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

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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.

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(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)

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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!

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