Sometimes We Fly
I enjoy waking up to the gobble gobble of turkey mating season. In fact, the gobblers have been my alarm clock lately. They are pretty reliable believe it or not.
They didn’t want to walk across the bridge. Flying seemed like a better idea.
I guess there are times in life when walking just isn’t good enough. You’ve got to spread your wings, fluff your feathers and fly on over to that greener pasture. I can relate. 
Barn Tour
Over the weekend our local art guild, in which I am a member of, went on a barn tour through our small town. We visited barns built in the 1930′s or earlier. It was such a cold and windy day but we powered through and really enjoyed it. I can’t wait to see the paintings that the artists will create from their snapshots. Below are a few of my favorites and you can see the whole tour and descriptions of the barns on my website by clicking HERE.
Geringer Barn and log cabin built in 1912 or before.
Mule Shoe Ranch Rock Barn, built in 1882 by Erasmus Nagel.
inside the Mule Shoe Ranch Rock Barn, a curious gelding
Remember the big brown eye on the last post? Well, this is his big nose sniffing through!
old coke bottles in the window of the Goodrich Barn built in 1915
a sweet kitty cat visited us at the Baker Barn that was built in the early 1930′s.
the color in the wood of the Birkle Barn built in the early 1930′s was a favorite among all the artists
He Spies with a Big Brown Eye
In a barn built in 1881 made of limestone and mule shoes, a peeping pony asked to be petted.
(I had title block so today’s title credit goes to my dear friend Jessica W in my hometown of Macon,GA. Thank you friend. Your print is in the mail. xoxo)
T-R-O-U-B-L-E
This little trio has been running wild around the pasture. They are the oldest of all the calves so while the younger ones stick close to momma, these three are gaining some independence. Pretty fun watching them grow up.
Frosty and Stormy Blue
The title may sound like names of pets but really I’m describing the month of March in Wyoming.
This might be the most unpredictable month for weather in Wyoming.
Wednesday was the first official day of spring and we started out with a sparkly layer of frost on the deck.
The sky dramatically changed midday and stayed deep blue until sunset.
We never got any moisture from all of those storm clouds. So very disappointing.
But the river is always a beautiful view any time of the year. Drought or no drought.
Evening Stroll
The weather is sweetening up and an evening stroll with the hounds-man and his hounds was just what the doctor ordered. I have to hang back as to keep from tripping over their happy feet and the multitude of rocks.
Dropped on his Head
This is the first of our cows to calve. The calf I showed you last month was born to a heifer (a first time mother cow).
Yesterday I got back from doing chores and could tell that this experienced cow-momma had a belly ache. She had separated herself from the herd and nested by the fence. She was up and down, ringing her tail, arching her back and pushing hard. This lasted for two solid hours. Poor lady. The whole time I kept my eye on her I was cheering her on quietly but thanking the heavens this wasn’t me. It was a struggle but she finally dropped him on his head, stimulated him with licks and when I left her, she was helping him get to his feet to suckle.
I love this time of year.
Snowglow
The weatherman threatened a massive blizzard this past weekend and nothing happened. Zilch. Nada. But two nights ago it finally snowed and we had about an inch on the ground yesterday morning. It melted by mid-morning down low but yesterday evening, Squaw Mountain still beamed with a bright snow glow.
Western Screech Owl
I love this view of the Laramie River. Water flows rapidly around the bend into a pool of glass and then flows wildly over more rocks. She could use more water these days but that’s a story for another time.
Back in those woods is a little creature I’ve tried to photograph for some time now. Whenever I’ve come upon on it, it spooks itself and me and all I get is the blur of it’s rear-end flying away.
But this time, the elusive screech owl gave me a couple seconds to photograph him before taking off to the other side of the ranch.
Now if you’ve ever heard a screech owl, you most likely have had the ever living daylights scared straight out of you. On my first encounter, I had my arms full of groceries and while walking up to the door, a blood curdling scream pierced the dark and silent air. I couldn’t get in the house fast enough and was yelling to Patrick that someone was being murdered right there at the irrigation ditch. I just knew someone or something was dying a horrible death. He grabbed his spotlight and there it was, a screech owl perched on a cottonwood waiting for the next victim to give bad dreams.
This one in the woods didn’t screech though. I think because he wanted to be unseen in the daylight. I was glad to get these couple of images before he took off.
Birds of Happiness
It’s been a tough winter and when the “blizzard” passed us over this weekend, I had a feeling a spring day may peek through. That day was yesterday. Bluebirds were chirping all over the ranch so I hung out with them most of the afternoon. It was such a pretty sight to see these bursts of bright blue amid the grey and brown.
It’s still a little early but springtime is knocking on our door. Still hoping for a few bouts of winter moisture but I’ll take the song of the bluebird anytime.
