No Matter How Many Mistakes...

No matter how many mistakes you make or how slow you progress, you are still way ahead of everyone who isn't trying.

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And just realize that tomorrow is a whole new beginning, not to mention a whole new year.

 

We all have our bad days, it's only human, so let's move on and strive to do better.

Have a great 2016, my dear readers! 

 

Until my next post-- Savannah  : ) 

Gingerbread Cookies

 

Season's Greetings, my fellow blog readers!

 

Thanks to Pinterest, I found and made this recipe last week, and when we all liked the result, I made it again.

 

These cookies are simply called gingerbread, but to me, they taste so much like my favorite, pricey treat-- Biscoff.  You can imagine the surprise I got when I took my first bite.  It was blissful.

 

I like time consuming, tedious work (at least to a point) so this was great.  After the dough was ready, I got to get my hands in it, roll it, cut it into shapes, and then bake it.  But don't worry, this recipe is super easy.  

 

 

 

 

 

And now... here's the recipe.

 

1 Cup brown sugar

5 Tbsp. light syrup

5 Tbsp. water

1 Stick and 3 Tbsp. butter

1 Tbsp. ground  cinnamon

1 Tbsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. ground clove

3 Cup flour

1 tsp. baking soda

 

Mix brown sugar, syrup, and water in a pan.  Boil the mixture.  Add the butter and let it melt.  Add spices.  Leave the mixture to cool without stirring.

Stir in the baking soda and flour.  Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill until next day.

On a floured table, knead the dough until smooth.  Roll out thinly and remove the cookies with cookie cutters.  Place them on a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Bake in oven at 350F for 6-8 minutes.  Let cookies cool on baking sheet. 

Store in a jar at room temperature or in freezer.

 

I made buttons and Christmas themed cookies this time, as you can see in the pictures above.

  

 

My family has tried to give cookies to our neighbors every Christmas, and we call it our "Cookie Run".  The paper plates above are what we sent the cookies in this year.  Also, thanks to Pinterest, I got the idea to weave ribbon through plain plates.  As you can see, it adds a good touch of festivity. 

 

To get that look, just punch holes into the edge of a plate with a paper hole punch.  Then slide the ribbon of your choice up and down all the way around the plate.  Tie a bow when both ends meet.   : )

 

Merry Christmas! 

A Christmas Short Story

Christmas lights lit the street.  Colleen, bundled in coats, gloves, and a scarf, walked down the sidewalk as snow fell onto her.  Christmas was just two days away and the streets were busy with people doing last minute Christmas shopping.  Thankfully, Colleen was finished.

As she walked along the snowy street, her eyes fell onto a little brown spot on the curb a few yards in front of her.  She approached and saw that it was a teddy bear.  Something drew her to the stuffed animal and it was a queer thing since she had no children of her own.  But she somehow felt led to pickup the wet, dirty thing, and so she did.

She was a little embarrassed to carry around a child's toy, but hoped people would think of her as a mother taking her baby a Christmas bear.  And most people did think that, but also wondered why she didn't have it wrapped.

Her apartment was a couple of blocks away and when she reached it, the snow was falling with speed, stacking up on the streets and sidewalks.

The warmth from the heater was a great welcome to Colleen.  After shedding her two overcoats and draping them on a bench by the door, she hurried to stand close to the heater.  The bear, still in her hand, began to melt and drip water, making a muddy puddle at her feet.

"Oh, yes," she said, just then realizing she was talking to a child's toy.  The bear stared at her as she held and looked at it.  A dark red and green bow was tied around its neck, two little black eyes and a nose made up its face.  It was quite cute.

Colleen reached for a towel and started to dry the fur.  When it was fluffed and cleaned, she searched for a place to put it...until she knew what else to do with it.  But before she had found a place, she heard a knock on the door. 

"Who could that be?" she wondered, forgetting about the bear in her hand.  Her pastor stood before her when the door was opened.  "Good evening.  Come in and warm yourself."

He entered with a smile, then turned his eyes to the stuffed animal.  "I can't stay too long," he said, bringing his eyes back to her.  "I'm handing out a few left over angel tree cards and thought you might like one."

