Hot Rod Cowgirl

Split Seconds Between Life And Death…

04 Apr 2013 27 Comments

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Hot Rod Cowgirl, Photography, Weather, Wild Bill Tags: Animals, Clouds, Flash Flood, Horses, Hot Rod Cowgirl, Life, Photography, Surviving, Weather, Wild Bill

“Split Seconds Between Life And Death” is the introduction of surviving a devastating flash flood in a blink…of a split second.

Double-click the photos and newspaper article to enlarge them for reading the small print and seeing the details…most of the pictures were taken before I had a digital camera.

The morning of August 5th seemed like a typical summer morning as we rolled out of bed at the crack of dawn, stumbling to the kitchen for our first pot of very strong coffee to get the cobwebs out of our heads to plan the day.

We sipped the dark caffeine as we watched the sun rise into a clear, beautiful blue sky morning…promising to be another warm sunny day in the hay fields.

Due to the isolation of the ranch we managed on the Crooked River and the location of a mountain full of iron that was close to the house…we could not pick up radio signals or television to hear the news and the weather forecast. Unknown to us, there were several weather warnings for August 5th…and the possibility for severe storms on top of the mountains behind us. The summer day seemed perfect that morning…who could imagine that a massive wall of water would be building and rolling toward our home and our lives, later that afternoon, traveling at 15 mph or more with certain death, if caught in it. This is my story and account of what I saw and felt that fateful summer day, when we had a few split seconds between life and death…with our life being turned upside down in a matter of minutes, by the end of the day.

And so it begins…

After lunch we were sitting out on our deck when, Wild Bill mentioned to his hay crew to keep an eye on the sky. He noted that clouds had been building the last few hours on top of the mountains behind us…they looked ominous and were spinning in an odd way, like they were coming from different directions running into each other.

Heading out the door, back to the hay fields, WB said “If you see lightning or the weather changes, park the equipment and come into the headquarters,” which was our home. I was headed to Prineville, 35 miles away, for a doctor appointment, as I had been kicked a few days earlier in my lower abdomen by a young three-year old horse that packed a hard powerful punch that ripped my jeans where she kicked and it had not gotten any better…instead it turned into a combination of several colors, much like the clouds in the photo below. I looked four months pregnant from the swelling, and could not zip up my wranglers all the way and it hurt to move or walk fast.

As the afternoon wore on, I watched as more clouds were developing behind us in the Maury Mountains…my gut intuition told me to not go and to stay home so I made different arrangements for my doctor appointment. I heard thunder far away towards the mountains, and as time passed, I could tell it was coming our way…

And soon the thunder was on top of us…with lightening all around…and then drops of rain began to fall. I began to worry about Wild Bill and our two sons who were also part of the hay crew. Time began to speed up and before I knew what was happening, in a split second our life was spinning out of control between life and death.

Tick-tock…fractured moments…tick-tock…life and DEATH…tick…RUN…tock…wall of WATER…no time…RUN…your LIFE…NO TIME…move…NOW…GET OUT OF THE HOUSE…RUN!

Split seconds in a heartbeat, become moments in your life that you will never forget…and on that warm humid summer day, I did not know what I was escaping from, when my husband yelled and I ran out of the house in my socks, despite the wet ground from the rain we were now getting…carrying my boots…with Wild Bill frantically yelling “MOVE…HURRY…NOW” as I jumped into a moving pick up that was already backing up in reverse…and then…I saw the wall of water coming directly towards us and our house. Once we were safe on higher ground, we watched in stunned silence as the roar of raging flood waters hit the ranch.

In a matter of seconds, our focus was on a 200′ wide by 7′ deep river of flood water moving at 15 mph or more, engulfing our lives…our house, our horses, our vehicles, the equipment and buildings…we saw the entire ranch move as we stood helplessly by. Witnessing a D5 Caterpillar tractor with the blade parked down in the gravel, walking itself out of the quickly deteriorating equipment shed that was attached to the shop…the tractor was bobbing, floating, bouncing and dancing with the energy of the flood waters like it was a toy.

At daybreak, the following morning after the flood, Wild Bill and I walked through the war zone of what was left of the ranch where the battle was fought…showing the power and might of the water. The lone stock truck ended its journey through the flood waters settling into the mud, where the 50′ by 50′ barn “used” to stand, before it disintegrated with the forceful blast of flood water…it happened so fast, none of us saw it collapse…and yet the smaller barn survived and was left standing alone…it became the “Miracle Barn.” Every building on the ranch either disintegrated upon impact or if left standing, leaned in a different way or moved with the jarring force of the flood water when it slammed into the complex, rolling over anything or anyone in its path.

Loosing the life of the young cowboy, who was passing through on his way home, trying to save his horses, was the hardest and most difficult part of our grief…fractured moments of a human life, painful memories we will never forget. The State Of Oregon did numerous studies of the massive flood for several years. How could this happen and why…could it happen again…the environmental conditions that played a part…the odd weather and the rain storm that caused the flood…on a warm summer day in August, as we were baling and putting up hay…a typical ranch life one second and a nightmare the next.

Surviving the flood with God’s protection was evidenced by Wild Bill being aware of the clouds looking ominous at lunch…he kept watching them through out the afternoon as the weather was changing quickly…and thankfully he came home into the headquarters as it had barely begun to sprinkle with rain, along with lightning and thunder…and then, he saw the wall of water coming at us in time to escape…that was God’s provision.

Our horses lived through the flood…they were close to where we were safe, but I could not reach them which was awful! Thankfully God heard my prayers and spared them from death but not from the fear they felt.

I’ll be sharing a few more chapters on the flood in the coming weeks…the many memories and the miracles…I hope my story of survival will give you strength and hope…knowing that life can at times be unexpected and incredibly tough but we can do it…we just have to keep on a going, no matter what!

Stay tuned for Chapter 1 of the “Historic 100 Year Flood”…HRCG over and out for now but not for long!

Winters Lock…Writers Block…Winter Mocks…Writers Rock!

24 Mar 2013 26 Comments

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

I am late posting my post, which was written Thursday, the 21st, in middle of the night…well actually early early morning:)

Winter winds are ripping…blowing up the canyon with a 15 degree windchill…ugh!

I worry about loosing power…I can NOT believe it is so cold tonight on the second night or morning of spring! Our house sleeps snuggled down in the wild west winter storm, except for me and why I am up in the middle of the dang night? Lately I have had a case of writers block, so I am doing a writing exercise right now, except I should be doing it with pen and three blank pages of paper…but my feet are cold and I am snuggled down under a pile of plush, cuddly warm quilts and it is cold and the paper I need is in another room…sometime today I am going to put pen to paper and finger to pen…hopefully with my brain fully engaged in fancy creative thoughts to write words of wonder!

