Ramblin' Rides with Amber: Episode 17

A new year is upon us and I’m loving the sound of 2024 already. We were treated with a very mild December here in Alberta and I did not take it for granted. I have heard those around me complaining about these 2 weeks of very cold temperatures we are experiencing, and I just keep thinking how thankful I am to live in a place where we get to appreciate all the seasons.

I was not quite in that mindset on Friday, however. Shawn and I woke up to frozen pipes and no water. That means no water for the animals as well. We spent the better part of the day trying to thaw the pipes, as well as continually filling the animal troughs with a hose from the barn. We are so fortunate to have a headed barn. I remember the first winter we were living here, we had a cold snap, and I was trying to thaw water hoses in our very tiny bathroom to get water to the horses and cows. It was not ideal, but those who look after large animals know that it is not for the faint of heart. Our toasty fire kept our cabin at a livable temperature over the weekend– but even it had a hard time keeping up. It’s not often we both have to go to bed in our wool long underwear and sweaters, waking up every few hours to add logs to the fire just to stay relatively warm!

It might not sound like much fun, but I wouldn’t trade this life. It is these cold spells that make us appreciate the heat, and the hot summer droughts that make us appreciate the snow. I do wish our summers were longer, as winter always drags on far too long in Alberta – especially when caring for farm animals, but those warmer months are so welcomed when they do finally roll around.

Since it is January and the 1st month of our calendar… I wanted to take a moment to comment on how proud I am that my husband Shawn and I have been doing our “Amber Marshall Calendar” together for 13 years! When I first met Shawn, he was a photographer for the Toronto Argonauts, Woodbine Racetrack, and the Ontario RAM Rodeo Series. He started taking publicity shots for me, and he commented that it was cute I always seemed to have an animal in my photos. I remember mentioning (as somewhat of a joke), it would be fun to do a 12-month calendar with a different one of my animals for each month, and not long after that comment we began putting together our 2011 Calendar. Shawn has stepped away from photography in his everyday life, but we have maintained the calendar photoshoots over the years and always enjoy that time together. For those of you how have some of my calendars, they are almost like a yearbook in time of the different critters we have been lucky to share our home with.

Shawn does not like to be in front of the camera, but I was able to get him to take part in this newest Rambling Rides to see his side of the calendar journey.

Thank you for tuning in to these updates and being a part of this community.

Shop my 2024 Calendar here: https://www.marshallscountrystore.com...