Crazy Wild West Weather Captures Hot Rod Cowgirl’s Eye!

07 Apr 2012 19 Comments

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

April blew in with fury and might arriving in Juniper Canyon with wild whacky weather…take a look:)

We woke to snow on two mornings…yikes and what???

I know I complained back in December for Ms. Madame Cold Winter to come visit us but…it is time sweetheart, for you to go away as Spectacular Suzi Spring is waiting patiently to do her thing. However, you keep rearing your cold winter head and it is a nasty head cold you are dealing with…ok here is my box of kleenex…you need NyQuil and rest Ms. Madame! Seriously GF it is time to let it go and hibernate for a few months and get rested up again for next winter! I will be asking once again for snow on Christmas Day…and no I will not forget you!

Sammy Sunshine heard me and answered my plea…he came out to warm the earth enough to melt the snow:)

While heating up the floor for Minnie who was into the groove of her super sunny sun bath:)

Yet each day the seasons have continued to fight back and forth for either winter or spring…thankfully with the skies putting on a show for camera nuts like me.

Brisk rain drops falling on my window instead of my head:)…making for a cool view. Real horsepower with a hood scoop and real horse power in my view! Am I in heaven?

Gentle drops of rain wash the grime and dirt of winter off the land that is filled with the beauty of new life with the buds of April.

Clouds that threaten with ominous darkness one minute…

And turn into perfect blue skies with circles of blue and white sky the next!

Melody has her ears up…hmmm…something is going on as I can never get her ears up when I take a picture!

Now I see why her ears are perked up…here we go again with astonishing weather and cloud formations.

Wild weather was all around us the first week of April 2012! Yee-Haw!

UH-OH…Hey Toto…can you hear me?

Grab my hand…’er paw and

 “Hang on tight…here we go again!”

“Happy Glorious Easter!”

“Celebrate His Life”

“For He Has Risen!”

“Wild Bill…HR Cowgirl…Minnie…And All Our Horses and Doggies…Barn Cats…And HSL…Wish You All A Happy Easter Sunday!”

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

29 Feb 2012 16 Comments

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Animals, Barn Cats, Cats, Life, Photography Tags: , , , , ,

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!

Foggy Views From My Kitchen Window

10 Feb 2012 16 Comments

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fillies will play under rainbows in the summer rains.

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

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

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

Have A Happy Friday!

 

Ms. Madame Cold Winter Answered Loud And Clear

19 Jan 2012 Leave a comment

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

Ms. Madame Cold Winter answered LOUD and clear with drifting snow…freezing rain and ice…more snow on top of the ice…and frigid cold. Currently it is 7 degrees….wind is blowing a bit between 5-15mph…so it is a nice balmy bone chilling cold tonight in Juniper.

Ok Ms. Madame Cold Winter thank you for showing up but it is time now for you to head back home to the Hinterlands of the North…please or I will be forced to make you drink a nice hot cup of tea or something to warm you up all over.

Ms. Cold would you like to ice skate a bit tonight? It looks divine…a perfectly good time of slip sliding and fall on your patootie:)

Or how about a nice hot warm your tummy up kind of soup….I promise it will melt your heart:)

Living the isolated stuck in the house during a freak winter storm kind of day…you have to figure out creative things to do with your brain and time so you do not die of boredom or sit and chew your lip all day…so today I made ear rings…beading is fun and can take the ho-hum away:)

This is a picture of my process and how I decide which beads I want to use…first I put several beads together…I then look at the colors and light…hold them up to my ear…hmmmm…then I fiddle with them some more…and finally decide if they are right or not. The best thing about beading is that when you get all gussied up for a rare night off the ranch and your jewelery does not match your mood…you can whip up a pair of ear rings and off you go sparkling and shinning…looking darn nice!

Minnie Matilda agrees…she is safe and snuggly in her quilt and happy that I am stuck in the house with her:)

In closing tongight…when Wild Bill was feeding the ponies all three of our amazing Aussie Dogs came to visit me…they are in and out of the shop all day…of course today they never left the shop until Wild Bill fed…and yes they have nice warm dog houses with lots of blankets to snuggle down in at night…and they own the garage too…anyway…Dash is the blue merle male and he is the biggest…Tucker is the red merle female and she is the boss lady dog…don’t mess with her…and then there is Kiah who is the female blue merle that is always so dang cute…she is only a bit over a year old…so she gives poor Dash and Tucker a run for it…she is the young’un.

