It aint easy working fulltime and ranching fulltime. For the last month I have hit the ground running at about 415am and don't stop until I lay down again about 1030pm. We have had sick calves, so I have been trying to figure out how to cure them and manage them, plus fixing fencing, building new pens, transferring animals around and now getting ready to renew our wedding vows in a couple of weeks so there has been alot of house repairs going on as well. Each time hubby comes home, I have something else repaired and painted. I may not know alot about this ranching thing, but I do have the home decorating down pat! Even figured out how to repair woodpecker damage to the wooden siding of the house and repaired and painted it!!!! Hubby was shocked when he came home! He thought he was in the wrong yard! hahahaa!
To top everything off, as if I didn't have enough hours taken up in the day already, well heck why don't we throw a wedding into the mix!!! Hubby and I are renewing our vows here at the ranch. Thing is, he isn't home for most of the month and so I am left planning everything. I thought I had alot of my bases covered......naaaaaaaa.....of course not! and now I am in a scramble to get things completed! The Lord is in this though as He is in everything else. Everything I need He has brought me right to the bargain to purchase it whether the bargain is the bridesmais dress for 29$ at Walmart in my colours, or various people on Kijiji who's weddings were cancelled or are giving things away from their wedding to the small repair guy in town who just happened to have 4 of the things I was looking for as decorations. God is ALLL over this wedding just as He is in every aspect of our lives and in our relationship.
All three trucks were broken, the tractor broke, all the ATV's are broke down and my bicycle had a flat! I couldn't even catch a break and catch a horse to ride into town! Sometimes when things get tough and things ok EVERY THING goes sideways, those are the times God is the closest and feels the furthest away. Luckily hubby and I realize this, although we do have our own panic attacks about it but we talk eachother off the ledge and continue to love each other unconditionally. We know God is ultimately in control of everything. We can plant the seed and water the seed but ONLY HE can make it grow.
I LOVE MY CRAZY LIFE!
Thursday 20 June 2013
Crazy Times, FIRE!! FIRE!!!
Its been a while since I posted last.....it's been CRAZY TIMES around this ranch for the last two months! More animals, less time, working fulltime plus running a ranch....equals a very tired momma.
My daughter helps so much with chores that I am not sure how I will handle and juggle everything when she moves out at the end of the summer.
Things have eased off a bit to find an hour to squeeze in and sit down to write. So lets see.....we had a 9 acre fire here and we almost, but by the grace of God, lost everything. Had the Lord not changed the direction of the wind, us and a neighbour would be living very different lives right now. Hubby and I received 1st and 2nd degree burns on our hands, face, neck and arms trying to put it out. My right hand is still not completely healed. The fire flared up 4 times after the intial fire, those 4 times, I was home by myself and had to contain animals in the pastures and pens, call 911 and fight the fire with our water pump.
I have to tell you where the Lord impressed upon me and my hubby the most during this initial fire. We had so much snow this winter that in the middle of May we still had snow banks along the fence lines, but the pastures were drying out fast because the snow was evaporating and not melting. In our pens tho, it was melting and we were having a heck of a time trying to dry them out. We were using a pump and pumping the water out into the field. The morning of the fire I went into the pen where the pump was and it was just droning along like it was low on gas. Sure enough I checked it and it was almost but for a few drops, empty. So I shut it down and went about my day with chores and various repairs.
Hubby and I were taking a break and spoke about who should go to town to get more gas for the pump, we got talking and onto another project and no one went to get gas. Out here when you need to move old hay bales, you burn them. We had some old ones that we had been burning all week. We put the lighter to the bale, decided against starting it as the wind had just picked up and squished the flame out with our foot. We turned away to look at our males horses and two minutes later I turned around to see flames spreading into the pen and over the pasture! We grabbed what we could to put it out but nothing was working. Hubby ran for the tractor and I pulled my shirt off, soaked it in the pond of water near by and kept slamming it into the flames to try and put it out. Nothing was working. The tractor caught fire and scorched hubby's arms and face and neck. Our daughter who just got off the bus from school, frantically called 911 and our neighbours. One came with a tractor and started dumping the leftover snow on the flames and the other neighbour came with a cultivator and started turning the soil to bury the flames. Hubby and I ran back to the pen to grab the pump, loaded it on the truck and headed back towards the fire. As I placed the one hose into the pond, hubby is about to start it when I realize and yell to him "THERE'S NO GAS IN IT! NO ONE WENT TO GET GAS!" Hubby looked up at the sky and yelled back "THE LORD WILL PROVIDE!" and when he pulled that string to start it and it whirred to life, both of us were beside ourselves with relief. I held the intake hose under water in the pond, the water was cold and soothing to the burns on my hands. I took turns lifting water up over my burnt shoulders and face. One of the fire fighters had the other end of the hose and was fighting the fire with it. There were 4 fire trucks, two tractors, our pump and a cultivator all going like mad to try and contain the fire. 4.5 hrs later it was out. The minute the fire chief said "Ok I think we got this under control" our pump sputtered and spurted and ran out of gas!!!!!!!! No one realized it except for hubby and myself, that the Lord had allowed that pump to run for all those hours when there was no gas in it and as soon as the danger had passed, He shut it down! God is simply amazing and we thank Him every day for saving us, our ranch, our animals and for making the impossible possible!
The Lord is GOOD ALL THE TIME!!!
My daughter helps so much with chores that I am not sure how I will handle and juggle everything when she moves out at the end of the summer.
Things have eased off a bit to find an hour to squeeze in and sit down to write. So lets see.....we had a 9 acre fire here and we almost, but by the grace of God, lost everything. Had the Lord not changed the direction of the wind, us and a neighbour would be living very different lives right now. Hubby and I received 1st and 2nd degree burns on our hands, face, neck and arms trying to put it out. My right hand is still not completely healed. The fire flared up 4 times after the intial fire, those 4 times, I was home by myself and had to contain animals in the pastures and pens, call 911 and fight the fire with our water pump.
I have to tell you where the Lord impressed upon me and my hubby the most during this initial fire. We had so much snow this winter that in the middle of May we still had snow banks along the fence lines, but the pastures were drying out fast because the snow was evaporating and not melting. In our pens tho, it was melting and we were having a heck of a time trying to dry them out. We were using a pump and pumping the water out into the field. The morning of the fire I went into the pen where the pump was and it was just droning along like it was low on gas. Sure enough I checked it and it was almost but for a few drops, empty. So I shut it down and went about my day with chores and various repairs.
