Life on the High Plains

On a recent trip to a dude ranch in Idaho my family took evening hikes to catch the sunset.  What could better catch the feel of the west than a sunset shot of ropes through a corral fence?  I love it!   I wish I were still there!   Happy Skywatch Friday !

Today was a fun "mail" day. While we were in Idaho my dad gave me his chaps, spurs, and hobbles.  I had to ship them to myself because my suitcase was full.  Dad said he wouldn't be riding a horse again unless he was hoisted on or being packed out of somewhere. A box was waiting on the porch for me when I got home!  (Our neighbor had a different kind of surprise on her front porch today...Irv got a call from her husband who was at work--big snake on the porch and would Irv come take care of it, which of course he did.  That's what neighbors do for each other.)   I will treasure these always and some day I'll pass them down to Jillian.  Thanks Dad!   In the meantime I'll use them with my new horse, Rusty.  Rusty and I went on a two hour ride at Eagle Ridge Ranch and it was the best ride I've had in years.  We got along really well.         I don't know how Irv is going to manage it, but Ru...

We got home late last night from the Maloney Family Reunion.  What a great time we had!  The time went by so fast. The reunion was held at one of my favorite places on earth--Eagle Ridge Ranch in Island Park, Idaho aka God's Country. I didn't get much sleep last night and we leave for our next trip the day after tomorrow so for now I'll just share some of the beautiful scenery.  Stories about our adventures will be coming soon (I promise).  For now I need to go get some sleep and figure out how I'll get everything done before we leave for Albuquerque.          

I did it!  I finished my quilted table topper for the silent auction at the family reunion. This might be more appropriate for a Texan family with all the stars, but it will do just fine for the Maloney family from Idaho who is getting together right before the 4th of July. I have to admit that I love how this turned out. We're leaving for the Denver airport after work to take a late night flight to Idaho Falls. We hold our reunion at a dude ranch in Island Park, Idaho.  Horses, canoes, fishing, hiking, hot tubs, cabins (why is it more fun to pay to rent a horse than riding your own horse?).  I can't wait to see my extended family!

Mary and Mr. Beans have been encouraging Irv's love of the Kansas City Chiefs.   I'm never riding in Irv's car again...especially if that flag is up.

I haven't posted anything about my garden in quite some time.  It's coming along, but is a little "punky" this year.  The lettuce is doing great, but my cucumbers are having a hard time.   I added some green beans this year so I'm hoping they'll do okay.     The tomatoes are not doing great either although I did harvest my first golden grape tomatoes on Saturday.  I thought they were delicious--Irv wouldn't even try one.     Of course the zucchini is doing great, but the summer squash is taking it's sweet time.  This year I only planted half as much zucchini as I usually do.  Last year we had zucchini coming out of our ears and I was making zucchini bread every day.  This year I have my Kitchenaide mixer and Irv gave me the shredder attachment for my birthday.  I can't wait to give it a try!   Irv planted himself a bed of corn this year.  I don't think it's going to be an...

On Thursday Irv, Jillian, and I were in Ft. Collins for the Colorado 4-H State Conference Horse Bowl Tournament.  I've served as superintendent of this contest for several year.  It's a volunteer job I'm afraid I'll have forever.  This contest takes place at one of my favorite places on earth--CSU in Fort Collins. Jillian served as our scorekeeper.  I found out she is a little OCD about making straight lines on the whiteboard.  (I wonder who she gets that from.) I have a great team of volunteers that show up year after year to help with the contest.  They all promised they would be back next year. I tabulate the scores during the contest.  Most people do this by hand, but I made an Excel spreadsheet with all kinds of formulas that do all the calculating for me (if it's possible to do something with a spreadsheet, I'll do it). It's against the rules to take pictures during an actual round of horse bowl so I don't ha...