Blackwater River Ranch

• Saturday, July 4, 2009 - Trucking Around

Here it is Saturday morning. The sky with its streaks of blue with some white strata clouds and some rather grey clouds off on the horizon. The sun filters through. My Nellie dog stuck her nose in my face and got me up so she could go explore the day. Well we are going to go exploring today too! Not too far from home. This country has a lot of country to explore which is fantastic fun. Got a lot of scraping done on the pastors' log home yesterday. My husband and I are going to paint it after the old paint has been scraped. I think it is more of a coloured log finish than paint but painting we shall call it. And some cold cash in our pockets will feel good. Our garden is getting planted bit by bit. Not too much more to go now. I want to put in a row of sunflowers and then we can start planting second crops of swiss chard, lettuce and so on. We pushed a small herd of 18 cows and calves back out onto the range the other day using two of our dogs to help. They did an excellent job. Our Sassy dog isn't a year old yet. And Blueberry is two. It is so nice to have the help of dogs. My Nellie dog is good around the cows but she doesn't want to get out there and push them and keep them going she just wants to stick close to me. Not sure what to do about that. Maybe just keep using the other two. We fixed one of the gates to the meadow last night. Oh my now there is a job. But my husband jacked up the gate and climbed the ladder up the main post and redid the brace. Not an easy job. I handed tools and was the "encourager". You know things like "don't lean so far the ladder is going to tip, we can't sit the ladder here it isn't level, you will kill yourself, be careful dear." things like that. It actually is kind of scary for me to watch as there is no help close by if something did happen. The other gate we Mickey Moused so it will be able to open and close till we can get to it with new rails. I have to go get chores done so that I am ready for when Larry, our friend, comes to pick us up. we are going with him to the Bazeako River and Blackwater River. PIck up a fishing camp and move it down here to the Blackwater and Nazko River. I think this afternoon will find us back at the pastors house but not sure about that yet. I do have flowers and a greenhouse there to water. We are keeping an eye on it while they are on vacation for a couple of weeks. Awhile ago we had a black fox! There seems to be three of them or else these little critters have a wide territory they cover. Very pretty little critters that is for sure. Catch us the foxes, The little foxes that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes. Song of Solomon 2:15 May there be no little foxes gnawing at your vines! God Bless You with a fun Saturday Roxanne

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• Tuesday, June 30, 2009 - Frosty Mornings, Gardens and Cattle

It is just sooo amazing to me to read of all of you who are already not just harvesting your gardens but actually pulling them up!! YOW! Here we are struggling to get ours planted. One~ this old traditional garden plot didn't get rototilled by the tractor until late so the grass and dandelion roots and red clover is all throughout the garden. Two: The garden is 60 some feet by 90 some feet. A row takes up to an hour to put in as one has to dig out the sod and roots, then make the rows, and put the seeds in them. We have a pump to pump water onto the garden for watering not that we need to water much right now with the rain we have been having. Three: It has rained off and on through the days for days now then clears off at night and we get frost. Beautiful, sparkling frost! Things that are covered are doing fine except one pepper plant that a hole in the plastic that was covering that bed allowed some frost in. The top of the plant got frost bite. Everything else seems to be thriving. Our greenhouse is turning into a jungle. I love that. Then there is the fencing we need to spend a lot of time doing. The perimeter is pretty well done except along the river and that is presenting challenges for sure. What can we do for the fence as the river ice takes it out. Right now the high water is keeping the cows out of the hay-meadow. One part of the cross fencing is still in swamp water. Maybe if it quits raining we will see it dry up and can finish that part. The horses need to be turned into the pasture by our garden. That also ends in the swampy part.The big garden that we are still working on is a five minute walk from the house. Cows and calves keep coming down from the range and trying to get into the easy feed of the hay-meadow. Yesterday I (and two of my dogs) pushed 15 cows and their calves back up the road a mile and on to the bush road to the range they are suppose to be on. The brats came back by evening so my husband and I tried putting them back into their designated area. They are not here this morning PTL but being as I have such faith in cattle I am keeping a close eye out for them. One cow was in the hay-meadow and I am not sure if she is still there or not. So today I have to check for her. Lots of walking these days. I have these great ideas and plans of doing housework and sewing. NOT!! Yet I keep trying. Horses have to be dewormed today, garden worked on, laundry to do, ironing to do, baking and meals to take care of, crocheted sweaters to finish sewing in the ends and put buttons on. Afghan to work on that has to be finished by the end of July as it is for our oldest son's birthday present. Still trying to find my men's western shirt pattern. We have fencing to do too. I also have to move the boxes of books back into our landlady's cabin and some how get the river silt swept up out of it for her. Think I will quit writing the list. Will be interesting to see how much gets done. If the cattle co-operate most of it will BUUUTT if they are onery ~~well there goes the day!~~ So I sit and enjoy my morning tea and the quietness and the frost. Oh I wanted to tell you a funny story ~~ the other day I was out checking the chickens for eggs and the sandhill cranes were in the field as usual but closer than usual. There was a group of three at this point in time. They were happily grazing away and I was happily just watching them when suddenly one of them flapped its huge wings and did a sort of flying leap into the air. Then another one did the same thing and then the third one too. I thought to myself what on earth.. are they fighting? Weird~~they kept this up for a few minutes when I saw something in the midst of them and one crane made an extra leap and snapped at the air and gobbled up a butterfly!! Happy crane and poor butterfly. Off to have another cup of tea and some kind of breakfast before I get on a roll here. A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps. Proverbs 16:9 God bless Roxanne

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• Friday, June 26, 2009 - Frosty Friday Morning

