January: Ineffable Wanderlust Blog Circle {Luminescence}

I was actually the one who chose the theme this month. I chose it because it had been so dark and cold and I felt that I needed a photo project that would help me find a little light! I then had a hard time deciding what to do!

I could have gone in many directions with this one, and I tried to keep it in mind while I was out and about with the family over the last month. I managed to find two photos that I liked, one using natural light, and one of pyrotechnics!!!

I hope you enjoy these photos! You should head over to Rebecca's Page to check out more from the blog circle this month!

Driving home from Panorama, heading toward Bragg Creek the sun was setting and it was just so beautiful I couldn't help but snap a picture! We didn't really have time to pull over so I shot this from the window of the car, I was quite happy with how it turned out!
Beautiful, beautiful Alberta!

Panorama Mountain Resort is our new home away from home. We spent New Years Eve there this year and the Global Fest team did an amazing job of putting on the fireworks display. 

Happiness Through My Eyes: There's no place like home

Those of you who have known me for a while know that my family has just moved back to Canada after a 4 year overseas adventure. I don't regret any of our journey and I would do it all over again, but I am ecstatic to be home.

Despite growing up in a small city here in Alberta, I've always wanted to live on a farm. In high school I had a boyfriend (Hi Scott just in case you're randomly reading this!!!) who lived out on a farm and I loved helping him feed the cows, drive the tractor or just do general chores around the farm. I remember one day sitting down by this beautiful little creek on their property and sobbing while the cattle were being loaded to go to slaughter. It's part of farm living, but not having grown up with it I was a little devastated!!! I remember thinking it was just so peaceful out there and I loved visiting. 

There's a big push lately to go "back to the land"  with backyard chickens and vegetable gardens and raw milk and I'm very excited to now have five acres just outside of Calgary and our own family acreage that can facilitate that!  

I walk out onto the deck some mornings with my cup of coffee, the sun is shining, there are birds flying around, goats bleating and cows mooing in the next field and I just stand there and smile. It's not anywhere close to the glitz and glamour that we had in Abu Dhabi, but it makes me much happier. I enjoy hauling hay, I enjoy pulling weeds, and building things and mowing the lawn. I enjoy feeding the goats now that they are safely contained and I'm not chasing them all over the foothills but most of all, I enjoy being back home. 

Home to me is big open skies, family, wheat fields, mountains, good friends and laughter, and rolling hills. It's dramatic clouds, camping, storms, hay bales, friendly people, country music, two-stepping and rodeo. I love these aspects of my home province and I missed them intensely while I was away. 

This month I thought I would share pictures from around our place and along the drive into town(Okotoks). So you can see for yourself some of the things that make me happy to be home.  

Here it is, Chez Burwell :) That's the trout pond on the bottom left. I was taking pictures of the stormy sky that went right over us without actually storming!!! If you look closely you can see my Mom relaxing under the pergola above the pond. 

Artsy take out in the pasture

I drive past this old barn all the time so today I stopped and took a picture

I take the back highway into Okotoks just so I can see views like this on a daily basis!!!!!!

Then on the way back you're looking at a gorgeous Calgary skyline

Mmmmmmm our place is full of saskatoon berries!!! They taste a bit like bluberries and can be used in a similar way but they have a nuttier taste to them. They grow wild here. 

This is Mia, she's a naughty goat most of the time and VERY bossy! Our goats are named after Reese's friends in Abu Dhabi!!!

Our little desert dog Ooday LOVES frolicking through the upper pasture. He chases grasshoppers and then goes and runs laps around the house like a maniac!!!

The road out towards the mountains 

On the top road coming back down into DeWinton. I had to stop because the reflections were awesome :)

Check out the bull's snot/spit!!!!!! I LOVE watching bull riding! This was at the Okotoks Pro Rodeo today. These guys are crazy. (read AWESOME)

This looks so uncomfortable!!! They look like rag dolls being bounced around on the horse!

Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys

Mutton Busting- Reese has decided she wants to try next year!!! 

Failing mutton busting she would like to try wild pony wrangling.

So now you can see why I'm happy to be home. Or, you think I'm completely crazy for being in love with all these things!! Either way you should visit the talented Louise Freeland's blog next to check out the rest of the blog circle  CLICK ON HERE TO CONTINUE THE CIRCLE :)

Happiness Through My Eyes..........A New Member Of The Family!!!

Well since I last posted we have gained a new member of our family! You can read all about it below and then check out the next wondeful photographer in our blog circle.
The Fabulous Linda Hooper!!!!

