Canada

two children in halloween costumes
Brenna

Guys, the best season of the year is upon us: FALL!! Honestly, I am just so excited. All things creepy, spooky, cozy, snuggly, and pumpkin spice-y come out of the woodwork, and I have to say, I’m totally here for it. I love how crisp the air feels when you take your first step outdoors. And how beautiful the leaves look when they change from green to yellow to orange to red. I love how they fall all over everything, and crunch when you step on them. It’s truly magical, you’ll never be able to convince me otherwise.

This fall has been a strange one, I must admit.

As I’m sure you saw, back at The Farm, we’ve already had snow! (Which admittedly isn’t totally unheard of in September, but it’s still a bit early). Here on the other side of the country, it’s been pretty dang hot. My heart is yelling “Drink some hot chocolate! Curl up under a blanket! Wear some fuzzy sweaters!” and my head is yelling “Brenna it’s 34°, run as fast as you can to somewhere with A/C so you don’t melt!” Naturally, my head won, and I have sought asylum inside a local Starbucks, drinking something very chilly, and very non-pumpkin spice-y.

laptop and notes at Starbucks

I think one of the things that makes fall so special is all the anticipation.

Kids and adults alike have returned to school, and there’s a buzz in the air. There are new books, new classes, new friends and new places to explore. The weather is changing (in weird ways, apparently) and there is excitement in the all around. For some, there are lingering thoughts of eating unreasonable amounts of turkey at Thanksgiving. Or if you are Jess, you’re already wired thinking about Christmas. The thing I look forward to the most about fall, is dressing up for Halloween.

Halloween has always been a family production.

I’m sure you’ve guessed by now that this post doesn’t have much to do with farming, but it has a lot to do with family. We have always picked a theme (usually from a movie), and then our characters, and got to work with creating the most amazing costumes. I remember spending hours with Dad looking for the perfect red coat at Value Village for when he went as Captain Hook (Jess and I were of course Peter and Wendy). I remember searching the school gymnasium for Mom on Halloween, only to find her wearing the perfect emerald cloak and pointy hat for her Minvera McGonagall costume. Jess and I went as Harry Potter and Hermoine Granger, and I must say, my accent was perfect! 😉

One of our most famous Halloweens was the year Dad came to the elementary school dressed as Shaggy. Mom had immaculately replicated Scooby Snacks using some coloured paper and a cereal box. My friends were delighted to find that there was still cereal in the box, that Jess and I happily shared. Our Mystery Inc ensemble was complete. We had Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, Velma, Daphne, and a gaggle of kids in creepy costumes following us around.

Jim, Brenna and Jess dressed up for Halloween

My parents were always wonderful with supporting Jess’ and my imaginations in a million different ways.

From the books they read us, to the endless imaginary tea parties I invited them to. Or all the times I wanted Mom to comb her hair with a fork (you can thank The Little Mermaid for that one). They always made the space and time for us to explore and play. For a while I thought that Halloween was an extension of that: just another activity for our enjoyment. I have since come to realize that their love of Halloween, the effort and the creativity they put into all of our outfits and experiences wasn’t just for us. It was something they had come to love and enjoy themselves, and they were teaching us to love it too. If you want proof of that, just check out this picture of Mom as Catwoman and Dad as Joker almost 30 years ago! They killed it!

Group of adults in halloween costumes

Nothing gets my creativity racing like planning our Halloween costumes.

Without a doubt, this sense of fun that my parents always seemed to bring to this holiday has had a huge impact on my love for Halloween (and all things costume involved, really). Fall just wouldn’t be the same without us designing our Halloween costumes way too far in advance, and sending text messages and pictures of the final products back and forth to each other. Fall, and Halloween, make me miss everyone back home, but I know that much like every other year they will have something amazing planned for it.

