Lest We Forget

Today marks the 90th anniversary of the end of the First World War. The Great War, it was called. The war to end all wars.

Of course, we know now that it was not the war to end all wars.

The Bag Lady would like to take this opportunity to share some photos of her dad, who fought for his country during the Second World War. He was a telegraphist in the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve.

Dad was a farm boy from Alberta who came of age toward the end of the war. He finished his training at Ste. Hyacinthe, P.Q. in 1944. (He is second from the left in the second row)



He went home on leave for Christmas in 1944.


He served on three different corvettes during his time in the navy, patrolling the eastern coast of Canada and the United States.


On one tour of duty, he was granted shore leave in New York City, so he and a fellow sailor toured around. Here they are on the Empire State building.


Toward the end of the war, his ship escorted a captured German submarine into Halifax harbour.



The Bag Lady still has his kit bag, and some of his uniforms and other memorabilia. (If you click on the photo of his kit bag, you can see a drawing of a 'dream girl'!)





Dad didn't talk a lot about his tour of duty, but he was proud of having served his country, and I am proud of him, too. If it hadn't been for WWII, there would be no Bag Lady, for he met her mother in Halifax!

His is just one of the hundreds of thousands of stories of men and women who served their countries, and we should all take a moment today to remember them, and the many who paid the ultimate price for their countries.

Winter Wonderland

The Bag Lady wanted to share some winter scenes with you. She went to help the Rancher load some equipment the other day, and while she was waiting for him, she was captivated by the beauty of the season. Well, okay, she was bored thought the sun shining through the snowy trees looked pretty.

Please click on any of the images to enlarge them if they aren't already making you feel chilly enough!







Yesterday the Bag Lady's world was coated with hoar frost. The pictures don't really convey just how pretty everything was.





Even the weeds are sparkling in the sun.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Snow and Surprises!

True to her promise, the Bag Lady is sharing a picture of the snow that fell yesterday. For those of you in the warmer areas who want to see snow, but not necessarily first-hand, enjoy. For those of you who will eventually get some snow, here's a taste of what's to come!


The Bag Lady had to do some ranch work this morning. Because of the snow, the Rancher decided that the cows needed to be fed, so the Bag Lady took 4 feeders and 4 bales to the cows. The Rancher knows that cows are inclined to wander if they don't think there is enough to eat where they are, so feeding them helps keep them happy and inside the fences!

On her first trip to feed the cows, the Bag Lady had a look around and did a quick nose count (it's faster to count noses than it is to count legs and divide by 4....). All but one of the cows had a calf this spring, and two of the cows have two calves. One of the Bag Lady's old cows didn't have a calf in the spring, and the Rancher and the Bag Lady thought that perhaps she was just too old and would have to go for slaughter sometime soon. This idea didn't sit well with the Bag Lady because this particular cow was one of the first cows the Bag Lady bought. The cow was old when the Bag Lady bought her some 11 or 12 years ago, but she has produced a good calf every year since! The Bag Lady calls her Marble because she reminds her of marble cheese.

When the Bag Lady was doing her nose count, she glanced over at old Marble and had to do a double take. This is what she saw:



The Bag Lady had been working in the corral the day before and had seen Marble, but she didn't have a calf at that time. She must have been waiting for the storm!
As most of you know, the rest of this years' calf crop were all named for bloggers. The Bag Lady gave the opportunity to Marianne, who passed the honour on to her children. They chose to call this last calf of the season:

Autumn!

This is a comparison shot. The black calf (Mojo) was born June 8th. How quickly they grow!

So calving season has officially ended at Scratchnut Creek Ranch. Finally.

White Stuff

The Bag Lady's Blather is definitely not a political forum, but she did watch the American election results last night with some interest.

She was impressed with a couple of things. First, the number of voters who turned out to cheer for their chosen candidate. This was definitely an historic event and the American public realized it.

Secondly, she was impressed by John McCain's gracious concession speech.

And the American President-elect gave a wonderfully stirring speech. Barach Obama certainly seems to be the right choice to lead his country into what will hopefully be a more peaceful and more prosperous time for all of us, not just for America.

**

The Bag Lady is trying not to look outside this morning at the white stuff covering everything in her (still dark) yard! Dang it all, she was quite happy with the way things were - chilly, but not cold, and still a little green. Oh well, it was inevitable, but perhaps this first blast won't last!

What's the weather like where you are?

Going Bump in the Dark

The Bag Lady doesn't spend a great deal of time in town, but has recently had occasion to be there more often than usual. Her mother-in-law had knee-replacement surgery last week, so the Bag Lady has been in several times to visit her in the hospital.

The Bag Lady doesn't really like being in town after dark. Don't get her wrong, she's not afraid of the dark, but she is afraid of things that go bump in the night. Well, more accurately; people who go bump in the dark. There has been a dramatic increase in the amount of crime in the little city where the Bag Lady grew up, and she doesn't like being there after dark. There are some really scary-looking people wandering around the streets.

Last evening, she and the Rancher went to visit his mom. The Rancher had to go to work, so the Bag Lady was going to drop him off on her way home. They decided to grab a burger in town - not a very common occurrence. They stopped at a downtown burger joint, got their meal and sat at a table by the window.

The Bag Lady thoroughly enjoyed her burger and fries, and was gazing absent-mindedly out the window, people-watching. She said something to the Rancher along the lines of "I am thoroughly bushed." He looked at her quizzically and said "You're tired?" She replied, "No, I've been in the bush too long - I'm not used to all these people!"

It was at that point in the conversation that the Bag Lady happened to glance out the window again in time to see a young woman walk smack into a street light. The Bag Lady couldn't help herself, she started to laugh. The young woman bounced off the light post, recovered quickly, and never missed a beat of her text-messaging! That kind of person who goes bump in the night doesn't scare the Bag Lady at all....

Fly Like an Eagle....

The Bag Lady has had a busy morning. She and the Rancher are soon going to move their cattle home from the current pasture, so she had to go all around the fence this morning to make sure there were no escape hatches! She found one very large tree on the fence, which entailed sawing it with her trusty hand saw to make the pieces small enough to move.

She also had to rebuild a corner of another part of the fence that had a tree fall on it. She removed the tree using the loader the other day, but needed to tighten the wire and fix a break.

She saw an eagle while she was out and about, and thinks it might have been a Golden Eagle. Either that or a young Bald Eagle. Unfortunately, it was too high to get a really good picture - even with her camera zoomed to the maximum.

It was really difficult to see the bird on the camera screen because of the way the sun was hitting the screen over the Bag Lady's shoulder, so she lost sight of it with the camera a couple of times. But at least you get to see how nice and blue the sky is 'way out here in Alberta..... keep watching, though, because she does catch it again.

Can anyone determine what kind of eagle that is? (It was very, very large, so the Bag Lady knows it was an eagle, she just isn't sure what type.)

See for yourselves:

Saturday Update

Due to circumstances beyond her control, the Bag Lady was unable to meet her commitment of having a table at the craft sale.

She will now have to wait until the next craft sale - she thinks there is an upcoming sale a little closer to home sometime this month.

So there will be no report on the sale. She can, however, report on fixing fences that have been torn down by elk, but she knows that is not very exciting, so she will spare you.

Hope everyone's weekend is going well. Hers is certain to improve, right?