it’s called Sprinter
Oh, no worries. It’s just another Winter storm happening in Spring. It’s called Sprinter.
Now, if only I can find the cattle.
And just like that…
…we’re back to dry meadows and snow covered hills.
Cow #10 had her calf a couple days after the storm last week so she timed the birth well, thankfully. They say we are in for another storm later today and tomorrow. We’ll see how many calves that brings us tonight.
Happy Tuesday, y’all! 🙂
A Wyoming Spring…
I posted this today on my Facebook page.
The start to spring here has been wonderful. Temps have been in the 60’s and we’ve been soaking up the sunshine.
But with the warning of a major storm coming, I knew darn well that calves would start popping out. Sure enough, I got one yesterday and that makes 7 of the little boogers in all so far.
The clouds started building by mid-afternoon.
It was storming in the sky by late afternoon. Then it started raining here at about 10pm.
And this is how it looked at 7 this morning. I barely made it down to the meadow.
The wind is blowing out of the north which is of course the direction I had to drive to get down to the meadow. I was blinking snow drops all morning.
The Gray horse turned a muddy brown. I couldn’t even recognize our own horse! Of course, my eyelids were cupping snow flakes so it’s understandable.
It took me an hour to find the girls. Visibility was about ZERO but I saw finally saw them in the middle of the meadow with their butts facing north. Yep, that’s them in the upper left of the above image.
That’s #10 on the far left. She should calve at any time. I’m watching her closely today and I pray she keeps that baby inside just a little longer.
I’m headed out again. I hope I don’t have to bring a calf inside by the fire. But if would be okay if I did. 😉
And Then There Was Mud
The wild snow storms have tapered off for now and the wind has picked up. Now we are left with puddles and mud. But at least it has warmed up a bit. Dare I say tropical? 🙂
Have a great start to your week, folks!
Whipped Snow
As I mentioned yesterday, we’ve been under a “ground blizzard” watch. It’s basically like a sandstorm, but with snow.
But yesterday morning, as the sun rose, it was perfectly still and beautiful.
And by mid-afternoon, as I showed you yesterday, it was still gorgeous.
By 4pm, I noticed from the comfort of my dining room window, the over 30 inches of snow was moving in the hills.
I hightailed up the driveway again so I could show you this fierce beauty.
It was blowing down here but nothing like up there.
I love the look of the whipped waves of snow. Mmmm…this image inspired me to put whipped coconut cream in my coffee this morning.
By sundown, it was still blowing but not too hard here yet. Overnight, however, the wind speed picked up. Thankfully, it’s warmer today. Continues to blow, but warmer.
My thoughts and prayers are with those in higher elevations trying to feed livestock in all that snow and wind. Warmer temperatures are in the forecast for next week so we hope to see some significant snow melt. I don’t think there is any more snowfall in the forecast for a little while.
I’m off to break ice in the water tanks. I’ll put rocks in my pockets so don’t worry ’bout me. I’m just fine. It’s just another day in paradise. 🙂
Blizzard Conditions
Yep. Old man winter reared his ugly (or beautiful depending on your frame of mind) head yesterday. It started around 5am and hasn’t stopped yet, almost 30 hours later.
Up in the hills, which I still can’t see from here, at least 2ft of snow has fallen so far.
When Patrick got home from work yesterday afternoon, we headed down to the meadow.
The girls were excited to see us. They’d follow us anywhere on days like this.
They like cake. A couple of them will take it right from our hands.
This is the first time we’ve had to lay down hay this winter. The meadows have been plentiful but when there is a 10 inch blanket of snow covering their grub, we have to roll some out on top of it.
They love it. We said nighty-night and headed back in to keep the fire stoked up.
Then there was this morning.
Before you say anything, I am NOT forcing Collins LaRue to be outside on this snowy morning. She sleeps inside at night and explores the outdoors all day. But while sipping my coffee and watching the sun rise, she went in and out 10 times if not 20.
She just couldn’t decide. And she wants so bad to be out there but the snow is just too high. She has finally given in and is in her bed for the morning.
And what a beautiful morning it is. ♥
Winter Texture
It’s nothing new for me to mention that I love texture.
Here are a couple examples of it out in the meadows. This is an area that is usually a pond created by irrigating. The dried up ground has left behind these still green plants and crunchy leaves.
See You in the New Year!
Looking forward to more of these beautiful sunrises and sunsets in the coming New Year. I don’t usually do resolutions but I have set some goals. Does that count? Same difference, right? 🙂
Business was so great this year and I have the best new and returning clients out there. I loved photographing all those beautiful faces, especially during our fantastic autumn season. Here is a glimpse of only some of those faces. I’ll have my website updated soon with all of these sessions and more.
Even though 2015 was a bit stressful with damaging weather and other complications, it has improved these last few months. I think that’s good sign that next year will be bigger and better.
Looking forward to seeing you all in the new year!
Cheers to you and yours,
♥ Leah
Roaming at Sunset
This wild girl roams free. She often greets me after I wander around the river and meadows. She’ll jump out of the tall grass and wrap her furry paws around my leg. No claws, just love. She’ll do that at night when I walk down the hall. She’ll stand quietly in the doorway and jump out with arms flying. It’s nice to have a kitty around although she isn’t as snugly as my Baby Angel Matilda. That’s okay though. If she sticks around long enough, she’ll learn.
Have a great weekend, friends!
Summer Days
Wow! What a wet and stormy spring it was and a dry summer it has become!
