Social Distancing in the Oregon Outback

This whole thing seems ludicrous as we live distantly here every day. Then the governor of Oregon has claimed that the people in Eastern Oregon aren't taking the virus serious enough. All I can do is roll my eyes and tell myself that as usual, she's doesn't have a clue how we live here in her state.

Livestock need to be fed...calves are being born everyday, and they need to be branded and vaccinated. The United States and the world still needs food!!! Are we just to let our farms and ranches go to ruin with dead animals and crops?!? That's not how we live out here.

OK...I'm off my rant...well, except for the selfish people who go to the stores in our only shopping (without having to travel 3 hours) and proceed to HOARD everything on the shelves. This happened yesterday...I went for my weekly shopping and couldn't buy half the things on my list...because of hoarders!! Yes, I was pretty p!ssed off and had to let John finish with the check out before I totally lost it at the cashier (not that it's her fault). People have no respect for others...they only look out for themselves. OK...not everyone is bad...as we have many people offering help and service to those in need. But what happened to common sense?! This world needs God more than ever.

Finally...I'm done ranting.

Bert's enjoying the sun...and is oblivious to any chaos in the world! Wish I was a dog!!

Spring is starting to poke her head up here...the day lilies are 6 inches high, and I found some tulips coming up!! We had 4 inches of snow last week, and it really spurred the grass and spring plants!!

My Man and I will take a ride again today to get our ponies legged up...the first branding for us in this coming Thursday. BTW...My Man has a new ranch horse that he's really excited about. The sad news is that we lost Whiskey last winter to a bad injury, and Boone has arthritis so bad in his front knee that he can't work anymore.

My Man and his new mount Snap!

Colt is doing great, and I'm going to focus on Cowboy Dressage again this year.

We still haven't sold our ranch, but we've re-listed it with a new real estate company, we have high hopes this time 'round!!! And we still are motivated to be Montana bound!

I pray for blessings and health to all of you my dear friends and followers~

In Health & Love~

#DoLifeBetter

 

gtyyup

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

Self Care ~ Animal Care ~ Everyone is Important!

I'm almost afraid to say it...but I think we're past any chance of snow...well, that'll jinx us now!! But it's been the longest, coldest, wettest spring anyone can remember. In the high desert here we should never complain about precipitation in whatever form it comes in...but it's been hard on the ranchers and farmers.

My Man is dragging the hay fields...Rastus is a bunch of help of course!

Tax day has come and gone (thank goodness that's done with for another year!), and another year of poisoning the ground squirrels (we call them sage rats) in the hay fields. Because of all of the rain, we couldn't get the bait out in a timely manner, so the percent of dispatch wasn't as good as other years, but we got what we got.

Easter too has come and gone...but the memory of the sunrise service is fresh in my mind. It poured rain the day before, and we wondered it we would need to shift to plan "B"...but the day broke with some clouds...just enough to get a beautiful reflection as we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus. It was perfect!

Easter sunrise service in Crane Oregon...it was spectacular!! Fitting for our King~

This week I'll be flying to Austin Texas for a huge event...Paleo f(x)...I'm so excited to be selected to go with my team and learn a ton of new stuff...building my knowledge on Paleo and Ancestral Health. I'm pretty sure I'll have a bunch to share when I return!

Until then...have a quick listen to my latest FB live video.

Self Care~You're Important!

In Health & Love~

#DoLifeBetter

gtyyup

Cowboy Dressage~My New Love!

Well, here I am again...maybe I really can get this blog rollin'!! Thank you to those who have stopped by, and thanks to those who have left an awesome comment...great to hear from you all!!

A lot has happened in my life in the past 3 years...I wrote a quick summary that you will find in the right column called: Health & Life 2018 and Beyond. There's been a lifestyle change, hence the name change of the blog.

So...Cowboy Dressage...I had been searching for something to do with Colt besides moving cows...which in 2016 was all I was doing with him. As a team, Colt and I had competed in some reined cow horse and the local stock horse futurity for 5 years...and we completed the Mike Bridges 5 year Project building a bridle horse...and I was ready for something different...but I wanted to use Colt's skills.

Options...ranch horse versatility, western dressage, Cowboy Dressage, and others...well, there happened to be a Cowboy Dressage clinic in Bend with JoLinn and Mitch Hoover and Dee Myers. So, we went...and got hooked! Well, me for sure...not so sure about Colt...he was falling asleep...but he has all the training behind him to do well with the discipline!

Hooked, but not landed. My Man and I decided we wanted to move to Montana...so, our place has been on the market, and I didn't do anything much with Colt until I decided I was tired of waiting...waiting to move...and the move wasn't happening very quickly.

Fast forward to last summer...I HAD to move forward with Colt and Cowboy Dressage!! I found a clinic in Alfalfa with Lyn Ringrose-Moe! What a blessing...I was on the waiting list, but we got in!!

We had sooooooo much fun!! Three days of bliss!! The clinic was held at Flying Flower Ranch in Alfalfa...and all the meals were provided...it was a true vacation for me!!!!!

