The Mighty Columbia River Gorge Of Oregon…Round Two!

23 Jul 2012 18 Comments

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Hot Rod Cowgirl, Photography, Ranch Life, Weather, Wild Bill Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

As  side note…if you click on my photos they will enlarge so you can see them better if you choose.

Last weekend we attended our niece’s wedding in the small town of Carson, WA.

This was our view out the window in our very classy hotel room…we loved seeing the green trees and the mountains cloaked with weather…and hey…there is the Columbia River!

We stayed at Skamania Lodge…in Stevenson, WA. I highly recommend it…they have spa services and excellent restaurants for small snacks, as well as nice dinners or maybe just a relaxing sandwich at noon…we missed out on their Sunday Brunch which is famous for the food and atmosphere…next time WB. They offer a golf course, swimming and lots of great trails to hike that are mapped out from easy to difficult.

When we walked into our suite and saw the view…we instantly relaxed:)

Looking back across the Columbia River towards Cascade Locks, OR. The bridge you see is called “The Bridge Of The Gods”…it is one of the many bridges that crosses the Columbia River into either Oregon or Washington.

Looking East towards home for us…the Columbia River is a river that you respect as it is wide, deep and fast-moving. We have boated on it lots as our ranch is only about 30 miles from it…being able to make a quick drive to the river during the hot summers always appeals to you…I love boating, as long as the boat is big enough to ride out the waves with a V-Hull!

It was truly beautiful to see our niece look so very happy…you know without a doubt they are soul mates…like WB and me:)

Before we knew it, time passed quickly and it was time to head home. We decided to travel home on the Washington side of the river until The Dalles, where we crossed another bridge to reach the I-84 freeway…seeing the river from both sides is worth it, as the views on each side are vastly different.

We had quite a bit of wind on the way home and look who is out on the river…the windsurfers…they pray for windy days like this!

They fly across the river with the wind…they are true athletes and fun to watch…often we see 100’s of them on our trips down the Gorge to Portland.

I am enjoying the view but, I would not care to be on the water with the white caps…as you can see the wind is blowing pretty good…and about perfect for the windsurfers!

I was standing down there on the concrete deck when WB took my picture.

Looking West…pretty view huh?

One more view of the Gorge Wind and my flaming red hair!!! What a great hair styling job…ala natural…which I love anyway:)

Another stop for photos…we are getting closer to The Dalles and home…

The closer we travel to our neck of the woods…the Columbia Basin of Eastern Oregon…Cowboy Country…Let Er’ Buck…Yee-Haw…the less trees and green. Western Oregon receives several inches of rain a year, where we usually have around 9-10″ a year…we are on the dry side of Oregon.

Crossing back over the Columbia at The Dalles Damn…tried to grab a quick shot of the spillway…could not talk WB into stopping in the middle of the bridge so I could take pictures…geesh…he said something about cops and mumble mumble…hmmm?

And then we drove on another 100 miles into Eastern Oregon…to our home…to the North Country of Juniper Canyon…into wheat country:)

As far as you can see wheat fields…that are almost ready for the harvest of 2012!

Once we were home we had lots of petting and loves for all our animals, as they missed us…our dogs are so protective of us but so sweet to us too:)

And our horses came over to see us as soon as we pulled in the driveway…it is funny that they know the car…

And the real “Boss!” I know she missed us….right?

“Minnie….I missed you!”

Minnie said back to me “Oh sure…what am I chopped liver? Going to see the dogs first…hurumph!”

And then she took pity on me as I love her very much…”Well ok…just this once I will forgive you about the dang dogs!”

“But do not let it happen again Mom…”

“Ok already Mom….I am so glad you are home:)”  Me too Kitty Girl…my Min-Min Kitty Angel:)

We had only been home for a short time when the incredible clouds rolled in for a rock and roll thunder storm…

The summer of 2012 has gone down in history with different weather and clouds such as these…

Reminds me of Wyoming weather and not Eastern Oregon where for the most part we have mild weather…with four seasons.

It keeps it interesting and keeps me grabbing my camera trying to capture the strange weather…how about you…is your weather odd this year too or is it just here that it is a bit crazy?

Hope you have a great week! Enjoy your summer with warm days and magical nights! Find time to relax and take it all in as summer will be gone before we know it!

