June 19, 2014- Castlegar Sculpture Walk Sculpture of the Day “Playful Souls”

I am wild about this sculpture! It has been a horsey week for me, my mother’s horse foaled last week so I have been a little homesick. Spring is the best time to live on a farm with baby animals popping up left, right and centre!

Today’s sculpture is another small work that is incredibly detailed. “Playful Souls” sits on the corner outside Mountain High Lighting (one of the sculpture’s sponsors) across the street from another piece I have featured in my blog series “Eye of the Wind”.

Another neat thing about “Playful Souls” is that the artist behind this beautiful metalwork sculpture is from the West Kootenays. I have somehow managed to pick two sculptures from Nelson back-to-back in my blog posts! I try to devote a fair amount of time and praise to each sculpture but I do feel a little unfair love and pride for West Kootenay artists featured on the Castlegar Sculpture Walk; like Simone Schlichting!

Not only is Schlichting an impressive sculptress, she also crafts impressive jewelry at her business Valhalla Studios.  For more on her incredible equine inspired jewelry you can click here.

Slowly but surely we are getting through Castlegar’s Sculpture Walk 2014! I am still torn on what sculpture will get my vote for the “Peoples Choice Award”. After a very horsey, homesick week I can totally see it going to “Playful Souls”.

Today I was inspired by the “Playful Souls” and the message behind it; I went to Nelson and had a tame night on the town (it is a Thursday) and played rather than hunkering in for a night of show prep and a routine weeknight. Why? Well, because like animals sometimes we need to get out and play.

Fair warning, this was another sculpture impossible to capture in all of its glory in one photo. Please visit it and check it out for yourself! 

For more on “Playful Souls” click here.

For my previous blog on Castlegar Sculpture Walk’s “Counting Blessings” click here.  

Nova Scotia's "Storm of the Year"

Storm photo cred to Robert Bruce, FYI Dad's not impressed... 

Where there once were three there are now two.

I’d like to start this blog post be stating no animals, humans or heavy machinery was harmed in the making of this blog post at any time.

Yesterday I joked while getting my taxes done about the amount of snow days there are in my home province Nova Scotia. We laughed about how rare they are here in our region of British Columbia. This is my first winter away from home (and out of school for that matter) and it sure looks like I have missed a doozy.

This photo is from my parent’s farm in the beautiful Annapolis Valley. We moved onto our farm when I was in second grade. One of the first things about moving to the farm was explaining to people where had moved based on how many silos were in our backyard, we were the only farm with three in the general area. No more. If you have ever been to a party at my place I'm guessing the silos were a big silver beacon to help guide you to a good time (hopefully).

Brooklyn (or small part of the world) is a pretty windy place. No mosquitoes, no bees… few bugs and now fewer silos.  Today things apparently got a little more windy than normal. So much so that one of the towering pillars that set our little farm apart from the others down the road has blown down. 

Am I questioning the structural integrity of the silos? A little, but from what I have heard this storm is blowing VERY strong winds in a completely different way. But, let’s be serious it freakin’ windy. Rumour has it that the gusts are going way over 100 kilometers an hour… way over. In a place that is windy on the nicest of days I can’t imagine the gust that took down the silo.

Kootenay friends, this post is for you. Enjoy the warm day we have, we surpassed the high by 10am and worked our way up to at least 12 degrees during my show. I went to the gym with bare arms and legs today, skies out, thighs out. We lost power for less than an hour this week and marveled over the novelty of working out in the dark and not being able to have our subs toasted (maybe that was just me, I thought it was pretty cool).

As nice as it is, and this may justify a big “F-U” from everyone in Nova Scotia (if it didn’t before). I miss hunkering down for a good-ole Nor’Easter. Cranking up the radio and fighting over what to listen to KRock, AVR or Magic, stocking up on food and booze to get through the indefinite period of isolation, trying to read books by candlelight without catching on fire and neighbors sleeping over in our wood fire heated home were some of my favourite things. Getting stormed stayed away from home during hockey tournaments was even better (most of the time).

Again, no animals or humans were hurt when the barn roof caught the silos fall. 

Stay safe Nova Scotia. If you are managing to read this blog post during the storm good for you for having your electronics charged! If you still have power I am in doubt that you are feeling true “Storm of the Year” pain.  For all you without power I will not live-Tweet whatever happens on Big Brother Canada tonight… I promise. 

If your talking to John Bruce about this, do this girl a favour and maybe leave this blog out of the discussion. He wasn't to impressed that Robert put the photo on Facebook, I doubt he would have kind words about this blog.

I hope you ordered your Chinese food... here's Frankie! 

October 29: National Cat Day

I am a dog person.

I realized this in Grade 2 when my family moved to our very own farm and we were given our very own catfrom my Grandparents farm. His name was Leo; he may have been a she. I fought tooth and nail to have a cat, a very specific cat that was my Grandparent’s barn cat that was named Pumpkin. Pumpkin may have been feral, so my parents opted to adopt one of Pumpkin’s golden kittens (less feral) and named it Leo.

Creative names for cats would come later for the Bruce family. Willard, Fletcher, Jimmer, Vesuvius/Olympia, Ugly, Sylvester and Gimp are just some of the names given to the many cats that have lived at Annandale Farm over the years.

So, even though I am a dog person I thought I would pay tribute to my favourite cats on this National Cat Day.

Here they are:

The Queen of sass.

Truthful cat.

Broadway cats.

The Disney cats, even when they are bad they're good.

The World War Z cat.

How could I leave Puss out?

Avenger cats.... the most majestic.

Salem, the lovable pest. 

And everyone's fave, Nic Cage cat.