Hubby and I were taking a break and spoke about who should go to town to get more gas for the pump, we got talking and onto another project and no one went to get gas. Out here when you need to move old hay bales, you burn them. We had some old ones that we had been burning all week. We put the lighter to the bale, decided against starting it as the wind had just picked up and squished the flame out with our foot. We turned away to look at our males horses and two minutes later I turned around to see flames spreading into the pen and over the pasture! We grabbed what we could to put it out but nothing was working. Hubby ran for the tractor and I pulled my shirt off, soaked it in the pond of water near by and kept slamming it into the flames to try and put it out. Nothing was working. The tractor caught fire and scorched hubby's arms and face and neck. Our daughter who just got off the bus from school, frantically called 911 and our neighbours. One came with a tractor and started dumping the leftover snow on the flames and the other neighbour came with a cultivator and started turning the soil to bury the flames. Hubby and I ran back to the pen to grab the pump, loaded it on the truck and headed back towards the fire. As I placed the one hose into the pond, hubby is about to start it when I realize and yell to him "THERE'S NO GAS IN IT! NO ONE WENT TO GET GAS!" Hubby looked up at the sky and yelled back "THE LORD WILL PROVIDE!" and when he pulled that string to start it and it whirred to life, both of us were beside ourselves with relief. I held the intake hose under water in the pond, the water was cold and soothing to the burns on my hands. I took turns lifting water up over my burnt shoulders and face. One of the fire fighters had the other end of the hose and was fighting the fire with it. There were 4 fire trucks, two tractors, our pump and a cultivator all going like mad to try and contain the fire. 4.5 hrs later it was out. The minute the fire chief said "Ok I think we got this under control" our pump sputtered and spurted and ran out of gas!!!!!!!! No one realized it except for hubby and myself, that the Lord had allowed that pump to run for all those hours when there was no gas in it and as soon as the danger had passed, He shut it down! God is simply amazing and we thank Him every day for saving us, our ranch, our animals and for making the impossible possible!
The Lord is GOOD ALL THE TIME!!!
Tuesday 30 April 2013
R U KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW?
Spring is finally in the air! Animals are frisky, bushes are budding with new life, snow is melting and after 6 months of snow and blizzard like conditions the melting snow was a welcome sight! The melt was slow at first then over the last few days it was quite quick! Water and mud was everywhere! My daughter and I were out in tank tops and using sunscreen as we worked frenzily in the pens, trying to pump all the water out of them to keep the animals dry!
We pumped and pumped but water kept melting and filling the pens back up! Rubber boots almost were not tall enough to keep the water out!
We need to seperate the girl and boy horses as they are becoming a little more friendly in their grooming and interest in eachother! Also two of our female horses for some reason, don't like our calf! They were kicking it and chasing it around the pens. One night as I was trying to keep one particular horse away from the calf, I had to precariously balance one foot on the snow bank and one foot in the poo water pond just to get her out. The poo water was half way up my boot! It was deep! The calf went into the shed and the horse tried to follow it. As I stepped forward to intercept the horse, it turned around to run the other way and it's read end caught my shoulder and down I went! SAT RIGHT IN THE POO POND! I screamed for my daughter who was working in the next pen and she came running! The look of disbelief on her face as she saw me standing soaking wet in the poo pond told her to move quickly and go get my hubby!
She ran all the way down to where he was working and through exhausted panting breaths she explained that I needed help and they both came running! By this time, I had walked out into the drier part of the pen and the two of them came around the corner. I saw a smile start to crack on each of thier faces! " DO NOT EVEN SAY A WORD!" I spoke sternly through my gritted teeth! Both their eyes hit the ground as they walked toward me. "We need to seperate the horses from the cows and I need help" I said as I stood bowlegged, cold and stinky! My boots were full of poo water, my pants and under gaunch were full of poo water and it was all up my back! I could not move!
We got all the horses but one into the next pen. While hubby and daughter try to catch the elusive pony, hubby looks at me and says "Can you grab a pail of oats and maybe that will help us catch the horse" I walk bowlegged toward the barn to do as he asks. As I enter into the barn I hear both of them BUST out in laughter. I grabbed a pail of oats and walked back out into the pen. They watch me walk a few steps and hubby took mercy on me and told our daughter to come get the pail from me.
They get the horse into the other pen and we all stand in silence for a few minutes. I look over at the horses just as one of the males is mounting one of the females!!! Spring is in the air!!!! "OH NO!" I said and pointed in their direction! Hubby takes of running with the pitch fork and seperates them before the party could get started! Our ponies are just a year old and we don't want them making babies yet!
So, with wet poopy pants and socks, we now have to seperate the males from the females and all the horses from the cows. Eye Yie Yie!!!! We are not ready and don't really have anywhere to seperate them to, but we manage to walk both the males into their own seperate pen. We give them all hay and now it's time to go change my pants and shower.
3 days later, I go up to do afternoon chores by myself as hubby is working with the electrician in the yard. It's one of the colder days again and I am wearing my rubber boots and my snow suit! A picture of beauty I tell ya! I finish the chores and then decide to give the pigs in the barn a little more dry straw. I have a bale of straw just outside the pen so the animals can't use it but its close enough that I can grab pitch forkfuls and take it into the barn. Miss ButterCup PraireNugget (Our momma cow) keeps a watchful eye on me and keeps taking a step closer to the gate each time I go into the barn. I decide that she is getting to close to escaping so I put the pitch fork away and step backwards out of the gate and go to latch it closed. SLIIIIIIIIIIIP! The heel of my rubber boot catches some ice and DOWN I GO! Flat on my back! The gate flies open and I am spread eagle on the ground crying my eyes out in pain! The searing hot pain flares up through my butt bone and right up the back of my head and over to my right wrist! I have never cried so hard in my entire life! And I was all alone! I couldn't even reach up to get my phone in my pocket and call for help! I hurt so bad! My back, my neck and my arm.
