Gold Butte - Montana

 We had a really neat day excursion here about 10 days ago.  While Andy was driving the potato truck he was seeing the Sweet Grass Hills in Montana every day from his truck window, and he got the itch to go climb one of them.  He talked to James and together they decided this was something they wanted to do, and since Andrea and I are the lucky gals to be married to these adventurous guys, we got to go along :D all we had to do was find babysitters for the children.
We left Grassy Lake at 8:15 am with J&A to cross the Aden border but got sent back because they didn't have the technology to process Andy's passport so we had to turn around and go thru the Coutts border which cut into our time a bit.  It was close to noon before we made it to the Sweet Grass Hills, and we chose Gold Butte, which is the middle bump - or ancient dead volcano.
In all honesty we thought it would be easier to get to then it was.  What looks from Canada like soft velvet soil was actually bumpy/grassy coulee after coulee, in the most bare and empty land I have ever seen. Makes Southern Alberta seem like a metropolis!  Good thing we were in James' truck or we would not have made it nearly as close to the base of the hill as we did.  Most of it is privately owned land but we talked to a rancher and he told us we were allowed to open and close the cattle gates to drive thru the pastures.  At a certain point there was no road to be found so we drove thru the cattle till we got to the closest point possible for climbing.  Make note, this was not hiking, or walking.   Once at the shale part of the hill it was steep and it was serious climbing.  And I'm sad to say Andy is the only one who made it all the way up. His feet are nimble like a deer, and his love for climbing shone thru as he made his way to the top while Andrea, James and I watched from lower down, tuckered out.  It's always good to be impressed by your hubby;)
We drove around in the area too, making a small stop at the old graveyard and mine entrance. We didn't end up seeing the ghost town, maybe next time?   It was all very fascinating, beautiful in it's own way and interesting. 
Here is a nice little webpage where you can read up a bit about the history of Gold Butte.  Enjoy!

Starting out, Gold Butte looming large!

Lunch before the ascent

Gold Butte is one of three hills in a row, Andy is telling me something about the West Butte, which is in the distance.

The upward climb in shale - good thing we had hiking boots on!

Andrea and I

Andy, in his element!

Beautiful wood pieces laying around in the rocks

Spectacular views

I wonder why the trees were all dead?

Andy took this picture from the top - 1,963 +/-  metres up

It was very windy and a bit chilly in the open plains

Enjoying refreshment afterwards by the truck

One grave left - there's history here

Andy at the old mine entrance

We found a little campground on the way out, it was rustic;)

Potato harvest

 Andy worked part time for friends this past harvest season driving a potato truck.  Here are a few pictures from his venture. Questions about the process? You'll have to ask him.  ;) All I know is there are lots and lots of potatoes in this neck of the woods.  Lays potato chips and McCains fries both have enormous factories in the area.  One is actually so close by to our farm that if the wind is the right direction we can smell the fries frying.  Which of course makes us instantly hungry.  ;)  It's pretty incredible to see the harvest of the land out here, vast fields with enormous machinery digging out mountains of food for the humans on this earth.  Food. More then enough, with literally tons going to waste. It's a blessing I hope we never take for granted. 

Thanksgiving time of year

Everytime a new season starts I fall in love with it all over again.
I think I love spring till summer comes in...
and I thought I didn't want summer to end till autumn rolls across the land...
and I'll probably like winter just a wee bit when it makes it's arrival too.

I love the changing seasons but fall, I gotta say it, is something else.

The crisp nights and early mornings.
A garden overflowing with deliciousness.
Baking full of cinnamon and spice and all things vegetable and fruit.
School and Bible study.
Long sleeve shirts and brown boots.
Yellow leaves and all things orange. 
Gourds. Pumpkins. Sunflowers and Black Eyed Susans.

We have been in this small part of the world two full years this past Thanksgiving weekend. Time flies!  Slowly this farm has become more and more "home-like".  We've been working hard to make it feel warm and inviting, a place to come home to, a place to love and be loved.  A place to find beauty and blessing.
For everyone those words mean something else, but for me a warm and loving home environment is of utmost importance.  And it is home now.  I am thoroughly used the sounds and blemishes of this 80's house, even the ever present coyotes don't bother me anymore. :)  That's saying something;)

We are content.

This is what my days have been filled with - and we're enjoying them immensely.

Tomato soup for canning.

We tried growing Atlantic Giants this year

...and then of course my sugar pie pumpkins.

An average daily haul.

Bread and butter pickles

Pumpkin and pies.  Family favourites

Smor'es!! 

My baby bug - she keeps us laughing

I'm trying to teacher Abby how to take selfies :)

Supermoon eclipse

 "And God made the two great lights - the greater light to rule the day and the lesser to rule the night - and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light to the earth." Genesis 1:16,17. ESV

The supermoon lunar eclipse, which happens only once every 30 years or so happened to take place again the last weekend in September and we were pretty excited to watch.  Of course we had to learn about it first to truly appreciate what was happening, and we were pretty awe-struck.

It was very special that we could start watching while it was still light outside and finish watching just in time for bed.  And even neater was that friends and family all over could watch the same moon at the same time being covered by earths shadow.  A shout out goes to my sis Natasha for these gorgeous pictures of the moon she took at her home in Owen Sound.  It looked the same here only I had no camera to take pictures with! So thanks a ton!
The kids were thrilled to cozy up on the trampoline with blankets and sweaters and moon gaze till past their bedtime, although I must admit that once we threw Abby in bed things became alot more peaceful and less crazy.  She can not sit still for even a moment. 

August flashback

 After living all my life in the fruit belt of Ontario and then marrying someone who can eat a whole jar of applesauce in one sitting, the shock from the price of apples out here made me quit making applesauce for one entire year. ;)   But then I had to buy it, which was also another thing to add to my list frequently so this year I kept my eyes peeled for someone who was offering their free crabapples to people (and contary to my previous notion, crabapples are not sour, they are just tiny apples). I found an ad online and jumped on it which turned out to be very beneficial for our pantry:) 45 minutes of picking and I got over 30 quart jars of gorgeous, delicious applesauce.  One thrilled lady here:)

 It only took a few hours to make since I had so much help from these good lads. Many hands makes light work.

Andy took good care of our lawn this entire summer. It was soft and manicured.  All that was not without effort though, and it needed to be cut twice a week.  Even then often it still needed to be raked.  Sometimes the helpers were willing, sometimes it was a struggle.  Either way, it was always beneficial.

 And then Tristan turned SIX! Our dear, happy, silly, full-of-overflowing-enthusiasm cheerful little man. He had a little party and a delicious cake to celebrate.  He got spoiled with some pretty amazing gifts too!

His new rubber dingy - for using in the pool!!!  ;)

A geology kit.

And then Miss Abby, she turned 8 months, and wants to stand and walk soon. 

And then last but not least we were blessed to have Uncle Clarence and Aunt Diana and a few of their children visit for a weekend.  Uncle Clarence is my dad's brother and has always been in the "one of my favourite uncles" category;)  We enjoyed supper on Sunday at the Forks in Grassy Lake with a little fire.  The kids played wonderfully with Daniel and Megan exploring, fishing and looking for bones hidden in the coulees.  Their son Brad stayed behind to work out here and learn about southern Alberta farming and is now boarding with us in the guest house which is fine for now since we have no company coming in the foreseeable future.   It was special to have them over and even though it had been close to two years since we had visited it felt like yesterday.  I'm so glad they could come see this neck of the woods (minus-the-trees-neck-of-the-woods).

Tristan with a piece of a "dino" bone. (What it really is we'll never know, but we let our imaginations go wild).

Early morning farewell!