Life on the High Plains

Fantasy football is big in our house.  We've had a family league for several years.  Lots of family members have come and gone...we've even recruited "honorary" family members.  Last year my co-worker and friend, Laura, joined the league, but this year we had to boot her out because she didn't keep up with her team.  We also have Meagan and Nate as honorary family members, they've been with us for a few years. This year we invited nephews, Eric and Ryan, into the league.  So far they're kicking our butts. Something else we've added this year is a trophy...this is to encourage members to keep up with their teams. This is no small trophy, it's about 18 inches tall and quite heavy.  I love the armchair quarterback that sits on top. We decided that this year's winner would be the first name engraved.  Guess who it is! Oh yeah...this girl beat everyone else last season and won the league!  Me and my Peyton Manning!  By the way...

Yesterday we participated in a whole new type of run for me--the Zombie Run.  This was held in a regional park north of town in the woods and was a trail run rather than the concrete and asphalt that I'm used to. While waiting for our wave at 11:00 there were some games to be played.  In this one Mr. Beans had a balloon tied to his leg.  The object was to stomp on everyone else's balloon while keeping his safe.   Mary and Irv took part in the Oreo challenge.  They had to balance an Oreo on their foreheads and get it down to the mouth and eat it without touching it.   We got to hang out with the Umbrella Security crew.  These guys are from Denver.  I saw them on the 16th Street Mall a couple years ago when the Zombie Walk was going on.  They just look cool. And they have cool vehicles. Now it was time for our wave.  Irv and Mr. Beans wanted to be at the front of the pack.  In case you're wondering, ...

We got the call early one morning last week.  It was time to bale the hay.  When we get the call, we go.  We both left work early and headed to the hay fields.  Owning horses is an expensive hobby.  We save a few bucks per bale by collecting it out of the hay fields ourselves and we have to do it the day it's baled before there's a chance that it might be rained on. The first row on the trailer isn't too difficult, the second row goes on okay too.  Irv does all the throwing by the third row because I'm just not strong enough to lift them that high...they weigh about 75 lbs.  So my job is to arrange the rows after Irv throws them on. We don't have a picture of it, but I was up there on top until we got all 90 bales loaded.  Pretty impressive don't you think?  In case you didn't know it, I'm not a sissy girl!  10 more bales in the back of the truck and we've reached our maximum capacity of 100.  (Irv went by h...

A horrific story has unfolded here.  Last Friday the remains of 12 dead horses were found inside a barn in the Black Forest.  They were in four feet of feces and covered with tarps.  In with these remains were four surviving horses.  Emaciated and uncared for.  No telling what horror they had to endure for months and maybe years. One of these horses was Dual Peppy, a world champion Quarter Horse stallion. This is what he looks like now. Our sheriff says these survivors aren't in imminent danger.  Really?  You've let us down Sheriff. These critters have no means to go out and get their own food.  They are totally dependent on humans for everything.  Several rescue organizations have stepped up and offered to take in these survivors, but our Sheriff says there is no legal reason to remove them from the property.  They're going to "work" with the owners to come up with a care plan.  How about food and water?  Isn't t...

 The annual Pawtoberfest was on Saturday.  Irv, Jillian, and I participated along with Bella and Diesel.  As with most things in our family, it was a competition to see who could raise the most funds for the Humane Society.  Irv was the grand champion with $195 in donations.  The three of us raised a total of $430 for the critters in need in our community.  Thanks to everyone who donated!   The event was considerably smaller this year probably because they did not have an official timer.  Without a timer the "real" runners aren't going to show up and support this event.  But there were a lot of dogs of every shape and color.     There were a lot of "pairs" of dogs...like these Basset Hounds.   And these Springer Spaniels   And the most adorable Corgies...one walking and the other riding in a wagon.  (Not long after the start of the race both Corgies were in ...