When I was in high school an innovative physical education teacher introduced a program designed to help students develop the habit of exercising regularly. At that time, I was a total non athlete but the 100 Mile Club challenge captured my interest and I signed up. It was a very simple concept. A huge chart went up on the wall of the gymnasium and participants filled in a tiny square for each mile that they ran, jogged or walked. My mother used the odometer on the family car to figure out one and two mile courses around our neighbourhood and I was on my way.

I don’t remember how long we had to complete the challenge or what the reward for those who finished was. I do remember, however, that a sprained ankle took me out less than half way to the goal. I was an awkward teen and it seemed I was always spraining something! Though I was happy to have an excuse to miss phys ed class, I was deeply disappointed that I couldn’t finish my 100 miles.

I haven’t quite figured out what motivated me to go from being that awkward, non athletic teenager to the fairly fit middle aged woman that I am today. I suppose that marrying a phys ed teacher might have had something to do with it! We have a mini gym in our basement complete with three weight benches and lots of free weights. Richard and I lift weights 3 times a week all winter long.

Though I’m not sure what caused it, I’ve been being treated for tendinitis in both shoulders for the past few months. They’re much better than they were and I’ve been able to start exercising them with resistance bands but when I saw my doctor at the beginning of this month he cautioned me not to start thinking about lifting weights. When I asked what else I could do for exercise, his answer was simple. Walk!

I’ve always enjoyed walking and the treadmill that we added to our basement gym several years ago means that I can do it even when the weather is bad. As I thought about what the doctor said and the fact that I might not be able to lift weights this winter, I decided to keep track of the amount of walking I do. That’s when I remembered the 100 Mile Club. It may be a little after the fact, but I’ve decided to take up the challenge again and walk 100 miles! I know, it’s not the 60s anymore and Canada has long since gone metric but the treadmill measures in miles and I can use Google Pedometer to calculate the distance that I walk outdoors in either miles or kilometers so for this challenge, miles it is.

I’m off to a good start. In fact, since I started keeping track three weeks ago I’ve already walked 22 miles! It’s easier to stick with an exercise program of any kind if you have a fitness buddy or make yourself accountable to someone so if you read my blog regularly you’ll notice my mileage at the top of each upcoming post. By committing myself to reporting to you, I hope to complete my 100 miles and perhaps many more. Hopefully there are no sprained ankles to stop me this time!

I wish I could say that the blog has been silent these past couple of weeks because I’ve been busy combining wheat and canola. Instead, I’ve been bemoaning the cold wet weather that has kept us off the fields. As each day goes by and winter creeps closer, the situation becomes more and more critical. Not only does time become short but the longer we have to wait, the more the quality of the grain deteriorates. What looked like a bountiful harvest a few weeks ago is in danger of being lost and the mood of the community is sombre.

As long as I’ve lived in a rural community, I’ve recognized the importance of the weather to the local economy but never so much as since I started working on the farm during seeding and harvest. Now I check the forecast several times a day. Finally today we have reason for hope! Though the sky is gray and the ground wet, there’s no more rain in the 14 day forecast! If it’s correct, and oh how we hope it is, it will still be several days before we can be back in the fields. Not only does the mud have to dry so that the heavy equipment doesn’t get stuck in the fields but the grain itself will spoil if it’s combined and stored when its moisture content is too high.

We also have another reason for optimism. In over 60 years of farming, Louis (the farmer that we work for) has never seen a year without a harvest! Some have been better than others, of course. There have been lean years and years of plenty but never a year without any grain in the bins. We trust that this will not be the first.

In church yesterday, we were reminded of the words of the Old Testament prophet, Habbakuk, who said “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength.” (3:17-19a) Ultimately, our hope is in Him.

Richard is out swathing canola so I’ll be combining soon and I can hardly wait! I love harvest time!

Usually when we combine, the straw is cut up and spread back over the field. Last year, however, the cutters came off before I started combining wheat. Another farmer who was in need of bales had arranged to come in and bale it. When we seeded this spring, we discovered that he’d left a lot of baling twine laying in the fields; definitely poor farming etiquette! It was constantly getting tangled around the equipment and that’s when I came to the conclusion that I wasn’t a real farmer yet. A real farmer carries a pocket knife!

When we travel, I like to buy practical souvenirs; things we can actually use rather than fancy knickknacks that collect dust. This summer when we visited the John Deere Pavilion in Moline, Illinois, home of the John Deere farm implement company, I knew exactly what I wanted to buy. A pocket knife, of course! With Richard’s help, I chose one made of stainless steel with the John Deere logo imprinted on the shaft. It has a wooden handle and a 3 inch locking blade.

I also bought this, simply because I loved it and sometimes a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do!

When I told my son, Nathan, that I’d bought myself a knife, his immediate response was “That’s not the mom I grew up with!” When my boys were young, I was quite nervous about them handling knives. Richard, being a farm boy himself, thought they ought to be able to. Well, Nate, who knew back then that Mama would grow up to be a farmer? From now on, when I’m out in the field, I’ll have my knife in my pocket just like the rest of them!