I open my eyes only to see Miss ButterCup PraireNugget standing right over my face snorting! I feel her hot breath on my neck. I slightly panic thinking if I even move, she will spook and trample my face with her hooves! Did I mention I LOVE RANCHING!!!??? I pull myself together rather quickly to avoid her escaping. I move my arm and she backs up enough for me to barely sit up. She turns and snorts and walks away. I pull myself up with the gate. I realize I can't move my right wrist or hand! My neck has whip lash from my head cracking on the ground and my butt bone is sprained and muscles are spasming up my back. I hobble down towards the house, limping and holding my arm. Hubby sees me and runs towards me. "Whats wrong? What happened?" I couldn't even speak through my tears except to say that I thought I broke my wrist.
He gets me into the house and runs for the frozen bag of peas and carrots after getting me out of my snow suit. I nearly go through the roof in pain as he places the frozen icey impromtu ice pack on my hand and wrist.
This is the second time in a matter of days that I have fallen on the ice. I am so done with winter! SERIOUSLY!
After a day or so of rest, my neck is still stiff but everything else is in working order. Just in time for the nice weather and the snow to start to melt. I am still a little tender but work never stops here on the ranch and the water is rising. Hubby leaves for work and we have to start pumping the water out of the pens. It was my daughters job to be IN the poo pond with the hose to stop it from clogging and I was making sure the pump stayed running. (By the way this is the first time I have ever used a pump and done this type of work before!) I hear the motor in the pump change to a high squeal, telling me that the hose was clogging! My daughter was gone from the pond, checking the hose out in the field and so I had to hop the fence and fix it. In pain still, I hopped the fence and plunged my hands into the freezing poo water to unlog the hose. SLIIIIIIIIP!!!!! OMG!! Did that just happen!!?? My PHONE!! DID MY PHONE JUST FALL IN THE POO WATER!?? I drop the hose, check my pocket....NO PHONE! OMG! My phone is my life line to my hubby while he is away working! and now it's in the poo pond! I frantically scrambled through the poo and straw at the bottom of the poo pond and call out for my daughter. She hops the fence and jumps in and starts looking for the phone too! After a few minutes, I find it and put it in my pocket and snap my pocket shut! I fix the clogged hose and run out of the pen to check the phone.
Now this is where I should have just taken the battery out, opened the phone and put it all in rice to dry out over night! But did I do that??!! Noooooooooooooooooooo! My first reaction was to turn it on and see if it worked still! TAA DAA!! It still worked! Again this is where I sould have turned it off and put it in rice! Did I do that?? Noo I did not! I kept it on and shorted the battery out! So for the last few days I have been using my daughters phone to talk to my hubby!
With all the melting snow, the odd sunburn already and sore muscles from falling down and the wet poopy boots, I love my life! But this morning I could rip my head off and kick it! We woke up to 6 inches of blowing snow!!!! ARRGGHH!!!!!! I need a hot tub or a hot sandy beach right about now so I don't totally lose my mind! God knows how much you can handle but holy cow, me thinks I am going to lose it here shortly!
So we seperated the horses and the cow and calf. This seemed to fix the issue and the calf was left alone.
We pumped and pumped but water kept melting and filling the pens back up! Rubber boots almost were not tall enough to keep the water out!
We need to seperate the girl and boy horses as they are becoming a little more friendly in their grooming and interest in eachother! Also two of our female horses for some reason, don't like our calf! They were kicking it and chasing it around the pens. One night as I was trying to keep one particular horse away from the calf, I had to precariously balance one foot on the snow bank and one foot in the poo water pond just to get her out. The poo water was half way up my boot! It was deep! The calf went into the shed and the horse tried to follow it. As I stepped forward to intercept the horse, it turned around to run the other way and it's read end caught my shoulder and down I went! SAT RIGHT IN THE POO POND! I screamed for my daughter who was working in the next pen and she came running! The look of disbelief on her face as she saw me standing soaking wet in the poo pond told her to move quickly and go get my hubby!
She ran all the way down to where he was working and through exhausted panting breaths she explained that I needed help and they both came running! By this time, I had walked out into the drier part of the pen and the two of them came around the corner. I saw a smile start to crack on each of thier faces! " DO NOT EVEN SAY A WORD!" I spoke sternly through my gritted teeth! Both their eyes hit the ground as they walked toward me. "We need to seperate the horses from the cows and I need help" I said as I stood bowlegged, cold and stinky! My boots were full of poo water, my pants and under gaunch were full of poo water and it was all up my back! I could not move!
We got all the horses but one into the next pen. While hubby and daughter try to catch the elusive pony, hubby looks at me and says "Can you grab a pail of oats and maybe that will help us catch the horse" I walk bowlegged toward the barn to do as he asks. As I enter into the barn I hear both of them BUST out in laughter. I grabbed a pail of oats and walked back out into the pen. They watch me walk a few steps and hubby took mercy on me and told our daughter to come get the pail from me.
They get the horse into the other pen and we all stand in silence for a few minutes. I look over at the horses just as one of the males is mounting one of the females!!! Spring is in the air!!!! "OH NO!" I said and pointed in their direction! Hubby takes of running with the pitch fork and seperates them before the party could get started! Our ponies are just a year old and we don't want them making babies yet!
So, with wet poopy pants and socks, we now have to seperate the males from the females and all the horses from the cows. Eye Yie Yie!!!! We are not ready and don't really have anywhere to seperate them to, but we manage to walk both the males into their own seperate pen. We give them all hay and now it's time to go change my pants and shower.
3 days later, I go up to do afternoon chores by myself as hubby is working with the electrician in the yard. It's one of the colder days again and I am wearing my rubber boots and my snow suit! A picture of beauty I tell ya! I finish the chores and then decide to give the pigs in the barn a little more dry straw. I have a bale of straw just outside the pen so the animals can't use it but its close enough that I can grab pitch forkfuls and take it into the barn. Miss ButterCup PraireNugget (Our momma cow) keeps a watchful eye on me and keeps taking a step closer to the gate each time I go into the barn. I decide that she is getting to close to escaping so I put the pitch fork away and step backwards out of the gate and go to latch it closed. SLIIIIIIIIIIIP! The heel of my rubber boot catches some ice and DOWN I GO! Flat on my back! The gate flies open and I am spread eagle on the ground crying my eyes out in pain! The searing hot pain flares up through my butt bone and right up the back of my head and over to my right wrist! I have never cried so hard in my entire life! And I was all alone! I couldn't even reach up to get my phone in my pocket and call for help! I hurt so bad! My back, my neck and my arm.
