Ride the Wind Ranch

Jan. 30. Trimming Mescalero's feet !

2012-01-30T08:47:00.000-08:00

Sunday afternoon, Mescalero gets his feet trimmed. Our horses go barefoot all year and Marty trims them as needed. Some horses need it more often, every few weeks in summer, but all horses only need to have their feet trimmed during wintertime every eight weeks. The growth is much slower during colder days.

Marty did four more horses yesterday and will do some more coming weekend. It has been a pleasant day, actually all past week has been great winter weather with the nights around - 10 C and the days just above freezing. Friday and Saturday were Chinook wind days and a lot of the snow melted again. Will this winter be "The Winter with little snow"? Maybe so, but we might get some early spring snow.

Jan. 23. Around the barn !

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Around our barn: some of the round hay bales are stacked there and our barn cat Flower likes that mice habitat. She is definitely a little independent hunter, but also loves her "rolling up on the lap and getting petted forever" time. Our last year's Longhorn calves get their hay thrown over the fence as much as needed. A bit more this past week, when it was so cold (cold enough, that the school buses weren't running for two days ! Joe and Ben enjoyed the days home). But now it is much milder again, which makes it easier for the animals, for feeding, for driving etc. The barn itself has no animals in it. We do have three stalls ready if needed for an emergency, and the rest is for storage. On some of that softer storage Flower made herself a comfortable home. She has been with us for a good month now, someone must have abandoned her and all we noticed middle of December was tiny tracks in the snow mostly around the barn. She is very alert, runs to "her" barn as soon as there is an unusual sound, but also loves to be petted by us. Flower knows the winter routine very well; late morning one of us comes to feed the calves, then sits with her on a bench in the winter sun and spends half an hour petting her, then she gets her food in the barn.

Jan. 16. The horses warm up in the winter sun !

2012-01-16T09:45:00.001-08:00

Late this Monday morning: our horses enjoy the sun after a cold winter night. Just for a few days we will be "in the deep freezer" in Alberta, Canada. A light snow started yesterday and a cold night with -27 C. The sun today will be so nice for our horses and cattle. They like to rest and warm up the one side, after a while turn around and warm up the other side. The use trees, bushes and hills for wind breaks, since they have to be out of the wind to get the insulation they need with their long hair trapping air.
Past week was still very mild and some spots got so icy, that I had to work on the access to the stock waterer for the animals. The cows got a trail with salt/sand and used that wisely (slow and one at the time). The horses didn't trust the new sandy trail and I had to move a water trough into the pasture, were it wasn't icy and filled it up with a hose from the house. Now, that there is fresh snow, the walking is good for them to be able to back to the heated waterer in the corral.

Lakes, small and big, have been frozen for several weeks, but due to abnormal milder winter, the ice fisher guys have been hesitant to drive their pick up trucks on the ice . But after this week, they will be happily driving onto nearby Twin Lake or Cow Lake, but mostly onto bigger Silvan Lake to get their ice fishing gear on there with ease.

Jan. 9. our Texas Longhorn yearlings !

2012-01-09T08:58:00.000-08:00

Our cute bunch of last year's calves do enjoy to find some grass to nibble at. The strong Chinook winds we had again, blowing rather warm air from the West, melted a lot of the snow on the hill and West/ Southwest facing areas. The down side are the spots on the pasture, that started to melt, but not all the way yet and left behind skating rink like icy patches. Nevertheless, the cutie yearling Longhorns still like their daily hay, finding grass patches is more an entertainment for them than food value. And soon enough we will get fresh snow and cattle don't paw through the snow as horses do.

Jan. 2. Welcome to Ride the Wind Ranch's 2012 blog posts !

2012-01-02T08:09:00.001-08:00

Ride the Wind Ranch (Kathy, Marty, Joe and Ben; the horses, Longhorns, bunnies and flower) wishes you all a wonderful 2012 !
For us the New Year started as a great ranch day; being outside, feeding the animals, fixing a couple of rails on a fence and enjoying a beautiful sunset.
Our Texas Longhorn cows know us so well and as all animals, they are very familiar with our appearance (height, way of walking etc.). Therefore they know right away, that it is us, if they see us walking somewhere. But yesterday when we went to fix a couple of rails on a corral, the cows startled and run away. It must have been, that caring the long rails on our shoulders made us look like aliens...?
Talking about cattle and recognizing voices: when they have a baby calf, they sing lots for the calf to recognize the mom's voice, so later they can call each other.
We only have a few calves and keep the yearlings in a corral until they sell in spring, so they naturally get very familiar with us. Of course, we always talk to them too. Nice story: we once went to visit a rancher, who bought a few yearlings from us over a year back. When we were standing close to his corrals, looking at all his animals and talking, the three yearlings of ours came walking to the fence, they recognized our voices after all that time !

Dec. 26. Winddancer and Kiowa trotting through the snow !

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We hope you all had a very lovely Holiday weekend !

On Saturday we went out to fix the fence on our West pasture. We were able to drive the truck on the North pasture, feeding the horses hay, then had to walk all along the fence. We built a campfire to warm up and I was glad I could dry my winter boot a bit, since it got stuck in the snow. After three hours of work, we went to open the gate for the horses and in this photo Winddancer and Kiowa are trotting happily into the new pasture. At some spots quite a bit of snow, but on top of the hills, they will get easily to the fall grass. They love to dig for grass, they actually still had some hay on the North pasture, but eagerly waited for us to open the gate. True wild horse instinct? They come near the house for water, mineral block and sometimes grain, so we'll still see them often. But when they are on the West pasture they are pretty much on their own, independent and free.

Dec. 19. Horses on a snowcovered meadow, what can be more beautifully tranquil ?

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This image represents so many of our winter days in Alberta, Canada. Light snow, sunny, crisp air. Just lovely and very serene and tranquil to watch the horses on the snow covered meadow.

Dec. 12. Red Cloud, the Longhorns and the Rocky Mountains !

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Our horse "Red Cloud" is named after the chief Red Cloud of the Lakota Sioux of the mid-nineteenth century. Our Red Cloud was born at the ranch 14 year ago. Although his Paint mom and Paint dad showed white coloring, he is an all straight bay horse. Beautiful tall and elegant, strong in his chest and well muscled. In this photo he is trotting back to the field with more grass to paw for from the corral, where he had a drink of water and licking on the salt block. He is in quite a round shape from all the fall grass, which is good, it helps to keep him warm during the chillier nights. Our Alberta snow is dry and light, the horses can easily paw for grass and love to do it. It sure is in their nature and an adult horse can usually easily do without hay, if the field is big enough. Of course, they still love their grain ever so often, which also gives them the extra nutrition and minerals.

Dec. 5. A string of lights make these December evenings sparkle !

2011-12-05T07:08:00.000-08:00

A custom in Canada is to decorate the house with strings of lights in December. How lovely it is to drive on a snowy and chilly evening through Rocky and see lots of sparkling, then on the drive home to spot the lighted houses from a distance in the dark. Our ranch house is probably seen by more animals (deer munching on the hay, our horses and Longhorns on the pasture) than by people, since our country road only sees a couple of cars drive by a day.
We got more snow this weekend again and it accumulated already so much, that we went on top of some of the roofs to push it off. The boys had fun creating a fort, digging for all afternoon feeling cozy in their warm snow suits.
The horses came in from the bigger pasture to the stock water and mineral block a couple of time a day. The youngest ones are fascinated by our winter boots and mittens and sniffed on them for a while. They have such a thick winter coat now, very cute.
On Tuesday we sold six of our Longhorns. The loading into the trailer went well, especially the big, strong bull went in their very easy. We hope he'll like his new home and the new girls (cows) to date. For now, there are only eleven young ones left in the corral to be The cows out on the big field get a big load of hay once a day and have plenty of shelter from wind and blowing snow in the forest. The temperatures haven't been very cold yet, so the sunny afternoons are very pleasant.

