Foggy winter days descend on Juniper Canyon…ranging between gloomy gray days and more gloomy gray days!
Between freezing fog, icy roads…cold temps and snow…winter has arrived in the North Country!
This year I decided to fight the gloom instead of succumbing to the dreariness at hand. Thanksgiving week reminded me to make my yearly list of gratitude and blessings to share at dinner on turkey day. The day after Thanksgiving, I thought why not keep my gratitude list going…remembering good stuff and good times while adding them to my “Christmas Cheer and Twinkle List.”
“And I’m making my list to see who was naughty or nice..and I’m checking it twice!” Ok I’m snickering and I hope you are too. It’s more fun to remember the silly times, the good times…and the heart of your memories that only you can share…I love it! Makes me laugh and cry at the same time while keeping a heart full of country cowgirl gratitude.
I’m thankful for my life and the many blessings in my life…ten years on 2-9-2016…get your mammogram!
My first blessing of gratitude is my hubby….I love “Wild Bill” and appreciate him everyday. I am blessed to be his and to call him my soul mate, husband and best friend:) He always makes me smile:)
“I’m coming Melody…hang on”…as I am slip sliding down the hill to feed her breakfast. I love each of my horses forever, once they come to live with me, they are my forever horse…and I love my Melody. I am thankful for all my horses and having the privilege of riding horses all my life while growing up on a cattle ranch.
I thought everyone had a cattle ranch as a kid…eventually, I came to realize how lucky and blessed I was to experience life on a remote cattle ranch. Without radio, television or any kind of civilization, ranch life taught me a lot of life skills of survival. You learn to think outside the box…when its you and often you alone…you learn how to problem solve as you have to figure it out.
During the summer and fall months, I grabbed on to each day to ride for cows with my Dad…and almost everyday we did just that…25,000 mountainous acres and 800 head mama cows with babies and several head of bulls…kept us busy all summer and fall.
Each day that I look out our windows, I love our log fence…yup it’s a keeper…its great for capturing interesting views year round! I love the look and it fits this old ranch house!
I love my 60′ round corral with nice sand footing…and our barn cats give it a four paws up on their 60′ litter box!
And then there is our “Tucker Watch Girl”…she can be very serious! She is such a blessing to us as she is always waiting for us and follows us where ever we go!
Tucker is in the back of the Aussie pack and bashful…then Kiah as she is in front of Tucker…then Dasher who is in front of Kiah…and in the lead is Mr. Auzzie….all four of our dogs in this photo are rescue Aussies…we love them each individually and as a pack…they are amazing dogs, super smart and so loved:) By the way, Kiah is half-sister to Ellie, our sweet two year old girl!
And then, there are horse’s soft noses:) Nothing like their breath mingling with yours…and their smell is truly heavenly…sounds silly unless you know this horse owner fact too that, cleaning a horse stall does not smell bad at all! Horses are blessings to the heart and soul…and they give me peace with lots of happy smiles. When I get on my horse, WB says I get this little girl smile on my face of pure joy:)
And my Minnie Mouse…she was beautiful in heart and spirit…she knew when you were sad and she knew when it was time to celebrate…she was with me for almost 20 years. She crossed the rainbow bridge a bit over a year ago…it was incredibly hard. I am thankful for every year of her sweet life and for everyday that she was with me, she was my kitty girl and wherever I went she was with me. She was an incredible kitty girl…I was blessed beyond imagination:)
Back to my round corral…I seriously love it! I appreciate the hard work WB and our cowboy son Curt put into building it for me. I will do a post on that someday soon!
I am thankful for the blessing of Ellie…she makes me laugh every day and is full of love with lots of heart. She walked with me through sad times and grief when I lost Minnie…she was gentle and loving during our hard days. I’m sure Minnie asked God for a helper knowing how hard it would be for us when she crossed the rainbow bridge and Ellie Belle is my helper and so much more…she is my buddy, my joy and my heart:)
The gloomy gray days of fog can only be gloomy, if we choose them to be. Instead I smile, bundle up in my Carhart’s grab my camera and head out to find something to photograph. Whether I am inside the house or outside, I seek to do things that make my heart sing! Inside the house I often crank up my tunes and dance…wood floors make it super fun too:)
Smile…click click click…gotcha!
We are blessed to call this spec of earth our home…especially with shots like this:)
Being grateful is one of the best gifts we can give to ourselves…loving what we have instead of what we don’t have…if we can focus on the positive instead of the bad…the good more than the bad…we’ll find peace and smiles…
Wishing you all a warm week and weekend ahead…we have snow, freezing rain, winds are blowing and its cold! I need some tea or eggnog to warm up:)
It’s time to decorate the Christmas tree…Ho Ho Ho…HRCG Over And Out For Now…But Never For Long:)
Hot Rod Cowgirl 
Dec 30, 2015 @ 16:51:41
Happy New Year to you HRCG; WB; Ellie Belle, Melody, Tucker, Dasher, Pat & the other Ellie……
Love Sherri-Ellen & Purrince Siddhartha Henry =^,.^=
LikeLike
Jan 01, 2016 @ 16:22:00
Happy New Years Sherri-Ellen and Prince SH!!! Hugs:)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dec 25, 2015 @ 13:15:45
The memories are bittersweet…so many yesterday…and made a few new memories. I believe G-d led us to each other….
I know I am blessed to call you ‘friend’.
