Gray Haze Brings Lazy Blahzay November Dayzes While Minnie Mouze Snuggles In!

27 Nov 2012 51 Comments

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Hot Rod Cowgirl, Minnie Mouse, Photography, Winter Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Gray Haze Brings Layz Blahzay November Dayzes While Minnie Mouze Snuggles In For Winter!

With the ever changing landscape, normal objects look surreal as if held by a magical time warp…is it 2012 or 1962?

You are now entering….”The Twilight Zone…a fifth dimension, beyond that which is known to man, a dimension of imagination.” Oops, sorry I was getting a bit lost in the 50-60’s.

Minnie Mouse says “Not complaining about time warps-de-warps at ALL…I love my heat pad, good wintry zzzz’s…as I get more of both along with kitty strokes and loves…as Mom is finally stuck with me in the house:)”

Peekaboo sun shines out a morning “Hello” on a steely gray dawn…like a flashlight lighting the way for us to see our way for the day.

This year I had many incredible palettes of colors in the sky on warm summer nights and bright days of delight…now as we switch gears to seek out the colors and images of winter, we will find a different beauty.

Artistic skies that draw your eye into a different monochromatic world of color, with layers of gray-blue colors, blending magical shadows on the familiar landscape. A view that stirs a photographers delight and fills my heart with winter light, full of  quiet inspiration for the profound beauty that I see through the lens of my camera, of the land that I have lived on forever and all my life.

Fun winter images and great photo moments to play with light on gray frozen days:) Shooting memorable snapshots in time and exploring different angles with my camera…smile “Yippee Ki Yay Yah!”

Summer skies will return full of God’s glory and heartfelt colors…and once again, I will stop what I am doing, looking up and grabbing my camera, knowing that I am blessed to live here on one of God’s slices of heaven on earth.

“Fanny Annie” will be posing for my camera with her sleek and shiny red coat once again…she is “One Sharp Dressed Lady!

And then there is snow that comes with winter….hmmmm. I have to admit I like it for Christmas week as long as it stays firm and frozen. When I was young here we usually had a white Christmas as I remember sledding down the hills…for the last 30 or so years we rarely have a white Christmas. A few years ago we had a brilliant Christmas morning to wake up to and I was on the move early to capture snow photos! This is part of the shop frontage that we designed to look like an old-time service station, under the bat and board siding is a steel shop…Wild Bill restored the antique gas pumps and added the hitching rail for my horse…with the old Chevy Pick Up and drifts on the roof and on the ground…is it 1930 or 2012? I hear Rod Sterling again with Twilight Zone music…doo-do-doo-do-doo-do:)

A beautiful image of our classic farmhouse in the snow…until it melted and then we had a mega mud mess. I got stuck in four-wheel drive in my Suburban in our driveway by the house that winter, incredible for me! Our parts delivery trucks for the shop got stuck as well as WB so I felt better:) It was a different winter as the ground was not frozen enough when we had the snow hit and as it melted it was like Jello.

 This is my Melody and the fence is three rail…thankfully she did not step over it! Minnie said I got sidetracked as usual…writers…visions and memories and words…words and more words…sometimes I even wonder where they come from? Minnie what were you saying?

“Mom, get your warm sweater on, wool socks and slippers, then ahhhhh relax…it’s house time…now get that dang camera out of my face…see this paw and the kitty stink eye look?” “Well I am also giving you a cute love look too:)”  “Meow, now, where was I?”

“Oh that’s right…roll back to the right side…hang paw over the chair…look cute for Mom…and here come the kitty loves and pets:)”

The beauty of summer will return with nightly visions of iridescent colors…images that speak softly to our hearts.

And yet, despite the cold, there is a beauty in winter…with the colors of glistening silver, brilliant vivid whites and various shades of silver grays…crystal particles that sparkle and softly float through the air…as the snow falls silently to the ground. There is a purity to the landscape and a serene quiet to the land that feels divinely holy…all of a sudden the dirt, the sage brush, the weeds on the hillside, the tumble weeds and the trees are covered with a beautiful garment of white. I love every season, not too crazy about being out in the freezing temps, but with my Carharts on I am good:)

Tucker and her other two buddies all got new doggie beds and yet here she is outside doing her guard duty….she is such a good girl!

