Blossoms, Buds and Birds

Almond blossom

How wonderful it is to see green grass!  And tree blossoms.  And hear the cranes flying north.  It's a great feeling to see and feel spring arriving. 
This month we have gotten .70 of nice, soaking rain and pretty days.  

The fruit trees this year are starting out nicely.  Some peach trees have a lot of blossoms, as do the almond and nectarine trees.  I can't begin to say how wonderful it would be to actually get fruit from these trees.  Dad has worked hard for years to get trees planted and growing fruit; however, it's never paid off and we have yet to get a single piece of fruit.  
    

Green grass

 

Redbud tree

 The cranes have been busy for sure.  It seems this year holds millions of migrating cranes, and we're not even outside to see every bunch that flies over.  When we're out riding the horses, their calling fills the air and they're impossible to count.  Day and night you can hear them.  It's relaxing.

Elm tree

 

Sagebrush

From the ranch, Savannah.  : )

Peach blossom, I think. 

Thrift Store Finds

Thursday has made it!  This week, I was actually waiting on today.

On Tue. we three girls headed to a nearby town and went to the et cetera shop.  That was fun!  I went wanting to get Ambrosia another outfit, and that's just what I came out with.  

This vintage dress was made in Hawaii.  I especially like long, flowing sleeves and the square collar.  It fits my mannequin perfectly, making this buy worth the two dollars I paid.

As we were about to check out, I glanced behind me.  Instantly my eyes fell on a fake typewriter.  I pictured it sitting on my roll top desk and realized that it fit my personality, so Little J. bought it for me as an early birthday present.  It's kind of like a paper weight, I guess.  Really, I have no idea what this typewriter is for, except for decoration.  : ) 
 

The Goats: Part Three



Female kid



Good news!  Stacy, one of my favorite goats, had twins yesterday!  A little boy and girl. 

 



Male kid

Dad was out checking them and saw that Stacy had the female at her side was taking care of her, but she kept looking around a tree as though she wasn't content yet.  He looked and sure enough, the billy had fallen into the watering hole by that tree.  He got the kid out and thankfully the billy nursed and acted like he was going to be alright.
 

Stacy and her twins

Sad news.  I lost Rapunzel--the first black goat of this year.  She died during a cold spell a couple of weeks ago.  I believe we can all agree that death is the worst part of owning animals, correct?
So, let's hope that these kids, and the other four, will live out their long lives.  : )

Clam

Well... I forgot until just a while ago that today is Thursday--blog day!  Wow, I've never forgotten that before.
Thankfully, I do have something to post about.

Clam!

Enjoying some food.

Clam is my mouse.  Its name has nothing to do with it, honestly, but when Little J. jokingly said to use that name, I did.  
  

Burning off some "fat." 

Dad now says that either he needs to be quiet about critters he sees or learn to say "no" because he was the one who first saw Clam.  (Neither Dad nor Mom really want a mouse.)  As we pulled to a stop at the end of our dirt road, little Clam ran across in front of us.  I asked if I could catch it and Dad allowed me to.  I hopped out, picked it up by the tail and we went on our way after putting it in a jug.

At home, I had an empty fish aquarium which had been transformed into a hamster (mouse, in this case) cage.  I stuck Clam in there, and since then it's been enjoying bird seeds, cheese, and the hamster wheel.  By the very first night, it had learned how to use that wheel, and I mean it was going!  Now Clam gets its speed up and then stops just to ride the wheel as the momentum takes it in a complete circle.  One time, it went three times without stopping. 
 
( I've never uploaded a video, so I just hope this works. )

Our poor house cats don't know what to do with themselves as Clam runs about protected by the glass walls.  In the mornings when we let the cats in, they all gather around the cage or on the nearby chair and watch, as people do when staring at a TV.  I'm sure they're confused about the fact that they aren't allowed to eat this mouse, yet they're encouraged to eat others.  Oh well.  So is the life on this ranch.  Our cats can't eat my pigeons or chickens, but they can eat wild birds and so on.  In truth, I don't think half of our animals really know what they are or what they're suppose to do.   : )

Success is Mine

In November of 2014 my Dad begged me to write an essay/short story for a chance to win a guided antelope hunt.  I really didn't want to write it, not because of the writing part--for writing is my thing, if you get my meaning--but because I thought that the hunt wouldn't be fun, and that was if I even won.  I actually despised having to write and enter such a contest. 
 
But...
 
It was like the day or two before the deadline and I tossed my finished story before Dad, said, "There it is," and walked away.
Both of my parents read it and liked it, helped with the few grammar problems, and we got it sent just in time.
 
I had tried forgetting about the whole thing and figured I wouldn't hear anything more about it.  I know I'm a good writer, but I hadn't worked on the story very long.  It was a quick one to write.  But, after I had figured the contest was over and I hadn't won, we got a phone call.  "I'm pleased to say that Savannah won the contest!" 
 
I didn't know what to do.  I wasn't truly excited because I saw this as something Dad wanted, not me.  But I had won, thus I had something to look forward to: a banquet in March for the four contest winners (I was one of four winners) and the hunt.
 
Now here I was having to tell all of our friends and family about this contest which I had won.  Everyone was naturally excited for me, but I on the other hand was having a hard time acting or even looking excited about it. 
 
