Spring Has Sprung Forward…Onward We Go!

11 Mar 2012 26 Comments

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Clouds, Landscapes, Life, Photography Tags: , , , , ,

Did someone say “Clouds?” I love clouds with their amazing creative shapes and their colors but the best part is capturing the clouds playing on the landscape.

I strive to capture images that tell their story in the image. Seeing a picture that is part of the story…and the story is in the middle of the picture is incredible.

I love writing, writing, writing…words, words, words to paper…and camera to the eye, click, click, click. I am addicted and can not seem to get enough…I am always scanning my surroundings…outside or inside looking for a creative image to shoot pictures of…thinking the whole time of words to write with it

I love capturing that shot that draws you into the shot…such as this group of beautiful clouds that hang and build as I take shot after shot of their incredible majestic beauty.

Horses are another one of my favorite subjects as they are so spiritual…so intuitive to your thoughts and your spirit….horses are God’s gift to us or maybe we are God’s gift to our horses. In this shot Melody was waiting for her breakfast, standing in a headwind with full expectations of her food and knowing that first she would get loved on as we greeted each other…she is so incredibly perceptive…and has such a huge heart of love for me…I am truly blessed by her each time I see her and spend time with her:)

And you know how much I love Minnie Mouse…she also is one of my favorites to take pictures of…she is very photogenic and lots of fun…she will fetch her bouncy ball toy and pack it back and forth to me as she wants me to throw it again…loves her red colored mouse and also her squeak brown mouse that actually looks like one…and she loves to throw her toys up in the air to catch them and then she will roll all over with them…Minnie is an amazing part of our lives…she has our hearts…and she thinks I am weird with my camera taking pictures of her but she lets me and just loves me back…my blessing kitty girl:)

I was experimenting with my camera when I noticed the clouds and sky were doing incredible things but the sun was right in my face…after debating I thought well ok lets just go with it and shoot anyway:)

Clouds, light and colors…stir my creative juices into a frenzy and my writers brain kicks into overdrive with ideas.

Ethereal images speak deep to my heart as the soft light of eternity falls from above.

Magical moments softly shinning…

And then because it is now spring in Juniper…the wind picks up blowing the dark clouds up and away…replacing them with beautiful colors and golden light.

My ethereal clouds are almost gone but the sky is clearing and the clouds are changing to new views of…

Magical incredible clouds that are artistically wispy and perfect for a shot.

I love spring weather and clouds…you never know from minute to minute what to expect!

And I never get tired of our views, our crazy weather and incredible clouds…the landscape and our life here in Juniper Canyon!

Simple March Days

10 Mar 2012 21 Comments

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Clouds, Landscapes, Minnie, Photography, Sunset, Weather Tags: , , , , ,

Last Sunday was one of those rare warm spring days…and Minnie Mouse was taking it in breathing all those yummy outside smells!

She is so very cute!

Mom can you smell that!!! She is in her jungle mode scoping out her pray…and planning her attack!

While Minnie was occupied with spring smells and Wild Bill was playing on his laptop, I had the opportunity to go for a walk with my camera….it was truly peaceful, warm and beautiful.

The light was beginning to change to a golden soft light…perfect for pictures.

Before we know it this wheel will be turning and watering the pastures once again.

I love the sagebrush…the colors of the sky…the land…and the clouds.

Various hues of light dance as the sun is slowly fading…

The sky seems to constantly change as the golden light softens Juniper…

Amazing….from second to second the colors change all around me as I click and snap picture after picture.

The sun is dipping into a can of various colors of orange, gold and purple as it sets.

The sheer gold light reflects itself into the landscape…

Until our sun slowly sinks lower behind the hill…gently rolling over to go to sleep after a long warm spring day

Springtime Weather Arrives

02 Mar 2012 27 Comments

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Clouds, Landscapes, Photography, Storms, Weather Tags: , , , , ,

Springtime weather has arrived with different clouds and storms, and I find myself grabbing my camera shooting shot after shot with a sense of awe and wonderment.

Clouds casting interesting images on the landscape…

With ever present contrast between the colors of land and sky.

Shades of light “play” in the clouds as they constantly change and move, morphing into new shapes.

While the landscape becomes part of the clouds…joining together on the horizon.

Winter wants to hang on yet…this was two mornings ago…but

Our seasons are changing…I can feel it in my heart…

Soon days will be warm and the fields will burst with green…our crickets will return at night to serenade us as we drift off to sleep…soon.