I read tonight that we begin to lose our ability to write and create our written communication at school age…I agree. We are born to write and we are born with very active imaginations, however, life crowds in with perfection…then judgement…and no, you must stick to the point…you are wandering all over the subject…no no no, your punctuation is terrible and quite embarrassing…pretty soon we lose our style…our flair…our ability to create interesting stories full of life and possibilities. Our ability to believe in the IMPOSSIBLE is nowhere to be found!

Well to that I say, “Why not…THE IMPOSSIBLE IS POSSIBLE…believe it and it will happen…visualize it and dream it…live it and breathe it in and out…yes it is possible to have all that we hope for! Never ever give up your imaginations and your ideas…when it comes to writing, no idea is stupid…and every thought of make believe is believable in our writing…it’s like playing dress up when we dressed in Mommy’s dresses and make up to pretend we were a glamorous movie star…or we played make believe as The Lone Ranger…Hi-Ho Silver and Flicka!”

Ooops, I was drifting off the subject of Mr. Winter! Hey, Mr. Winter Winds…go back to the North Pole please…Antarctica…yep…sorry but somehow you have a bit of forgetfulness…I know we all do anymore as the course of the seasons whiz by us so fast, who can keep up but…seriously though…it is Lady Spring’s turn to play…you had your chance Mr. Big Chill and instead of doing your winter thing like you could have, you missed the boat…and I know you are stuck in the ice of regret but lets not use excuses about ourselves…if you are stuck Mr. Winter then, what can you do about it…what? No, it’s your problem and issue to solve…I am busy planning Ms. Spring’s Season so go away.

How am I doing? “Who me?”

“No, ding dong…Mom is talking about her…oh what I have to put up with since I am the cat who knows where it is at…plus Mom woke me up too!”

Mr. Winter Winds, between your winter winds howling with Winters Block? I have the solution for you…grab an icicle and three sheets of ice and begin to write…now go get busy so we can break this Winters Writers Block and have a Block Party! We can have Jack Frost come over to slide some music around so we can slip, slide and boogie down…with Margaritas on ice…I mean rocks…ah, no blocks…or how about a Mojito anyone? You are so icy anyway….

Ok, back to my writing exercise…what else do I hear…the wind…my email blurping…”Calling HRCG this is Ms. Spring…I want to introduce myself but Mr. Winter has his icy rear end in my way…I am trying my hardest to shatter and break up his fun so that we can welcome you and all your readers to a nice block party.”

Cool idea to end Winter’s Follies for this year:) HRCG over and out…headed to the Block Party…see ya there!

As a footnote…”Mr. Winter” has settled back down some…we still have the heat on but the icy grip of winter has now melted and we have green hope showing in the fields and life!

Seasons Of Weather On The Land And Spring Fun!

13 Mar 2013 21 Comments

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Hot Rod Cowgirl, Storms, Sunset, Weather Tags: Clouds, Custom Cars, Harvest, Heritage, Holton Secret Lab, Horses, Hot Rod Cowgirl, Hot Rods, Landscape, landscape views, Life, Life Scenes, Lifestyles, Minnie, Photography, Sunrise, Sunset, Traditions, Weather, Wild Bill, Winter, Writing

Seasons of weather on the land and the hints of spring fun are coming! I love this time of year, as over the years of living my life on the land, I have gained the understanding of faith, hard work and the importance of being a good steward of the land.

I notice the seasons more vividly as you depend on them for the health of the land and often you are outside in the elements of weather everyday. Maybe it’s driving to your job 30 miles away in town or maybe you are blessed instead to be out on top of the hills gathering cattle…or farming round and round on a tractor.

Being in the middle of nature’s elements, you feel the weather on your face with each passing storm, while watching the seasons slowly change.

From long winter days cloaked in gray fog as you wait and hope for a good wheat crop, growing under the obscure ashen gloom that covers the land from your sight.

Finally the first breath of spring air comes, blowing off winter’s gray coat, revealing your hard work…your faith has been rewarded, with a beautiful green wheat crop underneath…

The miracle of life, with that one tiny seed of grain the farmer plants in faith, months before…has grown into a harvest bushel full of wheat.

Which also means with the changing seasons I will be doing the part that makes me Hot Rod

Cowgirl…and yes I love the cool cars my hubby WB builds:)

But, I will always be a cowgirl through and through that loves my horses and the life of a cowgirl…I do admit it is fun to drive the ba-bump-a-boom sounding cars WB builds, with the deep throaty sound of horsepower and a healthy cam:)

Seasons are a changing…March can be crazy and wild!

Minnie will be putting away her “Cat Operas” for the year as she will instead be watching out the windows and smelling smells through the screens of spring and then summer…already we have the nightly serenade sounds of crickets in the creek close to the house and lots of robins, doves, quail and various colored birds are flying about to her enjoyment:)

Hang on…as soon…

Faster than a speeding bullet…

Blasting off like a rocket! No silly…not the jet above…

“Its Lola!” She’s out of winter hibernation and on the road again:):):)

Lola’s my speeding bullet…”Lola’s my baby:)”

“Classic…Fast…Built From Days Of Old…” When they still knew how to build real cars…out of steel and real leather interiors and actual horsepower:)

Beautiful skies above and our little red car below…

Lola! La La La Lola…Love you Lola!

Springs a coming….sooooon:)

Hang on here we go!

As reported from “The Life Of Hot Rod Cowgirl living in the Wild West!!!”

“Blog Of The Year 2012” Award Times Six!

02 Mar 2013 31 Comments

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Award, Blog Of The Year 2012 Award, Hot Rod Cowgirl, Photography Tags: Award, Blog Of The Year 2012 Award, Horses, Hot Rod Cowgirl, Life, Minnie, Minnie Mouse, Photography, Wild Bill

“Blog Of The Year 2012” Award Times Six Stars! What a wonderful award gift to be given:) I am very late in posting the news of this award as I received the award between my hubby’s two surgeries with December 26th being the second surgery and then we lost our beloved dog Kiah…who we miss very much.

I was both the head nurse and doctor at times…when you live 60 miles from the hospital and the Dr., you learn to do both…my friends laugh at our “Hallway Closet” as it is the equivalent of “Rite Aid,”with all kinds of tape, gauze, antibiotic creams, itch creams, bug sprays, thermometers and band-aids. Between taking care of WB and making sure he did exactly as he was instructed to do and did not sneak out of the house to go to the shop, life has been busy…thankfully his doctor gave him the heads up to venture out a few weeks ago, but the first few months I had to watch him like a hawk!!! I run the office so I am forever busy keeping up with both the ranch books and our custom car business, and I can’t believe how fast the months go!

We hired three new employees to add to our team, one great apprentice and two gifted, talented and experienced technicians that know how to do the job right. Luckily our winter weather has not been terrible this year so with the help of our new apprentice, I took care of the horses, making sure their water, which is heated during the winter months, was working and heating right. I felt like I was the lady of many hats, as I wore many different hats from Head Nurse to the Mrs. Grrrrr Boss to the Cowgirl Queen of All…hee-haw!

