It's Cold

No surprise, it's cold in Anahim Lake.  More of a surprise (to everyone else) that it also appears to be cold everywhere else in the western provinces.  
Not gonna lie, I don't even care.  At least the ground is SOLID!  I'm not going to think yet about what a disaster next spring will be....right now the ground is hard, and I'm delighted about it!   Woohoo!  Cheers to not splashing down my driveway for the first time .....  ever, since living at Five Mile (we moved in June).  

 Morning Moon, -27 Degrees

Evening Moon rising over Five Mile

Although there is not much snow at all, we've had to bring in and start feeding all the cows.  They would have been fine still out rustling in the frozen swamps (there is heaps of feed!) but the extended cold is just too hard on them and they'll loose weight quickly if not brought in.  Rounding them up in this weather is generally not difficult.....they are more than willing to come home and eat hay.  A handful did give me a good run the other day though.  They were trying to get home....but just not in the direction I wanted them to go.  I was on foot as we were mostly just scouting when we found them and the area is still too nasty to bring a horse in.  Lots of places to break through the frozen crust and into nasty mud holes......or over absolutely glare ice.  And a couple hours ride from home.  Lol.  Riding in the tractor seemed like a better option.  Mum fed while dad and I scouted around, making sure no one was stuck behind a creek.  Anyhow, I was sure the heck wishing I had a horse!  Running through the timber and brush, trying to get around determined animals, while dressed like the Michelin Man, is not my idea of fun!  Luckily, good old Dealer Dog was with me (of course) and did 95% of the work.  I mostly just tried to keep up.  He pulled some awesome moves for me (bringing back cows I didn't even know were gone) and I sure appreciated having him.     

Dealer Dog watching carefully.

     In other news, due to a variety of circumstances, I am now officially a homeschooling mother.  Wow.  Can honestly say it was never something I wanted to do, and generally always shuddered at the very thought.  Those that know me are probably sitting back in shock right now.....and yes, you should be.  Haha.  But I'm very happy to say that it is going very well, the boys are happy and I'm happy too.  (Being 'forced' to be inside teaching at -25 isn't a bad thing.....)  We are slowly adjusting to our new routine and I think it will be a huge benefit for everyone.  Myself included, I was truly getting sick of the driving!  We have all of our books and materials, and a great teacher for support, but my biggest issue is 'how' to teach! From learning to tell time with Ben, to fractions with Jackson....a whole new world is opening up for all of us.  I honestly have no idea how homeschooling parents in the past managed without the internet.  Honestly.  The only way I'm going to get through this successfully is with the full support of Google, Khan Academy and Pinterest, among others.  Having the resources and other peoples experience at my fingertips has been a huge asset, although time consuming to find sometimes.  Any ideas or suggestions you readers might have would be appreciated, or perhaps someone who has, or wants, teaching experience would like to come for an extended visit.....say, during calving season?  Haha.  

Ack, alright, I gotta go.  It's almost midnight and I still haven't prepped for tomorrow's lessons (were you wondering again why I hadn't been blogging, when it's winter and in theory I should have time?)  Now you know.  

Don't let the fires go out!

Cheers,

Punky