Nov. 28. Kona is Native American (Cree) for snow !

2011-11-28T09:12:00.001-08:00

Our horse Kona in this morning's winter wonderland. Kona is the Cree (Native American) word for snow. And she sure fits into the snow covered landscape.
Yesterday was the most unusual day in aspect of the weather we ever experienced. In the morning a Chinook wind came up, which is a very strong and warm West wind. After hours of blowing up to 60 km/h, all snow has melted and it looked like an October day. This is very unusual for this Central Alberta region. Further South around Calgary the Chinook wind blows more often and all snow is gone several time in wintertime. The wind broke off a few of the tall aspen trees on the pasture, but all our horses and Longhorns were alright. Then, in the evening, it started to snow and covered everything in a soft layer of white. It is not very cold, just under the freezing point, and the snow sticks to the fences and trees and makes for a beautiful winter wonderland.
In Southern Alberta the winds got as strong as 120 km/h at times. Big rig trucks got blown over, Calgary downtown was closed off due to debris falling onto the streets and the county of Lethbridge had to battle a grass fire. Luckily today everything is back to normal.

Nov. 21. The first cold winter days at Ride the Wind Ranch !

2011-11-21T07:29:00.000-08:00

This photo was taken from our dining room window. The last few days here in Central Alberta in Canada have been cold, but lots of sun and it looked lovely with the sparkling snow. Luckily today is a turn around to milder temperatures. It will be cold enough at night for the snow to stay, but there is only a little bit and very light snow, so the horses get easily to the grass. They are on a big pasture, but come into the corral by the house for water and salt-mineral and sometimes some grain. We didn't go horseback riding (too cold for us, not for the horses), but it is always nice to visit with them. In the pasture behind are the Longhorn Mamas and the little ones are now in a corral by the barn and are getting hay twice a day as well as their grain. The Longhorn Moms can walk into the corrals, right next to their calves and visit fence to fence, what they do often in the first week. Our bunnies haven't been outside for the last two days, only running around in the house, but today will be o.k. enough for them to spend the afternoon in their bunny run.

Nov. 14. Texas Longhorn at Ride the Wind Ranch !

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Our Texas Longhorn cow Nscho-Tschi enjoying some fresh hay. The cattle usually eat some hay, then go back to find some fall grass, then come back to the hay. They always like to roam around. On a bigger pasture, they move from one end to the other throughout the day. Nscho-Tschi is 11 years old, born here at the ranch. Her horns are fully grown, most of the growth is in the first five years. The youngsters mature slower than other breeds, it takes them about four years to have their full size. Although like any other cattle breed, they could have their first calf when they are only two years old. Our few Longhorns are so used to us, they are calm and quiet. Nscho-Tschi sometimes likes a scratch on her neck or behind the horns.

Nov. 7. White Tale Deer and snowy roads !

2011-11-07T09:44:00.000-08:00

Three days ago we got our first snow in Alberta, Canada. Only a bit, but the ground is cold enough to let it stay white and not turn into a muddy mess. For now, the tall fall grass still sticks out of the thin layer of snow, later on with more snow, it will cover all the grass. These two White Tale Deer are regulars around the ranch, the mom is on the right, the little one from this spring is watching me. About the same spot, a coyote crosses the country road often too. Yesterday we saw him while driving home, he is lame on his right hind and was trotting on three legs only. I spotted these Deer this morning, when I went to open the water for our cattle, scooping out the chunks of ice. Soon we will move them to a pasture with a heated water tank. The first hay bales arrived and the boys have fun jumping from one to the next. We now feed our Longhorn hay every day and they still go into the forested part of the pasture and keep busy finding some extra grass.

Oct. 31. Last October Day at the Ranch !

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These last October days have been wonderful, sunny and warm afternoons. Today is Halloween of course, and all the kids will go from door to door at nearby small town of Rocky Mountain House. Our Ben who just turned nine years old this weekend, will be a vampire. A lot of houses will be decorated, some with beautiful carved pumpkins, some with lots of spider webs and grave yards in their front yard. Spooky sounds and moving ghost puppets.
At the ranch: this photo is taken from the bunny run, but all the grass is gone in there and we keep the bunnies in a small, movable run for them to eat the last green grass growing close to the ranch house. Once the snow will cover that last grass, the bunnies will be back in the big run every day. Each night they are safely in the house in their large home.
The nights are cold, the cow's water freezes over each night just a bit, the afternoons have been warm for this time a year, but it will get colder towards the end of this week. No snow yet, which is like, it is easier to have the Longhorns on fall pasture.

Oct. 24. The ranch's Guest Book page for 2011 !

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Our Guest Book page on our web site for 2011 is up and we invite you to have a look at it.

http://www.ridethewindranch.com/guestbook2011.htm

We have so many wonderful guests visiting our ranch, they stay for Lodge Stay with the cabin accommodation and the meals or enjoy the horseback riding as well. It is always so interesting to meet people from different parts of Canada as well as from other countries.

This year the countries our guests came from: Canada, Switzerland, England, Scotland, USA, Austria, Germany, Australia and Israel.

From Canada we had guests from the provinces of : Alberta, B.C., Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia.

The link shows some photos of guests at our ranch as well as photos of our animals, wildlife, nearby and the ranch.

Oct. 17. Fall colors in October !

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A very lovely October for us in Alberta, Canada this year. Due to the mild and dry September, the leaves stayed on longer than usual and colors nature with a gold and green mixture into middle of October. The afternoons are nice and warm in the sun, cooler in the shaded forest and cold at night. The water for the cattle has a layer of ice on every morning. Our longhorns and horses are growing more and more thick fall hair to adjust to the colder season. Very nice is, for our animals and us, that all the biting summer insects are long gone !

Oct. 10. Happy Canadian Thanksgiving to all !

2011-10-10T10:08:00.000-07:00

Wishing you all a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!
We visited nearby Crimson Lake in the late afternoon and enjoyed the mild weather, the pretty sunset over the water and the quiet and tranquility of the lake. And yes, long before Christmas, this lake will be frozen solid to to on with skates. For now, most waterbirds have left for the South, the loons will return in spring. The loon's song is so beautiful, if you haven't heard it yet, look it up on YouTube.
The campground in the forest at Crimson Lake is very quiet now too, but in summer lots of people love the nice campsites and all the trails near and around Crimson Lake as well as leading to Twin Lakes.

Oct. 2. Movie of a Campfire Ride !

2011-10-03T08:03:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQE_9nQRGE0

On Friday we enjoyed a beautiful sunny fall day on a campfire horseback ride.
The link will show you a 2 minute movie of the day. First we ( my guests from Switzerland, Mirjam and Andreas, and I -Kathy ) got the horses from the corral, then brushed and saddled up. Rode away from the ranch, past our Longhorns on the pasture into the Canadian forest. Some parts of the forest are mostly aspen poplar trees, with golden leaves on the trees and lots already fallen off and covering the ground with gold. Other parts of the forest have a mossy ground and black spruce trees, it is serene to ride through there, just like in a fairy tale forest. Then some scattered pine tree with grass, that has turned yellow by now and following a small creek for a while. Some quiet gravel roads allow us to trot and after the lunch with empty saddle bags to enjoy a gallop. Fall weather is perfect, no biting bugs, not too hot, the horses are riders can truly just relax and savour the good smells of the forest.

Sept. 27. Beautiful Fall Colours in Western Canada !

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Our fall colours are just beautiful now. All the poplar aspen trees are golden or some still turn golden, nice contrast to the evergreens in the forest where we go horseback riding or on the hiking trails at Crimson Lake and Twin Lakes.
Our horses have grown more fall hair again and after a horseback ride during a warm day, they sweat quite a bit. They start to look cuddly again, as they do every winter with their thick coat.
Today is a windy day, mostly the days have been unusual warm for this time a year and very dry, it hasn't rained in days. Some grass is still green, a lot of the pasture starts to turn yellow, but has still plenty of good feed quality for our horses and Longhorns.