And then I had the nicest surprise in receiving the nomination for the “Blog Of The Year 2012” Award with the first of six stars from fellow blogger Candy at http://findingorderincorpusa.wordpress.com/ I was both humbled and in a state of shock in a very happy way:)

Thank you Candy for thinking of me:) Be sure to check out Candy’s blog as I promise you will enjoy it! She has a blog full of positive encouragement, which helps as we go through some of those truly yucky-blah days of our lives…and she also shares lots of wisdom to apply to our lives too. Here is the link to Candy’s blog and also the link that has all the rules for this award http://findingorderincorpusa.wordpress.com/2012/12/09/blog-of-the-year-2012-award/

And then I received my second star and another nomination for the “Blog Of The Year 2012” Award from my friend Marilyn at http://teepee12.com/

I was now laying on the ground, having fainted with delight, while my horse Melody was staring at me with her big beautiful eyes wondering if I was ok…you can see she is worried, she is the sweetest horse I have ever had. “Ahhh Mel, I love you lots, but I’m ok:)” I was smiling and glowing with excitement as I felt so very honored to receive this award by both these admirable friends and fellow bloggers…go check out Marilyn’s blog at http://teepee12.com/2013/02/24/daily-prompt-the-glacier-quarter-2011/

Because it was the holidays and the season was full of holly jolly joy joy! My laptop was singing away with sonar ba-blurps, as my notifications sound like a submarine when they come in…so I checked to see who was ba-blurping me and it was Marilyn at http://teepee12.com/2012/12/15/blog-of-the-year-2012/ she had awarded me with my third star, to add to my nomination for the “Blog Of The Year 2012” Award!!! If you have not gotten over to Marilyn’s blog by now…get going! She has a worthy blog called “Serendipity” that is filled with words written by Marilyn, who is a gifted writer.

The picture above is Annie, she is so pretty…and the photo below with the white stuff hanging off the garden stake with the horse on top next to the fake flowers is called “Hoar Frost.” It builds and grows each day until it hangs off of railings, power lines and etc. When we have long periods of freezing temperatures with freezing fog, a heavy hoar frost will grow on everything. Often we lose power as the power lines sag with the weight of the heavy frost eventually breaking the lines, leaving us without power for several hours or days. When you have livestock, they need water to survive. Horses can colic, which means they get a tummy ache and they lay down and roll on the ground trying to get rid of the pain, and often twist their gut. In severe cases they can die or will need surgery…the colic is caused by eating dry feed without water for their gut. so when you lose power and are without water for your livestock, you haul it or bucket it from another water source.

With Christmas upon us and snow forecast with freezing fog delight, my kitty Minnie was doing her computer time a few days later and said,

“Meowzers Mom…I just heard your laptop make that funny email noise again…I peeked and now you have four stars, as Marilyn gave me, (Minnie), a star for Christmas cuz I’m the cat who knows where it’s at! Meowohooey! Thank you Ms. Marilyn:)”

I did a fancy cowgirl two-step with a yee-haw and

Minnie looked at me and left in a hurry….she was worried it somehow could involve me picking her up for a kitty hug and holding her close to my heart for a kitty dance. She does not like to be held off the ground at all…and since I am 5’9″ tall, I’m a skyscraper in her eyes!

The Rules For This Award Are Simple And Easy:

1. Select the blog(s) you think deserve the ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award.

2. Write a blog post and name/tell us about the blog(s) you have chosen – there’s no minimum or maximum number of blogs required – and ‘present’ them with their award.

3. Please include a link back to this page ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award and include these ‘rules’ in your post (please don’t alter the rules or the badges!).

4. Let the blog(s) you have chosen know that you have given them this award and share the ‘rules’ with them.

5. You can now also join The Facebook group – click ‘like’ on this page ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award Facebook Group and then you can share your blog with an even wider audience.

6. As a winner of the award – please add a link back to the blog that presented you with the award – and then proudly display the award on your blog and sidebar … and start collecting the six stars.

And Wowee-Wowzers!!!

And I just got my fifth star!!!

The best part of receiving this special award was being nominated by my peers for the equivalent of the Oscar Award with the “Blog Of The Year 2012” Award. It feels very good to have recognition from your friends that are on this artistic journey with you. When I began this blog I had no idea that it would feed my heart and soul the way it does. I have always always always loved to write…and photography has been a passion that I knew was there in my heart but in raising our kids, money was tight and buying fancy cameras was not in my budget…basketball shoes alone cost as much as a college education. I did write and I have journal upon journals of my life over the years, filled with emotions, memories and daily life.

And then only a day before Christmas I found I had received my sixth star from Marilyn as she too wanted to pass on the holly jolly joy and share her stars with me for the “Blog Of The Year 2012″Award! Thank you Marilyn and Big Hugs:)

Thank you Candy at http://findingorderincorpusa.wordpress.com/ for the first nomination for this awesome award and thank you Marilyn at http://teepee12.com/ for blessing me with this awesome award with several nominations…neither of you had any way of knowing that, on the days you blessed me with another star to this award, it was a day that I had a fire of life dilemma to put out here…so each of your stars gave me hope and a big smile! Thank you both for being my friends and fellow writers on this journey of words and of life:)

Drum roll please for my nominations…I would like to nominate all of the bloggers and writers I know…I enjoy every blog on Word Press:) It is not easy to choose only a few blogs as I have many that I believe are worthy and that is all of them!

1.http://euzicasa.wordpress.com/ George has an outstanding blog that I love to read as I often learn new things about many different areas of life, music, various animal species, historical world events and then today I heard two songs that I had not heard since way back when and they brought back great memories:)

2. http://thesedaysofmine.com/ I love Dianna’s blog…she has a beautiful kitty angel named Sundae-Girl who also writes occasionally…she is one of my kitty angel Minnie’s best friends! Dianna shares her sunrise and sunset photos with the ocean behind them and the water right out in front of her home…and also her daily life with her family and her historic roots that run deep in Virginia.

3. http://rumpydog.com/ Be sure to go meet Rumpy dog as his blog is awesome! He keeps us filled in with animal news and all things animal…different new animal friends and also animal health facts as well as animal fun stuff. Rumpy is very cool…how many dogs do you know that have their own blog? Go see Rump’s blog and enjoy:)

4. http://savannahspawtracks.com/ I love Savannah’s blog..she is a very cool kitty angel, she is always up to something fun and she takes good photos. She calls her blog “Autobiography Of A Shelter Cat”…she is very beautiful, as she is a Russian Blue kitty angel with a great personality to match her beauty and lots of white detail like Minnie has on her toes and under her chin:) Her Mom and Dad are awesome for adopting her and they loves her lots! Minnie loves her too:)

5. http://catfromhell.wordpress.com/ Minnie and I both love reading about Nellie’s adventures…she is 14 years old and is also a rescue kitty. I think her Mom and Dad are awesome for adopting Nellie and making her part of their home. Nellie writes great daily blog entries that keep us hooked, reading about her explorations and life full of fun with other kitty angels and she loves Rumpy too:) She is a very cool kitty as she paints some beautiful paintings of her friends and she is part of the FBI too….so go say Hi!

