Our Farm
We named our farm after the former whistlestop of Pendennis situated
to the east on the old Great Northwestern Railway line. The old
rail bed crosses our property and some days imaginary trains still
chug their way past our yard. The fastest steam engine in England
during the 1920s was the "4079 Pendennis Castle". The
Town
of Rivers, which is named after Sir Charles Rivers Wilson (president
of the Grand Trunk Railway from 1895 to 1910), also has a railway
theme. We couldn't resist having a railway theme for our farm and
website also. The background image of the website banner is the
Pendennis Castle locomotive.

Our farm nestles up against 480 acres of mostly-forested Crown
Land which a retired wildlife biologist referred to as the "Pendennis
hills". We presumed that was a local name, but the neighbours
looked puzzled when we described the area that way. The Crown land
is leased by a neighbour for grazing and is humming with activity
during the deer hunting season. However, once the snow flies it
becomes our own personal playground. The fence lines make superb
riding and sleigh trails.
 
Hills in Manitoba, you ask?! No, that's no joke! Much of western
Manitoba is blessed with rolling hills, a stark contrast indeed
to the flat Red River floodplain, which is often the first impression
visitors get when driving on the Trans Canada Highway from Winnipeg.
Randy and I were immediately drawn to the Rivers area when we began
to search for an acreage to buy.
The Pendennis Hills are the highest point of land in the area,
with more than a 100-foot drop in the half a mile width of our quarter
section (160 acres). There are 200-foot cliffs along the Little
Saskatchewan River in places with spectacular views of the valley.
Wild crocuses adorn the hill tops in April after the snow disappears.
Recreational opportunities abound, with tubing, rafting and canoeing
popular in the spring, as well as good walleye fishing and endless
riding possibilities.
We rent 50 acres of cropland and hire someone to cut and bale our
60 acres of hayland. As we’ve come to realize over the years
just what easy keepers these Canadian horses are, we find it essential
to ration their feed to prevent them from becoming too fat. The
horses live outside year round. Following a winter in the yard,
they are gradually introduced to grass in spring. They are only
let out into the pasture for half a day, usually at night as the
sugar content of the grass is at its lowest then. If costly farrier
and feed bills are getting you down, get a Canadian Horse!

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