sure what the weather has been in the Yukon thoug
h maybe they have been really dry.
So today I will be getting ready for company and the cows being sent out of here with someone taking them out using horses so they will be gone way back out on the range. There is a herd of horses of about 40 of them coming soon to stay the night in our corrals before they get pushed out onto the range too. They were suppose to be here the other day but I guess they will be here when they get here.
Our garden needs weeding. I want to make scarecrows for it. The baking needs to be done, some mending needs to be done, some fun sewing to be done
~~anything that isn't mending is FUN! Still plugging away at yet more crocheting projects and wanting to knit. I really need to learn how to work in my sleep or maybe I should just give up SLEEP You could get so much done if you didn't "waste" time in bed sleeping.
But seeing as it is already 6:30ish a.m. I had better get off of here
and go do some of these pressing projects.
To our grandchildren ~~we saw a lynx last night on our way home!

...Jesus came and stood in the midst,
and said to them,
"Peace be with you."
John 20:19

May God's peace reign in your hearts
this day that the LORD hath made.
Roxanne


Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Wet Wednesday Weather


The weather is still wet this morning. Listening to Jesse Cook play his amazing Flamenco guitar music while watching this little kitty play with everything in sight. I have various cleaning jobs to do inside and some crocheting projects on the go. There are no cows in sight at this moment so there is hope they are gone back where they belong. My keyboard is doing weird things this morning I have no question mark the parenthesis are coming out as the equal sign and so on. So far the letters are working. I am wondering if it is the keyboard that is on the fritz or the computer is messed up for some strange reason. Maybe there is some kind of beastie inside my keyboard playing tricks on me.Whatever the reason it does not work! but the exclamation mark does. Hooray for that.
We really did need rain but not sure torrential rain was what any of us were thinking of. No need to be worried about forest fires for a couple of days at least.
We need the rainy weather to stop so we can get on with the painting or staining of the log house we were hired to do. We have it mostly scraped just a little left to do on that and some power washing which we can do even in this weather.But we will have to wait for dry weather to do the rest.
One of our
grandsons took a liking to ponchos. He has one that I made but it got me looking up patterns for Mexican type ponchos or serrapis not sure if that is spelled right. There are some pretty cool ones out there. So far though I have not found any free patterns for them so the search goes on when I have free time to just do things like look up stuff.
These very ugly chickens we have been given have started getting their feathers back and are starting to resemble chickens. Out of the ten of them I am now gath
ering eight eggs per day! Hallelujah!
When the weather dries I can get back to picking wild herbs and drying them. I have lots of raspberry leaves dried and we have lots of wild spearmint grow
ing along the river banks. It is way too early for rosehips. Many other plants and tree barks etc can be picked and dried and some used for everyday use and some for medicinal uses. I never ever use a micro wave to dry my herbs,roots or bark. Just air dry. Some roots can be dried in a very low oven or hung over the wood cookstove or wood heater and they will dry nicely that way.
It would be nice very nice in fact to have time to get to my sewing. I have way way more ideas and plans than I can ever manage to find time for. What´s a gal to do...
I think I will go make french toast for breakfast. I want so bad to make bread pudding but do not have enough milk for such an undertaking. Maybe in a couple weeks.

There are many plans in a man´s heart,
Nevertheless the LORD´s counsel that will stand.
Proverbs 19 verse 21

Lots of plans in this girl´s heart this morning
Have a great day and may some of your plans
come to fruition.
Roxanne

