Spring has Sprung - Potatoes Planted

Busy from the start. Shaina and Matt joined us for coffee before diving back into their work. Matt headed out for a walk while S and I got our hands dirty—planting potatoes, same day as last year (and hoping for the same great results). Between that, I kept layering coats of warm white on the chair seats.

Lunch was pizza… which also triggered the fire alarm. 😄 Once that excitement settled, I set the oven to self-clean. S got picked up just as the pizza came out to go retrieve his skid steer over at Goslings. We hate with him joining u once back.

After lunch, he secured the water trough and moved it to the usual corner to fill using the skid steer. I switched gears and got the first coat of green on the jewelry box.

Later, Shaina and I made a town run—coffee stop at Tim Hortons (hot and cold options, naturally), then grabbed Cooper and picked up her planters that had been staying with B. Back at the ranch, the guys were casually supervising the water trough fill… beers in hand. 

Next big job: loading the cargo trailer with all of Shaina’s things. We got her items out the storage trailer, then backed it up to the house to load everything from her room. Way more than expected. I also brought in a box of Kaylin’s keepsakes from the storage trailer—Precious Moments, Ty critters, and a tiny purse she had to have years ago from Lori K’s shop in Oyen. The little tea set needed a good scrub (turns out it had some very old “tea” still in it…), but now it’s ready. Renn is going to love seeing the “new” kitchen setup—and the pick-a-prize box of her mom’s treasures next visit.

Precious moments stuffies are adorable

Ty bears ad friends too

yikes!!

All washed up and ready to serve tea

Supper plans were campfire hot dogs and potstickers… except the stove won’t work while the oven is locked in self-clean. Of course. So I had to cancel the clean cycle early and wait it out to cool down. In the meantime, the others roasted their hot dogs over the fire and patiently waited for potstickers to eventually become “dessert.”

But honestly—no complaints. It was a perfect evening. No wind, 21 degrees, full sun. Fire going, drinks in hand, just one of those ideal spring nights.

B came out to feed and moved the horses into the hay field for a few weeks to give the paddocks a break. We stayed out enjoying the fire while Shaina kept packing, then joined us again for a bit before we all moved inside.

Shaina made J's day

Matt invented a new slobber robber for mastiffs!

Game night: learning Catan. Meanwhile, hockey had been playing in the background since 5—and the Oilers losing definitely had chatter going.

Eventually, we called it. I ended the day with a bit of reading before lights out.

A full, productive day—with a little bit of everything and a whole lot of good weather.

Projects Finally, Pup Drama & A Full-Circle Kind of Day

Harley had me up at 7:10, eager to get outside into full sunshine. I actually managed to crawl back into bed after tucking her into her kennel and slept until 8:30 when S got up and made coffee. I had some Snapchat fun with Renn.

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Round two outside for Har didn’t go so well—she was acting off, a bit of salivating… and sure enough, we later found she’d gotten sick in her big bed. 😔 We stripped it down, S hosed it off outside, and I threw everything in the wash. Poor girl.

Before that discovery, I’d already been outside enjoying the +6 sunshine—rolling out the planters and even burying a bag of Kleenex in the garden (glamorous, I know 😄). Back in, I posted Monday’s blog while S worked on his second coffee and morning scroll.

He had porridge, then headed out to wrestle with those stubborn harrows again—trying to straighten them himself. Meanwhile, I prepped the tall jewelry box—vacuumed, washed it down, and posted it to see if anyone wanted to claim a color. That spiraled into finishing yesterday’s blog and running more laundry.

Around noon, I heard the quad and looked out to see S out in the hay field. He parked in the winter pasture and came in for lunch and the news—then, not long after, passed out on the couch. 😄

I shifted gears back into project mode—only six weeks until my next market, so it’s go time. I worked on the jewelry box and two little wooden chairs—cleaning, gluing, sanding, sealing, scrubbing. Tested out two new paint colors on a jewelry box drawer front and posted for feedback.

After his nap, S geared up again and headed out to harrow the paddocks. B and Cooper arrived around 3, and we took advantage of the 15-degree weather for a ride—sun popping in and out between clouds.