Colleen gladly took one and thanked him.  When the pastor had left after a few minutes, Colleen took a long glance at her card.  "A little boy named Joe.  Needs clothes, a pair of shoes, and...oh, look there," she said with a smile, "a teddy bear."

*

 

Colleen read the house number once more; it was correct.  After a knock on the door, she waited a short while for a reply.  With her hands full, all she could do was smile when the door flew open.  A woman held an infant on one hip and a young boy hugged her other leg.  "Merry Christmas."

 

The woman bore a grin full of teeth and patted her son.  Joe stepped forward and gently took the first gift from her.  He saw the bear and instantly he widened his grin . 

 

She couldn't hold back tears of joy as she watched the family.

 

"My boy...hasn't been this happy...in a long while.  We're so poor and with so many mouths..." the woman's eyes misted.  "Thank ya for caring."

 

Colleen was welcomed into the house and offered a very weak type of coffee.  The children helped open Joe's presents and when all were open, he let his siblings have some of the candy.  Soon, Joe had warmed up to her and was talking her ear off, until his mother told him to hush.

 

When they had done their good byes, Colleen drove home.  As she sat in her living room, she thought about her new friends.  Had she have left that dirty old bear in the street, Joe and his family wouldn't have had such a merry Christmas.  She suppressed a smile and thanked God for the opportunity of giving to them.

 

By Savannah Jo

Elliott     

 

Credit: Google search

 : )



Gone are the Goat Days

It was a bittersweet day when I woke up at 7 o'clock that morning. 

It was the first Monday of December, and, though I knew it was coming, that didn't change the fact that I was half saddened to see it right before me. 

First of all, we got our horses and helped a neighbor gather his cattle.  It--in short--was a learning experience and one that we'll most likely never forget.  Needless to say, we did get the cattle penned.

That afternoon, we headed to Dodge City with a pickup-bed load of goats.

It was off to the sale with my nannies...

~

I got my first Boer nannie in 2010.  She was stubborn and rude and it's amazing that we kept her so long.  No one got along with her, but me, though we still had our spits now and then.  My second nannie goat (a LaMancha) was given to me later that year.  From those two, I raised many kids.  We would sell the billies and weathers (neutered billies) when they were old enough, and keep the females, hoping to enlarge the herd.
And this is how we ran the goats for the last few years.  They were free ranged on pasture land, so we were only making profit from the deal.  (No feed cost such as grain and hay, and they were healthy, so no vet or medicine cost.)  It was overall a really good and fun experience. 

But then they started escaping.  That put a damper on things.  After penning them at our branding pens, the fun was instantly yanked out of our grasp.  We were having to feed and water them multiple times a week and the business end was going down hill.  With winter around the corner, it wasn't going to get any better.  In Oct. we sold five and now we've sold our last four. 

~

Truth be known, I was sad, not to sell the goats in general, but to sell my little Stacy Day.  She was the best goat in the world! 

After I lost Tonzo, my dog, Stacy was kind of like his replacement.  I was milking her, so she was here at the house.  I could let her run around with me and she'd stay right close.  If she did wander off, I'd call her back and she would come.  It was so cute and just like a dog!

One afternoon I decided I'd teach her a trick or two...

Yep, she knew how to shake my hand, spin in a circle, back up, and she'd voluntarily "kiss" my nose.  She, to the day we sold her, would jump into the back of a pickup with just a verbal command.  She was a wonderful milk goat since she hardly kicked and gave nice tasting milk.
It's bittersweet because we no longer have to worry about them, feed them, keep them penned etc...  Yet, I don't have my sweet black and white Stacy. 

It was all for the best, however.

And so ends my years of owning and raising free ranged goats... for now anyway.  : )

Cats and Christmas

 

 

Life with a kitten (or cat) can be an adventure.  Even as I type I have BingBong on my lap, trying to help create this post.  Ha!  Whatever.  He's biting my fingers and pressing unwanted buttons.

 

Now, with the Christmas season in swing, we have to work with these little guys, as they love to play in the tree.  The two house kittens--BingBong and Skader--are already really ornery since they keep jumping onto the tables and couches and plants, etc.  So the tree is naturally the best toy they could play with, or so they think.