Spring’s Coming!!!!

A Wild West Wednesday Windstorm!

25 Feb 2012 36 Comments

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Clouds, Landscapes, Life, Photography, Sunset, Weather Tags: , , , , , ,

 A “Wild West” Wednesday  windstorm made its appearance with lots of gusto…dust with dusto…tumbling tumbleweeds and brisk cold winds out of the west!

An unusual storm for this time of year here in Juniper.

With damaging winds that gusted over 65-70 mph as well as dust thick like fog in some places…it was a heck of a storm!  Fortunately with the canyon wall behind our house we had some protection from the winds and our CRP thankfully kept the dust down for us.

Late Tuesday afternoon it began with a sudden gust of wicked westerly wind, with dark clouds waiting for their cue to drift in with a hu-rrrummmph…threatening attitude!

Horses are not fond of wind as they are prey animals and keep aware of their surroundings in case they have to flee for their life. When the wind blows the normal usual things they see everyday that are “safe” become unknown shapes…that is when they jump or spook. WB’s horse Buck was on guard…watching closely as the winds were whipping it up pretty good moving sagebrush and bushes that are in his pasture.

And then…while I was setting my camera….”Close Encounters Of The Third Kind” showed up to visit me from 1977.

 Threatening clouds were drifting in from the west, seeming to hang in place…almost like it was the preview before the movie…I was never good with scary stuff so quit IT and no it is not really a spaceship hidden in the cloud…with aliens…..

By early Wednesday morning tumbleweeds were rolling and blowing…it was incredible to see so many roll by my window. Where is my long lens WB…and are those dang weeds ours? The roar of the wind told me that it was only a matter of time before the dust would blow.

And blow it did…between the dust and the gusts it was a wild winter weather day in Juniper Canyon.

For unknown reasons the county road department decided it was a good day to blow the dirt off the roads out here…are you kidding?

Annie is not sure about this and wonders what is brush the dirt off the road day anyway?

The flashing lights and equipment were enough to scare her! The wind already had her scared and now in her mind the Big Boogie Man with flashing eyes was coming down the road after her!

Annie ran into her stall while Ms. Melody Calm Heart ran out of her stall to see what was happening. Melody will look and maybe snort…maybe jump once…she is so very trustworthy in her world, she knows that her human (me) is keeping her safe and she is ok…I love love love this girl…I have had lots of horses but never one like her. I hope to get Annie feeling solid like Melody…part of this years training plan in round corral 101.

It blew and blew and blew…all day long…and then finally.

The light began to change and the darkness turned to beautiful skies as all things work together for good…even dust and gusts. We can find the good in every part of our life, if we look:) The sunset was beautiful and simply incredible with the dust particles in the sky that evening,

Golden clouds touched by God Himself…

As I post this today on Saturday, we are under another severe weather watch as the winds are gusting upwards to 60 mph again…we had quite a bit of rain last night but as of this afternoon we are back to seeing dust in the distance again…ugh.

In case you have never seen a tumbleweed…this is a tumbleweed…they have stickers all over them. They grow green with the stickers and when they dry out they break off and the wind carries them away as they tumble off and  roll. They can block a road and they can pile up against a wire fence…a few yeas ago I spent a month pulling them out of our New Zealand fences and then burning them in a pile. Songs have been written about them…new swear words were created because of them and they have been used to decorate with twinkle lights in them…I prefer to burn them:)

Leaving you with a smile…hum or sing with me the old cowboy song Tumbling Tumbleweeds…do you know the song?

” The Tumbling Tumbleweeds” by The Sons of the Pioneers

I’m a roaming cowboy riding all day long,
Tumbleweeds around me sing their lonely song.
Nights underneath the prairie moon,
I ride along and sing this tune.

See them tumbling down
Pledging their love to the ground
Lonely but free I’ll be found
Drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweeds.

Cares of the past are behind
Nowhere to go but I’ll find
Just where the trail will wind
Drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweeds.

I know when night has gone
That a new world’s born at dawn.

I’ll keep rolling along
Deep in my heart is a song
Here on the range I belong
Drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweeds.

Sure brings back good memories as I can hear my Dad whistling along to this as we rode together gathering cattle in the mountains…we did not have tumbleweeds there but we had nettles!

Enjoy your weekend where ever you are! Let the end of Winter roar itself out…hang on tight…Spring will be here before we know it!