I only knew one person on day one...and after day three, I had a whole new circle of friends!! Everyone in Cowboy Dressage is rooting for each other. Great people with huge hearts...they love their horses and they love harmony with their horses and with their fellow man...what a concept in these frustrating days we live in now!

You'll notice that I'm riding Colt in the hackamore again...well, I LOVE riding him in the hackamore, and it's been a few years since I rode him in the bridle. So, that'll be part of our training this spring. But, one of the awesome things in Cowboy Dressage is that you are not forced to ride in head gear by the age of your horse. There are rules...but the main idea, is that you ride your horse with communication and harmony...striving for "soft feel." So, you can choose what you ride your horse in!

One last highlight...

...it was my birthday weekend...and My Man showed up, flowers in hand, to surprise me!! I was elated and feelin' LOVED...Colt...not so much as you can see by the look on his face!  LOL!!!

So, how do I feel about Cowboy Dressage? I'm totally hooked...and there is more, so stay tuned!!!

#DoingLifeBetter

With Much Love,

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~

Fall Branding & My Man's Birthday!

Sunday was just about as fun as it can get for us...branding in beautiful fall weather. Well, as usual, my hands were busy with a rope and a wad full of two-rein gear on Colt! But I got My Man to take a few photos of Pierce and Colt after the branding.

The Bros!
After the branding, I took the boys to the creek for a drink, and then lead Pierce back across the wood bridge...he did so nice. Colt pawed water right into Pierce's face at the creek (that's why he looks so splotchy)!

It's time to take Pierce to every outing we can. I saddled him at home with the other boys and when we got to Diamond, I tied him to the trailer, gave him a hay net and rode away.

Occasionally I'd hear Pierce whinny, but all in all, he was a very good boy!!

We had to sort off the slick eared cow/calf pairs, the bulls, and the neighbor's stock that was mixed in with Rancher Dan's herd...I love the sorting! Once we had all the slicks together, there ended up being about 30 calves!! And oh my...some of them were big enough to go through the squeeze chute!

We had the son-in-law there who's a professional buckaroo...we let him and his buddy do most of the really big calves. But, we learned a lot about handling those big ones and got in on a couple...it was a really good experience.

Ah yes...the birthday boy :~)

Happy Birthday dear husband!!

Gretchen had to work at the Hotel...so for lunch, we all headed over to the Hotel for beverages and the best burgers!!

Branding goes hand in hand with good food!!

This is why we always say that "We're livin' the dream!" Friends and life experiences just don't get any better than this.

Spring Horse/Ranch Keeping

Last weekend I got all the horses wormed on Saturday, and they got their annual vaccination on Sunday. It's nice to get that out of the way. They'll still need to get their West Nile vaccination, but I'll wait until the weather warms up.

Colt had some saddle fit issues last year. I took my saddle to a local maker and he tore it apart to see what might be causing the white marks that Colt had gotten on his back. Well, there were a few things wrong with it's original construction, but he was able to correct them. But the major thing is that the saddle is just too wide for Colt's narrow body shape.

A friend of mine has a vintage/antique Visalia Stock Saddle Company saddle for sale (interesting history in that link), and I'm trying it on Colt to see if it fits him. The stirrup leathers have been replaced as well as the strings and the horn wrap too. The fenders are pretty warn also, but it actually seems to fit him...and it was a comfortable ride for me too!

I'm going to take Colt and the Visalia saddle to the local saddle maker to have him check it out and see how much repair the saddle needs and the cost...it may be better to just have another saddle made with a narrow tree. But, it's kind of a neat ol' saddle, and I bet it has a lot of stories to tell! It was probably built before I was born...strange to sit in and think about that~

Visalia Saddle

Yesterday we were blessed with another newborn calf...and another heifer too. We'd prefer bull calves because they will weigh more at weaning time and bring more money, but I'd prefer a healthy calf than no calf at all!

This lil' girl is a Hereford/Jersey/Angus cross.
I think that's why she's a much lighter red color than Early Girl.

Speaking of the "one month early" thing...my error...these calves are born right on schedule. I can't seem to get my May and June dates correct!

OK...you pick a caption for this photo...I think the look on Annabelle's face is priceless!

My Man's been working REALLY hard to get the cow corrals up...and he's almost there! With Number Three being a first year heifer, we needed a place to keep her close to the barn. We also needed the corrals for working and sorting the cows when vaccination and weaning time comes around. Basically all that's left is to put up the gates.

My Man is pulling nails from the used poles we got...it was a really cost-affective deal!
LOL...there's Stetson in the background givin' him moral support!

We'll be able to get Number Three corralled this afternoon. She doesn't look like she's going to calve real soon, but that's the funny thing about heifers...they don't show signs like a mature cow does. She could very well need assistance (from us) to get her calf born safely into this world, and we'll be checking on her frequently through out the day and night. My Man put a good light up on the outside of the barn too!

We don't have any green plants sprouting out of the ground yet, but we have new calves, and spring's just 'round the corner!!! Yeah!

Wordless Wednesday ~ A Lil' Kiss

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Link to more Wordless Wednesday!