6. http://triciabookerphotography.com/2013/02/21/beautiful/ “Capturing images, words and horses.” I saw the previous sentence by her name and I was hooked:) I truly enjoy Tricia’s blog and her amazingly beautiful photography of horses, various animals, flowers and life through her lens:) She is an amazing photographer…go see as she has incredible images to see and enjoy:)

7. http://tau0.wordpress.com/ I love this site as the amazing scenery in Mike’s photography speaks directly to my “wild at heart spirit!” Both my hubby and I share the wild at heart…I love the sheer beauty of isolated, jaw dropping beautiful places that you can not see unless you are willing to get off the beaten path and seek them out. Mike captures amazing views and waits for the perfect light and his timing is magical:)

8. http://russelrayphotos2.com/ Russel has been a photographer for many years and shoots beautiful shots of San Diego life and history…and incredible shots of scenery and flowers, butterflies and life etc. but my very favorites is “Zoey, the Cool Cat!” He is a character and great at posing for Russel’s camera.

9. http://marcellarousseau.wordpress.com/ Marcy has a great blog that educates you on healthy eating and living. She is awesome as she seeks to help others to lose weight and get in shape…I know I need more of every fact she teaches and shares so I check her out often to see what is good for me and what I need to get rid of:) And we both share the same name of Marcy:)

10. http://godguidesme.com/ Vivian has a wonderful blog and I so enjoy the pictures she takes of the Nevada Desert…I love the peace and solitude of the desert and have found that the desert has a way of drawing you into its magical light, colors and silence…there is something incredibly beautiful and spiritual about the desert and Nevada has LOTS of mountains too so don’t let the desert fool you. Vivian’s blog is full of inspiration and incredible scenery.

11. http://emjayandthem.com/ MJ’s blog is awesome as she makes you think deep and I love to think deep! She shares about her life growing up and also her life today…the lessons she has learned and the ones she is yet working on…her writing style hooks you into her words as you can identify with what she is writing about…she is a great writer and also takes great photos. She is an incredible lady to know and I always enjoy her comments when she visits me:) Go check MJ out…kind of funny but I am also called MJ…so from one MJ to another MJ go enjoy another MJ’s blog:)

12. http://pacificnorthwesttravelerdotcom.wordpress.com/ I so enjoy Bob’s blog as I live about 200 miles from him and many of the various photos he shoots I am aware of or I have been there. Today’s lesson he is giving is on how to frame one of your photos in Photoshop…and I plan to give it a try too:) He shoots incredible scenery shots and then also goes to the Portland Zoo and takes some amazing shots of the various animals there….as well as “Jack” the kitty cat!

13. http://onespoiledcat.wordpress.com/ This is Pam (Mommy) and Sam’s (Sammy) blog on Sammy’s fun antics and Pam’s wonderful words, she has a wonderful writing ability, she has published a few books and also short stories and she also is an artist as she paints. I always enjoy seeing what Pam is up to and Minnie has a kitty girl crush on Sammy…and I love to see what Sammy is up to as he has gone undercover before as a secret agent and he has taken care of business:) He is one cool dude!

14. http://catnipoflife.wordpress.com/ I truly enjoy Sharla’s blog, her writing style, the memories she shares, the books she has published, and I love the name of the blog Catnip Of Life…yeah, that is perfect and Minnie agrees:) Sharla gives you deep things to ponder and think deep on which I love as it keeps me thinking all day when I am out and about doing ranch stuff:) I love her poetry too, her positive comments and her laughs as I love to laugh:)

15. http://patinaandcompany.wordpress.com/ Awesome blog! I will be reading each article on gardening, flowers and landscaping that Patina & Co. has posted. I am subscribed to Leslie’s blog, she lives North of Toronto, yesterday she posted pictures of the snow around her home and yard…I will not complain anymore about our weather!!! Go check out this blog as she also has interior decor ideas and ideas for the exterior of your home.

Marilyn, thank you again for nominating me for this awesome award, Marilyn writes and takes us into whatever it is that she is describing…and that is what I strive to become, as a writer…I hope to write and pull the reader into my story so that they can actually hear, feel and taste or smell what I am describing…and I hope to do the same with my photographs:) Marilyn, I am working on “Tagged”…I wanted to get this award out as it is so special to receive. If you have not been to Marilyn’s blog yet, go to: http://teepee12.com/2013/02/24/daily-prompt-the-glacier-quarter-2011/

Thank you Candy for nominating me for this honorable award and for blessing me with the first star:) Candy has a fun blog as well as a web site for her professional organizer business…and she can be hired to come into your home or office to organize it so that you can do your work or job with everything in its place instead of a mess. I am pretty organized most of the time but right now with taxes and going through all the office stuff I need you Candy! On her blog, Candy has fun stuff, encouraging slogans and positive remarks for us to keep on a keeping on:) So be sure to check out her blog at http://findingorderincorpusa.wordpress.com/2013/02/21/blog-chill-day-8-2/ and also her business web site at http://www.orderyoursteps.net/

Minnie and I have learned so much from all the many bloggers we have met in the last almost two years. The best part has been getting to know you…and to view your artistic abilities from photography to writing words that tell the stories of your life or of the lives you write about. The creative spirit is amazing and ever changing, growing and developing…I love the burning fire of artistic abilities that are God given, that burn deep in my heart. It is always there…sometimes it just smolders and other times it fires up into a roaring campfire…I love it:)

These roses are for each one of you:) I am going to keep on writing words upon words and shooting a zillion photo images to share with you:) How about you? Have a “Super Sweet Sunday!”

What Gives Writers And Artists Their Fire?

28 Feb 2013 23 Comments

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Clouds, Hot Rod Cowgirl, Lifestyles, Photography Tags: Animals, Clouds, Heritage, Horses, Hot Rod Cowgirl, Landscape, Life, Lifestyles, Odd beauty, Photography, Sunset, Weather, Wild Bill, Writing

What gives writers and artists their fire? I take it for granted that we all think about words and photos the way I do but we don’t. I have known all of my life, that God blessed me with the desire and passion to become a writer of words and life. I am drawn to writing words that create visual pictures…words that become alive and draw you into the story or maybe the memories of your life. Writing is my heart, as the words explain the me that I am and the whys of my life…words of feelings…words of emotions…words of heritage and memories…and the words of a country cowgirl…words upon words upon words. Writers write to share what they feel and see in the moments of tender memories filled with times of faith…times of hope…times of life. I think they are born with a desire to tell the story as the seed has been planted in their hearts to write the words.

