Missin' Momma

Pierce is missing his momma...but is not as worried as day one and two. He was not happy when I took Colt to go gather cows yesterday even though I put Whiskey in the run next to him...he loves his brother!

Lil's sad eyes.

What's with the star on the forehead that he didn't have before? Beats me...we're trying to figure it out! I'm going to try washing it and see what happens. I talked to the vet and she said she's never heard of spots coming in after they were born (except scar type color changes).

WhoooHoooo! Pierce Comes Home Today!!

The long awaited day has finally arrived...Pierce is coming home to the ranch today!!

Pierce, half brother to Colt

I'm way more excited and happy than he's gonna to be...it's weaning day for the lil' guy. They're loading the mare and Pierce up this morning and bringing him...a whole 5 mile ride.

We'll unload them into the run behind the barn, close the gate, bring the mare out through the stall door...leaving Pierce behind...load up the mare again and off they go.

Colt's going to be in the run next to Pierce for moral support!

I'm so excited to see the two of them next to each other...photos coming of course!!

~ Running Shadow ~

In the flower garden, tucked up next to the house out of the snow yesterday morning, this lil' guy is still runnin' in the summer sun!

Running Shadow

Weather for Wednesday Is...

Cold and snowy...

I don't know for sure, but it seems that the most talked about subject on personal blogs and FaceBook is the weather. Is that boring? Well, I don't think so. I enjoy seeing photos and reading stories from different parts of the world...it's amazing how different everyone's lives are.

Yesterday, we had our first snow; yep, only October 23.

The snow was melted in all but the shadowed ground by mid-day. Shortly after feeding the herd as the sun rose in the east, the glorious sun began peeking through the partly cloudy skies for the remainder of the day.

(I apologize for the fuzzy photos...my camera at 1600 ISO gets pretty grainy)

Approaching Dawn

Snow Shoes

Where's Breakfast?
Colt was runnin' 'n a buckin' in the cool mornin' air.

Snow Face Rastus

The Flower Garden...
I think it's done~

Summer's End

Sunrise

My favorite view

This morning, the second snow came shortly before dawn giving us more than yesterday. We'll take the moisture...we sure need it.

Fall Color in SE Oregon

We don't get a lot of color in the fall. Most of the time, the leaves on the trees get freeze dried to a nice brown color...not too exciting.

But this year, was a bit different. It stayed hot for so long, they must have had a chance to do what they're supposed to do in the fall!

This ol' homestead is part of the 3J Ranch. The trees are old and huge,
and the grass is watered all summer long.
It's like an oasis in the desert.

We have to look for colors in other places besides the trees~

Shadows on Riddle Mountain as the sun begins to
get lower in the western sky.

Dry Lake is truly dry this year...first time in the seven years we've lived here.
You can see the water rings in the lake bed as it slowly receded through summer.
(Pardon the blurred sage brush in the foreground, we were driving.)

Yesterday's sunrise. It feels so good to have clouds again.
I love blue skies, but we went for months without clouds.

Enjoy a great weekend!

The Grass Sea

Fall is here. The alfalfa is going dormant after a few hard freezes. Lots of cattle are being worked; gathered, sorted, weaned, those that got missed in the spring are branded and castrated, and some are being shipped to the sale yards. It's kind of like the end of the cycle.

Last week, I helped the 3J Ranch move pairs from one field to another. I hadn't ridden in that area before. The land is on the edges of the Malhuer Lake and there are numerous sloughs...which made it quite interesting and a little more challenging.

Can't beat this view! The sun just lit up the grass heads.

Moving cow/calf pairs through the slough waters of Malhuer Lake.

As we move the cows through the sloughs, the base gets deeper and deeper.
We chose to cross where the cows had not been, and it was still plenty deep.

Rastus had a ball in the water!! Yahoo!!

It looked like a grass sea with the cows moving through...sometimes
you couldn't even see the cows!

It didn't take long for Rastus to dry out in the 75 degree heat.
One happy cow dog...I'm getting better with my commands...
it's a lot of fun to have a good horse and a good dog!

It's been unusually warm this fall, but there's snow and rain in our forecast! I guess I will sadly put away my patio furniture this weekend...sigh...

Not so Shy...

...when he has some moral support!!

Red and Rastus are the best of furiends. Rastus looks quite mean in
this photo...but he's a sweetheart...and he loves to play!

I'm off to help the 3J Ranch gather and sort pairs today. Weather outlook says it's going to be 75 degrees again today...we're all hoping for some moisture soon.

