Kitten, Kitten...

Miss Fancy was coming in the house to get acquainted with us. She would come in for 10-30 minutes, depending how much time Bill had to play with her. Then she got to thinking maybe she was little miss princess. She was up and over and under and flipping and flopping. She took an extreme liking to the grandies' rocking chair, which has two special bears in it. When she started to claw the cloth strips, Bill got the spray water bottle and she hasn't bothered it since!

When Cari came home Miss Fancy showed her all of her fancy footwork! All the kittens have loved the dished out rock on the top of the deck railing. She was acting scared of the other two cats in the following photo.

I need to figure out how to zoom the picture on the last one. She was so cute looking at Cari taking her picture. Her markings are getting darker and her tail and legs are getting longer! She entertained herself quite a long time trying to dig imaginary things out of the knot holes on the deck!!

Working on the Ranch Together...

Early one morning my Cowboy decided that we could gather some pairs (cows and calves) from a bunch. We didn't want to get all of them. Do you see trouble coming?? He said if we got started early it would not take us too long to get the job done and it would be good to be done before it got very warm. By the time the horses were saddled it was later than planned AND the wind had started to blow.

He had planned to get about 40 pair. It didn't work that way. We were trying to work off some against a fence. I was down the fence trying to keep them from slipping by me--he wanted me more to the middle and told me so in short terse terms... AND the wind blew. They didn't want to be worked off and when it was said and done we had between 20 to 25 pairs. We got them gathered together and going southwest to the gate. He had to get to the gate and we got them through the gate but it was my job to get the last of them through the gate, close the gate, quickly mount up and hurry to help him as they wanted to go anywhere but where we wanted them. The cows wanted to go East by doubling back and we wanted them to go West. Do you see trouble coming?

I got them through the gate and parting words were hurry all you can... I went to step off my saddle and it slipped sideways. Oh, great! Now I have to reposition my saddle!

Let me regress and tell you why I want my saddles on TIGHT! When my cousin was 9, the latigo broke on her saddle and she got a compound fracture and she wore a halo on her hand with pins sticking out of her fingers. It happened on my 14th birthday, June 9. I can still remember the halo on her hand. For those that don't know, a latigo is the leather strap that hooks to the rigging on the saddle and loops through the cinch to hold the saddle on the horse.

I want my saddles on tight. I lead my horse around and then I want to tighten my cinch even more. I may not have much strength, but for that job I have some in reserve. My Cowboy likes to cinch up looser than I. He tells me he doesn't want to cut the horse in half. He is an excellent rider and can balance and his saddles never seem to slip, but mine always move a little. Now back to the story...

I loosened the cinch, moved the saddle to the front and tightened everything as best I could and hurry at the same time. I stepped in the stirrup and the dang thing really twisted that time. Do you see trouble coming? Over the rise comes my Cowboy at a lope. He took one look, didn't ask one question and said to me, "You can't get on your horse with his saddle under his belly." He jumped off of his horse, resaddled my horse and WE took off at a lope. He said go to the trees and turn those cows to go South as they were now going due West. I picked out some trees (not the right ones), do you see trouble coming? I got the arm waving and the hand signals that are so not readable and figured something was amiss. Why do men think we can read those waving arms? Most of the time one can't see them waving until one is a lot closer!!

Communication in marriage is so important...

I finally figured out WHICH trees, after he rode around me and we got them headed South. It was a beautiful day and the outside of a horse is good for the inside of a girl too! We were jingling along and I was trying to smooth my feathers somewhat when Cowboy rode up and ask, "How about a little kiss?" My reply, "Are you kidding??"

Oh, we have had many laughs since, but you know how it is...

Just keep talking!

College, Kids, Pets...

This has been a busy week starting with last weekend. Tristin went to "big school" at Montana State University, Bozeman. It is where I graduated and to my recollection, I think it has only been a few years...gads!! I was going to go welcome her to MSU and then remembered, she didn't need/want Grammy there. She was probably trying to get Mom and Auntie pushed out the door after they got her moved in the dorm!
Tristin and Mom...
Tristin and Auntie...

I had to take Amy for her first set of x-rays on her foot, so she and I had brunch with Meghan and Cari at Cari's apartment. Cari took some good pictures of our "country dog visiting the sites of the city."
One wonders what they think...
She is still a pretty dog. I felt sorry for her as the splint has rubbed her leg raw above her toes and it has rubbed up on her thigh where the splint ends. She got a new splint and a new bandage and the x-rays looked good Dr. Brown said.

