This blog is about a Wednesday afternoon, and the first day of my epic end-of-July/start-of-August. It started with a drive to Yorkton to catch the Counting Coup Rough Stock Rodeo. For a young rodeo, it is always an excellent time. This year was only it's third year! I made it to the first, but missed last year due to work. This year was definitely something great to see and come back too! The horses gave a great show, and the cowboys gave it their all. It was a great show! I got treated to seeing some great entertainment between the broncs & the bulls. Some ladies from Preeceville showed off some of their excellent horse skills. The tricks were amazing, and definitely something I would LOVE to try sometime. Definitely worth photographing to share with everyone! The bulls gave a great show as always! My favorite part always steals my heart, and it was even better because I got to watch the show in the setting sun. The golden hour made it more special, and the beautiful pink skies that came out during it, including a rainbow, made it amazing! One of the best bull events I have been to in a while.
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So with July coming to a close the garden is finally coming into its maturity. The leaves look bright and green, flowers are colorful and fruit is beginning to form. One of the pleasant perks of living in the country comes with the large amount of garden space. I take this opportunity to its fullest, and love to spend my time with the plants I grow. I thoroughly enjoy spending my time with my feet bare & right on the soil. I love feeling the dirt between my toes, and I just love getting dirty! Along with garden, the fun flowers are also coming into their beautiful summer bloom. They are in bloom all over the yard in, and ini all the flower beds. They are bringing so much color into the otherwise green yard. The blooms come in many different forms, along with color. They may not produce any fruit or veggies I can eat, but just the colors & shapes of the flowers are enough to convince me to spend my time planting them. They help tide me over till my veggies & fruits begin to get ready for harvest. Oh how I love the end of July with all its flowers, and plants that are getting ready to produce. It is all just so beautiful! This entry will be short and sweet. I spent sometime at my one of my Aunty & Uncle's cabin, and took in the lake (with some fishing). The sunsets on the lake were just so amazing that I had to showcase them. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did! To me there is nothing that says peacful summer evening more than a sunset by the lake. So as summer keeps passing by I decided that I should enjoy it in as many places as possible. So I changed my bike route yet again, and decided to take a ride down by the lake, but on the opposite end that is by my house. It was so amazing to see the lake, and all the July flowers blooming along its banks. There happened to also be quite a few bugs enjoying the day with me. It was a prefect evening activity. The best part about exploring new places is finding things along the way. On my bike ride I saw some VERY ripe Saskatoon berries. Once I let my parents know... well lets just say they came out, and we picked them! MMMmmm... nothing better than fresh home made Saskatoon jam & pie! Also, we had the best view while picking! I also go to see some ducks on my ride. They were looking quite healthy & pretty! Then at the end of my ride I got to take in a nice sight of some beautiful looking ponies in the pasture. Oh life in the country side in July is just fabulous! Things are green, and flowers are blooming... must be July on the farm! To this has to the beginning of my favorite times on the farm. To see all the hard work of planting finally start to show you its reward. The green color that is so lush after a summer storm always adds that extra special touch, and one can not help but take a nice long walk along the roads and fields to take it all in. It is moments like these that make the farm, through all it's hard work, feel like a little slice of paradise. Along these walks it is always great to take in not only the world that you have planted yourself, but also take in the natural wild world that still exists around every farm. It is always great to take in a set of deer prints, and see they walk the same roads as you [even better when you get a chance to spot them]. The wildflowers that are in bloom in different places are always great to take in; as I have written in previous posts. I love to see their colors contrasted against the grass. July is definitely the time for walks, and appreciating what the world has to offer. Sometimes it is just nice to take a walk down country roads when it is this time of year. After witnessing some of the beautiful flowers during my bike ride I decided I had to slow down a bit, take a new route, and take in the summer flower beauty. Since this beauty is only with us for such a short time. The nice thing about slowly down is you notice things you may have missed before. Including the beauty of grass that is now beginning to head out, or the quiet grasshopper that is trying hard to stay very still to not attract attention. Another perk of slowly down is the chance you get to take in the landscape, and the way the sun hits at the exact angle to make it look like a fairy-tale is about to unfold. Oh, how I love these July landscapes with the sun & the green. Maybe I am biased in my appreciation for my love of the sun, and the color green blinds me. Even so the beauty of July will always make me stop to take a look at the landscape. What is the best way to cure Monday blues... go hang out amoungst the wildflowers. That is exactly what I did when I grabbed my bike and headed down some roads. I love July not only for its amazing weather, but also for the beautiful flowers that come into bloom. It always brigthens up the landscape. So much color opens up, and I am amazed yet again by the beauty nature can create. Oh, How I wish these colors could stay all year round! Summer is just such an amazing time on the prairies. However, one of the reasons it is so beautiful is because it only last for such a short time. Funny how life works like that. Suppose I should be as much time as I can apprechiating it while I can. The morning after Kelliher rodeo I got to go spend sometime at great event the Sheho Ranch Rodeo. The ranch rodeo is a type of rodeo where the events reflect more of the skills used day to day. These skills include roping, and trailering animals. It gives a chance for the local cowboys working the rangeland to show their skills and