Hank the Escape Artist & Mickey?

At 7:05, like clockwork, I looked out to see rain splattering against the window. The good news came from S—Papa's surgery had gone well and he was resting comfortably. Yeah! That was certainly a wonderful way to start the morning. AV had rain overnight , which meant he wouldn't be combining this morning. Coffee and the blog was completed for Tuesday.

The rain began to pick up, and I was trying to find Hank in the middle paddock. A text to B revealed that he had been acting weird yesterday. Dang it. Now I was worried.

Once the rain let up around 8:30, I donned my neon yellow rain cloak and headed out to find him. Sure enough, he was in the far paddock. It seems we totally forgot to fill in around the big water trough because, once again, Hank had discovered he could simply walk underneath it. Of course he did.

I headed back to make a plan after closing the winter pasture gate on the far paddock. The rain started coming down again as I came inside, but so far we had only received about a tenth of an inch. I continued with my blog catch-up until 10, then headed back outside to fix the fence, catch Hank and put him back in with Roo.

There was a hot wire across but he either was shorter, it was dead or he took the hit to get thru!

And now he had rolled after the rain looking like a real scallywag

I came back in and did my workout while thunder occasionally rolled in the distance with a little drizzle following. Then I made myself a BT sandwich for brunch when S texted me a photo of his protein bar—with little nibbles taken out of the package edge.

Yesterday and the day before, he had also found bags of granola ball cookies packed for his lunches that had been chewed open too. That had me alarmed last night, thinking maybe the mouse was back in the trailer.

But then I remembered our mouse incident back in June. We had found mouse poop in the basement bathroom and a granola bag in the pantry with a chewed edge. At the time, we knew there had been a mouse in the house, but we never really figured out whether it was gone for good.

Now S's latest discoveries had me wondering if the June mouse and these new chew marks could all be connected.

So I was off on a mission, starting with the basement bathroom. I checked the closet and, sure enough, found poop in there too. Had it been there back in June and we simply never checked inside the closet? I vacuumed it up, washed out the bottom and moved on to the storage room.

There were no chewed packages in there and the mouse trap was still untouched. But wait... there was a wee chew mark on the pumpkin-seed bag. I remembered that bag may have spent a short time in the pantry after I bought it, so I checked the Costco receipt.

Sure enough—it was purchased June 1.

Now things were really starting to add up. We definitely had evidence of a mouse in the house back in June, and now there were package chew marks after being in the trailer. Whether it is the same mouse or whether we have managed to acquire two separate little freeloaders, I have no idea!

Now I am really creeped out. Is it still in the house? Is there one in the trailer too? What else has it eaten? If it died somewhere, WHERE IS IT? UGH!!!

And naturally, I turned to the internet, which informed me that a mouse can live one to two years indoors if it has food and water.

Great.

Can you tell I hate mice?

Last night I told Sheldon that either the trailer or the house may be up for sale. 😂 Today it is looking like the ranch!

The rain started again around 12:30 and this time came down enough to create puddles. When it finally ended, today's total was 1/4 inch. We will gladly take it here, and apparently S was happy too because he was back combining in AV before lunch. All are happy!

My friend Anna arrived just after 1 and we had a great catch-up too. She had both of her kids get married this summer, just one month apart! There was plenty to talk about, and the afternoon flew by.

By 3:30, the sun was starting to burn through the clouds, and by the time Anna left around 5, the day had completely pivoted into a beautiful summer/fall evening.

This may be hard to see but look at the size of that spider and the tons of aphids in his web. I left him to his task :)

After a chicken spinach salad for supper, Harley and I ventured outside for a much-needed walk. Of course, our walk soon morphed into the usual poop-scooping, weed-pulling evening routine, but it was glorious out there in the golden hour.

B was working late and asked if I could feed the horses. Okay!

In Lethbridge, Papa was enjoying visiting with Grama and Candace <3

Once pokey Bird finally finished up, I went back to gardening while she ate. Soon everyone was back in their paddocks, heads down and grazing peacefully. I sat on the deck watching the sun go down.

And after a day that included rain, a wandering Hank, a possible long-term mouse squatter, a good visit with Anna, and plenty of garden and horse chores, we came inside to wrap up the evening with more reading from Home Front.

Some days on the ranch really do cover a lot of ground. Today started with worry over Papa, moved to worrying about Hank, then somehow landed firmly on worrying about a mouse. Thankfully, two of those worries ended well—and the third one is still being investigated!