I think she thinks she "might" be a town dog...
It was so good to see Meghan. We missed Sydney being with us too! We planned a girl afternoon for pedicures and I was wanting the other girls, all of them, with us too!! (I have been wondering how to make it possible one weekend with just us and kiddies...) With them working or having kids it is impossible to have a spur of the moment gathering. Our gatherings take some planning!!!
Cari took a day off and we spent some wonderful time together. We laughed, and cried and teased. They teased their Mom, imagine that! Meghan asked me if I remembered the time with Peggy and the girls... I didn't remember and then we got off on another train of thought and I have been racking my brain over our little trip with Peggy, Tessa, and Terra... hummmm!

We put Meghan on the plane Monday evening. Goodbyes are so hard, but I know she will be back soon. Thank God for air travel and telephones and e-mail. Snail mail is nice to re-read cards and letters. I am a card person to my very depths!

This picture was taken this morning after getting home from Billings last evening. I put Amy outside for some fresh air (she is still to be confined) and when I looked, Tiggy had climbed in the kennel. She has done it before. They are truly buddies and they are excluding Miss Fancy for the time being! One day when Amy was in the kennel, Tiggy was in the dog house sleeping.
Nothing like pets to watch and wonder about...

Cowboys and Romance

Women of all ages like romance.

After I typed that I thought maybe I had better just speak for myself. If any of you have read THE FIVE LOVE LANGUAGES by Gary Chapman, you know that "receiving gifts" is one of the five languages. It is a fun book to read and I think that I like all of the five at different times.

My Cowboy came home from riding one day with some miniature iris tied with horse hair that he had found at an old homestead where he is taking care of the cattle. I just loved the gesture and loved him for thinking of it!! He probably got a pie out of that sweet gesture! Need I say more...
Bill has brought me a posy now and then but it had been awhile!

He is riding Big Blue, but we have sold him. He is a really nice horse. He is making Scott E. a great horse.

I have tried packing things horseback and it isn't all that easy! I did find some broken glass that was purple, so it is in my garden collection. I am trying to make an area for flowers, interesting items, and for contemplation, but My Cowboy is worried about the water draining away from the house and the sloop of the ground before I get too carried away... See my dilemma?

Amy goes to the vet tomorrow, so have been burning up the tires the last two weeks with Dr. visits and vet visits for family.

Flowers, Gardening, & Deer

My good word for the day is: "I have learned, in whatever state I am, therewith to be content." Phil. 4:11

I was repeating that verse as I was bouncing over the ground mowing weeds and thinking about how hard we ranch girls work to have some flowers, trees, garden "stuff" and maybe a little grass. Gumbo is a dirt (is it dirt?) of it's own kind. It is as hard as a rock when dry and comes out in big clumps when dug and when wet, it sticks to one's feet like deflated tire inner tubes!! I have been known to "lose" a shoe in the stuff!
This is my new lawn tractor from My Cowboy! We wore the other one out in three years! This one has 24 + hours on it so far! It mows a little bigger swath, which is good! We mow lots and lots because I hate snakes!!!
This iris grows in gumbo in spite of itself. This picture was taken this spring before the deer found the blossoms!

This picture of my moss roses is to show that deer will eat them whether I have wire on them or not. If you look closely, you will see chicken wire secured by my lawn ornament made by Wayland. They were also hanging their head into the planter to the left of the moss roses!!

This is an early morning picture I tried taking of two bucks in Grandma's yard! One is eating her Chinese elm tree and the other one is lurking around, since there really isn't anything to eat except in our yards. Granted, they were beautiful to watch and then I came to my senses and clapped my hands and hollered at them (after trying to get a pic).

I wonder if I would be called a red-necked gardener as I have wire around my flowers to keep the critters at bay. It also keeps the cats out of the planters too! It isn't esthetically pretty, but if you squint your eyes you don't see the wire as much! There is also wire on the pansies if you look closer.
The trees, the deer love the leaves on the trees. Both of these trees are struggling for survival. The wind blew the wire off of the tree at the right of the picture. It happened in the spring and all the leaves were eaten off, but after the wire was installed one more time, the leaves came back! Another thing the deer like to do is rub the velvet off of their horns and they do that on our trees without wire rather than the trees along the creek. Plastic sacks looped over the branches works. Does red-neck come to mind??

We work so hard at having a few things grow. My Cowboy put in a 1500- gallon water tank behind the garage for me to catch rain water. The other day I watered the trees on a trickle. When I turned the water off, I had turned it the wrong way. The next morning My Cowboy told me my water tank was empty BUT the good news was that the trees all got watered! They are good until fall!! I know, I know--lefty loosey, righty tighty!!!

So, you can see why I was repeating my Bible verse this morning! My flowers are pretty, the weeds get mowed, I have water for the flowers and veggies, there is gas in the mower and My Cowboy loves me. It can't get much better than that...

