What’s the difference between living on Maui and a holiday
in Alberta? Just about everything. Many people, when they hear we’re from Maui
ask “What are you doing here?” ('here' being anywhere in Southern Alberta – the
hardware store, WalMart, a local Chinese restaurant, a community
lobsterfest). We’re here for so many reasons, all of them good. For starters, my
whole family is in the area and the older I get the more I miss them – my mom,
my brother and his wife, my cousins and my nephews and their families. Usually I manage to visit Alberta twice a
year – the other time during the winter – but now that Dad is gone it just
isn’t the same; a February trip once meant his birthday celebration.
We
arrived in Calgary on June 9th after a red-eye flight from Maui.
Those overnighters are taking a lot longer to recover from – have you noticed
that? We spent a few days with Shane and Peter in High River, got our shopping
done and headed for the hills.
“The
hills”
The Webster Ranch is in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies, about an
hour and a half drive southwest of Calgary off Highway 22, a.k.a. the
Cowboy Trail. Tony and Debbie raise cattle on their place (and run Chimney Rock B&B) and on Mom’s land – and Jim and I live in Mom’s house, built in 1950 and still as
snug and welcoming as when Tony and I were growing up there. It has power, gas,
phone and a big old wood-burning stove to take the chill off in the morning.
Alas, no indoor toilet so trips to the outhouse in the middle of the night are
common.
Tony
has been concerned about the water quality in the house for several years so we
have been working on building a new springhouse to protect the artesian water
source that has provide clear, clean water for more than 100 years. Until the
structure is completed, Jim and I don’t have running water; we’re getting darn
competent at heating water for dishes, spit baths, shampoos and spot cleaning.
And because this has been a pretty dry year, I conserve all the used water to
pour on my small garden – radishes, carrots, beets and onions and a potted
tomato plant. The learnin’ I received as a child is paying off.
Fishing
Three weeks ago I ventured
forth with my worms and brought home two large, fat cutthroat trout. They’re in
the freezer, waiting for additional fish to make a real feast. My friend Robin (no relation) Webster will be here in a couple of weeks and she's as avid a fisherman as I am, so.... stay tuned.
Wild
animals
Yep, they’re out there. We’ve seen elk, dear, moose, coyotes and the
other morning the cattle were disturbed by a big momma grizzly and three
yearling cubs. They were heading south down the valley but I wouldn’t be
surprised to see them again this summer.
Jim
has been spending time in his studio in the attic (when not working with Tony
on the springhouse); while I work in my own studio. This
summer is dedicated to expanding my comfort zone – using lots of embellishments
on bags, getting fancy with the accessories, and designing hats.
Back
to the ranch
The view out every window in the house is outstanding: mountains
in the dining room window, the kitchen window frames the ridges to the north,
the bedroom windows look out to the east ridge and meadow, even the bathroom
window gives me a great view of the creek. And right now things are green –
every shade of green – the cattle are fat and happy, the calves are growing
like crazy. The bird life is amazing, from raucous magpies to tiny chickadees
and today we saw a hummingbird. Hawks circle above the meadows, flickers, jays,
swallows and starlings swoop and dive for the mosquitoes; and a pair of
Sandhill cranes clack their way overhead occasionally. We have two saucy
squirrels in the pine trees surrounding the yard, and newborn kittens in the
barn. Life goes on and we love being here to enjoy it.
We
do miss Jim’s mom and our own loving cats but know they’re all getting
attention from our house sitter – a kind and lovely lady.
June
has been a kind of settling-in time for us. I’m tasked with sorting and
disposing of Mom and Dad’s personal items; Mom no longer needs two easy chairs
and a dining table, right? Fortunately, we can find room for a few things in
her ranch house and the rest of her things? Well, I’m not rushing the process
so it could take me the remaining three months of our summer holiday.
So to get back to the question, What’s the difference between Maui and Alberta?… well, the weather comes to mind. I think we’re past the nighttime freezing now although I still worry about my tomato plant. The other morning there was new snow on the mountains just to the west. The wind blows almost always, mostly from the southwest, although no guarantees. We had a good thunderstorm the other day but not a lot of rain and yesterday brought the wildest, wickedest hailstorm anyone around here has ever seen, “here” being High River where we’re staying for a couple of nights with Peter and Shane so we can do laundry and catch up our Internet doings. Did
I mention there is no Internet at the ranch? No cellphone service? No TV? And
other than Tony and Debbie, whose home is a quarter mile away across the creek,
we cannot see another house, we rarely see vehicular traffic on the road (we’re
more likely to see riders checking their cattle or moving bulls), and the quiet
is broken only by the wind in the pines or the yap of a coyote.
We're so blessed to have two homes: Maui the tropical paradise and our ranch house in the Alberta wilderness.
