Welcome to Fern Valley

Here in central Alberta prime farm country,my husband Martin and I work together raising beef cattle and Appaloosa horses. Fern valley appaloosas have long been known for their quality of temperament conformation and color.I have recently rediscovered a love of writing and have published 2 collections of poetry. "Telling Tails" and Tails Trails and Campfire stories" . I look forward to a future spreading my wings as an author and as a horse woman .

Sunday 29 July 2012

A picture perfect day

We attended the  wedding of my cousin Kandace , on Saturday.It started out rainy ,but nothing could  stop this from being the beautiful day it should be  for the Happy couple . 
Congrats to Robert and Kandace!
Walking  toward her future with her handsome and proud dad



 Mr and Mrs R Millar! 

A little time at mom and dads  before the reception and we took some pics 
 "My girls" I adore  my nieces, I  can tell you I am incredibly proud of both, and as I said on FB having them in my life, I liken to holding hands with a firefly and a rainbow! Incomparable! 
 Tara, and her beau Russ
 The guys , BIL Marc, Martin , and Russ(Brendan was late arriving so we missed him in the pics 
 Marc , and his lovely girls 



Me, and my guy! 
We had a wonderful time , dancing and visiting. then home in the wee hours, and a quiet day today .
Hope everyone had a great weekend. 
And as always , stay safe! 

Friday 27 July 2012

Fridays for sale, a little different

 So before I start on mine, I need to remind you to check out other bloggers Fridays for sale posts. 
Janice of Own A Morgan  is one, and of Course there is Nitro at Ride a good Horse
And Crystal at Ranch Riding   has tack and horses for sale.
I too have a couple of horses for sale , and some tack , but today is a little different.
Did you know I wrote a book?LOL .
Yup I did , actually I wrote 2! 
Anyhow , the publisher is doing a large ad campaign on television, and I was invited to participate, this is the rough draft of the book trailer ,both the short and long versions .Any thoughts? 
I am hopeful that it will increase sales , but at the very least it sure was fun to be a part of!










Stay safe everyone

Tuesday 24 July 2012

A rare treat

I came home from work today and saw a dragon fly  resting on the shade curtain of my gazebo.I love dragonflies! they eat mosquitoes and they are so pretty!  So I took my cell phone out to take a picture of it ,

Lucky I did, because I was in for a special treat! 
As I walked  up to the door I heard the familiar humm of my little hummingbird coming to the feeder, or so I thought . I am always hoping to get a picture so I sat down with the camera on on my phone.
Next thing I knew I had ,not 1, not 2, but 3! under the gazebo with me! 



Sadly , the cell  does not take the best pictures of a moving object, I never got all 3 in the shot, but I sure enjoyed the show! they darted around , sparing and  taking turns rushing back to the feeder!

 2 in this shot if you look closely 
 Then I went in and got my trusty little Lumix, and proceeded to sit and wait. 
Patience, as it usually does, paid off , to a degree, I only got pictures of one of them , a mottled grayish green 
 but I got pictures
 the others are a red throated one , and one with a green back
 but for now 
 we have this one 
 and she (?) seemed to like having her picture taken!
 will keep trying for photos of the others, but,meanwhile,I can close my eyes and see the little dance I witnessed in my minds eye , anytime. I so wish I could share it ! 

Stay safe!

Monday 23 July 2012

Make me smile Monday

I am not just another pretty face

I work
Moving horses and stuff

without me they would never find their way


but it is hot work , being so handsome AND smart
So I have to cool down where I can
 feels sooo good
Stay safe everyone.

With Love  from Winston

Friday 20 July 2012

Gonna be a wild Westie & Benadryl Weekend!

And then some !
I am babysitting/dogsitting Mac, my sister and brother in law's West Highland White  terrier  for the weekend . And also the neighbor up the road is away and asked me to  keep an eye on things and  feed her critters. No sweat  right?