I open my eyes only to see Miss ButterCup PraireNugget standing right over my face snorting! I feel her hot breath on my neck. I slightly panic thinking if I even move, she will spook and trample my face with her hooves! Did I mention I LOVE RANCHING!!!??? I pull myself together rather quickly to avoid her escaping. I move my arm and she backs up enough for me to barely sit up. She turns and snorts and walks away. I pull myself up with the gate. I realize I can't move my right wrist or hand! My neck has whip lash from my head cracking on the ground and my butt bone is sprained and muscles are spasming up my back. I hobble down towards the house, limping and holding my arm. Hubby sees me and runs towards me. "Whats wrong? What happened?" I couldn't even speak through my tears except to say that I thought I broke my wrist.
He gets me into the house and runs for the frozen bag of peas and carrots after getting me out of my snow suit. I nearly go through the roof in pain as he places the frozen icey impromtu ice pack on my hand and wrist.
This is the second time in a matter of days that I have fallen on the ice. I am so done with winter! SERIOUSLY!
After a day or so of rest, my neck is still stiff but everything else is in working order. Just in time for the nice weather and the snow to start to melt. I am still a little tender but work never stops here on the ranch and the water is rising. Hubby leaves for work and we have to start pumping the water out of the pens. It was my daughters job to be IN the poo pond with the hose to stop it from clogging and I was making sure the pump stayed running. (By the way this is the first time I have ever used a pump and done this type of work before!) I hear the motor in the pump change to a high squeal, telling me that the hose was clogging! My daughter was gone from the pond, checking the hose out in the field and so I had to hop the fence and fix it. In pain still, I hopped the fence and plunged my hands into the freezing poo water to unlog the hose. SLIIIIIIIIP!!!!! OMG!! Did that just happen!!?? My PHONE!! DID MY PHONE JUST FALL IN THE POO WATER!?? I drop the hose, check my pocket....NO PHONE! OMG! My phone is my life line to my hubby while he is away working! and now it's in the poo pond! I frantically scrambled through the poo and straw at the bottom of the poo pond and call out for my daughter. She hops the fence and jumps in and starts looking for the phone too! After a few minutes, I find it and put it in my pocket and snap my pocket shut! I fix the clogged hose and run out of the pen to check the phone.
Now this is where I should have just taken the battery out, opened the phone and put it all in rice to dry out over night! But did I do that??!! Noooooooooooooooooooo! My first reaction was to turn it on and see if it worked still! TAA DAA!! It still worked! Again this is where I sould have turned it off and put it in rice! Did I do that?? Noo I did not! I kept it on and shorted the battery out! So for the last few days I have been using my daughters phone to talk to my hubby!
With all the melting snow, the odd sunburn already and sore muscles from falling down and the wet poopy boots, I love my life! But this morning I could rip my head off and kick it! We woke up to 6 inches of blowing snow!!!! ARRGGHH!!!!!! I need a hot tub or a hot sandy beach right about now so I don't totally lose my mind! God knows how much you can handle but holy cow, me thinks I am going to lose it here shortly!
So we seperated the horses and the cow and calf. This seemed to fix the issue and the calf was left alone.
Sunday 21 April 2013
We're not in Kansas anymore!
Saskatchewan is on a totally different planet than the rest of the world as far as weather is concerned! Hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzard conditions for 6 months of the year and FOG! Ice fog, pea soup fog, hot fog, cold fog, I have never seen so much fog in my entire life.
I come from Ontario and there you can experience all 4 seasons in one day, but here.....I am losing my mind. In Ontario, if you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes and it will change but Saskatchewan throws curve balls at you constantly!!!!
There are only 2 seasons in Saskatchewan, Tornado Season and Winter!
One minute it will be a beautiful warm and sunny day then the wind picks up and there is a hurricane/tornado blowing in with tree branches and tumbleweeds blowing all over your yard, anything that you don't have nailed down is now blowing across the canola field. Rain coming down sideways and thunder loud enough to rattle the windows and your soul.
On our 3rd day of living here, hubby had to leave for work. We were on our own at the ranch. Which was fine, we didn't have animals at the time so the biggest thing to do was to cut the 8 acres of grass. I love gardening and I saw a few trees and bushes that needed trimming so I took the handheld tree limb lopers (yes that's the technical name, lol) and I went to work on the yard.
Beautiful sunny day, blue sky, not a cloud in sight. I have limbs laying around on the ground all over the yard, my daughter is happily jumping on the trampoline, not a care in the world. I back the truck down the driveway intending to load all the downed limbs into the back of it. I sit down on the tailgate for a drink of water and a rest. All of the sudden the sky turns black, the wind howls up to about 55 km an hour and the rain pelts hard into my face. "HELP ME!" I scream into the wind in my daughters general direction. I can't open my eyes against the wind and rain. I feel her bump into me and I yell "Help me get all the branches into the back of the truck or they will be all over the yard, QUICK!"
She quickly jumps into action and we both look like we are on a crazy episode of WipeOut!. Ducking and diving and picking up things in the yard and running back and forth to the truck.
We are soaked to the bone, arms and legs are crazy sore from tossing and picking up the branches, we are out of breath as we toss the last ones into the back of the pick up.
My phone rings as we enter the house. It's hubby. Remember his inate sense of danger when it comes to me, he just knows when I am hurt or in danger and calls instantly to check on me. He asks how I am and I tell him about the weather. The sky is now purple and green and I swear as I look out the living room window a neighbours cow passes by in the air!! The window's are rattling, he hears it through the phone and tells me to get away from the window and JUMP IN THE PIT NOW!
"The Pit??!!!" "What the heck is the Pit and where is it and why do I have to get in it? "You will be safe from the storm in there, go in the basement, climb over the wall and get in the PIT!. The phone went dead. I freaked and ran downstairs, my daughter closely following behind my heels. We take a sharp left at the bottom of the stairs into this small room, I use as a craft room and there is the PIT.
I have never noticed it, I just thought it was a cement wall.....nope....it's a pit. Open to about 15 feet DOWN! It is in case of emergency or flooding or something, but as I stood on a box to look down into the pit, I knew I wasn't climbing over and getting in it. Its dark and spooky and stinky and there was no obvious way out.
Hubby calls my cell phone now. "Are you in the Pit?" "No way am I getting in there, I can't get out!" Hubby laughs and says "Don't worry about that right now, get in there and be safe! We'll get you out later." Just then cell phone reception dies.