Writers are different as we see and feel the actual word…we see emotions and feel life differently. Quietly our soul takes in all the words we hear and the pictures of life we see…the writer in us takes both the seeing and feeling emotions, weaving them into a story to share. Our words are poured out onto the golden pages of a book full of stories and memories, both real and fiction. If we are really good we can make you guess what is real and what is fiction. I think my writing and the ability to feel the words and to see the story in a quick snapshot blink of life is partly because I grew up by myself, with just my parents and our ranching life in the mountains and here at home.

I never knew any different way of living, I thought everyone moved to the mountains to summer on a cattle ranch…now that I know differently, I feel very blessed that I had the opportunity. I carry the memories of almost 40 years, working first with my parents on the ranch and then with Wild Bill. My world has been full of horses, cows, kitty cats and dogs, and various critters…the sky and clouds…the elements of weather…hard days and good days…life was all of that and in my mind it was a novel of golden days…the days of my life. The one soap opera I watched for a couple of years, was of all things called “Days Of Our Lives”…go figure, I was doing what I knew as I actually do see the days of my life.

I began to shoot pictures of my life and the life moments around me during the last two years…I bought a quality camera and once it was in my hands I hung on to it and slept with it if I had to! It was the missing piece to my life of words…it was the part that fit with the creative visions and the words I had inside my head and in my heart. If done correctly, one picture can tell the story from beginning to end…one photo can do that if you are good and that is what I strive for. I want to be that good with my camera…so I take 1000’s of photos every week…keeping some and trashing the others…I love learning:) When I read the story and saw the photos of Vivian Maier a few years ago, I was in awe and in photography heaven…she was incredible and had such an eye for the right moment and the perfect timing to capture the life of her subjects and the life of America. I would love to see her work in person! Here is the link to the web site of her images…enjoy. http://www.vivianmaier.com/ She was truly a very gifted artist of life.

It is the same with words…you have to write and I write a zillion words each week both on paper and in my head in order to develop what is already there inside me, writing your thoughts and words, keeps you fresh and wide awake! I write stories and heart filled memories of life, mine and also of other lives that I have seen and been part of. It is crazy how I can feel another persons heart and their thoughts…their emotions and feel what they are not saying as easily as what they are saying. No it is not some woo woo thing or a new age technique. I am blessed that God made me with the passion and ability to write, feeling the words of the story I see in a blink second of another persons life or the scenes of life that travel through my world. I love it and will never grow tired of words and images.

Switching gears, I want to thank you for wondering where I have been and if all is well. I am here and we are doing fine. I hope to post my first of many award nominations that I have been given to share soon:) Somehow my “life went into hyper-warp speed and lately I have felt like I am Lieutenant Uhura on the U.S.S. Enterprise on Captain Kirk’s bridge traveling at warp speed to do battle with the Klingons in some new galaxy!” I think I need to write more and get outside with my camera…my imagination is getting a bit weird! No I’m not a Trekkie but I did like Star Trek in the 60’s.

As I sign off for now I will leave you with a couple of verses from “Alabama” with their song called “I’m In A Hurry,” as it fits:)

“I’m in a hurry to get things done…Oh, I rush and rush until life’s no fun…All I really got to do is live and die…But I’m in a hurry and don’t know why”
“Don’t know why I have to drive so fast…My car has nothing to prove…It’s not new, but it’ll do 0 to 60 in 5.2”
“I’m in a hurry to get things done…Oh, I rush and rush until life’s no fun…All I really got to do is live and die…But I’m in a hurry and don’t know why”

Right Tucker? “Rrrruff-righto Mom.”

I wish you the best of days or nights where ever you may be. “May God Bless You With A Totally Terrific Thursday or Fantastic Funny Friday!”

Blessings That Fill Your Heart With Gratitude

14 Feb 2013 31 Comments

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Gratitude, Hot Rod Cowgirl, Landscapes, Miracles, Photography Tags: Animals, Cats, Clouds, Farm House, Heritage, Holton Secret Lab, Horses, Hot Rod Cowgirl, Juniper T Ranch, Landscape, landscape views, Life, Life Scenes, Lifestyles, Minnie, Minnie Mouse, Odd beauty, Photography, Ranch House, Sunrise, Sunset, Traditions, Weather, Wild Bill

Blessings that fill your heart with gratitude are little miracles in themselves, bringing sunlight and glory to our days here on earth.

Sometimes you have to look around to see the blessings in your life and other times they can be right in front of you!

I thank God daily for my life as I watch the sunrise on a brand new day, full of God’s plans for my day and His breath of love on each one of us, for we are all His kids:)

And at the end of each day I am always blessed with each beautiful sunset, filled with God’s golden glory…with a renewed hope for tomorrow.

Growing up Mom had a newspaper clipping on our refrigerator for many years held by a magnet. The clipping stood on the truth of its words.

“Oh Lord, You have given me so much,

Give me one more thing, a grateful heart.”

Gratitude…remembering the incredible things we have been given. I still have the clipping in my bible…and had it on my refrigerator for several years until we bought a stainless steel refrigerator…then my magnet would not work, so it is tucked away in a safe place.

I am thankful and more than grateful for the many blessings in my life. When things get bumpy on the road of my life, I try to focus on the good and positive blessings that God has given to me…so I often make a gratitude list to add to as life is ever changing…below is my current gratitude list…if I were to write them all…I would have a book to share with you:)

1. I am thankful that I have the freedom to worship God.

After traveling to the Middle East in the mid-90’s, I experienced many different ways of life and many diverse cultures. I loved seeing where Jesus walked..it was profoundly holy and spiritual to walk in His footsteps. I loved the Old City and seeing the diversity of people. Israel was beautiful to see…I was blessed to have had three weeks to travel, as there were so many historical sites to visit and experience. However, when my plane touched down at JFK, I made a beeline to a Burger King for an all American hamburger with the works! The next morning was surreal to wake up here in Juniper Canyon…the farmers were in full swing of wheat harvest. I remember thanking God that He decided I was to live here in America, it was so peaceful and quiet. We do not know how blessed we are to live in the USA!

Jordan was ancient in the scenery and beautiful. I loved seeing the desert and Petra was my favorite.