It all started when I innocently went to the vet to buy more dog food and there was a small puppy behind the desk who was absolutely adorable and immediately latched on and played with Reese.

Fast forward to the next day and I'd convinced Richard that the puppy should "meet" Cadbury and have a playdate.  This puppy was brought into the clinic at around 10-12 weeks old. Someone had found it scavenging on the street and had managed to capture it. That family had said they would adopt him if he was neuteured and then changed their minds and abandoned the adoption. He had been living in the clinic for a few weeks and fostering at the lovely Zoe's house because he was so distraught at being left in a cage in teh clinic. Poor little guy!!!!!!

Meeting"Jack" on the playdate outside the vets

Cadbury loved him on the playdate so we packed him up and brought him home with us! The first few days were tense because Cadbury loved him outside the house, but tried to eat him inside the house!!!

So for the first day the poor little dude slept on the floor near the couch because if he went anywhere near Cadbury and her bed she would growl.

I think he was just happy to have a home!

We re-named him Ooday, which is an old Arabic name meaning "He who runs fast"!! We thought he should have an Arab name since he's native to here. 

Eventually, Cadbury warmed up to him and even allowed him on her bed. Now she loves to play with him and is remarkably patient given her age and spastic legs!!!!

Finally getting a turn on the bed!

RAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

And now they are best friends most of the time! We actually have to stop Cadbury from encouraging Ooday to play otherwise her joints get too sore. Crazy dog :) She seems to have come to life with a puppy in the house. Definitely more of a gleam in her eyes these days.

Having a snuggle with Cadbury

Ooday and Reese also had to learn to get a long and this is still an ongoing process. We currently have some strict rules in place to protect them from each other!!

Posing for the camera

Daddy has cheese!!!!

Ooday is a desert type dog. Which means that he's definitely part Saluki with potentially a few other things mixed in. Watching him jump and prance is hilarious and his body makes me giggle because he's got the big chest and skinny little waist and these spindly long legs! I can't wait to see him off leash one day when we are home and in a secure dog park (and we've done some work on "Come"!!) 

I'm fairly certain nothing is going to be safe in our house for a few years! Steaks on the counters, anything on the bed or a shelf!!! No pet rabbits allowed in the Burwell house unfortunately!!! 

like a little gazelle

What was interesting is that when we took him camping he got out of the car, immediately dug a hole in the sand and then lay in it. He did this all weekend, and anytime he was lying down, he was in a hole. Guess you can't beat 1000 years of instinct!!!!!

Ooday in his first hole of the day

He was a little hyper today when I was trying to take some more picture because we bathed him for the first time earlier. Cadbury will sit for the hose and bath with not much convincing. Ooday was trying to blend in with the hedge rather than get wet!!!!!

Afterwards he was twitchy and crazy and so when I was taking the following pictures I caught him just as he started at me, mid air, and then as he was right above me!! They're blurry because I had such a close lens on that he was too close to focus but I think they're hilarious!

And finally, some last shots of Ooday. I'm fairly certain he's glaring at me in the middle one. The last one is him with his new tag that arrived on Thursday. He will be making the long trek home with us in June when we repatriate back to Calgary. He'll have five acres to run on and a lifelong family.

I'm getting teenager attitude here I think! 

Officially a Burwell!!!!!! 

Thanks for reading my [incredibly long] blog post for this month! You should head on over to Linda's Blog and check out what she has to say. Comments are always welcome all around :) 

Happiness through my eyes.....A girl and her dog!

I decided to join a blog circle with a bunch of lovely ladies that I know. I've never done this before so I might mess it up a few times!! The inspiration for this month was "Happiness is......"
Once you've finished reading this you should check out Linda's contribution at Linda Hooper Photography!!!

When I was a child we had a labrador retriever named Taffy. Taffy was the most patient dog I've ever known and we used to dress him up and roll around with him and he would just wag his tail and go along with it. He was our playmate, our protector and part of our family. 

This is how Reese feels about our labrador retriever Cadbury. (ok our lab is a very small lab, she's genetically a dwarf for those of you who look at the picture and think...hmmmmmm not a lab!!)

Happiness for me is watching my daughter have the same wonderful relationship with our family dog. They play chase around the living room, they play "fetch Reese" or "hide and seek" or just throw a ball. Reese has started requesting to hold the leash when we walk Cadbury and every night without fail Cadbury can be found laying in the dog bed, right beside Reese's bed, and she stays there until morning.

The look of adoration that Cadbury gives Reese makes me smile. It makes me truly happy that my child can bond with and enjoy our family dog as much as I did when I was her age. 

"Whoever said that diamonds are a girl's best friend...... 

never owned a dog"