Bob's old boys........late 20's....served him well!

Might as well enjoy your work .........this is one good-natured cowboy!

Here's a little Springtime for you......it looks like it's going to be a looong winter.....

Kritters n' Kids...........they need each other......

I'm getting so excited for springtime.......planting my garden.....getting baby chicks.....

A couple of my favorite guys.....

Back at the Ranch.....

Well, after a week away from the ranch.....having a great time visiting with family in Utah......I had a big workday today trying to catch up.  Found a lost horse shoe, took care of the chickens, doctored Coop's eye, turned all the horses out that were in all week.....that was exciting.....lots of bucking and running, and slipping and sliding in the soggy pasture.  Mucked out the stalls, 'shed' out two of the horses, worked with the mustang ponies, played with my dog, loved on my cats, took lots of pics with my iPhone, cleaned up around the barn, made homemade soup, etc etc etc.  Showered much too late and now I'm wide awake after midnight :(
Oh, and as I'm not the 'best' with time management/scheduling......I also set up daily work schedules for horse training, roping, church work, and when I'm allowing myself to check my email :)  And that means I have to start going to bed much earlier!!!!!  Maybe I'll actually get to where I can wake up earlier and get to sleep earlier.  Wouldn't that be nice..............YES!!!!!!

Wanna hear the fun news!?!?!?!  Western Horseman has asked me to send them some of my ranch photography for consideration of being in the 2012 WH Calendar :)  Wahoooooooo!  Thanks WH for liking my work!!!!!

I've begun selecting the photography I'll send them.  Got lots of fun stuff :)

On the last leg of a week long trip

Had a lot of fun. Made great memories. Hugged and played with grandkids. Wish it wasn't over already but we'll go back soon. Tired of being in the car and will be so glad to get home.

Bloggin' from the road.....

I'm having a fun time traveling with my grandson Max. We're on our way to spend 2 days with 5 more grandkids here in Utah. Fun times!!!!!

A Boy and His Horse.......they needed each other.

Purely Delightful to See

Our grandson Max has always liked hanging out with me and Grandpa.  Sleepovers, breakfast at Bert's diner, stringing hot wire, sorting cattle, running errands, movies and pizza in front of the fire, etc.  But he's 13 now and he just got his very own horse.....keeps it at our ranch....and now he's learning to rope... and help his Grandpa do groundwork.  He's mighty handy, too.  He's picked everything up easily, listens to his grandpa well,, and gives it his all.
He's got himself a wicked sidearm too.....rarely misses the roping dummy.....astride his horse or on the ground.
Won't be long at all that he'll be roping live cattle.  Watch out!!! 

Two of My Favorite Guys

Roping practice today.  Max helped Grandpa do ground work....and he got it down pretty good, too.

He roped on Rex for a while.....on the dummy.  Got a wicked sidearm on him already!

Mackay

Mackay was one of five Ensign Ranch managers in Skull Valley, Utah.  The combined ranch holdings were several million acres.  A pasture consisted of several hundred thousand acres.  A days work consisted of gathering a 'pasture' before 11 am, having a tailgate lunch brought to us by the wives, and roping, branding, and doctoring the herd that was gathered.  Turn 'em back out.  Load horses, drive to the sorting pens and sort bulls till dark.  HUNDREDS of bulls.  Red Angus, Black Angus, Charlotte, and more.  HUNDREDS of bulls to cover THOUSANDS of cows.
The day started at dawn, the day ended at dusk.  Day after day.
We spent a week at the ranch helping.  Fun in the sun!  Fun in the saddle!  Fun in the dirt!  Fun photographing everything that went on........from the saddle, from the dirt, from the fence, or from a truck window.

The love of a child........

A man came home from work late again, tired and irritated, to find his 5-year-old son waiting for him at the door.
“Daddy, may I ask you a question?”
“Yeah, sure, what is it?” replied the man.
“Daddy, how much money do you make an hour?
“That’s none of your business! What makes you ask such a thing?” the man said angrily.

“I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?” pleaded the little boy.
“If you must know, I make $20.00 an hour.”
“Oh,” the little boy replied, head bowed. Looking up, he said, “Daddy, may I borrow $10.00 please?”