A clear sky is over us this morning with a very light breeze. Frost lies thick on the truck windows. Aspen leaves gently rustle as the river continues down its age old watery trail. It is 5 a.m. I scramble around in my barefeet through the remains of the woodpile to find a few pieces of wood to keep the fire going just a little longer. I don't want to chop any right now so the perfect size is what I am searching for. I find them. One with just enough pitch to get the fire up and going again and a piece of poplar round. Back into the house, stoke the fire and wiggle my toes on the warm floor beside the heater. Pouring myself a cup of tea and thinking about what I can tell those who read this of our last few days. There is also the big thought in my head of the five little grandchildren coming out for the week-end while their dad and mom go away for the week-end. They have not been together for five months while the dad has been in another province taking a meat-cutters course. Over the last few days we have been fixing fences mostly. Rails that have come down or been broken by trees that have tumbled and crash landed on a portion of the fence. The perimeter of this ranch is snake fence and the cross fencing is in post and rail. We are now needing to go get more rails for some of this. We are surrounded by trees but not the size we need and we need to be able to haul them. There are some close by but will need to get a permit. Our next trip to town ~~ Our garden is partly planted we could have finshed with it but the rains have been torrential and cannot get into the garden and plant or it would just be muck. Our greenhouse is doing simply splendid. It is starting to look kind of like a jungle in there. With all this rain I have had some time to sort out my sewing area. At least to a point where it can be further organized. I would like to do something with all the scraps of material I have. Right now they are in bins. Sorted to types of fabric but wondering if maybe I should sort them to fabric colours instead of types. I have the bins neatly stacked and that makes the world of difference. Maybe I should just become some kind of sewing freak and sew everything into something quickly and give it all away. I am not quite finished sorting the stuff on my sewing desk. You can see the floor and the pins are picked up. I almost have my cutting table cleared too. Now what I need is time to sew. Oh and finish sorting through patterns. I still have not found the pattern I am looking for~~a men's western shirt pattern. I make them quite often and have to make one for a friend and a couple for my husband. The blackfly lumps at the base of my skull are still there. They take so long to disappear. I am hoping the children don't get covered in them while they are here. Blackflies LOVE children. Their little heads get covered in their lumps, their ears get ripped up and their necks and down their spines. It can be quite miserable for the little ones. Oatmeal bathes kind of help.We have tried calamine lotion, baking soda mixtures,and some salve from the doctor. That doctor one is 1% hydrocortisone cream, with some linocaine or something like that in it. It doesn't heal the bites but it takes the "bite" out of them. Then the children are not constantly scratching and ripping at them and getting the bites infected. Maybe today's frost will kill them off! Wouldn't that be sweet? anyways I can dream ~~ Today I have to get some chores done here before our second oldest son comes to pick us up. He will sweep us away in his truck to his place then we will pick up their suburban with all the car seats in it and the children and go to a big party a family of our church family in town have every summer around the soltice. It is a great time of fellowship, food, campfire, games, and children everywhere. The whole family has a blast. We will pick up one other little grandson too and take the six. Our oldest son is working but his wife will bring their four children. Blessed is everyone that feareth the LORD; that walketh in his ways. For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee. Psalm 128:1&2 Off and running to get those chores done God Bless You and Yours Roxanne

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• Saturday, June 20, 2009 - Time for an Update

The Days just fly around here but this morning with a fire crackling in the wood heater to take the chill and dampness off I am taking the time to write on here. We have had a time of real dry and hot (for us) weather. Our grass had gone crispy. The trees were tinder dry and with all the pinebeetle-killed trees surrounding us it is just a little scary. Someone has been praying for rain or doing a rain dance as now we have rain and more rain and the grass is becoming very green again. We probably need to pray for sunshine now or learn that sun dance! lol Last Wednesday the sun shone through the heavy grey clouds, the breeze blew the little shimmering aspen leaves,the dogs ran happily up our driveway barking at the visitors.Tails in the air and excited barks three of the four dogs criss-crossed in front of our friends' 4x4 pickup. The two younger dogs leaping and running while our old girl tried to do the same. Poor old Pepsi too stiff and slow to be a pup but always a pup at heart. She too tried to criss-cross in front of the truck which proved to be her last attempt at puppyhood. Our friends were so shook up and upset that they had run over the old girl. Our old friend who was a great cow dog and loved to herd bulls, hated coyotes with a passion is gone. No longer will she come for her good night pet on my side of the bed. No longer will she be sleeping under our bed snoring and groaning and passing gas enough to choke one to death at times. She was somewhere in the neighbourhood of 14 years old. A border collie/Newfoundland cross on her mother's side and a Lassie collie on her father's side. She was stiff, had some kind of fits off and on (maybe little strokes or heartattacks) many other aging problems but always a dear friend. We will and do miss her. We still managed to have a very blessed visit with our friends. Our chickens that are probably going through their first molt are happy and laying a few eggs a day. They have to be put onto the roosts every night as they do not seem to know what roosts are for. Last night there was actually 3 or 4 of them ON the roosts. Wow! We were going to do fencing and plant some more on our garden but not sure if we will fence as it is so wet out. Maybe it will dry off a little later on. The garden would be just plain too muddy to work in today. I would like to get some sewing done and maybe organize some of my scrapbooking things so maybe this is THE day to take advantage of the wet weather and do a few of those kinds of things. Need to get some baking done too while in the house. One friend told me once that I am an expert "occupier" well I guess it is nice to be an expert at something?! Tomorrow is Father's Day. We are going to go down to the school in the village which shares its facilities and have a Father's Day Breakfast of steak and eggs. Then off to our oldest son's for a while and do somethings there before going to friends. There is a bbq to celebrate birthdays and Father's day of family and friends.This week-end though is a free day of fishing so we hope to do some of that too! The best fishing river is right out our door literally running in front of the kitchen window. I am not really a "fisherman" but I am willing to give it a try. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them:... Psalm 127:4 & 5 In Christ Roxanne

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• Tuesday, June 16, 2009 - Almost Summer

With a happy "Little Lady" kitten purring on my lap as I type away here and a nice cup of tea my day is well on its way. I have beans cooked and ready for a slowcooker supper as we have yet another day of firewood to make. It is nice to come home from a long day of hard work to a meal already cooking. There is a raven walking outside my window. He stops and peaks in the window before carrying on. I think he has come to steal dog food. He is quite brave while the dogs are sleeping. He has found one of their bones and has picked it up or rather tried to pick it up and pack it off with him. He keeps dropping it. We had to stop by a neighbour's place on our way to make firewood to get some mix for the power saw. That was a blessing as they had missionaries from Thailand there. Mon told us of how they have Elephant school there. The elephants sing, dance, paint, and many other things. apparently they can do many things we humans can do. Isn't that interesting?  The piggies are growing and so enjoying their bed of hay in the early morning. They like to snuggle in it in the afternoon too. Probably to escape the bugs. Yesterday we came home from a long day of hard physical labour to find a fishing group parked inside our gates. They are some kind of fishing tour and a local fellow was helping them out. I have to admit it is rather strange having people you have never met before wandering "your" river banks. The day is getting away on me and I have a few things to get done before we go off to working here. One exciting thing to look forward to today is we have chickens coming this evening. They are older chickens and the folks who are bringing them are keeping them here in our chicken coop while they build a chicken coop. In the end we will share the flock with each of us getting around a dozen birds. Eggs from our own chickens again will be a true blue blessing to be sure. Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in his ways. For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee. Psalm 128:1&2 The LORD Bless thee Roxanne