My New Favorite Day!

17 Jul 2012 23 Comments

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Hot Rod Cowgirl, Life, Lifestyles, Photography, Wild Bill Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Good Morning To My New Favorite Day!

Grab your coffee and read on:)

I recently had a chance to meet Shannon Pruitt, of My New Favorite Day…here is a link to her blog http://mynewfavoriteday.com/.

Shannon is an incredible wife, mom, daughter and friend….she brings good into life with a beautiful attitude and she is one awesome lady! She lives in CA. with her husband and their children. Here is Shannon’s introduction of herself from her blog.

“My name is Shannon Pruitt and I am a childhood surviving, divorced, now happily married, IVF success story, working mother of 2 amazing babies who were born 12 weeks premature. While my children are now 2 years old, my son, Q, has thrived while our daughter, E, has had a much more difficult journey.  She is considered special needs with a tentative diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy, and so as she grows, so do we as individuals and as family. How to help her, how to celebrate our differences while allowing ourselves to cope with the challenges that we never knew to expect.  So while much of this blog is based on our experiences (good and not-so-good), it is also based on how we must not let ourselves become victims of our circumstances but rather advocate in our own lives.”

“After being in a bit of a self-imposed emotional isolation for about 18 months, 6 months ago an ordinary moment in our living room became extra-ordinary and I thought perhaps sharing these stories of hope and inspiration can help and motivate others going through similar circumstances.  So that night, with my nerves on fire, I created my first post for ‘mynewfavoriteday,’ and what I found out from so many of you was that these emotions and feelings were not unique to us or our circumstances, but rather permeated all of your personal experiences through your relationships and situations with parents, conception, siblings, IVF, prematurity, parenting, children, special needs, terminal illness, and everyday stress.  It became very clear that we are all united by common emotions of love, fear, hope, faith, sadness, happiness, strength, and joy and most importantly, we are all doing the best we can, how we can.  We all need one another and if we can remember to find the little nuggets of inspiration and motivation we can try to make each day ‘ournewfavoriteday’.”

A very good friend of mine who lives in Central Oregon sent me a link to Shannon’s blog site last winter as she knew Shannon’s best ever friend who lived down the street from her. I clicked on the link and the friendship with Shannon began developing that night. She grew up in Ashland , Oregon and has been to my neck of the woods in Eastern Oregon…and has attended the Pendleton Round Up.

I felt a connection to Shannon immediately as we share a lot in common with life and an artists heart.

So today July 17th Shannon interviewed me on her blog and if you go to her web/blog site you can see the interview:)

http://mynewfavoriteday.com

I am humbled that she wanted to interview me…my life is truly just like yours with both good and bad times…we just keep a going and find something each day to be thankful for and grateful for…then we look for a really good belly laugh to get some of those feel good cells moving:)

And there you have a pearl of wisdom from Hot Rod Cowgirl…and Melody:)

Shannon calls her blog “My New Favorite Day”, as it is her choice each day to find something amazing in her life that day and that one day becomes her new favorite day!

What an awesome way to look at each day as we roll out of bed…no matter if we have something fun to wake to or something hard to wake to, each day “CAN” be our new favorite day if we want it to…

We just have to make that one choice and decision…

At times with serious determination…we can choose to be upset or we can smile even when life seems to hit us hard…there is always a way to find hope…the choice is ours…

To either let it ruin your day or your life or choose instead to carry on and find a way to survive it with grace and a can do attitude with heart.

We can survive the whatever it is with the belief that things will get better and life will go on…and we can survive with strength and joy.

Hot Rod Cowgirl and her dogs choose to find a good belly laugh each day:)

Along with my horses…

And Minnie too:)

And my hubby Wild Bill:)

Be sure to check out My New Favorite Day at http://mynewfavoriteday.com

Ok this 4:00 am stuff is not bad usually but I have been up for 24 hours…I gotta go take a nap…yawn…we have had terrible lightning storms nightly and various other things like wind, hail, more thunder and last night was four hours solid of every kind of lightning there is over the top of our house from 10:00 pm-2:30 am…kind of scary when you think about it.