((hugs)) Sherri-Ellen
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dec 26, 2015 @ 00:39:18
Me too:) I too am blessed to call you my ‘friend’…God is good and so aware of our lives:) God Bless You:) Love, HRCG, WB, Ellie Belle, Melody, Tucker, Dasher, Pat and the other Ellie:)
LikeLike
Dec 22, 2015 @ 09:12:05
You know HRCG I do a Gratitude List daily…just to remind myself how crappy my Life was over 30 yrs ago. Sure I had $$$ & men & lots of booze & parties to go to; but I was as lost as could be…..
Even living in Council Housing & being alone with Purrince SH I have so much to be grateful for. housing; food; meds; medical care; Purrince SH; able to care for him; friends f2f & worldwide from blogs…..
Far better than an early death or being homeless or locked up in a Psyche Ward somewhere….And yes being Cancer free HUGE!!!!!
Our kitty girls are watching over us! I can ‘feel’ them……
Merry Christmas to you; WB; Ellie; Melody & the barn cats & all G-d’s creatures there…..
Love Sherri-Ellen & Siddhartha Henry ❤ ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dec 23, 2015 @ 00:48:05
I agree completely…I can not imagine my life without knowing you…I am very grateful for meeting you in cyberspace through our grief in loosing our beautiful kitty girls. I find that old memories are not easy to remember at times but life goes on and if we can trust in God above, knowing He will get us through whatever it is…makes me very grateful too! Merry Christmas to you and Purrince Kitty Man:) May you feel God’s love for you and also His grace…our snow melted again, we had drifts this morning when we went to town…had to plow through them but by tonight the roads are a bit icy but no snow….I’m hoping for snow tomorrow night:) Prayers and lots of hugs…Merry Christmas and know prayers are with you:)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dec 11, 2015 @ 17:30:49
This blog was just what the Doctor ordered HRCG!! I need to always be mindful of what I DO have & not worry about what I do not have.
Our friendship is something I am VERY grateful for! We held each other up as our kitty girls left us & we made it thru those dark days together. Now with Ellie Belle & Melody (oh such soft noses horses have….) you are healing & with Purrince Siddhartha Henry I am finding my way also.
Your photos are so breathtaking & beautiful. We send happy Christmas wishes from our place to yours & lots of ❤ LOVE ❤ * {{{hugs}}} an ~~head rubsss~~
Sherri-Ellen & Siddhartha Henry
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dec 22, 2015 @ 07:14:12
Acknowledging what we do have and seeing always brings peace to my heart…we have so much to be thankful for in our lives…making it through cancer and having our lives is huge too…and making it through the painful loss of our kitty girls was gut wrenching, very very hard…having the blessing of our friendship and our connection helped so much:) We are healing…and it’s ok if we have sad moments remembering our kitty girls, knowing we will see them both again brings my heart a joyful peace…some days are dang tough hard for me yet but having Ellie Belle and Melody help chase my tears away…they both make me laugh each day and they fill my heart with joy:) Sending you prayers and big hugs:) Merry Christmas and Merry Kitty Boy Christmas too:)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dec 10, 2015 @ 23:55:39
Bunny breath is like horse breath too…the sweet smell of grass and hay! heavenly!May be that’s why horse’s and ponies always love to get up close to Speedy!xx Rachel
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dec 22, 2015 @ 07:02:00
I’m sorry to be so long with answering comments…life is flying by and the last month has been fast, not sure how we blew past Thanksgiving and this week is Christmas! I love your words and agree…our sweet animals always smell good:) Speedy is so special and has a beautiful heart/spirit too, horse would sense that too:) Huggggssss! Merry Christmas almost:)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dec 22, 2015 @ 09:16:52
We all get busy,that is life,xx Rachel
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dec 23, 2015 @ 00:32:52
Thank you much:) Give Speedy a warm snuggle hug:)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dec 06, 2015 @ 02:46:02
I do so enjoy when I notice you have a new post. I read every word an oogle over the photos that remind me of Oregon, the real Oregon away from the population centers where most of the people live.
I found my country home now in Uxbridge, MA. a good 4 miles from the tiny village of Uxbridge. Marilyn & Garry Armstrong share their home with me now. I inherited 3 doggies including Bishop, an Australian Sheep dog like yours. I’m trying to get used to all the barking that goes on around here.
I love the peace and quiet the rest of the time as country living gives you plenty of solitude. My favorite time of the day is early in the morning when it’s still dark outside and all the critters are still asleep. Thank you for your post that reminded me of the true blessings in life. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dec 07, 2015 @ 19:35:59
Thank you much for your kind words! I know that homesick ache for Oregon…but it sounds like you now have new fun things to explore and see…and you now live in the country where it is quiet with times of solitude that bless your soul…Marilyn and Garry would be great to connect with…all three of you are awesome writers and awesome photographers…of course Marilyn is best…wink and lol…I’m teasing and picking on you and Garry….but seriously you three write wonderfully and connect us with your photos:)
I hear you on the barking too as there are many barks here too:)
Have a wonderful evening and week! Merry Christmas With A Happy New Year!!!
LikeLike
Dec 05, 2015 @ 15:53:57
As usual, beautiful shots.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dec 06, 2015 @ 17:00:19
Thank you so much:)
LikeLike
Dec 04, 2015 @ 22:10:53
I would have traded pretty much everything I had growing up for a week on your ranch.
We haven’t had any serious cold, but we certainly have had the fog — which is not typical for this area. Strange days, stranger weather. Hope life is treating you well!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dec 05, 2015 @ 12:38:05
I would have loved having you visit me on the ranch:):) Since I wrote this blog entry, all our snow melted the last day and now we have muddy yuk outside but the wind is blowing hard today so it will dry out quick…and its 51 degrees. Unusual for us to have the temps we are having and today looks like March…life is good just can’t keep up with the time as it flies by! Hugs:)
LikeLike