May you all have a blessed week and stay warm!!!

Blessings Of Grace And Unwavering Faith…Full Of Heartfelt Gratitude And Thankfulness.

23 Nov 2012 27 Comments

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Gratitude, Hot Rod Cowgirl, Photography, Thanksgiving, Wild Bill Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Blessings of grace and unwavering faith, full of heartfelt gratitude and thankfulness.

Some of these photos are older and have been used before….my main computer and back up drive are at the doctor’s office right now…my back up drive has all my newer photography:( I will be taking new images this next week to share with all of you…in mean the time…I hope your turkey day was perfect:)

The Thanksgiving holiday is when we stop our busy lives to enjoy our families, our heritage and our traditions…food prepared with love and old family recipes by the many hands who made it special, the way that Grandma did. I love traditional holidays with all the wonderful trimmings.

Having gone through various hard things in life I began to understand that everyday we have is a day of gratitude and thankfulness…my life is full of many blessings that I do not take for granted. I thank God each day for seeing the sunrise and the sunset…for living here in America…for our heritage and history…for our business and for our ranch…for my husband and for my adopted sister, her family and also our families on both sides as well as our neighbors, and all our forever life friends.

I am thankful for Minnie Mouse, who is the Queenie of My House:)

And for our horses Melody, Annie and Buck:)

And for our protective dogs…we have three wonderful, loving Aussie’s.

I thank God for my parents and for the incredible life we lived together…for our relationship and memories.

To be the little girl who grew up into the daughter and woman they raised me to be.

I am thankful for our long talks in the middle of the night and the silly fun times we had with goofing off…those are the tender memories that hold me now when I wish I could go next door for a good cup of coffee and visit with Mom…or riding out of cow camp with Dad, just as the sunlight barely broke over the mountains on early summer mornings, heading out for the day to move and check cattle…cherished memories of the soul and nourishment for the heart…I will carry them forever.

Wild Bill and I have so much to be thankful for…36 years of marriage and our health…most of all our faith and depth of relationship with each other…we have lived through lots of life…floods, cancer, the death of my parents and of WB’s Dad…sad times, mad times and good times..and we keep on a going and love each other more today that when we married.

“Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving.”    By W.T. Purkiser

That is the truth of our lives…being real with our life and being an example of God’s blessings in our life, as an act of our faith and gratitude. It seems that every good thing or our tough times can help others with encouragement that they too will make it through life.

Caring about our fellow-man, ready to help with our presence, as that is what life is about…as they are on the path of their lives that brought them into your life…and being loved with a big hug is the very best that we can give to others as we have much to be thankful for:)

Happy Thanksgiving from Hot Rod Cowgirl and Wild Bill!

Autumn Colors And Light On A Captivating Night!

07 Nov 2012 26 Comments

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Clouds, Hot Rod Cowgirl, Photography, Sunset Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A few nights ago, the magic hour of color and light paid me a surprise visit.

Golden light and magical beauty in the skies above…the first evening in several weeks that we had actual clouds.

Clouds add interest and amazing detail…soft enchanting light and colors that deepen with views that you usually do not see.

I did not have time to put on my mucky yucky chore shoes…when the light is right, you hurry quickly as the light changes so fast and you do not want to miss out on one second of the golden hour.

I grabbed the closest shoes I could grab next to my camera…my Danskos…my one pair of nice black town shoes…and off I went carefully as the shoes have a slight boot heel and I am known to be a total klutz!

Fanny Annie was shocked that I did not have my boots on!

As I climbed through the fence and headed up the muddy hill behind the house wearing my nice Danskos…

I wondered if this means that I am truly becoming a real photographer?

