Home on the range..and Montana State Fair.

Continuing on a theme of more sedentary activities. After a great visit to Blairmore and the Crowsnest Pass……and some larger-than-life adventures up scary mountains……a trip home was in order.

There were chores to do and grass to cut.

….and some noxious weeds to poison……

We have an invasion of Babies Breath……a pretty floral decoration…but not native and out of control here…..and it makes huge tumbleweeds in the fall cleverly spreading thousands of seeds as it rolls along in the wind and gathers along the fence lines. Me and my backpack sprayer are on a mission.

My garlic was nicely cured so it was time to bring it in…..I was very pleased with it…. All will be returned to the soil in the fall then next year we’ll have a crop large enough to replant and add to the winter larder.

Oh…and I missed a side trip we did to visit another couple of great people we met on the road……they bought some bricks and sticks in a small village northeast of Calgary and have made a home in this lovely little community. The bird is named ‘Pumpkin’…she was rescued by one of their neighbours….funny little thing that she is…..

These guys are fellow Airstreamers…so it was kinda cool to have the two trailers side by side…..and it’s a very pretty little village they have chosen.

We spent a day out with them in some of the neighbouring towns…Big Valley is another spot that used to be a bigger town in the days of the railroad. Laterally it has been a tourist destination and is another place that was hit hard by the ‘pandemic’ shut down.

But….more importantly …we had to come home because the New Canadian in the house had to pick up his shiny new passport…… (Yay..!!)

This meant we could cross the border again (until it’s my turn…!!) so we eagerly picked out a State Fair to go visit….

Montana State Fair, Great Falls Montana.

This was a lovely day. One of the great things (in my opinion) about fall fairs is the pride in the livestock. Chickens, bunnies, cows, pigs and goats. That and the 4H stuff. We attended the Erie County fair in Hamburg NY a couple of years ago and were delighted to see how much involvement there is of the next generation of young farmers. It was evident here in Montana also, even though this was a much smaller affair than in Hamburg.

I think all of the pigs and cows being washed and blow dried for show were being handled by kids.

Montana cow pies….I can attest to their yummieness…….a brilliant idea for fair food. (it’s a cross between a grilled cheese and a burger, pressed in a pie shape, sealed around the edges and then deep fried..!!)

…and when we stop travelling and fill our fields with animals…..I have to have not just ordinary goats……but spotty goats……

Back home again we had a major storm warning. On the prairie you can see this thing form as it comes off the Rockies.

…as it swept towards us the light and the power of the sky above was incredible (at this point we were still standing outside)

We watched in awe as that hook of cloud swirled down looking very much like it was going to touch…

….then the sky darkened forty shades and the wind picked up…….time to go inside.

There are no pictures of the next bit….because there was nothing visible ..LOL…the rain hit us like Niagara Falls coming sideways…. 2 inches of rain came down in 15 minutes of pounding and wind before it swept on east. The lightning was visible to the east for a couple of hours…..

After the storm….these next pictures have not been retouched in any way.