Birthdays

Birthdays of my girls always make me stop a wee bit sad, if I'm being honest.  Especially as they get older.  Now don't get me wrong - I love to watch these little ladies grow up into young women, but there are times that make me yearn for years gone by.  Knowing that I don't have little toddler hands to hold - instead, most of the girls' hands are as big as mine!  No shoes to tie - in fact, the majority of us can share shoes!  All those things that seemed, at the time, all consuming.  And I suppose  they were.... But now that we're out of those years of the girls needing me almost every minute of the day, I want to go back to those days. 

Perhaps if I could go back to those days, I'd remember how exhausting they were, and I'd celebrate the season we are in right now, with teenagers and pre-teens.... It really is so much fun, but in a different way.

Anyhow, all that to say....it's my babies birthday today.  And she turns 11.  So I perused my pictures to find a few of my favorites!

This girl has always loved her animals.... 

Little or big, it doesn't really matter.

She has also always love her friends....

....and her sisters.  And what two peas in a pod these ones are!

She loves some excitement....

....and some adventure.

And I love her. 

A Christmas Update

I was talking to my sister-in-law this morning (Hi, Mary!), and she was reminding me that I hadn't posted here in quite some time.  So here I am, posting an update... Let's make it almost like a Christmas card, because we all know that I won't be sending them out any time soon...

First off, we'll start with The Girls. 

As I scroll through my photos, I realize that this is the only photo I have of The Girls from the year that doesn't have them covered in mud, dirt of cow poo.  How nice.  Anyhow.  Collectively, The Girls love horses, cows, quads, dogs, their family and basically anything to do with ranch life.  They love their friends and neighbors, staying home on a Friday night (it's my dream, really), and being outside.

And now, for some more details:

Hannah.  Age (almost) 17.  Grade 12

It's Hannah's last year of high school this year, she will be graduating at the end of the year.  Her plan next year is to work for the year, and then she's hoping to attend college to be a Vet Tech, specializing in Equine.  Hannah loves horses, and enjoys cows.  Last year, her steer won Highest Rate of Gain in our 4H Interclub achievement day, so she was pretty happy with that big boy. 

 

She bought a couple of heifers this fall to start her own cattle herd also.  Hannah spent a week helping at camp this summer, and I think is hoping to go back again next year.

Hannah continues to work at a horse barn, where she's worked for the last 3 yrs.  She loves watching movies, being outside, riding her horse and reading.  Always reading.

Abby.  Age 15.  Grade 10

It was a big year for Abby.  After getting skunked last hunting season, Abby was bound and determined to fill her deer tag this year.  She talked of little else.  All.  Year.  Long.  Abby also works at the same horse barn that Hannah works at, and she saved her pennies to buy her own gun for hunting season. 

Abby loves cows.  And she likes horses.  She is most often found in the steer pen, working with her 4H steer, or walking through the pasture checking out the cows.  Abby also enjoys baking, reading, hunting, and talking with friends on the phone.  And she loves cows (Did I mention that already?  'Cuz the girl is crazy about them!)

Besides buying herself a gun, after years of pleading, we finally let Abby buy a puppy.  So she purchased a really sweet Chesapeake Bay/Lab cross puppy who she named Dixie.  Dixie fits right in with the rest of our pack, and is sure fun to have around.

Lastly, and probably most importantly to Abby, the girl managed to fill not one but two deer tags this season.  She harvested this doe on opening day, and learned how to gut, skin and butcher her deer.  Truthfully, all the girls learned.  We've been enjoying the great meat, and Abby has also made lots of jerky.

Molly.  Age 12.  Grade 7

Molly had a really great year in 4H this year.  Her steer won Reserve Grand Champion at our interclub show, which meant she won herself a nice buckle.  She was beyond excited!  She was quite sad to see that steer go.  Molly loves cattle and horses, as well as being outside and playing inside with Playmobil or Schleich.  The girls spend hours in the basement, setting up their own ranches, which is quite fun to watch.  It's Molly's first year in youth this year, so that is a big change for her, but she's really enjoying it. 

Molly loves being involved in everything around our farm, and is often Art's little assistant.  She can work a full day outside and then still have the energy to run around and play.

In going through pictures, I was chuckling that it really is hard to find a picture of Molly on her own.  She's definitely a social butterfly, and loves her sisters fiercely.  I am often asked if her and Elizabeth are twins, as they are almost the same height, and there's definitely some family resemblance!  Molly is usually the one making everyone laugh in our family, and she is very quick witted.

