Firewood is a very important part of our life. We spend much of our time all year round thinking about firewood. If we are not out falling trees and limbing and bucking them into the needed lengths then we are burning it.
A lot of hard work goes into the gathering of firewood. First comes the drive to the end of the ranch that we like the most for firewood at least when the weather allows us to get into it.
Once we have got ourselves to the area we want to be in it is just a simple matter of trying to park the truck so that it is not in the way of falling trees and won't roll away on us (not a very good emergency brake have to block it) Powersaw, fuel, tools, ax, wedges, chain (for if we need to drag a log to an area to get at it easier) We walk around sizing up the trees as my husband decides which ones he is after and where he is going to fall them.
And then again not all the trees are obedient to his wishes! When these scene happens there is some very careful falling of the trees that had the audacity to get in the way. Sometimes that goes real straight forward sometimes not! Nonetheless the wood still has to be got and it is.
There are times when we as a family get firewood in huge loads for each other. That is quite the deal. Nice to get a lot of it at once. Everyone has to pitch in but the work gets done and gives us a bit of a break for a little bit.
I love stacking firewood even if it isn't exactly always the most stable of stacks. There is just something about getting it all piled up neatly in ones woodpile. Kind of makes you feel warm and cozy and taken care of.
And then when the winter weather hits it makes for a nice backdrop for one holding a Yedi Teddy bear too!! :)
Here is hoping and praying all of you have your firewood in too~~we still have a long ways to go and there is snow on the ground today from yesterday.

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

Fencing

Fall brings all kinds of interesting chores to be done ~~Fencing is one of the many things that we have to do around this ranch. Our fencing is snake fencing which is done with logs. It is all done by hand sometimes a pickup is used to pull the logs to the fence. When the right size log is found it is put in place after first notching at just the right angle the log then lifted into place. It is very nice to have two strong good looking men to do this. I have lifted logs too but oh my gosh I do not have the strength of a man that is for sure!! There is a lot of fencing here. When you are working on it it really seems like it will never end. I suppose that is a form of job security. LOL

Much of the outer fence now is getting quite old
so next year will have to be replace. It was going to be this year's project for sure but we were flooded out most of the season. the year before was a huge forest fire. I think the only thing left to hit us now is an ice age!!

There are some remnants of old moose fencing here and there still around the ranch ~~I love this old fencing and hope to one day put some around my garden.Try jumping that !!It is a fence with the poles sticking up at angles to keep moose out. Cows and deer don't like it either and will not jump it. If they did the outcome would be critter on a stick! This kind of fencing is a little more work intensive but the good part is it takes poles instead of logs.

One mustn't forget the corrals and the shutes are all needing fixing too and the stackyard ~~So nope no time for boredom in the fall and seeing as we really won't be fencing this fall we will move onto the next part of fall work~~FIREWOOD~~but that will have to be another posting LOL

Let each of us please his neighbour for his good, leading to edification. Romans 15:2

Mya God's Word be your fence love Roxanne

Rodeo and More Rodeo

As the hats are off for the national anthem. The animals are ready and raring for action. After the grande entry comes the various events ~~sometimes it starts with Wild Cow Milking. A funny and wild full of action event where cowboys and even some cowgirls in teams of three try to rope and milk a cow and get back to the judges with at least a squirt of milk in their bottles. There is usually a steer thrown in for fun sometimes more than one. The teams rope and get dragged around the arena . Getting tangled with others ropes is not unusual.

Next there is usually barrel racing, Team roping. For some folks these are their main events for some it is the interlude to the rough stock. Rough stock being intermingled with the more gentlemenly events if bulldogging can be considered gentlemenly.Wild horse racing is an event that is full of action. Cowboys and horses everywhere. Horses kicking, biting, jumping high into the air with some cowboy (the header in this event) hanging on so that the rider can get on while the anchor man holds on tight on the end of the rope. Eventually the little steer riders come out. They are tough little guys and girls riding for all they are worth. Alternating between events with barrel racers and more team roping the rough stock makes its entrance. There is bareback riders and saddle-bronc riders and the bull-riders. Rodeo seems to get in folks blood~~Riders competing with their rides it seems at times. Crowd tense some cheering . Before you know it the whole show is over and if you somehow mangaed to get yourself injured in any of these crowd pleasing events be of good cheer as someone is sure to come up to you with a serious look in their eyes and those encouraging words on their lips"COWBOY UP"

So, don't be anxious about tomorrow.

God will take care of your tomorrow too.

Live ond day at a time. Matthew 6:34 God Bless Roxanne

Chicks cheep and chirp beside me as I type away on here. I hatched them in a borrowed incubator so now have fifteen tiny fluffy little chickies. It is kind of late in the year but I didn't get the chance at an ncubator until late so that's the breaks, eh?

The last few days have been pretty nice and warm here. Blackflies are doing wonderfully well. The berry picking is fabulous. I have been able to pick wild strawberries and enough of them to freeze. Wild blueberries are just coming around and oh my are they going to be plentiful. Saskatoons grow wild here too so have lots of them picked and same with raspberries. In other words no shortage of berries. The rose hips are coming. Many large reddish ones and some are becoming quite a bright red. Although we have had some frost they really need to get hit with a heavier frost yet. Same with the blueberries but never fear as it will happen.

