Happy Anniversary To Us

Well, it was my anniversary, but unfortunately before knowing the date, I committed the kids and I to show sheep with our 4H club at the Colorado State Fair. So, 5 girls and Ian loaded up a bunch of sheep in the back of the truck, hauled them to the trailer, loaded them into the trailer and drove down to Pueblo. We then transferred them to their pens at the fair. Boy was that some fun! None of them were halter trained so we man handled them all the way into the fair. We got some weird cross-ways glances the whole way in!

Hauling Hay

Izzy hauling water

Ike & Dixie hauling water

Kelly & Izzy feeding Dudley

Waiting & waiting for the show to start

And waiting

Kelly, Ian, Shelby & Izzy taking Douglas for his winning picture

Kelly & Sundance posing for the winning photo

I finally was able to kiss and hug Mac and tell him Happy Anniversary at about 11:48 PM, with 12 minutes to spare! We learned a lot about showing sheep, finally were able to go to the state fair, and had a good time with our 4H peeps!

Fall in the Rockies

Random thoughts about fall in the Rockies...

1. Fall has definitely arrived in the Rocky Mountains. It's was 34 degrees outside this morning. It was pretty cold in the cabin, too. I had to get up and start a fire this morning; the first for the season. The bridge over the creek was frozen. I just about lost my footing when I went out to feed the horses. Luckily, for me anyway, the creek dried up a month ago. Even so, I'm thinking handrail?

2. The cold is bringing lots of changes. The leaves are turning yellow, red and different shades of brown. I had a little 'walkabout' to take some pictures. I LOVE fall!

3. The elk have also moved up higher in the mountains. The last one I saw on the property had antlers with an 8' spread. Yup. Big guys. Bigger than my Jeep. I've been hearing them rutting (sparring) and bugling. I love to hear them bugling but it takes a little getting used to. It is almost eerie and it echoes in the canyons. The other day I heard it and was wondering if there was a donkey in the woods.

4. We spent several days this week hauling wood. One of my friends called and asked what I was doing that day. I told her we were pulling trees. She wanted to know how you pull trees...MacGyver cut down a bunch of standing dead aspens and then again into 10' sections. I would take the ATV into the woods, attach 6 or so with a chain, and pull them out to the road near one of the piles. The kids would unhook them, push them closer to the pile of wood and the whole process would repeat until we got them all out. The next day we went back, loaded up the truck and hauled them to the woodpile and dropped them. The last step is to buck them to 18" and the larger pieces of pine have to be split. Most of the aspens are no bigger than about 8" in diameter so we don't have to split them. We guesstimate the grove we were working in has another 50 trees or so that need to come down. We need about 3 chords of wood to get safely through the winter so that should do it. I think we have about 2 chords but we don't have it all cut and split so it's hard to tell. We've got our work CUT out for us! (Sorry, couldn't help myself).

Wood waiting to be bucked

Wood waiting to be split

In the woodbox waiting to be burned

5. We have a trash situation. We used to empty our trash can once a day or once every day and a half. That adds up quick. We also don't get curbside trash service so once a month we would haul it in the back of the truck to the local dump. But with the bears, squirrels and raccoons getting into it, it often means we are having to go more often or pick up a big mess. We decided a few weeks ago to get a trash compactor to see if it would help the 'situation'. Since getting it, we have only taken the trash out THREE times. We can't believe it! I think every house should have one. It would save everyone money, time and energy and think about the landfill space we could save. We even used it once to crush our cans. It is totally worth it. Plus, there has been no more squirrel, raccoon or bear sightings. And I don't have to pay out chore money quite so often! HAHA! One word: Awesome!

One week's worth of trash in a nice, compact 8"x16"x16" bag.

