March 11th

The last 3 days it has been snowing again :) Before that, it was just cold and there was only a little bit of snow. I think there was more snow everywhere in Canada than here, but it was colder here than anywhere else ;)

Last Saturday, I went to a neighboring ranch with John and Grandma. Some people were practicing sorting cattle. They had a few cows with the same number, and all the cows with that number had to be put into a cage as quickly as possible. And the team that was the fastest won. (Unfortunately, I don't have any nice photos of that). And the owner had a mega cool ranch.....just like you imagine your future life as a little kid: lots of horses, even more cows, a (really) huge beautiful log cabin, and a riding arena (on a hill where you have a really nice view of the mountains).

And on Saturday, we got a new dog (Meg). But we can never take Meg anywhere because she messes everything up. For example, when we feed the lambs, she tries to chase and catch all of them....When we milk the cows, she chases away the calves and the big cows want to chase Meg. So it's impossible to milk cows like that. And because she is still so small, she can fit through all the fences, and whenever you're not paying attention, she's in the field with the animals and of course she doesn't come back when you call her. That's why Meg has to sit in her doghouse most of the time right now :(

On Sunday, we vaccinated all the sheep that don't have lambs yet and trimmed their udders. Each sheep got three shots, and I got to give one of them every time.

And on Wednesday, Grandma went back home because her 60 cows at home are also having calves now). Grandma lives about 4-5 hours away from Vanderhoof. It's not that far, but the road there is not really a road, it's rocks, holes, and mud, and sometimes it's not drivable at all. And Laurie and her brothers never had to go to school (because it was too far away). I think that's cool. John also has a friend who is here often and he doesn't have to go to school either. He's 12 and he told me how he hunted his first deer all by himself. And John's cousin is 10 and he already goes hunting too. In Germany, I would find that dangerous if 10-year-old children walked alone in the forest with a gun, but here it's somehow normal. And the kids can get their hunting license at school. (as an elective). That's super cool and I only had boring stuff in school that I'll never need again. Yeah, it's a bit different here than in Germany.

Since Monday, Sean and Melanie have been in Vancouver because there's something with rugby. And Melanie gets to play for the New Zealand U18 rugby national team there. (She's also going to New Zealand for a year starting in June and wants to play rugby there). That's why John, Laurie, and I are alone at home now.