The Last Breath

Of a warm summers night in Juniper Canyon…oh how I love this time of year here!

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Its heaven on earth to this cowgirl…the sounds of various birds and critters…in the distance I can hear neighbors yet harvesting…and the magical light is soooo pretty!

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I’m outside every summer evening and then some to not miss anything! WB likes to watch TV so he does that to relax but for me it’s being outside as much as I can! I love it!

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We just got home from a trip to Portland, 550 miles round trip, whew!

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As soon as we got home I took off the city clothes and put on the country girl clothes that I will forever be me in…

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I do love getting dressed up for special times and things but its hard to take the country cowgirl out of me for very long before I need my jeans or crops this time of year, a simple tee-shirt and of course one of my various cowgirl belts…and I’m home:)

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Once I made the change it was Ellie’s turn to play, she usually goes with us but today was going to be a long drive for her as in boring…

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I watered my many flowers and also watered my water dog…Ellie loves loves loves water! So we be playing…she is such a good good girl:)

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And for reasons unknown Pat the Cat, (he’s the orange one), one of our “Lion” barn cats likes to hang out with Ellie, so he comes up from the barn to visit and he also brought his companion, our other Ellie, named Ellie as she was found in an elevator as a kitten someone abandoned, am so glad that she is ok and doing well! We have Ellie the Cat and Ellie the Dog:)

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Sun has set and its getting dark…Stone Coyotes singing on my iPod…love them! I have many fav’s from Outlaw Country on XM radio…love that station!

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Same ol’ blah blah me here tonight…I hope you are all enjoying a wonderful summer evening…an having a perfecto memorable summer too! God night all:)

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And remember God has the night shift with all your worries…over and out from HRCG, brought to you live from Juniper Canyon on an incredible summer night!

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Yee-Haw!!!

Caterpillar Cat!

“Caterpillar Cat is Morris The Cat!”

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It was an early summer evening, close to magic time, when I captured this cute shot of Morris cruising our Caterpillar tractor!

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I knew I had to share! I took this shot with our old now, but new back then, AE-1 Cannon camera, around 1987.

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Morris was one cool cat kitty…who loved to explore everything with Cattitude!

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I hope everyone had a beautiful holiday season and a Merry Christmas!

Foggy Winter Days Descend On Juniper Canyon!

Foggy winter days descend on Juniper Canyon…ranging between gloomy gray days and more gloomy gray days!

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Between freezing fog, icy roads…cold temps and snow…winter has arrived in the North Country!

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This year I decided to fight the gloom instead of succumbing to the dreariness at hand. Thanksgiving week reminded me to make my yearly list of gratitude and blessings to share at dinner on turkey day.  The day after Thanksgiving, I thought why not keep my gratitude list going…remembering good stuff and good times while adding them to my “Christmas Cheer and Twinkle List.”

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 “And I’m making my list to see who was naughty or nice..and I’m checking it twice!” Ok I’m snickering and I hope you are too. It’s more fun to remember the silly times, the good times…and the heart of your memories that only you can share…I love it! Makes me laugh and cry at the same time while keeping a heart full of country cowgirl gratitude.

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I’m thankful for my life and the many blessings in my life…ten years on 2-9-2016…get your mammogram!

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My first blessing of gratitude is my hubby….I love “Wild Bill” and appreciate him everyday. I am blessed to be his and to call him my soul mate, husband and best friend:) He always makes me smile:)

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“I’m coming Melody…hang on”…as I am slip sliding down the hill to feed her breakfast. I love each of my horses forever, once they come to live with me, they are my forever horse…and I love my Melody. I am thankful for all my horses and having the privilege of riding horses all my life while growing up on a cattle ranch.

Dad and I Herding Cattle

I thought everyone had a cattle ranch as a kid…eventually, I came to realize how lucky and blessed I was to experience life on a remote cattle ranch. Without radio, television or any kind of civilization, ranch life taught me a lot of life skills of survival. You learn to think outside the box…when its you and often you alone…you learn how to problem solve as you have to figure it out.

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During the summer and fall months, I grabbed on to each day to ride for cows with my Dad…and almost everyday we did just that…25,000 mountainous acres and 800 head mama cows with babies and several head of bulls…kept us busy all summer and fall.

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Each day that I look out our windows, I love our log fence…yup it’s a keeper…its great for capturing interesting views year round! I love the look and it fits this old ranch house!

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I love my 60′ round corral with nice sand footing…and our barn cats give it a four paws up on their 60′ litter box!

