Tilda Tuesday: Training the Hounds
“A cat has absolute emotional honesty: human beings, for one reason or another, may hide their feelings, but a cat does not.”― Ernest Hemingway
Matilda does not hide her feelings for Patrick’s hound dogs.
Tilda Tuesday: Tootsies
Companionship is right under your feet when you own a cat.
I love the pitter-pat of her tootsies when she walks across the floor. She uses these cute things to smack my nose and eyelashes to wake me every morning too. And sharp needles come out every now and then when she makes biscuits or plays with wrapped peppermints. Funny girl.
Happy Tuesday my friends!
Smelling the Flowers
This week, scratch that, this month, no wait. Let me start over.
Since January 2013, life has been full of extreme highs and low lows for us. But I always try to remember to slow down and smell the flowers. And we’ve got a lot of beautiful wildflowers popping up all around us.
Here’s to slowing down and good news for Monday. We sure could use it. 🙂
Ram on a Curve
We were heading out of a ranch in the bluffs of Harrison, Nebraska when on a sharp and steep curve we came upon this two year old ram eating sunflowers right by the road.
We hung out with him for a few minutes and he was not concerned with us at all. (pardon this view)
He just stood their eating weeds and sunflowers. We were so close we could hear the crunching and smacking. It was pretty awesome.
The Legend of Rawhide
We took a drive over to Lusk this past weekend to attend Rawhide Days. The Legend of Rawhide is an annual celebration of the history, legend, and Western heritage of Niobrara County. As the legend goes, a young man traveling by wagon train to California in the 1860′s boasted that he would shoot the first Indian he saw. And that, he did. He killed an innocent Indian girl out picking flowers. Her tribe then retaliated by attacking the wagon train, captured the man who shot and killed her, and skinned him alive.
First, we attended the parade.
This kids were dressed in their Native American frocks and wigs.
The pioneers marched down the street with their teams and wagons, dressed for the part.
Indian Village as part of the set.
There was a proposal to the “Indian Princess” before the big show. So darn sweet.
The stadium was packed. We were lucky to get the seats that we did.
Here, a mother and her children are praying that the Indians don’t come get them.
The Indian Princess, shot and killed by one of the white men while out picking flowers.
The Indians line up on the hill to prepare for battle with the pioneers.
The entire camp must engage in a battle for not giving up the man who shot her.
The Indians circled the camp riding their horses bareback. Brave souls.
They rode hard and fast.
Captured and skinned alive.
The camp packed up and continued on to California in search for gold.
This was a wonderful production of a part of history in the American West. For an all volunteer production from local ranchers and citizens of Lusk, Wyoming, they did a wonderful job with props and visuals for this show. You can get more details about this event and the story behind it HERE and HERE.
Click HERE to see a full gallery of my images from this production. Enjoy!
Tilda Tuesday: Her Orangeness
“There are many intelligent species in the universe. They are all owned by cats.” – Anonymous
Matilda is and has been an important part of my life for 16 years. 16 years! That puts her at about 80 in human years. She’s been there for me in good times and bad. Through breakups, new apartments, new cars, old cameras, and she’s been the first test shots on new cameras. She’s furry’d up my outfits laid out for a night on the town, coughed up a hairball or two in my favorite shoes, and more than once has jumped up on the counter to steal a couple licks out of my ice cream bowl. I was there for her when she went loco after eating a lizard, fought with the neighborhood bully cat(s), brought a chipmunk, lizard, and bird inside…and then lost them somewhere in the house. I cared for her when she broke her leg chasing her own shadow down the long staircase in my Georgia home, and when the recalled cat food tried to kill our beloved pets a few years ago, I nursed her back to good health. But without a doubt, her most important role was being my main comforter when my mother passed away 6 1/2 years ago. That’s probably when we grew closest. So it only seems right for her to have a section here on this blog, especially now that we have entered the geriatric years of her life. She has appeared here every now and then but as of today, Tilda Tuesday will be put into action. For how long, I’m not sure. I will share new portraits and ones from the archives in no particular order. She has her own little fan club and friends and I know they will appreciate a regular Matilda update and portrait. I hope you will enjoy them too.
From Lusk To Guernsey
Patrick and I took a road trip this weekend to see a show, visit with family and shoot some landscapes images for a client. I will share more images and stories this week but I must get proofs up to the client first.
We had an awesome time and and I had to share this lovely scene from Silver Springs Road that connects (through various winds and turns) Lusk to Guernsey.
Be back soon!
Sultry Sunflower
Lately it’s been too hot to go far from the back door. So I grabbed a shot of a close-by sunflower blowing in the hot, dragon breath wind and added some texture.
Have a great weekend friends. Here’s hoping for a cool snap for our weekend adventures. Doubtful, but hopeful.
Warden Daisy
Daisy the Duck guards the front porch when he’s not terrorizing the chickens or mudding up his pool. He thinks he’s a lot bigger and badder than he really is. I mean, his name is Daisy for goodness sake. But…his bite does bruise. He lowers his head and waddles with all his might to hunt you down for a taste.
I do not recommend a “pet” duck.
Crackles in the Night
We were surrounded by storms last night. Reece Mountain was was lit up in the night sky, getting struck a dozen times or more. I went to bed praying that we wouldn’t see smoke today. I haven’t seen or smelled anything this morning. Hoping it stays that way.
Soft Abstracts
More close-ups.
These abstracts of sunflowers were shot by removing my lens, reversing it and shooting through it backwards. It is not attached to the camera so your focus is by physically moving closer to the subject. My focus is a little soft because I was dealing with the wind moving my subjects all around. I think they are still pretty interesting though.
Free-lensing macro is pretty fun but if you are uptight about dust on your sensor, it’s not the best idea. I enjoy taking chances. I’ve done it before with fun results of snowflakes.
Happy Cows
Sometimes I lose the calves in the tall grass. Their summer pasture is tall and green. But not for long, I’m sure they will munch it right on down.
We had a surprise in late spring. A cow we thought was open (not with calf) had one!
We just thought she was super fat (which she is) but she never showed signs of pregnancy. And then one day there was a calf suckling her that wasn’t tagged or branded. Thankfully, she’s a good momma.
Peek-a-boo calf. 🙂
Happy Monday my friends!
Scarlet Globemallow
Also known as Copper Mallow and Cowboy’s Delight.
These beautiful little red flowers act as a ground cover in very dry and gravely parts of the land. They aren’t much to look at until the sun is low and they sparkle with a bright copper glow.
I shot this with the freelensing technique yesterday evening. I feels like I’m channeling Georgia O’Keefe and I’m okay with that. 🙂
Team Work
Been watching these two for a few days now during my daily chores. They are housed just above a sunflower patch.
She calls out to her mate and he comes in to take over while she goes out to spread her wings, get groceries, housing material, etc.
He then waits patiently for her return to continue to work on the nest together.
Full Bloom
These sunny girls always make me smile. Hope this helps your Monday be bright!
Uprooted Magnolia 
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