Powerful rain and hail storms plagued us for weeks.
The river flooded up into the road in the meadows. The cottonwoods sure loved the drink. It finally went down by mid summer but we still had a good amount of mist and fog and overcast days at the start of our summer.
This golden eagle was onto something special because he didn’t move as I got closer and closer to take his portrait. Something must have floated down the river that he was intent on getting.
Ol’ Gray wasn’t impressed with the bugs that all this moisture brought with it but as you can see by the looks of his belly, he enjoys the abundance of grass.
This bull isn’t very impressed. Period.
But the sun has finally come out and we’ve warmed right up with hot and dry temperatures.
But along with the hot and dry temperatures, the horrific fires that are burning in the Pacific Northwest have blown smoke and haze into our state. There have been a couple of days that the smoke was so thick that staying inside was a must. We continue to have haze from it every other day or so. I pray for all of those in harms way out there.
Summer evenings are just about the best around here. The sunsets are incredible and for the second summer in a row, we had a hatch of dragonflies hover in the shade of our home. They are everywhere! The cows are in the hills on summer pasture so the Sand Hill cranes and other wildlife are loving the meadows all to themselves.
That’s about it. I’ve had a lot of wonderful portrait clients come out (and more on the calendar for fall portraits) and have traveled a bit on assignment. Life has dealt us some lemons with the spring and early summer storms. Our roof and my car were totaled out by ping-pong size hail. Ugh. But this too shall pass.
Oh, and did I mention…
…this little furry boo came into my life around Easter. She’s pretty wild but keeps the mice population in check. She isn’t an indoor kitty. She’s been through a couple of lives already and she’s barely 5 months old. But more on her later. If she sticks around…
Have a great weekend, friends! *Hugs*
A Cowboy’s Vessel
Happy Monday, friends!
We had an eventful weekend full of horses, cows, cowboys, snapping turtles, and good friends and it couldn’t have been better. The rain held off down here but the thick clouds drenched the hills. The river is high and muddy and since we don’t have a boat, Patrick had to cross it horseback to mend fence. Gray did well at a branding and on the ride home, helped us lead our bay horse to the barn so he could go home with the best horse whisperer we know. Oh, and speaking of the river being high, we, ahem, Patrick, captured two HUGE snapping turtles out of puddles in the meadow and relocated them. They are a danger to the cows and especially the calves. Anyway, that was an adventure all in itself. Those things are scary!!
Hope you are having a great start to your week. I’ve got a lot of images to share with you from the weekend, sans turtles. 😉
a peaceful rainfall at sunset
Beautiful light at sunset during a rainstorm last evening. It was such a peaceful and sweet sound.
Have a wonderful weekend! It’s a busy one for us, how ’bout you?
A Pop of Spring Green
I love how the deer gracefully tiptoe into my path some days.
Notice the buds and green grass. The rain is helping us make progress towards springtime beauty. Ahhhh. 🙂
Gritty
Even though our surroundings are in full fall color right now, today seemed like a gritty black and white photo kind of day. I’m inside processing shoots but will soon return to the colorful leaves of autumn and share those with you soon. Cheers!
Autumn Backdrop
We have been blessed with some beautiful days as we ease into Fall. I share this view with you a lot because I am so thankful for it. The cows are home, all are bred and we are gearing up for another winter. But before the first snowflakes fly, I have portrait sessions scheduled this month with this as the backdrop. Pretty awesome don’t you think? Have a beautiful day my friends! 🙂
Flowers ’cause I Miss You
I have been blog weary lately. I am sorry. My business has been keeping me occupied and on the go like crazy and I just haven’t had time to blog about it. While I’m not caught up with delivering to my wonderful clients, I am happy to bring you some happy sunflowers. 🙂
…and a happy ladybug!
After we brought a few calves home to wean last week, Patrick pointed out this REAL sunflower by the calving barn. It gave me an idea to throw seeds for a sunflower patch next summer. I love the contrast against the tin.
This is how it looked this morning. It was a wet and rainy morning but I think the sun might be coming out. I wouldn’t know because I am to be locked in my office ALL DAY to get my work done.
Happy Monday friends! Matilda and I have missed you. xoxo
The Sun’ll Come out
This image is from one of my many wanders this summer. I turned over images and research to my client yesterday. I’ve been cooped up in my dark, cool office for a couple of weeks completing this project and processing images for several other clients. I was excited to wake up today and take a walk to breath in the fresh Wyoming air. I imagined my eyes squinting, hearing the bird singing and simply being in awe of the outdoors again. Unfortunately it is pouring down rain so I’m back in my office. That’s okay, I’m grateful to have the work and the sun will come out soon. I just know it. In the meantime I can reflect on the adventure that took me around the state this summer.
Happy Wednesday!
Glendo State Park
I’m not a big water sports kind of gal so it was a pleasant surprise to learn that there was more to Glendo State Park than a big lake with boats. I took a wander to the wetlands and watched the pelicans go fishing. I also watched an egret grab a fish in his talons but he was so fast I couldn’t catch it in time with the camera. You’ll just have to trust me. 🙂
Wild Skies and Winding Wyoming Roads
I guess that if you need rain in your part of the world, invite me over. It seems almost everywhere I have traveled to for this project, I have been challenged by the weather. Fortunately there have been small windows of perfect light for my shots and the wild skies have provided some pretty intense scenes while I drive the winding roads of Wyoming.
6 comments