Monday, August 20, 2007

Thunderstorms, Lightning, Steers, and the Internet Goes Down and the Riders Game Called for Severe Weather

It's been an eventful week at Farmer G's out here in Saskatchewan. Dad's friend Larry and his wife Toni came out to visit for a couple days bringing their two oldest grandchilden Jordan (6) and Ethan (5) from Edmonton to see what it's like on the farm. We drove them up in the truck to go see where the cows were (boy they travel around!). Jordan had a great idea. She said, "Farmer G why don't you just put them in the back of your truck and take them home?" The logic of a six-year-old is great. Ethan said, "Maybe you should tell them you miss them and want them to come home."

Even if Dad tried that they'd know he was lying. It's funny as hell because they stand all together, real still, looking at us like, "Oh crap there's that guy in the truck again! How'd he find us?"

After Jordan and Ethan left, Skyler (aged border collie/former flyball champion who doesn't know when to quit playing ball) had a half day to recuperate before my brother and his wife came for dinner with my nearly four-year-old nephew who loves to play ball with the dog. The cats weren't quite so trusting, they seemed to sense that "HE" was coming. Zack (nephew) loves cats but four-year-olds are a bit too excited for cats.

So of course Dad was excited to watch the Riders play Winnipeg on Saturday night. It was neck and neck, the Riders were coming back from a couple bad plays that cost them points to get ahead of the Bombers when...... BZZZOT!! Lightning, rain, the referee evacuated the teams from the field (the drunks in the stands didn't leave so quickly) and then CBC lost their feed as the power was lost at the stadium. I thought Dad was going to have a coronary. "18 minutes left! For the love of 18 minutes!"

At least Dad got to watch America's Got (No) Talent to keep him occupied and waiting, then we all decided we were too tired, we'd see if they played the remaining 18 minutes the next day. Nope, nothing on the tv channels that the 18 minutes were being played, and Dad kept missing all day the sports scores until the late news that explained they waited an hour, the weather calmed down, and they resumed the game around 12:30am. Just a bit late for some of us. But at least they won and are holding first place in the west.

Then we realize that we have no internet. No matter, it should be up by morning. So we think. Okay, one day without the internet, no big deal. Then Monday morning comes, still no internet, and I realize I have to get the Caucus minutes to Melissa somehow. I print them out and try faxing them, but the fax machine was busy. So what do you do when you can't send a fax? Go to the liquor store and buy wine. But that was fine, by the time we got back the internet was back up and running.

So things have settled down again, we had a quiet day with the wind and a little rain, getting our daily cow-watch report from various neighbours. Today it was Lester, he called to let Dad know that they are now penned up in his pasture and if he can manage to get them in his cow trailer he'll bring them home. So they might end up back in their pen here on the farm before I have to come home. Although it's not like I haven't seen them, we drive over and visit the cows.

I asked Dad if all three cows were charolais or if the brown two were simmental or limousin (my boss was a cattle rancher; knows the breeds by sight), he said they were "dead meat".

Which is, as I'm sure you all have surmised, how the cows will all end up.

Heading into Toon Town tomorrow!

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