We made the decision to NOT get in the Pit. Instead we huddled together in the corner of the basement and rode the storm out. The next day when all was calm again, I found some rope, a ladder and a flashlight. I put it in the Pit room. Also made up a small bag of non perishable food items like granola bars and jugs of water and sat them on the wall of the Pit. Call it my Just In Case Supplies.
I still haven't been in the Pit and never wish to be.
There have been more storms since then but never bad enough to climb into the Pit.
Snow is another beast that is something I have never experienced in the levels I have here in Saskatchewan! We got 3 feet of snow on Halloween night and have had storm after storm. Blowing and drifting snow like I have never seen before. Sub arctic temperatures for 6 months now. It is the end of April as I write this and I still have 10 ft snow drifts in my horse pens!!! Farmers have to plant their crops in 3 and half weeks and everyone here is scared that it will not be dry enough to plant anything. By rights, all the animals should be out on the pastures now but I am still buying food for them. Costs are getting higher by the week.
For everything that we go through out here, for all it's challenges, I love my life and wouldn't change it for the world!
XOXO
I come from Ontario and there you can experience all 4 seasons in one day, but here.....I am losing my mind. In Ontario, if you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes and it will change but Saskatchewan throws curve balls at you constantly!!!!
There are only 2 seasons in Saskatchewan, Tornado Season and Winter!
One minute it will be a beautiful warm and sunny day then the wind picks up and there is a hurricane/tornado blowing in with tree branches and tumbleweeds blowing all over your yard, anything that you don't have nailed down is now blowing across the canola field. Rain coming down sideways and thunder loud enough to rattle the windows and your soul.
On our 3rd day of living here, hubby had to leave for work. We were on our own at the ranch. Which was fine, we didn't have animals at the time so the biggest thing to do was to cut the 8 acres of grass. I love gardening and I saw a few trees and bushes that needed trimming so I took the handheld tree limb lopers (yes that's the technical name, lol) and I went to work on the yard.
Beautiful sunny day, blue sky, not a cloud in sight. I have limbs laying around on the ground all over the yard, my daughter is happily jumping on the trampoline, not a care in the world. I back the truck down the driveway intending to load all the downed limbs into the back of it. I sit down on the tailgate for a drink of water and a rest. All of the sudden the sky turns black, the wind howls up to about 55 km an hour and the rain pelts hard into my face. "HELP ME!" I scream into the wind in my daughters general direction. I can't open my eyes against the wind and rain. I feel her bump into me and I yell "Help me get all the branches into the back of the truck or they will be all over the yard, QUICK!"
She quickly jumps into action and we both look like we are on a crazy episode of WipeOut!. Ducking and diving and picking up things in the yard and running back and forth to the truck.
We are soaked to the bone, arms and legs are crazy sore from tossing and picking up the branches, we are out of breath as we toss the last ones into the back of the pick up.
My phone rings as we enter the house. It's hubby. Remember his inate sense of danger when it comes to me, he just knows when I am hurt or in danger and calls instantly to check on me. He asks how I am and I tell him about the weather. The sky is now purple and green and I swear as I look out the living room window a neighbours cow passes by in the air!! The window's are rattling, he hears it through the phone and tells me to get away from the window and JUMP IN THE PIT NOW!
"The Pit??!!!" "What the heck is the Pit and where is it and why do I have to get in it? "You will be safe from the storm in there, go in the basement, climb over the wall and get in the PIT!. The phone went dead. I freaked and ran downstairs, my daughter closely following behind my heels. We take a sharp left at the bottom of the stairs into this small room, I use as a craft room and there is the PIT.
I have never noticed it, I just thought it was a cement wall.....nope....it's a pit. Open to about 15 feet DOWN! It is in case of emergency or flooding or something, but as I stood on a box to look down into the pit, I knew I wasn't climbing over and getting in it. Its dark and spooky and stinky and there was no obvious way out.
Hubby calls my cell phone now. "Are you in the Pit?" "No way am I getting in there, I can't get out!" Hubby laughs and says "Don't worry about that right now, get in there and be safe! We'll get you out later." Just then cell phone reception dies.
We made the decision to NOT get in the Pit. Instead we huddled together in the corner of the basement and rode the storm out. The next day when all was calm again, I found some rope, a ladder and a flashlight. I put it in the Pit room. Also made up a small bag of non perishable food items like granola bars and jugs of water and sat them on the wall of the Pit. Call it my Just In Case Supplies.
I still haven't been in the Pit and never wish to be.
There have been more storms since then but never bad enough to climb into the Pit.
Snow is another beast that is something I have never experienced in the levels I have here in Saskatchewan! We got 3 feet of snow on Halloween night and have had storm after storm. Blowing and drifting snow like I have never seen before. Sub arctic temperatures for 6 months now. It is the end of April as I write this and I still have 10 ft snow drifts in my horse pens!!! Farmers have to plant their crops in 3 and half weeks and everyone here is scared that it will not be dry enough to plant anything. By rights, all the animals should be out on the pastures now but I am still buying food for them. Costs are getting higher by the week.
For everything that we go through out here, for all it's challenges, I love my life and wouldn't change it for the world!
XOXO
Friday 19 April 2013
The Skunk Who came to the Wrong Farm
THE DOG SMELLS LIKE SKUNK!!!!! Ugh it's almost unbearable! I can't even be near him and he is so adorable. My poor Golden Retreiver stinks to high heaven. Tomatoe Juice, Tomatoe Juice....MUST GET TOMATOE JUICE!!! I run to town and get to the grocery store juuuuuust before the grocery store closes and I grab the LAST two bottles of the lovely red smell remover off the shelf.
When I get home, I had a second thought about the juice and went to my good friend Google. I love that site! I am a huge fan of cleaning your house with all natural products, lemons, baking soda, vinegar etc, so I went online and found a wonderful home remedy using baking soda, vinegar and Dawn dish washing soap that is supposed to remove the smell of skunk 1000% better than tomatoes juice. So I go into the kitchen and get out my chemistry set and concoct the potion. I lead the dog into the bathroom after I change into my shorts and tank top. Picture this....my dog weighs about 75 lbs, I have the upper body strength of a fly and I am gagging with the smell of skunk. Nuff said?? Cleetus is a wonderfully understanding dog. He's like an old man, doesn't like hugs but always wants to shake your hand. So I get him in the tub, we don't have alot of water pressure, but I pour the concoction on my dogs shoulders and it fizzles and sizzles, I rub it into him and he is so good, he just stands there. I pour water over him with the jug and try rinsing this out. Remember the water pressure?? Ya, well it took a little longer to rinse out than he liked and he started shaking the water from his fur!!! I was smart and shut the curtain but, there was no hope for me. I was soaked. He smelled nice but I was soaked.