We have an abundance of dry fuel with dried out cheat grass and mustard…the right combination for a raging fire…and an 80 plus bushel wheat crop waiting to be harvested…which was postponed again due to heavy rain and flooding last night…pins and needles for the farmers around us as well as for us too.

Our small town is under water tonight…this was early yesterday morning…once the water recedes then the clean up of mud begins…it has been a long week here…and harvest is on hold. This is a place where we have a choice of giving into the negative or we can choose to have a brand new day become our favorite day…I am gonna choose a brand new day:) How bout you?

Harvest Traditions and Family Heritage In Juniper Canyon

08 Jul 2012 77 Comments

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Hot Rod Cowgirl, Landscapes, Lifestyles, Photography Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The smell of the wheat is in the air tonight…that smell speaks to my heart and soul:) It is a smell you never forget…much like a cattle truck pulling up to the barn or corrals to load out cattle or deliver cattle…I can hear the trucks as I write…familiar sounds…smells…memories that bring comfort as…

Times past speak softly to me of heritage and family…traditions and hard work.

My heart can hear the sounds of my families history…the sounds of the horses pulling the combine…with the men it took to run it…dry dusty hot days for man and animal alike.

Before the farmer had a truck to haul the wheat into the elevator he had men who would sew the sacks of wheat shut…can you imagine harvesting thousands of acres and having to put the kernels into gunny sacks and then sew them shut…then you loaded your wagon and went to the elevator to unload the sacks of wheat…often driving your team of horses with the wagon several miles to reach the elevator.

My Dad remembered having to take the wagon loaded with sacks of wheat to Vansycle Elevator which is 8 miles away…16 miles round trip…he said it would take the day to take one wagon and the horses or mules would be exhausted when you reached home…all of Grandpa’s horses and mules were very well cared for and loved…they had to do their job but they were cared for. Dad used to come here to the barn (our barn is older than our house) and ride some of the work horses bareback…he spoke often of the various ones he remembered…Grandpa kept around 80 head.

Today we have semi trucks with double trailers hauling wheat out of Juniper Canyon…night and day.

Heading on down the road to the Columbia River…

Where the kernels of Juniper Wheat are loaded onto a barge…and they begin the journey to feed the world:)

Self leveling combines…hillside machines…can you see how the combine is leaning a bit…it is leveling itself.

This photo is better so that you can see how the combine keeps itself level rather than leaning…I heard that most farmers do not buy the combines with the automatic levelers anymore due to the price…

Wild Bill is showing how the leveler works as he is touching the spout. I could not imagine not having the machine level as we have some really steep hillsides!

Here is an older picture of the land when we farmed it…sorry this is a scanned image before digital…the house complex is our home and the green fields are the wheat crop of that year…see the road over in the dirt?

That is WB’s air strip for his plane…looks cool sitting in the wheat…actually it is on the strip.

Tucker is hiding in the grass…she follows me everywhere keeping an eye on me:)

Soon farm families will once again put in long days to bring the wheat crop in…as has been done for over a 150 years.

150 years of country strong…we dig deep when it comes to toughing it out.

And if the going gets tough…the tough get tougher:)

No matter how hard!

Harvest is a time of hard-working families working together for the same reason…the goal to get the crop in…harvest is like gathering cattle with my Dad in the mountains…we shared our work effort together to round-up the cows and that is what makes memories and heritage!

It is the working together and sacrificing…and harvest time is a sacrifice…husbands leave the house before sun up and come home when it is dark…often putting in 18 plus hour days in the heat of harvest.

I grew up driving wheat truck through my high school years with my other cousins…then after WB and I married, my Mom taught me (no this picture is not of Mom and me…more like my Grandma and Great Grandmother) the tradition of cooking a large lunch for our men and the crew. While it was a lot of work to cook a huge meal by 1:00 each day it was my family…I came to enjoy hearing about what had happened in the field and then all the joking and funny times too…I felt very much part of the harvest crew and was always sad when they finished the fields around our ranch moving on to the fields around my Aunt and Uncles homes.

Food was in abundance when the crew came in for their hour lunch break…we had home cooked meals with meat, potatoes, gravy, salad, vegetables and desert…and home made ice tea…no not sun tea or tea made by a tea maker…real deal tea!