Sept. 14. A hot summer week in September !

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The week before full moon treated us with summer temperatures and sun 24/7. The days temperatures went up to + 28 C degrees. What a wonderful way to start fall, for our guests to sit on the cabin's porch in the sun or go to nearby Crimson Lake to splash in the water. Now the temperatures are back to a season's normal, with sun around +18 C, cooler at night. The horses, Longhorns and bunnies have been growing their fall coat and feel more comfortable now, that it is not so hot anymore. There is still lots of green grass on the pasture, some longer grass turns yellow, so pretty. The first young trees and bushes started to turn yellow too a week ago. The golden fall will peak towards the end of September.
In the photo is a white tale deer mama with her spring baby. The little one still shows her spots, but has grown a lot since new born. We do see the deer often on the pasture and one can spot them easily while driving their car. We just watched "our" deer last evening from the house, while the group of four were walking into the corral, drinking some water at the stock waterer, licking the horses' salt block, then ducking under the rail fenced to go on. Of course they can very easily jump a fence, but without need, often just walk through an open gate or duck under.

Aug. 19. A great month, August has been !

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August has been a wonderful month so far and the weather forecast shows sun every day as well. We had a couple of rainy half days and often a thunderstorm rain at night, which is perfect for the pasture. Everything is very green, pasture grass as well as the underbush and grass in the forest. The rasberries are ripe and bigger than usual, we already saw some black bear droppings, black in color and filled with berries. The white tale deer will do well too with all the food and be ready for winter. Our winterpasture for the horses looks good and as long as we won't get as much snow again as last winter, they should have plenty to graze.
The nights have been cooling down quite a bit, the days are sunny and very warm,
not too hot, which is perfect at the ranch. Our guests enjoy sightseeing, driving out to the Rockies, go hiking at Crimson Lake, shop at the Western Store and some guests come along on the horseback rides. When we brush the horses, we notice a small change in their coat, due to the colder nights, they start to grow the first bit of fall coat. They spend all night out on pasture, during the day, they often rest, either laying down or standing up. The bunnies are happy to have visitors to their outside run. They are very interested and come and explore.

July 18. POW WOW !

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This weekend the Historic Site at Rocky Mountain House was hosting a POW WOW; calling all drums. The weather was perfect, hot and sunny. Each day the pow wow started with an opening round dance with all dancers and flags. The leading flags were: Canada Flag, USA, Union Jack, Rocky Mtn. House, Clearwater County, Alberta, Metis Nation.
What beautiful dresses there were. The traditional dancers in buckskin outfits with lots of bead work. The young men with hundreds of feathers, the young women's jingle dresses and the kids were so cute too. After the opening dance the competitions started with each category performing.
There were four drum circles, each one had its turn for a song.

July 15. Move the cattle !

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After two weeks on this pasture it was time to move our small herd of Texas Longhorn cattle to fresh grass. So we saddled up. Our guests from Scotland, Susan and Stan , our guests from Edmonton, Joanne and Pietro, as well as Marty, Joe and Kathy. For two of the calves it was their first time to be moved, they are only a few days old. They stuck very close to their mommies. You see one of them, he is a brown one next to his whitish colored mom's (Secora) side on the right side in this picture. All went very well and none of the calves started to run in the wrong direction. The cows are always happy to have fresh, green pasture. After we went on a horseback ride to close a gate leading into the forest, kept on riding through the forest for a while, it is so very green now with plenty of moisture we got in Alberta.

July 5. The Icefields Parkway in Banff and Jasper National Park !

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The "B-J" ("Banff-Jasper") road was built as a gravel road using mostly picks, shovels and horses as well as a few small tractors starting back in 1931. It took nine years to be built, and was paved in 1961. The scenery is breathtaking with 230 km Highway driving through the famous snow covered Canadian Rockies. The Highway's today's name "the Icefields Parkway" (HWY 93 from Lake Louise to Jasper) gives credit to seven icefields and 25 glaciers. The center piece is the Columbia Icefield, largest in the Rockies with an area of 200 km2.
From the ranch, it is a lovely 1 1/2 hour drive West to HWY 93. The drive is on scenic David Thompson Highway # 11 with view of the first mountain ranges, lakes and rivers.

June 14. Out on the trail !

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In this photo are Janice and Steve from Nova Scotia and Heidi from Lethbridge, Alberta. We were out on a fun horseback ride, sometimes in the pine and spruce forest like in this picture, sometimes in the fresh green poplar tree forest and sometimes along trails were we can trot and along quiet country roads, were it is perfect to lope. We also rode by our cattle to check on them on the far West pasture and did a barrel pattern set out on the grass. Was fun, everybody did awesome.
The grass is growing really nice now in June with lots of warm hours, sunshine and enough rain here and there. The animals are in heaven to have plenty of green grass, the bunnies love to eat the dandy lion, they enjoy the yellow flower heads as well as the whole stem.
Spring and summer is also Rodeo time in Alberta. There are smaller and bigger rodeos each weekend to choose from. At school in Rocky they had rodeo day last Friday when everybody could dress up.

May 29. Fort Edmonton !

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A visit to Fort Edmonton, a historical fur traiding post from 1846. In this picture the train station and entrance to the 158 acres park, with the 1919 Baldwin Steam Train. The train takes one to the fort, which was recreated in the seventies from original, very detailed plans. Fort Edmonton was an important traiding post out West for the Hudson Bay company. They traded mostly beaver furs for the top hat fashion in Europe in the 19th century. The goods were loaded onto york boats and went on river and lake routes all the way to Eastern Canada to the Hudson Bay, then on ships on to England. To see the fort was impressive, going on a Stagecoach ride was a great experience, to ride the steam train and 1920 ies street car was fun. People in periode correct costumes were wonderful to talk to, a wealth of information about the fort's and pioneer's history.
For us it was an almost three hours drive from the ranch. The days are so long, the sun sets after nine, we had plenty of time back at the ranch to feed the bulls in the corral, to fill up the water for the cattle and check on the calves.

May 22. Move the Cattle !

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Part of our Spring Cowgirl and Cowboy Experience: Sarah and Mike from G.B. sorting out our Texas Longhorn in the corrals.

First the five of us rode onto pasture to move the cattle into the corral, sorted them out and left them out on the nearby pasture. We had to make sure, the little calves were with their moms all the time. Then through the North pasture onto the country road, and finally onto the pasture they can stay at for about ten days. The cows were sure happy to have the tasty, fresh green grass.

Past week at the ranch: we went into our forest several times to cut some rails for the fences and replaced broken and older ones. We had to check a fence line in the forest, which is hard walking with the chain saw, through bushes and bog and over logs. This weekend is May Long Weekend and we are busy with wonderful guests. Little Nickolas was happy to feed the one baby calf a milk bottle and pet the bunnies. Our horseback riding guests had fun on the lunch ride and move the cattle adventure. The temperatures are perfect, warm and sunny.

May 15. Moose !

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We saw this moose while driving on a gravel road eating grass in the muskeg. Muskeg is a native american word for a swamp area. The moose have large toed feet and can easily stand in the soft. This moose looked at us for quite a while, then headed a bit into the taller trees, but still kept on looking back. We don't see moose very often, but do see their droppings while riding our horses in the forest.