 

Just a night or two ago, BingBong was rolling a breakable ornament across the living room.  It was a good thing the ball fell onto carpet before he batted it onto the hard floor!

 

So when bells jingle and the tree starts swaying, we instantly know what's going on.

 

Of course, the cats just look at us and meow like they've done nothing wrong.   : )

 



 

 

Processing a Deer

The idea of this post is to show you another side of what we do.  Dad is a huge hunter and as is the rest of the family, so around this time of year, we get to process a few deer and/or antelope and elk.  
 
This deer was shot by Big J. last Monday. 
 

Photo credit goes to Dad

After we get the deer home, we gut it (also called field dressing because sometimes this is done in the field).  All the inner parts are removed, the deer is washed out with a water hose if one's nearby, and frozen water bottles go where the guts once were.  We wrap the whole deer in a tarp or sheet and keep it in a horse trailer for a couple of days.  And it's usually cold out, so it doesn't spoil, plus the bottles keep it cool.

 

When it's done aging, we bring the deer inside the shop and hang it by the hind legs.  The skinning process is then started.  All hide is pulled or cut off the deer, exposing the meat.  In this picture below, you can see the "back strap" being cut off the back, near the spine.  This piece of meat is used for steaks.

  

 
Dad, with his many years of practice and knowledge, continues to cut off good parts of the deer for us to eat.
 
In this picture you can see a few piles of good meat that we will eat in the near future.
 

 
Once the meat is off the carcass, we three kids and Dad head into the kitchen to trim off any fat and other bad parts, along with cleaning off any hair.  At this stage, we turn on the Carpenters or Christmas music, it's a tradition...

And yes, the cats think they need to help in the step.  They swarm around the our feet and clean up any fallen scraps.  Here in this pic. BingBong is licking his lips as he moves from one scrap bucket to the other.
 

 

Dad is trimming this back strap

 And when all of the trimming and cleaning is done to the meat, it's time to pull out the meat grinder!  We use a meat grinder in order to make hamburger.  But remember, the back strap is kept separate, to be cut into steaks.  Also, we make a lot of stew meat, and that is hand cut as well.  But in this case, we mainly used the grinder. 
 
The chunks of meat are pushed into the machine.  Big J. and Little J. are both very good at this and help out, as shown in this picture.
 

 
The ground meat comes out looking just like hamburger you'd buy at the store, only this would be venison.
  

 

 
And we don't leave anyone out in this job!  Mom is the head of wrapping.  She takes the ground hamburger and other cuts (steaks, stew...) and wraps it, first in plastic wrap, and second in newspaper.
Apparently, her time working at Subway was a good thing since she now wraps all of our meat the same way as the subs.
 

 

When everything is wrapped, we label the package with a marker.  As this picture shows, we put the initials of the hunter (JB in this case), the animal (buck this time), date, and what cut (loin).   

 

Front

 

Back

 

 
Once we've wrapped and labeled every one of the packages, it's off to the deep freeze.  And I bet you can guess what happens after that. 

 
Now, this is just how we do it.  Other people have different ways, different cuts, and different wrapping ways.  But, this is the best way we've found and we like it.  : ) 

It's Thanksgiving Day

Hello!  It's a chilly, drippy day in Kansas.

Hope you enjoy and have a wonderful, blessed Thanksgiving!

~

Monday, Nov. 23rd  11:46 am

This year you'd find that our Thanksgiving is a little different from our traditional holiday, at least at the moment.  As I write this, I'm actually in a car, headed to Somerset, Kentucky.  There will be a funeral tomorrow (Tuesday, 24^th) for my great aunt.  So, now it's a road trip with my grandma, aunt, and cousin.  We are having a good time.

 

Right now, as we cross into Indiana, there is a brown field to the right of us, the road and lots of trees on the left.  Most of the trees have lost their leaves already, but some are still hanging on.  We've passed a lot of firework warehouses and many, many antique places. (OH! How I wish we had time to go antiquing!)

So far, it's a beautiful November morning.