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• Sunday, June 14, 2009 - A Glorious Sunday Morning

Late last night after dropping off one of our grandsons at his home, we headed for the long drive to our own home. It was going onto 11pm and you could still see it was that light out. One of the blessings of living in the north is the long days in the later spring and the summer. It was a quiet road home with not even much for wild life. At one point there was two eyes in the headlights off into the bush. We slowed down as often those "two eyes" one sees off in the bush suddenly jump out onto the highway. When we got a little closer I could see it was a moose but just dark enough that I could not tell for certain if that was antlers on its head or the branches of the trees it was amongst. both of us were pretty tired. PTL I was not the driver cause I had to keep fighting falling asleep. Yet when I finally got to crawl into my nice cozy bed I woke right up!! I never understand why when one is so so very tired and have the chance to fall asleep one wakes up yet still incredibly tired but cannot sleep. I did eventually around 3 fall asleep and slept till around 6:30 going onto 7 so I have a feeling I will be sound asleep in my nice cozy bed at an early hour tonight. But this morning is fresh and glorious making me want to quickly clean up the mess I left in the kitchen yesterday morning to head to the various parties we were planning to attend. I baked a chocolate No Fail Chocolate cake that does not take eggs as we are out of eggs. Made a cherry sauce out of some kind of cherries I had in the freezer. I also made two pizzas with whatever I could find on hand here. Using baking powder biscuit dough for the crusts. So all is good. One of our grandsons had his tenth birthday party so we stopped there and helped with preparations and ate birthday party burgers and ice-cream cake that had a cowboy riding a horse roping a steer on it. It seemed to me that the group of young boys had a lot of fun. From there we headed to town and picked up another grandson (and held his new sweet little baby brother) Then off to our sons coming home party. He had been away since February taking a meat-cutters course in Alberta. He has graduated!! His five little ones and his wife are pretty excited to have him back home to say the least! Hoping this day will find us making more progress in the planting of our garden. There are times that I really wish I had some kind of super powers so I could just get everything done and caught up in one day. I don't so I will just do my best with the LORD's help to put in a full day. Usually this being a Sunday and all we go to church in the evening at our pastor's home. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Psalm 51:10 Enjoying the day the LORD hath made Roxanne

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• Friday, June 12, 2009 - Morning Blessings!

A mist on the hay-meadow. Sandhill Cranes grazing quietly there. The sound of the river rapidly flowing down its watery path. The little grey kitty purring sweetly on my lap. My cup of steaming tea. These are sweet quiet morning blessings to me. My husband still asleep which is good as he has worked way too hard the last couple of days. His one knee was causing him quite a bit of pain. I know cause he told me and he does not complain of pain very often. So I let him sleep. Today he does not have trees to fall or limb and buck. We have the hopes of spending a lot of time in our 60 some foot  x 90 some foot  garden. And getting it planted. It felt overwhelming at one point but now it is a job to be done and bugs beware BECAUSE we will be there armed and dangerous! LOL We have been wondering what our dogs have been barking at like "idiots" for the last few days driving us crazy as they act like they see something but we can not see a thing. On Tuesday night we came home from a home church fellowship. And there at the end of our driveway on the other side of the road are three of our dogs and a CAT!! They were intent on something.  Last night we came home and I thought I saw something but it was almost midnight and so tired that I thought maybe it was just the way I moved my head but as we pulled off of the bridge into the driveway out bounds a deer. Great! We have not seen any deer here since September and now that we are planting a huge garden here come the deer. I told my "dear" we will put barb wire up high around the top rails of this garden fence and make sure they cannot crawl under it either. I am NOT sharing my garden with them. HOPE THEY HEAR THAT!  The mosquitoes are in my eyes and ears and hair this morning as I sit here trying to type so think I will have to light some mosquito coils. Yesterday we were invited to go to the school (elementary grades) and see their play production. We had to go down that way to make firewood for our pastor and family so we went. What a fun play those kids put on and unbeknownst to us a school bus pulled up from the Bouchie Lake school where a couple of our grandsons go to school. In comes our grandson so he sat on grandpas lap to watch the play. That was fun. Both schools are small although the one out here is the smallest. The two communities although some distance apart are very closely tied together since pioneer days. We have been making firewood and I have been scraping logs for our pastor and his wife (who is also a pastor) We will be repainting their log house or putting the oil stain on it. I call it painting and they do too. In a hurry and a flurry I need to get some housework done so I will be ready to go to the garden and spend most of the day there. The earth is the LORD's, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein. Psalm 24:1 God Bless your Friday Roxanne

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• Monday, June 8, 2009 - What is so Special about June 8th?

The morning starts out like mornings do this time of the year in this part of the country. Breeze breathing its coolness through the screened open window. Frost clings to some grass and vehicles and boards and rails. Birds sing their morning songs while cats sit at the outside dish looking for their morning handouts. Even the sun rises in its usual place slowly bringing some warmth back to the day. So just what is so special about this day?? This day in 1979 our first daughter and third child was born in the wee hours of the morning in our home in Deadman Creek Reserve. In Shushwap language it is called Skeetchetsn. My good friend Dolly and my husband delivered this little baby that was not suppose to be born for at least another month. She didn't breathe at first and my husband quickly cleared her with a baby syringe we happened to have. and gently breathed into her. Later that day she was taken by us into the nearest city which is Kamloops. There they wanted to put her in the hospital for a couple of days as something was not right but they did not know what. After a few days even though I would tell them she turns grey and black when I nurse her I was told to start drinking stout and learn to relax and all would be well. We didn't make it quite all the home when she stiffened up in my arms and quit breathing somehow scared out of my mind I managed to blow air into her and we ended up phoning from my parents place and taking her back into the hopsital There a real pediatrician looked at her and had her immediately admitted to the hospital. She was put into intensive care as she had pnuemonia in both lungs and was declared six to eight weeks premature. She fought for her life eventually being released into our care again with instructions to us on how to pound her back etc. Our Sam would carry her everywhere. She only had to squeak and he would have baby and be walking the floor with her. She was the love of all who knew her. Her older two brothers loved playing with her and she with them. She totally fell in love with her new baby sister when she came along 1 year and 9 months later. One hot day as we sat on the creek with another gal in the creek with her and that gal's little son. Something happened never to this day to be known exactly what but our baby disappeared in the creek never to be found on this earth again. Oh the tears and the heartache beyond belief. The Lord became a real friend, our caretaker. This kind of tragedy one never really gets over. There is always a part of your heart that feels as fragile as a china plate held over a cement floor. BUT life goes on and loved ones need you, chores still have to be done, the world won't stand still for us even if it feels as if it has then suddenly the years have passed and now today is the tenth birthday of our second grandson, the first son of our oldest son and wife. Over the years our LORD has carried us through many trials and tribulations and I am sure there will be many more to come. He has blessed us with so many blessings it would be hard and take a loooong looong time to list them all. Here we stand with a family of eight children some of which are married now. From our children we have 10 grandchildren and 3 step-grandchildren. For the LORD himself shall descend from heavenwith a shout, with the voice of the arch-angel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the LORD in the air: and so shall we ever be with the LORD. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 The day is calling out my name and there is a huge garden to be planted today In His arms Roxanne

