Halloween was a night to remember! I loved that I got to enjoy it all at the Grain Millers Harvest Showdown in Yorkton, Saskatchewan. It was filled with spooky scenes, and fun costumes. Along with that it was filled with fun adventures, and knights in shining armour! The night started with an amazing showing of skills, and horsemanship when I got to watch my first ever show of mounted shooting. It was an amazing sport to watch, and I can't wait for the day that I can try my hand at it. The trick of the game is to ride a pattern on horseback, and shoot all the balloons in the pattern using blanks. The sport is a young sport, and is just starting to take off. To participate on needs not only a horse, but a restricted firearms license. After that I got to see an excellent show from a couple of riders from the Fantastic 4 Trick Riding Team. They were dressed up in their Halloween best, and it was amazing. The final big event of the night was getting the chance to watch Full Metal Jousting, and it even hosted by the amazing man off the famous television show himself, Shane Adams! It was a very educational, along with entertaining night, of knight games. We got to learn all the training it takes it become a Knight. The knights we saw that day were a variety from Eastern Canada, and the United States. The knights were from the International Knights of Valour team. The knights chose their ladies of court that they fought for, and even gave "gold" [gold wrapped candy] to their court like the traditional knights. The games were very interesting to watch, and especially when I got to see a knight cut a watermelon close to the head of a random assistant. The jousting was also awesome, and I got to watch as a knight got de-horsed. All round it was amazing show. I fully suggest going out to see any jousting event! It is a once in a lifetime opporunity. Well done Grain Millers Harvest Showdown it was quite the 25th anniversary bash!
0 Comments
Last Saturday was a very exciting day for me for I got to go see the Professional Bull Rider Canadian Finals in Saskatoon! It was an amazing time, and of course there was lots of neat fire related displays. The rodeo clown was very charming, and all the cute bulls there just made my heart sing. The introduction to all the riders was a very impressive show, and you could cut the testosterone & pride that filled the air with a knife. There is no doubt these men love what they do, and that there is a whole group of loyal people behind them to support them in what they do. The bulls also love what they do, so much so in fact the odd performer would not want to leave the arena ring. Watching those bulls I wasn't sure who loved the crowd more the rider or the bull. Either way it was an awesome sight to take in. If you’re wondering while looking at these pictures, yes I did use Instagram to capture the event. Being a professional finals event I felt that it was rude to bring in my camera to get shots, and decided it was more worth my time challenging myself to capture the event with Instagram. It provided its own level of challenges but it got the job done, along with a few interesting surprises along the way. As you can see to the left it caught the picture of the rodeo clown making his world record for catching a marshmallow in his mouth! However, I did miss the moment when he out did his world record by having his thrower toss one down from the catwalk above the big screen. All in all it was a great night of great bull riding. It is definitely something I can't wait to experience more. I am thoroughly glad I used Instagram to capture things rather than my camera. It was nice to just relax, sit back, and really watch the show. The awards at the end of the night were another great thing to take in. It was worth the extra wait in the car line up for this. Though next year I might actually get a picture with the rodeo clown.... next year that will be my goal! Though I have to say my favorite part of the night was actually at the beginning. Background: This past summer while at Calgary Stampede a Saskatchewan bull rider by the name of Aaron Roy got seriously injured while riding. It was amazing to see that night the support from the PBR, and the crowd, that was shown when this man was given a special introduction. I saw people give this young man a standing applause, and he sure deserved it... considering the early reports said he may never walk again. While long story short he can and he stood there with pride as the people showed him an amazing applause of support. It is very heartwarming to see how much people care for each other in such a dangerous sport. It sure makes me happy to say that bull riding is one of my favorite sports. With the month of October flying by, and thoughts of winter gathering in my mind, I thought it would be a good idea to take a walk to appreciate what little fall we have left here. I decided to do this on the walking trails close to my home since well I have never visited them before, and now was a better time then later. The trails did not disappoint. They gave an amazing