Tucker sitting with “Her” toy to the right of her…go ahead and make her day…she is “very” territorial about her toys and space.

And here is the cute kid Kiah….”Huh? Did you want me or can I play with Tucker’s toy???”

“Tucker’s ploy…c’mon Dasher…dare ya!”

“Yah-yah I sees it…should I do it?” “Where is that darn Kiah when I need her?”

“Ohhhh I’m so cute…I’m so cute and Mom loves me…I’m so dang cute”

Dasher sees it and wants it and ohhhh what do I do…”KIAH…go for it!”  But Kiah is only thinking one thing…”Mom thinks I am soooo cute and wellllll…hee-hee”.

Minnie is content watching the entire doggie game out the window and wonders….”Dogs…ding dongs and why do they lick themselves?

Stay warm and cozy where ever you are tonight…stay safe if you travel.

Snow Update In Juniper Canyon

16 Jan 2012 Leave a comment

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

Snow update in Juniper Canyon. Here we go…the clouds were serious with the “Impossible Snow Mission.”

Yep…the snow has landed here in Juniper Canyon finally this 2012 winter.

One last shot…it is still coming down…snow from heaven…tonight we are under a Winter Storm watch for the next several days…I will keep you posted.

May you be blessed by God tonight…snuggle up and sleep well.

A Stunning…Splendiferous And Sparkling Saturday

14 Jan 2012 Leave a comment

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

A stunning…splendiferous  and sparkling  Saturday has arrived in Juniper Canyon!

Today we woke to a lovely temperature of 12 degrees at 6:30 this morning…with brilliant sunshiny sunshine along with funky shadows and my teeth chattering. If you look hard in this picture you can see two pairs of glowing eyes…that is the “Hey you…we want our hay hay hay breakfast!”

I can hear them snickering with the nickering, I think they figured if they could make their eyes glow it would scare me into feeding them early! But instead I dove back under the covers hiding….geez!

Brilliant idea guys but very twilight zoneish….I can hear it now…Rod Serling saying:

“Today was a spendiferous Saturday on the ranch for Hot Rod Cowgirl…until she woke to feed her horses…and then she realized she was no longer in this reality and no longer on the ranch but instead in the reality of planet Ding Dong and and and……whew!

Min-Min was not thrilled with being up early…she is still annoyed that I left yesterday to run errands in town…she runs the house you know and she is the queen:) She does not like it one bit when I leave to go anywhere….so today she is simmering with a bit of cattitude!

I was dressed with make up on and hair fixed before 7:00 this morning….things are getting even more bizarre and silly crazy!

Fortunately for Wild Bill I had my coffee…with sugar free vanilla and a lots of java caffeine:) I can not imagine not having coffee! My Grandmother and Mom used to give me the small creamer bottle that restaurants used to give filled with half cream and half coffee when I was a little girl…so we love coffee here…it is a Norwegian thing too.

They say we are to get snow this weekend and the incredible blue crisp sky late this afternoon is evidence of the weather changing as the jet stream is lowering bringing in arctic brrrrrrr cold air from Canada.

Oh ok the beautiful wall bronze cut out is really not me! Here you go, this is me today and I was ready to get going bright and early which is super silly as usually I am still in my sweats…my silly sweats…on most silly Saturdays.

And as the light is changing it is getting colder…clouds are rolling in…winter is in the air today for sure.

So I think I snuggle up with

 Ms. Minnie Mouse and Wild Bill.

Pour myself another cup of java…keep my camera handy and enjoy the splendiferous day.

Hoping to have some snow to photograph for you tomorrow…have a great weekend where ever you are!

I Felt The First Breath Of Winter Today…

24 Nov 2011 Leave a comment

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

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

We were out this afternoon worming our three horses.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It went from a bit of snow to…

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

Oh great!!!!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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