I was caught off guard as the day had been sunny without clouds…I greedily took shot after glorious shot:)

Amazing views full of various hues and ever changing light with the clouds above.

I have missed the dramatic ways you can capture and photograph the landscape…for about a month we have had nothing but bright sunshine without clouds and a blue sky faded out to a blahsay color.

My Sony a77 Camera, shoots 12 frames per second. It is fast with no lag time, which I love! One of these days I will be up here filming WB going through the gears of his current Hot Rod! I am always thinking drama and creatively…I can see him coming through fog or smoke…going through the gears…not sure if I can pull that off but it would be a fun day of great shots and videos! Also, notice you can see my arena and round corral…maybe we could get some cows to work too:)

Hey WB, I’m up here…in the mucky mud with my Danskos on…I think I am obsessed with my camera and photography.

Artistic shadows on the landscape bring depth and intense colors that knock my socks off! I find that my eye constantly scans my horizon looking for something creative and unusual to capture.

I have lived on the land forever in isolated areas…

And I never grow tired of scenes like this…

Or of my horses…I love Annie’s cute ears outlined in black…she took a mud bath, see the dried mud on her neck:)

Skies of gold filled with beauty that we will miss if we are watching TV or on the computer…I love the colors of gold and blues in this shot.

God’s creative, ever changing scenery…beautiful!

Never boring at all!

A fun reflection in the puddle in front of the house.

A gift to capture the reflection of the clouds, the colors and the light in it.

This one is my favorite with the log fence and the almost surreal colors that give a muddy ranch puddle an unusual perspective of beauty!

Sometimes it is hard to find the words to describe what you see…incredible and beautiful:)

No matter where you live you will find beauty all around you in different ways. I have been in huge cities before and seen incredible beauty that I never see here…and I love the desert…most think it is just a flat boring place…uh-no.

 “Seriously Mom, I can not believe you wore your Danskos in the mud and went up on the hill to take pictures…geez!”

“Well, I know Annie…and you rolled in the mud right after I had brushed you so pretty and nice:)” “And I love you Annie Fanny…you are so sweet and cute:)”

Annie Fanny and HRCG are wishing you a wonderful peaceful evening and a great week!

Minnie Mouse Won “The Shine On Award”….Meowsie Woo Hoo Award!!!

26 Sep 2012 51 Comments

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Award, Hot Rod Cowgirl, Minnie, Minnie Mouse, Photography Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Minnie was nominated for The Shine On Award by her buddy dog, Frankie at  http://emjayandthem.com/2012/07/01/shine-on/

Minnie’s Mom, who is HRCG, is buddies with Frankie’s Mom, MJ:)

Minnie is meowsie honored and humbled to receive this award….and she just grabbed my laptop and took off…Minnie what the heck are you doing?

Oh ok I think Minnie wants to be in control of the keyboard…oh heaven help us…I did not know she could type???

Hey she may be working with me in the office tomorrow…Min Min…I love my girl and you rock on girl:)

She loves attacking her red mouse…Minnie loves red…it makes her go into her tigress mode!

Minnie loves her Navajo blanket…she likes to roll up in it and hide or she hides her toys and attacks the lumps:)

This is the Minnie exercise known as the “scratch my kitty back on my Navajo” meow yeah this feels good!

Be sure to head over to check out MJ’s blog…she is a great writer and she asks questions that you think on.  http://emjayandthem.com/

 Frankies a cuty patooty too…

Thank you MJ and Frankie  for passing the Shine On Award on to meowie me Minnie….Mes truly appreciates it:)

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 10 or so bloggers you admire.

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

5. Answer some questions too:)

Seven Things About Me:

1.) My Mommy feeds me treats everyday and I feel very special…she tries different ones too:)

2: I loves belly rubs by my Mommy year round:)

3: I feel very loved when my Mommy prays over me and she does all the time:)

4. I work on keeping my stripes straight each day along with various dots and white areas as I am a very fastidious kitty:)

5.) I love love love my Mommy and Dad…they are the very best ever:)

6.) I love my toys…and sleep! Love love love it when Mom has a blanket on her lap for me to snuggle up on:) I do not like it when she wears shorts…her skin does not snuggle very well!

