A Peaceful Afternoon

I'm blessed with this gorgeous view out my kitchen window...I never tire of the scene.

A peaceful afternoon looking east up Anderson Valley

There isn't a lot of green happening here...yet...it's starting to show though! My Lilac bushes are starting to develop leaves; it's beginning!

This was another shot taken with the 50 mm lens...I only adjusted the levels in Elements and the colors are really vibrant with this lens! What a difference between lenses...I never would have thought. But, that's part of learning photography!


I'm linking up with Madge Bloom's Weekly Top Shot


And a new meme for me...hosted by Viewing Nature with Eileen

Discovering the Nifty Fifty! (50mm lens)

And another Random 5 Friday!

I'm doing a couple of weekly photo challenges on Facebook. This week, one of those challenges was to use the 50mm lens...shoot whatever you want, but use the 50mm lens or something as close as you could get to 50mm.

Well, when I bought this "used-new to me" Canon DSLR, it came with four lenses...including a 50mm which I've never used! I LOVE IT!!

Say "cheese!"

It's light weight and takes consistently good quality photos with little to no post-processing.

"Awwww Rastus...I luv you!" says Mindy Mae

I like that the lens shoots more closely what your eye sees (distance wise)...there's no zoom, it's a fixed lens...you have to do it the ol' fashioned way...move your feet!

"Is it dinner yet?"

I can't explain this part, but I was able to get this shot out the back barn door...I'm standing in the dark barn and the bright sundown light is shining onto Colt. Usually the gate boards are black or he's all over exposed. Shrugging my shoulders on this one!

Love the fine detail...this is SOOC...no processing.

And, action shots were really impressive!! I set the camera in Action mode and I got more consistent shots than with the zoom!

The Boys...and just outside of the frame
 is Mindy Mae trying to get in the middle of the play!

Summary...I'm going to use this lens a LOT in the future!!

My Random 5...

1. To clarify my statement from last week about being concerned with My Man's retirement...it's mainly the health insurance that's bothering me!! And My Man sure won't be lettin' any grass grow under his feet after retirement...he just won't be working for the lumber yard anymore!

2. I got my hair cut yesterday...My Man didn't say boo about it...he sort of ticked me off...guess it's a bad cut.

3. Pierce needs lots of ground work before I get on him again...he's got issues with someone being on him...he's not happy or relaxed like he should be.

4. It's home made Egg Foo Young and a movie tonight...all at home!

5. Italian at our friend's house tomorrow...I'm making bread sticks and dessert...yum, can't wait!


Have an awesome weekend!!!

Wordless Wednesday

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Happy Wednesday!!

Leggin' Up - A Springtime Ritual

Yesterday, I took my first ride up our hill since last fall. The grass is starting to shoot up, but only a couple of inches so far. The weather forecast shows 69 degrees today, some rain tomorrow, and back up into the upper 60's again after that! YES!! The grass should start shooting up nicely with that!!

Rastus needs legging up too!
You can see the green grass coming up! 

The Butter Cups are starting to bloom, and I heard my first Meadow Lark...while Bald Eagles and ravens flew overhead. It was a beautiful afternoon ride.

I've got Colt in the two-rein...getting him tuned up...hope to have
him straight up in the bridle in a couple of weeks. 

We were supposed to help trail a few hundred yearling heifers to summer pasture on Friday, but something happened and the day was cancelled...dang :~( I hope to get invited when they reschedule...Rastus, Colt and I need leggin' up!!

Hope your spring days are as good as mine~

Weekly Top Shot

Well, another great blogger is back from a blogging break...Madge Bloom at The View From Right Here.

She hosts the Weekly Top Shot meme which I always enjoyed. Glad you're back Madge!!

As of today, we are officially done with calving season as Number Three gave us a beautiful bull calf at 7:22 AM! Well, most of you know that we have a VERY small herd. But the amazing thing is that all five cows calved within one week! The sire, Willy, was a busy boy last spring and didn't waste any time in getting his job done!

As the morning sun came up yesterday, I found this calf snuggled warmly in the hay pile.
It always amazes me how their natural instincts begin immediately at birth.
Within the first half hour, they're up on their feet and nursing.
They also know the best places to stay warm and hidden from predators.

Thanks again Madge for hosting!

Weekly Top Shot

Random 5 Friday ~ March 6, 2015

One of my favorite boggers, A Rural Journal, has returned from a blogging break...of almost a year!

I've decided to join her weekly Friday meme...Random 5 Friday.