Past week at the ranch: It sure is getting greener and the Longhorns and horses find enough fresh grass on big pastures. We only need to feed hay to the two bulls and their company heifers in the corral. The horses are still shedding their wintercoat. It has been very mild weather, so they don't need all the warm hair anymore. Spring also meens working on the fences. With animals, that push and rub against the post and nibble on some rails, this is a never ending job. We also went on foot on some parts of our riding trails in the forest to cut out the fallen trees with the chain saw. Although our horses are very agile and can easily step over logs, as long as they are not to high, it is still nice to clean out the trails ever so often.
Nearby the ranch we had for the first time since we live here (18 years) a small forest fire. It got started on Saturday evening by a tree that fell on a power line due to a very strong wind. That wind also helped to get the fire going, real fast, mostly burning just the dry, last years grass, but also a patch, where is burned the trees as well. The wind was in all our neighbours favour and moved the fire into Crimson Lake Provincial Park area with just forest. So everybody was save and no smoke was bodering the animals. There are more forest fires in Northern Alberta, one at Slave Lake, 350 km North of us, saddly this one started very near that town and everybody had to evacuate and so far a lot of houses and buildings burned down.

May 8. Happy Mother's Day !

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Hi All ! Wishing all the moms a wonderful Mother's day ! Enjoy !

This past week at the ranch: the horses still have lots of winter hair and we are covered in horsehair every time we brush them. In this picture you see how much white hair Tashunka still has, Red Cloud too, but it shows less being a bay colored horse.

The two newborn Longhorn calves from first time moms are doing very good now. Both were very slow when born and we had to give them extra milk, but now, they prefer to have their mom's milk only. Both are boys and very nicely colored, lots of brown and white speckles.

Nature is right on time, the first green grass (short!) is a treat for the horses and Longhorns. Our two bunnies, Buddy and Spots, love to nibble on the green grass.

Our two bulls are in the corral next to the barn and have the two young cows with calves with them. All six were laying in the one shelter when a rain shower hit us yesterday evening.
Today is a rainy day, after that the forecast lots of sunshine!
We see a lot of white tale deer, they love to come out onto the meadows for the first green. While riding the horses in the forest, we also saw a lot of moose droppings, but never saw the animal.

May 1. Riding over the pasture!

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Marty riding Dakota over the Westpasture

We went to check on a newborn Longhorn calf that was born in the valley. We spoted the mom walk away from the herd, lay down and having a calf. The little one is doing good. Nearby was a big coyote, so we run the horses towards him to chase him away. After checking on a couple of gates and a stretch of fence. The sun was out, its drying up and a tiny bit of green grass is showing. A real nice spring day. We had a spit of snow again last Friday morning, but it was gone a few hours later.

April 23. Little Longhorn Calf !

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Our little Longhorn calf with his mommy already tasting some of the hay. Last week he has been joined by four more calves. They are all so cute. A couple have been born the day a spring snow storm hit us, so we took them into the house for a couple of hours to dry them up and give them a bottle starter milk. One of those calves' mom is a first time calver and doesn't have aboundance of milk, so we continued to feed the little calf-girl one extra bottle a day. She is such a sweety, as soon as we visit the cows, she comes running up and looks for her goodie, then sucks it quickly empty, while her mom watches on, after runs around us to see if there is some more, then runs to her mom for some more milk. This girl is very pretty coloured and if everything turns out well, we are going to keep her as a mother cow at our ranch.

Happy Easter to all of you !

March 14. Chinook !

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A very strong Chinook is blowing today. It is a wind from the South West bringing warm air. Temperatures can rise 15 degrees within an hour. Sometimes it is so strong, that one or more of the tall poplar trees on the pastures fall over. I was just visiting our horses, Longhorns and bunnies and this is the movie to it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTtwwUA8j_8

The horses you see in the movie are first; Shoshoni, then Mescalero, Duke, Winterhawk's long fur moving in the wind, Winddancer's white mane blowing in the wind, then Dakota standing and resting, Cheyenne scratching her chest, then Little Cowboy interested in the camera and after eating hay, Bear's back with his beautiful white and dark chestnut coat and the last horse in the movie is Kiowa munching some hay.
The first Longhorn is Ribanna, she was born at the ranch this spring two years ago. We keep her as a cow. Then is California, she was born at the ranch six years ago out of Angel (she pasted away sadly due to old age), then I'm petting Secora, she is 15 years old and we bought her as a one year old as one of our first Texas Longhorns. Next up is Prescott, a coming three years old, she had one calf so far and was born here herself. The second Longhorn I'm petting is Nscho-Tschi, she is ten years old.
Our bunnies Buddy and Spots love their afternoons outside in their bunny run. They like to sit up on the sheriff's office or on the rock, nibble on dried leaves and sticks, sometimes run around and jump up in the air and then sit on the lawn chairs to soak up the sun.

March 7. Frozen Crimson Lake !

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At nearby Crimson Lake, the bench overlooks the snow covered frozen lake. There is too much snow on the ice to skate, but it is used for cross country skiing. Twin Lakes, also part of "Crimson Lake Provincial Park" has rainbow trout and fishing goes on not only in summer, but also in winter. Some fishermen drive their pick up truck right on the ice for their heavy auger to drill the perfect hole.

At Sylvan Lake and Cow lake people enjoy the wide open space with their skidoo, there is always enough snow on our Alberta lake's, especially this year. For skating, one has to clear the ice with a snow shovel to either create paths or a square hockey rink. It is fun to skate outdoors and have a campfire with hot chocolate and hot dogs.

Feb. 28. Longhorns & horses !

2011-02-28T07:30:00.000-08:00

Kiowa sniffs on Nscho-Tschi's horn at the stock waterer. Our horses and Longhorns know each other well and know their body language. Often the Longhorns would shake their heads a bit and their horns would swing from side to side to let the horses know, that they want to drink water now. If it is important to the horse, they can chase the cow away though. We keep them on separate pastures, because of the feeding in winter and then in summer so we can get the horses easily into the corrals to be ready for riding. But they would get along fine on a big enough pasture, we always have the young horses with the Longhorns in summer for a while. That way they develop their cow sense more and will know what to do once they are ridden and should pen the cattle. Older, experienced Longhorns are bossier that young horses though. Fence to fence we sometimes see a Longhorn lick a horse's face, nice massage.

Feb. 20. View from the cabin's porch !

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Although this weekend saw us in the deepfreeze temperatures, the clear blue sky and sparkling snow made the days just beautiful. The guest cabins are not in use until spring, but we still clear a trail we can walk on to check on them. Some of the snow is piling up high along the fence and covers up the bottom rail. The top layer of the snow is hard and crusty and it takes a big effort to walk somewere. Best is to use the trails the horses or Longhorns make on their pastures. They sure can trample down an area pretty fast. Yesterday we went on a little horseback ride into the forest, very pretty with all that snow. We saw a lot of deer tracks, a couple of moose tracks and some wild rabbit tracks. We were dressed in lots of layers, big heavy winter boots and tuques, all that kept us warm.

Feb. 12. Adventure !

2011-02-12T07:06:00.001-08:00

Hans-Marty riding home on Dakota ,Mescalero following them. The adventure started in the morning. The neighbour to the Northwest called, two horses were on her field. I drove the 5 km there and sure enough it was Dakota and Mescalero, well and save at the neibour's. Back at home Joe and I called in the herd of horses from the far West pasture. So nice, how they hear our calls and come running for their oats. But Sweetheart was still missing, we left the gates open for her. Some time later she came but from the South and not from the West. She must have gotten out of the pasture as well and couldn't find the opening back, so she followed the fence line all along the South through deep snow and dense forest until she found a way back home. They sure have a good home sense. In the late afternoon, when Marty was home, I drove him to the neighbour and he saddled up Dakota, rode on our trails trough forest and over our pasture back home. Now we moved the horses to another pasture, until we can go check the West fence. We have to wait for that until early spring, there is so much bush and hard going through the snow. In this picture the horses follow their hard packed trail, next to it they would sink in deep into the snow.

Feb. 5. What a nice winter day !