Here is the recipe:

Get a small sauce pan and fill with cold water…buy Lipton Black Tea…loose leaves….put 2-3 heaping tablespoons in the pan and boil…then cool it and strain out the leaves…dump the tea water into a gallon jug and fill with ice-cold water and ice and you have real ice tea…all the good caffeine and antioxidents…and so refreshing!

Harvest skies and harvest heritage…have a good night wherever you are! HRC has her eye on the land…will post new pictures as soon as harvest begins….stay tuned…I keep hearing the song Country Strong going through my head…in fact I am going to go listen to it now!

Country Strong

I know you see me, like some wide-eyed dreamer
That just rolled in, off a dusty Midwest bus
Yeah on the outside, Hallowed fragile
But on the inside something you can’t crush

I’m Country Strong, hard to break
Like the ground, I grew upon
You may fool me, and I’ll fall 
But I won’t stay down long 
‘cause I’m Country Strong

I have weathered, colder winters
And longer summers, without a drop of rain 
Push me in a corner and I’ll come out fightin’
I may lose but I’ll always keep my face

‘Cause I’m Country Strong, hard to break
Like the ground, I grew upon,
You may fool me, and I’ll fall 
But I won’t stay down long, 
‘cause I’m Country Strong

America The Beautiful!

03 Jul 2012 25 Comments

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Hot Rod Cowgirl, Landscapes, Lifestyles, Photography Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

America The Beautiful

By Hot Rod Cowgirl July 4, 2011
I am re-blogging this post from a year ago off of http://www.holtonsecretlab.com
Happy 4th Of July America!

Sing With Me…America The Beautiful

O Beautiful For Spacious Skies

For Amber Waves Of Grain

For Purple Mountain Majesties

Above The Fruited Plain

America America!

God Shed His Grace On Thee

And Crown Thy Good With Brotherhood

From Sea To Shining Sea

God Bless America

Hot Rod Cowgirl Wishes You A Happy 4th Of July

So Does Annie

And Kiah Too

We Pledge Allegiance To The Flag Of The United States Of America And To The Republic For Which It Stands…One Nation Under God, Indivisible With Liberty And Justice for All.

God Bless America!

The Mighty Columbia River Gorge Of Oregon!

03 Jul 2012 26 Comments

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

Today I thought for fun I would do a post about the Columbia River Gorge of Oregon. If you ever get the chance to drive through the Gorge I highly recommend it!

Whenever we make a trip to Portland, Oregon we travel down the I-84 freeway, which runs along side the Columbia River most of the 200 miles to Portland.

The Gorge has some of the most scenic and beautiful views you will ever see…

And it can be hell on earth if the weather hits it just right in the winter with ice or snow or both.

The Gorge has its own weather systems during the fall and winter….

And when it feels like being nice it can be beautiful!

The West end of the Columbia River Gorge has several water falls…this is Multnomah Falls… a 611-foot-tall roaring, awe-inspiring cascade of icy water, lets you experience the power and beauty of nature up close.

Looking down from Crown Point…on the old highway, before the freeway….you find amazing views.

This is Vista House on Crown Point…it is worth it to travel the old road…stopping in at Vista House to learn more about the history etc.

The mountains and the ever flowing Columbia River that flows along side of the freeway make your trip interesting…never boring…I have traveled the 200 miles to and from Portland all my life at least twice a year to shop…

And I have never grown tired of the incredible river view.

The Columbia River Gorge is a spectacular river canyon cutting the only sea-level route through the Cascade Mountain Range. It’s 80 miles long and up to 4,000 feet deep with the north canyon walls in Washington State and the south canyon walls in Oregon State.

Coming home from Portland traveling back East you experience the beauty of the water falls and trees until you hit The Dalles.

This photo shows the dramatic difference in the environment. Each mile east you travel in the Columbia River Gorge, you find less and less annual rainfall.  You can see the spring green hillsides I’m standing on, Interstate 84 heading off towards Idaho, on the southern side of the gorge, and the arid hills in the more easterly portion of the gorge.

It changes quickly…all of a sudden…you are without trees and moss…as you travel home to Eastern Oregon…the dry side of Oregon.

Becoming more barren…yet still pretty:)

The Columbia River is a huge river that  is wide and deep. Looking across the Columbia to the Washington side….getting closer to home….