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• Tuesday, June 2, 2009 - Beautiful Sunshiny Frosty Morning & Cows &Pigs

I will try to give all of you a quick run-down on the last few days: We left Friday for the southern interior of BC spent the night at Skeetchetsn Reserve. We were able to visit two of our sons. When we moved a stud horse to the one son's place we got to see his and girlfriend's new little home they made out of their little travel trailer and addition added on to it. Very cute and a gorgeous spot. From there the next morning we travelled to Burnaby to visit one of our daughters and her husband. Were invited to his mother's birthday party. That was all very interesting as I have not been to the big city for a number of years. I was surprised that beaded eyelashes are in(didn't even know they existed let alone in!) solar nail polish,pedicures~~! Had a wonderful visit with our son-in-law and daughter. Our other daughter met us there the next day and we travelled back up here together. I can say without any hesitation that the traffic down there is ridiculous and that I am praying God never wants me to live there. LOL We got in about 12:30 a.m. Monday morning I was having a shower when the phone rang and Dennis tapped on the door and said oh by the way we have to go branding in a few minutes. So much for the leisurely shower. We spent the day after loading stock racks from friends down the road a piece branding, tagging, and ringing calves and some bulls got branded too. Our plan for the day was to go pick up our pigs and bring them home so that is why the stock racks. After the branding and supper we drove the hour drive to go get the piggies. We finally got home around 10:30 ish. I have checked on the piggies and they are sleeping comfortably in the hay in the back of the pick up so this morning they will be unloaded to their new pig-pen and between unloading cattle and whatever else comes up we will finish the piggies shelter. This morning the sun is shining gloriously and the frost is giving up the ghost to the glorious sunshine. The leaves are looking so beautiful in green. My favourite colour is red but after the long winter and cold spring this year I told my husband maybe my favourite colour is GREEN! LOL anything but white! LOL So off I go to get my day under way as I have been looking up patterns on here instead of doing the things that need doing. I am just now starting to feel guilt ridden so better do something about that like go make some breakfast. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Psalm 2:11 In the LORD's hands Roxanne

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• Sunday, May 24, 2009 - Green Leaves, Sandhill Cranes, Ant Hills, and Frost

These days are just getting longer and longer. It is still light out after 10pm and the sun is up earlier and earlier in the morning. There is a light frost lying around us sparkling and twinkling in the morning light. Sandhill Cranes and their ever close buddies the Canada Geese are down in the hay-meadow grazing. Two dogs are outside noses to the ground. Just what kind of things happened through the night? I wonder what they will find out? I do know that an owl woke me up a couple of times through the night. Not sure what kind of food it found but I think we still have all four cats. It is Sunday~~for Sunday I will finish off the laundry while I can. Continue to disturb the huge ant hill (mountain) that is in our new pig pen. Have been pouring boiling hot salty water on them. It is a huge nest so we are thinking it will take some days of consistent ummm~~disturbing to get them gone! The new pig pen is awesome. Built by my husband and one of our sons. It is made of logs. Dennis has built one trough but has to make another one and we have to build their shelter yet. We will be getting six pigs this time round. There is evening church at the Pastors' house as usual this evening but not sure if we can go as we are short on gas and have to go put cattle out on range on Tuesday and Wednesday so need to have gas to get there as it is 45 minutes past us. Quite a busy week for us this week. We also have to go to the coast at the end of the week ~~take some belongings down to one daughter and her husband and help bring the other daughter's belongings back up here before she gets transferred to the farther north. A very isolated area where she will be the rural nurse. A doctor flies in once a month or every six weeks. She is pretty excited to be going. No shopping malls in that area!   You can travel by river boat to Alaska to get your groceries etc. We lived there when she was just a babe. Our one daughter-in-law and the children will most likely be coming out this afternoon sometime and picking up their old dog and their budgies that we have been babysitting for about a week while they went to Alberta to visit DAD!! He is just about done his meat-cutters course. June 12th is the big day and end of course for him. Then he will be coming home. Been a long cold winter for her and the little ones.But it is almost over now! HOORAY!! So now here we are back to just the two of us and dogs and cats and horses etc. Our son his girlfriend and his son have all gone home. This little grandson of ours turned six on Thursday so it was pretty fun to have him here on his birthday. We had a great supper and a birthday cake with ice-cream!! and he got his presents from us and Daddy It was fun.  He and I made a puppet. I found a hatchet and gave him that to use while here and told him they (granpa and daddy) needed his help building that pig pen so off he went to chop trees down. He brought me a good size pile of little dead trees out of the pig pen area for "firewood"! Cute. Not a boring moment for him or for us! Haha He learned too that you do not walk with an ax swinging it around and we showed him how to chop at an angle to chop those trees down. Seems kind of quiet here at the moment even though it is only about 6:30 a.m. The day will liven up and our old buddy Woody will be here for coffee this morning which he does every Sunday morning. His big outings is to go from ranch to ranch which are some distance apart and have coffee and usually he has lunch with us. Then another ranch for a visit then another ranch for a visit and supper. Him and his old dog. Pretty fun! Better be going and rustle us up some kind of breakfast and get started on the last mountain of laundry. The LORD bless thee and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. Numbers 6:24-26 Loving the day the LORD hath made Roxanne

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• Monday, May 18, 2009 - Victoria Day!

