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.

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?

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!!

Happy Yee-Halidays!!

Templeton Thompson (remember Girls and Horses?) and her sweet voice does it again with an awesome Christmas song that you'll want to add to your collection!

Thanks Templeton!!

Merry Christmas to everyone~

Michelle Severe & The Gift

~Ya gotta try different things cuz

that's what makes ya smarter.~

~Marge Medling 1896~

The title I wanted to give this post was "Michelle Severe, My Man & The Gift." But, that was going to just be a lil' too bit over the edge for me! But, Michelle Severe did have a conspiracy going with My Man...it started last August.

I've posted about Michelle Severe before. She's a wonderful western and wildlife artist using oil, pastel, pencil and pen & ink. But the talent doesn't stop there. She also does scrimshaw, glass etching and wood burning. In her spare time, she's a dang good hand with a horse, a cow and a rope! I better not forget to mention that she's a great friend too!

As the story goes...My Man cornered Michelle last summer at one of the cuttings and asked if she would be interested in doing something of his wife. She said sure (of course). My Man just needed to decide what he wanted. As Christmas got closer, My Man talked with Michelle again and said that he wanted something of his wife roping. Michelle said that he needed to go see our mutual friend Andi Harmon and that she had a great photo from this year's Futurity. So, he did. And three weeks later, this is what came framed in a big box...just a few days before Christmas...

"Circlin' Up"
Colt in the two-rein as a 5 year old.

Taken from this:

The original photo that Andi Harmon took during
my fence run at the Harney County Reined Stock Horse Futurity. 

As you can well imagine, there were lots of tears shed when I opened that box. I would have never guessed in a million years that My Man would have thought of "the perfect gift." I mean, I never thought of it for myself. If I want something, I usually just get it...because it's usually something I need. I'm not much of a shopper. But, this tops the list of gifts.

Michelle did such a great job too!! I love how she's captured Colt's facial expression and all the tiny details, down to the romel reins, the tooling on the breast collar, his wispy forelock and the fringe on my chinks. And yes...the silly cow IS sticking its tongue out!!!

Of course it's proudly hung in our living room.

Then, as if that wasn't enough excitement. Michelle wanted to include my piece in her "Working Ranch Women" series!!  I'm humbly honored to be included with these great women! Here are a couple other pieces from the series:

"Common Ground"

"In the Hackamore"

Last month, Michelle and Andi shared a vendor booth at the Red Bluff Sale. And the way Michelle told me, the very first thing that she sold was my print. WHAT???!!! Yep, there were lots of reined cow people there and the gal that bought the print is on the Board of Directors with the California Reined Cow Horse Association...so Colt and I are hangin' on someone else's wall...that is just weird when I think about it...but again, it truly is an honor for me.

Michelle Severe is working on updating her website, but please give her a visit at MichelleSevere.com You can also friend her on FaceBook! Check out her awesome pieces with wild horses too.

Isn't My Man the BEST?!?!? I think so ;~)

My Man and His Traeger

~When my life is over, I hope someone remembers me.~

~Susan Shaw 1890~

I'm going to mention "Christmas," but don't get into a panic...I'm talkin' 'bout this past Christmas!! Yea, yea...a lil' late, but better late than never...

If the wife gives her husband a fancy barbecue for Christmas, does that fall in the same category as the husband giving the wife a vacuum? Of course I'm talking about the "thoughtless gift" category.

Well, it might...but I did it anyhow!

The lumber store that My Man works at carries the Traeger brand of wood pellet barbecues....and he's always talkin' about what his boss has been cookin' on his...so, it sounded good to me...actually very tasty!!!

I got the smallest one, but it's still huge and came in a box...it had to be put together. That particular day, I was driving the car and the box wouldn't fit. So, the plan was for one of the other staff to wrap it and they would tell My Man that it was a package that was delivered at the store for me (which actually happens quite often). But this package weighed at least 100 pounds!!!

So, My Man brings it home, and I act just as surprised and confused as he was..."I don't know what it is." But, I said I'd open it up after he got out of the shower. While he was in the shower, I made a big sign with a bow on it that said "To Husband From Wife."

