Moosie Comes A-Calling

It has been a long winter...

We have had snow on the ground for months...

There isn't much forage...



Deer and Moose are coming into town for richer pickings despite the close proximity to humans and potential danger. Last weekend, we had a juvenile bull come into our yard. He browsed the apple trees, snuffled around for half an hour and then finally decided to bugger off. He was uninterested in us opening the back door, Ogri's one deep "WOOF" from behind Charlie, nor the feel of the deck beneath his hooves. This was a very exciting experience for a boy from industrial England and a girl from Vancouver Island (where moose never got to) especially considering we are in the middle of town. 

Ogri a Show Dog?

Well, we have been taking our Mighty Og to puppy training. Kim, his beloved instructor has joined the growing throng of His admirers and is determined that we show this unusual breed at the next Dog Show being held in the Peace this Spring.

Though we are a little concerned at his ability (and ours) of accomplishing this small feat, we are game to try...

One area of concern: making a curious puppy stand still with his feet in the correct positioning having spent months teaching him to sit. (Actually, forget the correct positioning, it will be amazing just to get him to stand when we want him to!)

Scruffy is the new groomed, in Ogri's case, as the breed standard states he be in the natural state as he is a working dog (Ogri seems to think that working means being a very good chewer!) 

Self Help

The time is now, the battlefield is life, the soldier is you...

So says Hal & Cindy Savage, the self-professed self help gurus in "Self Help" Tina's first venture into the world of theatre. Though disappointed in the cancellation of the Full Monty, in which she would have had a role, Tina had a fantastic time being the props girl for this production. Every night brought lots of giggles with the rest of the cast and crew. Blair, the director, seems to be determined to get Tina on to the stage yet. Stay tuned... 

Beware of rig moves...

Charlie has been working away in the gas fields 250 km north of Fort St John. Most of the roads are winter access only roads which means that they are made of ice and cross what would be muskeg if the temperature were above freezing. Lots of these roads are only one vehicle wide and you have to be in constant radio contact with other drivers, otherwise you could run into 250 tonnes of drilling rig on a blind corner, such as the one pictured here.

The rules of the road are the bigger vehicle stays on it and the smaller vehicle bales into the ditch....

Charlie has been up there for a month with possibly another month to come. Most of the maintenance and new construction on the wells and facilities is carried out between December and March. Next time, you turn on your gas cooker to make a cup of tea (or in Canadian: your gas stove) think of all of the workers toiling in the gas fields in the middle of a northern winter to make it possible.