Too much, too much...

to wrap my head around and sort it all out and figure out how I feel... and the wind is howling, stirring up the snow. I don't have a clear view. Weather reflecting inner turmoil. ...so I'll blog about other stuff.

Last Friday, we were invited to visit with a Hutterite family at Elm Spring Colony. I didn't know what to expect. I know a little bit about Hutterite culture and values, but I'd never had a long conversation with one.

So we're invited into the family home. It is immaculately clean with very spare furniture. A few decorations on the walls. The mother puts a huge amount of goodies - both store-bought and home-made - on the table for us to enjoy.

When the 20 year old son talked to his mum, I was shocked by the casual disrespect... and I gave him a bit of a hard time about it... but his mum didn't. We talked about colony life and his mum hardly entered the conversation... but just when I was thinking about the oppression of women...

In walks 3 female unmarried cousins, age 16-20. One of them sits casually beside the 2o yo, flops her feet onto his lap and casually demands he tie her shoe - which he does. The girls surprised me with the direct gazes and willingness to share their feelings, ideas and experiences. It is clear that the girls and the young man are good friends - and I was surprised by this too.

And again I am reminded that life and culture and people are complex and not to be judged too hastily. In the end, it was one of the more enjoyable evenings of wine and conversation that I've had in a long time!

The other "big event" was the arrival of Aimee and her TEN puppies (which we are fostering until the babies are weaned). OMG, I am smitten. Their baby-ness overwhelms my senses and I feel the biological urges of motherhood flood me. I swear I feel milk let-down when they cry! They have baby tummies and baby toes and give baby kisses and they sound like babies and smell like babies. And to get your own baby senses flowing, here are a couple of way too cute photos.

Hello Lacey Good-bye Jessie

Introducing the gorgeous Lacey. She's a 17 yo quarter horse and the most recent member of our farm family. Ginger was very lonely out there on her own. She was very excited when she first saw Lacey and they've become good friends already.



Lola and Lacey have come from the same place. It's hard to say whether they recognized each other. We're glad to have them both.

Jessie left yesterday for his new home. I think it will be a good match for him. I'm very proud of the work we did with Jessie while he was here. The effort was intense - but absolutely worth it. When Jessie left us, he was able to play and relax with other dogs. A huge accomplishment for him!

Here is a little sequence of Jessie, Vikki (another foster pup) and Lola - rolling in whatever facinating thing they were all sniffing.

... and just because she's too darn cute not to have her own close-up... Vikki

Almost gone...

I recieved the news today with mixed feelings. Sorrow and joy and relief and hope. Jessie has 3 adoption applications and surely one of them will be his new home. He came to us so messed up. Beside himself. Hypervigilant. He leaves us as an adorable puppy who loves to play... though his new family will need to continue to work on his dog-aggression. I will miss him sorely. He takes with him a piece of my heart. Here is a video with some of my favourite pictures of Jessie.

And the wind howls...

The divine Deisel happily watching over his farm.

When I think of southern Alberta, the first thing I think of is the WIND. It is ever present, howling outside my window. It is so dry here that snow has no weight. The wind picks it up and sculpts it into fanastical shapes. Where the wind blows contant the grass shows through. Where it drifts, fences and ditches disappear.

Where is the 6 ft deep ditch? Our front fence? Hidden by the snow & the wind.

Lovely Lola

Lola...La la la lola... has found her way into our homes and hearts. Her fellow house dogs were attacking Lola and have left her with a damaged ear and many scars. Her owners loved her, but they didn't feel like they could keep her safe. They called to ask if we would take her... and we are!

They're also bringing another animal to us - not like we're soft touches or anything!

They raise quality horses and have decided to specialize in reining and roping horses. Their gray mare doesn't fit in with their herd or business plans... and she has an old injury that means she needs more help in the last month of pregnancy... so they are brining her here to be a companion for Ginger. I'll post pictures after she arrives... but she's really gorgeous and has beautiful, sound babies.

Today, the weather broke a bit. The temperute sky rocketed to -3C and little wind. So after a month deprived, I was out riding today with Ginger! I look a bit like the michelan man, but I was wearing 4 layers of clothing and two hats!

Now, for those of you living in warmer climes, some cold weather pictures I took this week: