She Was Almost Indestructible

Cindy Sue thought she was...and she had me convinced several times that she was.

From the rattlesnake bite, to the Great Horned owl attack, to the two coyotes, and then the rock chuck...she defied them all with her grit and courage...and a lot of expensive vet bills! (BTW, the rattlesnake and owl were prior to my blogging.)

But, Mother Nature takes her course...and old age with its ailments creeps in. CS didn't handle the PRA (progressive retina atrophy) in its later stages when she became totally blind, and then combine that with doggie Alzheimer's...she struggled.

"How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard"
Winnie the Pooh

My Man and I couldn't watch her be in a daze and confused any longer.

After she ate a special breakfast of pancakes, bacon and scrambled eggs, we took her for her final ride into town. Dr. Katy came to the rig and in moments, Cindy Sue lay comfortably in my arms...never to know pain, anxiety or blindness again.

She is now with Penny, Sandy, Cowboy, Abby, Martha Jo, Tat the Cat and many others...waiting for me at The Bridge.

Run free and happy Cindy Sue!! I love you~

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~

Happy Howloween!!!

Bwhhhaaaaaaaa...freeze dried jack-o-lantern after 3 weeks! Mother Nature can do cool stuff!

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A bit of a blast from the past...Cindy Sue and Cowboy from 2007. Rastus from 2013. Yes, I was forgiven for their abuse!

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Have fun, be safe...keep your dogs safe too from all the scary goblins in their costumes...it can be very frightening for them!

Cindy Sue's 7th Gotcha Day Anniversary!

Seven years?!? Has it really been seven years? That means Cindy Sue is about 10 1/2 years old now...but I can tell ya, she's still goin' strong!



We took a ride last week...about 7 miles round trip on our quiet road...Colt, Rastus, Red Dog and Cindy Sue...and even though she's about half blind now with PRA (Progressive Retinal Atrophy)...she did an amazing job keeping up. I sure keep an extra eye on her though...her nose still gets her in trouble!

So...for a blast from the past...

Here's the link to her Gotcha Day blog post from 2009 (way back when I first started blogging!):

Cindy Sue's Gotcha Day Story!

We send a very big "thank you" to all Cindy Sue's friends for their support through the years...especially when the coyotes attacked her.

Cheers to many more years with you Cindy Sue! xoxox

Wordless Wednesday ~ Dem Bones!

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Happy Valentine's Day!

Ahem...I have nothin' cutesie for Valentine's Day...it's kinda just another day around here.

Lil' Ms Cindy Sue is going into the vet today to have her teeth cleaned. She was sound asleep, covered  up with her blankie when I woke her up to go potty at 5 AM...My Man is taking her with him to work and will run her to the vet office when they open. She was a bit confused looking this mornin' to say the least...poor lil' girl~

I took her in last week for a pre-check and it looked like there was a loose tooth that would need extraction...but I've been looking in her mouth since then, and can't find it. I'm hoping that the first diagnosis was wrong and she just needs the cleaning.

Ms Cindy Sue...on an important secret mission.

The weather's been on the upswing...still have an ice sheet by the gates into the two pastures, but with these 45 degree days it's slowly melting away, we're hoping by the weekend we can put Whiskey out in the rim pasture again.

Today, I'm loading Colt and Whiskey up to go ride at a friend's place...I've ridden once since last year, and I've got to get in gear...weekend after next is a cutting practice on Saturday and we're helping move cows for two days on Sunday and Monday. The boys need some legging up!

Brush off the mud, trim up the bridle path...it's "back in the saddle again!"

I don't want to get too excited yet, but My Man and I are working out the details for me to ride in the clinic that Mugs at Mugwump Chronicles is having in Montana in July...crossing my fingers we can get it all lined out.

We've got to give up some things up in order to go; I'm only going to show in the local cutting club, no Lakeview or Harney County Futurity, and no Pendleton Roundup...but, oh my gosh, what a fun time to get to travel to Montana. I've never been there! We'll take the LQ horse trailer, Colt and Whiskey, and hopefully get to ride a few days with friends up around Missoula.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine's Day. My Man will get a nice shrimp linguine dinner, a card and some chocolate...so, it's not all that boring 'round here  ;~)

A Lil' of This ~ A Lil' of That

If you take photos for your blog, I'm sure this happens to you; photos you like didn't get into a blog for one reason or another.

So, here's a miss-matched set of photos in no particular order ~

Cold Paws

I don't think I've ever seen CS's ears up like this winter...maybe it's the cold...maybe it's her age. She sure loves being out with the "big dogs"...but the wood stove is her best friend, besides me!

Stetson's Long Ears

One frosty Stetson on a chilly morning.

Sunset on the Rim Rock

My favorite rim rock. This was at 4 o'clock in the afternoon; here from the back side of the barn, the day cools off quickly as the sun disappears.

Water Trough Sauna

Tumbleweed's head looks a little fuzzy...from the steam coming up off of the water. I love tank heaters!

Rastus; Doing what he loves most

Work, work, work...that's all this cow dog wants to do!

