Journey to Yellowstone
I’ve been travelin’.
My dad and stepmom came out a couple of weeks ago and we hung out around here for a couples days. Then we packed up their minivan and the three of us took off for an adventure in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks that we will never forget.
What a drive, let me tellya. Dad drove through wind, rain, hail, sleet, and heavy fog. It was wild and I was so relieved to be the passenger.
We had to stop for this gorgeous view of Beartooth Mountain as we weaved in and out of Montana and Wyoming on Beartooth Highway.
We made it into the park by mid-evening and the light was beautiful. Right off the bat we saw Bison. What a great time of year because Bison calves were everywhere!
Pronghorn and Bison graze on the flats together.
When you visit Yellowstone, there is a lot of driving. I’m not kidding. It’s a HUGE park. So we had to get organized as to how we were going to tackle this place. We had a Geyser day, a wildlife day, a waterfall day, etc. They all kind of melded together and didn’t always go according to plan. In fact, the day we were headed to Old Faithful, the road was completely blocked by a herd of Bison so we had to turn around and change our plans. We were in a line of cars 10 miles long and didn’t even see the herd but it is obviously not an uncommon event (see above). This isn’t Disneyland. This is Bison, Bear, Pronghorn, Wolf, Elk, Deer; basically all God’s Creatures’ land. We did make it to Old Faithful the next day.
I’ll share more images from this trip throughout the next few days. It was a fantastic time and a wonderful trip to share with my Dad, also a photographer. I am so thankful to my stepmom, Debbie, for making this happen. She is a heck of a trip designer and orchestrated a spectacular adventure for the three of us. They just started their travel blog and you can visit it by clicking here: Travels with Skip & Debbie
🙂
With a Little Help From My Friends
Thank you all for your kind and thoughtful comments, poems, emails, and phone calls on the loss of Matilda. You all have been so comforting to me during this difficult time. I know I couldn’t get through this without the help from my friends and family.
I wish you all a wonderful weekend. 🙂
Nothing in Life Worth Having Comes Easy
For 112 days, we continued to live in the hills at our former neighbors home after leaving the ranch while we looked for a new job for Patrick and while we waited for our forever home to be manufactured. If you don’t recall the reasons we lived in a temporary place, click HERE. (it’s a long post but the last paragraph explains it.)
I hasn’t been easy. And I’m constantly reminded that nothing in life worth having comes easy. But as of last Wednesday, we are living in our forever home!! There are some bumps and bruises that we are working out with the house but we are so happy to be in our new place before the first snowflake flies. Instead of running a 20,000 acre ranch as a full time job, we are on a 130 or so acre “ranchette” of our own. Patrick has gotten a great job with the state that allows him to ranch on the side and life is so good.
Patrick has worked so incredibly hard to get us here and I couldn’t be more proud of him.
It is a bit of a mess since we are in the middle of moving but I did manage to get a few shots in the camera of our new surroundings.
This is the view off of our north facing deck. The first night we could see storms over the mountains in the distance.
The sunsets have been magical.
Now we are hitting the time of year when foggy mornings are the norm. I can’t wait to gear up and trek down into the meadows to capture some foggy, misty mornings.
I’m looking forward to life settling down a bit as winter is right around the corner. I hope to resume to regular posts here very soon, once I’ve got my office set up on a desk and not on a stack of boxes! Opening all of these boxes after 100 days of not seeing my stuff is kind of like Christmas. I can’t wait to make our house a home and cozy up to a warm fire and watch the snow fall. See you soon, Leah
Taking a Moment
Thinking of those who are serving our country and of those who have sacrificed their lives for our freedom.
My favorite quote that feels right while thinking of the strength of these men and women is from Mark Twain: “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.”
Have a great day of remembrance my friends.
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) 😉
Magpie in Flight
It’s overcast today, the sky is solid white and the air is crisp and cool. But this in no way reflects my mood this Monday. Uprooted Magnolia was Freshly Pressed on Friday and I have been overwhelmed with the many comments and likes on the post “Ready for her Close-up“. I am so thankful to WordPress for featuring me and am enjoying your comments and have replied to many of them. I’m glad you have cruised through and viewed my many other posts and photos as well. I’ve made so many friends this weekend on WordPress and look forward to getting the time to view your beautiful blogs.
