loon.

Our boarders enjoy it. We have no time because of so much ranch work!

I started this website on a whim, much like the way we bought the ranch. Most of the time it does not take me long to make a decision. Whether it is deciding what color to paint the bedroom, or to buy a ranch and move to the country. It takes approximately 5 minutes. Perhaps that is why my spelling is so atrocious.

Sometimes I have regrets...

Like buying the Appaloosa. Or not buying my daughter the dried apricots she so wanted...That was eleven years

We were “City slickers” living near downtown Montreal, Canada. Our front yard was so tiny it did not need a lawn mower. We could cut the grass with scissors.

We would wake up each morning at a decent time, mosey on down to the corner caf?, pick up a croissant and an espresso, bring it home and relax on the balcony, read the newspaper, watch the people go by.

It was a really easy life… All shopping was just minutes away, including the cafe where we bought our espresso and croissants each morning.

So, why did we move?

Well, we hadn't thought about moving until... My husband (John) suggested we go to visit his friend’s horse in St. Lazare.

I could not believe my eyes. Practically every house had a barn and a corral. And these were ordinary people…like you and me…and they were living in paradise.

A week later we were looking at property and soon after that we bought our new home. A horse ranch, in St. Lazare, Quebec.

It has a house, a barn and 16 acres leading onto to the best riding trails in Quebec, maybe even all of Canada.

We moved in December. There was no easing into the horse-keeping experience, our new life hit us like a ton of bricks. We had 7 horses to care for and a very cold winter. But it was exhilarating. We loved every minute owning and operating a horse boarding stable. Before the big move, I had fun studying the L.L. Bean Catalogues, looking for the right ranch wear. I decided on 2 warm parkas, work shirts and barn coats...good choice!

We did a lot of ranch work in our first summer.

We built and painted new wood corrals (10 of them).

We put down sand and a drainage pipes so the horses feet would stay nice and dry.

We bought giant metal feeding units. They weighed 500 lbs each. We ground down sharp edges, painted them white and installed them in each corral.

We bought a cool retractable ladder with which to climb up to the hay loft from inside the barn.

We built an addition to the barn where our boarders could eat lunch, hang out and shoot the breeze in comfort. We even added water buckets on outside wall so that visiting horses could have a drink too. We call it the Wild Spirit Saloon.

Our boarders enjoy it. We have no time because of so much ranch work!

I started this website on a whim, much like the way we bought the ranch. Most of the time it does not take me long to make a decision. Whether it is deciding what color to paint the bedroom, or to buy a ranch and move to the country. It takes approximately 5 minutes. Perhaps that is why my spelling is so atrocious.

Sometimes I have regrets...

Like buying the Appaloosa. Or not buying my daughter the dried apricots she so wanted...That was eleven years

hadn't thought about moving until... My husband (John) suggested we go to visit his friend’s horse in St. Lazare.

I could not believe my eyes. Practically every house had a barn and a corral. And these were ordinary people…like you and me…and they were living in paradise.

A week later we were looking at property and soon after that we bought our new home. A horse ranch, in St. Lazare, Quebec.

It has a house, a barn and 16 acres leading onto to the best riding trails in Quebec, maybe even all of Canada.

We moved in December. There was no easing into the horse-keeping experience, our new life hit us like a ton of bricks. We had 7 horses to care for and a very cold winter. But it was exhilarating. We loved every minute owning and operating a horse boarding stable. Before the big move, I had fun studying the L.L. Bean Catalogues, looking for the right ranch wear. I decided on 2 warm parkas, work shirts and barn coats...good choice!

We did a lot of ranch work in our first summer.

We built and painted new wood corrals (10 of them).

We put down sand and a drainage pipes so the horses feet would stay nice and dry.

We bought giant metal feeding units. They weighed 500 lbs each. We ground down sharp edges, painted them white and installed them in each corral.

We bought a cool retractable ladder with which to climb up to the hay loft from inside the barn.

We built an addition to the barn where our boarders could eat lunch, hang out and shoot the breeze in comfort. We even added water buckets on outside wall so that visiting horses could have a drink too. We call it the Wild Spirit Saloon.

Our boarders enjoy it. We have no time because of so much ranch work!

I started this website on a whim, much like the way we bought the ranch. Most of the time it does not take me long to make a decision. Whether it is deciding what color to paint the bedroom, or to buy a ranch and move to the country. It takes approximately 5 minutes. Perhaps that is why my spelling is so atrocious.

Sometimes I have regrets...

Like buying the Appaloosa. Or not buying my daughter the dried apricots she so wanted...That was eleven years

. There was no easing into the horse-keeping experience, our new life hit us like a ton of bricks. We had 7 horses to care for and a very cold winter. But it was exhilarating. We loved every minute owning and operating a horse boarding stable. Before the big move, I had fun studying the L.L. Bean Catalogues, looking for the right ranch wear. I decided on 2 warm parkas, work shirts and barn coats...good choice!

We did a lot of ranch work in our first summer.

We built and painted new wood corrals (10 of them).

We put down sand and a drainage pipes so the horses feet would stay nice and dry.

We bought giant metal feeding units. They weighed 500 lbs each. We ground down sharp edges, painted them white and installed them in each corral.

We bought a cool retractable ladder with which to climb up to the hay loft from inside the barn.

We built an addition to the barn where our boarders could eat lunch, hang out and shoot the breeze in comfort. We even added water buckets on outside wall so that visiting horses could have a drink too. We call it the Wild Spirit Saloon.

Our boarders enjoy it. We have no time because of so much ranch work!

I started this website on a whim, much like the way we bought the ranch. Most of the time it does not take me long to make a decision. Whether it is deciding what color to paint the bedroom, or to buy a ranch and move to the country. It takes approximately 5 minutes. Perhaps that is why my spelling is so atrocious.

Sometimes I have regrets...

Like buying the Appaloosa. Or not buying my daughter the dried apricots she so wanted...That was eleven years

a drainage pipes so the horses feet would stay nice and dry.

We bought giant metal feeding units. They weighed 500 lbs each. We ground down sharp edges, painted them white and installed them in each corral.

We bought a cool retractable ladder with which to climb up to the hay loft from inside the barn.

We built an addition to the barn where our boarders could eat lunch, hang out and shoot the breeze in comfort. We even added water buckets on outside wall so that visiting horses could have a drink too. We call it the Wild Spirit Saloon.

Our boarders enjoy it. We have no time because of so much ranch work!

I started this website on a whim, much like the way we bought the ranch. Most of the time it does not take me long to make a decision. Whether it is deciding what color to paint the bedroom, or to buy a ranch and move to the country. It takes approximately 5 minutes. Perhaps that is why my spelling is so atrocious.

Sometimes I have regrets...

Like buying the Appaloosa. Or not buying my daughter the dried apricots she so wanted...That was eleven years

loon.

Our boarders enjoy it. We have no time because of so much ranch work!

I started this website on a whim, much like the way we bought the ranch. Most of the time it does not take me long to make a decision. Whether it is deciding what color to paint the bedroom, or to buy a ranch and move to the country. It takes approximately 5 minutes. Perhaps that is why my spelling is so atrocious.

Sometimes I have regrets...

Like buying the Appaloosa. Or not buying my daughter the dried apricots she so wanted...That was eleven years ago. I need to get over it, I know. I love working on my site. I am on line every minute that I am not with the horses or doing dreaded housework. I wake up at 5:00am. Really, I do! Now it is 6:00pm - Time to feed the horses.