Goodbye 2012 ~ Hello 2013

Another year gone...and quickly too!

When I looked back at the calendar, I realized that we had quite a few changes over the year; two healthy heifers were born and added to our lil' herd, we had to say goodbye to two cherished dogs (Abby and Cowboy), Bella Jo found her place in the world, Rastus came to us, and Pierce also found his way to us.

My Man and I were blessed with a very good year, and I thank everyone who stops by this blog and takes a glance at our life and lifestyle that we think is so special. Your comments, support, and friendship are greatly appreciated.

Cheers to you and yours in the coming New Year!

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See ya next year!

Freezing, Frosty Friday

Today was the first day this season to reach below 0 F. The official low temperature on our thermometer was -6 F. Last evening they said it was going to be a low of 12...they were just a lil' bot off their mark!

After ten minutes of dressing Cindy Sue and myself for the cold, we venture out to feed the herd.I had a feelin' there might be some good photo ops!

Sunrise through the frosted elm tree

Oh my, it was a glorious mornin' despite the cold!

I say the girls are happy this mornin'...they have plenty of hay to keep cow smiles on their faces!

I left all of the tank heaters plugged in, which I hate to have to do because of the cost, but I want to keep everyone hydrated.

Tracks in the snow

After making quick work of getting everyone fed, I took a few shots, and we (all the dogs and me) were ready to get into the house and stand by the wood stove. Ahhhhh...lovin' that wood heat!

Unconditional Faith

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Faith

On Winter’s day with snow so deep

Wrapped in the coat of warmth God gave me I keep

As blowing winds and falling snow continue on

Drifts of white climb ever so steep

I wait with patience as dusk draws near

For lack of anything I have no fear

She knows my needs and true to her word

I’m safe from harm with her love so dear

K. J. S.

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Wintery Wednesday

We've had snow on the ground since December 15 in some form or another...the storm that came through yesterday and last night is continuing today.

What I needed this mornin' to feed the herd was a sled...the wheel barrow didn't do me a bit of good. This first photo is dark...sun was just coming up.

Look at these crazy burros!! They've had icicles since yesterday...yes, they have a shelter...but would they use it?
Of course NOT!!!
I pulled off the icicles that were hanging from Stetson's eye lashes.

PLEASE!!! Don't turn me in to the SPCA...honest, they all have shelters!!! Colt, Whiskey and Pierce were in the barn with a run...obviously they prefer to stand outside in the snow too!

Such sweet brothers...they share!

The pups are having a great time as usual!! Total snow dogs!

Red Dog had huge snow balls hanging off of his legs!
Him and silly Rastus caught a bird :(

Lil' Cindy Sue was up to her belly and couldn't quite figure how to do her mornin' business!

Peaceful and serene~the bird house came out of the tree in the strong winds a couple of weeks ago.
I set it on the bench until I could get time to drag the ladder out and hang it back up again...so here it sits.

The best thing about the snow...when it melts, it will take the fertilizer that My Man spread a couple of weeks ago...perfect timing!

My Man spreading fertilizer on December 15.
He loves to farm!

For your music enjoyment...I had this song running through my head this mornin'...I'm sure I post it every Christmas season, but it's so dang good, it's always worth another listen!

And the snow continues to fall...have a great Wednesday!

Merry Christmas!

OK...yes, I'm a bit late...but December 25 is not over yet, so I'll get my well wishes out to everyone before midnight!!!

Greetings from the Pack!

My Man and I had friends over last evening for dinner...beef brisket on the smoker...it was awesome!! Great fellowship, food...and a pretty good game of Rummy too!

Today, Christmas, it was just us. We opened socks with the pups while we had Tim Horton's coffee mixed with a wee bit of Baileys. (We think it might be worth living in Canada just for Tim Horton coffee!!!)

Cindy Sue seems to have had a bit too much fun! LOL...Maybe one too many Puperonie's! 

The snow began falling about 8 AM and has finally tapered off now (5:30 PM)...but it's supposed to continue through tonight and into tomorrow. There's maybe 4 inches. Not a blizzard by any means, but Red and Rastus enjoyed their beef knuckle bones in the snow!

There's a ham in the oven that's smelling heavenly...

My Man out did himself as usual in the "gift" department. Not only did I receive the portrait of Colt that Kathleen Coy painted (which really is SO AWESOME in real life), he got me a silver wild rag slide with my initial "K" on it. He's a bad man...was NOT supposed to do that ;~)

Gotta love a man like that!!

Red Dog guarding his Christmas knuckle bone.

I hope that everyone had a very blessed Christmas that was enjoyed with family and friends.

Merry Christmas!!

Winter Solstice sunrise.

Wordless Wednesday ~ About Face!

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More Wordless Wednesday here ~

The Making of the Grinch Tree

Last Saturday, we really had a great time on the Christmas tree hunting expedition.

There was lots of cuteness...

Cindy Sue all bundled up 'n stayin' warm!

...lots of sniffin'...

Notice how nice Rastus' coat is getting?
He's lost all that yellow fur except for that one patch on the top of his tail!

...lots of runnin' 'n playin'...

Just a few of at least 10 dogs!

...and lots of food 'n beverages...with a big fire for warmth. We were the first to leave at about 4 pm; the rest of them stayed up on the mountain until about 8 pm...guess they had a great time!!

Yummy...Gretchen 'n her dutch oven...the best!