Coffee, Costco Finds & A Day Full of Friendship

My mornings seem to follow the same little routine: wake early, make a coffee, peruse Instagram, feed the dog and cats, publish a blog post, and then get on with the day. Every morning. Seeing I had a bit of extra time today, I even had some fun with ChatGPT and created a hairstyle and sunglasses suggestion photo. You never know what you might discover when you give technology a little creative freedom!

load a photo and it gives you suggestions

for sunglasses

and hairstyles

I was on the road by 9:30 on a dreary, overcast day, heading out for my day with Lori B. By 10:30, another coffee (with lots of creamer) was in my hands and we settled into a much-needed catch-up. Lori had made egg salad for lunch and put together a charcuterie tray with the fattest, juiciest grapes! THANK YOU for the hospitality, my friend. It was so nice to simply sit, visit and catch up.

Her husband John popped home a couple of times throughout the afternoon, and before I knew it, it was 5:30 and time for me to say my goodbyes. Costco was only 10 minutes away, so naturally that seemed like the logical next stop!

Sheesh... there were lots of sales and plenty of interesting things to tempt me, and I somehow came out with a full cart. Funny how that happens at Costco! I made my way back to the ranch and arrived around 8, unloaded everything, with Harley supervising before powering down some rotisserie chicken I had grabbed for supper.

I know someone who would love this chair, in the cart it went!

A huge thank you to Shaina and Britt for taking Harley out for some exercise today, and to Shaina for giving Switch a workout while ponying Miss Mac too. The girls seemed to have a really good horse day together after having brunch with Gran before she headed back to Oyen following her eye check in the city this morning. Thank you girls, too, for feeding Harley her supper and making sure she got her anti itch allergy pills. It certainly makes leaving for the day easier knowing everyone at home is being looked after.

Switch ponying Miss Mac

Jimmy is not a fan of nose flies :)

Renn out walking her baby <3

Then came the bad news. Papa had to be taken by ambulance to the hospital with an infection and kidney stones. By the end of the night, he had been transferred to Lethbridge for surgery to remove the stone. Healing energy and prayers for you, Papa. ❤️

I settled in for the evening with two episodes of the new Season 5 of Outer Banks, followed by two hours of reading my book. It was nearly midnight before I finally called it a night.

S was still up too, waiting for news about the surgery. His days are long as well—6 to 12—but it certainly seems like he loves the work. It was a full day for both of us, just in very different ways.

Some days are filled with coffee and Costco carts, good friends and horse adventures. And then there are the moments that remind you how quickly life can change and how important those people we love really are. Tonight, my thoughts were definitely with Papa and everyone waiting for good news.

Robins, Dusty Fields & Horses on The Move

The robins are back hitting the bedroom windows, along with the annoying magpies making their usual 7 a.m. appearance. Three attempts were made to bust through the bathroom window this morning, so I finally put a big blue towel up over the chandelier. Apparently that was enough of a hint because the window survived the rest of the morning!

good morning girls <3

I let the horses out, pulled more pea and sunflower plants from the garden and tossed them before coming in for a shower. The plan for today was to have Shaina come after dropping their guests at the airport, ride and work with Mac, and have supper with me. But, as happens around here, plans morphed when Mom's plans changed after her doctor consultation in the city.

Shaina will come tomorrow instead, possibly riding with B and working with Mac. For today, it was time to get some computer work done.

Since it was September 1st, it was also time to publish a Hometalk post, and the front door seemed like the perfect project to share for fall. More tutorial sharing and marketing followed, and then I was back outside to garden and hand-water. There is always something waiting outside for me!

Lunch was a bacon and tomato sandwich before I settled back into my computer tasks. Then AJ called. We ended up having a great hour-plus catch-up since it had been a little while since her birthday visit. I love that cell phones allow us to visit while doing the drudgery jobs at the same time. Somehow boring chores are always better with a good conversation.

The neighbor to the south started combining, and the dust was thick enough that the windows had to be shut. Harvest season is definitely making its presence known now.

I have been trying to fit a few social things into this week, and I had originally planned to have a friend come today but moved her visit to Thursday when Shaina's plans changed. Of course, tomorrow is also my Lori B day. We have been good friends since kindergarten, so it makes it pretty easy to spend a day together catching up especially since we only do it even year or so sadly.

I went out and dug a couple of hills of fresh potatoes and some onions to take to Lori since she doesn't have a garden. I dug some onions for Shaina to grab tomorrow too. The weeding never ends, but there is no denying that fall is coming, even with today's warm 27°C temperatures.

Look, FINALLY 1 little pepper is growing!!

