Still Kickin'

Well I see it has been a while since I last put some words together for those few folks who still check in on us from time. It is not that we are doing nothing, just probably nothing that is all that interesting for our readers. I go swimming most weekday mornings and try to average 16-20 (10-12 miles) kilometers a week. Most weeks I make it but last week was a washout,  between a cold, muscle spasm in my back, and a flooded basement I didn't get much swimming in, but I am back up to 16 this week.

Brenda's knee is story all by its own. She has been feeling like she is not making enough progress so we headed down to see the doc a couple of weeks earlier than scheduled. They took an X-Ray and that indicated maybe they should investigate it a little more throughly. Scheduled an CT-Scan, but we didn't like the timing on that so we jumped ship and had a private clinic do one for us. That got us back to the doc a little quicker and with the CT-Scan confirming what he had suspected from the X-Ray he said she is not to use her leg for about 6 weeks. Not a happy camper I am here to tell you. They say she has a crack in her femur and are hoping that keeping the weight off it will allow it to heal as there is no displacement. Now those who know Brenda know that sitting around is not one of her better developed skills so I am constantly nagging her to stay off it, often to no avail. Oh well, hopefully my nagging will help it heal.

June is usually a pretty wet month around these parts and this June is no exception. Over the last few weeks we have accumulated about 7-8 inches of rain and even as I write this it is coming down hard.
 During one of those rain events the sump pump in our basement failed and within a couple of hours we had converted our always dry basement into a wading pool with about 5-6 inches of water. A quick trip to town and a new pump and the incoming water was once again diverted back out. That only left us to mop up. Luckily our insurance covered this type of failure so within a day or two they had the carpet ripped out, all damaged contents logged and hauled out and had stripped away the drywall and a battery of industrial fans and dehumidifiers howling away in our basement drying it out again. We have taken two good sized dumpsters full of building materials and other assorted flood damaged stuff out of the basement so it is looking pretty empty down there right now. Eventually we will replace the carpet and the drywall and things will quiet down around here again as we shut the fans down.

Everything is drying out, at this point the tear down is completed. You can see the maps on the walls, Dad had collected road maps from around the world and wallpapered some of the walls in the basement with them but the bottom half had to go with the wet drywall, to bad but we'll probably keep the top half.

Other than watching the rain come down and trying to keep up with the grass mowing we have really not done a lot of anything this last month. What with Brenda's bad leg and the wet weather it has been a difficult to get up much ambition for a camping trip, but we are planning on heading out next month and at least get a little mountain time in and maybe a ride or two for Blue. Wink and the rest are just hanging out getting fat on our over abundance of grass.

"Who us? Fat?"

But it has not been all rain, we had some great days and these folks came by to make sure Grandma and I didn't float away.

And we have managed to keep the grass from overtaking the house, although that means everytime there is a couple of hours of sunshine we roar out of the quonset with the John Deere's and cut as fast as we can.

And I have been able to keep an eye on the neighbourhood youngsters as I head out in the early mornings to go for my swim as well.

Up Sh%&% Creek

Well actually it was the Sheep River and we took our horses along with us. Down west of Turner Valley here in Alberta there is an Equestrian Campground called Sandy McNabb. Over the years we have spent a few great days there and for some years early in the Millenium we would be there for Thanksgiving. It is paved all the way out so we can take the Motorhome and the bumper pull. Since we were there last they have rebuilt the stable/tie stalls and run power to every site. As well as a new dump station just across the road.

Site #18 a favorite of ours

because unlike most of the sites you can actually see the tie stalls from #18.

The Sheep River was one of the Alberta rivers that was wreaking havoc on the downstream residents during the June floods and there was evidence of it's exuberance even up here in the hills.

A lot of rubble and trees moved around and left high and dry above the river

 The weather for the most part was pretty cooperative except for one day when it was showering off and on all day. I took the horses for a short ride that day.

The first day we took a spin up the Death Valley trail until it connected with the Windy Point trail and we took that back down to the Sheep River and followed it back into camp.

Some meadows along the Death Valley trail

And these fellows were up above us on the Windy Point trail. Not sure whether that is their shepherd or what on the skyline

And here is an overlook right where the Windy Point and Sheep trails intersect.

