Wordless Wednesday ~ After Breakfast

Wordless Wednesday ~ Morning Breakfast Call

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!!!

Wordless Wednesday~Rare Species

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Go Wordless HERE!

Wild Bunch Wednesday

We had just a skiff of snow yesterday morning...we need a LOT more. It's dry. The temps have been 0-10 degrees every morning for the past month or so, but no snow.

As I was feeding the horses behind the barn, I spotted the Wild Bunch up on the rim.

Psssst...look up here...

...yea...it's us!! (Catnip is using her ears as weather indicators)

I see you!

What's for breakfast?!?

We'll just wait right here 'til ya get it up to us Mom!
Me: NO, I'm not bringing your hay all the way up there! 

Awwww come on...how could you refuse our cute lil' faces?!?

As you can see, they aren't lacking any food! We've let them graze the hill, but we've been giving them two flakes of grass hay split between the three of them...they're on a diet!

This mornin' it's a balmy 40 degrees, raining and the wind is blowing; we'll take the moisture...but the dogs are going to be a muddy mess!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We got an unexpected FaceBook message from the family that took Bella Jo. I guess she killed one of their chickens on Christmas Eve, which they said wasn't a big deal. But when she dug under the chicken coop and killed the rest of them, that was the end. So, they took her into town and dropped her off with My Man yesterday and she's back home.

Five dogs is beyond our limit, so we'll be looking for the "right" home for Bella Jo...obviously one without chickens!! In the meantime, Red and Bella Jo became BFF's within 5 minutes...they'll be wearing each other out playing!

Are We Moving Forward into Spring?

~I personally take things personally.~

~Jane Barkley 1904~

(I like that quote...it's so true.)

Well, I certainly hope so. But, I'm sure there will be more snow showers before all is said and done, but it's supposed to be 60 by Thursday! I'm waitin' to see, and feel, that!!!

Colt's been feelin' good...this was taken almost two weeks ago...a crisp, bright mornin' and the boys were havin' a good time before breakfast. But, we've got A LOT of work to do. My Mike Bridges clinic is coming up in a month, and we're not ready at all.

Yahoo!

Life is springing up through the snow and cold...look at these cute lil' alfalfa shoots!!

Reaching for the sky.

The lil' heifer had a bout with scours last Saturday. We doctored her and locked her in the Mustang Barn on Saturday night because it was cold, snowin' 'n blowin'. Her momma woke us up at 5:45 AM demanding her baby back. We got the second dose down her, waited for a half hour, and turned her out with momma...the lil' girl went straight for the feed bag! Her stools are just about normal again.

On Sunday, we tagged the calves, and the lil' bull calf will soon be a steer (he got banded). So, it's official that "03" will be part of our herd...but we gotta come up with a name...any suggestions???

My tummy's feelin' much better...how do you like my new tag?

Catnip and Stetson were quite intrigued with the new lil' calves...

"Look! I think they're baby cows!!!"

Bella Jo has been eating her fair share of calf poopies...and she had to roll in them too...no kisses from her!!!

"What's wrong with calf poopies???!!!"

The snow still looks pretty in the foothills down Anderson Valley...soon to be a memory...

Spring snow in the foothills.

It's already Tuesday...have a great week!

Waiting, Watching 'n Wondering

~I would love to be more gentle with myself,

but I don't want to end up a weakling.~

~Mary Lowe 1892~

Waiting...for the "Cow Girls" to calve. EllieMae, on the right, should be first...any day now!
I thought it was going to be Annabelle who would calve first, but EllieMae looks much more ready.

I mentioned the "Cowculator" a couple of posts back...and it's a spreadsheet that I got from Eastern Oregon Agriculture Research Center. I just use the simple part of it...plugged in the average breeding date and it gives me the average calving date, which came up as April 10. But, with a herd of just 2, that gives us a wide range of before or after dates too.

Watching...things just seem to look better to Bella Jo from the top of the dog houses!
I hope she's watchin' for coyotes.

Wondering...Stetson is always wonderin' when
he's gonna to get his next meal!

HeeHaw!! Bringin' In the New Year!!

~If I could follow my dreams, I wouldn't be sloppin' the pigs.~

~J. Engle 1871~

My Man and I rang 2011 with steak, sauteed mushrooms and a crisp green salad...while watching Holiday Inn (1942). What a great classic movie!!

Our heads hit the pillow at 11:55 PM and we were asleep at the stroke of midnight!!!

Stetson is leading the herd this mornin' with well wishes to all of you from all of us...Happy New Year!!!

Owls, Burros and a Tack Room Makeover

This is what an owl looks like in 30 mile an hour winds!

They usually stand upright all day long in the elm

tree...but papa owl was hangin' on last week!

I know you've been wondering about the lil' baby owls...well, they're out of the nest, and I'm waiting for my brother-in-law to send me the pics he got of them while I was at my clinic last week. They're hiding somewhere on top of the rim in the sage brush...hard to find!

But on that same windy day...the Wild Bunch was goofing off...

The "Headless Donkey" aka Stetson!

Catnip is showin' Stetson a lil' bit of motherly love and

Rohan is in between coat changes...he's got to

loose all that long white hair still.

One of our other projects on last weekend's list was the beginning of the 'Tack Room Makeover'...which is part of the 'Extreme Barn Makeover!' My Man works at a lumber/hardware store in town and sometimes gets some pretty good deals on materials that have been in their yard too long. There were some floor joists that they wanted to see gone...and we needed some...so they have a new home...in our barn!

After taking all the tack and shelving out of the tack

room, you can see why we need a makeover

in here...they only used 1/2 inch plywood and

green lumber for support underneath...it was a

pretty shabby job.