6. Ike and MacGyver are going camping with the Boy Scouts this weekend. This is Ike's first scout camping trip. He's trying to move up in his rank and he'll be able to knock out most of the camping requirements this weekend. He's using my old internal frame backpack. He's excited beyond belief! He's packed, meals are bought and packed and ready to go. Now all I've got to do is make some Rice Krispy Treats for a bunch of hungry boys. I think I'm going to make him add some long underwear, in light of the recent nighttime plunge in temperature, as well as a sleeping bag liner.

7. We met one of our neighbors yesterday. He lives at the end of our road (on the paved side). We were getting a new propane tank because we are switching companies and getting the propane topped off for the winter. Evidently, Mr. Propane guy couldn't find us and stopped to ask Mr. Neighbor where our house is. It isn't a surprise, really, when even the fire department can't seem to locate us. So, Mr. Neighbor jumped on his ATV and came up to our cabin to inquire if it was the correct address. I was just getting back from town and pulled up to a traffic jam (haha) on our road with the confused Propane Guy, Mr. Neighbor Guy, and MacGyver on his ATV. The propane guys aren't able to get back here between October and May so we have to make sure our tank is full before the snow starts to fly. Anyway, Mr. Neighbor knows all the ATV trails around these parts and offered to show them to us. I see plans in the near future! The kids were hoping he'd drop a tire like this guy.

8. The puppies all have their eyes open and have doubled in size. I think it's just about time to start feeding them solids. I'm not sure Molli is able to keep up...plus they are getting teeth. She has it written all over her face: "I'm DONE"! I'm going to run to Wally World and pick up a couple of chip and dip serving trays. You know the kind with the bowl in the center? They are pretty cheap and is a great way to feed the puppies and keep them from walking all thru their food. We still have to wipe them down or give them a full bath once in a while, but it reduces the frequency.

9. We have a new 9 week old puppy. I know. We are insane. At the moment, we have 3 dogs and 9 puppies. We are training him as a Medical Alert Dog. He chewed thru our high-speed internet yesterday. Luckily, MacGyver had enough cable to replace it. We also hung it higher so he couldn't get to it again. I scolded Tank for not being a better babysitter. He gave me the familiar look, too... "I'm DONE"!

10. Maggie caught a pheasant the other day. She caught us a little off guard, too. We didn't know she was a bird dog. When we yelled at her, she let it go and it flew off. We saw a pair of pheasants a few days later and wondered if that was one of them. One of them was looking a little dazed and confused. I'm guessing the sight of us gave him a little Post Traumatic Stress.

Ahh, Fall in the Rockies!

New barn cat

Evidently, we have a new barn cat. I'm guessing she's taken up housing in one of our barns. We've actually been knocking around the idea of finding a barn cat somewhere to keep the mice at bay. You would think with all the fox we see that there would be less mice. Anyway, she's been here a few nights meowing for food, (around midnight). That's just gonna have to stop. Anyway, all we had was dog food, which she didn't seem to mind. I finally told the kids about her this morning. She came back this morning meowing for more food. She is very cute and sweet and loving and is starving for attention. She is also very, very thin. The kiddos are already in love with her. They've named her Maple and I think she is calico with a little Maine Coon.

She's pretty small so I don't think she's very old. My guess is that someone dropped her off on our road hoping someone (like me) would take care of her. She's been hanging around our front steps all morning and the kids can't stand it. They are head over heels in love with her. Evidently, I need to make a trip into town for some cat food! The biggest concern I have right now is keeping my Maggie from shredding her to bits. Oh! That Maggie! She's a little protective and has a pretty big prey drive.

This is Maggie, staring at the squirrel, licking her lips, trying to decide if it is worth leaving her mama, just to give chase...

What a day! (with added pix)

Wow! What a day! We had a nice, quiet, fun family day. We did a new but rather surprising little hike. We were hoping for a longer hike but with our late start, it was just what the doctor ordered. It began and ended at a creek so the dogs and kiddos jumped in, cooled off and played a bit.

