Buck DVD winner

I\’m sure you\’ve heard by now southern Alberta experienced record-breaking winds yesterday leaving many facilities damaged, power out and fires raging. As I surveyed the damage – photos and comments posted by Facebook friends – I was amazed and grateful that animals and humans seemed to have escaped serious injuries or worse during this freakish storm.

The girls were attending a 4H lesson with their horses at a feedlot east of Airdrie, when the storm evolved from uncomfortable to insane. It took several extra adults to hold open trailer doors and load horses, and the trip home was somewhat harrowing, with sights of sheds blowing across fields, and the surreal sense of truck and trailer drifting sideways several times. Thankfully, we made it. Back at the log house, the winds initiated a 12-hour power outage, and questions and musings from Wee about the ramifications of global warming. Little kids most often worry about the big questions, don\’t they.

Providing a beautiful juxtaposition to the fury of less than 24 hours ago, today we woke up to a light dusting of snow, and an incredibly calm landscape.

When you live in the boondocks, you can spend a lifetime feeling both humbled and awed by the power of Mother Nature.

I\’ll be posting some great and inexpensive apps recommendations – from travel to photography to equine – later this week in our Christmas countdown, which Wee informs me is now less than four weeks.

In the meantime, thanking you all for your fantastic Best Westerns suggestions in the 6 Weeks \’till Chrismas: Great Gift Ideas post last week. Among the most favoured: Tombstone, True Grit, Lonesome Dove, Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid, Jeremiah Johnson, Rustlers Rhapsody, Open Range, Pretty Horses, and, I believe most often mentioned – The Man From Snowy River.

Then some I\’ve not heard of: Cactus Jack with Kirk Douglas, a copy of which I\’ll now have to track down, as well as Winchester 73 (?), The Rounders with Glenn Ford and Henry Fonda and so many others which have become somewhat forgotten in the mainstream, but still alive in some of your hearts obviously.

Susan Kauffmann, Western Horse Review Health Editor offered up what may be the oddest of the lot. The film, Dead Man, with Johnny Depp and a host of other significant actors. After viewing this trailer, Susan, it\’s definitely going to be on my list!

Fantastic cast!

We made a random draw from all the comments and the lucky winner is Alex, who happened to be the third final commenter, and who wrote:

“So many good movies in this list. Westerns I liked – Unforgiven, Appaloosa, and 3:10 from Yuma – all movies with good character development and story lines that are going somewhere.

“I really want to see Buck, but I think we will not get it here in Penticton. Hope it is Merry Christmas to me.”

Alex, apparently, you will be seeing Buck. Please contact us at [email protected] and we\’ll get your DVD shipped out to you promptly.

Thanks again everyone for the excellent suggestions – great list for all of us collectively!