Afterward, B trimmed Roo, Switch, and Bird while I went back to the garage. I even made a quick delivery—cold beer out to the gopher hunter in the ranger. 😄

Back to the chair project—I found a cute decoupage paper, cut and applied it… and immediately realized (again) that the black seat wasn’t doing it any favors. Off it came, rinse, reset. Lesson (re)learned.

B fed the horses, then she and Cooper headed home as we got supper going. Finally a proper BBQ night—no wind battles for once. S had hockey on, of course, while I worked on the blog posting yesterday and pulled the plants back in for the night. We wrestled Har's bed back together and she promptly hopped in skipping the bath first option.

Once most of the games wrapped up, we settled in with yogurt bowls and finished the season finale of Million Dollar Secret. Then rolled right into the finale of The Last Thing He Told Me.

TV off just after 11—perfect timing, as Shaina and Matt walked in from their trip east.

A full day—messy, productive, and kind of perfectly wrapped up in the end.

Garden Grit & A Meaningful Evening

I made a coffee just after 7 and finished The Great Alone—that ending! Honestly, perfect timing with Mother’s Day around the corner. With the sun already out and temps climbing from -2, it felt like a good day to get moving. S surfaced later, made his coffee, and did his usual scroll on X.

I started with some marketing, published another K & N wedding photo post, then pulled the planters into the sunshine and headed outside “just to do a few things”… which, of course, turned into a full-on garden session. Eggshells sprinkled, compost buried, weeds pulled, planters tidied. I uncovered the strawberries, hauled more planters out, planted another dahlia from two growing tubers, and repotted Shaina’s spider plant back into her fancy pot after its outdoor sabbatical last summer.

I kept all these plants overwintered this year!!! Yeah me!

She’ll be taking her plants to their new place in a few days.

S squeezed in a hot tub, then tackled the hydrant timer that had given up. By noon it was +9, and I was brushing Harley—winter coat still coming out in clumps. We finished off the soup, then I got back to the garden for a couple solid hours deadheading the big in-ground bed and moving on to the raised beds.

Then came the bittersweet part—the old whiskey barrel planters. We’ve had them since our early days in the trailer in Hanna, gifted by Ma and Pa K for our anniversary. Nearly 40 years later… they’re done. The right one especially—beyond saving.

I emptied the soil into buckets, had S help dump the rest into a raised bed, and sure enough—the bottom gave out completely, sides collapsing with it. End of an era. I hauled them to the fire pit for future campfires and plan to reuse the metal rings—Dad found some for me as well—to make a garden orb.

While I was in garden mode, S was out battling the harrows—needing a new draw bar, some straightening, and likely more parts than he hoped. I eventually packed things up, cleaned my tools, and brought a cold drink out to the shop where he’d already started looking online for replacements.

Time to clean up and head out—we had Ada’s confirmation to attend.

S dropped the skid steer at Matt’s (he’s renting it tomorrow), I picked him up, and we headed over to the Paetz place. Full house energy—prepping, visiting, and a great pulled pork supper laid out. Mom was already there, along with Gordon, with Murray, and Danielle joining not long after.

I gave Aislyn her belated birthday gift which she loved then toured her room and all other gifts she received!

We made it to the church just after 6, catching the rehearsal and meeting up with Godmother Kaylin. The confirmation mass was a long one—nearly 50 participants!. Congratulations sweet Ada <3

Afterward, we snapped a few photos at the church nave. Mom had to head back early to check on a new calf, while Kaylin, Murray, and Danielle took off for the city. The rest of us went back to the Paetz house, visited a bit more, and caught the tail end of the hockey game.

We finally wrapped up and got back to the ranch just before midnight. Mom texted that she made it home safe too.

And me? Started a new book before lights out—because apparently that’s just how the day ends now.

More Photos from Kaylin and Nathan's Wedding Day

More professional wedding photos were released after I posted the original wedding blog posts.  While I printed them for a photo album, I didn’t share them here.  So, here are a few more of the many taken on that special day. The other days links are at the bottom.

 

Day 9 - Big Wedding Day! - Kaylin and Nathan get M...

Wedding Day Part 2 - Professional Photos

Wedding Day Part 3 - The Supper and Celebration

Part 4 - Wedding Day Photo Booth