We ate our snacky packed lunch and left just as the afternoon rain was moving in. As we were leaving, a bear started to run out in front of our truck and stopped. We pulled over to try and get a picture but he decided to make a break for it behind us, climb a tree so he could get across the barbed wire fence, and took off up the hill. Sadly, these three butt shots are the only shots we got (and from my cell phone)...

After all the fun, we went home and got a short nap. Why is it that rain always makes me so sleepy? The kiddos watched Nancy Drew, we had jimbalaya for dinner with some yummy canteloupe I picked up at the Sunflower Market and then we ran to get the kids' picture IDs for 4H. The day ended with us walking our road tonight picking the brand new wild raspberries growing all over the property. Yum! Tomorrow we'll have to come prepared and bring some buckets! The sunset is beautiful and it was a nice, quiet, peaceful day. I love these kinds of days. They bring a sense of order among our crazy lives. I'll try to post some pix soon!

4-H Projects

This entire day and most of the week has been dedicated to 4-H. They each have two projects. Ike is doing rocketry and .22 rifle shooting. Izzy is doing rocketry and quilting. Little did we know that each project also requires you to complete a 15 page report relating to the goals, expenses, daily activity records and finally a report summarizing all of the above. Who knew they require so much? Not only that but they have to give a short speech about it in front of their group and meet and interview with a judge on exhibit day. Wow! Needless to say, all our brains are fried and in serious need of some chocolate. We are still working on putting the finishing touches on all our projects, too. This 4-H stuff is harder than it looks. And it took them all day to finish up just one of their reports! Yikes. I'm glad we still have another week. I was dreaming all about it last night. I'm ready for summer to start. What? It's almost over? My bubble is too fragile. I am going to pretend we have another month. Maybe I will just dream of the beach tonight.

Summer reading

As a homeschooling mom, I sometimes get frustrated that I can't pack a lifetime of knowledge into a single school year. I have found, though, that we can take a bite out of it at a time and can add a little salt and flavor to the necessary schoolbooks by stretching it into summer fun reading. The kiddos have already completed their summer reading programs through the library and we're just getting started. They love reading on their own but love for me to read with and to them, still. I love to learn as much as they do so it is time well spent. And all the snuggle time is good for this mom's heart and health! We're working on completing the series of DK Eyewitness Books. They each have different authors but are designed basically the same. This summer, we are checking out 2 of them at a time, giving each of my kiddos a chance to pick the one they are most interested in, every time we go to the library and in addition to their own solo choices. There are hundreds of them on every conceivable topic...states, travel, medicine, etc. The one on skeletons and epidemics is slightly disturbing. Maybe a little more than slightly. Be forewarned. Ike loves the science and history ones, and definitely the spy one. Izzy loves the bug and animal ones. I love them all but dig the ones on anything discussing medical, geography and science. I think that pretty much covers all of them. The electrical and technology ones are fun but can be a little "yawn" for me. Just not my thing. I'm just not "wired" that way. We own a few of these DK books and have loved pouring over the pages. They are laid out almost like a magazine with a bunch of insert pictures with short descriptions and tidbits, longer paragraphs, and are a little more comprehensive than an encyclopedia (do you still remember those pre-google things?), but also provide fun and little-known facts.

I took some pictures to show you but I believe my computer has just been infected or taken hostage so I switched computers so I could finish this post. I'll have to deal with that one tomorrow. Yikes!

Ike picked out the Civil War one this time. There was a little picture and description that told how some of the boys that were under 18 enlisted and didn't want to lie about their ages. So, they creatively decided to write the number 18 on a piece of paper and tuck it into their shoes so that when they were asked if they were over 18 they felt like they could honestly answer "yes". Or the story of how one general lost his right arm, another lost his left arm and they joked that they could buy a pair of gloves and split them. Too funny! Izzy's butterfly and moth one talked about the differences and similarities of the two like how butterflies' antennae are clubbed on the ends and moths rest their wings flat. These books are full of information and are great for little ones with colorful pictures and old people like me that like to review and learn new things. They hold your attention but are easy to pick up and put down for little ones with short attention spans. Go check a few out at the library. They are a great way to identify the different areas each of your kids are interested in and maybe open a new joy of learning for you, too!

