Summer Brain Challenge ~ Day 8 ~ Get Every Little Bit

First things first...My Man has been busy today as usual...first it was the Escape, then the Dodge pickup...and now the tractor!!! He says that the big horse trailer is next!!! What a guy!!

OK...on to the challenge!

Last week, Dr. Perlmutter focused on nutrition for the brain. This week is exercise and movement. 

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The assignment for today was to pick a friend to join me on a short workout. Short is better than none at all...and for some, it's better!

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I chose my dear husband John...and all four dogs!! We broke out the cruisers for a back road country spin! We can't go too fast when Mindy Mae is with us...her little legs can't keep up!!

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But, great fun was had by all. And I always feel energized by getting outside in the fresh air!

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What is your "go-to" lack-of-time exercise?

In Health & Love~ 

 #DoLifeBetter 

 gtyyup

Two Years, Two Months and Two Weeks Later...

It's a lazy Sunday mornin', and I just finished reading Mugwump's latest post. Scrolling around her blog, I see my blog name...and it says my last post was 2 years ago. Actually, it has been exactly 2 Years, 2 months and 2 weeks...but who's counting right?!?

There's no way to catch up on 2 years of life in a nutshell, so I'm just going to pick a photo...or two or three or four...and start from here! Short 'n sweet blog posts...if I can remember how to insert a photo!

Rastus has a new buddy...Jiggs!

Cute lil' stinker...his nickname is Turdy Jiggs

Mindy Mae could use less of him. He used to drag her by her sweater and her tail!

He's got the  Border Collie stare.

He's already outgrown Rastus at 8 months!

God bless you all on this fine Memorial Day weekend~


GTYYUP~

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!!!

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!!

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~