I'm Published!!!

My first published photo!!!

What an honor it is to be selected as one of the 12 pages for the American Quarter Horse Association's 2013 calendar!

You might remember this photo from a Wordless Wednesday post back in April titled Curiosity.

My Man riding Whiskey as we sort out pairs for the 3J Ranch.

AQHA had a photo contest earlier this year on FaceBook, so I thought what the heck...send something in, it wouldn't hurt. So, I chose this one, and I titled the photo this time: "No, I'm not your mother."

About a month ago, I got an email asking me for a copy of the photo with a higher resolution. I sent her what I had, but this photo was taken with my old point 'n shoot camera I carry on the trail and was afraid that it wouldn't work for them.

Then I forgot about it.

Tuesday, there was a notice in my PO Box that I had a large envelope from AQHA...it didn't click in my brain. When I picked up the envelope at the PO on Thursday, I thought to myself they must be sending calendars to members this year, because that was about the size and feel of the envelope.

As I was driving home, it dawned on me that this could be from the contest...and they couldn't afford to send every member a calendar!

I sat down at my desk and started with January...slowly looking at all the photos. They put one large photo for each month and each date space that didn't have a number, they filled with small photos.

Hoping that my photo would be in one of the small date spots, you can't imagine my surprise when I got to July and there was my photo...the BIG photo!!! They had a wonderful write up in the front cover of the calendar that told how they had conducted the contest and that they had received hundreds of quality photos and how hard it was for them to narrow it down to the top 12. By then I was in tears~

My Man is visiting his family in Missouri, so I had to call him. He's so excited to get home to see the calendar! He comes home tomorrow!!

All of the photos in the calendar are just awesome (really professional looking stuff)...and the calendar is 12x24 inches (opened up) and printed on really nice paper. Here's a link if you want to buy one...or two...Christmas is coming and they'd make a great gift!

Quarter Horse Outfitters

Thanks for letting me share my excitement with you!! As you can tell, I'm just beside myself!

And, if I hadn't started blogging, I wouldn't be dragging a camera with me everywhere I go! Amazing what a lil' blog can do!

A Day of Play ~ In the Saddle of Course

Rancher Dan needed some help gathering his big herd, get them moved through another field of neighbor's pairs and bulls, sort out the slicks, and then brand...sounds simple enough. We left the house at 7 AM and got home at 8:30 PM...a big day!

This is one of the biggest fields (government allotment) that they run pairs on. There are fences out there across the sage brush sea...just very hard to see (even when you're close to them and know where to look). I don't know how many acres, but some fields can run thousands of acres. It takes time and the more riders there are the easier it is of course.

Gathering Krumbo Field

After getting the pairs all gathered, we needed to take them through a neighbor's pairs and bulls to the next field over. We sit at the gate for a good hour waiting for the cows and calves to mother up before pushing them through the gate and pushing them hard to get through the other herd...hoping that we can keep the two herds separated.

It could have gone better. Two of Dan's calves ran back out of the herd and they couldn't be brought back, and three pair and a bull of the other herd insisted on getting into Dan's herd. Once they're in the herd, you just have to take them with you and sort them out at the destination. It's a pain, but it works.

Takin' a Break = Patience in Motherin' Up

The wind was cold...and it spit snow on us for a lil' bit. But the sun finally came out in the late afternoon though the wind never did let up.

The slick calves got branded (My Man and I got to rope...best part of the day!!) and all in all it was a great day.

OH...gotta say that Red Dog was startin' to get the idea about moving cows...he was trying...but we still have a long way to go.

And, the scenery was gorgeous!

Spring Snow on Steens Mountain

Back at the Ranch, a home-cooked meal of pork chops, potatoes, veggies, home-made bread and apple cake waited...yum...we do it just for the food!!!

So today, Sunday, My Man and I are doing everything we didn't get done at our place yesterday plus what needs to be done today...better get my arse in gear!

Have a wonderful Sunday and a great week ahead!

My Man and His Whiskey

 ;~)  The horse's name is Whiskey!
They're spendin' some quality time together gathering pairs. 

Linking up today with Madge's

The View From Right Here

We're off early this mornin' to brand calves...and a perfect day it'll be...75 degrees WhoooHooooo!!!

And from there Colt, Cindy Sue, Red Dog and I leave for Central Oregon for my Mike Bridges clinic.

See ya'll on Wednesday!

Friday Fences ~ The Round Pen

With branding season upon us, My Man and I are honing up our roping skills. To be honest, we're both rookies at roping, so we need all the practice we can get!

This was a pleasant Friday evening with the sun starting to set making the shadows long. My Man is practicing his rope management skills by dragging a log in the round pen with his horse Whiskey. I'm watching from up above on the circus pole area (giving him my 2 cents worth as usual!). The shadow at Colt's front feet is Red Dog.

Evening shadows

This fence isn't ornamental, but very functional...and a place where I spend a lot of time training young horses.

Come along on Life According to Jan and Jer's Friday Fences blog hop!!

Happy Friday!!