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!

Writing On Frozen Winter Days

21 Jan 2012 Leave a comment

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

Writing on frozen winter days when you are confined to the house, can feed your  soul with visions that you can not find by looking out the window. For me, writing is a vacation for my mind as I explore my thoughts and imagination…dreaming with a pencil to paper.

Living out here the view before you constantly changes with the light and shadows during the day…each season has a light of its own…I never get tired of watching the landscape play through the day. Often in winter we have fog that lingers close by…can you see the wispy mist quietly waiting to seap slowly back down into the canyon?  This frozen fog can be incredibly dense…even the most seasoned person who has lived here forever will find themselves lost in the murkiness of the mist and the nothingness of the fog.

The frozen world seems surreal…eerily quiet and unnatural…life seems to be on hold…like the gears on a truck…when shifted into neutral there comes a pause between gears as you shift…then the transmission catches and off we go in high gear again. I like how winter forces us to slow down and rejuvenate…before life once again grabs that gear with a hectic pace.

We still have snow but it is now covered with ice, the top of it has a crusty crunch to it when you walk. We do not venture out anywhere other than to check and feed animals…I am thankful that our horses have heated water troughs, good hay and shelter…but cold is cold.

Last night as we slept we had more icy rain fall for several hours…as soon as it hit the snow it froze. When we looked out this morning, the storm had left a slippery glaze on everything. I don’t mind the snow but freezing rain and ice is the worst to deal with. No traction or control…just skating. When it is like this I give up and do not go anywhere…the Burb is parked as the 40 miles round trip  to town is not worth it. I usually have extra supplies stocked up that we need from the grocery store…when you live far out of town, you stock up when you go to the store as you go to the store once a week or less.

We had blue sky and sun for a few hours this afternoon…the first sunny blue sky in a week!

Such a welcome sight to see. We have more storms on the way but today I am going to carefully go outside and feel the sun on my face…and capture some new pictures…

Like this one right at sunset…I love how the sun made everything so vividly deep with color.

I hope you snuggle in and enjoy the neutrals in your life as much as I do…forget grabbing a gear and grab on to the time we have to rest as before we know it…the icy roads will be dry…winter will be behind us and zoom zoom we will be racing around once again.

 Minnie  Mouse says “Quit taking my picture, my hair is a mess and besides it’s snuggle down nap time…Meow-Meow.”

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.

Winter Arrived Today On A Weird Wacky Wednesday

18 Jan 2012 Leave a comment

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

Winter arrived today on a weird wacky Wednesday!  Full of gusty wind…whoop ’em up country style weather with mighty might!  Going from snowy blizzard type conditions to freezing rain and late this afternoon freezing temps…it is 21 degrees currently…with a windchill of 11.

An early morning view today of our girls Melody and Annie waiting for their breakfast. I bet Annie is asking Mel what the heck happened the last few days…she is not yet 3 years old so this white stuff is still a novelty to her.

Chilly winter scenery….a frozen flower barrel with white fluffy snow growing out of it instead of summer flowers on a warm summer night.

Like this:)

I know we need the moisture and also the freezing cold temps which will help kill off the farm bugs…and we need the snow pack in the mountains for the mountain resorts that make their living off of the snow….plus with lots of snow pack the hay fields will grow better hay next summer and our wheat will be another bumper crop and the irrigated crops will produce more food for all of us…so quit complaining Cowgirl….right?

But…..brrrrrrrrr. I went out this afternoon to take a few pictures and froze in the short time of maybe 30 minutes with my Carhart’s and Sorrels on too.

Venturing out in the freezing cold temps to capture moments in time…tells me that the photography bug in my heart is part of the creative writer part of my heart…only with a lens instead of a pencil. Often that one image tells the entire story….life images…moments frozen in time.

Have I introduced you to Mr. Porch Owl yet? He keeps the sparrows away from trying to fly into the windows on the front porch in the spring and summer…today he is looking quite crabby about being blown around with the wind out of the North…he is glaring at me and you.

Hang on Sloopy…Sloopy hang on…this used to be one of my sledding hills when I was little…wheeeeeeee:) Yes without the log fence…LOL.

Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.

– Edith Sitwell

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.

Sunday’s Fabulous Snow Follies

15 Jan 2012 Leave a comment

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

Sunday’s fabulous snow follies did not show up as predicted…snow?  What snow?  Winter storm warnings….where?

This is what we woke up to…hmmm…Sunday sunshine and clear blue skies!

Tucker is sunning herself…she likes keeping her tan spots nice and tan year round:) She is quite a Diva around here too…she is Queen Meanie at times…the Boss…don’t cross her.

Ah-ha! The cast of characters are slowly beginning to mix things up a bit for a change around Juniper Canyon.

Clouds began to roll in on a mission impossible. The snow assignment had been accepted as their mission and it was going to go down.

Slowly the clouds snuffed the light of the sun out…it was time for the sun to take a nice winter nap.

And then…the onimous “Big Guy” showed up above…of course I was out with my camera clicking happily away with the ever changing shapes and rather threatening eerie light…perfect for photography.

 “Little Buck” here comes the snow instead of here comes the sun.” If you look close you can see his rear end across the road. He is a Buckskin and blends in with our scenery.

Melody is still truly wondering what Patio Horse is up too…why does he keep hanging around anyway?

And Kiah agrees…and wonders why am I shooting pictures in the cold…cuz I am obsessed Kiah and you are cute…kind of scary cute but cute.

Until next time…have a great Sunday night.

Where Oh Where Is Ms. Madame Cold Winter?

07 Jan 2012 2 Comments

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Family, Ranch Life, Storms, Weather, Winter Tags: , , ,

Where oh where is Ms. Madame Cold Winter? I want the winters that I remember in my heart and soul.

Winters of being snowed in out here…incredible times of sledding down hills…crazy snowmobiling times of taking off from the back door…off we go over them thar hills all eight miles to Helix and back…by the time we got home we had at least 35 miles on our machines:) Yee-Haw cowgirl style:)

I want this kind of winter…snowed in…not going anywhere kind of snow!

Ask Miss Hobby Horse…she knows about snowy Juniper white stuff.

Tuck Tuck remembers the white stuff too…it was up to her belly.

Our 100 year old farm house remembers the snow and cold winters…it can tell you lots of history and stories of past winters.

Miss Melody was laying on top of the third rail of the log fence as we had so much snow a few years ago.

“Hello Ms. Madame Cold Winter Snow Person.” “We need snow…rain and moisture…not to be greedy but we also need some cold temps to kill the bugs and all of the things that hurt our wheat…please gf:)”

And Ms. Razzy says yeah…winter…snow…what is it…I am only two?

We need snowed in type of snow and cold…drifts and lots of white stuff…where oh where are you Ms. Madame Cold Winter?

It should be like this…when we bought our first Chevrolet Blazer the first 1500 miles were solid snow floor out here.

“Ms. Madame Cold Winter Snow Person…please come see us again…you are always welcome…we have lots of hot chocolate and blankets…flashlights too:) Love you girl and want you back:)”

“Happy Birthday Mom…My Mother My Friend.”

“We miss you much!”

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