This little piggy went to St. John's...mostly

How could I leave this face behind?

It seems like a lot of things are shifting around this week. After a month or more of travelling, workshops and demos, I'm done with that side of the business for the time being and beginning next week I'll be back in the studio filling spring orders.  And by studio, I mean shed.  The day before I left St. John's for the flintknapping workshops in Calgary and Edmonton, I found out that the farm had sold and that this would be my last chance to go through my belongings and collect what I wanted to keep.  I had to make some hard choices.

I took a picture of my pallet in Calgary before it shipped.  The big green trunk was my mom's hope chest. My dad was a farmer and both my mom and stepmom worked in hospitals, so even the herbicide and adult diaper boxes that my stuff is packed in are oddly nostalgic.  The box monogramed with my intials "TR" is just a coincidence.

Grandma Rast's sewing machine

The week that I spent on the farm was a busy one, sorting and packing boxes and then shipping a pallet of keepsakes back to Newfoundland.  This morning, Lori's dad was in town with his truck so we darted out to the freight depot and I brought home my boxes.  I've started sorting through them, and so far I've only spotted a single cracked plate, so I'm counting the shipping as a success.  Its mostly photos and papers and books.  I've been bringing back stuff a suitcase at a time for the past few years, but this time I shipped out a big trunk that my mom always had filled with linens and keepsakes at the foot of her bed and an old Singer sewing machine that belonged to my dad's mother.  I'm not sure exactly how old the sewing machine is, but I believe this model started production in the 1890s.

He was too good of a friend to abandon, so I gutted him and kept his skin.  I might leave him as a throw rug in front of the fireplace or taxidermy him back together again.  I do have a sewing machine now.

Photo Credits: Tim Rast

Alberta Wildlife and Homesteads

Short Earred Owl.  Since I've been returning home to the farm as a visitor, I've been paying a bit more attention to the wildlife in the area.  This is my first time noticing short earred owls.

Seeing the elk was a bit of a surprise.  I can't ever remember seeing elk near the farm growing up, and a dozen wandered through on my second last day on the farm.

Fences really don't slow them down.

The Ferguson Place. I can remember going for supper with Mr. and Mrs. Ferguson in this house as a very small child.

I had to stop and take some photos of the frosted trees and buildings on my way out of southern Alberta heading to Edmonton.

Photo Credits: Tim Rast

Happy Halloween

The hardest part about this costume was finding a replacement hat for my dad to wear while I was out trick or treating.

Photo Credit: The Beverly Hillbillies, Doris Rast

Sunrise and new plans

I'm back home and back at work in St. John's.  I'm mostly scanning and digitizing site maps from the summer.  Hopefully I'll get back into the workshop soon and have some new artifact reproductions to show.  Its time to settle into a new fall routine and get some work done around the house.  We're going to try to get the back deck built and maybe a few other home improvements done before the winter.  

Before moving on to new things, here are a couple last photos from Alberta.  Our last morning on the farm had a magnificent sunrise and light showers with a perfect rainbow over the yard.  Hard to leave those big Alberta skies.

Can you identify this piece of farm equipment?  The top photo has a different view.

 Photo Credits: Tim Rast

Five things that I learned from my Dad

There ain't no such a thing as "can't".

You are never too busy to be kind to an animal.

Buy Land.

Develop a hobby that you can do in a retirement home.

Always carry pliers.

Photo Credits:
1,2: Rast Family Photos
3-5: Tim Rast

That's a lot of cranes

Sometimes you don't notice stuff that's right under your nose.  For the last few summers there have been a pair of sandhill cranes nesting near our archaeology sites on Baffin Island.  

They're kind of loud, but I look forward to seeing them every year.

I'm back out west and went for a drive around the family farm on Monday and heard a familiar squawking in one of the fields.

Turns out we have dozens of sandhill cranes living in (or at least passing through) one wet corner of our land.

Photo Credits: Tim Rast

Back in Alberta

Photo Credit: Tim Rast

Gate Post

Photo Credits: Tim Rast

Moon Light

Photo Credit: Tim Rast

Relaxing

Photo Credit: Tim Rast

Home for a rest

Back on the farm again.

Photo Credit: Tim Rast

Wild Alberta

Plains Bison

I'm home in St. John's after my quick trip to Alberta.  I got home just after 4 am this morning so my internal clock is still a little messed up.  I'm just sitting down and going over the last of my photos.  Its fun going back to the places you grew up as a tourist - you see familiar things with new eyes.  

Bison Calf

This herd lives on a farm near Vulcan, Alberta.

Plains Bison Bull

The Mountains west of Cardston, Alberta.

Hawk flying

Hawk watching for movement in the fields.

Muskrat. I remember these things being cuter and less ratty.

Sunset on the farm.

Photo Credit: Tim Rast

A Few Farm Photos

Are you local?

 I'm back in Alberta for a few days visiting family and soaking up the big blue sky.  I've had great weather and some excellent road trips with my Dad and step-mom.  Tomorrow we'll head down to Cardston to check out the Remington Carriage Museum.

That's the farm where I grew up in the background.

Its been a wet year here - this creek doesn't often flow in the fall.

There's lots of hawks around.

Watching for rodents stirred up by harvest.

The hawks are floating over all the fields and pastures, hunting.

The crops look great this year.

I don't know what these little red plants are.  Some sort of little succulents living in the alkali soil.

Photo Credits: Tim Rast

Leaving Alberta

Snowy Owl

 I had another great trip back to Alberta.  The Archaeological Society of Alberta Flintknapping Workshop on Sunday was a blast and during the rest of the trip I saw lots of family that I hadn't seen in years.  The temperature was cold - as low as -33 degrees Celsius, and often in the -20 range.  I'm kicking myself for forgetting my camera on the day of the workshop, but I received a few photos from the official photographer that I think I can share with you on Friday.  In the meantime, here's some of the scenery from around the countryside.

I was only on the farm for a couple hours when this frosty coyote trotted through the yard.  It was minus 25 and he led the dogs on a leisurely chase across the pasture.

These four coyotes were born last summer a few miles north of the home place.

This is the farm where I grew up in Southern Alberta and where I stay when I come for a visit.  I miss the big sky.

I've never seen so many snowy owls.  You can spot them sitting on the power poles every few miles.

Can you spot the owl in this shot?

The Great Horned Owls seemed more comfortable in the trees.

The snowy owls were just as at home on the ground.  They look big when you see them walking through a pasture.  I thought this one was a coyote when I first saw it from the road.

Snowy Owl in flight.  Beautiful birds.

Photo Credits: Tim Rast