Well, here we are in June. Life at the Historic O'Keefe Ranch is always changing. Friday, we had school tours which were supposed to be French Immersion kids but turned out to be a mix of English-speaking, French-speaking, and parent volunteers who were all English-speaking ... which was quite a relief. I did a Mansion tour and a few tours of the General store. I love working with the kids, especially when their eyes open with wonder at the beautiful historical items they are seeing for the first time.
Saturday, the Ranch hosted about 500 motorbikers ... leathers, Harleys, throbbing motors ... lots of swagger. They were on a Poker Run and stopped for burgers. A few toured the mansion, which was quite entertaining, as they had some rather amusing ideas of how they would use the fur rug or the master bedroom ... as a Victorian lady, I pretended not to understand the allusions. At the end of the day, I switched out of my role as guide and became a guest for the Ranch's Murder Mystery Dinner. It was the first time I had attended one, and it was amazing fun. The meal was also wonderful ... roast beef, roasted potatoes with gravy, lovely steamed veggies, salads and buns ... two yummy desserts ... and I didn't have to cook or clean up!
Today, we were expecting a car club tour ... they were late ... when the first two cars arrived, about 50 motorbikes pulled in after them. I'm not sure why the bikers were there (maybe returning from the previous day's outing), but they stopped in the parking lot to have a smoke and then came in to use the washrooms (we must have made a good impression). Our car club eventually arrived, having got lost on the way from Davison Orchards due to road construction on the shortest or most direct route (dang GPS). They had some very ritzy looking cars, but they were very nice people and enjoyed our tours, even though we had to speed through to get them on their way without too much delay.
Another excitement today was the shearing of the sheep. Where was my camera when I needed it?? The shearer rested in a harness suspended at about waist height, then flipped the sheep on its back end to shear its belly, then over on each side, and finally cleaned up the legs and heads. They didn't look that uncomfortable --maybe shearing is like a nice massage -- and they were certainly cooler afterward. They looked pretty nice too, with the big heavy fleece off and the nice close "shave". I'm sure all the ewes were thinking "I look 20 pounds lighter!!" (Oh to be a sheep)
We're looking forward to more school tours this week. I hope it doesn't rain too much. Perhaps it could rain at night to keep the dust down, and just be overcast during the day. It would be nice to be rid of the mosquitoes as well. Oh well, nothing is perfect. My "day off" where I do 2 other jobs, is Thursday ... then on Saturday I send my oldest off to Quebec for 5 weeks of intensive French language instruction. Immersion ... roughly defined as jumping into something right over your head and, hopefully, surviving.
Just a few more weeks and summer holidays begin for my high-school boys. Still a few events to live through first ... Annual Ceremonial Review for the Air Cadet and concert for the one taking drum lessons. Driving lesson, Fathers Day, Sunday School picnic, and family gatherings also appear in this month's list (a lot of birthdays in the extended family).
I should definitely head for bed ... because who knows what tomorrow will bring?
