Sharpshooters in the Making!!

Cowboy thought it might be good for ALL of his favorite girls to learn how to shoot.  (Are you listening FAVORITES?)  Because of the murder in a small town in Eastern Montana people are becoming jumpy.  For those of you who don't know, a lady was running and was abducted.  They have two people in custody but have not found the body.  This is a small town that has been hit by the oil boom.  We wonder if anyone is "safe" any more.  Thus on to the subject of protection...

  We like our freedom and we want to protect the life as we have known it.  We are talking about locking doors and battening down the hatches when we leave the ranch.  We have been friendly and helpful to any and all that might need it.  It is not unheard of to stop and ask if someone needs help (when Bill is along of course!).  Gone are the days when I gave a hitch hiker a ride.  It gives me the shudders to think about that now!
 

We were wishing that The Farmer had been able to stay and target shoot with us.  Cowboy thought that The Farmer could have given us pointers!  I laughed when Cari took aim and her gun was waving just a little as she took aim.  Well, my dear friends, she had the last laugh as I was a wobbling mess and they both stood waaaaay behind me!  I aimed every time at that darned bull's eye and I would hit high or low and sometimes off the target altogether!  When I was in one of the four quadrants I cheered!  Cowboy did some shooting too.  Cari and I tried two different pistols.  Bill had brought a third but neither of us wanted to try it.  I understand it takes practice.  I have never liked guns but have lived with them my whole life.  I was brought up being taught that EVERY gun is loaded and dangerous.  Cowboy showed us how to check the gun EVERY time to see whether it is loaded, how to load it, how to unload it, and Cari got a lesson this morning in cleaning the gun. 

I know Rosie O'Grady drove with a gun in her car when she drove from Texas to Montana.  I never thought it would get to this, I am a Grandma!  After I get my concealed weapons permit, maybe I will change my name to Pistol Packin' Granny!  No, I don't think so, I don't like the ring to that!  I will be taking Hunter Safety with the young people this year. 

The trick I learned was you mark the person's shots ahead of you and then you can see where YOUR shots go or don't go as the case may be.  I shot left handed, I shot right handed, I shot with both hands on the gun, I shot with one hand on the gun and the other on my elbow, I tried aiming with the left eye (the stronger of the two) and I aimed with the right eye, I am right handed, so it was all interesting.  But I do sweep left handed... does that count?

I tried making the last two pictures larger!  Ugh!  Computers!  Anyway, here is a sharpshooter in the making.  Youth...she did much better than her mother.  I will learn how to do this in case I have to protect any of my loved ones, with God's help, I may not have to.

A word to the wise, be sure to call if you are coming to visit at night and I am alone...

Memory Walks

I was looking for a picture of a different hair-do that I used to wear and I found these two photos and they made me laugh out loud.  I hope you get a smile from them!

In the previous picture Tristin had been doing a somersault on the bed.  She was two when this was taken.  The look just makes me laugh!!!  Is it Mommy, Grammy, Auntie's look??  Goodness, it is hard to believe she will be 21 in January!  Yikes!!  Hummmm?!  That must make me about 49?



Tristin is 3 1/2 here with "Cookie" and one of her puppies.  Is it any wonder that this girl loves dogs!  I have loved dogs for a long, long time!  Red boots... we always like to get our little cowgirls RED boots.  Aren't they magic somehow? 

This was taken the summer of 2010.  I see a resemblance...  Hope she doesn't come after me, but after all it is my blog.  Ha! 

Nothing earth shattering on my mind, I just wanted to share these fun pictures and I put them on face book, but that entity drives me nuts because I don't what I am doing.  Do I know what I am doing here?  Well, that could be debatable too!

Pansies

I have always loved pansies since I have been a young girl.  I love their faces.  I usually try to grow some and this year I got the best pot and the best place to put it.  Pansies love cool weather and they do well early in the summer and into the fall.  This year I did not empty the pot until last week.  I couldn't bring myself to dump it.  The pansies went through several frosts too.  Anyway, I took a picture of my almost frozen pansies to say goodbye for the season!! 

I took the wire off of my pot so I could take a picture, otherwise the deer would have eaten them a long time ago!!!