view of the local surrounding habitat, and even a good view of the local golf course. I can't wait to spend more time out on these trails. I might actually have finally invest in a set of snow shoes or cross country skies! Oh my! These trails are a true little hidden gem in my local area. I am so glad that they exist so close to my home. The best part of the night was walking it during the golden hour, which in the fall makes everything not just golden but seems to have almost pink hue to it as well. All the leaves, and branches, and other things that are now brown instead of green give the meaning of the golden hour a different perspective. It is a truly beautiful time of day, and I am so glad to walk the trails soaking up the last sun of the day. Hope your October is treating you just as well! On a warm, and golden, October Saturday I found myself on the road. I was on my way to the Wapella Rodeo! Another rodeo so close to the last one made me a very happy camper. What also made me a happy camper was the scenic drive that I got to take through the eastern part of the Qu'Appelle River Valley on the way to the rodeo. It was the perfect fall day for it since the sun was out, the weather warm, and the leaves golden in the hills. I couldn't help but stop to take a few pictures to share before I got to the rodeo itself. After the scenic pit stop it was off to the rodeo, which at this time of year is done indoor. The arena was packed with friendly people, and there was no lack of cowboy boots, or cowboy hats, among them. It was a great way to spend my Saturday afternoon. I got the pleasure of watching the Prime Time animals give it their all as they performed beautifully in the arena. The pickup riders did an excellent job handling the animals, and getting everyone off and out of harm’s way. The calves were having a great time running, and you could definitely see the feeling of disappointment on their face when they got caught. It was a pretty darn fantastic thing to watch while sitting in a ground filled hockey arena. The speed at which the animals moved was rather impressive that day. The blur in the pictures that I caught that day are testament to just how fast they were moving. And this time I had to save the pictures from my two favorite events for last.... team roping and bull riding. I have expressed before how much I love bull riding [those bulls just steal my heart every time]. But I don't think I have ever expressed how much I thoroughly enjoy watching team roping. It would be my second favorite event [nothing beats that cute bull face in my heart] due to the fact I am always greatly impressed by the skill it takes to get this job done. Now, I am impressed by all the skills it takes to do any event in rodeo but for me this one takes the cake. Probably due to the fact I lack any general ability to rope, but also because being a person that has done mostly solo sports I always find it impressive when I see people work as a team together. That day in Wappella I saw just that, excellent team work. It was impressive to watch as not only as the two riders worked together but to watch the riders work with their horses to have them be in the spot they needed them... then on top of that get that rope where it needed to be! I was impressed every single time! I was also impressed by: a) the bulls as they bucked with what appeared to be everything they had, b) the antics of the rodeo clown that day... he put on a great performance, and c) the great job the bull fighters did at keeping the bulls distracted and away from the rider. It is easy to say I was rather impressed the entire time, and Wapella rodeo will for sure be one I show up to in the future! I thought I would end this blog post with some pictures I stopped to take on the ride home. I will admit this was my first trip to the Wapella area, and so with that I decided to make a round trip on the way home to travel down some roads I haven't been down before. I am sure glad I did because I found these amazing windmill structures along the number one highway between Wapella and Moosomin. I quickly as I could found a gravel road to detour on, and had to go take a closer look. Now I have seen these amazing giants before, but I have not had the opportunity to get this up close and personal with them. So long story short I was a very happy little camper on that drive home. Then because that day could only seem to get better with every turn... I got to experience a beautiful sunset over the Qu'Appelle valley. It was the perfect way to see the day out. A perfect end to such an amazing day of going to rodeo. It was probably one of my favorite days of rodeo chasing I have done. I am very happy that I got the opportunity to do it, and hope that next year at Wapella rodeo it will show me the same great day [I have a feeling though that it will]. The month of October has been a month where I have been able to actually explore my new home a bit. It has been some excellent time running around the country side and finding all these neat little places. The Cutarm Reservoir is one of my