"...share 5 random facts about you, your day, your pets, your kids, whatever!"

So, here we go!

1.  I really am trying to get back into blogging...I know, I've said that numerous times in the past. But honest I am.

2.  Wet, newborn calves at dusk, in the sagebrush, are not always the color you think they are...Lucy's black calf turned out to be red in the daylight! And he's big too...we are so thankful that Lucy (a first time heifer) popped him right out.

Lucy needs to work on lickin' off her calf better!

3.  My Man intends to retire in October...I'm quite nervous about the whole thing.

4.  Spring has arrived...the Bald Eagles are hunting the alfalfa fields for sage rats.

5.  Lil' Mindy Mae (aka Stinker Pot)...really is a stinky dog. She seems to need a bath every couple of weeks! Is that a Chihuahua thing?

"I don't need no stinkin' bath!!!"

Happy Friday and have a wonderful weekend!! 

I know I will...it's going to be in the 60's!!

Wordless Wednesday

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Happy Hump Day!

Twelve Photos from 2014

These are not chosen as my best quality photos, but as some of my favorite photos representing events and life changes in the year 2014.

Miss Cindy Sue starts the month of January. It's been a year now, and her PRA (progressive retina atrophy) has left her almost blind now. Her eyes are a milky white color. She still loves to go to the barn, but we have keep a close watch on her. It's been hard watching her eyesight fail, but dogs are amazing...she is adapting quite well.

February ~ Ah yes Mr. Red Dog...I do love this photo of him!

March ~ This photo just makes me laugh. Our brandings are so NOT traditional!! We had three bull calves and one heifer to vaccinate and brand...and of course castrate the bull calves.
No horses...just brute strength man power!

April ~ Our beloved Martha Jo, a VERY senior Chihuahua, came to live with us in April as a friend for Cindy Sue since CS can no longer go on trail rides or irrigate. My Man and I both just loved this lil' lady to the moon. She was picked up as a stray in Madras Oregon, and we adopted her through Three Rivers Humane Society. We gave her the best we could to make her life meaningful in her golden years...but we lost her in October. Her lil' spirit lives in our hearts. Rest in Peace Martha Jo~

May ~ We were blessed to be invited to numerous brandings for our friends and neighbors. My Man took this nice shot of me and Colt at the Thompson branding in Diamond...the branding with the most wind and dust of the year!!
My camera will never be the same :( 

June ~ We had a pretty good year for our hay. Our decision on when to cut second cutting should have been about a week later. The hot weather during the growth of third cutting made it grow faster than second cutting...really abnormal for that time of year. We could have gotten a fourth cutting, but opted not to take the chance. So, now in January, we have lots of deer feeding in our fields which is nice to see.

July ~ Off to school goes Pierce! He's not the perfectly willing, forgiving horse that Colt is...I will have to step up to the plate on his training. I'm glad that I decided to do the Mike Bridges Project with him...it'll help me keep focused...and our friend/neighbor Brian will also be in the same Project...that'll be great support!

August ~ Trailin' Cattle...gather and trail with Colt and Rastus = Awesome!

September ~ The beautiful Indian Summer lasted well into November...VERY unusual for our area. My planter of hummingbird flowers bloomed on and on despite the deer who kept trimming off the top blooms!

October ~ My sweet boy Rastus. We spent an exciting two days at Crowley Ranch in October gathering pairs and moving them into fields close to headquarters just prior to their shipping date. It's the most remote ranch I've worked on...loved it!!! We passed the test...because we're invited back this spring to help turn out onto summer grazing...can't wait!

November ~ Our Kids! I'd been looking for a good day to do a family photo shoot and finally got one. Hard to believe that the Nasturtiums were still blooming in November!! The blooms made for a wonderful background.
Shortly after this, we had a major freeze, and they were done. 

December ~ On the 20th, our newest lil' treasure came into our lives. We are pleased to introduce tiny lil' Mindy Mae. At 4.7 pounds, she's just a drop in the bucket compared even to Cindy Sue!! Mindy Mae is another stray out of Madras which we adopted from Three Rivers Humane Society. She's just 3 1/2 years old and is in very good health! She LOVES the wood stove obviously, but she also loves Cindy Sue, Rastus and Red Dog.
My Man and I have lost our hearts to her~

OK...let's make it thirteen!!!

My Man is always here to support me...so, this one gets my vote for favorite photo of the year!

Thanks for ridin' along...happy trails~