Foggy Views From My Kitchen Window

10 Feb 2012 16 Comments

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Clouds, Life, Lifestyles, Photography, Storms, Weather, Winter Tags: , , ,

Foggy views today from my kitchen window brings shades of gray into play…and my camera clicking away!

Familiar horses are now shrouded by the mist that swirls in and out of the canyon..night comes early on a foggy afternoon in Juniper.

A barren frozen tree takes on a stark beauty captured in the fog by the eye of the beholder.

If you look deep within yourself you can find beauty that is in every impression of your eye…no matter the color of the outside world you see or live in.

Depending on which side of the window you are on…you can go from foggy and cold to warm and inviting…life is like that…perspectives with different angles of view.

Winter soon will pass and the beauty of spring will return full of God’s grace.

Fillies will play under rainbows in the summer rains.

While the farmer’s golden wheat prepares for the bounty of harvest once again.

Gray foggy days like today usually bring reflective thoughts to mind as I pause to remember.

Memories of happy times…nostalgic times…thankful for life times. In all things I try to give thanks…even gray dreary days like today:) Spring is coming…then warm summer days and flowers.

Have A Happy Friday!

 

Here Comes The Sun

28 Jan 2012 8 Comments

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Clouds, Life, Lifestyles, Photography, Sunrise Tags: , , , ,

Here Comes The Sun….(doo doo doo doo)….Here comes the sun and, I say it’s alright.

Little darling, its been a long cold lonely winter. Little darling, it feels like years since its been here. Here comes the sun (doo doo doo doo) and its alright….

We were up before dawn a couple of days ago as we planed a trip to the city for a Costco run and various errands…

While I was waiting for the coffee I decided to take a few pictures of the kitchen decor for fun as usually there is nothing really fun when you are up before daylight waiting on the caffeine…

We gathered around stomping our feet to keep them warm and planned out the day! As soon as the coffee was done Wild Horses could not keep me from grabbing a cup….

And Wild Horses were running as you see but I got my cup of coffee and the world righted itself once again….whew!

I was taking my first good sip of java when I noticed a reddish hue reflecting on the wall…I threw up my kitchen window blind…and was immediately grabbing my camera!!!

Click

Click and wow…coffee smoffee…I will take a sunrise like this to capture any day!

Melody and Annie are watching too but…

“Hay…put that camera down and get me my hay!!!” Ok ok I’m on my way…now where did I sit my coffee cup?

Writing On Frozen Winter Days

21 Jan 2012 Leave a comment

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Clouds, Photography, Weather, Winter Tags: , , ,

Writing on frozen winter days when you are confined to the house, can feed your  soul with visions that you can not find by looking out the window. For me, writing is a vacation for my mind as I explore my thoughts and imagination…dreaming with a pencil to paper.

Living out here the view before you constantly changes with the light and shadows during the day…each season has a light of its own…I never get tired of watching the landscape play through the day. Often in winter we have fog that lingers close by…can you see the wispy mist quietly waiting to seap slowly back down into the canyon?  This frozen fog can be incredibly dense…even the most seasoned person who has lived here forever will find themselves lost in the murkiness of the mist and the nothingness of the fog.

The frozen world seems surreal…eerily quiet and unnatural…life seems to be on hold…like the gears on a truck…when shifted into neutral there comes a pause between gears as you shift…then the transmission catches and off we go in high gear again. I like how winter forces us to slow down and rejuvenate…before life once again grabs that gear with a hectic pace.

We still have snow but it is now covered with ice, the top of it has a crusty crunch to it when you walk. We do not venture out anywhere other than to check and feed animals…I am thankful that our horses have heated water troughs, good hay and shelter…but cold is cold.

Last night as we slept we had more icy rain fall for several hours…as soon as it hit the snow it froze. When we looked out this morning, the storm had left a slippery glaze on everything. I don’t mind the snow but freezing rain and ice is the worst to deal with. No traction or control…just skating. When it is like this I give up and do not go anywhere…the Burb is parked as the 40 miles round trip  to town is not worth it. I usually have extra supplies stocked up that we need from the grocery store…when you live far out of town, you stock up when you go to the store as you go to the store once a week or less.

We had blue sky and sun for a few hours this afternoon…the first sunny blue sky in a week!

