Monogamy is for Manhattan: Fall on the Ranch

Oh my gosh it's Fall!

I think this is one of the first times in my adult life where I have been in a position to actually enjoy fall. Fall is the "precursor to winter and winter is the devil" (a wise woman said that one... recently). Winter is the worst thing that ever recurrently happens to me.Usually I'm stressing about heating bills, and winter tires I can't afford, and driving in the snow, and vitamin D deprivation, and seasonal depression, and having to wear more clothes then I'm comfortable with, and going to work and coming home in the dark, and Christmas concerts I might have to miss, and out-grown snowsuits I can't afford to replace, etc. You get the point. This is what Fall used to mean to me.

But this year!! THIS year I still have those things to think about, but not to worry about! Why? Because I'm no longer a single mom, I no longer have to bear the brunt of ALL expenses, and any stresses I have are counteracted by cuddles, which I get lots of now. Yay me!

However, on the ranch, Fall is like crunch time. All projects wrap up. This is the time of year that all ranchers work for. It's pay day! Well pay... month? Anyways, this is the time when everyone is getting all their ducks in a row, stock piling hay for the winter, bringing the cows in from range, sorting off the cattle (ones you keep from the ones you sell), getting trucks in order to take your sale cows to auction, all that fun stuff. Except in our world, its multiplied because we also have sheep, and to a lesser extent horses. PLUS we have our 200+ herd divided in two locations some 436 km apart. It's so much fun.

My partners to do list over the next 3-4 weeks includes: Go to Merritt, get cows organized to ship back to Quesnel. Get back home. Go back to Merritt, get cows loaded on truck. Drive home, immediately sort sale-cows from keep-cows. Load sale-cows on truck. Go to sale. Somewhere in there, load up and take wool to Edmonton. Explore possibility of making this a family affair. Sort sale horses, get them to Alberta. Sort sheep, get them to Calgary. Also, explore the possibility of making this a family trip. Toss in a birthday party, Remembrance Day, Halloween, and a gun course 3 hours from home.

Don't forget to breathe. I wonder is we're going to see him at any point over the next weeks?

For Partner #2 and I, and the kids, Fall will be much the same as any other time of the year. Except that we may have to assist in some sorting shenanigans. It is Isabella's birthday on Friday! I am so excited for her. Everyone else in this house has had a birthday and she has had to watch and wait 10 months for hers to come. Isabella decided that for her birthday she wanted a "girls day", so her, Partner #2, and I are all going to the salon to get our hair done. Its going to be great! I love an excuse to spend money on vanity!

Anyways, this year I am looking forward to being able to relax and enjoy the season. I have decided to become a chai tea junky as the weather gets colder, and Partner #2 will start baking almost weekly! It's the perfect combination. Plus I've really been enjoying taking pictures. So I'm just going to leave you off with some pictures of what we've been up to this fall.