Untamed Kate and a Rock & Roll Wedding
It’s a big day for Kate and William but this weekend is a big one for a royal couple in my hometown. My great friends Jessica and Jamie are joining together as one tomorrow in true rock star fashion. I’ve made the journey back east to celebrate with them I’m looking forward to spending the weekend with longtime friends.
During my riding lessons at the South Ranch on Easter Sunday, Kate was running alongside jumping and bucking.
She’s a wild one and it doesn’t take much to excite her.
She got ahead of us, stopped, and then took off throwing her head back with her mane and tail flying in the breeze.
I like visiting with Kate but I don’t think I’ll be taking lessons with her any time soon. But a ride with her may not be near as rough as my flight was coming out here. The storms in the southeast have been devastating and thankfully I landed in between them. But our decent was so turbulent it felt like we slid in on one wing. I thought I left the wild rides and wind out west but apparently they came with me.
So far the forecast for the wedding of our local royals calls for clear blue skies. I’m craving the sun on my skin and flip flops on my feet.
Have a great weekend my friends, I’ll be in touch soon!
Algae Art
During a lovely weekend walk, I stumbled upon another stream full of algae. And this one looks like a watercolor.
The shapes and swirls were soft and mesmerizing.
The color was so vibrant against the winter wearied grass banks and sleepy trees.
A Beautiful Day for a Bull Roundup
The sky was blue and the sun was shining so we decided to ruin a perfect day by gathering the bulls.
Let the profanity commence!
Not really, they were fairly docile and agreeable and only fought a couple of times. If you remember we did this last June and the fighting went on and on and on.
My friend Tex joined me on this trip.
We gathered our 4 bulls and waited by this stream for the guys to gather the 16 others.
Once Patrick topped the hill with the last three, we started to direct them toward the corrals.
They are always misbehaving when they are in a big group like this. They fight, ride each other, go the wrong way and bellow til your eardrums explode, all in a minutes time.
After a slow drive, we got them on the road to the corrals without any mishaps.
Once they are in the corrals, I like to stay on the outside of the fence because getting crushed and stomped on is not on my bucket list.
Today, Patrick will load them on the trailer and take them to the clinic where the vet will test their swimmers. I will not go into detail on how this is done but I will say it is one of the million reasons I’m glad I’m not a bull.
For My Friend with a Storm in Her Heart
The pain rolled in like the storm clouds of Wyoming creating a thick haze in her day. My dear friend, I wish I could hold you. Tell you it will be okay. We could throw your sorrow into the ocean and pray he keeps still. Silent. I've known you for so long, longer than him. I know you gave him your love and kindness, your diamond heart. But he can't take your grace, your sparkle. I laid in bed the morning after I heard, hating that he chose to never share another sunrise to sunset. He doesn't realize what he's done. It will never be the same but your heart shall have no fear. You have family to hold you. And the threads of gold between us will never break. I wish him peace. Love & Light to you my friend. For God didn’t give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control. (II Timothy 1:7)
Once Upon a Stormy Monday
Yesterday, it rained.
And rained.
And rained.
This newborn arrived during the downpour. She’s healthy and her momma kept her warm all day and night. I hear she’s doing good today so she got her earring to match her mom’s.
The roads were muddy and a heavy fog hung over the snow capped mountains.
The corrals were slushy so we decided not to move any cattle as previously planned.
The perk of the day came when Crop Ear made a visit. We haven’t seen her in a while and I was worried she fell prey to a coyote or lion. I was glad to see her munching on some green grass in the meadows by the house.
Today the wind is howling and we’ll be dried out in time for snow to fall tonight.
Sunlit Hills
After a fog and snow filled day yesterday, the sun came out late evening to melt it all away
The Cooney Hills were in the spotlight for a little while before clouds moved in again and it quickly grew dark.
One thing that I am enjoying about these little spurts of snow is when it all melts away, the grass is beaming with delight. And today it’s is shining bright and the air is still. I’ll be outside if you need me. Have a great weekend my friends!
The Laramie Rages, Again
A lot of rain last autumn and excess snow runoff has forced the folks at the reservoir to release more water into the Laramie River. They released 2,750 cubic feet almost all at once last June and the river was treacherous. But this time they decided to start earlier and release less at a time.
But usually, the Laramie is a small stream. Now, again, it is a raging river and is creeping up on the banks surrounding pine trees and sage brush.
