Bald Eagle
Perched up high, watching over the ranch.
It was so kind of him to stop by and strike a pose.
Happy Monday everyone!
Handsome Fella
The Mule Shoe Ranch is on the way home for us and we have to cautiously drive around it every time. The curvy street is a runway for the peacocks and peahens to strut their stuff. They definitely don’t like the snow so lately they’ve been perched on railings if they aren’t in the barn. Yesterday they were taking advantage of the bright sun and were posed to perfection for a portrait.
This guy wanted to make your day brighter here on Uprooted Magnolia.
Hope you are having a great weekend!
The Bunny High Jump
Awe, it’s a bunny.
Sitting on a bale of hay…cute.
Looks like she’s burrowed a little home between 2 bales.
My, how high you can jump you cute wittle wabbit.
Silly wabbit, hay is for horses and cows!
Horse Play
Rooty toot toot! Open the shoot!
I visited the colt yesterday and she was having a grand ole time bucking and kicking in the corral. It was a “breezy” and “chilly” afternoon.
She came right up and sniffed me and my camera almost immediately. She’s getting more comfortable with people.
Then she backed up as if to say “hey lady, watch this”!
“Take my picher”!
She was so happy to entertain me and I loved every minute. But when I said I had to go because my hands were frozen, she came up and snorted at me through the fence.
See you tomorrow young one. 🙂
Dry Flowers Buried in Snow
Metaphor anyone? Nah, I’m not that deep.
Well, the wind picked up and blew a lot of the fluffy powder away just as expected.
Everything that was buried in 6 inches of snow is now uncovered and the drifts are deep.
But it’s not over yet. There is more where all of this came from. We’re just hoping we don’t have any surprise calves in the next couple of weeks.
In One Weekend
After a week long spring snap, we were pelted with a beautiful white and fluffy blanket of snow yesterday. The weather man called for 1 to 2 inches, we ended up with a little more than 6.
It’s okay it’s okay, I’m not mad. It’s just so strange to me that Saturday can look like this:
and this.
Then Sunday turns into this:
and later, into this.
But I guess that’s the wild and woolly Wyoming that we know and love.
Now, we wait for the wind to take it all away. *sigh*
Wyoming Longhorns
On the way to check on our cattle (and precious calves) the other day, we drove past a ranch that raises longhorns. They were right at the fence so as usual Patrick smashed the brakes and kicked up a little dirt so I could take photos.
Are those horns on your head? Or are you just surprised to seem me?
Red Roan Brockle Longhorn
I got a call while we were watching them and as I was talking with my client, Patrick grabbed the camera.
Photo by Patrick: Scratch that Itch!
He captured the shot of the day!
She had an itch that only a giant horn could scratch. And I guess if she holds her tongue just so, she’ll satisfy that itch.
Early Arrivals
As I mentioned yesterday, we came upon 2 bundles of joy at Patrick’s place.
This little guy is one day old.
He’s already up and running and as you can see by the drop of milk on his mouth, he’s already sucked.
This calf is only an hour or two old. He was trying to stand by the time we got to them.
But the problem was that she had him across the icy, raging river. She has to cross back over to get to the feed and that means the hours old calf would have to cross as well. We raced home to get the waders so that Patrick could get to the other side and help the calf. But by the time we got back, she had already crossed. The calf was still on the other side balancing on the icy edge. She raced back over and led him to a shallow spot. Before Patrick could get the waders completely on, they were crossing. It was an absolute miracle that the calf made it without going under, but he did. It was a close call to say the least.
Everyone is safe and sound and now it is time to prepare for 300 or more calves to arrive. Let’s hope their mommas are a little smarter and have them on dry ground, away from raging waters.
Fire in the Valentine Sky
The weather was absolutely gorgeous yesterday. T-shirt weather in Wyoming in February. Unbelievable!
But the most unbelievable part about yesterday was the incredible evening sunset.
We had an exciting surprise when we arrived to the bluffs to feed Patrick’s cattle. Let’s just say that the neighbors bull jumped the fence last year and we had a couple of bundles of joy waiting for us…a month early. Tune in tomorrow for the baby announcements. 😉
Love on the Ranch
Don’t worry, this one isn’t too sappy.