7. And I do not hunt mice…ewwwww….ick!

Hummmph…I need a cat nap…get that dang camera out of my face!

Here are my nominations:

1. My gf Sundae who is beautiful with all her colors and her beautiful heart:)  http://thesedaysofmine.com/category/family/sundae/page/2/

2. And then there is my amazingly hunky handsome friend Sam…what a cute guy he is  and fun! http://onespoiledcat.wordpress.com/

3. Zoey the cool cat is really cool too….check them out:)http://russelrayphotos2.com/

4. A very fun and hip kit cat blog… http://catfromhell.wordpress.com/

5. Love this blog and you will too:)   http://isobelandcat.wordpress.com/

6.  A fun kitty cat blog as she has lots of kitty cats to love and blog about:)  http://sunni-survivinglife.blogspot.com/

7.  A blog that has something for everyone:) http://catnipoflife.wordpress.com/

8. Minnie loves Slash…thinks he is quite the cool rebel kitty:) http://catpurrology.com/

9. And she loves Tux as he reminds her of her sister Satchmo who was a total tuxedo kitty… http://sophisticatedkat.wordpress.com/

10. Speaking of Satchmo…Minnie likes hearing about the adventures of this Sach…with all those pretty stripes like Minnie’s… http://satchmothecat.wordpress.com/

11. We love reading about Texas and Milou…Minnie and her Mom thinks they are truly beautiful with beautiful kitty hearts:) http://texascatny.wordpress.com/

12. Minnie and I both love reading about beautiful Savannah…she has such a sweet heart and has been through a lot. http://savannahspawtracks.com/

13. Minnie loves the three Moggies! http://mythreemoggies.wordpress.com/

14. Both Minnie and her Mom love this site as Kitty Blogger has a great sense of humor and she makes us laugh:) http://kittybloger.wordpress.com/

15. Tigger is cute and fun….we loves reading his blog of wisdom and Zoe is very pretty too:) http://tiggersteachings.wordpress.com/

Questions To Answer:

What is my favorite color?

Well…tan, black, white, carmel, gray…you know…my beautiful coat of many colors! And red!

What is my favorite Non-Alcoholic drink?

Nice cold fresh country water…love it when Mom fills up my bowl with it:)

What is my favorite animal?

Well…cats of course…hello!

Do I prefer Facebook or Twitter?

I love my face and my Mom and Dad’s face:) And a twit is annoying!

What is my favorite number?

I like 7 but I also like being 18 this year too:)

What is my favorite flower?

Is catnip a flower?

What is my passion? 

Keeping tabs on Mom and always being with her no matter what…I love my Mommy!

Thank you so much for nominating me Frankie and MJ:)  You are awesome…go see them at http://emjayandthem.com/

 “My Name Is Minnie Mouse…I Am The Queenie Of The House…I’m The Cat Who Knows Where It’s At.”  Mom has a complete song about me:) She loves me lots and I could be a model too:)

Congratulations And God Bless You!  All God’s Animals And People Shine!

Minnie and her Mommy, HRCG,  Hope You Have A Meowsilly Terrifically Tigerifically Thursday:)

Scenes Of The 2012 Pendleton Round Up From Hot Rod Cowgirl!

21 Sep 2012 49 Comments

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Heritage, Hot Rod Cowgirl, Photography, The Pendleton Round Up Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

As I write this post, The 2012 Pendleton Round Up Is Officially Over Until Next September 2013. Pendleton, Cheyenne And Calgary Are Known As The Big Three Rodeos Among The Cowboys Who Favor Them…Some Cowboys Say That Pendleton Is Like Coming Home. Pendleton Has 102 Years Of Rodeo History, Heritage And Community Support. Hundreds Of Local Volunteers That Follow In The Footsteps Of Their Families Before Them…As Each Year They Put On One Outstanding Rodeo!

