Happy Howloween!!!

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

~

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

~

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

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~

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!

Sunday Stills ~ Through an Opening

This week's Sunday Stills photo challenge was to photograph an opening and capture what was on the other side.

My first photo isn't quite following the directions, but Tigger, one of our two new feral barn cats, loves this spot between the barn wall and the hay stack...

Tigger

This second shot is from my archives a couple of years ago. I like the view through Cowboy's ears!

Through the Ears.

Check out the other Sunday Stills photo challenge participants by going to the comment section HERE!

Red Comes Home

After we helped the 3J Ranch gather up the last bunch of cow/calf pairs for the year, we went over to see Red. Actually, I went to town the day before and had some extra time, so I stopped by B & B's house to meet Red...I liked him right off the bat.

So this visit was to see if My Man liked Red and decide if we wanted to give him a try. If he doesn't work out for us, B & B will always take him back...but I have a feeling that's not going to be the case.

The Red boy...totally sweet!

It was dark when we got home last evening and we had to unload horses, unsaddle, feed...and we have a new dog in tow...and Red needed to meet three dogs!

First I got Cindy Sue out of the house, Abby into the yard and Cowboy was already at the truck. I put Red on a long line and we made quick introductions to CS & Cowboy...all was good there. Then I had to tie him inside the barn where he wouldn't get stepped on...he just wanted to sniff everything in sight.

Once we got the horses settled, I needed to clean out the stalls and Red kept getting wrapped up around everything, so I let him off line and he stayed close. That was a very good sign!

We got the outside chores done and then it was time for Red to meet Abby. That went well until we tried to get all four dogs into the mud room and get Red and CS into the main part of the house. That was too close of quarters for Abby and she pounced on Red. I quickly got between them and was able to get Abby back outside and get Red where he needed to be and close the baby gate between the rooms...OK...all's well.

Even though Red seemed a bit confused as to what was going on, he tried to just take it as it came. Everyone got dinner, I took a shower, and there was Red sitting at the bathroom door waiting for me...how sweet! My Man, CS, Red and I sat at the wood stove for a while and he took all the toys out of the toy basket and every once in a while he would go to the sliding glass door in the bedroom and look down the driveway...was he looking for B & B to come get him?

At bed time, I tied him to the bed with the long line. He jumped up onto the bed a couple of times, stepped on Cindy Sue once and she had a temper tantrum at him, but then he settled on his bed next to our bed. All was good through out the night.

This morning he was VERY ready to go out and feed the horses. We started out on the long line, but I had to lead Colt and Whiskey out to their pastures, so I let Red off line. He was awesome...stayed close, came when I called, and spent a lot of energy just running...go, go go!! He went to heel at Colt and I told him no and he stopped...he was a very good boy!

We got back to the yard and had some play time...

Play? I LOVE to play!!!

Run? I LOVE to run!!!

First Cowboy decided it looked like fun...

Then even ol' Abby decided that it looked like fun!
Cindy Sue would have nothing to do with all that rambunctiousness...
I think she'll get better with time.

After play time, it was breakfast, and now Red's laying at me feet...I guess it's all go or none...I call that perfect!

A really exciting thing I learned yesterday is that there IS a dog trainer in our area (I've been here 6 years and hadn't a clue)! So, I'm going to give the trainer a call and talk about what it is I want to do with Red...from what B & B said, it sounds very promising...she knows herding!!

At this point, I've got all winter to work with Red before we'll have a opportunity to help anyone move cows...so the timing is perfect.

Coat Time for Cindy Sue

Actually, Cindy Sue's been wearing her coat for a couple of weeks now...poor lil' thing has no hair!! We had that bit of snow almost three weeks ago and it's been dry, cold and windy ever since. We had a sprinkle of rain this mornin' but it lasted a whole 10 minutes.

But, it's supposed to be cooling off this afternoon and a front is coming in with some chance of snow tonight and all day tomorrow. It doesn't look like too much snow is going to fall, but the wind is really blowing the leaves off the trees finally!

We're practicing for this week's Sunday Stills~Portraits~without too much success :(
And yes, I promised Cindy Sue a new coat...it's on my "never ending to do" list.

The 3J Ranch has another batch of cow/calf pairs that need gathering and sorted for weaning, and I guess we're going to help them on Saturday or Sunday...which ever day's going to have the best weather so the calves won't get too stressed.

If you've been wondering about Bella Jo, all is good in her world it seems (it's still way too quiet around the house without her)! I spoke with the gal and Bella Jo's fitting in really nicely. The lil' grand daughter is actually 4 years old...her name is Sophie...and all the first evening she had to keep going out to the garage and see Bella Jo.

I guess Sophie's been caught in the cat's bed with the cat before (that would be a cute photo!)...so it won't surprise me that she'll be doing the same with Bella Jo! The grandmother said that Sophie is the animal lover of all the grand kids, and it sounds like she is...lucky for Bella Jo!! The gal is supposed to give me a call this weekend with an update, and if all is well, I'll mail her all of Bella Jo's vet records...I guess that would make it pretty official.

Do you believe in fate? Whether it's fate or just something that's meant to be...there's always a reason. A friend of mine hadn't stopped by my blog for a while and decided to do so just after I had posted about Bella Jo going to a new home.

Timing is everything...

She's done "unofficial" rescue for many years and has been fostering an Australian Shepherd...the dog had been dumped at the public rest area west of Burns and left to starve...they've had the dog for about 9 months or so...waiting for the right home to come along...and if it didn't, well, they'd just keep him...he will always have a home with them.

