After a few days up in Northern Saskatchewan at Jan Lake, we headed home today. I knew I had considerable windshield time in the passenger seat (a rare occurance for me), so I asked my Facebook Friends for some suggestions on a blog post to write along the seven hour ride. I had some great suggestions, from what it’s like to vacation as a farmer, to some good lake recipes. I was pretty gung ho, and had some reasonably well formed thoughts rolling through my head. Then, lake head set in. That’s right. I got lazy. 

  
So instead, I will share a few random thoughts and even more random pictures that caught my eye on the long drive home. 

1. Sometimes it takes stepping out of your normal routine to bring you full circle. 

Noelle and I skipped a great horse show to go up to the lake. While it was a great family decision, I couldn’t help but feel like we were missing out on not only a good show, but catching up with some really good horse show friends. Turns out I not only got to spend quality family time, but also got to catch up with some REALLY great horse show friends from years ago. 

Back in my prime high school horse showing days, Vince and Sharon Walker were not just family friends. They were family. I was best friends with their oldest daughter, Alisha, and my sister was best buds with Lindsay, their middlest child. While I dare not get into details about the adventures we got ourselves into, it is safe to say that Vince and Sharon were secondary parents to me for those years. 

It was great to catch up with both of them up at Jan this weekend. It was very nice to see that Vince is as easy going as always, and Sharon still has multiple dogs by her side. The chat with them brought back a lot of great memories, and it was great to hear about what all of their three kids (and multiple grandchildren) are up to these days. 

2. Crops north of the 16 highway look great. 

  
From Elfros to Choiceland, even the frost damaged or re-seeded canola looks MUCH better than around home. Cereal crops look fantastic. And there are far more hemp fields than I have ever seen in the past.  I would have taken more (and better quality) pics, but it was not worth the “I’m in a hurry to get home” conversation (aka argument).

3. I have no idea what the heck this thing is, or what it is possibly used for. Whatever it is, what did they think people might do to it?? It had me stumped. And giggling. 

  
4. I love the Rose Valley elevator. I don’t know who’s idea it was to paint a smiley face on the side, but it works. It makes me smile every single time I drive past. 

  
Once again, excuse the 120km/hr fly-by shot. As well as the bug gut smears. 

5. As great as it was to get away for a few days, honestly, there is no place like home! 

6. I need to stop thinking about my blog now. What I really should be doing is typing a list (or 10 lists) of what I need to pack/do to get ready for the horse show we are leaving for TOMORROW! My head is starting to hurt, just thinking about it. 

Happy Hump Day!!