Dispatches from the Ranch

mark- up to the wood pile, load the trailer, drive back down and out to someone's house. Repeat, repeat, repeat...

tj- clean, cook and feed the critters and do math. Repeat, repeat, repeat...

eric- run around with a love struck look in your eyes. Repeat, repeat, repeat...

all together now- enjoy the wind and rain and mists that swirl. Repeat, repeat, repeat...

Light Weekend

Morning sun flits and flies, with the mists try to make a way through.

Here then there, the dance continues to enthrall onlookers and the dancers alike.

Midday sun's shadow is light, still,

the muted shape and form of the woods glitter and glow in faded yellows and gold.

Buckeyes now barren form stilllife on rounded hill,
the green of the grass seems almost from another time, another day when flowers come.

Afternoon sun makes it's prescence known. Boldly. Shadows dark and steep scramble, colors scream to stay a little longer.

While the last of fall's bounty and vibrancy is gathered-

And then savored under a cover of night.

Saturday's Ride

A light rain/mist, or spit from heaven is falling and there is a slow glowing fire in the stove. Time to do a new post. This once a week post thing was supposed to improve the quality of posts and stop my mind from thinking in blog. It has accomplished the second, but when you stop thinking blog, then you just kind of lose it. If you know what I mean. Also, not having the hubby involved really somehow lessens it all. It is just not as much fun and the quality suffers; both in wit and grammar. (Like should that just have been a semi colon, comma or just its own sentence). Oh well, maybe next year he will grace these pages again.

This post is supposed to be entitled, "The Bella Diaries", chronicling our daughter's dog's visit to the ranch. But that will have to wait. I can tell you though that it is rated PG 13 due to some violent images.Instead, it will be another post about riding. Have you figured out yet, that I love horses! Here is the herd. I am no longer counting. So don't you either. I will add that 4 are not mine. But that still leaves an awful lot, and this photo doesn't even show all of them! Now that I have them all turned out on the ranch, I call them the "Brombies". Or is it "Brumbies? Anyone know where that reference comes from? Anyone care?This photo shows how to capture handsome head shots of your horse. Johanna is optional, something to shake is not.

Here is the handsome head shot of Shy-Anne. (Eric the Bold's horse...NOT mine). Her head wouldn't really be considered beautiful, but somehow it always seems so to me. BTW- this horse is half billy goat. She can go ANYWHERE, and she does so with verve. (See I can use unusual words even without the hubby).

After grooming all the Brombies, we pick a few, saddle up and take off. A beautiful sunny, now cloudy, now mysterious kind of day.
Off the road now we head up a draw. The quiet fall surrounds us. No wind noise here. The earth smells rich and musty. We are quiet. A silhouette shot. Wait is that princess Pocahontas or is she just waving her hand around in the air? Perhaps she has a bee in her bonnet. Along the ridge we had a dramatic change in climate with wind blowing and the fog flowing. Jo decided to try and fly, I think. Donkeys in the mist. Macho ain't named "macho' for nothin. He tried to work his moves on us, but we weren't having it, I tell ya. Evening came quick and we headed back. Another beautiful ride in paradise. Of course, you aren't really done until the fat lady sings. Or perhaps the skinny lady! Sequoyah wasn't quite sure he liked the song, but he did wait around to listen.

The end.

(Post Script: Isn't it pathetic that I have ended so many posts this way?)

Calf Crazy

Photo of a brand new calf and her/his mama.

We have fairly mild winters here in the pacific northwest and we are told by other ranchers that fall is a good time to have calving. The fall rains bring up the new grass and the fairly warm temperatures give the grass some growth and vitality before cold sets in. It also makes our calf crop a bit more marketable as these young ones can be sold early summer after they fatten on the rich spring grass or held over for one more year and sold the following year to our neighbors for their freezers. I will keep you posted on how well this works. I worry that the cows could use more protein to make richer milk, so I like to supplement with a little hay. Or at least that is what I say, mostly I like giving them some hay at this time because their young are so dang cute and I really like hanging out with the cows too. I find that their presence is very relaxing. The cows are really beginning to accept me as part of their herd, so the really daring calves will come up and give me a good look, or maybe a lick! Sometime they venture close only to then dart off helter skelter with tail held high and- of course-with the occasional blast of flatulence! I really am pretty crazy about calves and they must think it odd to hear some two legged creature, bent over with nostrils flaring, making low grumbly noises, sort of like their moms do. All I can say is that it is a good thing we don't have any neighbors nearby.