A view from a ledge along the Sheep River. Lots of flowers out there.

 Another day we headed back out on the Foran Grade trail which climbs a ridge that has pretty nice views of the front range of the Rockies on most days, but on this day they were obscured by clouds hanging on the peaks.

That grassy slope is where we spotted the Rocky Mountain Bighorn sheep on an earlier day

The mountains with cloud covered peaks
 

As well as mountains you get a pretty good view of the Calgary downtown skyline from here although it is probably at least 35 miles away the way the raven fly's. Actually raven's kinda wander their way across the landscape. Rumour has it that bees fly in a straight line but that would be a little long to haul a big load of honey making ingredients across the countryside, so let's just say Google calls it 34 miles.

Calgary skyline from the Foran Grade trail

Another benefit, well maybe a benefit, is that from up here you can check your phone messages and Brenda was able to update her Facebook Fans

It's always nice to let folks see what we are seeing.

Once we got down off the Grade we headed down to cross the Sheep River and the rain from the day before had muddied it up a little so it was nice to see another group crossing to give us an idea that all was well on the regular crossing. Many of the traditional crossings were changed, for the worse, by the floods this year.

Wink and Brenda crossing here

The crossing here was pretty good but the crossing where we came back over to the north side of the river was a little deeper. Water was kind of halfway up Wink's body on that crossing, so maybe our friend Bill, and Fred from down there at Benson would be getting a little wet, and because we were not so sure about that crossing I was paying attention to business and not gawking around taking pictures.

This ride was a test of sorts for Willow also, she has been on light duty since she hurt herself last November on the Beaver Creek ride in Arizona so I was interested to see if she could take the rough country. She seemed fine so she has probably earned herself a spot in the trailer heading south in the fall.

That said Wink threw a hissy fit on our last day there and while we were saddling up she kicked the stuffing out of Willow and got in a couple of solid hits that left Willow a little sore so rather than leave them in a tie stall overnight we loaded up and headed for Dogpound North where she would be able to move around and keep any swelling at bay. Now a week or so later she seems fine and the cuts and scrapes are all healing.

On another front the home reno's here at Dogpound North are getting close to being done, just a little work on the grout and some painting and all will be well again. Oh yeah, two bathrooms later we also got the gas range installed that started all this renovation stuff. Seems like it sure would have been cheaper just to use a Coleman stove than all this but Brenda will be happy.

We have passed the halfway mark on our time here in Alberta and I am working on a project so that we are able to monitor what is happening back here at Dogpound North while we are enjoying the company of our friends in the desert this winter. I call that fair warning Arizona, we are coming back!

In a Land just North of Summer

Really, since we have got back north of the Medicine Line we have enjoyed an extended period of winter like weather. I guess maybe wintering at Dogpound South has made us soft but even though the temps have not been terribly cold it seems like it has snowed every day since we got home. But the forecast is for warmer weather and maybe even some of those mystical April showers. That should get the snow knocked down and make it a little more spring like here down the road from Dogpound. I haven’t done much riding but the horses are enjoying their time off and making the most of their freedom.

We kept them in for a couple of days and then turned them out with the rest of the remuda, so it is time for them to just be horses and do a little pawing through that snow for their fed. Don’t worry those that were here all winter are much fatter than our hand fed southern ponies so I am sure they are doing just fine, and I do walk down every day just to make sure all is well. And now that the weather is turning around I will be able to start working with some of our northern horses, to start getting them in shape for the summer.

Turned Out VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

But we didn’t head home just to make sure we got a little snow and salt all over our vehicles. Our, daughter and son-in-law, Lacey and Clayton, were heading to Cuba to celebrate Lace’s 30th birthday so a couple of little girls were looking for a place to hang out till their parents came home and Grandma and I are glad to have them here. Although looking after two kids under 4 is keeping us hopping I have to say. Well, really, Brenda is hopping, and I am just trying to stay out of the way for the most part.

The Anderson Girls VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

We are having a riot with the girls and should have them well and properly spoiled by the time their parents get home.

On other fronts I am back at my regular pool and doing 2500 meters (~a mile and a half) five days a week, and both Brenda and I are heading into battery of tests and doctors appointments over the next couple of weeks so we can get that out of the way before it is time to head back to Dogpound South.

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