The father was furious. “If the only reason you wanted to know how much money I make is just so you can borrow some to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. I work long, hard hours everyday and don’t have time for such childish games.”
The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door. The man sat down and started to get even madder about the little boy’s questioning. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?

After an hour or so, the man had calmed down, and started to think he may have been a little hard on his son. Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $10.00, and he really didn’t ask for money very often. The man went to the door of the little boy’s room and opened the door.
“Are you asleep son?” he asked.
“No daddy, I’m awake,” replied the boy.

“I’ve been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier,” said the man. “It’s been a long day and I took my aggravation out on you. Here’s that $10.00 you asked for.”
The little boy sat straight up, beaming. “Oh, thank you daddy!” he yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow, he pulled out some more crumpled up bills.
The man, seeing that the boy already had money, started to get angry again. The little boy slowly counted out his money, then looked up at the man.

“Why did you want more money if you already had some?” the father grumbled.
“Because I didn’t have enough, but now I do,” the little boy replied.

“Daddy, I have $20.00 now. Can I buy an hour of your time?”

I'm excited to see the Californios Competition again in May......so love that event!

New baby chicks are on this ranch woman's mind today.........Sheldon Feed I'm a comin' soon!

What a fun way to spend an afternoon.....following a happy kid and her dog and photographing them :)

Little cowgirl!  She'll tell you that's what she is if you call her anything different.  She rides, trains cowpuppies, and swings a rope.  She's coming 5 years old soon!. 

This little lady reminds me of a poem I wrote a few years ago......

Pigtails, pony tails, or hair short and sweet

They're cowgirls in denim, with boots on their feet

A cowboy hat...baseball cap...ribbon or clip...

they dally up tight, and don't let their rope slip.....

(and so on and so forth)

              

Shannon burnin' some hair......

Okay, I was supposed to be reading.....and I'm going now.....but I came across this and I do love this image.....cuz I also love branding time.

Shannon Page doin' her daddy proud! 

Everyone should visit the Elk Grove Fine Arts Center (gallery) in Old Town Elk Grove

Spent part of the evening at the EGFAC gallery.  Love being a part of that place :)
Everyone is fun to work with and tonight was our 1st Friday event of the month.  So many people stopped in, it was great.
I chatted with a group of people who were enjoying my photography display.  They wanted to know where each of the ranches where, what went on there, etc.  It was fun to share the info with them.
Been a long day and I'm about to go read a good book now.
Good Night All!

EGGS.....the perfect food! Did you know that?

Tips about eggs:

• Eggs are best hard boiled when they're a week or older.....too fresh eggs don't separate from the shell well after boiling.
• Beat eggs ...add a tich of salt....and freeze portions in ice cube trays for scrambling and baking later.
• Store eggs small point down.
• To test eggs for freshness.......fill a pan with water and immerse eggs......fresh eggs will lie horizontal on the bottom, older eggs will 'list' upwards....large end poking towards the top.  Eggs that float need to be discarded.

A new year has begun and WSRRA rodeos will be held in states all over the West!!!!!

Here is an image I made from the WSRRA Finals in Winnemucca, NV in 2010.  What a fun time that was!  Looking forward to this year's rodeos and Finals.

Roo's feathers

I love to sit and watch Mr. Roo meandering around  the place......he's ART at it's finest.

Roo and The Girls

Every ranch needs a rooster and some hens.  They're delightful to have strutting around the place... scratching and nibbling, crowing and clucking, laying fresh eggs, providing a soothing and pleasing-to-the-eye living artscape!  If you've never owned chickens you just don't know what your missing!

What wonderful times.....fun times....rough times....unforgettable times...

‎60,000 acres and 180 head of cattle. For 15 years we helped our friends the Mahon's gather cattle here each fall before calving and big snows. Occasionaly, a calf would come before the herd was gathered, making it slow going and hard on the little fellas. We trailed some BIG mamas out of those mountains. Good times! Reminds me of the time Buck and Bob were in the middle the river 'fighting' with a mad mama who didn't want to go down the trail....Bob forgot his gun was on him :) Bad for the gun, good for the cow!