And I love how my Grinch tree turned out. It's tall (7 foot) 'n skinny...fits right up next to the wall. Not the traditional tree obviously.   Ahhhhh but the aroma of Juniper!!!

Decorated!

We think it's perfect...down to the Grinch tree bent top!

The Old World Santa ball was perfect for the top.

It feels like Santa's work shop at my house...still lots to do! Better get after it!

How are your Christmas plans coming along?

Wordless Wednesday ~ Tell-Tale Eyes

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Go for more Wordless Wednesday!

The "Grinch" Tree

Last weekend was the Christmas party weekend...I was exhausted yesterday!! Friday, dinner at friends; Saturday, Christmas tree hunting with a bon fire, food, drinks and friends; Sunday, Round Barn Visitor's Center annual appreciation open house...more food and beverages.

Monday, recuperate!!!

Today, I'm decorating my Grinch tree. Christmas music and the strong Juniper aroma of the tree fill the house. But, I sure would like some SNOW!!!

My Wild Juniper "Grinch" Tree!

So far, it's lookin' pretty good!!

For My Cowboy

It's been a week since we lost Cowboy. When I spotted this tiny bit of color in a deck planter today, it made me think it was Cowboy telling me not to be so sad...and that he was fine.

Here is a post of some of Cowboy's early days.

Autumn Surprise

I know that he and a lot of other critters who owned me and have passed on are waiting for me at the Rainbow Bridge. It's comforting to know that they are there...free from pain and worry.

Cowboy 3/17/99 ~ 11/27/12

Love you and miss you Cowboy...I'll be there some day to get you~

Happy Thanksgiving to You 'n Yours

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Lingering Fall Days

Yes, there have been more beautiful days in the past week, but there has also been some snow...not enough to amount to anything; just enough to make things wet an muddy when it thaws.

A Dusting of Snow in the Foot Hills

Today's set of photos were taken in Manual mode on my camera. It's starting to make a little bit of sense to me...and I'm liking the results most of the time.

Handsome Cowboy

I'm still working on figuring out the action shots in Manual though.  Red Dog and Rastus were havin' a pretty good time while I was raking and mowing leaves last week. The sun was gorgeous and there was hardly a breeze...perfect!

Play Time!

As you can see, I got some of the action to stop, but not all.

Action!

But the fall colors came out nice...and I'm pretty much done with the leaves! Yeah!

My Helper.

Pierce still has a bit of a snotty nose, the cough seems to be gone, but he has some swelling in his rear legs...which I read can be a symptom of Rhino.

Colt had a bout of something yesterday. He had finished his dinner from the night before, but was lethargic and off his feed in the morning. I gave him a dose of Banamine and by early afternoon he was looking much perkier. He finally had a pile, so I gave him a small dinner. I checked on him at 1:30 this AM and he'd had two more piles. At feeding this mornin' he had one more pile. But, he's still not his robust self, so I'm leaving him in the stall and run again today to keep an eye on him.

Pierce got his first hoof trim today and did a pretty good job! There were a few moments of not wanting to keep the hoof up for Pat, but he never got unmanageable. I was proud of him!

My gosh, Thanksgiving is just around the corner...are you ready? What are your plans? We're staying home and will be hosting dinner for a dear couple who will be staying for the long weekend. Lots of food, beverage, games and laughter is ahead!

I'm Published!!!

My first published photo!!!

What an honor it is to be selected as one of the 12 pages for the American Quarter Horse Association's 2013 calendar!

You might remember this photo from a Wordless Wednesday post back in April titled Curiosity.

My Man riding Whiskey as we sort out pairs for the 3J Ranch.

AQHA had a photo contest earlier this year on FaceBook, so I thought what the heck...send something in, it wouldn't hurt. So, I chose this one, and I titled the photo this time: "No, I'm not your mother."

About a month ago, I got an email asking me for a copy of the photo with a higher resolution. I sent her what I had, but this photo was taken with my old point 'n shoot camera I carry on the trail and was afraid that it wouldn't work for them.

Then I forgot about it.

Tuesday, there was a notice in my PO Box that I had a large envelope from AQHA...it didn't click in my brain. When I picked up the envelope at the PO on Thursday, I thought to myself they must be sending calendars to members this year, because that was about the size and feel of the envelope.

As I was driving home, it dawned on me that this could be from the contest...and they couldn't afford to send every member a calendar!

I sat down at my desk and started with January...slowly looking at all the photos. They put one large photo for each month and each date space that didn't have a number, they filled with small photos.

Hoping that my photo would be in one of the small date spots, you can't imagine my surprise when I got to July and there was my photo...the BIG photo!!! They had a wonderful write up in the front cover of the calendar that told how they had conducted the contest and that they had received hundreds of quality photos and how hard it was for them to narrow it down to the top 12. By then I was in tears~

My Man is visiting his family in Missouri, so I had to call him. He's so excited to get home to see the calendar! He comes home tomorrow!!

All of the photos in the calendar are just awesome (really professional looking stuff)...and the calendar is 12x24 inches (opened up) and printed on really nice paper. Here's a link if you want to buy one...or two...Christmas is coming and they'd make a great gift!

Quarter Horse Outfitters

Thanks for letting me share my excitement with you!! As you can tell, I'm just beside myself!

And, if I hadn't started blogging, I wouldn't be dragging a camera with me everywhere I go! Amazing what a lil' blog can do!