Victoria Day here: a day to celebrate Queen Victoria's birthday usually held on the last Monday before May 25th. A holiday held is most Commonwealth countries; United Kingdom, Caymen Islands, and here in Canada. I think most people just are happy to have a day off to relax in, or plant their garden in. Usually a garden is planted on this long week-end as in most places the danger of frost is over. Not so here but we could plant a lot of plants that are hardy if our garden was rototilled. Soon apparently Hubert will come down with the tractor and rototill this garden. We can get frost anytime of the year ~~planting things in the cabbage family, beets, carrots, rutabagas, peas, spinach, swiss chard, potatoes are a little iffie but we can watch for clear nights when the potatoes are growing and cover them if we have too. Lots of plants need covering and they will be fine ~~tomatoes and peppers and hot weather lovers of all sorts do better in a greenhouse. The morning sun is shining on GREEN grass, the trees are getting little leaves and their appearance is making a slightly green tinge out over our part of the earth. A huge bear comes in to the far haymeadow in the evenings now to graze. He seems content to stay down in that area which is fine for us. Great day for friends to come out for a visit. We are working on getting ready for ou son(and his girlfriend too) to come up. They will stay for the week and the bunch of us will work on the pig pen. Prayerfully it will get all done and finished by the time they have to go back home. There are many plans in a man's heart, Nevertheless the LORD's counsel--that will stand. Proverbs 19:21 Happy Victoria Day and if you do not celebrate this day ~~Happy day to you just the same In the LORD's Hands Roxanne

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• Thursday, May 14, 2009 - Snow Goose Weather

There is this old belief that May11th,12th, and 13th are the days of three saints (I don't remember their names at the moment) They are the patron saints of chilliness. They  like to come on these days of the year. Believe me they have certainly been here and it is now the 14th with us still experiencing their presence! We have snow pellets coming down with the temps hovering around the zero mark or freezing point if you are not on the celcius scale. We have to fence in this cold I wonder if I should be wearing long johns this morning when I am out there or grit my teeth and bear it. Maybe it will warm up later. Praise the LORD for the wood heater in the little greenhouse. Pumping its welcome heat away in there for those poor plants. Everything outside is hardy enough to handle the weather. We had a stranger come visit us yesterday. The Canada Geese and the pair of Sandhill Cranes were grazing away in the hay-meadow when we notice a fair sized white bird circling. At first we thought it was a swan as we get our fair share of swans here even though none are here at the moment. But no my Dennis got out his handy dandy binoculars and it was a single Snow Goose! We are wondering if more will show up today or if that one will move on. Interesting. While on the subject of birds one of our neighbours down the road took a photo that he enlarged of the single Sandhill Crane that grazes on their ranch. It has three bands up high on each leg. When our daughter-in-law and the children came out on Tuesday we had another visitor show up. A western Tanager. So pretty! Just the one though so far. That was a fun but way tooooo short visit from them. We now have their dog and two budgies here for a week long visit. They seem to be enjoying their visit so far. I have to get ready to go fencing this morning. Have supper planned ~~Spanish Rice and Pork Chops with salad and am going to bake an oatmeal pie for dessert. Making a little hooded crocheted sweater for one of our grandaughters. She loved the ones I had made to sell but they are too small for her in the arms and length of sweater so will make one to fit. They are so fun to make so easy and work up fast. In the end you have this very very colourful sweet little hooded sweater that is good for cool days or cool evenings. Gotta go make some breakfast it is getting late and should be outside by now. Therefore, whether you eat or drink,  or whatever you do,  do all to the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31 Living for the LORD Roxanne

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• Saturday, May 9, 2009 - Saturday's Beautiful Morning & Thursday's Bear Story

Waking up to a beautiful morning at 5 a.m. The sun coming up over the tree tops. The rising river roaring down its overgrown pathway. Water with white frozen foam in the back-eddy. Water that looks way too cold to be enjoyable to swim in yet there are little buffleheads floating on it. Canada Geese grazing down in the hay-meadow. Smoke coming out of our newly erected greenhouse chimney! :) The plants have survived their first night in the greenhouse. YAY! It was 7 below this sparkly, frosty, spring morning. For those who are not using the celcius scale of temp measurement that would be below the freezing point of 32F and somewhere around 18 or 19 degrees. So really it isn't that cold just too cold to be a senstive plant without some kind of protection. It is almost 8 a.m. now and the sun has melted most of the frost. PTL We will have a day of putting more plants into the greenhouse and digging in the dirt. We also have more strawberries to transplant. My hardworking husband made some more strawberry beds so today I have those to finish up. I have been spending time yesterday refurbishing the neglected flower beds around this old heritage house. I am getting there. I would like to put my buckets together (in other words put flowers seeds into them) and put them in the greenhouse too. This will hopefully happen after I vacuum out my flour drawer and pull out my stove and clean from under and around it. UUooohh I guess it should be done. Thursday was our town day as we could not finish up business last time we were in town as the banks wouldn' cash Dennis' cheque. Well that got all straightened out  thankfully. On our way to town we stopped in at a neighbours to let them know that we were hoping to stop by on our way home which would be getting rather late. Like around 9 or 9:30 pm Oh great she says we will see you then . So after some chit chat about rising water, bears, equipement and gardens we left.  Delivered bread and cinnamon buns on the way in. The trip in town was non-stop but we got the firewood delivered to our daughter-in-law and had a little visit. On to all the other busy things one does in town. Stopped on the way home and dug up the strawberry plants. Onward ho to the next stop where we got a pickup load of good soil for our garden beds. Dropped off the tote bag filled with cinnamon buns that I made for a gift for them. Then on towards home. We got to our friend's as we walked in the door she says where were you when I needed you. HUH?? I guess just after we left her place she heard her sheep making noise so went to check on them and couldn't find the ram. Funny she thought as she could hear him so not thinking of anything except where is he and why is he making all that noise. When she got to some bushes she pushed them back only to come face to face with a bear that had her ram. uuummm oops! She backed up slowly as the bear was in no mood for sharing said ram. She made it back to the house and phoned her husband's cell phone.(He was at an auction) Well he told her just get the 22 out and shoot at it that will scare him off. But make sure you don't hit the bear. Okay so off she goes with the gun and shoots at the bear ~~Bear don't like that and comes at her but not leaving the now much dead ram. Okay now she has to go back up to the house and phone someone. A fellow comes and shoots at the bear but he is a poor shot and the bear comes at him ooh oh! So now the two of them get themselves back up to the house. This bear is not being very friendly at all. There is no way anyone could convince him to leave and he certainly was NOT going to share the ram. Another phone call and another fellow comes ~~the bear is getting pretty annoyed with all the interruptions of his meal by now. It advances towards this fellow only thing is this fellow says enough of this nonsense. The end! Okay so cleaning, dirt work, and sewing are on my agenda today and not sure if anything is going to change my agenda but that is what I have in my mind. A man's steps are of the LORD: How then can a man understand his own way? Proverbs 20:24 May you have a "beary" pleasant day Roxanne

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• Wednesday, May 6, 2009 - Rosy Clouds, Frosty Morning, and the River is STILL Rising!