Happy Monday my friends, I hope you are staying warm and feeling happy. I’m certainly getting there!
With Eyes on His Feathers
Even though it’s cold and the ground is still frozen, this guy sees spring in his future.
He pranced and stomped and squealed.
With eyes on his feathers, I admit I almost fell for him.
He swayed to the right and to the left, just waiting for the right girl to come along.
The wind caught his feathers but it didn’t seem to bother him one bit. He just kept right on going, standing tall and beautiful.
I hope this first day of March gets you frisky and excited about spring approaching. It excites me to no end at the thought of daily sunshine and short-sleeve shirts. I know we still have more cold in our future but today I’m going to wear bright feathers in my hair in anticipation for the warmth of spring.
Happy Friday everyone!
Morning Twinkle
The air was heavy with fog but the ground and fence posts sparkled yesterday morning.
ice crystals on a fence post
a single snowflake on a red stem
another single snowflake on a red stem
Old man winter is taking his sweet time to exit. But these frosty, glittery mornings do make me cheerful.
My, How You’ve Grown
Remember her?
And her?
Poco’s baby (top) and Kate’s baby (above) were both born a little over a year ago.
I thought you might like to see them now.
Here is Kate’s baby girl all grown up.
Poco’s baby is on the far right and they both were weaned off mama late last year. They were eventually put out in the meadows with our lead mare, Paddy’s Frost aka Rat. They went off with her to keep calm and be “supervised”.
Rat took right to her babysitting duties and takes great pride in showing the girls the way.
In fact, now that the other ranch horses have joined them in the meadows, Rat continues to lead the way.
Best friends forever.
Incoming!
This little boo entered our world early this morning; the first calf of the season from a small batch of new heifers. Not sure of the sex because mama is very protective. I had to leave them alone so they could bond. We’ll have a much smaller herd to calve out this year because of the drought. I will cherish each and every one and I look forward to the smile they will put on my face. I’m so crazy about the little ones!
Pink Daisies
“If I had a single flower for every time I think about you, I could walk forever in my garden.”
Claudia Ghandi
This morning started out no different than most. I awoke thinking of those I love and am forever grateful for; my family, my friends, the loving man of my life, my kitty cat, you guys who loyally tune in to UM. But then, as I stretched and pet Matilda, I looked over and there beside the bed sat a pot of pink daisies. Now I don’t care how typical it is to receive flowers and chocolates on Valentines Day, it melts my heart to know he cares.
Have a great day my friends.
Love,
Leah
from pink sunsets to gray snowstorms
We had a heckuva snowfall Saturday night. We’re hoping that the wind lays down so we can absorb the moisture. Looks to me like the horses are plotting against working for a living and are going to break into the hay stack.
Sharing
This was a big hit on my facebook page last night and I thought I shouldn’t leave you out of the loop. After all, Mamma taught me to always share.
It was overcast most of yesterday, you know, one of those sleepy kind of days. I forced myself to go out for a hike and then the sun came out late afternoon. After a while of photographing dry and dormant flowering weeds left over from the summer, I came in to start dinner. I looked out of the window and everything looked pink. The grass, the fence, the trees. Pink. So I ran out of the front door and found myself literally chasing light. Once I was in the back of the house, there it was. Hovering over Squaw Mountain was a gorgeous masterpiece painted only by the heavens above.
Hello February
February has entered with a bang!
I won’t bore you with the details of the numerous lemons life has served us that we are struggling to make lemonade with, but I will show you the progression of stormy skies that welcomed this second month of 2013. It was a wild party in the sky most of the day with only gray and overcast during the morning . The real show began after noon.
12:47pm
On my way to care for a neighbors farmily, I noticed the gray skies hovering over the Cooney Hills and blue skies with snow over Squaw (not pictured).
1:47pm
Back at home the sky went from gray to blueish purple with high winds and wet snow squalls for a couple of hours.
4:01pm
We went to town to take care of some ranch business and looked back toward the hills. That’s Squaw Mountain back covered with snow from the afternoon squalls. That cloud separation in the middle is pretty wild eh?
5:01pm
Coming back home, the sun was starting to set behind the hills.
5:04pm
The space there between the hilltops and the upper clouds is dead air, calm and cool. Wind is sweeping off the hills and whipping into the lower clouds just above the road.
5:07pm
5:11pm
5:18pm
Once back home, the sun went down behind the mountains. The clouds cleared out overnight and Saturday was cool and clear.
Phew! What a way to start off the month.
Snow Clouds at Sunset
Snow storms were happening all around us yesterday evening and these wild clouds helped to create light that changed colors within minutes.
I knew that just around this hill I would see what these clouds were all about.
The light changed from yellow to pink and purple just as I approached the windmill. I like how that strip of cloud through the center acts kind of like a reflection of itself. We didn’t get any of the snow but we sure do have the cold temps.
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