Ike's Birthday

Ike's 11th birthday is coming up. He will be starting middle school in a month. I realized today how long his legs are. That's where all that food goes! He's been weed-eating around the ranch and trying to make a dent in the jungle. He's also getting ready for the 4H County Shoot in a couple weeks. We haven't been practicing very much because the monks have started coming in to the "monkey village" for their summer retreats and we haven't wanted to disturb their solitude. So, we took off for a much needed family trip back to the spot where we took an extended camping trip last year, deep into the forest. We found a campfire that was still smoldering and a bunch of garbage strewn about. We happened to have a garbage bag handy and a few gallons of water we keep in the back for the dogs and cleaned up and put out the fire. It is unbelievable how people treat our national forests! We also brought along all our guns because Ike wanted to get some practice on his .22 and since he had never shot a shotgun before, wanted to give it a try.

So, we found a beautiful spot where someone else set up a piece of cabinet grade wood for target shooting so we used it as a backdrop for our own targets. Again, forgive the poor quality pictures. I'm still just using my phone. I'm hoping there is a new camera in my near future, what with our anniversary and my birthday coming up. HINT HINT HINT

The kids tried the .22, .380, .9, and shotgun but were reluctant to try the 30.06. MacGyver "killled" us a couple bullseyes for dinner, though! We were all very proud!

We also did a little exploring via 4 wheel drive and I took a bunch of wildflower pictures. I also took some pictures of the aspens. I had never seen aspen before coming out west. They are one of my favorite trees now. (And the live oaks, cottonwoods and lodgepole pines)!

It was pretty overcast and a good 15 degrees cooler up here.

I love their leaves. They are called Quaking Aspens because of the sound they make when the wind whips through them. Very beautiful!

We stopped in Woodland Park, another small mountain town, on the way home and got some pizza for dinner. This is a shot of the back of Pikes Peak, where Katharine Bates wrote "America the Beautiful". You can see the front side of the Peak from our old house. Every angle of it looks completely different and is snow-capped about 10-11 months out of the year. There is also a cog railway that runs straight up the Peak. It clicks just like the old wooden roller coasters as you go up it. This is so you don't roll backwards. Its pretty cool. It is 14,100 feet, but is not the tallest in Colorado. That title is held by Mt. Elbert at 14,443 feet. We are at a mere 7,000 feet.

We had a fun family day. On the way home, Ike reminded us his birthday was coming up. When I asked what he wanted for his birthday, he surprised us. He wants a new pair of hiking shoes, a compass and a membership to the NRA. Should I be concerned? Maybe he just wants the free hat and sticker. Maybe he just wants access to the members only shooting range at the NRA Whittington Center a few hours away. I'm not sure why, or even how to feel about the last request but I have a feeling his birthday wishes are different than most boys his age. Maybe I should just be thankful he doesn't want a pair of $400 Jordan's or a keg party.?.?.?

Summer Is Over

I'll confess it here. I can be evil. I blame it on being the youngest child. I like to pull pranks, jump out of nowhere and scare my kids, and tell them all kinds of horror stories. I woke up in such a mood this morning and suddenly announced, "Ok, kids, summer is over. Get your breakfast and let's get started on school!" You could have heard a pin drop. Their mouths hung agape and their eyes went huge. I heard the very oxygen escape their lungs and a faint, "noooooooo" come out of their last remnants of air. I couldn't help it. I really don't know what got into me. I had to laugh...hysterically. It was so funny. They really thought I was serious. Let's just say they were not happy with me. They were, however, happy when I said I was kidding and now it was time to clean the house. Less of a blow, I figure!