This Magpie took flight as I was stepping out of the front door this morning. Good thing I was ready.
Pittsburgh is Lucky
Today I’m blue.
Yesterday I had to say goodbye to a friend. Her hubby got a new job in Pittsburgh.
She was a sweet surprise when I first moved here. Reached out to me immediately being an artist/photographer from the Southeast US herself. We instantly connected.
Now she will start a photographic journey in a place she’s a little more familiar with than when she first came here. I wish them all the best in their new life.
Vickie, I am so thankful for your friendship. You will be missed. ♥
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.
Over the Moon
I am over the moon excited, thrilled, and honored to be featured on Freshly Pressed yesterday.
I’ve been photo blogging for about a year and have enjoyed it thoroughly. Thank you WordPress. Thank you to everyone who is visiting, commenting and subscribing. I am overwhelmed.
I’ve got more to share with you as calving time is approaching. There will be plenty of cuteness, angry cows and big sticks! Stay tuned…
♥Leah
Coming Home
Made a quick trip to Georgia last week for Thanksgiving. It was a great visit and I am so thankful for my family and friends and all of you for being loyal viewers of my blog.
One of the best parts about traveling is coming home to this place. This time I saw deer in the rut. This buck was holding his doe in the meadow at the ranch entrance.
And while crossing the Bridge to Paradise, I noticed the Laramie River was iced over.
Once again, a gorgeous sunset welcomed me home.
Then today was just another adventure of chasing elk off the pivot at the South Ranch.
And one of my favorite scenes when leaving the South Ranch is this one on Sybille Creek Road.
Even though it is twenty degrees outside ( if that), I feel right at home. Hello Wyoming, so nice to breathe you in.
So, about that fire.
Last week I posted Labor of Necessity and promised more pictures from that firefight. Click the image below to see more from that day.
Say a little prayer we don’t get another one of these calls before fire season is over.
Have a great weekend!
A Bouquet for You
I don’t know about you but I love flowers. I love to grow them, pick them, receive them. Especially after a hard day a bouquet can help brighten a gloomy mood. My sweetie picked these for me the other day and I wanted to share them with you.
I also want to dedicate them to all who lost their lives on this day 9 years ago. Never Forget.
Labor of Necessity
Yesterday morning the phone rang and the voice on the other end said they saw smoke in the hills. Then the fire chief called. While Patrick suited up, I loaded my backpack with lenses, kerchiefs, bottled water and granola bars. I was going on this one. You may remember on past fires, I’ve had to sit nervously at home waiting for a call that all is well. This wasn’t happening yesterday. I wanted to see it for myself and document this labor of necessity.
We were there for about 5 hours and by the time Patrick and I left, it was mostly out. They dug trenches around the rocky hill where the fire was burning the most in hopes that it doesn’t jump and spread. The winds were anything but calm and that kept us on our toes watching for flying embers.
I have more images to share but for now, these 2 are of Patrick on top of the hill with the extended hose waiting for water to reach him. It was an intense afternoon and thankfully for now, all is well.
I knew this day would eventually come.
I got the call yesterday evening that there was a fire at McCauley’s Ranch just across Palmer Canyon. I called Patrick off the meadow he was baling to let him know they were in need of some serious help. While I waited for him to come in, I went and stared at his firefighting gear. I’ve always known it was there but I had hoped I would never see him in it. I knew this day would eventually come. And I know it’s not the first and certainly won’t be the last.
But I must admit he does look mighty handsome in that fire retardant suit. That, however, did not help the ache in my chest.
Back home, safe and sound.
He was out there all night long until a team of 13 that travels to help towns on fire arrived to relieve them. When he got home his morning, he said it seems well contained. Let’s hope it stays that way.
“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear – not absence of fear” ~Mark Twain
To those brave women and men who serve, shed blood, and have died for our freedom, We Salute You.
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*Updated*
This evening Patrick called on his way home from the South Ranch wanting me to make his favorite snack, “a shiver” he says. “You mean a smoothie sweetheart”?
So tonight we made Very Berry Patriotic Smoothies.
Uprooted Magnolia 
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