Elizabeth.  Age 10.  Grade 5

Elizabeth had her first year in 4H this year, and loved every minute of it.  I guess, after being dragged to countless meetings and events of the last 5 years, it's about time.  Elizabeth works really, really hard and is very diligent in everything she does.  She loves horses and cows, she's crazy about owls, and she enjoys being outside with her animals and sisters, as well as playing inside with Playmobil and Schleich.  Elizabeth has sure had big changes this year as 1-2 nights a week, all of her sisters are gone to youth.  She misses them quite a bit, so we try and plan a few fun things with her. 

Elizabeth is very affectionate and sensitive, and is always the first to hug or cuddle in.  She really loves Science.  Her sisters are her best friends, and they sure do have fun together.

She loves working with cattle, especially if it's horseback.  One of her favorite spring time activities in castrating calves (For real.  That girl outworked grown men at cutting calves), and she gives such a huge effort in all things. 

So there you have it.  As for Art and I.... well I suppose our lives are spent mainly keeping up with life.  As I was looking through pictures, specifically for Art, I was struck that in every picture, the man was either working on the farm or doing something for us girls.  He works very, very hard at providing us with not only our needs, but many times, our wants. 

Besides running our cabinetry business in town and farming, with all the spare time we have, both Art and I enjoy shooting and hunting - especially when the girls are along.

Having our farm is a dream come true for both of us, and we love our life.  It's exciting to continue to build our herd every year, and produce some great cattle.   It's a privilege to raise our girls this way as well, learning the value of hard work and having fun while doing it.

We both continue to enjoy learning more about how to raise great cattle and be great stewards of our land.  This whole life long learning thing is something that we've tried to install in our girls, as well as live it out in our everyday life.

Art has always had a way with kids, and his even temperament make him a good cattleman.  Our cows are very quiet, and (usually) will just follow him around like a puppy dog.

Lastly, the man loves his girls.  He loves to see them work hard and do well.  He is so steady and reliable, something I very much appreciate.

Soo there's an update on our family this year.  I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas, and cheers to a Happy New Year! 

The Goerzen Girls.... and Art

Outdoor Winter Activities

Since I talked about some indoor activities on my last post, I thought I'd share some pictures of our favorite OUTDOOR winter activities on this post. 

Firstly, winter in Alberta means feeding cattle.  This year, we started bale grazing for the cold winter months, so we placed bales in the pasture, cut all the strings, and have electric fence to limit how and when the cows get them.  It's working great so far!

We have really, really great neighbors here.  And our great neighbors have been toys tools.  Just before Christmas, they came over and lifted Art up in their picker truck so that he could put snow stop on the shop roof.  This chore also involved rides for the kids.  Naturally.

We spend lots of time going on walks out in the pastures....

....sometimes to check cows....

.....to exercise the dogs (and ourselves!)...

....or to enjoy a sunset!

We spend some time spreading straw for the livestock, so they stay warm and dry(ish).

....and rush outside to catch a picture of the sunrise!

We have spent many hours combing the woods, doing some shed hunting.  For those that don't know, this means looking meticulously under every tree and branch for antlers that have been shed by moose, deer or elk.  The great thing about shed hunting is that it's extremely beautiful in the isolated bush that we walk.

Sometimes we take the dogs, sometimes family who is visiting gets roped into coming....

....and The Girls always want to go!

Lastly, and perhaps the most favorite winter activity of them all is skating.  Art and The Girls have been working faithfully on getting our skating rink up and running, and the Girls enjoy it every day they can, along with friends and neighbors.

So there you have it.  Winter activities around our ranch.  Always beautiful, always fun, and we (mostly) stay warm!

Indoor Winter Activities

The great thing about winter is that it gives us a chance to relax, and instead of working outside all the time, with short days and long nights, we spend the majority of our time inside.  It feels good to start a fire and hunker down inside, while the cold wind and snow blows outside. 

One of our favorite inside winter activities include Lego (lots and lots of Lego!!).  The Girls have collected much Lego over the years, and they also have Art's from when he was a child, so their imaginations run wild with Lego!  Thankfully, I've only stepped on a few pieces this year!

Every year, around Christmas, we pull out a puzzle.  We do a new puzzle every year, and it usually stays out until it's complete.  Not all of us are puzzlers, so those that aren't can often be found curled up the couch, reading a book, while the others puzzle.  It's just nice to be in the same room, hanging out together.

We also enjoy baking.  Lots and lots of baking!  Truth be told, this happens all year round at this home, but it's fun to work on special baking projects, especially around Christmas!