The "MEN" in our Lives

The "men" in this picture are Spider, Ace, Duny, Joe, and Cash. This was on Friday, August 14th. We had two horses in the corral, Joe Jack's Big Mac and an unnamed gray horse. Joe Jack has a swollen knee and he is getting acquainted with the gray and keeping him company. Also missing from this picture is Art (the big BOSS) and Ted. We didn't think too much about that. We had had an electrical storm plus about 1/4" of rain and didn't give it much thought that two were missing. Art and Ted hung pretty close, being the "older horses at 25 and 17 respectively


The horses at this ranch are the backbone of our horse work. They are cared for and loved. They are fed usually each day, so they come easily when my Cowboy calls them. They know they are special and they even actually act like they want to be "picked" for the day's work when they haven't gone for awhile. They come up for their head rub... Then when the work gets heavy, they really don't think they want to be the one to go! How typical of us all!
Here is the same bunch of horses. Sometimes they will come up to the fence, which is near the house to make sure that Bill sees them so he will go to the barn and give them just a tad of grain!
Here is Kamryn on Joe. When she was little she thought that Joe was really her horse and she called him "My Joe" which we called him that a lot of the time too! He is a sweetheart and has packed me a few miles. I really like his little jig as it covers a lot of ground and I don't get too sore. Joe now is lame part of the time, so will be only for kids...

Next to Kamy on Joe is Cowboy PopPop riding Ted. Ted is probably one of the best horses Bill has ever owned according to him. He is such a beautiful bay. Cowboy says he is such a "cowy" horse. For those few city folk that read this, it means they work cattle very well. Cowboy said sometimes he had trouble staying on whenTed would cut back after a cow or calf. When I rode him he knew that it was a rather cushy job, so he took VERY good care of me and we did our work but I didn't require the same level of expertise as my Cowboy!

Typing this is even hard to do, you see Ted got struck by lightening Thursday night, August 13th. The reason Art and Ted weren't in the top picture is probably Ted's buddy Art was standing with him hoping he would get up. We were both so thankful Ted wasn't standing there with a broken leg and that more horses weren't hit also. We had one crack of thunder that shook the house Thursday evening, so it was most likely that one. There weren't any trees close where he was struck either.

I hope there are horses in Heaven...



This is Foxy, another beautiful horse. Cowboy Bill calls him his "circle horse" and he went MANY miles on Foxy. I thought he was such a beautiful sorrel. Amy just loved to get to go "work" when they went horseback. Foxy got a cut on his shoulder which turned out to be a much bigger problem than a small cut. Long story condensed, it was bad, he wasn't going to heal, something broken and he had to be put down. Tapateo was another old horse that Cowboy put down with Foxy, so it hasn't been our horse summer. We also had some that got wire cut but did heal. Ace got a hairline crack in his hoof earlier, but seems to be healed...

Our best and prettiest and youngest of horses get their legs broken, wire cut, you name it, it happens with horses. We get new ones and they become part of "the men" and we go on, but once in awhile for those fleeting seconds we think of Tap, Foxy, and now Ted. We think, oh, what a horse...

FAIR TIME!!

It was Fair Time in Garfield County and the weather was perfect!!!! Cool...

4-H kids showing their livestock...

A picture I started when Baylee was a baby. I love "redwork" and had never done any until now.

This is a block-of-the month quilt I did from The Plaid Square in Glasgow. It is batiks and was challenging at times. This quilt goes to Dad and Bonnie and the green will go with her Irish red hair!
This is my "Dick and Jane" quilt. I learned to read with Dick and Jane, so when this fabric appeared in the stores, I knew I had to have some. Carousel Quilting quilted it. She did a fabulous job. I told her it was whimsical and to have some fun quilting it. I am sure because of her quilting I won the purple ribbon in that division. I was super excited as that is my first purple EVER! It is still fun to get them...

The one on the left is a wall hanging or table topper and I liked the flowers. The one on the right is the one that makes me laugh out loud when I see it! I am not really "into" Halloween, but this wall hanging was one that I just had to do. I am crazy about that old witch!! You can't see it in this picture but her leggings are purple to go with her red heels. Maybe I have a thing about red shoes!!
What would the fair be without the sandbox by the fair building. They were super busy and it was a little wet, but most of the "youngins" were there so Moms and Dads could find them. I am sure that after a little pink cotton candy the sand stuck like glue...

It rained that night, buckets, which is no exaggeration and hailed some places. It rained 7/10 at our place. I didn't look at the sand box on Saturday but it was undoubtedly busy. I was trying to stay warm during the stock sale so didn't think about the little ones as we didn't have any visiting. My friend Jane brought a blanket for our laps, what a friend! Who would think in August it would feel so cool.