Cloud Shadows
The snow melted off as quickly as it arrived. I’m glad the ground got a drink before the wind picked up.
I love that in these wide open spaces, you can see the shadows of the clouds from miles away.
Chicken Hawk
Not to be confused with Chickenhawk, the Looney Tunes character.
Happy Tuesday!
Full and Heavy
We woke up to a blanket of snow this morning.
Squaw Mountain is barely visible from here.
The clouds are full and heavy.
The cows are rooting around in the snow to get to the grass.
By the looks of this girl, I don’t think they are hurting. I’m not sure if she could fit another bite in that belly.
We couldn’t fit another bite in ours either after feasting with family this past weekend.
I hope you had a fulfilling Thanksgiving break with family and friends.
Driving Cattle and Giving Thanks
It was a pretty sunrise while the guys were getting ready for preg check. I got my papers in order and headed down to the cows. We had a successful check and had a great lunch before heading them up into the hills.
We got them through the first gate and up the main road. You may recognize this road from the fall scene I called Country Road. Not so colorful this time of year.
Got through the second gate.
There is always one that thinks she needs to go on her own. She’s a non-conformist.
Again she separates from the herd.
But Patrick can always show them the way.
Patrick was the gate getter.
If you keep them spread out a little and stay at a steady pace, they tend to travel better rather than keeping them bunched up and moving fast.
Sometimes the sound of a swinging rope will straighten the girls up and keep them moving.
We were heading straight west into the hills and into the sun.
I had to shade my eyes just to see the road.
It’s quite the climb up into these hills and we’re prefer they stay on the road. But as always, a few tend to go their own way.
Patrick and I took a group into what we call the rock pasture (this whole place is rocky, not sure why this one is so special) and down into the canyon to water. The other cowboys took a group to the river.
We went back and checked on them the next day and their bellies were full and they were very content. The ladies will enjoy their Thanksgiving holiday in the hills.
I hope you have a wonderful rest of the week. Thanks for hanging out with me here at our home on the range. I am so grateful for each of you.
Much Love,
Leah
The Rut
The rut is a time period, usually during late fall, when deer, elk, and other species from the deer family breed. The buck will chase after many does for weeks, with barely eating. The buck has one thing on his mind at this time of the year, and that is to find as many does as he can. The rut can take its toll on these guys; they are definitely worn out by the end of the breeding season.
We interrupted a handsome, thick necked mule deer buck courting a doe. Her yearling and a few more young bucks were hanging around peeking over the rocks at us too. We quickly moved on after a couple of portraits.
He is definitely rutting. Just check out that neck. Hope he takes good care of himself. He’s a handsome fella.
Thumbnail Moon
A view of yesterday’s moon from high in the hills.
Waxing Crescent, 33% of the Moon is illuminated. (I looked it up)
pregging and trailing
Yesterday we preg-checked the cows. Poor girls. But we had great success and then wore them out even more by trailing them up into the hills. It was a steep climb at times and they were glad to get to the river.
I played cowgirl yesterday and this weekend is full of photo shoots. I like wearing two different hats. Let’s just hope I don’t get confused and start herding my portrait clients up into the hills or start asking the cows to stand by that tree and smile!
Have a great weekend my friends and keep smiling! xoxo
Against a Bald Sky
When it is overcast with no cloud detail or blue peeking through, we call that a bald sky.
A bald eagle took off just as the sky opened up to pour down another inch of snow.
A Blanket, Soft and White
Snow started to fall on us early Saturday morning and came down of and on throughout the whole day. I walked my regular path between snows but still came home with my equipment covered in snowflakes.
It was so still and so soft all weekend. The only thing I heard during my walk was a hawk flapping his wings above and a bald eagle that took off from somewhere near the river.
Today the wind is howling and soon we will be back to our a blanket of gold.
Comic Relief
Let’s have a laugh during election day shall we?
This young stud colt has no patience to walk to the creek behind the house to get a drink of water. Instead, he stands over the lawn sprinkler to let little splashes of well water hit his lips before continuing on to a new part of the yard to graze. Silly guy.
i voted 2012
I went to our lovely little courthouse last week to register to vote for the first time in my new town. I’ve voted in every presidential election since I was 18 years old and I couldn’t let this one go by without coloring in those ovals. What a great country we live in to have the freedom to make our own choices, to make our voices heard. I am so thankful for that and I get choked up thinking about it.
But I will admit this. I do not plan to watch and wait on the results tonight. I think I will crawl in bed with a good book and wait until tomorrow to hear the results. I am a news junkie and it sounds like there may be a mess on our hands with getting the final results in by tonight. I just don’t think I can handle any more anxiety over this election.
All of the drama aside, I hope you will all get out there and vote. No matter who your choice is, go let your vote count and your voice be heard. I promise you’ll feel a sense of pride and you will wear it all day. (because they give you a sticker) 😉
Spaz and Red Cat
Hi guys! My calendar is full of shoots and projects for clients last week and this week. I’m not complaining, in fact I’m celebrating, but unfortunately it causes me to neglect this blog. So I wanted to check in this morning and show you this fun little outtake from a shoot for a client selling one of their horses. Spaz the cow herding dog checked in with Red Cat to make sure we were having a good shoot and were showing off his best side.
Hope you are having a good start to your week. Happy shooting!
Uprooted Magnolia 
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