2011-02-05T12:51:00.001-08:00

What a nice winter day it was yesterday. Sunny and + 5 C, the horses were just soaking up the warmth. No wonder after the different temperatures we had so far in February. Feb. 1. was so cold, - 28 C in the morning ! Then some milder days with sun and today not too cold, but windy with some snow. In the picture is Winddancer dozing. They all came to the corral near the ranch house for water and to lick the mineral block. Later they trotted out to the far pasture again to paw for nutritious grass under the layer of snow. The Longhorns were hiding in the forest on that cold day and only came out for their hay, usually they like to rest out on the hill, some resting standing up, some sleeping laying down. The bunnies, Buddy and Spots, were outside all day too, not today though, to much cold wind for them. Yesterday we saw a Moose from the kitchen window ! Very special to us, we don't see them very often, but we see their tracks in the spring snow while riding lots. The moose was trying to reach the lower branches of the trees to nibble on them.

Jan. 29. Guest Book !

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July 2010; by guests Karin, Cornell and Livia:
Feed for the soul...sitting on the cabin's porch, watch the horses and Longhorns grazing and look all the way to the distant Rockies. This view along with all the adventures we had with you and your horses will stay with us forever. Thank you so much for everything.
The stay at your ranch was once again unforgettable. The riding with Winddancer, move the Longhorns to another pasture, the barrel race pattern, the meals, the games and campfire, everything was just perfect. To bad, the time goes by to fast. I hope to see you again soon.

On our web site bits and pieces from our 2010 guest book is up with so many great memories for us. It is so wonderful to meet so many great people and stay friends with them !

www.ridethewindranch.com/guestbook2010.htm

Jan. 23. Wild horses out West !

2011-01-23T07:42:00.001-08:00

This is a herd of wild horses in the West country. Some of these horses would have been born in the wild, some horses would have joined the herd of wild horses while they were out in the back country as saddle horses and one night followed the call of a stallion. There is different herds of wild horses in the Eastern foothills of the Rocky Mountains, interesting enough they never wander towards the farmland. These picture is taken on the Nordegg-River-Road, driving from the small hamlet of Nordegg North on the Forestry Trunk road; about 80 km West of our ranch.
The wild horses are generally in good shape and seem to do very well even in cold winter with plenty of snow. They don't have many natural enemies, only very few cougars can kill a horse, most cougars and all other predators would not attempt to hunt a wild horse. These wild horses often prefer to graze near a back road, since there is more grass in the ditch and clearings, and they are quite used to trucks driving by, but they would scatter quickly if somebody would approach them, similar to deer.

Jan. 17. Night !

2011-01-17T07:57:00.000-08:00

Night , our three years old Paint gelding, having some fun catching up with the other horses. Actually we don't see our horses gallop and jump lots in wintertime, they seem to want to reserve their energy during those cold days. Sometimes they trot, mostly walk in a single line on their trail in the snow. Once the weather is warmer, our horses love to playfully run around, yet again, because they always are out on pasture, they get lots of exercise just grazing, walking from one spot to the next all day long. Night was born at the ranch, he looks exactly like his mom Dakota. We named him after a horse in a book we read. The book is called Ride the Wind, we got a copy sent to us by the author, she googled Ride the Wind and saw our ranch on the Internet. Her book is a true story novel about the Comanches; a young white girl grows up with a gentle Comanche family. Her name is Cynthia Parker, the first time she gets to know her Comanche tribe they ask her for her name and love it, since the same pronunciation for Cynthia means "stays-a-while" in their language. Her husband, Wanderer, has a black horse named Night.

Jan. 10. Bear !

2011-01-10T07:25:00.000-08:00

Bear's hair is so thick, it feels like sitting on a soft blanket when riding bareback. Sometimes when we visit the horses and it is not too cold, we take a halter along and ride a bit around on the pasture. The other horses are always very interested, here is Winterhawk checking us out.

The last two days have been very windy with a little bit of snowfall. In the Eastern part of Alberta they got more snow and today all the school busses out East were not running. We only have to shovel a bit of snow most places, but some spots have bad snowdrifts, so I had to go out this early morning before the school bus arrived to get the bottom of the driveway clear, otherwise the bus would have gotten stuck. Since Hans-Marty always leaves very early in the morning with his powerful Logging Truck with double wheels, he flattens wide tracks on our little country road, perfect for the school bus, the neighbour and me to drive on.

With that bad wind for two days, the Longhorns stayed mostly in the forest on the bottom of the land, where there is no wind at all. The came out to the hay, walked up to the waterer and back into the forest for a rest, then same routine again. The horses are now out on the Westpasture and they usually come to the corral near the house a couple of times a day for water, mineral block and a visit, but they haven't showed up since Saturday, they prefer to stay in the bushes on that Westpasture, where they are sheltered from the wind and are satisfied to have snow for water.

January 3. A movie of our horses in winter !

2011-01-03T11:36:00.000-08:00

This is a short movie we taped yesterday afternoon. We went to feed the Longhorns hay and the horses saw us and came looking, if they would get some too. We don't feed them hay every day, they have plenty of winter pasture. But every few days, they like to eat some hay. So they where looking for us from the corrals near the house. When we drove the hay feeding truck out past the cabins onto the North pasture, they came running. We made lots of small piles out on the big pasture and they were all happily eating.

Dec. 31. Happy New Year !

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We wish you all a wonderful 2011 !

The weather this past week has been the usually cold for this time a year (-15 etc.) , but on Christmas Day a warm, soft wind from the West brought up the temperature to +8 ! We spent all afternoon outside, visited and fed the Longhorns and horses, ate sandwiches on the porch and sitting in the sun, did archery and had to watch the arrow's landing closely, so we would find them again in the snow.

The differences in temperatures always amazes us for the animals. As long as horses, cows and calves have plenty of hay or winter grass to eat and long hair, they do just fine. The constant digestion of hay or grass produces warmth in their body and the long hair traps air within and insulates them. It would be wrong to blanket the horses, that way the blanket would flatten the hair and the insulation doesn't work. There is only a few horses that get blankets on in Alberta, but they need to be shaved first. Tonight should be another cold night, the forecast is down to - 25. We will have our wood burning stove going all the time !

Dec. 23. Merry Christmas to you !

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Our dear friends from far and near, we wish you a wonderful Christmas Season with your loved ones !
Here in Alberta, the weahter is not too cold today and should be even warmer tomorrow on Christmas Eve and on Christmas Day. We will enjoy the time being outdoors with our animals, feeding and visiting the cattle and horses, go skating with friends at an outdoors rink, enjoy time as a family and watch the cute bunnies.

Dec. 20. Tashunka !

2010-12-20T09:50:00.001-08:00

Tashunka is enjoying the beautiful sunny morning after a week of overcast days with some snowfall. It is cold, - 17 C, but his thick coat keeps him warm. He was pawing through the light snow for grass and has some in his mouth. Tashunka is a Native American (Lakota) word for "horse", Shunka is the word for "dog" and Tashunka meant "big dog". He is already 22 years old, but still very fit and a great horse to ride. We bought him as a five years old, so he has spent many years with us. Always has been a very lively horse and age hasn't changed that at all. He likes to be the leadhorse with a group of riders, he knows his job very well. We love him and hope he has many years left with us.

Dec. 12. Feeding the Longhorns !

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Where is the yummie hay ? Our Longhorns know the sound of the hay feeding pick up truck, when it runs they call out for their hay. We drive onto the pasture to different spots over the winter and lay out a full big hay bale in a long row, so all the cows can get easily to their feed. The cattle have an order in the herd, so if would be only one bale set up, some cows would have to wait until the top ones filled their tummies. In this picture is Cupid getting her first bite from the not unrolled bale. Cupid was born at our ranch in '97. She has a great calf every year. This years calf of hers is a very dark colored girl, we plan to keep her.

Dec. 5. Beautiful winter sunsets !