This year, I taught The Girls to embroider.  I sat down to embroider a few flour sack tea towels as gifts, and a couple of the Girls asked me to teach them.  I was surprised at how quickly they caught on - the little girls especially.  They enjoyed embroidering some tea towels, and especially loved giving them away to friends.  I thought they did a fantastic job, and I'm always a little sad to see the towels go, after spending a few hours working on them.  An extra fun thing was that when my parents came out after Christmas, my Mom also got in on the embroidering bug, and her and I spent time visiting and embroidering together.  After my Mom went home, she was talking to my Grandma, who is 97 yrs. old, about flour sacks, and this is what she had to say: 

Flour sacks were precious as they were used for many things like aprons, boys boxer shorts underwear.  They were always in short supply.  Curtains were made from flour sacks and cut them with a scalloped edge, then crocheted around the edges.  They were the prettiest curtains and really make the old rundown house more beautiful and homey.  Nothing was ever wasted so even the thread from the flour sack was used to crochet around edges.   Women crocheted around edges of almost everything like tea towels, tablecloths, pillowcases, and aprons.  Anything to make it look pretty and some items were embroidered like the aprons.  My Grandma said she did a lot of embroidery even before 10 years old.

I'm fairly certain my Grandma could out-embroider me any day of the week, even when she was 10 yrs. old!  I really didn't learn, as a child, to embroider, so this is my attempt to try, and also to teach my Girls.  I think embroidery is such a lost art (as is baking such things as pies and bread!), but I'm thrilled to pass it on.  Here's a fact about me: every time I go to a thrift store, I look for hand made items such as embroidered table cloths, linens and aprons.  I just can't help myself from buying them, knowing how many hours went into making them.  And to buy them for a dollar or two.... it seems like they're grossly undervalued!

Of course, many hours are also spent reading, playing games, doing crafts and watching the occasional movie....

The great thing about living in the Prairies during our long winters is time spent together!

4 Months

It's been 4 months.  4 short months since we've had snow on the ground.  As some of you may remember, we had snow on the May Long Weekend, and then we just had a good dump of snow on Thanksgiving weekend.  4 short months since we've seen that white stuff!

We had a house full of company for Thanksgiving, and I knew that they were forecasting snow, but I didn't really believe that it would happen, especially since our Thanksgiving weekend was early in October.  Alas, I was wrong, and the weather forecasters were right.  We got almost 5" of snow on that weekend.  It was cold and wet and miserable!





  The Girls were excited to get outside and make snowmen....which they did.... The worst part was that as they rolled the ball for the snowman, green grass turned up again.  Such a bizarre scene - leaves on the trees, snow on the ground, and patches of green grass everywhere.

 

Thankfully, I had harvested my garden the day before the weather turned, so my root veggies, along with my pumpkins which overtook the world (or my garden!) were all safe.  Phew! 

Being the optimist that I am, I thought the snow would disappear pretty quickly.  I was, however, wrong.  Boo for me!  We received another 2" of snow this week. 





My optimism is starting to wane that the snow will melt.... however, I took a look at the forecast this week, and it's supposed to warm up, so here's hoping the green grass will show itself again before winter sets in... for good. 

We did get to do a couple of other really fun things this fall... and have a few more to come.  We helped friends round up cows on their lease land about an hour and a half north of here.



 It was a cool start to the day, but by the afternoon it had warmed up considerably.





 I suppose cool is relative - heck, I'm thankful there wasn't snow on the ground!

The other really fun thing we were involved in is City Slickers, which is a program put on by the Stony Plain Multicultural Heritage Centre, funded by Ag for Life.  The whole idea of the program is to continue to show urban children how food is produced, since the average Canadian is 2 generations removed from a farm.  The Girls were involved in this program 2 years ago as presenters, and this year they were asked to be presenters again.  We talked about what they wanted to present about, and they decided that each of them would choose a tool that we used on our ranch, and share it with the kids.  The subjects they choose to present on were branding, roping, what we used our horses/dogs for on our ranch, and how to care for our horses.  The Girls all did a spectacular job on their presentations, and the years of 4H public speaking sure got put to good use! 





They each wrote their own portion of the presentation, and then they used props to illustrate.  We brought along 3 horses and Hannah's stock dog, as well as a dummy roping head, ropes, saddles, branding irons and various brushes for the horses.  I believe there were 900 kids, grade 3-4, that went through the program this year, so it was a full, exhausting day. 

I was sure proud of our Girls, and how they used their knowledge about our lifestyle and shared it with other kids.