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And then there is our “Tucker Watch Girl”…she can be very serious! She is such a blessing to us as she is always waiting for us and follows us where ever we go!

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Tucker is in the back of the Aussie pack and bashful…then Kiah as she is in front of Tucker…then Dasher who is in front of Kiah…and in the lead is Mr. Auzzie….all four of our dogs in this photo are rescue Aussies…we love them each individually and as a pack…they are amazing dogs, super smart and so loved:) By the way, Kiah is half-sister to Ellie, our sweet two year old girl!

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And then, there are horse’s soft noses:) Nothing like their breath mingling with yours…and their smell is truly heavenly…sounds silly unless you know this horse owner fact too that, cleaning a horse stall does not smell bad at all! Horses are blessings to the heart and soul…and they give me peace with lots of happy smiles. When I get on my horse, WB says I get this little girl smile on my face of pure joy:)

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And my Minnie Mouse…she was beautiful in heart and spirit…she knew when you were sad and she knew when it was time to celebrate…she was with me for almost 20 years. She crossed the rainbow bridge a bit over a year ago…it was incredibly hard. I am thankful for every year of her sweet life and for everyday that she was with me, she was my kitty girl and wherever I went she was with me. She was an incredible kitty girl…I was blessed beyond imagination:)

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Back to my round corral…I seriously love it! I appreciate the hard work WB and our cowboy son Curt put into building it for me. I will do a post on that someday soon!

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I am thankful for the blessing of Ellie…she makes me laugh every day and is full of love with lots of heart. She walked with me through sad times and grief when I lost Minnie…she was gentle and loving during our hard days. I’m sure Minnie asked God for a helper knowing how hard it would be for us when she crossed the rainbow bridge and Ellie Belle is my helper and so much more…she is my buddy, my joy and my heart:)

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The gloomy gray days of fog can only be gloomy, if we choose them to be. Instead I smile, bundle up in my Carhart’s grab my camera and head out to find something to photograph. Whether I am inside the house or outside, I seek to do things that make my heart sing! Inside the house I often crank up my tunes and dance…wood floors make it super fun too:)

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Smile…click click click…gotcha!

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We are blessed to call this spec of earth our home…especially with shots like this:)

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Being grateful is one of the best gifts we can give to ourselves…loving what we have instead of what we don’t have…if we can focus on the positive instead of the bad…the good more than the bad…we’ll find peace and smiles…

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Wishing you all a warm week and weekend ahead…we have snow, freezing rain, winds are blowing and its cold! I need some tea or eggnog to warm up:)

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It’s time to decorate the Christmas tree…Ho Ho Ho…HRCG Over And Out For Now…But Never For Long:)

A Day In The Life Of Hot Rod Cowgirl For Oregon Dayshoot 2013!

A day in the life of Hot Rod Cowgirl begins in the dark dawn of July 15th for the Oregon Dayshoot 2013! The Dayshoot first began 30 years ago in 1983 to depict life in Oregon on any given day of everyday life. It’s a way to record Oregon history and what our lives were like in 2013 compared to the first Oregon Dayshoot in 1983.

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It’s 4:30 in the morning on July 15th and I am excited to be a part of Dayshoot 2013! I’m ready with my camera…a nice clean card, along with a spare one and extra batteries too. And its time to begin as I step out to capture the sunrise…it was well worth it but I wish the stars had shown up in the photo too!

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Yard sprinklers were doing their thing…I lightened this photo up so you can see the drops of water! A fun time of day to be up and taking pictures of life in Juniper Canyon!

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Here comes the sun…I do truly love this time of day anymore…used to not be crazy about it but then I got into photography and I love the sunrise and the sunset…the two enchanted times of light and capturing images with hues of color that knock your socks off!

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Yard Bath or Showers! We have had the sprinklers only 1 year and I love them. It is so much easier to water the yard with a switch instead of dragging around hoses all over. WB said too he thinks all our gophers have left due to the water!!! Yeah!!!

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Finally daybreak…I am the only one up and I need coffee soon…it is now 5:30 in the morning! And its going to be a beautiful day! I love it as it is so quiet and speaks deep to my heart of God’s beauty all around us if we will look and observe.

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 Annie was up and wanting her hay breakfast…”Morning Mom, dayshoot or is it dayhoot-cares…I’m hungry and yeah yeah about taking pictures…just gimme my hay and I will pose for you later ok.”

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And here’s Pat and Jack putting in their two cents since Annie got to. “Well really Mom, you need to sit down here and pet us, rub and love us and feed us treats!” I miss Jack so much as he was beautiful inside and out!”

