HELLO CITY-SLICKERS non-fiction

Hello city slickers and other good people of worldly fame. Both Esther, my wife and I, speak fondly of our fabulous visits with our daughter Sue, husband Dave and two grandchildren, Travis and Matt, near Edmonton, Alberta.

How interesting it was to be part of a small ranch operation, where there is so much work and everyone has to 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 rich grass.

A myriad of responsibilities to share amid the joy of a seven-day workload: clearing land from fallen timbers, shoveling sheep goo-goo; is all part of the plan.

We learned many bits of information from life on the farm, which we wish to share. One day, you too may spend time visiting Alberta, and view the same beauty we have seen.

Sparrows, Blue Jays, Chick-a-Dees twirled and scooted in meandering antics. New to us, was an abundance of Nuthatchers and Magpies. The Magpies presented a beautiful collection of feathers, with tail feathers eight inches long.

Magpies 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.

Imagine, 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 eastern Canada, they are called ponds), in co-operation with Ducks Unlimited.

Other interesting facts observed included Maple trees not being part of the landscape in Alberta. Unfortunately that excludes beautiful red shades of colour 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 their speed is something to behold. Especially when they know a sweet smelling and delicious apple waits.

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 lbs mounds of hay, in one week, at a cost of $40 each. I call that very expensive munchies.

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. It is interesting donkeys are excellent guardians of the pasture, especially protecting sheep, coyotes being very fearful of those flying hooves.

White Poplar is very noticeable in Alberta. In fact we never noticed this tree anywhere else before, and it was in plentiful supply on our daughter’s farm.

Natural ponds on country property are called sloughs, and provide shelter and breeding areas for a wide variety of ducks.

Yes, a 40-acre hobby farm in Alberta can be full of work, but fun. Sincere wishes from city-slickers who wouldn’t mind being country bumpkins.

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© Richard L. Provencher 2009
All Rights Reserved