YIPPEE KI YAY

Scores of city-dwelling Canadians daydream about ditching it all for a quieter, simpler country life. So quoteth the Globe and Mail which goes on to print, ......this is the life she always wanted: living among cows and goats.

Hrmph, I shake my head, four years ago Jim and I did just that, foresaking the traffic snarls and congestion of Thornhill for our retirement ranch in Uxbridge.

Ranch? Yah, right, you snicker in disbelief.

How's your acreage? Ummm! Well, we don't actually have acres, but our lot is a good size. Alright already, so it's a mini ranch.

What about outbuildings? All ranches have outbuildings. Oh, we have a cute little garden shed with window boxes. That should count!

....and fences? you further challenge. Hah! We have a cedar fence marking the perimeter of our rear yard. So there!

With, ...and your grazing herds???, you think you finally have me. Oh, ye of little faith. We do have herds - herds of hungry chipmunks, herds of feeding squirrels and herds of grazing rabbits, I smugly retort. Yup, laugh all you want, but to me, our yard has become a mini ranch......and Jim and I have become its ranch hands.

As ranch hands daily feed the cattle and cows, so Jim daily drags barrels of seed around filling bird feeders. 

I know! I know! You argue that the feed is for the birds not our herds. Please note that it is actually our herds of chipmunks and squirrels who greedily feed the most.

And ranch hand, Jim, diligently repairs and maintains damaged equipment to fences and buildings.....and to bird feeders too.

My job around the ranch is to plant gardens for our rapidly growing herd of voraciously grazing rabbits, who love all my flowers and greens. It's back breaking work to keep up.

Jim and I love to welcome visiting dudes to our retirement ranch. If you're in the area drop by. View our herds. Enjoy the back forty, metres, that is. We even provide delightful souvenir t-shirts. 

Well, gotta' sign off now. It's time to head out to the back forty. A ranch hand's work is never done. Yippee ki yay!