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Wintertime is always great for beautiful evening skies. The sun sets early, at 4.30 p.m. for now, but already towards February the days will be much longer. This picture is from the horse pasture, behind the cabin, facing the North pasture and the Ram mountain to the West. Yesterday we moved the horses from the pasture across the road to this one. They will have plenty of grass under a layer of light snow.
The dark evenings are lightened up by all the outdoors lights, it is lovely to drive through Rocky Mountain House and see all the decorated houses. We have a few lights up too on our porch and it is so pretty, looks like little stars shining in the dark. The nights are quite dark now, that it is New Moon, but they are bright closer to Full Moon, so much that one can see the cattle move in the valley pasture in the middle of the night.

Nov. 27. Pretty Horses !

2010-11-27T06:54:00.001-08:00

This has been an interesting week for us and our animals. It snowed the first couple of days with a normal - 15 C, then overnight cleared up and the temperature fell to - 36 C ! Luckily we don't get many of those really cold days. The school buses weren't running for two days, every time going outside it took a while to get dressed, the hay feeding truck had to be plugged in for three hours, otherwise it wouldn't start. But is was so wonderful to look outside from the warm house. The wood stove was on all the time ! With that cold, the view to the Rockies was amazing and all trees snow covered. The horses and Longhorns did well, their thick winter coat kept them warm, they have lots of room to roam around and the movement helps keep warmer too and there was no wind and no snow with that cold. Soon enough the weather changed and four days later it was + 3 C in the afternoon ! Yes, this is Alberta. In the picture are: up front: Nevada, back: Kona, Duke and Cheyenne.

Nov. 20. Winter is here !

2010-11-20T08:31:00.001-08:00

Four days ago winter arrived with daily snow and cold temperatures. It was quite different this year, how the season changed overnight, and everybody had a hard time to get used to it. To drive on white pavement (yes, all the Highways were snow covered too), to plug in the cars and trucks, to adjust the temperature on the stock waterer, so the water doesn't freeze and to shovel snow every day. But of course it does look pretty with a white blanket, especially with blue sky we can expect sometimes today. The horses are on a pasture with plenty of forest and can find a break from the chilly wind. They paw through the dry and light snow for grass. Their well rounded condition and their thick coat keeps them warm. Joe and Ben have fun playing in the snow, just can't make a snowman, the snow is to dry. The school bus made it up the hill fine and now the grader plowed the road making it nicely to drive on.

Nov. 12. The Longhorns enjoying the morning sun !

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The nights are colder now, down to -10 C. Luckily we have blue skied days and the sun feels very nice. The Longhorns enjoy the warmth from the morning sun on the hill; resting, snoozing and grooming the little ones. So far not snow covered pastures, they can still be out grazing and have the bigger fall pastures all for themselves. The little Longhorns will stay with the herd for a while longer until they will live in the barn pasture for winter feeding. The hay is ordered and should get here before the snow covered season starts.

Nov. 5. Buddy and Spots !

2010-11-05T17:32:00.000-07:00

Welcome Buddy and Spots to the ranch ! They are only a couple of months old and have been with us for a week now, since Ben's Birthday. At night they stay in their cage in the house and during the day they can be in the bunny run we built for them. For safety there is a wooden house for them, the Lone Star Saloon, and they do run inside very quick, if they hear something noisy. But mostly Buddy and Spots like to nibble on the grass and leaves or run around real fast. It is so much fun to watch them. We have a couple of lawn chairs in their run and sit there often and watch them. Both are curious and come to us to check us out.

Oct. 27. Riding Shoshoni !

2010-10-27T08:27:00.000-07:00

Our sweet but very shy and sensitive Shoshoni got training too this fall. First in the round pen, just like is spring, she was very nervous and only took slow steps, sometimes just stood there. Then we decided to take her along on a trail ride, the four of us, Hans leading on Dakota and our friends visiting riding Kiowa and Winddancer. The first bit, Hans led Shoshoni with me on and it went really well, so he let go and we were surprised how easily she moved trough bushes, over logs and through soft spots, just like any other horse. She must have felt very comfortable out on the trails. She still had a couple of scares and gave me some work to do hanging on during quick spins and settling her down, but all in all, she was awesome.
After our last visitors left for this season the weather turned from Sunny-Sitting-On-The-Porch afternoons to first fog and now a bit of snow. It does look real pretty with a white cover, now that all the colorful leaves have fallen. But we are still looking forward to the sunny days starting tomorrow, will be easier to do all the ranch work before winter.

Oct. 17. Ready for the Ride !

2010-10-17T06:36:00.000-07:00

Our three years old Night is all saddled up and ready for his first ride along with three other horses. In spring we trained him in the round pen and rode on short training rides in the forested pasture. Now in fall, he is back in training and he did really well for Hans, fit right into the group, walked on the trails like a seasoned horse after the first short stretch of being a bit lively and jumpy.

Before the ride, we drove five minutes West to park the truck and clean out part of our riding trails from fallen timber and bushes. That's where we saw a beautiful big female moose. She was standing in high grass in a wet spot, looked at us for a while, then disappeared in the trees.

The sun sets behind the Rockies at 6.30 now, we had a huge campfire after dinner. The wood piled up was branches from a dead standing tree we cut down and worked into firewood. It was nice to have the heat, as soon as there is no sun, one can feel the chilly fall temperatures (evenings, shaded forest while riding, cloudy days).

Oct. 8. The horses around the house !

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This photo is taken from the living room this morning. We let the horses around the house to eat the tasty green grass. The last two days they were around the cabins for a few hours each day, we put up a quick electric fence but not on power. Now they have the space around the house and hitching posts for a couple of days, another electric fence keeps them from going down the drive way. They are all in very good shape, well rounded, yet still enjoy that juicy green grass a lot. It is so nice to look out each window and see horses all over so close.

The weather has been very pleasant. Mostly all sunny and the afternoons warm up a lot. Most leaves are gone by now, but the tamarack are still golden. The horses grow more and more fur due to the cold nights.

Sept. 30. Bison !

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We saw these beautiful bison yesterday at the Rocky Mountain House National Historic Site. They have big pastures to graze, but luckily were very close to the fence. The bison bull showed his impressive side and kept an eye on us. In the picture are also two little calves with their moms. The little ones are so cute.
A visit to the Historic Site is always so interesting; to read about the early fur trades, the Metis Nation history and watch a movie about the voyageurs, how they paddled 15 hours a day, many days to get to the fur trading forts. Looking upon the impressive Saskatchewan River with its muddy fast flowing big waters, we can only imagine how hard it was to travel back then compared to these days with all the Highways.

Sept. 22. Beautiful Fall Colours !

2010-09-22T08:51:00.000-07:00

Today is such a wonderful fall day! After lots of rather chilly, rainy and cloudy days in September we finally are treated with beautiful fall sunshine; Indian Summer is here. It is still very chilly at night and in the mornings, frost shows on the rooftops and grass, but the sun warms up the day. The view to the Rockies is amazing, clear and colorful. The horses already carry a thicker fall coat, it is nice to pet them and feel the warm hair. Our last little calf this year is one week old, she is doing really well and run over the big South pasture today with her mom Tacoma. They were in with the horses for one night, since Tacoma hid in the forest, when we moved the other Longhorns to the North pasture. This morning she had enough of the curious horses and came up into the corral and we let her together with the cattle herd.

Sept. 15. Lunch Horseback Ride !

2010-09-16T06:54:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful day it was today, riding the horses to Buster Creek for a campfire lunch. Overcast, but no rain, the weather was good. A bit chilly, but the fire, the hot lunch and cowboy coffee warmed us up well. We also got warm on the long stretches of loping. The horses were tied to the trees just right of this picture, they always stand very patiently while we eat. Of course, now in fall, there are no more bugs bothering them and would keep them uncomfortable. Riding over the North pasture back home again, the rest of the herd saw us from a distance and called out for us, such a nice Greeting to be back at the ranch.

Sept. 6. Move the Longhorns and Canoe on Twin Lakes !