Wednesday, Nov. 25th  11:56 am

We're on the road again.  For my birthday, I was able to go to a couple of antique shops!  (Yay!)  I bought a little photograph and a dress for Ambrosia. (Lucky girl. Ambrosia almost always gets a new outfit when I travel.)  But it was a pure pleasure to get to shop a while.  Next stop is Kansas City for a “birthday” meal. 

4:18 pm

Cheddar's is where we ate my birthday meal, and it was so good!  But that was a couple of hours ago.  Now we're driving west, headed to Dodge City. My cousin and I are in the back seat, laptops are open, as we work on our projects; editing photos and typing blog posts.  Such fun, right?

 

 

Here are some things I thought were neat about the trip.

We got to see the Kansas City Royals stadium!  I was instantly back in the mood for some baseball. 

Also, we saw an Amish Buffet and I thought that was pretty neat.

And there were so many beautiful barns back east.  Oh, the photos a person could capture!

 

Though the reason for going back east was a sad one, the little time we got to spend with family was so much fun and good for us.  I got to see a lot of people I hadn't seen since I was eight or nine, so that was great.

 

~

 

Thursday Morning

Now we're in Dodge, and I'm in my cousin's home office typing this post.  The rest of the fam. is in the kitchen talking and cooking the Thanksgiving meal.  We'll be having the turkey and stuffing/dressing, potatoes, salad, ham, and pies.  How tasty will that be!

 

3:06 pm

We are stuffed!  The meal was great.  And it sleeted outside as we finished up eating.  Now for the afternoon we'll visit, listen to Christmas music, and eventually head back to the ranch.   

 

Happy Thanksgiving!   : )

More from Today

We had to move our replacement heifers today.  It was pretty chilly with the wind, but what a beautiful day! 

We three kids rode the horses (led Dad's) to a gate north east of the house and met Daddy there.  From that spot, the four of us rode and gathered the heifers and two bulls in the pasture.  The move was easy like nearly all of ours and mostly uneventful.  Big J., however, spotted a live rattlesnake and Dad took care of it.  That is kind of crazy to see a snake this late in the year, but then we have had some nice days, so they, apparently, are putting off going and hibernating.

And after we finished pushing the cattle to the watering tank, we rode home, leading Dad's horse as he took the pickup to continue to check stuff.  : )

Picture Post, Nov. 19

Monday was one stormy night.  We could see huge clouds and lightning in the north and south, and tornadoes were touching down in both directions.  The radios were blaring with warnings, updates, and what to do in the case of a twister.  It was said, "it's spring out there, even though it's almost Thanksgiving."

The next day was clear, at least in the morning.  This picture, taken while walking the dogs, is of these clouds moving in, bringing wind and chilly temps.  Some areas around us even got snow.  

Yesterday... temps were in the 60's and it wasn't too windy. 

In Oklahoma, you just never can tell what the weather is going to do.  : ) 

Picture Post, Nov. 12

Hello once again.

It's time for another picture post and this week's photo is of two calves.  They were very cooperative and stood perfectly for their pictures. 

~

Yesterday, Little J. and I came in from picking the last of the garden.

So, yes, we had a garden this year, and yes, it was one of the best we've ever had.  The rains in April and May really jump started it and the rains after that helped keep it going.  It didn't get hot like some years in the past, and what a huge blessing that was as well.    : ) 

Thursday Morn

If you were to walk into our home today, you'd get a mixture of aromas; pumpkin cooking on the stove top, pears and pumpkin seeds drying in the oven, a sweet and salty smell of fruit and seasonings.

School books are scattered on the table while we prevent falling behind in our education.  One or two of the house kittens go pouncing in the sunrays of the late morning sun.  The wind howls outside, keeping it in our mind that a front moved in last night.

The leaves are getting ripped from the branches and I bet it'll be like any other fall--we won't be using that rake this year.  The grass is losing its green (we're surprised it even lasted this long), the air is getting crisp.  We are getting into that spirit which comes along this time of year.

Thanksgiving, time with friends and family, looking at what we're blessed with. 

