We Are City Slickers

Hello city slickers and other good people of worldly fame. Both Esther and I always enjoy our visit with our daughter Sue, husband Dave and two grandchildren, Travis and Matt, near Edmonton, Alberta. How interesting it is to be part of their small ranch operation, although 40 acres is a lot of work. I never realized there is so much to do and how everyone must do their share.

Fence mending, garage clearing, feeding cows-cat-sheep-horse-llamas-dogs, and donkeys are part of the challenge. Not to forget separating the bulls and moving Dexter cows from one pasture to another, to take advantage of the green grass not yet munched. In one recent dry season, all thirty beef cattle had to be moved to another pasture twenty miles away.

A myriad of responsibilities include the joy of clearing land from fallen timbers and shoveling goo-goo from sheep pens. I learned bits of information from life on the farm, which are tidbits to remember. One day, you too may spend time visiting Alberta, and view the beauty I have seen.

Sparrows, Blue Jays, Chick-a-Dees twirled and scooted in meandering antics. New to me, was an abundance of Nut Hatchers and Magpies. The Magpies presented a beautiful collection of feathers, with tail feathers eight inches long and are not seen in Nova Scotia. They are the size of Blue Jays, except they have white sides, a blue racing stripe on each side and more white on their necks. When they hurry into flight, they take on the appearance of a mini-dragon.

Since my son-in-law is heavily involved in projects, I learned a pair of ducks, are able to fly into a breeding nest, one at a time of course. These two feet long, twelve inch high tubes are located alongside a slough, in co-operation with Ducks Unlimited.

Other interesting facts I observed include Maple trees not being part of the landscape in Alberta. That excludes red shades of color during Autumn-time. A Dexter female cow (they all have horns) is very dangerous if she chases you. Unlike a bull, she keeps her eyes open in order to track her prey. A horse is king of the food supply. Even bulky Dexter cows stand aside when this regal beast comes to munch freshly provided hay.

Hard to believe that donkeys can transform from a plodding nature to that of a racehorse since Apparently they are the best animal to protect the farm since coyotes fear them, and dogs need to be careful too.

A Dexter bull, which is a mini-bull, can bellow with the same velocity and intensity of its normal sized, larger brothers calling from other pastures. 30 Dexter mini-cows, one full sized horse, three donkeys, thirty sheep and four llamas can eat five, 1,700 lb. mounds of hay, in one week, at a cost of $40 each. I call that very expensive munchies, and once during a drought, the price climbed to $70 a large bale.

Once or twice a month, donkey hooves may need to be short clipped if they grow out like little ski hills, causing unsteadiness in their walking. Cost per clipping is $30. Its interesting donkeys are excellent guardians of the pasture, especially protecting sheep, coyotes being very fearful of those flying hooves. Their speed is indeed something to behold, especially when they know a sweet smelling and delicious apple is waiting.

White Poplar is very noticeable in Alberta. In fact I never noticed this tree anywhere else before, and it was in plentiful supply on my daughter’s farm. Natural ponds on country property are called sloughs, and provide shelter and breeding areas for a wide variety of visiting ducks.

Yes, a 40-acre hobby farm in Alberta can be full of work, but fun. I am proud of being a city slicker who wouldn’t mind being a country bumpkin. Well, I have to get back to work now.

© 2010 Richard L. Provencher
Richard’s URL: http://writers.ns.ca/Writers/rprovencher.html