2010-09-07T07:09:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful day it was today, sun warming us up and lots of pretty clouds creating a beautiful sky picture. We had a filling breakfast in the morning in the ranch house, after got the horses ready and rode out to move the Longhorns into the corrals, sorted them out and moved them out on another pasture. The cattle were eagerly eating the fresh green grass. Then we loaded up the canoes and enjoyed Twin Lakes, saw a couple of ducks and a loon. So peaceful to glide over the water and soak up the sun.

Sept. 2. Visit the horses !

2010-09-02T07:05:00.001-07:00

Visiting the horse in the evening. Red Cloud enjoys a good scratch from Joe. They are both happy about that. Soon enough one by one the other horses came too for a visit. Some like Dakota, Kiowa and Sweetheart place themselves alongside us, exactly where they want to be scratched. And when we walk to the next horse, they follow us and ask for more. We had some partly cloudy days with a bit of rain and also always sun too, but not very warm, which is quite o.k. for the horseback riding. Today will be all sunny and we go out on our first fall lunch ride.

Aug. 25. Memories !

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Joe is riding Red Cloud and Nicole (from Switzerland) is riding Kiowa. It is Nicole's third time at the ranch and she has lots of memories from having been here as a teenager 12 and 8 years ago ! Was so much fun to talk about those days; she remembered Joe as a toddler and as a boy and now Joe is taller than her. Nicole also remembered the horses, having ridden Bear and memories of her mom and friends having ridden Sweetheart, Blanket etc and Red Cloud and Cheyenne where just foals during her first visit.

Aug. 20. Moving the cattle !

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Moving the Longhorn Cattle to a new pasture. Always a lot of fun. The little calves are trotting along. Yesterday was our last calf born, such a cutie. It is very hazy since yesterday morning, not like in this picture, we can't see the mountains anymore. The haze is brought all the way from B.C. from the forest fires there. It should lift tomorrow with the wind changing its direction. August has been very nice, enough rain for good pasture and also lovely sunny days, not too hot for the horses. We had guests here from all over Canada, the US, Isle of Man, Switzerland, Germany, Abu Dabi and from G.B.

July 25. The horses resting !

2010-07-25T06:19:00.000-07:00

Six of our horses laying down for a rest. Kona, Mescalero, Night, Little Cowboy, Shoshoni and Sweetheart. A small bird on Night looking for mosquitoes. The horses graze all night in summer and rest quite a bit during the hot days. Often they stand side by side and have each others tails swishing in their faces to keep the biting bugs away. This week they worked so good again, we had guests from the USA, from Ontario, from Alberta and from Switzerland. Livia, now 14, loved to see Winddancer again, she fell in Love with him on her last vacation here a couple of years ago. She always had a big smile on her face riding him, told me a lot about her riding horse Nic in Switzerland.

July 18. Abraham Lake !

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Today we drove by Abraham Lake, an hour West of the ranch in the Rockies. What a beautiful turquoise color the water is ! It is created by the minerals the Saskatchewan River carries from the Mountains into the lake. Very scenic afternoon drive for our ranch guests, through the forested West country, then along Abraham Lake to Siffleur water falls, located in the Kootenay plains. It is a great hike to the falls, not too long, but lovely crossing the Saskatchewan River on a suspension bridge.

July 10. Clearwater River !

2010-07-10T06:48:00.000-07:00

Canoeing on Clearwater River; a picture from last week's adventure. The river must have been named in fall, it is not clear this time a year, rather silky from all the rain water and mountain melt off. What a scenic river though and not difficult at all, a few small rapids, easily maneuverable. In this canoe are Hans and Joe paddling, Ben sitting in the middle. Our guests were in two more canoes. They stopped at a small island for lunch, a big camp fire to roast sausages. After lunch a short rain shower got them, but they all told me, even that was fun, felt like early explorer.

July 3. That feels so good... !

2010-07-03T21:38:00.001-07:00

Mescalero is having a good roll and that feels sooo good ! Red Cloud is watching on. Our horses often roll in the sandy corral after the horseback ride or sometimes just like that. We enjoyed lots of great horseback riding, moved the cattle to another pasture on Canada Day, also had a calf born that day and watched the fireworks in Rocky, they only started at 11.20 p.m., because it was blue sky and took so long to get dark.

June 27. Enjoying the ride !

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Hans on Dakota and guests enjoying the ride. Rode through forests, troted on trails, loped along small roads, had the sun in our face and felt the breeze taking some summer's heat away. The horse flies come out now in the late morning and bother the horses. We put some stuff on, that helps to keep most bugs away.

June 22. Campfire !

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Everybody loves the campfires at the ranch, roast some marshmallows, visit, laugh and enjoy the view over the horse pasture. The sun sets only just before ten, beautiful sunsets to watch. Here are a great group of guests from Belgium, New Brunswick, Calgary and Switzerland. Tomorrow we all will ride the trails and move the cattle to another pasture. Yippeeyeaa!

June 13. Where is lunch ?

2010-06-13T10:15:00.001-07:00

Duke is saying: where is lunch ? , him standing next to the pick nick table. This Sunday morning our horses are around the cabins and house one more time to trim the grass. Soon it will be to hot (today all sun and going to be a very warm afternoon) for them to graze and they will want to stand in the shade back in the corral. At that time, we close the gate and they will rest lots during the day and graze all night out on pasture.

June 6. Seen a Grizzly and two beavers!

2010-06-06T17:15:00.001-07:00

Part of our short family holiday was out West near Nordegg. We canoed Beaver Dam Lake and at the far end saw two beavers jumping in the water. One came swimming towards us and hissed at us, before diving in the direction of their beaver lodge. Shortly after the second beaver came straight at us, with his head over water, hissing loudly at us, diving towards the lodge too, but coming out of water again to hiss at us. They wanted to keep us away from their home, we have never seen anything like this, fascinating. On our way back, a beautiful Grizzly bear crossed the road, first time too, we have seen a Grizzly around Nordegg, which is still 90 km West of us. And this picture is of our horses "mowing" the lawn around the ranch house and cabins; after 1 night and 1 day the grass was very nicely trimmed!

May 30. Snow in the morning !

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Couldn't believe it, we had some snow this morning! Our guests were good sports and nerveless we went on a horseback ride. Started out with some rain, which washed away the little bit of snow on the ground, were nicely sheltered in the forest from the wind and on our way back saw patches of blue sky. It always smells so good in the forest when it had rained, what a nice day it ended up to be!

May 22. Bluebird Nest !

2010-05-22T20:54:00.000-07:00

Today on our horseback ride we came across this Bluebird nest. Right beside our trail in the forest, set on top of a tree stump. The mom bird flew off, when we came riding, but returned right after we left. We also saw a coyote and some white tale deer. It was a rather chilly day, but nicely sheltered from the wind in the trees and some sun warmed us up. Hope tomorrow will be warmer for another horseback ride with our guests.

May 15. White Tale Deer !

2010-05-15T19:21:00.001-07:00

How nice to see the White Tail Deer so often in spring. It took this picture from the living room window. They were grazing on the lawn and just about to jump the fence onto the pasture. They also drink water from the horses' stock waterer and lick the salt blocks that are out on pasture. In winter they eat from the best horse hay, never touching the cow's little bit coarser hay. A bit later in spring we don't see them as often so close, once they have their babies they stay more in the forest. If alerted the White Tail Deer flags their big fluffy white tail, hence the name. They can jump fences with ease, but still sometimes crawl through.
We love to see them, they are so pretty.

May 8. Where are the goodies?

2010-05-08T17:39:00.001-07:00

Kona, Navajo, Little Cowboy and Shoshoni in the morning sun awaiting the goodies (rolled oats, barley and molasses). These four and Night are the youngest ones of the herd of horses and get some extra feed. Although mostly with the other horses on big pastures, the five often keep their little group and come to the water and mineral block together.