He finishes his shower and comes into the living room...sees the box and sign and said something about me being a sneaky lil' thing  ;~)  Of course I'm sneaky...how else could I have kept it a secret!!!

Our first dinner with it was a whole chicken...OMG...to die for!!!

Puttin' on the bird.

Barbecuing inside? Yep...in the shop! It's best to keep it out of the wind and as warm as possible, because it affects the cooking time. This summer, it will be out on the new deck!

After 45 minutes of "smoke" it's ready to turn up to the "high" setting.

Total cooking time is 1 hour and 30 minutes. Dinner's ready!!

Seasoned to perfection, cooked with mesquite wood pellets...perfectly moist and delicious!!!

Would My Man have liked any other gift? Nope...not this time!! We're totally enjoying the food that this barbecue does...and it can do just about anything...even pizza and desserts (which we haven't tried yet)!!

Tonight's menu...pork loin chops cooked with Hickory wood pellets...yum!

What did My Man give me for Christmas? Well, that's comin' up~

Christmas at Our Family Farm

~It's kind of exciting not knowing what's coming next.~

~Anonymous~

I know this is totally late, but the following text is what I wrote for the January Horsefly (one of the reasons I didn't do much posting after Christmas)...and wanted to share it with you. I'm adding a lot more photos than were printed in the publication...as usual (you know me!).

The View From My Saddle

You know, I’ve heard that it’s not a good idea to go back to a place you sold; it’s usually worse for wear and always a disappointment. In this instance, we didn’t sell our family farm, but when my father and uncle retired, they divided the farm which was located south of Hillsboro ,and my uncle sold his half a few years later.


After the new owners took over, they tore down the old two-story farm house I lived in for years as a child and replaced it with a manufactured home. That was hard to take. But the worst was yet to come. I remember the day I drove up the driveway for a visit and the old barn was gone. I was angry. I was hurt. A part of my life was gone…forever.


That old barn was the nucleus of my childhood. From hay forts and the smell of burnin’ calf hair on branding day to little girls spending a night in the barn for a sleep-over and getting my horse ready for 4-H fair; that old barn was my life.


Time has healed the wounds. I enjoy just remembering the way it was. My younger brother now owns the farm and has done wonderful improvements to not only the house that my mom and dad built, but has also built a cabin down at the irrigation pond.

My dad built this irrigation pond way back when.
It's fed by a stream. The deepest part is probably 13-15 feet or so.

The Cabin.
It comes with a pot bellied stove, running water, and electricity powered by a generator.
There's a half loft above with a bed. Totally cozy!!!

We spent Christmas Eve afternoon at the cabin playing
 the card game "Euchre" and eating popcorn.
Cindy Sue was trying to get a corner of the dog bed,
but Bella Jo was being a bed hog!

What would a cabin in the woods be without a matching outhouse?!?

Peace and tranquility.

The dock sees a lot of activity in the summer. Big kids and little kids alike are out there
with their fishing poles catching bass, catfish and blue gill.
The boat ties up to the dock.

The annual family Christmas Eve gathering was held at the farm this year. My husband and I spent three nights there and enjoyed every minute.

My favorite meal of all were these stuffed Cornish game hens...
(my brother's not too bad of a chef for a general contractor)

...along with these "fresh from Boston" lobster!!! Serious...they were still alive
when they got plopped into the boiling water...the best I've ever tasted!

Spending time at the pond and cabin brought back childhood memories of summers swimming and catching pollywogs and extreme winters when it froze over and the church youth group came out and we played hockey. Ah…the good ol’ days.

So, life goes on no matter what happens. Mom and dad would be mighty proud of our family farm now; even with the changes.

It’s good to know that the land is still in the family. It’s cared for and loved by all of us.


Well, that was our wonderful Christmas trip. The weather was pretty good going over the passes and we also got to visit friends. But, as always, we were sure glad to be home!

NOTE: The nursery stock you see in some of the photos is on the property that my uncle had owned. My brother raises a few Christmas trees, but leases out the majority of the land to another farmer.

Wishing You and Yours a Very Merry Christmas

Wishing everyone a very Merry and Blessed Christmas

from our home to yours.