Exploring caves is a passion for our son, Nathan. Knowing this, I decided that I ought to share the experience with him. Nathan wisely chose Canyon Creek Ice Cave near Bragg Creek, one of the easier caves in the area, for our outing yesterday. I’ve been into tourist caves in eastern Canada, the US and Vietnam before; guided tours along lighted pathways, but this was entirely different.

Our adventure began with a 7 km walk along a gravel service road that is closed to the public. It would have been much easier if we could have driven to the bottom of the path that leads up Moose Mountain to the mouth of the cave but the road was closed several years ago in an attempt to discourage inexperienced and poorly prepared hikers and cavers from exploring the area and thus reduce accidents.

The vertical black slash toward the top left of the photo is the mouth of Canyon Creek Ice Cave.

The trail begins as an easy uphill path through the forest but eventually opens onto a somewhat precarious scree slope of broken jagged rock. Nathan, as sure-footed as a mountain goat, negotiated this with ease but I found scrambling across it a bit scary!

When we reached the mouth of the cave, we rested on a large rock platform before going inside. There we donned coveralls, knee pads, gloves, headlamps and helmets. Though I’ve spent most of my life battling a fear of heights, I’ve never experienced claustrophobia. Once inside the cave, closed in by walls of rock, I felt entirely secure.

Rather than entering the main chamber through the wide cave entrance, we chose a narrow side passage. I quickly discovered that this isn’t an activity for people of wider girth! There were spots that I was barely able to squeeze through!

The temperature inside the cave remains steady at slightly above zero. Unlike many caves, there are no stalagmites or stalactites but there are tiny fossils embedded in the rock and the back wall of the main chamber is solid ice. Sliding ourselves over the rock slabs of a low passage to the left of this wall brought us into a smaller chamber and from there, we lay on our backs and maneuvered our bodies through a crack that was only about a foot high! Though this required some interesting contortions, it was such fun that I found myself laughing in delight!

Of course, when you go in, you must also go out and when you go up, you must also go down! Making our way back out of the cave was fine but climbing back down the mountain was a challenge for me. Nathan was a patient guide, however, helping me find secure hand and footholds as we made our way back across the rocky slope.

After walking another 7 km, and returning to Calgary, a hot bath was most welcome! Though I’m a little more aware of some of my muscles and joints than usual today, I’m happy that this old body is still up to this kind of thing and I’m delighted to have had the opportunity to share a great day with Nathan in his milieu.

Once in a while, spoiling the grandchildren is a grandparent’s prerogative and today Richard and I indulged ourselves. We spent the day at the Calgary zoo with Drew and spoiled him rotten!

Of course, we enjoyed the animals… the elephants, camels, zebras, giraffes, wallabies and flamingos to name just a few. Drew’s eyes grew big when both the Siberian tiger and the cougar passed in front of him with only a window separating him from them but, without question, it was the little train that impressed him the most so, of course, he had to have a ride!

The carousel was also a big hit as was the chocolate milk at lunch!

Drew was the best little buddy all day. Though he rested in the stroller once in a while, he walked, ran and climbed until his little legs were worn right out but not a whimper was heard! Finally, though, he had had enough!

I’ve always liked overalls, especially on little people. Maybe that’s because I wore them myself at an early age. In those days, however, I called them “weewalls”. I don’t actually remember that but it’s one of those things that parents love to repeat!

Last time I was in Calgary I went shopping for a sewing project. I found a great pattern and some gorgeous corduroy so here’s what I made. They’re a little big at the moment but should fit Jami-Lee perfectly when winter comes.

Could you make a headband to match, Melaina asked when she saw what I was planning. Here’s what I came up with. Thanks for the inspiration, Janis!

Now that I’m back in Calgary, I need to make another trip to the fabric store. Wonder what I’ll come home with this time?

Once a mom, always a mom. Kids grow up but sometimes they still need their mommies.

Melaina woke up early Tuesday morning with a sore throat, a fever and feeling like death warmed over. Caring for an active two year old and his three month old sister was more than she could manage so her sister-in-law picked Drew up and took him out to the family farm near Cochrane where she and her children were spending a few days.

The following morning, a visit to the doctor confirmed that Melaina was suffering from strep throat so she asked if I could come down for a few days to help out. I wouldn’t have been able to if it wasn’t for my good friend, Louis. Richard had left with our vehicle on Monday morning to spend a week or so helping his brother put up silage and I was without wheels. On Tuesday, however, Louis dropped in to say that he didn’t like the idea of me being alone without a vehicle. He loaned me his truck and when he heard that Melaina was sick, he told me to feel free to take it to Calgary if I wanted to.

I drove down Wednesday afternoon and spent the past couple of days grocery shopping, making meals, washing dishes, doing laundry and changing lots of diapers. It hasn’t all been work though. Drew came home from the farm and we’ve read books, made playdough and enjoyed walking to the playground together. I’ve also had lots of cuddle time with baby, Jami-Lee.

Melaina is clearly on the mend today. Though she’s resting now, she’s baked bread and cleaned the bathroom today and I suspect that she’ll be well enough for me to head for home tomorrow. We’ll be back for more time with the grandkids later this month though as Jami-Lee is being baptized on Melaina’s birthday, August 29.