My husband works away for most of the month and so most things that happen around here I can handle and what I can't, usually waits for him for his days off. When I call him to tell him that the dog got sprayed he told me to watch the yard and the barn for the suspect. I went in and out of the barn for days and about 4 days later, I go in to do chores and the OVERWHELMING STENCH fills my nostrils as I open the door! The stinkin thing had gotten in the barn through the cat door in the side of the barn and had eaten all the cat food in the hay loft and left after he sprayed goodbye. The next day as I go up in the morning to do chores, for some reason I decide to go into the back of the barn instead of the front door. I slide open the door and I see instantly that the pigs are looking at something. I peek over the gate and THERE IT IS!!! A young skunk sniffing around at the front door INSIDE the barn!!!! EXIT STAGE LEFT!!!!
I go outside the barn and call my husband immediately! Since the skunk made his first appearance, hubby has been trying to figure out how to block the cat entrance in the barn, do something to stop it from coming inside so in case the skunk has rabies, it wouldn't harm our other animals. He coaches me through how to use the impact drill, scrap plywood and shut off all entrances and exits into the barn. This works just fine for about 3 days and then we realize the 5 barn cats can't get outside to use the bathroom. The skunk got in again and sprayed inside and now my pigs are covered in smelly skunk oil and its burning thier skins. The buggar must be INSIDE the barn. In all my efforts to keep him out, I must have blocked him in! Lord give me strength!!!
Hubby's truck veers into the driveway that afternoon. He took the afternoon off and drove home. He was on a mission. He came in the house, dressed up in old jackets, had a kercheif over his face and walked up to the barn armed with a shotgun and alot of hope. He was convinced that this evil spawn of satan lived under one of the mangers in the barn. The barn reeked of skunk. With eyes and nostrils burning, we tore apart 3 mangers that were closed in. Hubby is ripping and tearing the wood away from the the wall and I am standing guard with the gun. I must tell you I AM NOT COMFORTABLE at all with standing guard with a gun! I have never held nor ever even shot a gun in my entire life. Yet here I am, watching I don't accidently kill my husband or shoot my foot off.
All said and done, No Skunk that day. Hubby goes back to work and the next day he calls me while I am doing chores in the barn. I answer the phone and he proceeds to try and coach me through some repair work and closing that cat door off again. We are sure the skunk has left the barn by now.
I hang up the phone and reach for the reciprocating saw, again something I have never used, and hold it up in the air to test that I have the safety button and the power button in alignment so it will turn on. WHIRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR goes the saw. I stick my head into the manger where I am preparing to do the work and it's too late. I see the SKUNK'S BUTT not 2 INCHES from my face! SPRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!! I GOT SKUNKED! His yellow oily spray is ALL OVER my face and IT BURNS!!! MY GOD IT BURNS!
Picture this.....I have a balaclava on, because it has been sub zero temps here since halloween, I have my glasses on and every showing peice of flesh on my face is now burning and stinging and I am sure melting and falling to the ground! I am in total shock! My phone is ringing! I know it's my hubby. He has this innate sense of when I am in trouble and calls me immediately.
All I remember hearing on the other end of the phone was "GET TO THE HOUSE NOW!!" and I was off and running like a herd of turtles towards the house! I can't see a thing really, my lungs are burning, my face is melting and I suddenly remember that I have left the feed room door wide open and the barn lights on! Like a fool, I turn around and run back up the hill. Go in the back door, close the feed room and lock it and hit the lights. Nothing was getting a free meal off of me! Especially something that just sprayed me!!!!
I step inside my front door and cry out my daughters name. I might add that I just recovered from severe bronchitis and my daughter was taking a nap. She came around the corner with sleep lines on her face and this horrid look in her eye. "WHY IS YOUR FACE YELLOW???!!!" I BUST out into tears, sobbing, melting, hurtful, I NEED MY MOMMY TEARS! "Oh it burns so bad" I blubbered! The nurse in her instantly went into action and took my hand and led me to the washroom. She turned on the shower and stuck my head under the water. I moaned and cried my way through an explanation of the last 15 minutes of events and I can hear her laughing under her breath. "I'll be right back" she whispers in my ear. Little did I know, she texted hubby, told him what was going on and came back to the baathroom with baking soda, vinegar and dawn soap! Have I told you I love this girl!??!!! She made a paste in the palm of my hands and I buried my face in it. The burn and sting instantly went away. After a 1/2 hr, my face had felt like it had grown enough new skin to emerge from the shower.
My skin was tender for quite a while and while hubby was home on days off, he taught me how to use the shotgun in case I saw the skunk again.
The next week, hubby is back to work, daughter is at school and when I get out of the shower I hear my dogs barking feircely at something in the yard. They are chained up and can't get to whatever it is. I look out the kitchen window and see nothing. Living room window, nothing....at the side door, I look out and there he is! Waddling up the middle of my driveway in the middle of the day, Mister Skunk! I run to my room, throw on a pair of shorts and a sweatshirt, grab the gun and some bullets, throw on my winter boots and head up the driveway. I follow his tracks in minus 25 degree howling wind and at the top of the hill just before the barn, I lose his tracks. I say a quick prayer, Please God do NOT let him go in the barn! I don't want to miss him and then hit one of the pigs, or have the bullet hit the ground and have it richochet back at me. It's way too cold, I run back to the house and get my winter farm swag on. Coveralls, balaclava, wool mitts and boots and head back up the hill.
Going into the back pen behind the barn, I SPY WITH MY LITTLE EYE......there he is! My adrenaline is SKY HIGH! I try to load the bullet into the gun, try to get the safety release off, wrack my brain as to what else hubby told me not to forget about the gun.....nothing else, ok, how do I aim this thing again?? Ok where's the skunk? I take my eyes off the sucker for two seconds, ohh wait, there he is, going into the horse shed. The horses aren't in there, they are right behind me. I can't shoot now or I will spook the horses. I walked slowly up to the shed and the city girl in me wanted to follow him right in there and blow his little head off, but the country girl thinking took over and I steadied my arm up on the fence and waited for him to come out. He had to come out sooner or later. There he is!!! SHOOT! I scream in my head. My adrenaline is coursing through my body like a runaway train going down hill! I don't even remember pulling the trigger but the next thing I know is that I blinked and it was lying on its side in the snow.