Fresh, sweet smelling air blew across my face as I came out of dreamland and into reality this morning. The rain that had fallen through the night had frozen itself to the truck and the old car. The sky was clearing even though some of the rosy-clouds still hung suspended below the canopy of heavy grey clouds. Once I entered the kitchen I cranked open the drafts on the wood heater and soon the kitchen was warm and cozy. The kettle coming to a boil for my morning tea. I don't drink coffee very often anymore as it makes my heart beat way way too fast! Every once in awhile I will have a cup of coffee but not that often. The river is really climbing up its banks now.  This morning there is a bunch of small chunks of ice gathered out my window, on the river that is. The rain is suppose to be on and off all through the week-end with the temps around 16. Things are going to melt up in the higher part of this country. Yesterday I made our 8 loaves of bread and my husband bagged them when they cooled ( I was sewing) and put them in the freezer. I have the first 4 dozen cinnamon buns done. Today I have eight loaves of bread to make and more cinnamon buns. The bread is in trade for a bunch of stewing chickens and for eggs that I get from a friend. We are always trading. The other batch of cinnamon buns are to sell and one dozen is a gift to another friend that is always blessing us. I am making her a denim tote bag and going to fill it with cinnamon buns. I just have the top trimming or binding whatever you would call it and the handles to put on and it will be already for tomorrow. Tomorrow is going to be another town day. We will go visit our daughter-in-law and take her another load of firewood. I have two tooth-fairy pillows to make  or three I should say. They need to be made for tomorrow too. I also wanted to get another tote bag done for "me"self but not sure if that will get done today or not. There is transplanting to do into the greenhouse as my Dennis has the heater set up in there now even though we are short a bit of stove pipe that we can pick that up tomorrow prayerfully. The loons have been making their lone calls from the lake across the river from us. I just love loons although never want to have to rescue one from an entanglement with a barb wire fence. A friend of mine had to do that or at least she felt compelled to help out a loon that somehow got caught up in a barbwire fence. She came across it when she was out riding her part of the range so jumping down off her horse she went over to help the "poor" thing out. Weeelll the "poor" thing just about tore her arms apart. They have these short little legs and at the end of their ample swimming paddles is these sharp little "toes". In the end she got the loon out of the fencing and into the water and had to come back and get herself "rescued". I tell you her arms looked like they had been raked by a barbwire fence. But poor little loonie was happily swimming in the wee lake and never gave a backwards look of thanks. I have to get busy and get bread and buns going as in amongst all the things I want and have to do today I also have to help with the load of firewood. Oh and by the way we did get some logs for the greenhouse that Dennis wants to build, and some rails for to fix the first gate. So there is also rails to get. I managed to get the tub scrubbed out before I went to bed last night actually on my way to bed last night. You see the river has filled our septic? not sure what you call it so we have to flush carefully or it backs up onto the floor(not fun and PTL for outhouses) and dish water and wash machine water back up into the tub. So there is the dirty laundry water draining into the not so clean tub with dish water mixed into it. So yeah dirt and spaghetti noodles and scum etc. But it can't really be cleaned out till it all drains which it did by late in the day. I just had to get back to it. Part of my routine these days is cleaning the tub and the bathroom floor everyday. At least I always have something to do! Breakfast and Bible study are waiting for me to get to them so I had better get to them! We are doing the last day of 2 Peter and then we start on Jude. And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. 1 John 2:29 God Bless Each One of You as you go about your daily day. Roxanne

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• Monday, May 4, 2009 - I'd Be There~~~If Only I Had My Underwear!!

"Only in Nazko" is a saying coined by one of Nazko's writers. You just cannot help but quote that after last night at church meeting.~~We were sitting comfortably around the living room while the pastor's youngest daughter got the fire started. The evening was peaceful and all were in a congenial mood. Someone asked if Bob was coming? When I piped up asking where is Bob? ~~Hilda sitting next to me who lives on the Nazko Rez got a funny smile and then sort of giggled and said in her quiet heavy accent~~Bob got all his clean clothes and his clean underwear stolen so he won't come cause his clothes are dirty and he can't wash them. (he hasn't running water) Someone had actually broke into poor Bob's house and stolen his clothing right down to the underwear! At least they left him his dirty clothes. Smiles and giggles went around the room someone making the comment about Bob not even being dead and they steal his clothes. Someone else commenting that they wouldn't steal Bob's dirty underwear either!  Only in Nazko. Our day yesterday started out with a warm morning under heavy dark clouds. We managed to get the strawberry bed filled in with our truck load of soil and transplanted the strawberry plants in the rain. It was just a light rain but my hands started to get pretty cold by the time I was done. Did some chores and our friend Woody showed up so I made biscuits and salmon  for lunch. We had a great visit with Woody. After he left there was still some chores to do before getting ourselves ready for church meeting which is in the evening. We had to run up to Hubert and Jean's to borrow an auger for today's work after the meeting last night. We had a light rain but they had a real downpour! We slipped and slid up the driveway (which by the way is very long) got to the first gate and three huge bulls are having abig standoff. By the looks of the mud we could tell there had been some heavy duty fighting going on there. The bulls were not to anxious to let go their differences to let us by but we encouraged them to do so and got by. Onward ho to the next gate at the poor old rickety bridge over the rising creek.Almost reaching the bridge. There we found Hubert and Jean just finishing their chores up for the evening. It was 9pm and still light out. By the time we got home from there it was dark around 10pm. One of our sons called and he and the papa had a real long visit. I finished up a sweater I was crocheting. With the fire stoked for the night we took our tired selves off to bed and there we found sweet rest. The sun is up here melting the frost. Sandhill cranes have been singing there unmelodious song. River water is rising and more ice is gathering. I am praying it will not gather so much that we end up with another ice jam! My Nellie dog, with nose to the ground, is checking out the ranch making sure it is still there. The other three dogs are sleeping contentedly. Not concerned at this moment with the outer goings on that happen in the frosty world. My tea cup stands emptied and my head is filled with the things that need to be attended to this day. Things like my Bible study in 2 Peter. We are almost done 2 Peter now. Talk about relevant to this day and age. Lots of warnings there and encouragement for living for the LORD. There are chores to attend to  and my husband and I are going to be starting the fencing today.  The first place we will start is with this gate that is disintegrating before our eyes. This means there will be rails to make. Sometime before the day is over we need to travel to our friends ranch and see them. I am pleased to have two little hooded crocheted sweaters made. I am going to take photos of them and the ponchos and maybe someday I will be able to post them. The LORD is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9 As Peter says ~~grow in the grace and knowledge of our LORD and Saviour Jesus Christ. Roxanne

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• Saturday, May 2, 2009 - Can the Day Prioritize Itself?

