Done

The compound here at the Brown family retreat, Dogpound South, is now fenced. We had a neighbour do the work and they did a great job. Shouldn’t have any problem keeping our ponies in comfort with a five foot tall no climb fence.

Fencing Dogpound South VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

 

Brenda headed home on Saturday morning to have a visit with the girls and Miss Ella. Once I got her on the plane I stopped by a shoemaker and picked up my riding boots. New soles and all and it only took a couple of days. The last pair I had done at home took the best part of a year. Long story but a couple of retirements and a shop closing fit into it. I almost forgot I even had the boots by the time they came back. I also had to make a stop at the local Camping World to pick up a couple of things and then it was back to Dogpound South.

About the time Brenda landed in Calgary the wind started kicking up here and soon after that the dust started flying. It was time to batten down the hatches and ride out a dust storm and that seems to be a regular occurrence around these parts. That is an incentive to get some rock spread around here so that at least our little piece of ground will stay put. I am sure we will get enough off of our neighbours that it won’t make much difference but you do what you can.

I guess it will be my job to wipe everything down and get all the grit cleaned up before the boss gets back. Not likely to be as good as she can do it but again you do what you can.

Sunday Meg and I thought it was time to see a little country around here. Brenda is not big on aimless wandering in the truck but I like to do a little to find out just where it is we are. You never really know your neighbourhood until you know where the bad roads lead to. It was an interesting day and there are lots more bad roads that need exploring over the next few weeks.

Today was another day that began with my walk and although this month distance was a little shorter than last, the walk has become a integral part of my day. I like the fact that it gives me an hour to soak in the atmosphere around me and nothing to clutter my mind with. Not that I come up with any earth shattering ideas while I am wandering around the neighbourhood but it does give me time to play out things in my mind with only the odd dog slamming into a fence trying to put the run on me to distract my thoughts. I have written some great blogs while walking, but alas by the time I get back to the rig most of them have evaporated back to the mists from which they appeared.

I stopped in at Albert Lucas’s place this afternoon. I had first met Albert when I was doing some work for Shell up around Caroline probably twenty years ago but Lee pointed out his place to me earlier this month and he was out in the yard when I drove by today so I stopped in to re-introduce myself. It never amazes me how small the world is, I knew that my father had some dealings with him over the years but Albert was telling me that Mom had come down to take a lease from him some time back also. Along with the fact that he and his wife were friends with my Uncle Brent and Aunt Hazel. Uncle Brent had built some bucking rolls for Mrs. Lucas after she was bucked off her horse. She also recalled my cousin Blair doing some announcing at a roping jackpot that her son Joe was hosting. Said he talked for hours and never repeated himself, yep that’s Blair alright, he is a raconteur of the first order. And of course cousin Mike has roped there recently and rumour has it that Uncle Brent stopped in for a visit also. The things you find out when you stop to talk to people along the road.

Brother Brent is lamenting the fact that his time in the sun down there in Costa Rica is coming to an end soon and I will miss his stories about a Bunch of Brown’s on a Beach but I do agree with him that anytime you head back to Alberta before Stampede week you are not likely to escape winter. Our own time will come soon enough. Brenda got some good news today from her doctor, she has an appointment with a sports medicine guy on April 19th that should move this knee thing forward. Sports medicine you say, but horse back riding is certainly a sport, and that is where the bad knee first made itself felt. We are hoping to get that knee thing on the road to recovery because we have a lot of plans for horseback riding based here down the road from Dogpound South.

4.33+4.85+4.84+4.8/251.82