It's a "typical" morning at the ranch.  : ) 

The Good, the Bad, and the Buggy

I despise bugs, but at the same time, I really like them.  (I'm talking taxidermy here, people...)

Bugs are the worse thing about animal mounts, and I for one know that.  Well, if it's not the number one thing, then I don't know what is.  For me, however, bugs have destroyed some of my very first pieces of art and for that I got/get pretty mad at those flying millers. 

If there weren't bugs, I would be a great taxidermist, at least in my humble opinion, and I could enjoy the pleasure of it more than worrying about the amount of Borax I use.  (Do not misunderstand, there are ways to mount a beast and protect it from bugs.  But, since I'm not a real taxidermist, I'm just making do with what I have to use.  Some day, I'd like to do a real mount with the chemicals or at least with something that is strong enough to keep bugs at bay, but until then, I'm just learning.)

Then on the other hand, bugs are great!  I'm even raising my own.  Dermestid beetles is the proper name of the bugs I have.  And, here's a fact: you can buy this type of bug.  Cool, huh?  But, actually, I got mine out in our pasture for free and they've been multiplying since then.  There's a slim chance I'll ever run out.

So, if I don't like bugs and they destroy my hard work and time, why am I raising them?

Because I not only like mounted animals, but I also really like animal skeletons.  And these bugs are just the ticket to get clean, not rotten bones and skulls.  It's the more natural way to clean it.  (There are other ways such as boiling, sun bleaching, time... etc.  But with the bugs, you can watch the process.  And by using the boiling idea, it's extremely hard to know how long to boil small skulls.  I once did a mouse skull and because it's a fragile bone, it crumbled.  However, bugs can get to the tiny spots, clean it, and while doing so, the bone doesn't get weak from water.)

In the picture below are four things my bugs have already cleaned.

On the down side, the bug way to clean skulls and such takes a while, and at times it doesn't appear much is happening in my box.  So, we do boil most of our deer heads, besides, they can handle boiling water unlike mice heads and little things.

~

My bugs live in a blue plastic tub.  For a lid, I have a large piece of cardboard with a hole cut into it.  Over the hole is some screen so the bugs can breathe and the smell of old meat from bones can escape.  The lid is held down by a log.  No, it's not the best looking container, but it keeps the bugs in and it's been working thus far.  It just looks redneck...

I never water them, which is pretty nice.  I just give them something to eat (a.k.a. a bone or skull with meat on it) and they munch on that.  When it's clean, all the meat is gone, I remove the skull from the box and they may or may not eat for a while.  Actually, I forget about the little colony sometimes, so it's a surprise when I open it up and see how far they've come.

At present, the colony is working on Little J.'s antelope skull, a very old badger skull (I think), a fox skull, and a jackrabbit skull.  That's a lot for my little guys, so I'm not expecting them to finish any time soon.  But what fun it is!  : )

Picture Post, Oct. 22

 

 

Well, here you go barn lovers.  : )

 

 

Disclaimer:  This is not our barn.

The "I'm Sorry" Post

I'm sorry. 

You might be thinking, "what is she talking about."  Well, I'm sorry for not writing better blog posts.  Maybe some of you are happy with the ones you're reading, others might not feel the same.  I read some that I like and I read some that I don't like.

I have been working so hard to grow my list of "boardies" (pets I board) that anything other than Facebook and Pinterest hasn't been very active.  In addition to working on my pet boarding page and selling odds and ends on Facebook, I've been doing my junior year of high school, house sitting, taking care of the "fort" when Dad and Big J. were elk hunting, and whatever a ranch life requires.  Therefore, blogging has (Sadly) been pushed to the side. 

I find myself asking, "what should I post?" about every single week!  I don't get much feedback, and I know that's because it's sorta harder to comment on this Blogger setup.  I might not even be writing things worthy of a comment.  So, please, don't start feeling bad for not leaving a comment!  As long as I get a few views, I know my blog isn't dead.  (Though sometimes I wonder if it is...  Again, that's not anyone's fault, but mine if I'm not taking time to write anything good.)  

You know, blogging isn't the easiest thing on Earth.

But, that's where I'm at about now. 

So...