This is Red

Red is most likely a purebred Australian Shepherd from some good blood lines. They tried him on their neighbor's cows and he's got lots of drive...pure instinct. He's about a year and a half old, loyal, affectionate, crate trained, travels well, and gets along with other dogs...been neutered...all that good stuff.

So, we're scheduled to go take a look at Red this weekend. I've been reading as much as time will allow on training a dog correctly...something that I didn't do as well as I should have with Bella Jo...and I'm just hoping that he's not too much dog and that I can finish train him correctly. My friend has done a lot of the basics with him...she says he needs to just get tuned in.

The training thing is confusing enough in itself with so many people with their own programs out there...it's just as bad as trying to choose a horse trainer!!!

I'm not getting too excited...I'm actually more apprehensive of making the right decision...

Wordless Wednesday

Happy hump day and Wordless Wednesday!!!

Sunday Stills~Canine Companions

~If anyone told me I could be this content out in the wild west,

I wouldn't have believed them.~

~Elizabeth Clayton 1887~

The photo challenge this week at Sunday Stills is "Canine Companions."

We've got four at our home, but we celebrated Cowboy's 12th birthday this week, so he gets the spotlight this week. He's a St. Paddy's Day pup! We've had Cowboy since he was 12 weeks old...as I've said many times before...it was his cute white eyelashes that stole my heart.

~Cowboy~

Enjoy more canine photos by going HERE!!

Tuesday Mornin' Ramblings

~If you're going to be a writer,

the first essential is just to write.

Do not wait for an idea.

Start writing something and the ideas will come.

You have to turn the faucet on 

before the water starts to flow.~
~Louis L'Amour~

I have this printed and posted at my desk. I've read so many times on other blogs that they're just in a slump and can't quite figure out what to blog about. This has helped me a few times when I seemed to be "empty" of any ideas. The other thing that gets my mind moving are photos...but you've already figured out that I tend to like photos  ;~)




This mornin' we had the first real freeze! I even broke water on the troughs 'cause it was pretty thick. There was a nice frost covering everything and the sun was shining too...a stunning mornin' in "God's Country."






Tonight we're supposed to have 70% chance of snow/rain and 40% tomorrow. Ty at the 3J Ranch called last evening and wanted to know if I could help gather and sort either today or tomorrow...YES!! Well, today would have been the better day, but they decided on tomorrow...guess I better get out the serious winter riding attire...it could be a long, cold day.

My neighbor friend Sam is coming over around noon today to ride. Sam competes pretty successfully in teh barrel circuit and I've been helpin' her with some stuff with her new horse she just got a few weeks ago. It's nice to have someone to ride with.

It's going to be Gus' first outing to the big arena. I've been riding him in the hackamore and he's coming along much better than in the snaffle. I've got a call in to our "new" mobile vet...who specializes in equine...we're all very excited about that...to get everyone's teeth checked. I'm sure Gus hasn't had his wolf teeth removed, so I know that's a big part of the snaffle issue. But, he's doing really well in the hackamore, and if all goes as well as it has been, I'll just leave him in it and follow the training structure that I'm learning from Mike Bridges.




Cowboy must not have gotten a very good sleep!!!

OK...why is it that horse poop balls taste much better when they're frozen?!? Because of the freeze this mornin', Cowboy and Bella Jo were packin' around what I call sh*tsicles...what fun!





Tat loves to help feed too...he usually follows me every mornin' and evenin'. For a 13 year old cat, he's doin' pretty darn good. He felt a lil' bit thin, so we're supplementing his kibble with a bit of canned cat food in the mornin' and he's startin' to fatten up! He'll be good for another winter I'm sure.





Ahhhhh...and Bella Jo...she sure enjoyed her "Gotcha Day" celebration...the cookies were the best! Thanks for all the wonderful comments on that post...I read them all to her...she was very proud!

I've got a new recipe in the crock pot...and the kitchen is startin' to smell mighty good...the wood stove's a goin'...and daylight's burnin'~

Not Another Hay Post?!?

~Good friends are very important because they're the ones that tell you the truth.~

~June Harber 1910~

But hay is all we've been doing for days!!! I'm definitely ready to move on to something else...like riding my horses!!! Yeah!

Timing was really good though...My Man has Saturdays and Sundays off, which gave us the time we needed to get the bales off the field and start the irrigation water again.

This is the west field and it all got baled in the 3x3 mid-sized bales. Stacked in twos ready for loading onto the semi truck.

I drove the semi-truck.

My Man ran the back hoe with forks on it. Cowboy has his favorite spot where he can snoopervise.

Filling up the stackyard.

Cindy Sue has to ride shotgun with me in the semi. Look at her "up" ear. She must have moved it!

The 2-string bales get picked up in the bale wagon.

When I was a kid...many, many years ago, my dad was one of the first farmers in our county to buy one of these bale wagons. I remember how much fun we had when he drove it to town and entered it into the annual 4th of July Parade in Hillsboro Oregon! Us kids got to throw wooden nickles to the crowd along the streets...what fun!

My Man helped clean up a few broken bales with the big baler.

He was like a kid with a toy...he had fun.

OK...I'm going to ride some horses!!

Sunday Stills ~ Eyes

"Eyes" is this week's Sunday Stills photo challenge...and there are eyes everywhere, so this was a fun, easy challenge!

Who...Who...Who are you?
This is one of the juvenile Great Horned Owls residing
in our Elm trees.  They are almost as big as their parents!

Cowboy's white eye lashes...they stole my
heart 11 years ago.

Colt's soft, kind eye...he's my boy!

OK...this is not an eye...but it's the only end Cindy Sue would let me photograph!

So this the End of my Sunday Stills for today!

Check out the other "Eyes" by clicking here and checking the participants in the comments section. Join us next week if you have a mind to!

Enjoy your Sunday!