favorite finds. I happened it upon it one evening right around sunset, and I have to say it was rather an amazing experience. The fall leaves with the pink water gave an at calm feeling. I was also visited by some little locals while I was down there. It was a welcome surprised as they swam in the water around me. The night was warm, well as warm as a October fall eve can be, and the surroundings quiet. I took this time to explore my creative side of nature photography. The lensbaby lens helped out a bit, but my favorite shot would be the blurred abstract I got of the water and fall leaves. It was a night made for creating something special, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Well, after over a year of owning my DSLR I finally bought a new lens. I bought a Lensbaby Spark! It is quite the crafty little lens that has a completely different focusing system than my other lens. The lensbaby spark has a set aperture in it, and it focuses by compressing the lens. How much you compress the lens, and tilt the lens, creates the focusing affect. All the blur in these photos are caused from that compressing motion while shooting. All these images are straight out of camera [SOOC] to show what it is like to work with the lens. Another unique thing about the lens since it is of simple construct and not the usual lens my DSLR does not pick up the lens. Therefore when I shoot with it I have to shoot in Manual mode with no exposure meter or any of the helpful tools I use to help me get my shot. It creates a whole new challenging aspect of taking photos, and one has to do a few test photos before you can figure out how the proper settings. A little tip: while working with this camera have a sheet around to build a cheat sheet of settings for later [I, however, have not done this and hope that by memory, and knowledge of light, will be able to keep this information on hand in my head]. I hope you enjoy the photos I took, and are as impressed by this lens ability to capture things as I am. For those who want more information on the Lensbaby Spark lens I have added a couple videos from the Lensbaby site about the Spark. Hope you enjoy! The beginning of October brought many falling leaves, and the beautiful sprinkling of frost on the branches. Being outside on these October days was amazing. It was being in a fairytale. The crisp frost, and the eerie fog in the morning, made the landscape feel like some Halloween tale. Which works out nicely since October is not only the Month of falling leaves, but of pumpkins and Halloween. My adventures found me in moments of interesting circumstances which included coming face to face with a surprised coyote taking a drink of water, along with watching a Great Blue Heron stroll in the creek. All in all it was a beautiful way to begin October. I also got to explore a part of the Qu'Appelle Valley that I hadn't before. It was a beautiful time of year to be discovering this part of the valley. As the leaves were turning, and everything in the valley just felt like it was at peace. The beginning of October also brought in one of Mother Nature's beautiful natural shows... the Northern Lights! I was lucky enough to have a beautiful backyard to experience the Northern Lights from. I hope you enjoy the soft greens and purples that are found in the next couple pictures as much I did. October is truly a magical time of year. So the end of my September found me spending not doing just one thing I love, but all three. Fishing, Farm time, & Rodeo. I wrote about the Kamsack Rodeo in my last post, and now I get to write about the other two here. I will start with my time down at Theodore Reservoir. I was down on there celebrating World Rivers Day by participating in a Great Canadian Shoreline Clean up Event put on by the Assiniboine Watershed Stewards. It was a beautiful September Sunday, and the day was a success. I only spent a few hours doing the clean up, and then hopped out early to do some fishing, along with go to the farm. However, with the great weather and good amount of people that showed up from what I saw the day was a great success. The reservoir itself looked like the perfect fall scene with all the fishermen along the shoreline, and all the changing leaf colors. I had lots of fun scampering along the rocks picking garbage, and stopping to capture the beauty of the fall colors. I happened to manage to find a woolly bear larva , and was able to deduce from the band & lack of spikes that our winter prediction is that we won't have much snow, and it should be a milder winter [hopefully this is correct]. It was a beautiful afternoon that I couldn't have asked for anything better. After I was done with the garbage I moved on to some fishing, and even caught myself a Northern Pike [but I let him go instead of having him for supper]. It was a perfect September afternoon. The farm looked amazing decorated in it's fall gold. It gave a beautiful "sparkle" to the yard, and surrounding fields. It, like the reservoir, looked like a perfect fall scene. I was so happy to be out there to experience it. I