Petra was incredible in how they carved it and designed it…it was one of those places that all you can do is take pictures and stand in awe. I also enjoyed having dinner with the Bedouins one evening in their tents. Kind and wonderful people to meet. Everyone I met on the tour was very nice. We began our tour in Damascus, Syria and I loved seeing Palmyra too….we did a day trip into Turkey and then on to Jordan and finally Israel…loved the Sea of Galilee, so peaceful and yes you do float on the Dead Sea and Masada was incredible too. I did ride a camel which was both fun and funny:)

2. Thank you God for my hubby Wild Bill…my soul mate and my forever. We actually do fit together like a jigsaw puzzle made by God. He is the most thankful part of my life on earth and the best part is that we will be with each other forever into eternity and beyond:)

3. I am grateful everyday that I am alive and living with good health! Having gone through a serious diagnosis puts a new spin on your life and you truly do see life in a different way….with a thankful heart:)

4. I am grateful for my parents….who loved me and kept me forever. I know I will see them again. Both WB and I were lucky that we lived next door to them for 20 years, as we were able to help them and do things for them before they became ill….and when they did become ill, we were there 24/7 for them. We were able to support them, finding things to laugh about, long talks into the night, helping them through medical tests and the pain, taking them places and helping them maintain their dignity. I loved my Mom and Dad more than I can say.

5. I know I am one of the most blessed women to live with always owning a horse….growing up on a large cattle ranch helped…so did having a Dad who was as horse crazy as I was! We always had horses….and we still do. I love the smell of horses, the sound of horses and the relationship one can have with horses and everything about them…they represent a part of life that is my history and heritage. God loves horses too!

6. Minnie Mouse our kitty girl…almost 18 years old and so much a part of my heart and my life….our life. She has been with through losing three of our parents, cancer and various tough times, and she always gave us her love and lots of funny antics to make us laugh…she has been with us longer than any of our kids and she loves us…we love her and she is our kitty angel:) Blessed by God:)

7. Living in the very house that I grew up in with my Mom and Dad….that my Grandpa who I never got to meet, built for his mother, my great-grandmother who I never got to meet.

Living here in a 100 year old family house though, I feel that I do know them and carry the same beliefs and family heritage they passed on to us. A house full of memories, honor and gratitude.

8. I am grateful that I have always lived in the country, away from the hustle and bustle. I love the quiet and peaceful life of country living here, but I miss the solitude that I grew up in when we summered at the mountain cattle ranch without telephones, electricity, water and no TV let alone radio signal. It was pure bliss to live in such a beautiful place in the Blue Mountains, riding my horse everyday moving cattle or checking cows with my Dad. Life was simpler and the world was different then. I am grateful for all the memories I have of that period in my life growing up.

9. I am more than blessed to own my “Little Red Car”…WB surprised me as he said “For my redhead and my love, this is your car”. And we do belong to the “Little Red Car Club”.

10. And for my forever horses, that I will never forget…as they are forever with you:)

Mostly what I want to give to you is this…

Sometimes when we look out the window of life…we see life that is gray and stormy. It can be depressing, discouraging and tough to see the storms of life we are facing…that is when we plug into our gratitude list, that is filled with determined faith, full of both small and large blessings and the tough times we survived before…as we can’t give up or in, we gotta keep on a going.

And as we “stand strong on our faith and hope”, life will get better again. The good in life, continues to battle it out, with the evil during our lives…as life will never be perfect until we get to heaven.

And God has already won for us! No matter how dark it can look in our lives, never ever give up:)

Wild Bill and I are celebrating the day we met 37 years ago on Valentines Day…February 14, 1976! The picture above was taken two years ago when WB and I were interviewed here in our shop Holton Secret Lab on TV. Notice who is cracking a joke at the end…I am sure we were all nervous and making a funny joke was all I could think of doing…I love to laugh:)

Happy Valentines Day! My hubby surprised me with the beautiful red roses this morning:) I wish you all a very special day or night where ever you are!

As a footnote: I am working on the many awards I have been given the last few months. I am terribly slow this time and I hope that all the award givers will not give up on me:) I so appreciate you thinking of me and this blog. Wild Bill had a second surgery December 26th on his shoulder that has taken a longer recovery…he is getting better and still has to take things slow for a few more weeks but he is doing well…he began PT this week:) That is part of the reason for being slow to post new awards and blog the last few months…but I am here and working on getting those awards passed on soon:) Hugs and Blessings:)

Ranch Lessons 102…Mud…Cows…Pooey!

08 Feb 2013 37 Comments

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Barn Cats, Hot Rod Cowgirl, Photography, Ranch Life Tags: Barn Cats, Cats, Clouds, Heritage, Horses, Hot Rod Cowgirl, Juniper T Ranch, Landscape, landscape views, Life Scenes, Lifestyles, Minnie, Minnie Mouse, Odd beauty, Photography, Traditions, Tucker, Weather, Wild Bill, Winter

Ranch Lessons 102…”Muddy Muck & Yuck” is now in session:) Today for fun I am sharing a secret cattle ranch factoid called when “The Ground Quivers With Mud & Cow-A-Pooey…Watch Your Step!”

Having grown up on a large cattle ranch, I learned early on about cow’s pooping in all the mud puddles creating…”Cow-A-Pooey Muddy Muck”. I have accidentally stepped into the quagmire of “Cow-A-Pooey” before and the sludge would literally suck my boot off my foot! I would hop on my other foot that was still in my other boot, trying not to fall down, as I grabbed hold of my yucky boot…which had sank deeper into the boggy mire of muddy poop and give it a hard yank…while trying to not put my foot with only the sock on, into the mud for balance but…as you can imagine, that was just about impossible!

This muddy mix is with horse poop, so even though it is still not fun to walk into, it is different as it has a horse poop smell and since it has something to do with a horse, it’s not so bad:)

Right Annie? Cow manure mixed into mud is worse! It never fails the night before, after you have gathered up your herd, you get an inch of rain in the corrals where you plan to work the cattle…at least it settles the dust, but now you get to deal with slippery, muddy cow pooey/sludge, as they have pooped all day and night

I have heard them “snicker-snort-moo-snort snicker” as we walk by…they smirk with gurgles and rather interesting noises to let you know that they have more to conjure up…and I promise, you will slip and slide or get your boot stuck into their mixture of “Cow-A-Pooey Muddy Muck.” It is at that moment, the “cowgirl life” loses a bit of the glamour and glory, when you have to work the cows and the gates on foot instead of horseback in the mud…in the sludge and in the poop!

Both WB and I remember working gates in muddy puddles, when the cow ran by you at warp speed giving you the gift of “Cow-A-Pooey Splatter Shower”, covering you from top to bottom!!! You learned early on to keep your mouth shut as they ran by! I liked having my hat on, hair tucked into it, wildrag covering my mouth and nose if needed, with my sunglasses on even if it was cloudy! Ahhh the good old days:)

Looking out one of the barn doors down on the arena presently…hey WB, look at how nice my round corral stays with the sand, compared to the arena where the water stands on top of the dirt and takes forever to drain off…hint-hint, more sand…more sand:)

Barn Lion Jack, did not like my camera flash…he looks kind of grumpy huh?

Brother Pat is not quite as grumpy and he was sort of interested in the camera…but just a little bit.