May 1. Longhorn Baby !

2010-05-01T06:33:00.001-07:00

Hi, I'm a Texas Longhorn Girl. I'm only three days old and already saw a bit of snow, but now it is sunny and I love to run around on the pasture at my home at Ride the Wind Ranch. My mom is Shenandoah, she was born here too, five years ago. She takes good care of me, always watches where I am and she has yummy milk for me. I play with my other two little friends and I will get some more friends soon. Sometimes I'm tired and sleep all curled up and I know that either my mom or a friend of hers stays with me.

April 24. Training Night !

2010-04-24T07:40:00.001-07:00

Night was born at the ranch three years ago and we started to train him under saddle this spring. He already was used to being led around, saddled up and a rider sitting on him. We use direct rein in the beginning, soon he will be neck reined as all the other horses with just one hand on the reins. One set of rein I attach to the halter, one set to the bridle and therefore have a very easy transition for the horse to understand. Part of the training is in the round pen, part on a forested pasture and soon after out on the trails.

April 17. The Sandhill Cranes are back !

2010-04-17T13:27:00.000-07:00

A pair of Sandhill Cranes spends each summer at the ranch. They always come back from the South middle of April. And right the first day are in the corral close to the house to pick on leftover grain. In a few weeks they will nest and later we'll see them with a baby walking on the pasture. The cranes sure have a loud, kinda rusty sound, they are very tall and if they spread their wings, they can scare away a coyote.

April 10. Having a good roll !

2010-04-10T08:25:00.000-07:00

That feels so good having a good roll says our horse "Bear".
They do it regularly especially in summer after the horseback riding, when they are a bit sweaty. It always looks so cute, just want to walk up and scratch their tummies, but no, of course the roll goes pretty fast. Our horses love to be scratched though, now on warm afternoons when the thick winter coat itches them or during bug season to get all those hard to reach spots scratched.

April 4. Nscho-Tschi !

2010-04-04T13:11:00.000-07:00

Visiting our Texas Longhorn "Nscho-Tschi" and giving her a good scratch. She was born at the ranch ten years ago, is a sweet girl and has beautiful colors. The herd picked a perfect spot to rest; on the ridge below the ranch house with a great view of the Rocky Mountains. I wonder if they love the feeling to be on top of the world... The days have been windy with some sun and some interesting cloud formations. The first Canada Geese flew by with their intense sound, almost like a dog's bark. Soon the sandhill cranes should return from the South.

March 28. Kona and Navajo !

2010-03-28T08:39:00.000-07:00

Kona and Navajo are sister and brother. Their mom is an Appaloosa, the dad a Paint, and both are so people friendly. They enjoy to nibble on the very first green hardly showing yet. Most snow on the meadows has gone by now. They still have their thick winter coat and are a bit itchy on the warm sunny afternoons.

Kona is a cree (Native American) word for snow. Navajo's name is based on the navajo nation in Southwestern America.

March 21. Fixing the Calf Pen!

2010-03-21T18:04:00.000-07:00

Today we worked our small bunch of '09 Texas Longhorn calves. We did run them through the alley and put ear tags on the ones we are going to sell next weekend. They got a bit excited and one put his head through the fence, broke one of the older rails and went into the other corral. So, there is Hans fixing it while the calves munch their hay all quiet down again. It sure was a nice, warm day to be outside and the boys (Joe, Ben and Nic) were good helpers too.

March 14. The saddle shack at the ranch!

2010-03-14T16:13:00.000-07:00

The saddle shack at Ride the Wind Ranch, just next to the cabins and the ranch house. That's where our cowgirl and cowboy guests tie up their mounts, brush and saddle up. The left side houses the sheriff's office to keep us save out here in the "Wild West", it has even a jail in case we catch a suspect known from the wanted poster ... (all in fun).

March 6. Riding Bear !

2010-03-06T18:28:00.000-08:00

Out for a little ride on our Paint horse "Bear" on the snow covered pasture. His horse buddies watching on. "Bear" lives up to his name, he is strong and smart just like a bear. We usually ride our horses with saddles and bridles, but sometimes in winter it is just easier to hop on bareback. They listen very well with just a halter.

March 3. Hi from Cupid !

2010-03-03T07:35:00.000-08:00

This is our "Cupid", she became a member of our Texas Longhorn herd in 1997 when we bought her mom with her as a tiny calf at side. Cupid's colour is special, its called brindle. Every year she has a great calf, she is a very attentive and alert mom. The horns grow the most the first five, six years and mostly in summer. Cupid's horns are curved high up, looks impressive and they could throw a coyote up in the air, but never injure another herd member.

Feb. 28. Dog Sledding !

2010-02-28T15:12:00.000-08:00

So much fun going dog sledding with the Junior Forest Warden group at Jeff and Jill's outfit just West of Rocky. In the picture I mush; the huskies were great. Joe had a turn too and Ben was sitting in the sled. The weather was perfect, cold in the morning, later warming up in the sun. Sat around the campfire and had a wiener roast.

Feb. 26. Frozen North Saskatchewan River !

2010-02-25T14:19:00.000-08:00

We cross the North Saskatchewan River every time we drive into Rocky Mtn. House. Year round an impressive River, but in wintertime the ice creates a very special scenery. For some weeks there was no water to be seen, all ice. Now there is the first break up and some of the river water showing. In early spring, there will be huge chunks of ice piled up on the banks, pushed to the side by the power of the river.

Feb. 24. Secora!

2010-02-23T23:45:00.000-08:00

Secora is one of our first Texas Longhorns. She is such a sweet girl, often "sings" when she is laying down. She likes to be scratched behind on her head or back. Secora knows us very well and is always one of the leaders, when she realizes, that we move the longhorns to another pasture. Here she is enjoying the sun, knowing that later on it is time to get their hay.

Feb. 21. Our Texas Longhorns calves!

2010-02-21T11:41:00.000-08:00

These are our Texas Longhorns calves from last year. They are in a big corral next to the barn and we feed them hay twice a day, throwing it over the fence by hand. They are so cute with all different pattern, but even with white faces, they always have brown ears. We will keep about four of the heifers to stay at the ranch to become mama cows.

Saturday morning - waiting for the hay!

2010-02-20T10:32:00.000-08:00

Beautiful morning sun! Blanket, Sweetheart, Cheyenne and Shoshoni along with the other horses are waiting for their hay. They see Hans walking around, feeding the calves first.

2010-02-19T16:32:00.000-08:00

Can you spot the whitetale deer within the horses? I fed the horses their hay and back in the house I saw three deer joining them for hay. So I took a picture through the kitchen window. The would scare away, if going close.

February 18. Blue sky after the snow!

2010-02-18T16:34:00.000-08:00

Look at this: blue sky, sunny, warm afternoon. The horses are just done eating their hay and soon will rest in the warm sun. The night and morning was still rather cool (-8), but not in the deepfreeze, as it could be this time a year. In the picture is Winterhawk, right of him Kiowa and Cheyenne.

February 17. Lots of snow

2010-02-18T16:15:00.001-08:00

Wow, we got lots of snow yesterday, this picture is taken in the early morning. Look at the piles of snow in front of the ranch house. It is not cold, only 0 degrees celcius, so that made the snow heavy and sticky and of course we got the hay pick up truck stuck...

How is your winter? Got snow?

Welcome to our new blog!

2010-02-18T16:06:00.000-08:00

Ride the Wind Ranch - Guest Ranch- this is our new blog and we are excited to have you visit us. We can't wait to read your comments, see your pictures, ideas and info.

Our ever so nice guests: you will see the ranch once in winter on the pictures to come. Does it look quite different from summer?

New to the ranch: have fun getting to know us and our horses, longhorns and ranch

Canadian fans: hope you'll like to learn about living in Alberta. Friends: always makes us happy to year from you.