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“No way Mom….what are you doing outside at this time of day….get in here and I need treats too and lots of pets and kitty loves!” “And who cares about this dayhottenany or whatever it is called!” “Humph!”

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As the day slowly wore on, it was over a 100 degrees and too darn hot to be out very long. After lunch I figured I would go check out the shop…WB said to come down and grab some photos of the guys working for fun! So here I am in Wild Bill’s shop wondering if I can catch some sneaky action photos of the guys working on cool cars:) And I LOVE Corvette’s!

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Here’s Bryan working away but I think he is hiding…Hey Bryan…quit hiding and smile!

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Come on Clay, look up and smile at the camera…geez! Clay is working on a very cool 1935 Ford Pick Up…it is going to be very classy when it rolls out of the “Lab!”

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“Ahhh HA! I caught you Wild Bill! Smile for me and what are you doing now? Hmmm, well I am having trouble getting the guys to smile like they are having fun with all these super cool cars to work on!!! At least you will smile at me if I try to capture you working on one of the cars right?”

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Apparently not…and hmmmph…hey WB come on and look up!!!! He gets all obsessed over Corvettes too like I do! This is a 1976 Corvette…hey WB LOOK UP Dang It!

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I know maybe Nathan will look up and smile….by the way this is a 1958 Metro…cute huh? Nathan likes to draw and he drew the smiley face on the Metro and at least it is smiling, and looking at the camera!

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I know what they are saying….”Here she comes again, so look like we are discussing something very serious” “Ok Terry and WB come on and look at me you ding-dong guys!!!”

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And one last picture of Bryan working on a 1949 Chev. Pick Up…

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Guess I will head back outside to see what is going on….Hey heres Jagged, our 1928 Dodge Coupe! WB likes louvers can you tell?

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The landscape view in bright light of day! This is the view of the sunrise photos I was taking at dawn…looks way different huh?

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Typical scene outside the shop…lots of kooool custom cars in front of our old-fashioned service station!

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And the day is winding down…horses doing the nuzzle after their dinner

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Hey Dash what do you think? Hmmm…he not looking at my camera either….geesh!!!

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Enjoy the summer as soon…it will be gone…and big fat WAH! I LOVE nice warm 80 degree days and the sunshine! Have a wonderful weekend and peaceful night wherever you are and a Simply Sunshiny Sunday! Smile and…click click click!

Hot Rod Cowgirl Ropes In An Award!

Hot Rod Cowgirl ropes in an award!

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I am always so very humbled when fellow bloggers and readers, photographers and writers, present HRCG with an award. When I began doing my blog I had no idea that we would be given awards by our peers…the best part is that I also get to pass them on to other well deserving bloggers too!

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The Wonderful Team Member Readership Award Was Given To Me By

http://chasingtheperfectmoment.com/awards/

 Go check out Ginny’s wonderful life-giving blog…she writes with honesty and her true self as she seeks to encourage any who read her blog about life and memories. She loves to laugh and shares her life through her words and the different pieces of her life…and she hopes we will share our life pieces too:)

Telling our story, our history and life, can bring us a sense of peace down deep in our souls. Being a born writer at heart most of my life, I know the power of writing out our thoughts, our worries, and our memories. Writing our thoughts and worries down truly helps to empty out our concerns and emotions. There is something cleansing when we write our words and thoughts down on paper when we are struggling. Interestingly enough, when we do that, the struggle becomes less of a struggle and we find peace in our hearts instead of obsessively worrying. Writing out our worries helps make them less controlling of our thoughts. I know for me, once I get my worries  out on paper, I can get on with life and not dwell on them so much. I am more at peace with whatever it is that I am worrying about, and somehow the answer to solve the worry comes to me…now if I kept on fretting, I don’t think the answer would be clear to me. Writing is good and it is healing:)

To accept this award, I have to follow some rules and,

Here are the rules for this award:

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1.The Nominee of the Wonderful Team member Readership Award shall display the logo on his/her blog. 

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2.The Nominee shall nominate 14 readers they appreciate over a period of 7 days, all at once or little by little.

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Minnie is licking her lips in time for a treat!

3. The Nominee shall name his/her Wonderful Team Member Readership Award nominees on a post or on posts during 7 days.

Here are my nominees for

The Wonderful Team Member Readership Award!