Well, I openly let our friends/family read my short story and sure enough, March made its way here.  Finally, the day came that I was to go to this banquet to get my award.  I was nervous like crazy, but I don't know why, as I sit here thinking about what little I had to do.  On Saturday, March 7th, our whole family made the four hour trip to Oklahoma City and went to the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, where the banquet was held.
 
Since I was one of the contest winners, my family and I were seated at one of the certain tables set aside for just the winners and their family.  That's something I've never been a part of, and it was kind of neat.
 
We looked around a bit, then began eating.  After the meal was wrapped up, the speaker got on the stage and we four winners were called up there with him.  The two winners from last year were also there and they accompanied us.
 
As the four of us very nervous teens stood before a sea of faces, we were each handed our plaques.  Here's mine.
 

 

Right after shaking hands and getting our awards, it was all over for the winners.  The four of us walked off the stage and resumed the night, only this time we were more ourselves.  The butterflies, though I never call it that, left and I know that I for one relaxed.
 
The boy winner of last year gave me an album in which I'm suppose to write another story of my hunt after that takes place.  Then, next year, I'll be passing this album to the next boy winner and so on.  So, guess where we'll be going next year!
 
This year there were 90,000 contest entries which really amazed all of us!
 
The hunt will take place sometime in Oct. of this year and will be in the Texas Panhandle.  Dad will be coming along, but only as an observer. 
 
I don't think it's right to just tell of the happenings and not let you read my story, so here it is.   

~



Hunting: Sharing the Heritage

Just what makes hunting a heritage my family enjoys?

My dad started hunting coyotes while he was still young and then moved on to bigger game. Now he has shot countless deer, bull and cow elk, bears, and the list continues. It's something he's really come to like.

He married a great shot—my mom—and she likes hunting as well. The first thing she shot was a deer and since then she's brought down many animals.

My dad's parents are amazing shooters as well. Both have shot snakes in their front yard and who knows what else. And now it's being passed to my younger siblings and me. Hunting runs in the family.

But why do we enjoy the heritage of hunting?

All the pretty mornings and evenings I've spent with Dad while waiting on deer have added up, but it's always good father/daughter time. One of my favorite hunts was in 2011 when I shot the first mule deer to ever be shot on our ranch. Here's the story...

I got up that foggy morning at 6:00 to hunt with Dad. After arriving at our spot, we sat down on a big hill to watch for any deer. And sat and sat. As it grew brighter we could see two does a ways off, but because of the area we were in, we couldn't shoot females anyway. So we naturally passed them up.

After sitting for some time, my uncle called my dad for their usual morning phone call. The conversation was quiet and frank, but then Dad knelt to peek behind us. All at once he said quietly, yet really excited, “There he is!” And my dad's flip-phone slapped shut, obviously ending the call.

Dad told me to get ready to shoot and since I was facing the opposite direction it wasn't as easy as pie. I was excited, of course, but calmed myself enough to get up a little and crawl around some brush so I could at least see the buck. In the process, I got tangled in a root and fell on to the sandy hill, but harmed nothing. It was kind of funny, though a little embarrassing.

I pulled myself from the ground and tried to get ready to shoot...but I couldn't.

I was shaking too much!

The buck was now attempting to walk away so I had to do something quick. He stopped, only to walk again. He kept up that walk and stop game for a while.

Dad whispered, “Are you ready?”

“I'm shaky,” I replied.

But thankfully, the buck finally came to a complete stop. All at once I pulled the trigger.

Had I hit him? Was he down? All these questions filled my head.

“You hit him!”

I watched in silence as the buck trotted away. But Dad was sure I had hit him...why was he running away? The world seemed quiet and made us double guess things. Maybe I hadn't hit him after all.

But then his back legs began spreading apart and he fell! I didn't miss after all!

Dad called my uncle back and told him the news while we walked to my dead deer. Upon approaching the deer, I looked down at a beautiful 5x4 mule deer buck. Both my dad and I were happy campers on the way to the house that morning.

The quiet mornings, peaceful evenings, migrating birds overhead, rustling grass, crickets, and the second of stillness before pulling the trigger, along side a loved one is what makes hunting a very enjoyable thing for our family.

Thus hunting is something that has indeed been passed down to new generations and is something that should continue. I'm thankful for my parents for letting us experience the outdoors in this way.

~

 
As I think about it, I'm really glad Dad begged and pleaded for me to write this story.  It has encouraged me to really believe that I can write something the world will read.  I think this is one step closer to my goal of becoming a published author one day.
 
So, thanks, Daddy.   I'm glad I wrote it, and I'm looking forward to the hunt. 
 
With free passes to the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, we five went to it on Sunday.  It was a nice trip, short, but pleasant and it was all possible because I used my talent from God.  : )

 

Ambrosia's Outing

 

Back in January we had a chilly, cloudy afternoon, and since I'd been looking at trevillion images like crazy on Pinterest, I got Ambrosia (my mannequin) and went to shoot some photos.  This one above shows Ambrosia's shoes and stand which keeps her from falling over.  Out of all of the photos I took, this one is one of my favorites.

 

The great part of capturing my mannequin outside was that she didn't complain once about the cold temps.  I, on the other hand, was practically freezing.

 

My other favorites pictures were these:

 

 

 

I hope you like the pics.  : )