Halloween is going to be very special this year, because we have someone new on the farm: you! We will be sure to keep you all up to date with the plans, plotting and scheming for Halloween, and we are sure you won’t be disappointed! I don’t know how they plan on dressing, or where they plan on going, but I know without a doubt they’ll have a blast, and I can’t wait to hear all about it.

 

Any costume/event suggestions for us? Comment below and let us know what you think would make a good group ensemble for us this year! We would love to hear from you!

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Jim

Derby Day is here again!

It doesn’t happen often, but we are getting the day off! We tend to work most weekends, but not this weekend. Saturday is Derby Day! It’s the 88th running of the Canadian Derby. What a great chance to get out and enjoy some fantastic thoroughbred racing. Thoroughbreds, what a beautiful, sleek, fast animal.  Did you know they were derived from breeding English mares to Arab Stallions? I’m not going to turn this into a horse breeding lesson but since Twyla has such a soft spot for Arabian horses I would be remiss if I didn’t mention it. I would have to say there isn’t an animal on the farm that Twyla admires more than her Arabian. I confess, I have a bit of a soft spot as well. Maybe a little more about that sometime down the road. For now, we’ll stick with the Derby. Derby day is jam-packed with fun. It has everything: fine clothes, great food, exciting entertainment (read: betting), and a great selection of beverages.

Let us start with getting all shined up.

It’s not mandatory, but it definitely adds to the experience for us. To be sure, you will see everything there from summer shorts and flipflops, to tuxedos and walking canes. And sometimes you see them combined. For me it’s the hats, the ladies wear some of the most fantastic hats.

I love this butterfly hat.  

Twyla ran over and asked the wearer if we could take a picture and she agreed.  Isn’t it cool?

Between heats I find myself doing two things; grabbing a beverage, and looking at the various hats. There is literally anything and everything there. It’s fantastic. For ourselves this year, we went through a number of choices in the store before deciding on the hats for us. It can take awhile to pick just the right one. And yes, the guys will wear some pretty cool hats too, so I admit I also take my time.

The ‘Seamus’ hat.

(I should make a note here, that it is important to remember whose hat is whose when getting ready.  As you can see, Seamus got a little confused. Now, I’m not going say it didn’t look real nice…but perhaps the wrong venue?)

Okay back to the horses.

There are a ton of things to consider when you place your bet. Too many in fact. Explaining the various ways you can bet at the track is something I’ll leave to the experts. If I tried, this column would be a mile a long and very confusing. So for now lets forget the words exacta, trifecta, quaddie, treble, etc.

We’re just passive race bettors and that’s how we approach the Derby. We generally place the simplest of bets: “Race 1, Horse 6 to win, for $2 Please”. It doesn’t get much more stress-free than that. Watching the horse race is incredibly exciting on it’s own, but by placing that $2 bet it ensures we have some skin in the game. It’s what gets you on your feet as they round the clubhouse turn heading down the home stretch. “Go 6! Go! Get the lead out boy!!! Come On!” Oh yeah, that’s fun stuff!

How does one pick their horse?

Well, at one time we used to walk down to the outside tarmac and look over each horse carefully; size, musculature, walk, spirit, etc. We would even gauge the track conditions. Oh, and don’t forget the jockey! Does he have a winning record? The list goes on. It’s too much. And wouldn’t you know it? It did not change the outcome one lick as far as our betting was concerned!  We don’t do that any more.

Each of us does it slightly differently, but here is my very ‘technical’ method: “Yep, those are decent payout odds, boy that’s a cool name”. This year, for the final race I had to pick ‘Double Bear’.  The name just gave me no choice, right Brenna?  I screamed when they rounded the club house turn cheering on my ‘Double Bear’, it was so exciting!  It looked as if we were set pull it off too! We were actually going to win this thing! Then there was a bump from ‘Chief Know It All’.  Subtle, but there it was. Well, to make a long story short, that bump cost me my wager. Damn, that was close!  (As a side note, that bump is still being contested and although the race was given to ‘Chief Know It All’ during the derby, it won’t be official until the appeal launched by ‘Double Bear’ is ruled on.  Unfortunately for me, I threw my ticket stub away, so that bet is an official $2 loss now. Double damn.)

