First Signs of Fall in the High Country

Quaking Aspens at 6100 feet above McCoy Creek

Wordless Wednesday ~ Rise & Shine!

Wordless Wednesday ~ Mt Washington, Central Oregon

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!!!

Sunday Stills ~ Big Sky

Boy...it's been a VERY long time since I participated in Sunday Stills...and I'm not sure why. The photo challenges are always interesting, the people are fun, and the photography is good.

So, I'm going to get back into the groove of things.

This week's challenge is photos with Big Sky...head on over and check out the other participants! Their links are in this link.

Riddle Mountain in a blanket of snow.

A Photo A Day ~ The Challenge

New Year resolutions?

Nah...it's a daily thing...stay focused and get more done. Period.

But, I am going to attempt the 365 day challenge of A Photo A Day. January 1 is a good day to start, but I had to decide how I was going to post the photos...I didn't want to tie them into this blog.

Facebook? No, I'm trying to stay off of there.

Another blog? Yep...but I'm going to give WordPress a go and see how I like it.

So, here's the link to JKS Photography. I've also put the link at the top of the right side bar and in the blogs I'm following. I only plan on posting the daily photo with just a simple description (trying to make it quick and easy). Also, the daily photos will  not be posted on this blog.

Knowing that I can't always post every day, the post title will be the day the photo was taken, so I may post numerous photos on one day.

If you have time, please drop in and see how it's going...I have a feelin' that I'm gonna to need your support!!

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Meanwhile...back at the ranch...

-10 degrees F here this mornin'...my photo session didn't last long!

Another chilly mornin'

Have a great day as we begin the New Year!!

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!

Fall Color in SE Oregon

We don't get a lot of color in the fall. Most of the time, the leaves on the trees get freeze dried to a nice brown color...not too exciting.

But this year, was a bit different. It stayed hot for so long, they must have had a chance to do what they're supposed to do in the fall!

This ol' homestead is part of the 3J Ranch. The trees are old and huge,
and the grass is watered all summer long.
It's like an oasis in the desert.

We have to look for colors in other places besides the trees~

Shadows on Riddle Mountain as the sun begins to
get lower in the western sky.

Dry Lake is truly dry this year...first time in the seven years we've lived here.
You can see the water rings in the lake bed as it slowly receded through summer.
(Pardon the blurred sage brush in the foreground, we were driving.)

Yesterday's sunrise. It feels so good to have clouds again.
I love blue skies, but we went for months without clouds.

Enjoy a great weekend!

An Amazing Journey Through Time

Yes, my work trip really felt like I traveled back in time...and I did follow part of the Journey Through Time Scenic Byway (the portion from John Day to Mayville, which is just north of Fossil).

I started out Friday morning bright and early...7:45 AM to be exact. It would be at least a 4 1/2 hour drive to Fossil Oregon where my first appointment would be. One of my part time jobs is working for the National Agriculture Statistics Service (NASS). In a nut shell: you know all of the reports you hear on the radio or read in the paper about USDA reports? Well, I'm one of those enumerators (data collectors) who goes out into the field and interviews farmers and ranchers gathering statistics so the USDA can predict what's happening in America's agriculture.  Not a glamorous job...but I get to see some awesome country...and meet people that really are the "salt of the earth."

Sheep Rock (I think)

Being on a tight schedule, I only took a few moments to stop and get a few shots. As I drove, there were literally hundreds of views, interesting sights, and historical landmarks that I wanted to stop and see...but I didn't get to...

All I could do was repeat to myself "I'm coming back here with My Man!!!!"

Cathedral Rock (I think)

The stop at Julie A. Henderson Pioneer Park was a necessity...restroom stop!!! I was so glad I did. If you go to the link, you'll see that it gives a lot of interesting history about the John Day Fossil Beds...including a blurb about the Pioneer Park (3rd paragraph)...and historic photos...

Fresh spring water at Julia A. Henderson Pioneer Park
from one of the numerous pipes...tasted Great!

There were at least a half dozen spring water pipes flowing with tasty, fresh water. In the center of the area was a stage...with the creek flowing directly underneath it and bridges over the creek on both sides. One side of the stage had benches like an amphitheater and the other side had picnic tables.

The historic amphitheater in the woods.