On down the freeway we go…we are on the home stretch now!

Heading down the last hill into Pendleton…

Welcome to Eastern Oregon!

Can you see the mountain in the sunset? You will have to click the picture and enlarge it to see the mountain that is Mt. Hood which is close to Portland, 200 miles away…I took this photo last fall on top of the hill behind our house.

Looking towards the Blue Mountains. We still have the wild west going on in Eastern Oregon…drier, isolated country and down home country folk!

Spooky And Stupendously Spectacular!!!

25 Jun 2012 61 Comments

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

Wild Bill and I decided last Saturday that we need to get more of our outside projects done…I would mow yards and deal with weeds etc. while he uses the trencher to dig a trench for the new pipe for the new well…as you can see in the picture below it is quite a process.

We have 2000′ feet of new pipe to install for the house, shop, barn, irrigation etc…it is a huge job with trenching, running the backhoe as needed, and laying the new pipe and fittings etc.!

As I was finishing up the mowing I looked up on top of the hill behind our house and saw these ominous black clouds drifting in overhead.

There was no doubt that a storm was imminent…I got WB’s attention and pointed towards them…then I ran into the house to grab my camera!

Why is it that when I see clouds like this that I think of ET or Jabba The Hut???

I couldn’t seem to fit the incredible clouds into my lens…the cloud cover was massive and I knew I had a short window of time to capture the magnitude of the storm…I needed to get as far back as I could!

Finally I ran hard down into the pasture across the road and I captured this photo…you can see how the clouds were transforming the blue sky into night…at 2:00 in the afternoon!

Ok Toto this is not looking good…HRCG get your buns back to the house!

The storm slowed to a stand still overhead…something was going to happen as I could feel the temps dropping from warm to cold…which was an odd feeling.

I ran back to the front porch…whew…pant-pant…whew. Running is not my thing…walking fast is good or riding a horse!

I could feel a brisk breeze on my face as the air got colder and the dark clouds began to turn white.

And then the heavens opened and all hail broke loose!

Thankfully the hail began to turn to rain within a few minutes…heavy rain where you could almost not see through it like a fog…we actually got 1/4″ in 10 minutes!

By late afternoon we were back to life is good in Juniper Canyon…blue skies with the sun shining and birds singing…I could not help but break out into song:)

The hills are alive,
With the sound of music
With songs they have sung
For a thousand years

As the day slowly ended, God blessed us with one of His beautiful sunsets…I never grow tired of seeing all the incredible colors of nature and the world God created all around us:)

Buck says the day ended well:)

Minnie says…hmmmm…ok well kiss my stripes…why…no reason…remember I am the “Cat” and my goal is to keep you guessing:) I know Minnie Mouse and I loves you lots!

With that said…follow your heart…take along your forever friends and family…they will keep an eye out for you as they travel along with you…they are your heart and a blessing from God to your life:)

Wishing you a Sunny and Shinny Day:) Happy Monday wherever you are!

One Lovely Blog Award Times Three!

21 Jun 2012 58 Comments

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Award, Hot Rod Cowgirl, One Lovely Blog Award Tags: ,

I love receiving awards as I also get to nominate other fellow blogs as well:)

Cat Protectress and her amazingly awesome cat, Slash gave me my first nomination at http://catpurrology.com/2012/06/09/a-humble-thanks-plus-30-nominations/ . If you have not checked out this blog I recommend that you do it today as Cat Protectress and Slash rock!!! Protectress loves her Slash and loves all cats…her goal is to be sure that all cats are well cared for and loved. I truly understand how she feels as my kitty Minnie is my heart…I protect her and love her and try to make everyday special for her. I too love cats:) Be sure to visit their site:)

Congratulations to both Cat Protectress and Slash for your nomination for this award:)

http://catpurrology.com/ …Where Cats Rock!

Thank you so much Cat Protectress for this awesome award and thank you Kitty Angel Slash!