It is also creating various channels throughout the meadows. This low lying grassland is always quite dry but now it is surrounded by lovely a winding stream.
Cooed, Mooed, and Tattooed
We got ’em. Patrick separated the cows from the calves while I got the vaccines ready. They started out with just a coo for their momma. Then the mooing got louder and louder.
“This hurts me as much as it hurts you little ones”, I tell them. I always tear up a little during brandings. But it’s a law, it has to be done.
They bounce back up after it’s all over. “Alright now #48, no disrespect. C’mon now”.
They look good though. I refused to do the actual branding so the guys had to get them to the ground and tattoo while I vaccinated. I was efficient while handing over the irons and giving shots at the same time if I do say so myself.
We were done in less than 40 minutes. They mothered up and started sucking almost immediately.
It was a little chaotic but they stayed paired up for a little while. Then we opened the gate to let them out.
And they hauled butt!
A few little ones went the wrong way so Patrick and one mother went to get them and lead them in the right direction. Even young calves think they know everything.
And off they ran to new pasture.
Phew! That group of 20 is done. Only 300 or more to go.
Catching Grasshoppers
The calves are growing up. They are still munchkins compared to their momma but they get feistier and run faster everyday.
They cautiously approach me full of curiosity when the rancher is unloading a bale of hay.
But today is branding day for these guys and gals and it won’t be as easy to get this close to them.
We’ve got to catch these little grasshoppers first.
Wish us luck because this will probably be our view for the next couple of hours before we get them pinned.
Pardon Me During this Time of Transition
Well, the sun came out. And the snow melted away revealing green grass that we have been eagerly awaiting. But the forecast over the next few days isn’t so positive. We’re still being threatened with rain and snow. I’d hate to have the job as a weather person for Wyoming.
Thank you to all of your hilarious comments on my letter to Wyoming. I heard from Massachusetts, Canada, Georgia, The Phillipines, and even Argentina who is just now in their fall creeping up on winter.
MA and Canada, looks like we’re in the same company although Canada, you straightened me up immediately. So sorry for the recent 10 inches that fell. Georgia, I’ll see you in a few weeks in my flip flops doggone it! I also got a response from Wyo saying “No promises until May”. That’s not the first time she’s told me that. So until the blue skies and warmth are consistent, I’ll just peek my head out when I can see the green grass like the mule deer in the image above.
Have a great weekend and I’ll keep the bellyaching to a minimum Canada. 😉
May the Force horse be with you,
Leah
Dearest Wyoming,
You are beautiful. Your wide open spaces, your mountains of rock full of wildlife, your gorgeous landscapes…. my camera and I could just eat you up. “Slop you up with a biscuit” as we say in the south.
But do you think that maybe, just maybe, you could stop snowing?! You woke me up at 5am this morning with big wet blobs of snow falling from the sky. I’m thankful that it’s warmer than January but it’s April now. And I’m ready to take off my snowboots and slip on my groovy flipflops. Let me know your thoughts ASAP.
Love,
Leah
Reflecting
It was 80 degrees with blue skies on Saturday and 30 degrees with fog and snow yesterday. Can you say fickle?
I asked Patrick before I moved out here “So what month do you store your winter clothes and bring out your summer clothes”? He said “Sweetheart, I don’t have that many clothes”. A friend of his told me he doesn’t take off his long handles until late May. And he puts them back on in September. So needless to say, I’ve whittled down my wardrobe considerably since I moved out here.
But I digress.
Since yesterday was so icky, I went through my hardrive and found this image from early summer last year and I noticed that many of my shots contain water. When I hike, I do walk along creeks and streams and hang out by the river a lot. Maybe it’s because my sign is Pisces or like Vickie pointed out on a recent hike, “because there isn’t much water out here. You gotta take it where you can get it.”
I love that the reflection gives the appearance of a fish. And the green, ahh the green. What else can you make of the reflection?
The Chase. The Dance. Gobble Gobble
The hens are running.
But they can’t hide.
Because the gobblers are strutting and stomping.
Gobblers pursue hens in a team and this dominant turkey (above) dances and spits and gobbles. Working as a team helps the less dominant gobbler “pass on his genes” since he probably wouldn’t be as successful working alone.
Hope your weekend is equally alive and energetic my friends!
Uprooted Magnolia 
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