Back to “Muck Pooey”…this particular mud is clay dirt with older cow poop and fresher horse poop mixed into it and it is slowly draining the standing water into the ground. Note: It is always good to tuck your jeans into your boots…preferably higher top boots with galoshes over your boots.

Nummie nummie munch munch…I love the sound of horses eating their hay:) Annie is so patient with my camera…she lets me take pictures anytime.

And back to that round corral with the sand…a beautiful design in the sand in an interesting odd way. My round corral always makes me think of the song called “Barn Cat” by Mary Ann Kennedy. It is great, in fact all of her songs are great…Barn Cat was on her first album called “The Trail Less Traveled.”

“Barn Cat” by Mary Ann Kennedy

I’m a barn cat, not an alley cat or a house cat, I don’t sit on laps

I got a real job…I catch mice…It’s a tough life…I’m a barn cat

Meow, this is my territory…Bow wows…look out…I got sharp claws

And a king size bed made out of straw…I’m so glad I’m a barn cat

I got a feed room, and a tack room…And 4 stalls…I stalk em all

Don’t need a litter box, I got a round pen…60 foot of sand…I’m a barn cat!

Meow, this is my territory…Bow wows…look out…I got sharp claws

And a king size bed made out of straw…I’m so glad I’m a barn cat!

Be sure to check out Mary Ann Kennedy as I love her music:)

Tucker waiting patiently for me…thinking something like this “Mom, can we go yet…all this talk about muddy poopy corrals makes me very glad that we do not have a zillion cows anymore…I would not like getting all my fur muddy and stinking like a cow patty either….ewwwww!” I love how her colors blend in with the rocks…didn’t have it planned but Tuck is very photogenic with her color and sweet eyes.

Okay Tucker let’s get out of this “not so bad mud” and head for the house…we’ll go see what Minnie Mouse is up to.

Ms. Minnie says “Meowsy Hi All!” She looks pretty with her markings as they blend into the Navajo rug in this image. She loves her Navajos and prefers sleeping on wool blankets…she has sensitive fur and the wool must have an interesting tactile feel to it that she likes.

She told me that the “Barn Cat” song is fine but she would like to have a song called “House Cat”, as she prefers her house and is a very lady like kitty angel:)

And this concludes Ranch Lessons 102…”Cow-A-Pooey Muddy Muck” from the Juniper T, for now…wishing you a super-duper weekend where ever you may be! HRCG and crew over and out:)

Surviving Storms Of Winter As Life Flows On.

28 Jan 2013 16 Comments

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Hot Rod Cowgirl, Photography, Sunrise, Weather Tags: Hot Rod Cowgirl, Juniper T Ranch, Kiah, Landscape, landscape views, Life, Life Scenes, Lifestyles, Photography, Sunrise, Surviving, Weather, Wild Bill, Winter

Life flows on like a river, as winter takes hold of our lives in Juniper Canyon.

Surviving the storms of winter can be tough if you are caught without warning…

Life can change in the blink of an eye.

And yet if we persevere with hope…our faith is strengthened in a deeper, stronger way.

2012 ended with the physical pain of WB’s surgery and the emotional pain of loosing Kiah. Dealing with pain itself can be a life storm…a war that you fight for healing and the return to your normal life.

Loosing our animal family members is equally hard, as truly our animals are part of us, part of our hearts and part of our humanity. I grab hold of my camera every second I can to capture the ever changing life around me…now if I can find the words to express my heart.

I do know that we live life everyday, never knowing what each new day will bring…having “faith” to believe that no matter what it brings we will survive.

God never planned for us to have a perfect life as He wants us to depend on Him.

Each day the road is before us as we keep our focus and walk on. Life is full of adventure…hard times…exciting times…sad times…learning times, but mostly good times.

Where ever you are I hope that tomorrow or today or tonight is blessed with perseverance that develops your hope which will deepen your faith…no matter your circumstances.

Kiah Sweet Kiah, Yippee Ki Yi Yay…God Bless You And Keep You Always!

13 Jan 2013 42 Comments

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Clouds, Hot Rod Cowgirl, Kiah, Photography Tags: Animals, Barn Cats, Clouds, Hot Rod Cowgirl, Kiah, Landscape, Life, Life Scenes, Lifestyles, Minnie, Odd beauty, Photography, Sunset, Weather, Wild Bill

Every once in a while when you grow up living on a ranch…you will own a special dog, a once in a lifetime dog, a dog filled with heart and love for you…and your heart fills with love for them and they become your forever friend…the best dog you have ever had. When we lost Kiah December 30, 2012, we lost one of the best…she truly was our heart, our girl, our silly Ki Yippee Yi and we loved her so much.

Many of you who have followed my blog have been introduced to Kiah…looking at her face, you can see her heart in her eyes…she was so smart and intuitive as she seemed to know what you were thinking!

Kiah came to live with us in June 2011…turning a year old in September 2011. A good friend of ours mentioned to us that he knew the breeders were looking for a new home for Kiah and he told them about us. I called them and drove a 400 mile round trip to bring her home:)

Is she not beautiful? I fell in love with her the second I saw her…her cute face and her beautiful coat of colors. When we got home and she got out of the pick up behind me…my hubby, Wild Bill fell in love with her too. I knew God blessed us with Kiah as we needed her and she needed us:)

Kiah was immediately part of our hearts…she was full of love and so full of spirit. Our other three Aussie’s loved her too…Auz, the oldest in front just grunted at her and that was it. Dash liked playing with her and she loved to playfully grab his ears in her dog game version of “Speed Runs By Dasher To Grab Ears Hee-Hee.” Tucker in the back was not a huge fan at first as she had been the only girl for several years.

But Ki loved Tuck anyway and Tucker eventually loved Kiah too but, she was a bit jealous of this new cute doggie girl, who liked to take her toy or stick of the moment away, see it between them? Tuck is daring Kiah to try it. And if Ki managed to get it away from Tucker she would bounce around the yard with the stick doing the dog style of “Neener Neener”…while Tucker would try to keep up barking at her the whole time…it was funny and quite cute to watch as eventually Ki would drop it and let Tucker have it back:)

Kiah was very very human…she knew what you were contemplating and she understood your emotions in a very uncanny way. I don’t know how to explain it other than to say God made her different. She was a part of you and you immediately connected with her and she with you. She loved to crawl up into WB’s lap as she loved to cuddle…she was a large part of life here, our Kiah girl.

“Don’t forget us Barn Lions!” “We loved to watch her torment both Tucker and Dasher with “The Neener Neener Game!” “We just meow-laughed with hee-haw meowsy chuckles…plus we had a good view!”

I loved her silly smiles and grins when she bared her teeth…and I loved her eyes when she squinted them into little slit eyes that were so cute!

“Mom…I can squint my eyes and smile showing my teeth too!” I know Minnie and you are my baby too…my kitty angel that I love very much.