My second nomination came from http://randpphotoalbums.wordpress.com/2012/06/19/we-just-got-nominated/ …Renee’s and Pallas’s Photo blog is an awesome blog of life in New Zealand  and also her photography! I enjoy her blog very much as we have a son and daughter in law who moved to New Zealand last year…we have yet to visit them but with Renee’s blog I almost feel that I have been there:) Oh and the other part that is fun is they love horses too and of course that speaks to my heart too!  Be sure to visit their site:)

Congratulations to Renee and Pallas for your nomination for this award!!!!

http://randpphotoalbums.wordpress.com/

Thank you so much for nominating me too!!!

And then I was nominated by http://teepee12.wordpress.com/2012/06/20/lovely-blogger/ as they too were given this award! Congratulations Serendipity on winning this award as you too are very deserving of this award. Be sure to check out this blog if you haven’t already:)  Lots of great photos and video with a bit of everything…a very worthy blog!

Congratulations Serendipity for your nomination of the Lovely Blogger Award:)

http://teepee12.wordpress.com/

Thank you much for nominating my blog for the Lovely Blogger Award too:)

These are the rules for receiving this award:

1.)  Thank the person who nominated you and link back to them in your post.

2.)  Share 7 things about yourself.

3.)  Nominate 15 or so bloggers you admire.

4.)  Contact your chosen bloggers to let them know.

Seven Things About Me:

1.) I have refinished just about all our furniture in the house. I love wood!

2.) I’m a homebody….do not like going to town….home is where the heart is:)

3.) I can be cowgirl rough and tough but I have a very soft heart and care deeply.

4.) I give God glory for my life and for my hubby…my animals and our home.

5.) I had long hair all my life until I found out that my Mom did not have long to live the week we lost my Dad. I did not tell anyone that I was going to do it…I just did it. From waist length to shockingly short hair.

6.) I have long hair again thank goodness!

7.) On a summer night I love to be on top of the rolling hills around here on my horse…you can see Mt. Hood, 200 miles away, with the sun setting behind it. You can smell the wheat and also the quiet of the land as the day is done. Riding horse back out here during the summer is magical in the early evening…and you can ride forever!

My Nominations Are:

1.) http://isobelandcat.wordpress.com/

2.) http://www.michellealzola.com/

3.) http://godguidesme.com/

4.) http://wendyellenthomas.com/

5.) http://triciabookerphotography.com/

6.) http://bentehaarstad.wordpress.com/

7.) http://creativenoshing.wordpress.com/

8.) http://morningbrayfarm.com/

9.) http://tracielouisephotography.net/blog/

10.) http://theviewouthere.wordpress.com/

11.) http://sugardishme.com/

12.) http://megtraveling.com/

13.) http://momentsclicked.wordpress.com/

14.) http://naturepicsblog.com/

15.) http://iphonephotog.wordpress.com/

I have a few more to add cuz I was nominated three times:)

16.) http://seeingspotsphoto.wordpress.com/

17.) http://sarahtakespictures.com/

18.) http://onespoiledcat.wordpress.com/

19.) http://travellingartist.wordpress.com/

20.) http://throughmylens365.wordpress.com/

Receiving an award always lightens your day and puts a smile on your face:) I hope all the above bloggers enjoy this wonderful lovely award!

Thank you Cat Protectress and Slash! Go see what they are up to at http://catpurrology.com/ you will enjoy this blog…where cats rock:)

Thank you Renee and Pallas for thinking of me and for the blessing of this lovely award:) Ok now head over to http://randpphotoalbums.wordpress.com/  and check out photos from New Zealand!

Thank you Serendipity for choosing me for this:) Stop in to say Hi to Serendipity at http://teepee12.wordpress.com/ you will find a fun blog filled with photography, video clips and great writing…hurry over and enjoy:)

Thank you thank you:) I feel lovely and blessed…humbled and honored:)

Look what I grew in my hostas…it’s a cute yet grumpy Tucker…she does not like having her picture taken!!! “Ok Mom…quit taking my picture…my hair is a mess and it will make my butt look big!”

Have A Lovely Super-Duper Thursday!!!

Happy Father’s Day Dad!

17 Jun 2012 58 Comments

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Cattle Ranch, Family, Juniper T Ranch, Ranch History, Ranch Life Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

I am a bit late with posting this but seems life right now is a bit fast and crazier than I want…today is a very special day of honoring our Dad’s.