compete against their neighbours. It is done as a team, and highlights the skills needed to work not only with the animals well, but also each other, to get the job done. The track was a bit wet, since it had rained pretty hard the day before in Sheho [they got the same rain Kelliher got the day before]. So things were a touch mucky in the beginning, but as the beautiful day continued, and the track was used, everything dried up nicely. The opening event of the day was the Trailer Relay. The relay consists of unloading the horses from the trailer, and one rider takes the saddlebag for ride around the area. Then passes it off to the next rider; just like in a traditional track & field sport day relay. The race finishes when the entire team has done a round, loaded the horses back in the trailer, and all hands on the hood of the truck. It makes for some really interesting photos! The next event was Pasture Doctoring. This event is the event that displays the skills needed to address issues on cattle while out checking them on horseback in the pasture. All four team members start on horseback. Two of the members rope the head and feet of the animal to be doctored, while the other two doctor the animal on the ground. It is quite the display to watch how well all the horses, and people, worked together, along with the animal being doctored. It sure takes some good skills to get this done efficiently, and fast as possible, so the animal is not down long. The last event of the day was the Wild Cow Milking. This is an event where they rope a cow, and attempt to get some milk from a cow into a bottle. It is quite the event to watch as three of the men on the ground try to figure out they are going to get the cow milked, while the one that roped the animal gets to watch. It is always entertaining, and these cows definitely give these boys a run for their money. Often show them whose boss after they are milked. It was another great day at the rodeo for me. As always, just like Kelliher, Sheho put on an amazing day. Mother Nature was even kind enough to give us great weather for the day. The Sheho Ranch Rodeo is not a day to miss for it always shows a great time. And just like the Kelliher Rodeo it is a day I do not miss! "Well, it's bulls and blood | It's dust and mud | It's the roar of a Sunday crowd | It's the white in his knuckles | The gold in the buckle | He'll win the next go 'round | It's boots and chaps | It's cowboy hats | It's spurs and lattigo | It's the ropes and the reins | And the joy and the pain | And they call the thing rodeo." On a rainy Saturday morning those lyrics, and that song, ran through my head as I prayed things would let up and the rodeo in Kelliher would be a go for the evening! To my luck, things worked out perfectly. Things went on as planned, and I didn't get rained out!!! Even though the clouds looked pretty scary. I was very glad that all who were to participate in putting it all on were willing to come out and do it in the muck. The evening was amazing with excellent performances from all involved! The pick up riders did a good job getting everyone off safely and where they needed to be. Through the mess and muck they got to the right spots which was great to see. It was very interesting to watch everyone try and get the job done through all the mud, and water. Everyone put their best efforts in, and gave it their all. Which from a spectator's point of view made for one very interest show to take in on the early Saturday evening. The best part about this rodeo was the fact that I got to take in my favorite event... The bull riding! I did not get rained out, and I was very happy to watch the bulls give it their all during the events. Some very fine looking, well at least to me, bulls came out to do the job. My favorite picture of the day was of one speckled bull at the end of his ride. He just seemed so proud of himself. I love the bulls. They are amazing animals. Most think I am crazy for it, but they just warm up a certain soft spot that no other animal in the rodeo can seem to steal. All in all it was a great evening! As always Kelliher delivered a great time. The people who put on the rodeo are great, hard working people, and they deserve recognition for keeping the tradition alive in the small town. I am very glad to live so close to this town, and this event. I always make sure to make this rodeo every year, and it is always worth it!
On the Canada Day long weekend I got to be a guest at the wedding of an amazing couple. When people talk about people making a perfect pair these two would be the shining example. There were so many beautiful smiles, and giggles through out the entire time. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I also got the pleasure of helping out a bit, and running the photo booth at the wedding. It proved to be a very fun time as I got to see what props everyone picked, and all the fun they had posing for the camera. The pictures would keep me busy for days after, but they were well worth the time. They were thoroughly enjoyable to do. After the night at the wedding I got to get my feet wet spending some much needed time lakeside.... which did include a pole in hand. I could say I finally lived up to the name of Fish Girl Photography! All around the Canada day long weekend was a successful. For I even caught a fish to eat for supper... a good ol' Northern Pike. He made for some very decent eating, especially since he was a small gaffer I was able to catch just off shore. But like all fishing trips that happen I got slightly distracted with my camera, and had to take in some of the beautiful plants I seen growing along the banks, along with the amazing sunset that occurred that night! During the sunset I was lucky enough to capture a couple pictures of the beautiful bride from the weekend in her dress. I am lucky enough that she is indeed my cousin, and hence the day at the lake was a family day for us all... so we happen to just be in right place at the right time. The pictures were so much fun to do, and then we all had the last minute idea to try and catch the bride with the Canada day fireworks. Well, let's just say it was quite the adventure! We spent a good half hour running from place to place trying to find the best vantage point. I am glad my cousin is such an amazing sport because other wise the pictures would not have turned out as great as they did. It was quite the fun time with lots of laughs. A very perfect ending to such a fun wedding weekend spent with family. Also a great photo leaning opportunity for myself. I am so lucky to have such helpful family! |
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