The old floor is almost gutted out. You can see how bad the

support was...the broken 2 x 6 against the wall!

All the sub-flooring is in...ready for the new 1 inch

 sheets ...that's this weekend's project! 

Note the layer of plywood on the bottom

of the joists...the goal is to make the tack room rat

 and mouse proof!

I've got some paneling picked out for the walls. It's oak sheets (old, thick, nice stuff) coming out of an old building...we're just waiting for them to demolish the building; they won't let us have it until then.

My Man's going to put up shelves for storage and saddle racks that will go on the wall above the saddle stands...this'll give us a lot more room.

He's also going to build a 4 foot door...I don't know how many times we catch the dang door knob on the tiny 3 foot door we have now...

Huge thank yous to My Man!!

Between You, Me, and the Fence Post

Between You, Me, and the Fence Post...is that not a catchy ditty or what?!? Well, it's actually the blog name of the latest and newest blogger that I've had the pleasure to meet...in person...face to face!!!

Just today!

Please meet Sarah who in this photo is making fast

friends with lil' Silverbelly Stetson...momma Catnip is being

standoffish as usual in the background.

Sarah (blogger extraordinaire) and her husband Malcolm are long haul truckers. Sarah realized this morning that they would be driving by very close to our ranch...yea...like within 2 miles!!! After a couple of blog comments and a couple of phone calls, they were on their way to the Rough String!

L-R Sara, Rohan, me 'n Stetson.

While Sarah and I enjoyed chatting about blogging, the pros and cons of long haul trucking, farming and ranching, and the problem of dust and housekeeping in the west, the guys were getting acquainted. Not only did the two guys have trucking as a common denominator, but farming, ranching (including shooting varmints), and the rural way of life, which quickly bonded them as kindred spirits.

Pretty soon the two of them were out there in the alfalfa fields with .22 rifles shooting sage rats. The rats have just come out of hibernation and the guys enjoyed a few rounds of target practice. Believing that My Man's .22 was the better rifle, he had Malcolm use his rifle. But it seemed that My Man's rifle was dialed in for a left handed shooter (which non of use could figure out), but Malcolm didn't miss a one with my rifle (right handed)...so, go figure!?!

After the bullets quit flyin' the carnivores came in...including this beautiful National Bird...a Bald Eagle.

I took this photo from the front porch with the wheel line

and fence in the photo. Next time I'll get out there

closer and see if I can get a better shot.

As the afternoon went by all too quickly, it was time for Sarah and Malcolm to hit the road again. I drove them a mile down the road where they'd left their truck...which also held their precious cargo...three Chinese Crested.

Oh my gosh...what cute lil' girls they are!!!

Malcolm, Sarah, Carlie, Paris and Ella.

Cindy Sue wasn't quite sure what to think about

"The Girls," but here she is trying to

make acquaintance with Carlie and Ella is running

back to Sarah...just overly excited to see her mom!

My Man and I had the most enjoyable afternoon. Meeting fellow bloggers face to face is an absolute treasure. Sarah and Malcolm are wonderful people, and we hope that we'll be able to see them often in the future as they continue their travels throughout the Western States.

Happy trails to Sarah and Malcolm...return often~~

Struggling Out of the Slump

I couldn't quite identify it...but things just haven't quite been "on" with me. I wasn't off my feed, but I just was feeling down...and downer by the day. I haven't been sleeping well at night; all I could think about was all of the really neat things Colt and I were going to do this year. That lead to lots of tossing and turning.

Then, I had a visitor today...and we don't get many visitors. Not unexpected, but a scheduled visit of my supervisor with my Ag Report job. She didn't make it over here like she usually does before Christmas, at which time she always gives me a gorgeous Poinsettia. She lives in Central Oregon and it's a 3 1/2 hour drive one way. But, the weather cooperated today, and she made it out...and gave me a beautiful bouquet of daffodils!

How could these bright, cheery flowers not

bring a smile to your face?? They liven up

the whole dining/living room area!

So, we took care of the business at hand and then chatted over a cup of coffee. After she left, I went out to the barn to doctor Colt's leg. I decided while hosing it with cold water that I was going to go into the house and call Idaho Equine and make an appointment. I was expecting it to heal quicker (it's been 2 weeks) and I needed to know where he stood. Was he going to be off all summer? We have so many events lined up...my slump must have started about two weeks ago...and it's been getting lower every day.

Our appointment is Friday at 10 AM. I've got the trailer hooked up and everything loaded. The lunch box is packed and we'll be off in the morn around 6:45. Cindy Sue 'n Bella Jo get to copilot. I guess they can take turns!

Colt's giving me the evil eye..."It's 'bout time

ya hauled me over to my friend Dr. Knox!"

I'm feeling better already!

My good footing in the round pen has gone to crap. Over the weekend, we got enough snow so that when it melted the pen turned to mud, and in the mornings it's cold enough so that it's frozen hard.

But, I did make good progress with Brego. We were back to the saddle and ready to ground drive. I turned him back out to pasture. It shouldn't take much to get him going again.

Brego hasn't missed any meals...look at that

lil' porker belly! He's gnawing on the bit; that's

why his mouth is slightly open. The line is

attached to the halter not the bit.

Catnip has that cute cockeyed muzzle.

"Come on mom...get outta that slump!"

Stetson asks "Whatcha in a slump for? You

gots all us kids...what could make you happier?!?"

OK...I'm really starting to feel a whole lot better!!!

But, I couldn't even find anything to point my camera at for the past week! This morning the sun was really nice and I took it with me to feed. I learned something...don't zoom in too close...

ya wap off ears when ya do!

Dang...and I liked the lighting in this photo too.

I'll report back ASAP. Thanks for all your cares and concerns for my Coltster.