And so here we are on the 2nd day of the month of May under an absolutely clear sky. Frost on the ground the morning temperature of -10c. It will warm up nicely through the day. Yesterday was a whirlwind trip to town ~~deliver this and that to friends and pick up things from friends, went to some longtime friends for supper. Oh my that was just delicious! :) A wonderful visit. Then home again again. It is staying light here now until 9:30 pm and can still chop wood without a light between then and 10pm Soon it will still be light as in twilight at 11pm. I love the long days. You can get so much done even in the evening. We have plans of going and hauling some fine dirt from our friend's ranch today not sure when probably this afternoon sometime. In the meantime the day will quickly get used up ~~there is housework to do(isn't there always housework to do?) there is yard work to do plus we have to start getting rails to make a new gate and fencing. The fencing OH THE FENCING!! We can keep ourselves pretty busy with fencing. There is the garden to keep working on I have moved the last old bunny out of the greenhouse into a cage and she actually seems very happy and content. Which surprised me as her and her old buddies (they died of old age late this winter)had quite a time of it tunneling in the greenhouse. But she is happy and watches the dogs and cats and birds and happily chews away at this and that. we can see her out the kitchen window. I wanted to keep the cages close to the house as the coyotes here and the foxes get quite brave. Maybe just maybe the dogs can keep them at bay. The greenhouse is cleaned out and I managed to cave in tunnels so we will haul some of this dirt into the greenhouse to mix with the old dirt in there. Then set up the little barrel heater and we should be ready set to move plants in there. at least the starter plants and plants that need the extra protection. My baby album that I have been working on is almost finished I just need to get somewhere and photo copy some photos so I can place them in the album and then I will be set. I will be glad to have that done. It has been more of a chore than a pleasure for me. If I could get all the photos sorted it would probably not be so much of a hassle and be a little more pleasant so I have asked my husband if he will help me sort them instead of me just throwing them all back in the bin. He seems willing~~~ There are things to be ready for for later this month as one of our sons is coming to help build the pigpens. That area is all free and clear of snow and ice and mud now so we can start knocking down some trees (pinebeetle killed) and limb them and have them all ready for building with. Dogs are happily chasing each other around. The sun is hitting us full force now so the frost should start melting any moment. I need to get breakfast on the table so we can get our day going. I sold a set of homemade hot/cold pacs yesterday and have to make some more. He does not delight in the strength of the horse; He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man. The LORD takes pleasure in those who fear Him, In those who hope in His mercy. Psalm 147:10 & 1 In Christ Roxanne

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• Wednesday, April 29, 2009 - Frosty Mornings

Stillness lies the morning here at Blackwater River Ranch. The stillness of early morning with the frost crystals sparkling as the amber of the early morning sun lightly, softly touches the grassy ground. The tree tops too have a little sunshine reaching them. The world outside is filled with the songs of all different types of birds. The huge puddle that is almost a pond in the hayfield is full of ducks of different types and the odd couples of Canada Geese. My heater snaps and crackles, throwing is welcoming heat into the kitchen where one dog is warming herself beside it on the floor. My husband may be home today that would be fun! I have no way of knowing though until he actually pulls up to the house. In some ways that is an untruth as if I happened to be looking I would see him coming down the big hill that looks down onto the ranch. But then he has to drive down the road a piece to get to the driveway. My last couple of days have been spent working on my daughter's baby album. Oh sweet some may think but no it is an overwhelming chore! I have to go through years of photos with eight children there is quite a few of them to sort through and to find ones that would be appropriate for her album ~~~oh my! It is almost finished though and I am Praising the LORD for that. Someday when I have some time (not sure when that is) I want to sort these photos out into some kind of categories. Then maybe scrapbooking them wouldn't be such a daunting undertaking. Dreaded for the most part by me at that. So onward ho and now that she is in her late 20's I guess it is about time she got a baby album. Moral of this story to any of you who still have babes in arms is try to do their albums up as life goes on it is so much easier I am sure. Work inside and work outside is my summary of the list of to do things today. I have been over to our garden spot which is about a 5 minute walk from the house. It is thirty-three long steps in length and twenty-three long steps in width. I have dug a shovel depth the length of it every so many feet to see if it is thawing out. It is!! :) And it is teeming with worms so yay yay! I have chicken soup broth in my large stock pot in the fridge at the moment but will take the fat off and make up soup today. Freezing some of it and using some of it to eat myself. There is a truck load of firewood that I want to move by wheelbarrow to and stack. It got dropped off by some folks for our landlady in the middle of the winter and they couldn't get into her cabin so it is beside our part of the driveway. It will be nice if the wind does not blow hard like it has the last few days. It is tiring fighting that wind. Not a friendly breeze with its cold biting hurting one's ears and making one gasp for breath at times. Very hard to work in. Lately it is always calm in the morning hours and by 10ish in it comes blowing and gusting. Shaking this poor old house. Bending trees. Not good weather for raking in. On the week-end we had to deliver some of my transplanted celery and chamomile plants to some friends on another ranch about an hour or so from us. We had a great visit there had two of our young grandsons with us. On our way back to their place just leaving that ranch one of the boys says "Gramma look a big weasel" Well no it was not a weasel my dear that is a fisher! And we stopped and watchted him watching us. Fishers are a rare sighting. Not very many folks have seen them. They are curious little creatures and look real cuddly but not so sure they are cuddly. The boys were thrilled. I best be going and get started on my day as already it is almost 7 a.m. O LORD you have searched me and known me.Psalm 139:1 May the LORD shineth His face upon you this day He hath made. Roxanne

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• Saturday, April 25, 2009 - Chicken Sweaters??