(OK Winston , here is the plan ) 


 (we will lay low till she is not looking)
 (Scoping out the  options) 
 (Busted by Skeeter! "Mom, Mac is trying to  make a break for it !!!) 

 ("Who me?? In the white fur coat?")
( "Wouldn't  dream of it ")

Actually Mac has been very good, anyone who knows terrors    I mean terriers, knows they  can have a streak of well defiance. But with the A Team of Winston and Skeeter hanging out and playing Mac is able to be off leash for  quite a while and really run and play . (the pocket full of cookies I am armed with  probably does not hurt)

So that is going OK, on to the other job, I am caring for 23  pot bellied piglets, 2 geese and, well a bunch of chickens. 
It would be wrong to say I hate chickens and pigs , because I don't hate them , but if I am to be truly honest,how do I like  my pork and poultry?? Well done thanks! 
I realize pot bellied pigs are a pet, but you get my point . Anyhow , I did take a picture of the piggies, there were two wrestling , but I missed that shot , they are kind of cute  I guess. 
The chickens, well first of all I am allergic to  feathers and grain dust, so between the birds, and the laying mash , I may be a while before I lose this nasal  tone in my voice . Also when I was in the chicken house , there were several overhead in roosts , and dang ! that creeps me out ! Meanwhile the geese were in the next pen hissing at me !Yeesh! 
But this is the neighbor ,who very often steps in and watches the dogs  for me and the horses, she is sweet and kind , and I would never turn her down , she deserves a break too. 
And for my efforts , any eggs I gather this weekend are mine, and I am allowed to raid the pea  patch!!!!Not sure she has thought this through, or she doesn't know just how much I like fresh garden peas! 
Anyhow , between , my side jobs, and my own stuff, I am gonna be a busy gal this weekend! 
Stay safe everyone! 

Thursday 19 July 2012

Wednesday 18 July 2012

Hooked on Harley

I can't help it



 just 
 am
 totally 

 hooked 

 on
 this

 little 
 dude
Stay safe everyone, I will start making sense soon. Just standing in the sun all after noon with Harley was exactly what I needed today

Monday 16 July 2012

Getting my Fix

Well I did not bring him home, but I finally did get to go see him ! 
he is doing well, after a "hillbilly moment or  several when he first got there. 
New place,new handlers  , several other stallions and being stalled conspired to temporarily turn my "fire bird" into a fire breathing dragon. 
But they got hims settled and back to his own sweet self and he is working well.  
Getting lots of  work including turning back cattle for the cutting practices
(Fern Valley Phoenix)
Forgive the quality of photos and the general lack of them , but I did not take the camera just the cell phone .And we know how bad I am at indoor photography! 


Sweet boy  and a lovely dog, but I gotta say , 

Get your own horse  pooch , this one is mine! 


They are keeping him another month , trying a few things to see where his  talents best lie. Then once he comes home in the fall we will decide what the next year or so will bring . 
Meanwhile it was sure nice to see my blue eyed boy! I miss him 

Stay safe everyone 

Friday 13 July 2012

There ain't no flies on me

 there ain't no flies on me 
 there ain't no flies on me
 there might be flies 
 on some of you guys
 but there ain't no flies on me!!!!!
Cactus here , modelling his new fly mask that arrived with 2 others , all the way from ARIZONA!! from my dear friend CutnJump  for the blogs , The Well Groomed Horse and Show in Style 
She made one for Cactus, one for Phoenix (the one with the beautiful sun on it ), and a spare . Phoenix is,as you know out for training , so I did not get his modeled, and I am thinking I might get Johnnie to try on the froggy one, after all he is already a prince! They are beautiful ,well made and  fit well, even Mr  jowly jowls Cactus  is comfortable in his! Thanks so much CNJ! I love them. And if anyone wondered where the Fridays for sale posts went, well this is  kind of one , look forward to more news in the future  about  custom masks, and...