published 16th of june, 2022
In the afternoon of June 27th, 2022 we drove towards Parkland Ranch on endless gravel roads.
For days I had been looking forward to finally getting to know Judith, so far we had only had brief contact. I became aware of Judith through a mutual acquaintance and had "stalked" her on social media ever since. When we were in the area (Manitoba, Canada) 2 days earlier, I called her and asked if she would be interested in visiting. She was happy and invited us for this Monday. She said she wouldn't be there until late afternoon, but if we could come earlier, she'd let Nick (her co-worker) know. When we arrived in the early afternoon, curious ground squirrels eyed us, but they quickly disappeared into their holes as soon as the purple school bus approached. Nick (a young German) received us as promised. He originally came as an intern for 2 months and today - 2 years later - he is still there and takes care of everything when Judith is away. He and his dog Luke showed us the ranch with all its inhabitants. Lennox met the llamas.
The horses were in the huge paddock and could only be admired from afar. Then we showed Nick and Luke our kingdom; especially Luke made himself comfortable on the couch. Granted, we disabled people have to stick together. 😉 Luke lost his hind leg in a shot because he was mistaken for a coyote. Thank God he's still a happy friendly dog who experiences a lot with his master!
A little later Judith came home with her two dogs. A tall, slim person, excited, inquisitive and with an immensely positive charisma. She greeted us warmly and I was sure we would have a good time together. I wanted to ask her a thousand questions but leave her alone after her long journey. However, she had at least as many questions and the first thing we did was chat about my school bus and hers, because that was the first thing we had in common that drew my attention to her. She converted a school bus with her boyfriend last year and lived on the bus in Newfoundland for the winter. Wes - her boyfriend - is currently still in Newfoundland and living on the bus while he repairs the sailboat that will take them around the world. The circumnavigation is also the reason why Judith is about to sell her ranch. These and many other topics did not allow any boring conversations to arise and a joint dinner, where everyone contributed something, rounded off the evening. The next morning, the day greeted us with bright sunshine while the ranch animals grazed peacefully around the bus.
Could I imagine a nicer view in the morning while drinking coffee? Hardly! So while I was sitting comfortably with my cup of coffee on my terrace and I greeted Judith and Nick, who were already busy at work, Judith suddenly saw the cup in my hand, laughed out loud and disappeared. Less than 2 minutes later she was back with her coffee mug and this photo was taken. 2 freefly girls with the same ☕️cup 🥰
Note: For the non-skydivers among you: Freefly is an artistic discipline in skydiving. Which brings us to our second thing in common: skydiving. Judith was also active in skydiving for a long time until she emigrated to Canada about 15 years ago and pounded her horse ranch out of the ground herself. She is a go-getter through and through, I really admire that! After coffee, Judith introduced me to 2 of her horses in more detail. Almost as a preparation...
for the "Mission Horseriding" planned for the following day.
This afternoon, however, there was a ride for Judith and Nick with my "Genny". And I daresay they had a little fun.
In the evening we cooked a vegan dinner together with recipes from Judith's not yet published cookbook "On the boat, on the road".
My favorite was the "Windy Lentils" but everything else was delicious too, even though I'll probably never become a convinced vegan 🤷♀️ because I'm way too lazy for that 🙈. We enjoyed dinner in good (grazing) company.
The next morning the "Mission Horseriding" started. Since my lift seemed to frighten the horses a bit, we moved the "launch pad" onto the deck. With a little support from good old Seb', I was up there in no time and was allowed to turn a few meters in the yard with Zoe, who was actually already retired, while the entourage accompanied us.
The pleasure didn't last very long, but that didn't matter at all. Mission successful ✅️- Sandra happy! 🤩
At noon Judith gave her reserve parachute a little fresh air...
And in the afternoon the therapy program continued for me. After a few extensive stretching exercises for the shoulders, Judith encouraged me to walk a few steps and surprisingly it worked quite well, although I have been walking and standing relatively little since we have been on the road.
In the evening there was a new lesson in "vegan cooking" and again I was surprised how good vegan food can be. In general, the time we spent together was very instructive and I am grateful for 3 days packed with beautiful moments. Thank you Judith and Nick! I wish you what you wish for! 😘 We'll see each other again - sometime, somewhere 🤞
.
Comentarios