No matter, it was a very fun day. Although I ended up with negative winnings I figure it was $32 well spent.  When the last heat wraps up it’s time to head off to the Hotel Selkirk (a must stay) for some much needed supper, drink, and an old Fort Edmonton walkabout. We’ll take our time to enjoy all three before closing the doors to our rooms at the Selkirk for some shuteye. Tomorrow it’s back home to the farm we go. Once there we’ll have some coffee, look at our pictures, tell a few tales from the day before and believe it or not, start planning for next year’s Derby…what to wear, what to wear?

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Welcome sign
Jim

Coming from a farming background Twyla and I decided from the start that we wanted to raise our family in a rural setting.  This was not because we thought farming would make us wealthy, we knew better than that!  This was a choice of lifestyle, not riches.  And now, all these years later, even though we did not become prosperous land barons, as suspected, we can say with certainty that we actually did find treasure on our farm.  Richness, it seems, comes in all shapes and sizes.

The primary goal of our farm was to raise cattle.

Over the years while we were concentrating on doing just that, we found we were soon growing so much more.  We grew grains, gardens, pets, children, recipes, friends, stories, and memories.  It has all been quite the journey.  There can be a lot of chaos at our home but if you take the time to navigate through the confusion there’s usually a laugh or two to be had and a pretty good story to tell to friends at the end.  We hope you enjoy hearing about our farming adventures as much as we do telling them.

When folks think of the rural lifestyle they often picture these smooth rolling green pastures dotted with beautiful aspens and pines, late summer flowers in blossom sprinkled about, with all sorts of farm animals standing here and there enjoying the scenic majesty of sunny mornings.  Not far away will lie abundant fields of grain beginning to ripen looking forward to the fall’s harvest.  And there, in the middle of it all, you will find a perfectly manicured lawn and in the middle of that, stands a beautiful white storey and a half weathered but wonderful farmhouse.  Just a few steps from the house grows a lush weed free garden, bountiful fruit trees; apples, cherries, plums all lining the garden’s edge.  And still a few steps further is this mighty red with white trim giant prairie barn complete with hayloft and horse stalls.  Finally this whole package is framed with perfect white painted fences and a young girl skipping along the path to the barn, milk bucket swinging in hand and humming her favourite Walt Disney theme song.   Sounds nice doesn’t it?

This does exist and you may see it…sometimes.

But usually life isn’t all nicely wrapped up for us like this.   There are times when those rolling pastures could use a little more rain and that grain could use a few less weeds and a lot less grasshoppers.  We all love aging barns but still, it’ll need some paint and a nail now and again.   Let’s not forget that garden.   Constant attention to that and the orchard is needed if we plan to have plenty of good food for the winter.  Have I mentioned fences?  Fences are in constant need of mending.  Without good fences your livestock will soon put themselves on a first name basis with the neighbouring tribe.  Not good.  Farming is rewarding, for sure, there’s not a doubt in my mind about that, but it takes a lot of work and of that I’m just as certain.

We have strived to create that picturesque farm we have all imagined and we will share with you the stories that grow with us as we try to reach that goal.  So keep an eye out for all of the ‘sugar coated’ farming experiences we plan to send your way.  They are fun.  But keep in mind life isn’t always like that, so we also plan to share with you those little things that don’t always go to script.  In our world, we tend to experience the latter far more.

I guess we can say we’re doing ok.

Most times we can drive the road of life pretty well, but of course sometimes we do end up swerving or sliding a bit and then there are those times we end up completely off that road and right through one of those nice white rail fences we’ve chatted about.  But almost always you can find something in the whole experience to laugh about…or at least to share.  Ok, I guess that brings me to the end of my very first post.  In closing, let me say this – Welcome to our little slice of rural imperfection and the tears and the laughter that have come with it.

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