I have to admit I’m not big on Hallmark holidays but I thought I’d share some lovey-dovey images with you today. It was brought to my attention that the last several posts might have sounded a little like I was buried in some winter misery. It’s not the cold, it’s the wind that creates misery.
But it’s the love that keeps me here.
The love of long walks to the tractor to feed the cows and horses in the springtime.
The warm and fuzzy feeling I get when fawns share a kiss outside of my office window.
And the kindness one cow shows another with a sweet head butt and a quick lick melts my heart every time.
Have a great day my lovely friends. Thanks for stopping by.
♥
Leah
Winter Lingers
“The color of springtime is in the flowers, the color of winter is in the imagination.”
~Terri Guillemets
Just in case you weren’t sure, or I haven’t reminded you yet, or if you were just wondering, it’s still winter.
The cattle are munching on the grass peeking through the snow.
The sun shines through the clouds occasionally revealing the blue sky we all know and love.
The Laramie River is high and icy. They have released more water from the reservoir so it’s higher than normal. The excess water has broken through the ice jams or just simply runs over top of the layers of ice.
The wind picked up yesterday and created “theatre smoke” all over the ranch. Snow was flying everywhere and I could barely see the dirt road I was driving on. I couldn’t even photograph the chaos because my camera couldn’t find a focus point. I’ll capture the phenomena for you one of these days. It’s amazing to see but very difficult to stand up and function in.
So anyway,
once more,
with rocks in our pockets,
we’re still hanging on to the car door.
Winter Grayscale
The winter blahs are taking hold. Every thing outside is gray and cold.
Snow is packed so tight in the drifts that there are ripples and dents like wet sand at the beach.
And a small collection of black and white images can’t be complete without a visit from Kate with snow on her snout.
We have fresh snow falling this morning but it doesn’t look as though we’ll have the below zero temps like last week. Hopefully the cowcicle episode will not occur again…this winter at least.
“De Affodil”
We enjoyed a quiet weekend at home on the range. I hope you had a good one.
The cattle have thawed out, the snow is slowly melting, and the grocery store had fresh cut daffodils on Friday.
Patrick bought me ten stems and they are beautifully dressing up the dining room and kitchen.
Forgive me if another photograph of flowers bores you, I just need to spruce up this gray and very windy Monday.
The Hills Look Cold
The wind has picked up, that means it might be warming up. You know, maybe a bit above zero or so.
When the wind pushes the snow around, it looks like theatre smoke. It floats around roads like fog in the woods of a scary movie.
Pictured here is the road to the South Ranch with a beautiful view the Richeau Mountains.
Have a happy and warm weekend!
♥Leah
Cowcicles
“When it’s fifty below, the mercury bottoms out and jiggles there as if laughing at those of us still above ground.”- Gretel Ehrlich, The Solace of Open Spaces.
I stepped out to take a walk with Shadow and see whats happening around this icy wonderland. The cattle have gathered around the house.
They are covered in snow and ice staring at me like I’ve got the solution..or hay or cake… a blanket maybe?
But I continue on, hoping to get a little exercise and a few scenic images. I hear a lot of crunching snow behind me and I turn around and see about 100 cows following us.
They really do think I’ve got an answer for them but I got nothin. I’ve only been out 10 minutes and I’m shivering, getting covered in snow and ice myself. But I’m not wrapped in leather like they are.
Shadow and I only made it to the first cattle guard before we had to turn around.
And there they are, followed me all the way to the cattle guard. They’ve got once heck of a coat on and are very healthy. “You’ll be alright” I assure them.
But this girl seems really mad. Look at the evil eye I’m getting. And I don’t know if it’s because she’s covered in ice and snow or if it’s because her bangs are frozen in the early nineties claw.
Man of Many Hats
**Warning** This is a Sappy one!
Fly Fisherman, Precise Cattle Herder, Cowboy.
Roper, Windmill Repairman, Farrier.
Fireman, Horseman, Driver of Tractor.
Rancher, Cattle Feeder, Houndsman.
My teacher of all things western. My muse. My heart. My true love on the four wheeler through life.
Happy Birthday Patrick. May all your dreams come true.
L♥ve, Sweetpea
**Updated**Patrick thanks you all for the Birthday well wishes in the comments below!
Uprooted Magnolia 
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