I have dried many wild herbs and still more to pick. Finding it hard right now to keep up with everything that is growing out there at the same time. Many of these plants and berries the bears enjoy too so I have to be on the lookout for them as well.

There are a few jars of saskatoon rhubarb jam done and a few apricot jam and just two very tiny jars of raspberry jam. Mostly I am freezing the berries for later on.

The evening is closing in on me here with ten hungry pigs to pack feed to and wash out their water trough yet. Chickens need their evening rations. There is wood to bring in and I would like to set the fire ready to throw a match to in the morning so I am not running around in the woodpile in barefeet and nightie gathering kindling ~~

I still have some dishes to do from jamming and making supper but what I really really would like to do is just sit and knit on the little sweater. I want to make two of them for our five year old grand-daughters. They are white with embroidered flowers on them. At least they will have embroidered flowers on them when they are done!

Things have been hopping around here with folks dropping in to say hello and use the phone. There is a big gold mine trying to set up back in the mountains so the first nations peoples are invited by the company to view the actual sites. Then there is going to have to be tribal meetings to talk about making deals. Our youngest son is working in the one closest to traditional areas in our part of the country. It is cold up there so thankfully our friend can take some warm clothes in when he flies in next week. It will all be very interesting.

I need to go for now get all this stuff I mentioned done instead of just talking about it. Would be nice if they had a button on this computer you could press and these things would get done. But until they invent that button I guess ~~it will just have to be traditional old fashioned hand done.

The sluggard craves and gets nothing,

but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.

Proverbs 13:4 NIV

Sweet Dreams to all

Roxanne

Moon Washing

It actually gets dark here now around 10 pm~~That is until the moon comes up and washes the dark away. The we are bathed in moonlight. Don't you just love that? So pretty.

This photo was taken in 2009 but my dog that is on the leash was still alive then. I don't have many photos of her so this kind of touches my heart. She was a great friend even though she was a brat at times. The reason she is on a leash is that if she was let off when the other two were loose with her she would take them off into the bush for many many hours. Not too good. The other two will stick around but as soon as the ring-leader came out to play they would be long gone. They have no self-discipline. Easily led astray. She was good and stuck around if by herself. Go figure. The photo is taken out at the back end of the ranch.

Today I have ironing to do and all that exciting stuff. Lots of outdoor things to do.

It would be good to be able to get to some heirloom sewing patterns for children. That would be fun to do if I can squeeze in some time. First off though I should probably finish organizing my sewing area so you can get to the sewing machine without breaking your neck. LOL I am trying to put it inot some kind of logical order but I am sttarting to wonder how much logic is in that??!!

When I have a little more time I will post some of the projects I have completed . for now I will just put this one of the crocheted dress I crocheted for one of our grand-daughter's birthday.

In the meantime I had better get at some breakfast and some chores around here before I get fired! haha now there's an idea~~

The LORD is my strength and my shield;

my heart trusted in Him,

and I am helped.

Psalm 28:7

Have a dog gone good day

Roxanne

Blackwater River Ranch

Mornings are taking longer now here in this corner of the Cariboo country. The birds would wake us up with their twittering and anxiousness to start the day at a quarter to three in the morning just a few short weeks ago~~Now they start their day sometime after five. The sun is taking longer and longer to hit the cabins and bless us with its presence. But at least we are getting sunshine. The "summer" has been fairly cold and extremely rainy. So much so that the rivers flooded and are just now starting to get back into their rightful spots. The hay meadows are still wet and the garden that was under five feet or so of water is now down to being quite soft. The mushroom picking (morels) was pretty decent until even the mushrooms couldn't stand the rain anymore. We have wild strawberries big and sweet. They are so abundant it is just wonderful. The raspberry plants are taller than me and loaded with ripening berries. My husband has picked a container full of ripe deep purply blue juicy saskatoon berries too. Wild blueberries are so plentiful and soon they too will be ready for the picking.

It has been sometime since the last time I have been able to blog but I am now back in cyber space thinking I am pretty KOOL too! LOL

The weed whacking has been done, house work is done, animals are fed and wateredand relaxing in the heat they are so not use to. The men folk have gone down the road to pick up fishermen that are on tour and bring them and their raft and gear back up.

Tonight we will have a wonderful supper with friends that are camping here for a few more days. Fresh Blackwater River trout. Mmmm!

The blackflies and no-see-ums are alive and well shredding us and livestock and wild critters. All that rain and now the heat Perfect breeding conditions.

There are so many beautiful wild flowers and tall grasses covering the wildfire area now that it is hard to believe it was such a fire. If one looks you can still see the blackened earth that burned so hot. The trees are easily spotted as they stand out black against the backdrop of green.

There are fifty-seven eggs in my incubator so I have high hopes of seeing some baby chicks later this month.

In the meantime dear friends I must be on my way to complete some more chores.

The earth is full

of the goodness

of the LORD. Psalm 33:5

God's Blessings be upon you

Roxanne