A Lil' Christmas

~I'm proud of what I know

and I've learned it the hard way.~

~Barbara Carter 1906~

It seems like it's taken me a very long time to get into Christmas this year. I've got the shopping done, but I still have sewing projects to finish and lil' bit more at the leather bench.

Yesterday I finally got the decorations up...less than a week from Christmas...better late than never?!?

The Sunday Stills photo challenge for yesterday was of course Christmas decorations...and I didn't get my post up. So, I'll do it today.

Juniper and holly. The fresh juniper fills the house with its Christmas fragrance. 

My ag survey job supervisor sent me a box of fresh holly, so I had to take the trip last week to find some juniper trees. This was a fun project!

The 'stand in' fake tree. But with the rich smell from the juniper wreath in the same room, we just pretend it's a real tree!

The wood stove kept me too warm! As I was dusting, cleaning and putting up decorations, I was also sweating! I let the fire go out, but by 3 PM or so it was starting to get chilly again...the temp was all the way down to 68*!!! I like my 75*, so I started another fire.

The Christmas stuffed animals...what would Christmas be without these cute lil' faces?!?

'The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicolas soon would be there."

Oops...I miss counted...we need one more for Gus!

Of course Santa is a cowboy!!!

And Christmas has to have at least one rocking horse...or a dozen or so?!?

And yes, snowmen really do ride horses!

Enjoy these final days as we quickly close in on Christmas day!  Remember...there is no X in Christmas.

Merry Christmas!  

Santa's Workshop & Round Barn Party!

~Some men are more trouble than they're worth.~

~Sandra Davis 1877~

Well, the above quote does not apply to My Man...but there's others that fit it to a 'T'! But, the sayin' is...if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all...so that's all I've got to say  ;~)

It's that time of year again when I have to unbury and dust off the leather bench. I really should be doing projects all year long, then I wouldn't be in this panic to get everything done...duh!

I'd show pics of what I'm makin', but then the receiving end will know what they're gettin'!! So, you'll just have to wait.

Tat the barn cat...is enjoyin' some indoor time at night and sometimes during the day too since he's so old and it's been so cold. He pretty much stays in the mud room on the picnic table next to the leather bench...kinda keepin' me company while I work!

The snow's pretty much all gone here. In other parts of the county, they've still got 5-6 inches. It's supposed to cool off again and bring some more snow...which I'd much rather have than the 2 inches of mud everywhere around here now! All the horses are mud from head to tail.

Lookin' east out the kitchen window (that's why you're seeing a reflection in the pic) as the sun sets over the hill to the west. That's the hill's shadow on Hat Butte.

I love the view out my kitchen window up Anderson Valley. There haven't been many sunny days lately. I've been frustrated with photos being dark and dim. Ed over at Thoughts from the Road says "pics make themselves, rain or shine..." Well, I'm workin' on it Ed!

Sewing projects and photo projects have been on the list too...I'm slowly getting some things done. I spent a good part of the day yesterday putting together a calendar for My Man's mom. She doesn't have a usable computer so, she doesn't get to see everything we've done for the past year. I think I put 54 photos on this calendar...she should like it!

Sunday was the Round Barn Customer Appreciation Party and it was a great time as usual! Lots of friends and neighbors standing around talking, eating and drinking...always fun!! Oh...I guess I should say there's a good bit of shoppin' goin' on too!

"Hi there...my name is Jezebelle." Look in the background of the photo...I think the pups want to play the board game!!

Cindy Sue was not thrilled with this 12 week old bundle of energy JRT!! Jezebelle is a perfect name...the lil' thing was growlin' at Cindy Sue already!!! She's a pistol...but cute as a button as you can see! She belongs to friends of ours.

Mom...are you done lookin' at the books yet? How boring...

I love perusing the book section. From cookbooks to birdwatching to Harney County history, there's something for everyone!! They have a great section of horse/tack/bit 'n spur coffee table type books that are gorgeous as well as a wonderful selection of books about the cowgirls of yesteryear.

Did I mention the food?!? They just kept bringing it in all afternoon long!  YUM!

The Wild Bunch!

A nice ending to a fun afternoon!

BTW~Photos of the Pete French Round Barn can be seen here from a post I did a couple of years back.