The last date Jamie and I had alone together (and the first one since Grace was born 4yrs ago) would have been last August when he swept me off my feet with a MacDonalds meal on the fly and an intensely exciting night sitting under the stars with our good friend Ronnie sitting between us so he and Jamie could chat, watching diesel smoke erupt into the sky as more horsepower then any person can ever possibly put to practical use screamed down the track in front of us pulling it's cumbersome load in hopes of towing it the farthest.  Tractor Pulls, while some may question the romance, and indeed would be entitled to, as we sat on the rock hard bleachers until the wee hours of the morning wondering if our hearing would ever return, and shivering because no one anticipated how cold the summer night would get, we enjoyed every minute.

Conventionally unconventional may well be our truism, so when Jamie announced on Saturday morning that he and I were travelling off Island to the Annual Breeding Stock Sale (or Bull Sale as we call it) to look for a bull to use on our heifers, I almost melted.  It just so happened that our ducks were lined up perfectly so as to allow Jamie and I to spend the day together while Bethany stayed with Nanny Walk (Jamie's Mom), and Grace would spend her first night away from home with Nanny B. (my Mom). While I was a bit hesitant about the overnight stay, it quickly became apparent that she would be just fine when she climbed into Nanny B's van with only a casual "see ya on Easter" before she slammed the door.  After an honest effort on my part to allow her the opportunity to separate herself with the grown-up dignity she was displaying so well, I flung the door back open, hugged and kissed her and took solace from her encouraging "you'll be fine Mom".

The Bull Sale, held at a testing facility where cattle breeding prospects are scientifically tested using DNA testing, ultra sounding, measuring and weighing, from November to April with the purpose of ascertaining all manner of information from carcass and meat quality, weight gain, docility, calving ease, prolific abilities and the list goes on.

A beehive of activity, The Bull Sale is a place where farmers gather with the like appreciation for good breeding and the mutual purpose of enhancing their respective breeding programs.  A place where the farmer steps away from the front lines at home, dons their cleanest coveralls and publicly exhibits their often unrecognized aptitude for business in general and the ever important numbers involved. A place where carcasses, marbling and fat are among the most spoke about topics and gentlemen that wouldn't utter a word to their doctor about any issue above their knees, freely and casually discuss subjects such as the intimate measurements used to determine fertility among bull prospects, or the birth canal of young heifers.

The smell of grilled hamburgers drifts through the sale barn causing subconscious curiosity as to the whereabouts of the young prospects that didnt' make it.  While in fact they are sent back to their farms, the smokey atmosphere and mouthwatering aroma add to the excitement.  I don't frequent auctions of any sort, and so I am always impressed by the fast tongue of the auctioneer, sweeping the crowd up and cajoling higher and higher bids from even the creakiest of wallets.  The smooth, loud callings seem to entice the fingers to twitch until the Bid Takers below indicate your twitch may cost you several thousand dollars, and more then once I had to sit on my hands, while I wondered why exactly my nose would itch at that precise moment.  A complementary jacket is offered to whomever purchases the highest selling bull of the day and this year it went to the buyer of a 1600lbs 15 month old black Simmental bull which sold for $6900.00.

We arrived too late in the day to view the bulls prior to auction time, so Jamie decided,  based on the test results in the sale catalogue which bulls would suit our needs.  This time around we were not looking for a herd sire, only something to cross on our young heifers that would provide a smaller birth weight and an easy calving experience, and of course the genetics to grow and gain well once on the ground.  In the end our chosen bulls soared beyond our price range and when a Red Angus, slightly younger then the rest entered the sale ring Jamie scrambled to find his results in the catalogue and tentatively raised  his hand to hear "once, twice, sold!"  We now have a Red Angus bull in our barn.  Thankfully he should serve our purpose quite well, on second glance his results were quite respectable and once separated from his older sale mates, we were able to appreciate him as a very promising young prospect. However we both sat momentarily bewildered after the purchase, and since his sale price was among the lowest of the day, we couldn't help but wonder if a prize would be offered for the poorest bull purchased.

Our whirlwind day ended with a great meal out and we headed home to help offload the newbie.

Calves are arriving in numbers right now on the farm and while so far we haven't lost any (including a set of twins born last week), we would much rather have had them begin in dryer weather and realise that sickness may well be underlying.  Jamie plans to begin fencing this week which shouldn't be quite as daunting as usual since our snow load was minimal this year and our fences are still in good shape.

TWINS!

After mounds and mounds of laundry and countless diapers, Miss Bethany seems to finally be on the mend after a trip to the Doctor confirmed  that she had Norwalk Virus, which is apparently going around in our area right now.  Despite being miserably sick she maintained her typical happy demeanour, smiling at me while projectile vomiting and giggling uncontrollably while her diapers seemed to explode.  All things said, I just pray that no one else in the house catches it and it truly is on it's way out.

MY CHARIOT FOR THE WEEK WHILE JAMIE WAS HAULING CORN

BULLY WAITING FOR SUPPER

A CARROT SNACK

Have a wonderful week everyone, I feel as though I should insert an inspiring quote or some sign off phrase here, but my mind has already turned to mush!

GRACE LEADING BETHANY (IT'S THEIR NEW THING)

GRACE CREATED A "TIME TRAVEL TRAIN"

MAKING BREAD

HOPEFULLY THE LAST SNOWMAN OF THE SEASON

RECIPE 

Super Easy (And Delicious) Cauliflower

1/2 head Cauliflower
4 slices Smoked Bacon
2 cloves Garlic
2 tsp Olive Oil

Chop Cauliflower and finely chop Bacon, lay on baking sheet, cut Garlic Cloves in half and place on pan, drizzle with Olive Oil and mix by hand, salt and pepper to taste, roast on 350 degrees stirring occasionally until tender and slightly browned.