I got him! I felt bad, do NOT get me wrong. Killing something is NOT what I agree with at all but these animals do carry diseases and are huge nuisances to my livestock and livelyhood that there is no other choice.
I text hubby to ask "WHAT NOW?" really, like what do I do with a dead skunk that may have rabies? I go into the barn to get a shovel, there is NOT A CHANCE in this world that I am picking up this dead varmint with my bare hands and taking it any where! The entire time I am trying to get it on the shovel, I am sure I can still seeing it breathing and that at any moment it is going to jump up and bite my hands and face off in revenge! Yes, I watched too many Stephen King movies when I was younger! lol!
I said a prayer for the skunk, it's family and for me that day and since then I haven't seen anymore striped stinky beasts in my yard.....but there is still 6 ft of snow to melt, I am sure I will see more soon, I just pray that God gives them a u-turn and keeps them out of my yard!
I love my life on the ranch, it's crazy but it's mine! xo
When I get home, I had a second thought about the juice and went to my good friend Google. I love that site! I am a huge fan of cleaning your house with all natural products, lemons, baking soda, vinegar etc, so I went online and found a wonderful home remedy using baking soda, vinegar and Dawn dish washing soap that is supposed to remove the smell of skunk 1000% better than tomatoes juice. So I go into the kitchen and get out my chemistry set and concoct the potion. I lead the dog into the bathroom after I change into my shorts and tank top. Picture this....my dog weighs about 75 lbs, I have the upper body strength of a fly and I am gagging with the smell of skunk. Nuff said?? Cleetus is a wonderfully understanding dog. He's like an old man, doesn't like hugs but always wants to shake your hand. So I get him in the tub, we don't have alot of water pressure, but I pour the concoction on my dogs shoulders and it fizzles and sizzles, I rub it into him and he is so good, he just stands there. I pour water over him with the jug and try rinsing this out. Remember the water pressure?? Ya, well it took a little longer to rinse out than he liked and he started shaking the water from his fur!!! I was smart and shut the curtain but, there was no hope for me. I was soaked. He smelled nice but I was soaked.
My husband works away for most of the month and so most things that happen around here I can handle and what I can't, usually waits for him for his days off. When I call him to tell him that the dog got sprayed he told me to watch the yard and the barn for the suspect. I went in and out of the barn for days and about 4 days later, I go in to do chores and the OVERWHELMING STENCH fills my nostrils as I open the door! The stinkin thing had gotten in the barn through the cat door in the side of the barn and had eaten all the cat food in the hay loft and left after he sprayed goodbye. The next day as I go up in the morning to do chores, for some reason I decide to go into the back of the barn instead of the front door. I slide open the door and I see instantly that the pigs are looking at something. I peek over the gate and THERE IT IS!!! A young skunk sniffing around at the front door INSIDE the barn!!!! EXIT STAGE LEFT!!!!
I go outside the barn and call my husband immediately! Since the skunk made his first appearance, hubby has been trying to figure out how to block the cat entrance in the barn, do something to stop it from coming inside so in case the skunk has rabies, it wouldn't harm our other animals. He coaches me through how to use the impact drill, scrap plywood and shut off all entrances and exits into the barn. This works just fine for about 3 days and then we realize the 5 barn cats can't get outside to use the bathroom. The skunk got in again and sprayed inside and now my pigs are covered in smelly skunk oil and its burning thier skins. The buggar must be INSIDE the barn. In all my efforts to keep him out, I must have blocked him in! Lord give me strength!!!
Hubby's truck veers into the driveway that afternoon. He took the afternoon off and drove home. He was on a mission. He came in the house, dressed up in old jackets, had a kercheif over his face and walked up to the barn armed with a shotgun and alot of hope. He was convinced that this evil spawn of satan lived under one of the mangers in the barn. The barn reeked of skunk. With eyes and nostrils burning, we tore apart 3 mangers that were closed in. Hubby is ripping and tearing the wood away from the the wall and I am standing guard with the gun. I must tell you I AM NOT COMFORTABLE at all with standing guard with a gun! I have never held nor ever even shot a gun in my entire life. Yet here I am, watching I don't accidently kill my husband or shoot my foot off.
All said and done, No Skunk that day. Hubby goes back to work and the next day he calls me while I am doing chores in the barn. I answer the phone and he proceeds to try and coach me through some repair work and closing that cat door off again. We are sure the skunk has left the barn by now.
I hang up the phone and reach for the reciprocating saw, again something I have never used, and hold it up in the air to test that I have the safety button and the power button in alignment so it will turn on. WHIRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR goes the saw. I stick my head into the manger where I am preparing to do the work and it's too late. I see the SKUNK'S BUTT not 2 INCHES from my face! SPRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!! I GOT SKUNKED! His yellow oily spray is ALL OVER my face and IT BURNS!!! MY GOD IT BURNS!
Picture this.....I have a balaclava on, because it has been sub zero temps here since halloween, I have my glasses on and every showing peice of flesh on my face is now burning and stinging and I am sure melting and falling to the ground! I am in total shock! My phone is ringing! I know it's my hubby. He has this innate sense of when I am in trouble and calls me immediately.
All I remember hearing on the other end of the phone was "GET TO THE HOUSE NOW!!" and I was off and running like a herd of turtles towards the house! I can't see a thing really, my lungs are burning, my face is melting and I suddenly remember that I have left the feed room door wide open and the barn lights on! Like a fool, I turn around and run back up the hill. Go in the back door, close the feed room and lock it and hit the lights. Nothing was getting a free meal off of me! Especially something that just sprayed me!!!!
I step inside my front door and cry out my daughters name. I might add that I just recovered from severe bronchitis and my daughter was taking a nap. She came around the corner with sleep lines on her face and this horrid look in her eye. "WHY IS YOUR FACE YELLOW???!!!" I BUST out into tears, sobbing, melting, hurtful, I NEED MY MOMMY TEARS! "Oh it burns so bad" I blubbered! The nurse in her instantly went into action and took my hand and led me to the washroom. She turned on the shower and stuck my head under the water. I moaned and cried my way through an explanation of the last 15 minutes of events and I can hear her laughing under her breath. "I'll be right back" she whispers in my ear. Little did I know, she texted hubby, told him what was going on and came back to the baathroom with baking soda, vinegar and dawn soap! Have I told you I love this girl!??!!! She made a paste in the palm of my hands and I buried my face in it. The burn and sting instantly went away. After a 1/2 hr, my face had felt like it had grown enough new skin to emerge from the shower.