And I know you loved Kiah and she loved you…she sniffed your nose through the window and would smile at you…at first you were sort of like Tucker but then you warmed up to her too.

“Uh what?” “I didn’t kill the bird Mom really!”

How can you be mad at a face like this? Kiah had so many expressions, and she was so cute:)

But she could look mean too…she loved her family as all protective dogs love their family. I just miss her. Everyday I find myself looking for her as she would go hang out in the shop for a while to be sure WB was ok and then she would run up to the house and peek into the windows to be sure I was ok and all was well…then once she knew both WB and I were ok.

She would do a speeding bullet run up the hill to survey the ranch below circling back down to make sure the horses were ok too.

My Yippee Ki Yi Yay…

Who loved sleeping in my dirt flower pots like a curled up colorful doggie flower…ahhhh…make that muddy doggie flower:)

The day we buried Ms. Kiah…it was getting close to twilight time and I noticed out my kitchen window that the light looked sort of an odd color of gold on the hills…so I grabbed my camera and headed out the door in my socks no less as the light was changing quickly and I wanted to capture a few shots.

After a few landscape shots I looked up and saw the most incredible golden skies above. None of the following pictures have been photo shopped or light roomed or manipulated…just my eye and my camera took the shots capturing it well…I love my camera:)

Clouds with all kinds of layers and odd shapes…filled with golden swirls and colors of ember golden light.

I felt that Ms. Kiah was sending us a message from heaven saying she was well and happy…playing in God’s glory and all was well:) That she would see us again someday when we get to heaven and she plans to be in the greeting party with our parents and family members, along with various horses, kitty cats, and dogs.

I shot 44 pictures of this amazing sky…the layers of clouds with the incredible light and colors were truly not normal for this area…like Kiah who was unique and full of beauty.

God is good and I do believe He said something like this…”Ms. Kiah, welcome to heaven you cute little girl:)”

“Now come over and let Me have a look at you…oh you are so sweet and cute…we are going to send your Mom and Dad a message and you get to pick the colors as you are a colorful little girl…and I made you too:)”

I could keep going as I have so many more special moments to share with you but, I know having a ton of photos can be boring to your readers at times and I need to learn better how to pick and choose. With Kiah, I wanted to share her heart with you all, as she was so special, and we were so blessed. I hope you have enjoyed seeing parts of her very much loved life with us.

However, I do have to show you one more short set of a true “Kiah Moment”…a photography sequence that will make you smile…she was good at posing and looking adorable:)

“What?”

“Huh?”

“Oh, yeah I totally agree Mom.”

Our sweet Kiah may you rest in God’s arms and heaven’s peace…we LOVE you and hold you tightly in our hearts forever.

We will never forget you…we miss your sweet spirit everyday and night.

Our Sweet Kiah, We Love You Forever And We Like You For Always. Forever You Will Always Be Our Kiah Girl:)

Psalm 36:6 NIV

Morning Chores On The Juniper T With Fresh Snow And Artic Cold!

02 Jan 2013 60 Comments

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Hot Rod Cowgirl, Photography, Ranch Life, Winter Tags: Animals, Barn Cats, Cats, Custom Cars, Dogs, Holton Secret Lab, Horses, Hot Rod Cowgirl, Hot Rods, Juniper T Ranch, Kiah, Landscape, landscape views, Life, Life Scenes, Lifestyles, Minnie, Minnie Mouse, Odd beauty, Photography, Snow, Sunrise, Weather, Wild Bill, Winter

Last Sunday, on a typical Juniper Canyon morning the end of December, we had fresh snow, loverly foggy views and crispy, cold, frigid temps!

I was out and about doing the usual feeding chores for our dogs, cats and horse’s morning breakfast buffet, while loving on each one of them:) It’s really not a chore, more of a love fest for all my animal kids:)

As I went out the garage door first, feeding our doggies was top on my list….Ms. Kiah got to eat her breakfast in the garage as she has so much energy she has no fat so she needs lots of calories to keep her weight on. Ms. Tuck and Mr. Dasher Masher both have to watch their figures…so they eat outside.

Ok guys I’m a coming…hang tight…love you Ms. Mel and Mr. Buck:)

But first I have to go through the hubbies massive shop and into the century old barn that I love…

Then upstairs to check on Pat and Jack, our monster orange Lion Cats….and to get Annie’s hay for her breakfast…

“Did someone say hay?”

Annie’s horse condo…auto water set up….and hay feeder….cushy rubber mats….nice lights to see and safe…I need more sawdust on the next trip to town….she likes her stall and so does Pat the cat sitting behind the trough…and often Melody stays in the stall across from Annie. You can’t see it but we have a hay chute that feeds her hay from upstairs into her feeder….nice and clean.

My winter round corral….resting and waiting.

Annie is waiting too:)

And, I’m sure she can hardly wait!

Coming back through “Wild Bill’s” shop…this is one of our latest projects…very cool huh? Every time I see this pick up I hear “ZZ Top” playing “Sharp Dressed Man.”

Tuck is waiting patiently for me to come out of the shop…

So is Ms. Melody. She really likes her food…she enjoys every morsel:)

And Buckaroo Buck looks rather dapper this morning…I’m hurrying guys…trying to not fall on my hind end as it is super slippery today!

“Ahhhhh…finally…munch munch munch…I love my yummy nummies”. “Life is good again!” “Wait, Mom, put that camera down…don’t take my picture when I am eating….geez…Buck will think I am being a piggy or something!!!”

It is dang cold and dang foggy too…the fog can get on your nerves if it hangs for several days and every once in a while that happens as the fog drifts up Juniper Canyon from The Columbia River which is about 20 miles or less from us.

“Wild Bill I hope you have the coffee on and ready….Good Morning Sunshine:)”

Last Sunday in a freak accident, we lost our beloved Kiah. She ran to greet me when I was across the road yet feeding horses and she did not see the slow-moving vehicle in the fog. I will share more of her wonderful photos and life in a post soon…right now I have too many tears. She was so gallant, so brave and so loved.

“I miss you Ms. Kiah…I will carry you forever in my heart. I will like you forever and love you for always. God Bless You My Kiah…My Yippee Ki Yi Yay.”

Hot Rod Cowgirl

Split Seconds Between Life And Death…

Winters Lock…Writers Block…Winter Mocks…Writers Rock!

Seasons Of Weather On The Land And Spring Fun!

“Blog Of The Year 2012” Award Times Six!

What Gives Writers And Artists Their Fire?

Blessings That Fill Your Heart With Gratitude

Ranch Lessons 102…Mud…Cows…Pooey!

Surviving Storms Of Winter As Life Flows On.

Kiah Sweet Kiah, Yippee Ki Yi Yay…God Bless You And Keep You Always!

Morning Chores On The Juniper T With Fresh Snow And Artic Cold!

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