I will be waiting for the garden catalogs to look at all the pictures and dream, but alas, I don't plant that much as it is frustrating to just feed the deer besides being expensive.  I am thinking I need to have a window garden, but I don't know how to start such a project.  We would love to eat the fresh herbs.  Although this year we ate the cilantro and it was delicious!!  That is one herb one either really likes or cannot stand.  We are in the "love it" catagory!

Until spring, my fellow gardeners!!!

Granddad

I lost the picture that I had posted of Dad/Granddad, so I will try again.  Computers can be so frustrating! It certainly can't be the operator!  Ha!  My computer gal couldn't give me a solid answer either and we decided  this was the quickest way to get the pictures back!!

This is a good picture and the name shows of his last truck.  That shirt he has on is one BJ gave him for a gift and he literally wore it out.  I brought it home and washed it and was going to make something for BJ's family, but it was so threadbare and holey that I didn't.  Granddad literally got the "goodie" out of that shirt!

The truck was bought by our son Barry, so we were pleased that we know where it went.  Grandad spent lots of money keeping his equipment in top shape engine wise.

We think he may have been the oldest trucker in Montana with a CDL at 85 years old. 



Veterans' Day, A Special Veteran

Friday was Veterans' Day and it was a beautiful day in Eastern Montana.  Cowboy wanted to fly the flag if the wind wasn't going to blow hard enough to tear it off of the pole.  So with the sun rising in the east, I just had to take a picture.

What it is about the American flag that puts a lump in my throat?  I am so thankful for all the men and women who gave their lives and who simply served their country so that we could have the freedoms that we know today.  There our young people still going to the armed forces to serve this country.  What a blessing they are to give so selflessly.  In my family alone we have a grandfather, a father, a husband uncles, great uncles, and a son-in-law.  The county we live in, Garfield County, has a high number of veterans and enlisted people per capita. 

Our Veterans' Day Dinner was last night in Jordan and the veterans were asked to stand and it was impressive.  Saying the pledge brings a lump in my throat...

This also a tribute to my Father who was a Veteran.  He passed away a month ago and his burial was touching for me.  The VFW Honor Guard from Miles City did the 21-gun salute and played taps.  The two service men that did the flag-folding ceremony were especially honoring to Dad.  I cried when they did that and handed the flag to Bonnie, my step-mom.  It makes me tear up now as Cowboy and I have always liked a veteran to be honored. 

When Dad was in the hospital during his last days we looked at pictures and talked about work that Dad had done over the years.  One could tell he was listening.  Bonnie had found two letters that were in Dad's "stuff."  One was from an Army buddy that wrote while he was serving in the service and Dad was home in Montana.  They other letter Dad had written to his granddad when Dad was in the service.  What Bill pointed out to me is that Dad typed his letter and there were no mistakes and his spelling was accurate.  Cowboy is not the best speller, but that isn't why I married him!  BJ read those letters out loud two different times and you could tell Dad enjoyed that.  What was almost Bill's undoing was when Granddad said, "Bill, read me War Bags out of the Western Ag Reporter.  Bill got through it, but I could tell he was trying to not get tears in his eyes. 

When Dad died there was a true character that will be no more.  We miss his phone calls in the mornings and his telling us about different people in general, "Oh, they don't know a thing!"  Bill is missing Dad's stories and I am kicking myself that I didn't sit down and just write some of them down rather than cook!

Water Under the Dam

Since today is Cowboy's birthday he wanted to take a drive to Ft. Peck since they are letting water out of the spillway.  It was such a breathtaking site.  That water was running so fast!  They are letting out about 50,000 cubic feet per second.  Here are some pictures Bill took. 

Looking from the lake side.



This is one gate that we are seeing.  Cowboy held my hand and told me that I would hate myself if I didn't walk over to the fence and look over and see all the water.  He was right but you would think I was standing on a cliff and there was no fence and the sound of the rushing water would pull me in!



This is the water coming through.

These two pictures are out of order, but you know computers!  Ugh!  It won't let me make this one larger.  Cowboy said, "It needs to be larger."  I know, but how?  when it is too late to call my personal tech support for computers!  Ha!  Oh, I finally figured it out!!