My skin was tender for quite a while and while hubby was home on days off, he taught me how to use the shotgun in case I saw the skunk again.
The next week, hubby is back to work, daughter is at school and when I get out of the shower I hear my dogs barking feircely at something in the yard. They are chained up and can't get to whatever it is. I look out the kitchen window and see nothing. Living room window, nothing....at the side door, I look out and there he is! Waddling up the middle of my driveway in the middle of the day, Mister Skunk! I run to my room, throw on a pair of shorts and a sweatshirt, grab the gun and some bullets, throw on my winter boots and head up the driveway. I follow his tracks in minus 25 degree howling wind and at the top of the hill just before the barn, I lose his tracks. I say a quick prayer, Please God do NOT let him go in the barn! I don't want to miss him and then hit one of the pigs, or have the bullet hit the ground and have it richochet back at me. It's way too cold, I run back to the house and get my winter farm swag on. Coveralls, balaclava, wool mitts and boots and head back up the hill.
Going into the back pen behind the barn, I SPY WITH MY LITTLE EYE......there he is! My adrenaline is SKY HIGH! I try to load the bullet into the gun, try to get the safety release off, wrack my brain as to what else hubby told me not to forget about the gun.....nothing else, ok, how do I aim this thing again?? Ok where's the skunk? I take my eyes off the sucker for two seconds, ohh wait, there he is, going into the horse shed. The horses aren't in there, they are right behind me. I can't shoot now or I will spook the horses. I walked slowly up to the shed and the city girl in me wanted to follow him right in there and blow his little head off, but the country girl thinking took over and I steadied my arm up on the fence and waited for him to come out. He had to come out sooner or later. There he is!!! SHOOT! I scream in my head. My adrenaline is coursing through my body like a runaway train going down hill! I don't even remember pulling the trigger but the next thing I know is that I blinked and it was lying on its side in the snow.
I got him! I felt bad, do NOT get me wrong. Killing something is NOT what I agree with at all but these animals do carry diseases and are huge nuisances to my livestock and livelyhood that there is no other choice.
I text hubby to ask "WHAT NOW?" really, like what do I do with a dead skunk that may have rabies? I go into the barn to get a shovel, there is NOT A CHANCE in this world that I am picking up this dead varmint with my bare hands and taking it any where! The entire time I am trying to get it on the shovel, I am sure I can still seeing it breathing and that at any moment it is going to jump up and bite my hands and face off in revenge! Yes, I watched too many Stephen King movies when I was younger! lol!
I said a prayer for the skunk, it's family and for me that day and since then I haven't seen anymore striped stinky beasts in my yard.....but there is still 6 ft of snow to melt, I am sure I will see more soon, I just pray that God gives them a u-turn and keeps them out of my yard!
I love my life on the ranch, it's crazy but it's mine! xo
Animal Mommy VS People Mommy
Wow, what a journey this week has been. Spring is here but we are still under 6 feet of melting snow! I know Spring is here only because we have lots of baby animals here on the ranch! We have 5 orphaned lambs that we are bottle feeding for the next twelve weeks and 40 baby chickens that we have to keep warm and alive. We have a baby calf but thank goodness she has her mommy to keep her fed. Our 6 colts are managing on their own and our 12 weanling pigs are growing into some wonderful cuts of meat! lol!
Being a people mommy is stressful but holy (pardon the pun) cow! Being an animal mommy is on a WHOLE NOTHER LEVEL!
Let me start by saying I have NO farming experience WHATSOEVER! Without my husbands wonderful teaching and Google, I would have not come as far as I have. I can actually carry out a conversation with the locals now in a few topics and not just nod my head and laugh like I know what they are talking about!
The differences and similarities between taking care of animal babies and taking care of children are NOT that vastly different but the concern you have for them is a completely different frame of mind and creates different feelings in your heart. For me it does anyways.
Sitting in the chicken coop this morning, after realizing the power had gone out, seeing all these baby chicks huddling to keep warm, not making a peep and seeing two dead ones just laying there was almost surreal. I had a totally humbling God moment. I could see how God is so much bigger than I am. He can see everything around me, just like I could see everything around the chicks. Seeing the dangers, the life giving things in my life, just like I could see the water bowls and the warm glow from the lamps for the chicks. My hand reached into the brooder and gently guided chicks back into the light and warmth, close to the water. In that moment, I realized that is how God works in my life too. Seeing dangers and protections in my life and gently guiding me back to safety.
I love being a people mommy and seeing all my children flourish and grow into loving and caring adults but being an animal mommy fills a different part of my heart to overflowing.
Life is wonderful here on the ranch and I wouldn't change it for the world!
Being a people mommy is stressful but holy (pardon the pun) cow! Being an animal mommy is on a WHOLE NOTHER LEVEL!
Let me start by saying I have NO farming experience WHATSOEVER! Without my husbands wonderful teaching and Google, I would have not come as far as I have. I can actually carry out a conversation with the locals now in a few topics and not just nod my head and laugh like I know what they are talking about!
The differences and similarities between taking care of animal babies and taking care of children are NOT that vastly different but the concern you have for them is a completely different frame of mind and creates different feelings in your heart. For me it does anyways.
Sitting in the chicken coop this morning, after realizing the power had gone out, seeing all these baby chicks huddling to keep warm, not making a peep and seeing two dead ones just laying there was almost surreal. I had a totally humbling God moment. I could see how God is so much bigger than I am. He can see everything around me, just like I could see everything around the chicks. Seeing the dangers, the life giving things in my life, just like I could see the water bowls and the warm glow from the lamps for the chicks. My hand reached into the brooder and gently guided chicks back into the light and warmth, close to the water. In that moment, I realized that is how God works in my life too. Seeing dangers and protections in my life and gently guiding me back to safety.
I love being a people mommy and seeing all my children flourish and grow into loving and caring adults but being an animal mommy fills a different part of my heart to overflowing.
Life is wonderful here on the ranch and I wouldn't change it for the world!
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