Garden Pond in Winter

This year-round water fall/pond is in the yard of the home where I get my hair cut. They tell me they have a heater in it to keep the fish alive during the winter...and the deer come in on a daily basis to water, so they have to fill it up quite often. I'd love to have one of these in my yard...the dogs would love it too, but I don't have the time to take care of it.

I've been researching tabletop water falls...I think something on the deck in the summer would be nice and then bring it into the house for winter. Have any of you made one? I found this "How to make a tabletop water fall"...sounds pretty simple, and Lord knows we have enough rock around here!

Oh yes, welcome to some new readers: Jenny, Wendy, Paula, and Lori! Nice to have you along for the ride.

Hey, Happy Friday!!!

It's MY Gotcha Day~by Cindy Sue

Guest blogger Cindy Sue:

WoWzer...six years ago today, mom 'n dad drove three hours one way to Battle Mountain Nevada to pick me up from the rescue. They had only seen one photo of me on PetFinder...and they wanted me!!!!

Lil' ME with my silly lil' flop ear!

It was luv at first sight!

Mom 'n me...I was learnin' to be a Rattie Ranch Dog!

On the drive home, I sat in mom's lap all the way...just like I'd been there since birth. I was given up for adoption in Elko Nevada and didn't do well in that crazy place...I was so scared!!!

So, they found a small rescue for me to go to, but I still didn't eat well and lost a lot of weight. The vet said I was healthy...I just needed a home!

I remember on the way home, they had to stop at a store and left me in the car...I ripped open the bag of treats they had bought for me and ate them ALL...I was hungry!!! BOL!!

My first day at home...I was terribly skinny.

We'll, it's been quite an exciting 6 years to say the least. I've survived a few mishaps:

The rattlesnake bite on the nose
The Great Horned Owl attack
The two coyotes that attacked me and wanted to eat me for breakfast
The unknown something that tried to get me and ripped a hole in my front leg

Mom says it's my nose that gets me in trouble...but that's the Rat Terrier in me...I just got to stick my nose in every hole!!!

Well, if you've been reading mom's blog, you know that my middle name seems to be Trouble!

I'm on a mission...probably into trouble...BOL!!!

My mom and dad are my heroes though...and I love them dearly.

We had a GREAT day today!!! After mom dressed me up in a cute lil' hoodie that says "100% Loved by Everyone," I got cake!

Applesauce pancake to be exact!

Then mom said it was time for pressies. Pressies???!! For ME?!?!?!

Mom put my coat on me, and we had to go outside to the tractor.

OK...mom says I gots to give you a WARNING...if you don't like dead animal photos...go away now.





Alrighty then, for those of you who stayed for the excitement...

We go outside to the tractor, and dad shows me my pressie...

One dead coyote!!! YEAH!!!  I got my lip all curled up at the nasty sucker.

I HATE coyotes! They caused me lots of pain, and this is dead coyote number two...revenge for ME! Mom got the first one...and dad got this one just after breakfast!

Look at me barkin' 'n givin' him the stink eye...grrrrrrrrrrr!

Mom even did a video...she said I was a tough lil' Rattie Ranch Dog!

Well, that's about all the excitement there was. The rest of the day was good. I laid by the wood stove and kept warm; except when mom was runnin' the devil machine vacuum...I went outside for that. I hate vacuums too, BOL!!

Thanks for sharing my day...love you all!

Cindy Sue xoxox

PS. If you wanna read about the nasty coyotes attacking me, you can click HERE. That was two years ago.

The Meltdown

With 42 degrees and sunshine yesterday, the snow is melting away. It was a gorgeous day for a quick walk with the pups, so we went down to the old building of Princeton which is on our property at the end of the driveway.

I posted a couple of photos in my Photo a Day blog for day #8 of Old Princeton. Slowly the building seems to be blowing away...literally. I find shingles in the alfalfa field quite often, and the insides are falling in and the insulation of newspapers and magazines on the walls are becoming very sparse.

Cindy Sue of course...bundled in sweater and her infamous red coat.

This door to Old Princeton made a nice frame for the photos. Red Dog was too busy sniffin' for varmints to capture him!

Rastus with his "look." His eyes are my favorite.

After wasting time in the sunshine...even though it felt Oh So Good...I decided that I better go check the main barn. Dang, it was not good.

The usual flood behind the barn...which flowed into the barn at the front and the back...sigh.

So, I spent the next hour and a half, digging (chipping ice) ditches for water to drain, shoveling some of the remaining snow away from the barn in the runs and scooping water out of the aisle and one of the stalls with a large flat shovel.

Every year, My Man and I say we're going to fix the problem, but finances are always needed somewhere else...so the project gets put lower on the priority list...and we get to do this every year when we have a large amount of snow. Fun! Not.

It's already drying up inside the barn, so it'll be back to normal soon. Nothing is ever damaged; it's just a pain.

And life goes on...with a beautiful sunset...

Shadows from the hill behind our place cast its outline on Hat Butte.

A Pocket of Sunset

More snow is forecast for today and tonight...but not enough to amount to much.

Happy Hump Day!

Wordless Wednesday ~ About Face!

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More Wordless Wednesday here ~