Monday, July 6, 2009

Our Safari


I woke up to the hum of mosquitoes clinging thickly to our bedroom window screen. And I was very thankful for our bedroom window screen!
I thought I heard cows bellowing but maybe it was just a nightmare! I hope so ~~not being able to see any cows anywhere is good. I really do NOT feel like moving cows today.I have these plans and they do not include cows.
Saturday found us helping Larry. A fly fisherman that helps the fishing guide out her
e. Larry is a local man and some day I will tell you more about Larry but right now we will go back to the story of helping Larry move the fishing camp. ~~Above the ranch here the Baezaeko River (and yes that IS how it is spelled) runs into the Blackwater River. The fishermen on this fishing trip had their camp across the river from where the two rivers meet. A lovely wilderness spot in a small clearing right on the river bank. Now to get to this lovely spot MOST people take a quad or a horse in. There is a trail that is a kind of quad road. You have to drive up the steep hill that is beside us about 1 mile and then turn into the bush. So that is what we do. Larry wanted us to bring the dogs but we just brought Nellie dog. She trustfully jumps in the back of the truck and off we go on our Safari trip. No guns just a fly fishing rod, a shovel, and an ax. Up the steep hill into the bush and onto the "road". Thankfully someone had gone through and using a power saw had cut their way through the blowdown. And there is a lot of blowdown. We are in Larry's 4x4 pickup. Not reccommended for the faint of heart. Over the stumps, boulders, leaning sideways in the truck as we go sideways down a "hill" more like a ravine.Squeeze through trees that are close together. If paint jobs mean anything to you I would suggest you wouldn't want to do this. Over bumps and through holes up the other side. Can you see the road Larry asks Dennis as we top another steep hill and have to wind through some trees but the trees are tight together and fitting the truck through them will be a challenge. The road in the meantime has disappeared from view and from under us as it is steep up and turn the corner(?) and down again just in a quick turn. Dennis is looking out his window, Nellie is in the back sniffing the air. I am cramped into the back seat with a spare tire behind Dennis whose seat will not stay forward so it is squashing my legs. Its okay Larry if you go a couple feet to the left the truck will be back on the ground so taking the "upper" trail through those trees we go and so on. Meanwhile I am thinking this is what Dennis and I did or rather Dennis did and I was with him and whatever other buddies were along with him back when we were teenagers. I am also thinking of our sons who would love this "challenge". I say to Dennis and Larry that maybe all new drivers ought to learn to drive on this road first. They nod YUP! We make it in all of us greatful that it had not been raining lately as I doubt we would have gotten in actually we wouldn't have gotten in. Larry backs up to the camp gear. I am watching and spy some wires hanging down under the truck and wondering if they will be okay going back down. So I ask Larry if those wires by the back wheels are going to be okay?? Wires what wires he asks me. Just those ones by the back tires Larry. He looks at me and crawls down to look. OOPS those wires are the brake lines and they are now broken. Dennis tells Larry to check the emergency brake Yup have some of that and one brake at least that is grabbing. We load up the gear. Larry had thrown in his line and caught a pretty little rainbow trout. It comes along with us. The gear fills the back of the truck and Nellie can fit in behind it. The pretty little camping spot that is set up for whoever wants to use it either for fishing camp or hunting camp is soon left behind as we head back down to the ranch. The trip down is done in 4low and with the use of the emergency brake and fancy driving techniques we find ourselves back at the ranch where Dennis plugs off the brake line with a nail. (one of his favourite tricks) Then down through the hay-meadow to the cow trail that leads to the beach where the Nazko runs into the Blackwater. The fishermen will float and fish all the way down the Blackwater and find their camping gear there on the sweetest little sandy beach. A wonderful swimming hole. I can hardly wait for some hot weather and free time to go swimming oh and fishing too. There is a huge eagles nest in one of the ancient cottonwood trees with eagle droppings all over the bushes we have to walk through carrying the gear. It is like a jungle going through there. But I did find quite a few wild gooseberry bushes and they are starting to ripen so here's hoping there will be enough to do something with. The camp gear did all get down to the beach and Larry tried fishing some more while we gathered up a five gallon bucket full of fresh water mussel shells to crush up for the chickens. I waded for awhile and Dennis sat on the beach in the sun and sand. Larry fished out three suckers and the eagle circled over head that is low overhead wanting those three suckers but not sure what to make of the three humans. We came back up to the house for coffee and Larry drove himself home. Another one of those laid back Saturday mornings over with and time to get back to work.

The spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD,
Searching all the inner depths of his heart.
Proverbs 20:27

Off to feed chickens
God Bless you with a great day!
Roxanne





Friday, July 3, 2009

Just a Light Frost



Cats are chasing each other around and the sun is shining and the dust from the logging trucks is drifting across our fields. Kind of throws a monkey wrench into the pristine picture. But no cows hanging around the fence or on the road making the logging trucks gear down and bump their way down the road trying not to hit a herd of the silly things.
Dennis and I and two of the dogs took that herd of 18 cow
s and calves for a walk back out to the range area where they are suppose to be. Here is hoping they stay there for awhile. It is not the safest thing in the world trying to herd them up a steep hill that has narrow corners on it and logging trucks coming and going. We made it off the road and onto the trail just as a truck came. PTL we were not on the road still. The dogs did such a good job too. That is always exciting and encouraging. Blueberry is two and Sassy is not even a year old yet. They listen good and will come back. Now to get them to come back when chasing squirrels!
We are off today to work on our pastors house. Have a lunch to pack and supper to put together so we can come home to it. Love slow cookers!
Our garden is getting planted and close to done. A few more hours and we should have it licked for sure. Plants are coming up in what is planted and the weeding needs to be done now. I refuse to weed this garden until it is all planted. I am hoping and praying that this evening I can get another row or two in.
Managed to get quite a bit done yesterday even with the hike out with the cows. We need to have some time to do fishing. Maybe in a couple weeks. We have to finish painting this house for the pastor and family and get some more fencing done then just maybe we can take a little time out to fish. Besides that we n
eed to buy fishing licenses.
Better go

And he saith unto them,
Follow me and I will make
you fishers of men.
Matthew 4:19

Have a happy day
Roxanne

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Black Foxes


There has been frost for quite a few mornings in a row now. Many friends have lost parts of their gardens to it. Mine thankfully isn't coming up enough to worry about and the cabbage family that is up is pretty hardy so not to worry about. Everything in my greenhouse is doing great with out the wood heater burning in it. I did have one pepper plant that was under plastic outside that got the top somewhat frost bit as there was a hole in the plastic at that point.
Clouds are moving in now this morning after a pretty dawn. Seems to be the way lately.
I do not have much time to write on here this morning so want to throw this
out to those of you who are out there and read this.
We have had a black fox here and no it is NOT a cross fox. This little fox is black black with a white tip on its tail. I thought at first it was my Nellie dog but seeing as she was sleeping on the porch guess it is not. A friend down the road was here visiting a couple days ago and out of the blue he said yeah ---- saw a black fox
the other day. Not a cross fox a black fox. So I told him of the one I saw. Now I am trying to find out about black foxes. Will have to look them up on google or something. Havent had much time for that. But am certainly interested in info just out of curiosity if anyone out there does know more about them. I have never seen one before! Isn't life interesting?
Anyways I must be going as we have to meet our daughter with her belongings at one of our son's homes so she
can get her treasures organized for her transfer to an isolated area in northern BC. Have a great Canada Day!

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do,
do it with they might...
Ecclesiastes 9:10

God's Blessings be upon you
Roxanne