This is my Dad…he was an amazing man…he lived with a left stiff leg from a football injury during his senior year in high school. Yet not once did he ever complain or make excuses for his life. Instead he fought to live a normal life and he did. I saw it and was witness to it…Dad was the real deal when it came to being a cowboy and a great Dad!

Dad with his horse Jingle across the road from the house in the 1940’s.

Dad roping in the 1950’s…

Dad in the 1970’s running one of the biggest cattle ranches in the state of Oregon. One of the very last cattle ranches in the state to drive their cattle down from the mountains in the late fall to the winter pasture. It was a 90 mile cattle drive with 800 head of mamma cows.

Newspaper Article On The Juniper T

Yearly Fall Cattle Drive

Cows headed home…we drove the cattle every fall for almost 30 years and by the time we did it the last year…it was a piece of cake. They knew where they were going…home.

Dad looking weary on the drive about half way through. This is my Dad…his horse Bucky…his dog Blue. He was pretty much John Wayne to me and Mom and kinda scary to Wild Bill:)

Oh come on WB Dad does not look scary here!!!

 “WB are you gonna marry my daughter?”

“Yes sir….I am!”

“She is our little girl…and our only child…so I am watching you!”

“Don’t worry Dad…I am good with WB.”

I have so many good memories of growing up riding with Dad and working cows…but some of the best ones are when Dad took me fishing or when he taught me how to drive a four speed Scout up in the mountains…he was the solid comfort in Mom’s and my life…and he always kept a going.

Dad, you gave me the gift of life and horses:)

Happy Father’s Day…I learned everything I could from you about life and living and I miss you and Mom so very much.

I thank God for giving me a cowboy Dad like you!

Hotrod Cowgirl headed on down the road with horse power and horsepower:) Over and out…see ya on down the dusty trail!

Whoa…Slow Down…Summer Times A Flying!

13 Jun 2012 35 Comments

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Clouds, Farm House, Hot Rod Cowgirl, Minnie, Photography Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I know I know I need to do a post about life here instead of awards….I am sorry to be so dang slow!!!

We have been busy busy with the house remodeling job and doing all the various summer chores….

Wild Bill was taking a picture of me mowing the yard…a country yard is sort of dirty work…out here we do not have manicured yards as we have various visitors such as gophers or critters that dig holes and then when you are innocently mowing the yard you accidentally hit a dirt mound and poof:)

It seems the days fly by and here it is almost half way through June!!!

Yikes I want summer to slow down and stay for as long as possible with warm sunny days:)

With this post I would like to show you how the old house has changed over the years. This is a picture of my parents right before they got married in 1939…when they returned from their honeymoon, Grandpa moved them into the house here in Juniper Canyon…where we still live today.

The house has changed the last 100 years, but it started out like this in 1920…with a full basement and the upstairs. It was a typical white clapboard farm house…built really good as it is very solid. When they poured the concrete for the basement they poured it deep…and the wood they used for the structure was solid good stuff as Grandpa spared no expense as he wanted the best for his Mother. This picture would have been in the 1950’s…about 35 years after the house was built. I think that is my Dad on the tractor on the left, he is moving dirt in prepping the site for the concrete patio…and I think that is one of my uncles off to the right.

Fast forward to 2007…the patio runs the whole side of the house wrapping around to the front porch. The yellow siding was added to the house by my parents in the 1970’s…the windows were changed out in the 1950’s the first time and eventually replaced with storm windows. In 1980 we moved into the house as  Mom was tired of the stairs…she wanted a one level newer house. I was delighted as I loved growing up in the house…it was home to me. Over the years Wild Bill and I have done various remodels and upkeep to the house.

This year it was time for some major upkeep remodeling with a new roof, new siding, a floor upstairs and revamping our master bedroom and re-doing the concrete patio…along with a new well and all new water pipe to the house etc. This was about a month ago…we have the new roof on and the old siding off.

We added blow in insulation to the outside walls and roof…and then they wrapped the house with insulation…so we have double insulation now and I can tell the difference already!

We chose a Hardie Plank Red Cedar siding as it matches our log fence and also the cedar bat and board shop. I love how it came out!!!  The garage doors need to be painted yet…and we still have to re-do the patio.