tried my best to capture the fall gold leaves out their true glory. Along, with spending time doing that I spent some time with my beautiful kittens that went from being garage kitty's to full on full-time farm kitties. They adapted to the change so well, and were ripping around the yard with all the full excitement that only cute kitty's can have. It was a very relaxing way to end the month, and brought much happiness to me. Then the day could not have been more perfect, Mother Nature gave me the most amazing sunset I could have asked for to end that perfect last Sunday in September. The colors were amazing, and I was very happy to be fortunate enough to be able to experience it. Rural life has so much overlooked beauty that it makes me so happy to be able to share the moments when life, and Mother Nature, line up just right. With the end of September coming in it brought a great thing with it. The end of September brought rodeo! Kamsack Indoor Rodeo to be exact. It was an amazing time, and lived up to all the hype I had heard about it. It definitely was one of the best rodeos in the area, and the arena was packed! The stock was looking rather spectacular that day, and gave everyone a proper challenge to get their job done. It was definitely a great time for all those watching from the stands. I was very pleased to see these ladies perform again. They had stolen my heart when I saw them perform their amazing talents at Yorkton Counting Coup Rough Stock rodeo. They performed just as well at Kamsack that night. It was amazing to see all the things these ladies could do, along with how well trained their horses were to help them complete these stunts. If you have not had a chance to see this amazing work in action then I strongly suggest you take in a show sometime soon. It is truly a one of kind thing to behold, and worth the time to see the amazing teamwork that goes on between the riders & their horses. Then of course it was onto my favorite part of the night... the bulls. Seriously how could you not love that face! They just steal my heart every time... every single time. The bulls put on a good show, and gave those boys a run for their money. They were also very photogenic which is always a plus for me watching. It was a great evening, and everything went swimmingly. It was a good show that had my nose up to the fence as close as I could get. Which also happen to be because the great rodeo photographer Randy Lewis of Lewis Images gave me the great opportunity that night to not only have a chance to talk shop with him, but to also let me experience the rodeo from a different part than the stands I usually take the rodeo in. It was so amazing to be up close to the action, and I would love to do it again sometime. I can't thank Randy enough for the opportunity, and I think you should all go check out his amazing images! September was a crazy month of turning leaves, garden picking, and moving. It was a crazy month, and life got away on me, along with this blog. I am hoping to catch up with it soon by doing a September in review in parts. This first part I will give a review of my garden time, and how fall is looking around here. The leaves are changing, sunflowers are in bloom and things are coming off the garden. My wheat was looking amazing, and the bees that were buzzing gave a great feel to the garden as I pulled that last things off. I loved the time I spent in the garden this summer, and taking off the harvest was a beautiful, but sad thing for it signaled the end of my garden fun. A bitter sweet end almost, especially since it also signals the end of summer. Fall is truly here, and I can no longer hide from it... even if I try to hide from the changing leaves. This fall I got to spend some excellent time in the Qu'Appelle Valley watching as the leaves turned slowly. It was a sight to behold, and one I was very thankful to enjoy. The valley was alive with color, along with being alive with harvest as it was in full swing in the valley as I toured around. I totally fell in love all over again with the valley as the leaves began to change. The gold color in the trees gave a special feel to the amazing hills that make up the valley. It contrasted the beautifully blue waters of the river. It made me truly thankful to be getting the opportunity to experience this in the valley. My September had me exploring all the far reaching parts of the valley, and all its hidden, beautiful nooks. I got to experience parts of the valley that I have never seen, and this was the truly most amazing part of my September. I think I have found a place that I could truly call home for some time. It was so amazing in the East part of the valley, and it truly brought me to tears with its beauty in parts. As the wind blew through it felt like I heard something whispering to me "You are Home". It was the best part of my September. All in all my September was amazing with all the glory of fall beauty coming in, and the beautiful days that happened in that month. That beautiful Saskatchewan scenery also made my September special. |
Categories
All
|