Come See For Yourself And Experience The Magic Of Pendleton…Seeing First Hand Why This Rodeo Is Filled With American Cowboy Heritage, Heart And Soul.

Did I Mention I Have A New Camera From Wild Bill For My Birthday? He Blessed Me With The Sony a77 And I Love It:)

My Cowboy Buddy…He Loves Horses And Cows And Someday He Will Have His Own Ranch…It Will Be Top Notch:)

Are You Guys Ready To Rock And Roll With The 102 Year Old Beat Of Pendleton?

Here Comes The Flag Bearers! God Bless America…God Bless The Cowgirls, The Cowboys And Their Horses!

One Of Our Four Beautiful Round Up Princesses…She Made The Run In Across The Arena…Jumping The Fence…Calmly Smiling And Waving To The Crowd…This Is A True Round Up Princess!

The Flag Bearers Are Awesome…I Love Seeing Our Flag Waving…On The Back Of A Horse…Perfecto!

Beautiful Princess Cowgirls And Beautiful Horses!

 Queen Alex Of The 2012 Pendleton Round Up…Making A Perfect Jump!

Here Comes The President Of The 102nd Pendleton Round Up!

Its Official The 2012 Round Up Has Begun!

History Is Being Made And Recorded In The Books! Look At Them Go!

Beautiful Teepees Filled With Native American Heritage…Hallmarks Of The Round Up!

The North Grandstand Is Ready To Boogie With What ONLY Pendleton Can Deliver!

Hang On Tight…Pendleton Gets It On With Action!

Cowboy Ponies Resting…Waiting For Their Events.

Contestants In The Warm Up Area…Giving Support With The “You Can Do It Attitude”…Which Is What We Do As We Honor” The Code Of The West.” If You Grew Up With It And Lived It…You Know What I Am Talking About.

 The Sports Medicine Van Stands By…As Well As Top Notch Equine and Animal Vets…They Are Ready To Help Any Injured Contestant, Volunteer Or Injured Horse Or Animal…Dr. Corey Has Been My Vet For 32 Years With My Horses…He Is Outstanding In His Field!

Bucking Horses Hanging Out Behind The Scenes…These Horses Are Loved And Well Taken Care Of…They Have Great Value And Are Raised By Their Owners To Buck And Perform.

Pendleton Has It All! And Bill Dawson Is Incredible With Repairing The Historic Wagons And Getting Them Ready For The Parades And Arena Presentations.

Horses Stand By Patiently…Taking A Rest In The Shade.

What I Love About The Round Up Is That I Get To See My Favorite People…And This Couple Is On The Top Ten Of My List:)

Hey Cowboy Dog…He Actually Told Me He Travels To Lots Of Rodeos And Loves It…But Pendelton Is His Favorite:)

Horses Discussing Their Owners And Their Ding Dong Events…LOL…And Waiting For Their Time To Shine!

Outside The West End Of The Round Up Stadium…You Find Another Part Of The Rodeo Back Here Behind The Scenes.

You See Cowboys Swinging Their Ropes…Loosening Up…Trying To Relax…And Cowgirls Relaxing Their Horses By Giving Them A Job To Do…With All The Commotion It Helps Both You And Your Horse To Have a Focus.

My Favorite Picture This Year Is This One:) I Like The Sepia Color And The Horses Seem To Be In Sync…I Love The Build Of “A True Classic Quarter Horse”…Put Together Rock Solid…I Love Muscled Quarter Horse Butts!

The Same Picture With Colors Is Ok Too:)

Pendleton Is Like No Other Wild West Rodeo…Full Of History…Full Of Tradition…Full Of Memories And Old Friends:)

Forever Families Who Have Lived Their Lives Here Settling The Land…Raising Their Families…Building Their Future With Hopes And Dreams…It Was Through The Story Of Their Lives…That The Pendleton Round Up Story Was Born 102 Years Ago.

And Is Still Going Strong Today…Filled With Historical Heritage And The True Western Spirit.