Drew and his new kitten

Our sleeping princess, Jami-Lee

This evening I did something I’ve never done before. I mowed the lawn! To most people that might not seem like a very big deal but to me it really is.

When I was a child, my father didn’t allow us to play in the yard while he was mowing. Perhaps lawnmowers were more dangerous in those days. I’m not sure but I do know that he was afraid that the mower might throw a rock and one of us would be injured. I’m not sure why this precaution on the part of a caring parent translated into a fear of lawnmowers for me but I was a timid child and it did. Then, many years ago, Richard tipped the mower a bit too much while cutting on a side hill and it did indeed throw a rock with such velocity that he suffered a deep gash in his knee requiring several stitches. That only served to validate my fear.

When our boys were old enough to start mowing, I feared that one of them would lose a hand or a foot or at very least, a toe to that dreadful machine. Knowing deep down that my feelings weren’t logical, however, and not wanting to handicap them with their mother’s foolish fears, I allowed them to go ahead and I’m pleased to report that to this day, they both have all their limbs and digits!

For years I said that if anything happened to Richard, I’d have to hire someone to cut the grass. At first, I was completely serious but as years went by I knew that this probably wasn’t really true. My fear was, however, a handy one to hang onto. After all, if I was afraid of the mower, I wouldn’t ever be expected to use it! Richard, sweet husband that he is, indulged me in this. In recent years, however, we laughed about the fact that I could operate huge tractors and combines but not a simple lawnmower!

Richard left yesterday to spend a week or so helping his brother put up silage. I didn’t go with him this year because I’m being treated for tendinitis in both shoulders and Fred’s machinery would be too hard on them. Before Richard left, I noticed that the grass was getting a bit long and asked him to show me how to start the mower. He cautioned me that I might not want to do that. It wasn’t my shoulders he was concerned about though. He laughingly reminded me that if I mowed the lawn once, I’d never be able to use fear as an excuse to get out of doing it again!

I know that had I asked him too or had he even just known that Richard was away, the kindly neighbour who mowed for us while we were on holiday would have happily come over with his gigantic John Deere ride on and done it for me. I actually wanted to do it myself though; to prove to myself that I had in fact overcome yet another one of my crazy fears. I doubt that my physiotherapist would be thrilled to know what I was up to but, hey, I iced my shoulders as soon as I was done and I feel good!

While we were on holiday a tree fell on our house!

On July 12th a freak storm hit Sedgewick and the surrounding area uprooting mature trees, breaking off others and generally wreaking havoc. We were camped just west of Denver that night and didn’t have internet access so we were totally oblivious to what had happened until about 24 hours later when we began receiving messages and photos from concerned friends and family. Perhaps that was just as well. By the time we heard the news, the tree had been removed and people were able to assure us that the damage was minimal. A friend had also checked our basement and let us know that, unlike many others, it was totally dry. We felt very blessed to have so many caring people watching out for us!

The tree was not ours and the damage was indeed very minor involving only fascia, soffit, eavestroughing and shingles at one corner. There was also damage to one section of the fence.

Other than falling victim to the neighbours’ tree, our property was virtually untouched. The golf course did not fare as well, however. We heard reports of 50 to 60 trees down and had a hard time visualizing what that must look like. Yesterday, we went for a round and found ourselves focusing more on what had happened to the course than on the game itself. In my opinion, a few of the changes are positive ones. An overhanging branch that has been my nemesis since I started playing the game is gone! Hallelujah! A couple of shaded greens will receive a lot more sunlight than in the past which may or may not be good for the grass. Only time will tell. There are a lot of bare spots, however, that take away from the beauty of the course and sadly, some interesting challenges have been lost.

Last night we went out to Louis’ farm to check on the crops. Though the wind had almost flattened a large storage shed and blown one of its heavy doors across the yard, the crops themselves are looking great. The wheat is just beginning to turn colour and as long as the weather doesn’t create any more havoc, we should be ready to begin harvest in a few weeks.

When we traveled with our children, I used to ask each of them “What was the best thing about today?” as I tucked them into their sleeping bags at night. Their answers often amazed me. It wasn’t always the big things that impressed them. Sometimes things that I had hardly noticed were most special to them.

Today, as we made the final leg of our 8675 km trek through ten states and three provinces, Richard and I asked one another a similar question. “What was the highlight of this trip for you?” Richard answered easily that for him it had been the Cross Cultural Orientation event that we attended in Olathe, Kansas. While I agreed that that weekend had been both informative and inspiring, it wasn’t as easy for me to choose one thing from the past five weeks that stood out above all the others.

After thinking about if for a bit, I chose three best things. First of all, spending time with my best friend from high school was very special to me. Secondly, Moab and the time that we spent exploring the spectacular red rock desert surrounding it were all that I had hoped for and had to be included on my list. Then, like the children, I chose something small but something that I’ll long remember. It was unplanned and unexpected but for me, sitting outside the trailer in Kansas City after dark and being surrounded by the twinkling of fireflies was truly magical.