Didsbury, Alberta – 4th September on

We arrived at the home of the Stewart family just out of Didsbury, Alberta, on the 4^th September, and were welcomed with a room inside the house for the next few months, work whenever it’s needed or we are able, and a lovely new family to spend time with!

Didsbury is a little town in central Alberta, between the cities of Edmonton (about 2 hours north) and Calgary (45 minutes south). There are about 3000 people in the town, and we’re about 10km out of town here. The Stewarts live on the Didsbury convention grounds, but that’s only part of the property – there’s around 70 acres of spruce tree farm, and around 1600 acres all up I think – much of which grows either wheat or canola J

We’re lucky enough to be with some super lovely people who are willing to put up with us living in their home, and it’s great to have some new friends here! It’s such a beautiful rural spot, and it’s nice to have a bit of farm life!

Looking at the house, barn and workshop from the driveway

The awesome red barn! :)

And the house...

The dining shed for convention

One of the many sunrises we've seen since being here!

And another

Annnd another. From the road outside the property

I’ll let the photos do most of the talking, but we arrived here with pretty good timing: the night after we arrived here was their ‘company supper’ for all the people working for them, so it was a great chance to meet some of the friends from around here as well as more of the family (we’d previously met some of the family camping in Montana)! Parents Robert & Wanda, son Chad and his wife Alesha, son Brett and his wife Heather, son Jeremy & girlfriend Micaela, and son Joel and his girlfriend Lynley, as well as Wanda’s parents Barry and Willa who live nearby!

3 of the brothers - Jeremy, Brett & Joel

Brett, Heather, Kallie, Wanda & Robert

Brett & Heather with Kallie

Jeremy & Micaela with Kallie

Joel & Lynley with Kallie

Sunday night supper (dinner) with the family

Willa & Barry (Grandma & Grandpa)

We also met another Aussie bloke working with the Stewarts further south – Wade, from Narrabri originally but more recently from Roxborough Downs in Qld, as well as another cattle station near Katherine in the Northern Territory! So he has a few different Aussie experiences to us to share!

Wade, the Aussie cowboy

We got to see Gary from Montana again, who we met at camping in Montana, and as it has been said, it was simply ‘hi-larious’. And ‘Oh My Head’, Gary went out shooting skeet (clay pigeons) with most of the boys at the company supper as well. I believe a great time was had by all but the dog… Buddy wanted to run after the clay pigeons, and was rather fortunate really to still be able to see, although he’s a little slower than he used to be… Buddy has the life though – he loves to laze around outside in the sun, and sometimes he’ll grab your leg when you try to stop patting him, to make sure you stay!

Barry with Gary (from Montana)

Some of the boys shooting after the company supper

Good old Buddy, after shooting...

About a week after we arrived, a new little girl arrived into the world and into the Stewart family – Brett and Heather’s gorgeous little girl Kallie Mae, who was born September 10^th at long last! She’s been pretty popular around here, what with first time grandparents and great grandparents waiting to spoil her! So that’s lots of fun too J Brett and Heather’s cat also had 7 tiny kittens on the same day, which were absolutely adorable, but she wasn’t very good at looking after them, so that’s another story…

Proud new Grandma Stewart!

Little Kallie, very early on

Adorable little kittens

All in all, Didsbury is great and so are the people! We’ve been having a great time, and keeping pretty busy, as the crop harvest started not long after we arrived, and is still going! J