1. http://witlessdatingafterfifty.wordpress.com/

      2.http://singleworkingmomswm.wordpress.com/

3. http://mythreemoggies.wordpress.com/

4. http://shakespearesgal.wordpress.com/

5. http://hopedog.wordpress.com/

6. http://emjayandthem.com/

7. http://visitstothepark.wordpress.com/

8. http://teepee12.com/

9. http://throughmylens365.wordpress.com/

10. http://onespoiledcat.wordpress.com/

11. http://passionforcats.wordpress.com/

12. http://philosophermouseofthehedge.wordpress.com/

13. http://godssceneryandpromises.wordpress.com/

14. http://catfromhell.wordpress.com/

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Annie was watching the sunset with me a few nights ago. We have been getting some of the smoke from Central Oregon’s fires and the sunsets, sunrises and last night even the moon have been spectacular.

Thank you again Ginny for this awesome award, I truly appreciate it:):):)

Be sure to check out Ginny’s blog Chasing The Perfect Moment, she has a wonderful way with words and sharing her heart, leaving you with something to ponder on and apply to your own life.

Here is the link to Ginny’s blog  http://chasingtheperfectmoment.com/

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Our on fire sunset last night…you can see the smoke cloud over us. I am hoping and praying the fires will be out soon and no loss of life.

Be sure to head over to Ginny’s blog at http://chasingtheperfectmoment.com/

I end this post today with remembering Jack…our barn kitty who was more than a cat, he was Jack The Attack Cat…and very much loved!

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God Bless You Jack The Cat….we will miss you and forever hold you in our hearts. You were our Mighty Hunter and Mighty Warrior…now you can run through the fields of heaven and play with all kinds of God’s glorious gifts.

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I know God is holding you tight, loving on you right now rubbing all your special places…we love you very much Jack and I know we will see you again our Kitty Angel.

May you all have a Terrific Tuesday Evening wherever you are:) HRCG over and out for now but not for long:)

Ranch Lessons 102…Mud…Cows…Pooey!

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!”

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 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!

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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:)

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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

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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!

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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:)

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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:)

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

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

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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.

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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.

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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

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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

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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!

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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:)

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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:)

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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:)

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

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.

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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!

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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:)

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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:)

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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.

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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:)

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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.

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“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!”

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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!

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“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.

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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.

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

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

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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.

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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.

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My Yippee Ki Yi Yay…

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

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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.

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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:)

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

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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.

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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.

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

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“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:)”

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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.

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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:)

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“What?”

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“Huh?”

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“Oh, yeah I totally agree Mom.”

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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.

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

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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!

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

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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:)

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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.

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

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

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

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“Did someone say hay?”

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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.

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My winter round corral….resting and waiting.

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Annie is waiting too:)

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And, I’m sure she can hardly wait!

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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.”

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

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

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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!

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“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!!!”

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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.

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

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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.

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“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.”

Our Barn Cats Pat And Jack…Are The Lions Of Our Barn And Hearts!

Our barn cats Pat and Jack…are the lions of our barn and of our hearts!

Bobtail Jack was born with a bobtail…while Pat came with a tail option…yet 100% brothers.  Fluffy golden balls of ferocious kit cat…rock solid under their fluffy hair as they work out to” Bob and Jillian’s” work out routine!

With top of the line cat condos upstairs in the barn and heated automatic waterers downstairs…a continuous supply of kitty food and love…this is premium first class ta-ta living kit cat style of the Rich and Famous Cats!

 Both NTO (No Tail Option) and TOI (Tail Option Included)  have managed to kill the mouse community in the huge old barn…thank goodness! I hate seeing something dark and moving quickly in a corner or under my feet…Eeewwwwwww…with a shriek on the end…Fanny Annie agrees.

Can you see the small cut out hole in the door frame on the right…WB cut kitty doors into the outside doors so they can come and go through the outside and the inside doors. No coyote or dog can venture into the barn unless they want to die and go to heaven.

Both cats used to get into fights with each other as they had not been altered yet and often it sounded like the barn was possessed!!! They would scream at each other and growl LOUDLY. It would be hysterically funny if you were outside talking to someone who did not know they were in the barn and the screaming escalated…the person talking to you would stop and look at the barn and ask you what is going on in there? WB and I would get a huge snicker out of that…we country folks is weird when it comes to playing jokes on each other or someone else:)

Jack is the shy one and the biggest one by a smidgen.

Pat is taking time to give me a kitty pose. They both have pretty green eyes…go ahead and make their day!

I leave you with “Mary Ann Kennedy’s” song “Barn Cats”…I love her music…true heart of the western spirit…look her up…I have all of her CD’s:)

“Barn Cats 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′ of sand…I’m a barn cat

Have a great Wednesday!

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