Such a welcome sight to see. We have more storms on the way but today I am going to carefully go outside and feel the sun on my face…and capture some new pictures…

Like this one right at sunset…I love how the sun made everything so vividly deep with color.

I hope you snuggle in and enjoy the neutrals in your life as much as I do…forget grabbing a gear and grab on to the time we have to rest as before we know it…the icy roads will be dry…winter will be behind us and zoom zoom we will be racing around once again.

 Minnie  Mouse says “Quit taking my picture, my hair is a mess and besides it’s snuggle down nap time…Meow-Meow.”

Sunday’s Fabulous Snow Follies

15 Jan 2012 Leave a comment

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Clouds, Lifestyles, Photography, Storms, Weather, Winter Tags: , , , ,

Sunday’s fabulous snow follies did not show up as predicted…snow?  What snow?  Winter storm warnings….where?

This is what we woke up to…hmmm…Sunday sunshine and clear blue skies!

Tucker is sunning herself…she likes keeping her tan spots nice and tan year round:) She is quite a Diva around here too…she is Queen Meanie at times…the Boss…don’t cross her.

Ah-ha! The cast of characters are slowly beginning to mix things up a bit for a change around Juniper Canyon.

Clouds began to roll in on a mission impossible. The snow assignment had been accepted as their mission and it was going to go down.

Slowly the clouds snuffed the light of the sun out…it was time for the sun to take a nice winter nap.

And then…the onimous “Big Guy” showed up above…of course I was out with my camera clicking happily away with the ever changing shapes and rather threatening eerie light…perfect for photography.

 “Little Buck” here comes the snow instead of here comes the sun.” If you look close you can see his rear end across the road. He is a Buckskin and blends in with our scenery.

Melody is still truly wondering what Patio Horse is up too…why does he keep hanging around anyway?

And Kiah agrees…and wonders why am I shooting pictures in the cold…cuz I am obsessed Kiah and you are cute…kind of scary cute but cute.

Until next time…have a great Sunday night.

Starting 2012 Off With A Bang!

05 Jan 2012 Leave a comment

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Clouds, Ranch Life, Weather, Winter Tags: , , ,

We started 2012 off with a bang with some target practice behind our barn. I would love to have an indoor target practice range as New Years day was a bit cold with a brisk breeze fluttering about.

Beginning with the cast of characters….hmmm…what one shall I shoot with first? The last month we have had several country crimes close to where we live due to drugs and various robberies. We have had a neighborhood watch out in our small canyon now for six years…believe me when you drive around out here to look at the country we see you and we write your license number down…then we send it to the County Sheriff and he checks you out. In this day and age, drugs and crime have become a common thing for all of us no matter where we live.

I aim to be a good shot…while I feel very good about being able to shoot good I also feel sad that I have to even worry.

Wild Bill is an excellent shooter…scary good.

This is serious stuff….grrrrrr…I shoot my gun in order to protect myself or Wild Bill and unfortunately  I will do it if I have to. Yes we have several alarm systems out here…we have various ways of knowing everything we need to know. Life has changed country folks in the last ten years with the growing drug crimes and addictions. With our actively involved neighborhood watch program; we all keep watch for each other with the sheriff’s help.

Okay moving on to other ranch happenings…Tucker was being optimistic by practicing her sunshine girl pose…wishing and hoping for that sun to come out soon…today would be nice!

One of our barn Lions made a rare appearance for me to catch a good photo.

Actually they both came out to see us….are they not cool? They are huge too!

“For I am ‘King of the Jungle’,
I am a mighty lion.
I am the one who rules the roost,
so don’t even bother trying.”

A winter view looking down the canyon…

“I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape – the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn’t show.”

Winter skies above…

“All through the long winter, I dream of my garden. On the first day of spring, I dig my fingers deep into the soft earth. I can feel its energy, and my spirits soar.”

I Felt The First Breath Of Winter Today…

24 Nov 2011 Leave a comment

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Breast Cancer, Clouds, Lifestyles, Photography, Storms Tags: , ,

Today was the first day that I have actually felt the first breath of winter…artic cold wind…and dark clouds.

We were out this afternoon worming our three horses.

It was cold with the wind blowing out of the North…the outside lights were on at 2:45 in the afternoon and it looked like it would either snow or rain any minute.

Melody and Annie were good with the wormer…I am sure it tastes like ick…but once it was down I gave them treats..and lots of rubs and luvs.

Here at our house our horses…dogs….cats…are our kids and we love them 1000%.