Have a great day!!

Wordless Wednesday ~ Camera Shy

Check out more Wordless Wednesday!

In a Nut Shell

How else can one put almost 4 months of life in a blog? I've got my calendar and some photos I've used on FaceBook...(yes, I admit that I've been on FB way too much ;~)

In all actuality, this was a pretty uneventful summer.

Irritation...err...irrigation (lots of water needed during this dry, hot summer).

Three cuttings of alfalfa (all three cuttings made dairy quality).

Two cutting horse shows (no Lakeview or Harney County stock horse shows).

Doing some day work for neighbors (branding and moving lots of cows).

Garden (a pretty good year).

All that stuff is just like all the other years since I've been blogging...which is one of the reasons I didn't have a lot of incentive to blog...same ol' same ol'...ya know?!?

The photo from yesterday is at the edge of our east field...we could have gotten a 4th cutting on our alfalfa, but decided to let the plant go through its cycle. It'll strengthen the plant, and all that green fertilizer goes into the soil too.

There's been some dog changes...

Rest in Peace pretty Abby. We helped her to the Rainbow Bridge on June 17.

We also said farewell to pretty Bella Jo...who now lives on a working cattle
ranch on the Idaho/Utah border. They love her to death and she's making
a fine working dog for them.

Welcome Rastus a registered Border Collie...best friend to Red Dog!

We held a Cow Dog Clinic here at the ranch in August with Tom Blasdell as the trainer. It was at that point my silly brain finally clicked in...a green rider and green horse don't make a good pair...so goes the same as a green cow dog handler and a green cow dog...duh...it only took me two years to figure that out.

So, we bought Rastus from Tom, and Rastus is teaching me to become a handler...and will eventually help teach Red to be a cow dog. We've been working at it, but I need more training!!! Tom is coming for another clinic in November.

Yes, we still have precious Cindy Sue and Cowboy too!! They're both doing great!

It's been a fun summer riding the Coltster...

"Handsome Me" he says. My friend Kathleen Coy painted this photo...and I get
it for Christmas...My Man has the box on the dining room table...how
tempting to open it!!! He better hide it...and of course get it framed ;~)

Lots of miles in the saddle with this view...not a bad view at all!!

Cow/calf pairs moved into the Windmill Field on
Stinkingwater Pass.

Then we said farewell to Gus...

Long story short...he went to a trainer to do 30 days...and sold
after 4 rides...he got a great home, and I made some money this time 'round!!

And now I'm proud to welcome Colt's half brother Pierce to the Rough String!!!

He's still with his momma...to be weaned at the end of the month...
at which time he'll be coming home (here)!!!

Toby is still the shining star in lil' Reata's life...he'll be staying at
their place for the winter...Reata's absolutely IN LOVE with Toby.
At the fair this summer, Reata won all-around cowgirl in her age division on the Ol' Man.
Makes me proud.

And Rohan, Stetson and Catnip are fat and sassy too!!

Poor Tigger has had a hard time keepin' a buddy around. We lost Hissy to the Feline Leukemia, and finally found a compatable, half grown kitten...Teddy. They're doin' fine...Tigger was sooooo lonely...he loves his new friend Teddy!!

Tigger at the top and Teddy in the background...this was Teddy's first day
to come out of hiding and make a public appearance.
Now he greets you when we fill the kibble bowl!

Other drivel...four days at the Pendleton Round-up, a day at the fair, watched the herd work for the Harney County Futurity (felt good to take the year off and get back at it next year), two Ranch Hand Rodeos, two wine dinners at Hotel Diamond...

That's it...what an exciting summer!!! LOL!

OK...let's move on!

Thank you for all the "welcome back" greetings yesterday...bloggers really are great people~

Hmmmm...Can I Remember How?

June 13 to today...that's a pretty long blogging break!! Well, Google got me all confused, and I couldn't get logged in...so I said screw 'um...I didn't have the time or patience to figure it out...but with a lil' bit of help from blogger friends, we're up and runnin' again!

Let's just see if I can remember how to post a photo, and we'll go from there!

Rastus, Red (with his tongue in my face) 'n lil' Cindy Sue!

It's been a long, hot, dry summer...glad fall is finally here...now if we could get some moisture to go with the cold. 20 degrees every morning for the past week, and we finally fired up the wood stove.

I'll do a brief "catch up" post tomorrow.  How was your summer?!?

Feels good to be back!!