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 .

Monday 27 February 2012

S*** is just easier to deal with when you don't have to shovel it.

SNOW of course! What were you thinking? G rated blog here people! though, the title  would work for the other ...
Anyhow after the snow stopped , the sun came out and we had a lovely afternoon yesterday, and a nice day today 

the boys heading for "their house " for evening ration

 They are very good about it , they had started crowding me with the pail a while back so we instituted the "bad boys  don't get groceries" program, and now they go nicely to their pen and wait for  the nosh.

Yay for Brother in law Marc, who not only cleared the roads but plowed a path in all the areas I walk for chores so I don't have to wade though knee deep snow (uphill both ways!)


 I really do appreciate this , as I know from experience  being in the loader that long is tough on your back 
he even went out yesterday to do this alley , which although isn't that long is a tough go with deep snow ,and the climb back up it awful. Even Winston had had enough on Saturday , he followed behind and let me break trail ! 
The horses tolerated the weather fine, but even they seem relieved to have the sun out 

 Peps says" I thought I was gonna disappear! A snowflake gal like me gets pretty hard to see in a blizzard! "

Much nicer moving the cows up the alley  now it is cleared 
Thanks again Marc! 


Gratuitous Johnny shot for  his fans 

Yup life is good ! 


Stay warm and safe everyone , spring is just around the corner , and over the hill, down the road and ...
well you know , soon! 

14 comments:

Reddunappy said...

Great post FV!! LOL The kids look happy! Love those spotted butts!! :o)

Leah said...

You were the recipient of snow too....snow isn't as fun when there is work to do! Thank goodness for
Marc's help... We are bracing for round #2....

sally said...

Wow what a lot of snow ....looks cold.Glad the horses are all coping fine and dandy!

Shirley said...

Weather is more of a burden for those who take care of livestock than it is for the livestock. Sure is nice to have the paths plowed!
Spring can come any time now.

GoLightly said...

Awww, there he is!!
My Johnnnnny. He's looking so fine:)
He's in the uphill-both-ways shot too!

That's a lotta snow, FV. So glad YOU have it, and not us:)

Spring is somewhere close. We have robins back, and the cardinals and chickadees are singing spring tunes.

Crystal said...

Sure have a nice brother in law to do that! Makes it way easier to walk in plowed areas. Im sure waiting for spring to come too.

Nicole said...

wow, a BIL like that is worth his weight in gold to keep!

kden said...

Quite a difference from these shots and your vacation ones. But you make it look pretty either way.

Rising Rainbow said...

Thank God, you have Marc. I can imagine what trudging through that stuff would have been but it would definitely build strong legs muscles for riding.

We actually had that much snow here last month. I couldn't even make it anywhere near the barn. Too deep for this old woman. I was definitely glad to see it gone.

I could tell the two by the color patterns. I have to do that here sometimes too. It depends on the angle but I have a couple of pairs that I can get mixed up quite easily. They would be awesome driving pairs, yours and mine, if either of us did that. But then who knows, driving may be in the future. Listening to CNJ it sounds like a blast. Course, I'd have to have some kind of sponsor to get the darn equipment.

Also, talk about going to extremes in temperatures. Tropical vacation followed by a Alberta storm. I still don't get conversions from F to C quickly but the pictures tell the story. I'm thinking the tropical ones are definitely more inviting and I bet bad weather doesn't interfere with riding often.

Your pictures of the dolphins are very cool. I have never seen a butterfly garden but it does sound intriguing. Maybe one of these days.

Glad you are home safe and sound. I'm assuming that Martin is back on the road. Wishing him safe travels.

RoeH said...

Gotta admit here. My brain didn't see 'snow' and it still liked the title. Identifying it with life, it says a lot. Neat post!

Cut-N-Jump said...

Wow that's a lot of snow. And here we complain about the heat. Our extreme sucks too, but at least we don't have to shovel it.

Reading MiKaels comment, I'm thinking four-in-hand with a combo of yours and hers.... Wouldn't that be gorgeous?

Yes MiKael it is a blast! With the suspension under the cart taking all the big bumps, it is much easier on the body. Unless of course you hit a pole or something...

Not sure I am liking Blogger/Google's new format. Their new word verif really bites though.

Laughing Orca Ranch said...

I don't want to see anymore snow this winter. bah! But what a blessing to have such a kind BIL to help clear the paths and roadways. The dogs and cows seem very thankful, too.
Everyone's looking good around there, despite that white stuff covering everything.

Stay warm and safe,
~Lisa

Confessions of a Closet Hoarder but you can call me Judy said...

I always love your pictures, but I've gotta say I love the dappled shadows on the snow in that first one. It's breathtaking! Almost ... haunting.

You take beautiful pictures, girl!

Sherry Sikstrom said...

Just so you all know Marc does read the blog and does appreciate the comments. It sure is nice to have his help