Is there anything you readers want me to talk about on this blog?  Any suggestions would be appreciated. 

Thanks. 

P.S. this doesn't mean I'm going to quit this blog!  : )

Movie

Have you watched this movie?  I highly recommend it!

Name: Temple Grandin

Director: Mick Jackson

This drama/biography of Temple Grandin was very touching.  It takes a certain movie to make me cry and this is one of the few.  I have to admit, I was near tears at more scenes than I can count.  Can I say, "every scene"?  If it wasn't sad tears it was happy tears.

The movie showed how Temple worked through her autism and made her life worth something.  As was said in the movie, "I know there are a lot of things that I can't understand but I still want my life to have meaning."  She faced life, all the down talk from people and tough situations, and eventually succeeded. 

She was tough.  She didn't give up.  Whenever a door was in her path, she'd accept it.  After all, you never know what's on the other side until you open it.

During the movie, we were pulled into her life.  We saw things as she did, at least the best that we could. 

If you were to ask what part was my favorite, I'd say there were too many!  The whole deal was everything a movie should be.

But if you were to ask what part was my least favorite, I'd say, without hesitation, the part when the men changed her ally set up and killed three cows.  It was SO frustrating!

I don't want to tell you everything, so I'll end here.  If you want to watch a movie that at least inspired me, I say watch this one.  : )   

Different

not less

 

Web photo of Temple Grandin

My Taxidermy

 
Some of you may already know that I really like taxidermy.  Last year, I guess it was, I took it upon myself to learn how to mount animals.  With the help of the internet and practice, I have come quite a long ways.  At present I have two pigeons I'm working on. 

Don't get me wrong!  I'm no expert!  I still have bug problems (they eat and ruin the whole mount) and some of my mounts haven't turned out real-looking.  However, I'm still learning.

Here are a few taxidermy projects I have done since I started.  They aren't in any order.  : ) 
  

Antelope Hunt 2015

Yesterday marked the 3rd year I've had my blog, and now marks the day I got my first antelope.  What a big day!

Remember back in March, I wrote a post about winning the guided antelope hunt?  ( http://happyfaceranch.blogspot.com/2015/03/success-is-mine.html )  Well, I was terribly wrong about thinking the hunt wouldn't be fun.  What was I thinking?!  The hunt was one of the best.

Dad and I drove down to Stratford, TX, late Friday afternoon.  We met up with the landowner and his son, the guy in charge, the boy who also won the contest, and his brother.  After we had met everyone and talked for a bit, we drove around the pastures and fields, scouting for antelope.  We saw some right off...on the neighbor's land.  Finally, we saw some on the land we were going to hunt on and at dusk, headed to town for supper.

Early, early Saturday morning, I tossed and turned in bed as thunder and rain filled my ears.  Lightning was almost a constant light in the room and some thunder awoke me.  Finally, I fell back to sleep and then it was time to get up.  There was no light coming into my room as I climbed out of bed and slipped into my jeans.  The sound of thunder had ceased.  It was no longer raining.  My hunt would continue.

All 7 of us met up at a local diner and stuffed ourselves with breakfast.  It was after eight o'clock by the time we started hunting.  It was a very crisp morning.  With over cast skies, heavy sprinkles, and temperatures in the mid 40's, we felt frozen driving around with the windows down.

Then we saw one.  A buck off in the distance. We drove towards him, but nearly got stuck in the mud from the rain during the night.  Instead of standing still, he bolted.  We tried to cut him off, but that didn't work.  The race was on.  With long, smooth strides, he covered ground at a speed which caused us pursue at a faster pace.  He crossed a road and was lost in the CRP ground on the other side.  We attempted to follow him, but the grass grew so tall he was lost forever.

But, there, in the distance, stood a herd of antelope grazing in a field.  Another rain was approaching.  Low thunder rumbled across the sky and a meadow lark called to its buddy.  The grass waved as  a gentle breeze chilled us.  It was as peaceful as it gets.

We had driven around the whole circle of wheat before we found and got a close up look at the herd, and they were splitting.  The four best bucks went with a handful of does and disappeared between two circles of corn.  After a good look at the remaining ones, we followed the herd which had left. 
 