Happy Birthday Dad! He Was Born September 17, 1914…Four Years After The Round Up Began…He Grew Up In It And Played A Huge Roll In It…I Am Proud Of My Dad Forever And Always! He Taught Me Everything I Know About Horses And Cows!

One Of These Years WB And I Are Going To Play Tourist…Go To All The Parades, Dinners, Breakfasts, Main Street And Do The Entire Week Of Rodeo and Happy Canyon:) We Have Always Been In It Or Involved And Have Not Seen What The Tourist Sees…So Yee-Haw!

Minnie Cow-Kitty  Says Meow-Yahmoo! Isn’t She Cute…I Love Her Green Eyes, Her Markings and Her Long Whiskers!

Let ‘Er Buck!

This Was My Morning Sun Today…My Prayers Go Out To All Who Are In The Middle Of Fighting For Your Homes And Your Lands…Your Animals And Lives. I Pray That God Will Send Heaven’s Rain And Blessing You With His Glory…Putting Out ALL The Fires In The Western United States! God Bless You All!

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?

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!

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:)”

Ranch House Remodeling…Hang On!

28 Apr 2012 25 Comments

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Hot Rod Cowgirl, Minnie My Cat, Photography, Ranch House, Remodeling Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Before we began the remodel…before the siding was off…we had a yellow house.

Today our house looks like this…a rather naked tongue and groove house, almost a 100 years old. When I was little, I vaguely remember it being white…my parents put the first siding on it when I was 6…and then the yellow siding when I was 19. Today the insulation guys came and blew the walls full of insulation to help with being energy-efficient and to lower the electric bills next winter.

I think Minnie is ready to start her own blog about how “NOT” to remodel your house!

Between the pounding on the roof and the various people who come each day….”Geez Mom can you please stop it!”

I know Minnie I know but we have to finish it. It looks sort of old and pretty bad except for the new roof:)

The last time we remodeled we started here in the kitchen…

And found out we had a chimney that was hidden. Mom did not tell me about hiding the chimney when she remodeled the original kitchen. I always wondered why she had a funny shaped closet over there and we found out:) The wall that you see beside Bill we opened up…

To the living area so that when I was cooking I could still visit with WB or guests…this is looking back from the living area.

Yes we saved Mom’s GE steel kitchen…I will show you in a minute.

But first I want to show you one of the original 1920 red fir cupboards with the breadboard still intact. When Mom remodeled the kitchen in 1960 taking out the original kitchen she saved this cupboard and also the pass through cupboard for storage down in the basement…they were painted a mint green with pink trim….along with several other paint colors that I found when I refinished them. I remember my Mom making pie shells and cut out cookies on the breadboard…I would stand on a chair next to her and help:) I do have the original red fir top but switched it out with this awesome piece of pine from one of the old mills around here.

Both cupboards are back in the kitchen where they began…when our cabinet maker came to our home the first time he immediately noticed the old growth red fir floors…he said 30 years before he bought a bunch of antique red fir wood at a lumber auction and the wood was old then…would I be interested in having him make the kitchen cabinets out of it? Yes…Yes…Yes! I strive to return the house to the original build and era of 1920 and the kitchen turned out beautiful…classic and simple as he modeled the cabinets after the original kitchen cabinet.

Minnie was really “NOT” impressed with totally re-arranging her kitchen either…the carpenters left for the day and she came out of hiding to see what was going on…see how amazed she looks:)

Here is Mom’s steel GE kitchen in the shop now…and in this picture, T and I are making Norwegian Lefse…also known as potato cakes. Yummy and very good:)

We have a ways to go but before we know it, the house will be done:) I can plant my flowers…Wild Bill can sleep better again…and Minnie will be happy having her house back in order:)

Until then…she is staying on the coffee table keeping an eye on me:)

Humph…

Blue skies smiling at me
Nothing but blue skies do I see
Bluebirds singing a song
Nothing but bluebirds all day long…Nothing but blue skies from now on:)

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