Buck was great with his shot and then the wormer too….he is so polite and quiet.

As soon as we were done, I hot footed it back to the house…brrrrr.

It snowed here a year ago on November 21st…so will it this year too?

I wrote this a few weeks ago….was going to shoot more pictures and get it posted…I know if I am going to blog I need to do it once a week at least or more often..then I got busy and did not get this posted.

 I have disappeared the last few weeks from the blog/web world. Where have I been? This was the last picture you saw of me taken in October.

I had surgery in Portland last week at Oregon Health Science University  so I was a bit detained from my computer! I picked up something way too heavy for me to lift and ended up with a hernia.

Some of you know that I am a breast cancer survivor and almost have six years under my belt now…I went through lots of surgery in 2006…20 hours in one week and then another 5 hours four months later. We had been very proactive as I was high risk and when they caught it on the mammogram it was the size of a small orange…the Dr. recommended a mastectomy.

Wild Bill and I had already discussed this as I had 8 biopsies from 2001 through 2004….had one year off and then was diagnosed in January of 2006. It was wide-spread but not yet invasive and caught early so I feel I was lucky. We chose to take both breasts and at the same time do the reconstruction with a double free tram flap as it was the most proactive thing we could do for my survival. The first surgery was 16 hours and then 48 hours later another 4 hours. It was a miracle…no infections and yes the healing time was six months but I came back good as new….I was working out at the local athletic club with a trainer at five months.

This is me today…I look the same…but I have to be careful and not lift over 10 pounds as now I have a mesh screen in my belly as a tram flap is using your own belly tissue and muscle for the blood flow for the new tissue to form new breasts.

 I was afraid I would puncture implants doing ranch chores or riding horses. Out where we live it is a different life…you do what you have to do when you have to do it…if you have never lived in the middle of no where or the country that may not make sense.

As it is, I ended up with a hernia from lifting something when Wild Bill was not around…I know stupid on my part…but seriously I do not think and I forget…this has been a new normal for this country girl.

Here we are coming home from OHSU after the surgery last week….I love the city but I am always thankful when we get on I-84 and we are headed for Eastern Oregon…..home.

Ok well forget November 21st on the snow…this is November 16th…oh what a fun drive we had.

It went from a bit of snow to…

Serious snow…I am not thinking this is looking good…I was not worried about us as we had four-wheel drive and are used to driving in winter conditions etc. but being on the freeway with lots of traffic is not good with icy conditions.

Oh great!!!!!

And then…we finally broke out of it as we hit the edge of Eastern Oregon.

Biggs Junction and Maryhill…they have excellent wines at Maryhill Winery.

And then…God smiled….and brought us home to Juniper Canyon…with peaceful views and the blessing of “home.”

Melody and Annie said hay hay hay! Mom’s home…we missed you…come see us and give us some luvs…rubs and apple asses:)

Minnie missed me too…she and I have spent the last week on the sofa under the quilt recovering. Of course I have my laptop and a new phone to play with…which is fun of course…and lots of well wishes and my hubby who has been awesome to be my nurse and my cook:) I have several weeks yet to go with recovery but we are on the road.

I am thankful to be here and to be healthy…to have life and years yet to live. Please be sure to take care of your health and know that your life is your  life and your health is your health…do all your yearly exams and be aware of your body and of your health. I am living proof of doing that as with the cancer I had you could not feel it…and yet the area was the size of a small orange. Both Wild Bill and I saw it after the biopsy. My Doctor did not want to wait on doing a surgical biopsy as he wanted to get it out…so six days later after the mammogram he did the biopsy in his office where I was fully awake. Seeing the size of the lump, and yet I could not feel it, helped me understand that you may not always be able to feel a lump with breast cancer. Doing your yearly exams and in my case a digital mammogram saved my life.

Moving on to Holton Secret Lab News….as soon as I am feeling a bit better I will be updating the new web site.

The Portland Roadster Show is coming…March 2012. This is a picture of our display at the Roadster Show…10 Customer Cars…12 Awards.

What’s that sound? It’s a V-12 1928 Dodge Coupe…”Jagged!”

Holton Secret Lab…need I say more?  Check out…www.holtonsecretlab.com

Come see what is so dang secret about “The Lab”…You Will Not Be Disappointed!

Happy Thanksgiving 2011…From Hot Rod Cowgirl…Wild Bill and Holton Secret Lab LLC.

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