Oh my the patio…I roller skated on this patio…had lots of birthdays on it…swam in my swimming pools over the years on it and have loved it…still do today as we live out there during the summer. Our contractor feels they have to tear out the concrete on the side of the house and re-pour it….it has aged a lot the last ten years and it is time to address that too. Ok Minnie…you and me need to head to the high country as this will be very noisy!

Ms. Melody is not impressed either…she is down at the barn…good water and nice stall but….she wants her old stall back right outside my window at the house…when we drilled for water it was in her old stall so I had no choice but to move her to the barn for a while….its ok Mel…we love you lots and we are setting up new stalls for you, Buck and Annie close to the house:)

Me and Mel when she was three a few years ago…first night she spent here after I brought her home. She is a very social horse:)

I will update photos over the next few days to show you what we have done inside the house too:) This is the new floor upstairs…it is Acacia Wood and I love it!

And Ms. Minnie Mouse says “Remodeling stinks…why Mom does this I do not know…of course I am the cat…and I know where it is at…my name is Minnie Mouse and I am the Queenie of the House…Humph!”

We have had several beautiful sunsets….with intense and incredible colors!

Lots of weird but beautiful clouds…

Funky ones of every kind:)

And then there was this big boy…it seemed like it was sitting on us…it was just beginning to rain a bit when I got this picture.

But then it did this and the day ended beautifully once again here in Juniper Canyon…ahhhh.

Minnie had a good day too as she had a nice sun bath before it rained…whew:)

Have a good night wherever you are:) Minnie says “Bye for now:)”

Blog On Fire Award

11 Jun 2012 14 Comments

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Award, Hot Rod Cowgirl Tags: , , , ,

I was nominated for “The Blog On Fire” award from http://humbledpie.wordpress.com/….I am humbled and honored that my blog is worthy of this award:)

I am to nominate 8 bloggers and include 8 unusual thing about myself…hmmm…???

So here we go with the 8 things about me that you do not know.

1. Because I grew up here in a very isolated area I get extremely nervous when I have to travel to large towns such as Portland, Oregon….sweaty palms and severe twitching along with nervous break downs in the traffic and finding directions when I get lost…traffic and big cities…huge ugh!

2. My Dad was President of the Pendleton Round Up when I was 10 years old. I grew up with the Pendleton Round-Up Rodeo. Dad was inducted into the Round Up Hall Of Fame in 1990….he was called “The Cowboy President”.

3. My Maternal Grandfather was an Oregon State Representative in the Oregon Legislator .

4. I believe “Ya gotta keep a going…no matter what…in all circumstances of life.”

5. I was stepped on by my Dad’s horses when I was 2 years old. The babysitter left me at our barn so I climbed into the corral with about 8 horses as I wanted to pet them etc. When Dad heard I was alone with the horses he rushed to the corral and found me lying face down…he picked me up and slapped my back…I spit out horse manure and was able to breathe again. I had a broken shoulder and a hoof print on my chest…my shoulder healed up fine but every once in a while it throws fits. One would think I would not want anything to do with horses after this incident but I did and do. They are part of me…I love my horses:) The physical hoof print mark on my chest that day went away but I still have hoof prints on my heart.

6. I played the flute in high school and also the piano by ear.

7. I love summer nights here…the sound of our nightly crickets in the small creek…the smell of wheat drying out for harvest…beautiful sunsets and sunrises…ahhh:)

8. I love Black Angus cows as that is what my Dad raised…we had 800 mama cows…and 100 plus bulls…and every summer was an adventure:) I miss those incredible days of a cowgirls life:)

Okay here are my eight nominations:

1. http://bentehaarstad.wordpress.com/

2. http://skedazzles.com/

3. http://catpurrology.com/

4. http://ilikephotoblog.wordpress.com/

5. http://naturepicsblog.com/

6. http://scottbourne.com/

7. http://briangaynorphotography.com/

8. http://lifeintheblueridges.wordpress.com/

I hope this award blesses all of the above bloggers…we are a community…and it is good stuff…thank you all for being my friend and also for the amazing work you all do:) Thank you again to

http://humbledpie.wordpress.com/2012/06/04/musings-from-the-darkroom-blog-recognition/

Be sure to check out all of the above blogs and meet some incredible artists:)

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