Walking through the park I could tell that it hadn't been used in quite a while, but not until I got home and did an internet search did I realize that the park was developed in 1903. My goodness...the history!! Can you just imagine the picnics, dances and festivities that took place here over the decades?

Then I had to get to work. I had two interviews to get done that afternoon, and the interviews average 2 1/2 hours each. Needless to say, it was a long day. After my appointments, I met with my friend Amy for dinner in Fossil (she's in my Mike Bridges Project class).

I finally made it to Wilson Ranches & Resort around 9:30 PM...my overnight destination...I was exhausted!  I was the only person at the B & B for the night...I had the whole 3 story house to myself!

The first thing I spied of interest was the claw foot tub in the bathroom next to my room, and it was calling my name!

End of the Day...a good long soak~

After calling My Man and letting him know that all was well and snooping peeking into all the other B & B rooms, I took a good long soak...ahhhhh~

Obviously it was dark when I had arrived...I was excited the next mornin' to see what the place looked like in the daylight...I wasn't disappointed! Cows and horses in the pastures, rolling hills, rim rock...and they've got green grass growin' up there!!!

Wilson Ranches & Retreat ~ a wonderful Bed & Breakfast
that I highly recommend.

Nancy Wilson came in and fixed an awesome ranch style breakfast for three; her husband Phil, herself and me including fresh eggs, ham, blueberry muffins, oatmeal...yummy!! I was going to need that breakfast...I had three interviews that day...and I wanted to drive back home too!

Between my first and second interviews I had time to take a side trip for a few miles on a small county road that followed this creek...which seems to house a lot of beavers!

Beaver Dam
Look closely and you'll see chicken wire fencing
around the tree trunks to keep those sharp
beaver teeth from falling them.

My second interview was located near Long Creek, so I got off of the scenic byway and headed to Monument. This road was just as pretty as the scenic byway though!!! The cutoff road started at Kimberly, which is known for its fruit orchards, and I saw pink blossomed trees...with no time to stop of course!!!

The photo below is the last one I took on my trip...it took me three passes to get it. The first time I passed it...I had the OMG I gotta stop thought in my head, but I really didn't have time...so I kept going...then the rancher for that second interview wasn't ready for me, so I drove back to Monument to interview the other rancher...this time the clouds had moved in and the colors weren't there.

OK, second interview done at Monument...back to Long Creek...the third pass by this ol' homestead...and the sun was shining...

My fav shot of the trip~

At the Ol' Homestead ~ Stepping Back in Time

After My Man saw the photos from my trip...he has no qualms about getting away for a weekend!!! We're makin' plans!!

Oh, did I make it home Saturday? Yep, at 10 PM...I worked 25 hours in two days...but it was well worth it!!

Wordless Wednesday ~ Diamond Valley

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Get more Wordless Wednesday!

Wordless Wednesday

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Participating in Wordless Wednesday!

Sunday Stills ~ Rocks and Rock Formations

~Men can be really wonderful 

when they listen to you.~ 

~Mabel Potts 1877~ 

Rocks...and more rocks...

Well, if we could grow alfalfa like we can grow rocks around here, we'd be rich!

This natural fence line runs three quarters of a mile through our ranch.
Our alfalfa fields at the base of the rim have some
of the best soil in the county because through the centuries the wind
 has blown the top soil off of the upper level onto the lower level.

The Hunter's Full Moon rising over Hat Butte from October 11.
Buttes such as this are most common.

Every little crack gathers soil has something trying to plant it's roots into it.
Over this edge is a 30 foot drop. The background is BLM land where
you can see the horizontal lines the cattle have made while grazing.

While gathering cow/calf pairs in late September it was
nice to see big trees in the Rattlesnake allotment area.
Here again, plants are growing out of the rock.

Two weeks ago we did a two day cattle drive taking Rancher Dan's
mother cows to his winter ranch in the Princeton area.
This gap in the trail is one of my favorites spots where the
trail narrows. I believe the gap is natural even though
the electrical lines go through.

I always love looking at this small butte. We have arrived at the
half way point on the two day drive. The cows are watered and fed,
and we meet back here first thing in the morning to drive them
the rest of the way...another 14 miles.

This pretty view is on the edge of the Diamond Craters...a very
unique 17,000 acres of volcanic rock formations.

Check out the other participants in this week's Sunday Stills!!

Wordless Wednesday ~ N, S, E, & W

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E

W

Happy Wordless Wednesday~