The Ford was close to stuck again and mud was flung everywhere.  We managed to get out and on safer ground before the antelope had left entirely. 

When we stopped on the paved road, we saw them standing there.  Most of them were broadside, the lighting making them silhouette, and if only we had a camera out at that moment!  They moseyed down the other side and we pulled off into the grass.

Every time we got settled and close, they would ease their way from us.  We moved a few times before the distance and angle was just right.  And finally, I had one picked out of the four.  We called the other hunters so that they wouldn't be in the way and I got ready.  

I sat in the back of the pickup (it's legal to shoot from the pickup in TX).  My gun, Zipper Trigger, was loaded, I was mentally ready, and...the antelope laid down to chew his cud.

What?  Really?

We sat and waited for minutes.  Five minutes grew into fifteen, then twenty.  A doe stood up, stretched, shook off the raindrops, and laid back in the grass.  After we had sat there with the windows down, just waiting on that one antelope, they reluctantly stood up.  Of course the one I was going to shoot was the last to stand.  But when he did, it was the end.

Raindrops dripped off Zipper Trigger's barrel as I shot the antelope through the heart.  He fell dead just a little ways from where he had taken his last stance.  My first antelope was in the book! 

The other hunter trailed after the herd after a few pictures and successfully shot his.  More pictures were taken of both of us and of the group and then we took care of the critters. 

I don't know why I was nervous.  The fun--like most times--out weighted the nervousness by a ton. 
Everyone was so polite, helpful, and great.  I would do it again if I only could!
 
And that, my friends, is why I couldn't do a blog post yesterday.  : )     

October 1

Work hard and cheerfully at all you do, just as though you were working for the Lord and not merely for your masters.

Colossians 3:23

 

Happy October 1st to you all!  : )



 

Picture Post, Sept. 24

Some of Mama Hen's chicks

We have chicks!  Beatrice and Mama Hen must not like laying daily eggs since these are their second batches of chicks this year.  The way it's looking, we'll not be buying chicks next spring.  Beatrice has two and Mama Hen has six, bringing our total to twenty.

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Little J.'s cat wandered off a few weeks ago and hasn't returned.  Since then she's been longing for a kitten and so yesterday, her wish was granted.  Thanks to our grandma, she/we now have two black and white kittens. 

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I went to the writers' meeting thing again yesterday.  I'm so thankful God has blessed me with all of those women and opportunities.

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There's not a breath of wind at the moment.  It's sunny and 78 degrees.  : )

Cattle Drive in Oklahoma

 

We never knew there was land as rough as this in our own state.  You can drive through flat farm land and then at once you're in rolling hills and canyons.  These pictures don't show the real texture of the place, it was much more rough.

 

 

Wednesday night through Friday had a feel of old fashioned days and a museum.  We spent two nights in a cabin with no electricity and water.  We used an old outhouse, antique cots as beds, and lanterns and flash lights.  We also had to ignore the fact that mice were staying in the cabin...  But it was such a joy.  It inspired me to get on the ball and write.  The cabin and everything was so quaint, but served its purpose well.

       

This is a gigantic sunflower we came across.

 

We got up in the dark each morning and after a large breakfast, headed out with three other riders to gather the cattle.  The pastures were big and most of the time fences, pumps, houses, high-line poles, etc. were out of sight.  In many ways it was as if we went back in time and were riding the range just as the old cowboys use to. 

 

That's what we were doing really.

 

Riding the range, picking up any cattle we saw with the right brand and heading them to the gate.  Only the wind in the grass and occasionally the whistle or hum of a cowboy was heard.  Thunder rumbled in the sky at one point in the day.  The cattle never ceased to moo and there was the cracking of branches as they broke their way through brush.  The cowboys hollered and whistled them forward.    

  

 

When we weren't on the horses or working with the cattle, we were in the house.  Stories were told across the dining table and laughter was a common sound. 

 

We had to leave on Friday afternoon and getting away was tricky.  It was hard to break a conversation, but it finally happened.  We got home safe and sound.  Most likely, we'll be doing this again. 

 

Happy Early Fall!  : )