Around 6, Harley and I headed out to move the horses. It was a bit of a challenge to keep Roo in the middle paddock with Hank while letting the others out into the winter paddock and hay field. Once the gates were open, they were off—and they got plenty of steps in, as did I while running to close the yard gate before they made it there!

When B came out to feed around 8, she lured part of the herd back into the winter pasture on the quad. Everything went well until young Mac missed the gate turn. As the others ran over to see Roo and Hank, she turned around and headed back down the lane.

So I went out and caught her while B brought her feed dish over. After Mac ate in the yard, B gave her a dose of dewormer after finding her fecal test was full of worms. She then walked Mac back to the winter pasture, where the five will live for a while next to the two “chubbies” in the middle paddock.

In the city, the Boysis family and Shaina and Matt had supper out with Gran who was spending the night at Boysis's. It turns out the buckle engraving was going to cost over $1000!! What the heck! Looks like Dad's little hand engraver may be the best bet.

By the end of the evening, I was ready to crawl into bed with my book. Another day of September had come and gone—garden chores, computer work, friends, dust, horses and a little Mac chaos thrown in for good measure. Fall may be creeping in, but around here there is certainly no shortage of things to keep us moving.

This champ is healing up after his C5 & C6 disc compression surgery Aug 24, always a smile!!  Healing energy and prayers for a speedy recovery sent your way Chuck XOXO

Appointments, Harvest Bound & A New Project

As the days get shorter and the weather gets cooler, I know I may not be automatically waking around 7 for much longer. This morning I was already running through my lists in my head when S’s alarm went off after 7:30. He got dressed and headed off to the city for his knee appointment at the university, followed by getting his new cowboy hat reshaped.

I made a coffee and got to work on the weekend blogs while letting the horses out to join the herd. I finally fit in my workout too, after a four-day hiatus, and then made up some pumpkin-banana loaves.

S was back from the city before noon with his freshly shaped cowboy hat and a muffin from Tim’s for me. We waited for the loaves to come out of the oven, then loaded Harley and headed to town. Neither of us had eaten yet, so I ordered Opa to eat in the truck outside of the vet clinic.

Harley had her checkup with Dr. Jodi, who prescribed Apoquel for her seasonal allergy itchiness and Tobradex for her goopy allergy eye. She also received her rabies vaccine, along with a one-month dose of Librela, the new joint-pain medication for her arthritis, and a dewormer to give her in a few days.

Harley has gained a little weight, weighing in at 62.5 kg (137.5 pounds). I'm hoping the medications give her some relief from the arthritis pain and get her feeling good enough to have more interest in walking again, which would hopefully help her shed a few of those extra pounds.

After paying the $$$ vet bill, we headed back to the ranch. S hooked up the trailer and pulled it around front while I gathered food for him to take along. He packed up clothes and coveralls, along with, of course, 30 beers, and before he headed out we enjoyed a cold one together on the deck.

The day had turned out absolutely beautiful - 24°C and full-on sunshine. Great weather for the Green group to river float, even if it is September 1 tomorrow. AND I forgot to share the big piece of information we learned this weekend from his Mom - Matthew has a middle name and it is Barry. :) Update your records family!

S pulled out of the yard as I fed Harley her supper at 4:15. He planned to stop for a few more groceries on his way east.

Meanwhile, Amanda had been tagging me in lots of free furniture, but one dresser finally caught my eye. The fellow wanted it picked up ASAP, so off to town I went.

drawers are totally in wrong order :)

I had hoped to grab my library book while I was there, but after parking I discovered the door was locked. Closed Mondays. Of course! So on to the dresser pick up.

On the way home, somehow a few turns mysteriously landed me at DQ. Amanda had been raving about the new caramel apple cheesecake Blizzard, so I figured I should give it a try. Research, obviously. ;)

I ate it while checking No Frills for pumpkin spice creamer, but no luck there either, so I continued home.

The dresser was a great size to fit in my car, and once I got home, getting it out by myself without scratching the car turned into quite the hilarious struggle. But I managed it and got all the drawers put in correctly.

It turns out the dresser is in pretty rough shape, but I really like the mid-century modern style, and I already know it can look great with some love. 

Once the dresser was safely inside, I finally got to enjoy the lovely evening. I took Harley for a walk because the weather was just too beautiful not to, and of course Stella joined us too.

I chatted with Mom while she was driving to AJ’s when B arrived to quickly feed and then head for home.

Tonight I opted for reading as my evening entertainment. A nice quiet way to end the day.

S texted that he was all set up and ready to start harvesting at 7 tomorrow morning.

Enjoy the harvest time, S.