Here are all 16 gates open at the same time.  Impressive.



Looking down the spillway from the top of the bridge.  It was all I could do to stand there and look.  Bill had to take the pictures.  The water was moving so fast that it was mesmerizing.  It felt like the water could pull me in at any second and it was so FAST.  It made me queasy in my stomach.  I don't think that I would have made a very good sailor. 

At the bottom.

A closeup of the bottom.  Do you suppose it is eroding some of the dirt down there?  There is a lot of force behind that water.  I am thinking of all those people down river.  What about their ranches, towns?  This has been the most unusual year for moisture.  First we had snow since October and then when we still had snow on the north side of the foothills, it started raining and really hasn't let up much.  Are we complaining.  Not loudly as it is filling dams and rivers and reservoirs that haven't had water for a really long time.  That rain is soaking into the ground like we haven't seen and it is over due.  Cowboy says we could be three weeks from a drought because as we know this is Montana! 





Cowboy had to lean over the bridge and take another good picture.  For a man that is afraid of the water, this does not bother him in the least.  He trusts that cement to hold him!  Imagine!

This our last picture.  It is gorgeous.  There wasn't any wind and the lake looked like a mirror.  One can have a special love for this lake, but she can turn on you just like that!  There is so much turbulent water that is unseen going to the spillway.  We heard there is a warning for boats not to go into that portion of the lake because they could be sucked to the gates because of the undercurrent.

This is something we have never seen before and probably won't see again in our lifetime.

The Love of Horses and More Horses

Kamryn and Liv came for a short visit the end of this week.  They went to the last day of VBS in Jordan and we able to go to Linford's to see the baby colts.  They are so cute!  We got the girls used to the mares that are the three-year olds and two-year olds.  They were so friendly and we gave them "cake" to eat out of our hands.  I didn't take pictures of that, but the girls just relaxed around them.  Then we walked over to see the saddle horses and two of the five LOVE peppermint candy, so we got slobbered on a little.  Liv didn't like that very well!

Just a pass by before they decided they could come back!

Oh, would not it be nice to have one of those around?  Cowboy tells me that it is hard to get them grown as they get in the wire and all kinds of serious trouble...

Pretty easy going baby and curious.  Cowboy says that this little one is saying, "When I grow up, I am going to be BIG horse!"

They keep coming for a little treat from the pickup Jack drove in there.

Getting a little closer...

Nuzzling Wendy...

This is one of my favorite pictures.  Kamy is relaxed and this little one just is so curious and wants to have a good sniff and be friends...  Kamy is busy stroking one of the mares.

As Jennifer says, "Dad really likes the colts too!"  He reins in his feelings with practicality and says, no colts.

Sunday was the last day at the ranch for the girls.  Sunday morning was for riding.  Since the stirrups had to be let down for Kamy, Liv got to ride first.  She was instructed to pet and talk to Doc so he could get used to her and her voice.

A few more times around the lot.

Now she is on her own and the instructions begin...  My palms are sweaty for her.  Grandgirls so want to please their grandfathers and to do it right the FIRST time when we all know it takes time in the saddle to get some of those lessons.  That is just the way it is...

Still working on the "steering"...

Kamy's turn to get acquainted with Doc since she grew up on "My Joe" and he has been her horse forever.

That small saddle is almost too small for her and the way she is shooting up, it will be sooner than later.  Doc was a good teacher, but Cowboy thinks he would flimflam these kids before long.  You know how those gentle horses can be.

There is nothing like being on a horse, smelling them, smelling leather, the feel of them under you.  I was always so horse crazy myself.  My maternal grandfather had lots of horses, so I must have inherited some of that love of horses.  I could not get to the ranch soon enough in the summers so I could ride.  Oh, I had lots of mishaps and buck offs and falloffs.  Luckily I didn't have any broken bones.  Now, the thought of mishaps and creaking bones...well, you know!  I was so thankful Cowboy PopPop took the time this morning to saddle the horse and take the time with the girls as he was due at a branding at Joe's.  These are the moments they will remember.  Those fleeting moments when telling Mommy and Daddy about riding the horse!

There isn't anything like it and I feel sorry for those that have never gotten to experience being around horses...