Okay yesterday was a day that in the wee morning hours I was tripping around the "net". I do not remember where I found this article on some woman in England(I think) that rescues chickens from chicken batteries and knits them sweaters as they have lost their feathers. It seems like she thinks it is from abuse but not sure that just may be my own thinking of the article. I wonder if she knows the poor sweet dears whether living in a chicken battery or running lose will molt! But never fear if your dear chickens are molting you can knit them a nice fluffy chicken sweater. She says she knits them like a funnel and has a spot for the wings to come through. Well good for her is all I can say but Man now I wish I had chickens that were molting. I can hardly wait to see the looks on some of these old timers faces when they hear of the chicken sweaters mine would be sporting! Blackwater River Ranch ~~the ranch where every chicken has its own sweater!! ~~And very confused cowboys! LOL In the meantime back at the ranch it actually did not freeze last night. I have raked the wood pile area into mounds of woodchips and other debris that gets buried in the snow and ice over the course of the winter. Even mangaged to loosen the dirt around some struggling chives and tulips trying desparately to push their way up through the hard ground. My Dennis phoned on the satellite phone which only stayed tuned long enough for him to say he was coming home today (don't know when) for just overnight. That will be soooo good to see him. and jabber his ears off ~~Poor guy! In the mean time I have a venison roast thawing out to cook for him and make him mashed potatoes and carrots and salad. I haven't decided on a dessert yet. I have some pie crusts I made up awhile back and froze. I also have some rhubarb from last year frozen that needs to be used up so maybe rhubarb,apple, raisin pie. He loves that. There is even a wee bit of ice-cream in the freezer. Wow! The sandhill cranes are back with their gracking songs. There is a little lake on the other side of the river across from the ranch that they love. Coyotes sing me to sleep most nights lately. It sounds like hundreds of them but in reality there is probably just a few talking back and forth to each other. I continue to make my newspaper pots for transplanting my seedlings into. I can hardly wait to go to town to  buy more potting soil. Somewhere I do need to find some stove pipe so I can get my little barrel heater going in the green house and get these plants out there. They are taking over my kitchen! I remember many years ago when Dennis and I were first together reading a book ( he loves science fiction I don't really but ) called the day of the Triffads or something like that. I was still a teen-ager back then but I think it made an impression on me as I think these plants are going to take over. Prayerfully they won't eat me I will eat them first. This is the master plan anyhow! So today is a day of scrubbing and cleaning. Sewing and crocheting. Making more pots and cooking for my sweetie. I think I will manage to keep my day full to overflowing. Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in therat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth to life, and few there be that find it. Matthew 7:13 & 14 Have a really Pleasant Saturday God Bless Everyone of You Roxanne

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• Thursday, April 23, 2009 - Clear Cut Morning

Here it is Thursday morning with the sky so clear and the air so still and cold!! Yes it feels very cold after a few days of warm weather. We were getting nice sunny warm days ~~Yesterday I hung out laundry in a hailstorm. go figure! This morning it is about 6 above Farenheit or 11 or so below in Celcius. I think it is suppose to warm up today though so no matter what there are still things to do that must be done ~~ Besides laundry I spent the day sorting out the flats (well one of the flats) of chamomile and celery. What a tangle. I manage to get myself into such messes. Anyways I have at least 50 some celery plants transplanted into my homemade newspaper pots. Some of the chamomile is transplanted too. But now I have run out of peat soil. Not sure when I will be able to go into town to get some more. Prayerfully sooner than later as I have broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, peppers tomatoes, and tons more celery and chamomile and flowers to finish transplanting. I have been over to our garden spot on a daily basis and am rejoicing to see the ground there now. It has to dry out yet but the snow is mostly gone. PTL! The sun is glistening off of the tops of the trees as I sit here typing away looking out my window. Frost covers the ground. I need to have a shower and breakfast so I can go outside with the dogs. We love going for a long walk now that we can get around without snowshoes and gumboots. So fun! It just dawned on me yesterday when some distance from the house and into the bush that the bears are probably awake now and me with no gun just a bunch of dogs that would bring the bear back to me if they found one. Great! Glorious sunshine is hitting the house beckoning me to come outside. It is almost 6:30 a.m. I really should get going ~~ Happy news is I heard from my husband last night as he called from a satellite phone from the ranch he is helping out on. We got to talk a bit before the silly thing cut out. But i think he will come home for a night sometime this week-end. That would be fun. Missing him lots. Even so I do not have much time to dwell on it as I have too much to keep me busy. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honour one another above yourselves. Romans 12:10 Love and Prayers Roxanne

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• Tuesday, April 21, 2009 - Home Body

The river roaring by with the crashing, thundering sound of "ice-bergs" moving laboriously with the increasing current collidinginto each other and scraping the banks . At one point Sunday these mini ice bergs or huge chunks of ice blocked the far channel on the other side of the little island we see out our kitchen window. With more ice blocking our side of the island the river practically dried up. But rising near our landlady's cabin. We rescued books and piled things up off the floor and made ready as best one could for an imminent flooding. Praise the LORD that through the prayers of our fellow Christians ~~the ice moved and cleared away through the night letting the blocked up water through and the opposite channel cleared in the morning. The fun part of all this was the ducks. I only wish that all of you could have been here to watch this absolute fun thing they were doing. Little bufflehead ducks are here by the dozens. To see them at play is entertaining to be sure. The little black and white ducks would enter the river above the bridge then come floating willy nilly down the river towards our house. Climbing onto the big chunks of ice to watch their fellow playmates as they swept by. These little guys would stand there almost applauding as each group came floating crazily down river to climb on the ice with them. Soon a bunch of them would fly back up the river and the whole game would start all over. Okay that was just such fun! When a mature and graceful swan came down river sideways then backwards we were somewhat concerned thinking is there something wrong with it. To our amazement it climbed up onto some ice chunks too then flew up river and came swooshing back down only to do it again. I can honestly say I have never witnessed this game before. But they certainly seemed to be enjoying themselves fully! I have been cleaning and fighting with my plumbing. We are careful with the amount of water that goes down any drain as the system is water logged with the rising river. In other words my tub is quite often filled with dirty water and the toilet fills to overflowing~~so I spend time soaking it up with old towels then start the whole cycle all over again cause then I have to wash them. Which means more water down some drain and back up in the tub! At least I always have something to do and if I don't I can always flush the toilet or run a tap for a bit. LOL My seedlings are getting big enough for transplanting into my homemade pots. I make them out of newspaper and fill them with peat soil. When the weather is good I can just take the whole thing and put it in a hole in the ground the paper will disintegrate. Recyle I guess and those who worry about lead in the ink affecting the plant and us when we eat them well I  know not the reprecussions of that. Food tastes alright and that is okay with me. I do like to stay organic as much as possible. In between these exciting things I have managed some mending and started some sewing. Finished a little girls very VERY colourful crocheted striped hooded sweater. I think it is sweet especially if you have gypsy tendencies in colour choices. Just have to weave in the loose ends of yarn now and it is done. I am thinking I will make one in more boyish colours but still bright like this one. They are to sell. My wood has been chopped and packed in. The fire is going low and keeping the chill off as the wind gusts and roars off and on outside. Even so it is still quite warm out. He who works his land will have abundant food, but he who chases fantasies lack judgement. Proverbs 12:11  Have a restful evening Roxanne

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