OUR CITY

Once a year, since 1912, Calgary has celebrated its western roots with a huge outdoor show. Touted as the 'Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth' the Calgary Stampede celebrates Ranches, Farms, Cowboys and the Western way of life for ten days. From the first Friday in July and for the next ten days, cowboys of all shapes and sizes are seen walking the streets of Calgary. Tourists usually can be spotted wearing their 'dude ranch' outfits, real cowboys can be spotted in well worn jeans and battered hats (that's guys and gals by the way!). Most have smiles on their faces and a cheery " Howdy" comes from them as they pass people on the street.
The parade is one of the longest in the country and consists of hundreds of horses and riders, colourful floats, proud displays of our Aboriginal Peoples from all over Alberta, magnificent marching bands from across Canada and around the world entertain crowds of over 100,000 people who line the parade route. A front row 'seat' is the coveted view for the parade, and many , many people get downtown anywhere from 4am on to find that special spot. Once in position, nobody gets to 'push in front'. The past few years , unfortunately, has seen the growth of 'bleachers' . These 'seats' usually sell for $15 bucks a pop, and consists of a (not very comfortable) plank of wood across metal frames. These seats take up much of the 'prime viewing' spots and has become a bone of contention with 'real' stampede paraders.
It used to be that the actual getting up early enough to get that 'prime' spot was part, and parcel, of Stampeding. Things, and people, are changing these days. Maybe we are losing the true spirit of the Stampede. I hope not! Just because we have become a huge corporate centre shouldn't mean that we lose our country spirit.
 
Gardening Tales
Growing Season? In Calgary...hmmm, now that is a tricky question. This is basically how I figure it out.
When the ground 'defrosts' bedding out plants, seeds and bulbs are put into the ground. The ones that grow...grow. The ones that don't....don't. Then, in Autumn (if I remember to buy them) more bulbs get planted. The results (come Spring) are the same as above!!!
Outside Calgary - Sites and Sounds
We have a dear friend who, unfortunately, lost her husband to Cancer a few years ago. Linda and Dick England owned three beautiful ex-racehorses of Arabian stock and took care of them faithfully in their retirement years. When Dick passed away it was up to Linda to maintain the care of these wonderful animals but it was difficult as she never learned to drive in all their years together. There really had been no need as Dick did all the driving and the need never really presented itself. So, now, our daughter , Dale and myself take Linda out to the place where the critters are boarded and help her with the maintenance. We are very happy to do so, as both Dale and I love animals and horses are top of our list.
The reason for this background information is to show where we are when we see the sites around Calgary. It used to be that one didn't have to travel far to get to the outskirts of Calgary. Unfortunately this isn't so now. Calgary has grown, and is still growing. It is gobbling up acres and acres of beautiful farmland that has been sold and parceled out. Our wildlife is suffering and will continue to suffer as it gets pushed further away from habitable areas by the biggest, and most dangerous , predator of them all. Man.
Linda and I went out on May 19 and found the horses in the main pasture. Usually , throughout the winter months they are behind the fence in the treed pasture where there is shelter for them. On the way to the farm we saw a beautiful Bluebird fly across our path and land on a nearby fence. These little birds are truly a magnificent shade of blue. There was a time when they were heading down the road of 'no return', but, thanks to dedicated 'birders' are well on their way to flourishing once more. As we neared the pasture we saw three young Deer ahead of us. One on the east side of the road, two on the west. Just nonchalantly nibbling at tender grass shoots. We drove very slowly, so as not to panic them, until they gathered together and trotted off to a wooded area.

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