Ike and Izzy

Ike and Izzy hanging out with mom and dad and begging to let me take their picture. Really. I was on my hands and knees and told them I would give each of them a new horse. (Just kidding). They really despise having their pictures made. I think I had to delete 30 pictures of them giving me the "stare" before I got one or two really cute ones. Why do they have to make it so difficult? I just thought the lighting was good. Unfortunately all I have is my cell phone. They turned out cute, even so. Now if I could just get that handsome husband of mine to sit still!

Mt. Rushmore

It seems like we took this trip to Mt. Rushmore a month ago. I am just now getting around to posting those pictures. It has only been 2 weeks but we have been so busy with the end of the school year, Boy Scouts, 4H activities, training with our FEMA dog, preparing for a new foal, ranch work, friends, and of course, MacGyver's work. Oh that! The kiddos do their school work on the laptops so as our schooling has come to a close they have been on them non-stop during the day and I am too tired to think by the time night rolls around. It is now Saturday, MacGyver is on shift, and all the animals have been fed. The kiddos are trying to talk me into making donuts. It has been raining non-stop for 12 hours and was cold (45 degrees) when I woke up. We are snuggled in bed playing on various electronic devices being lazy enjoying our day off. We are supposed to be going to a 100th Anniversary Boy Scouts BBQ/picnic this afternoon. It's not looking so good. Most of the time in Colorado we get rain in the afternoons in the summer around 1:00 or so and it lasts about 30 minutes to an hour. I'm sure we've gotten more than 3 or 4 inches. The creek sure seems louder and our road is rapidly becoming a mud pit. When I went out to feed the horses you could see the tracks the earthworms are making on top of the mud. Weird!

Anyway, Mt. Rushmore. The reason for this post. We basically drove up Friday. It's about a 6-7 hour drive through some of the most beautiful country in Colorado, Wyoming and South Dakota. We met up with our sweet friends that we've known since we moved to Colorado in 1997. It's hard to believe we've known them that long. My kiddos think their daughter is a cousin. Works for me! We got up Saturday and hit a few of the local attractions, including Mt. Rushmore. This is our second real trip here. Once we just did a drive-by on another road trip. The first time we were here a few years ago, we camped and made a lot of memories then, too. This is one of the coolest. We woke up to a herd of horses moving rapidly through the woods, being moved to a summer pasture. It was very cool!

I apologize for the quality of the pictures. My camera is broken so I was using my cell phone.

This is the entrance to Mt. Rushmore.

  

Our sweet friends with their new baby!

And then the highlight of the whole trip...

Bear Country.

This is a drive-thru park with all the big game animals of the Rocky Mountains.

It was pretty odd to pay to go here when we live in the Rocky Mountains and have seen all of the below at some point in the 13 years we have lived here. However, it is a "not to miss" attraction. Whether seeing buffalo, elk, mountain goats, big horn sheep (or long horn sheep my husband teases me about calling them once), bear, mountain lions, and wolves is old news or a whole new world, this place was awesome and a feast for the eyes! There must have been 300 bears sleeping, walking, playing, fighting, bathing or patrolling the fences, eyeing all the prey. They walk right up to your car. The kids were beside themselves! Pardon me while I rabbit trail. Colorado only has black bears. They happen to come in every conceivable color; white, brown, red, black, champagne, and even a mix of them all. The northern Rockies, like Yellowstone in Wyoming and Montana and north has both black bears (usually 200-300 lbs) and brown bears (these are the humongo grizzlies you see in Alaska and movies).

 

  

  

  

  

And seeing all those babies! Babies of every kind of animal found in the Rockies...lynx, fox, otters, bear cubs, oh my! They were just so tiny, I just wanted to reach down and pick them up and cuddle them!

  

And then I saw three monkeys climbing all over one of the bears! I didn't know we had monkeys in the Rocky Mountains!

Sorry, I couldn't help myself!

Three hour tour

The kiddos and I decided to go on a short hike yesterday after church. It was a beautiful 75 degree day. We packed a lunch and some water bottles and drove about 5 minutes down the road. The hike was beautiful but grueling, going straight up a wet creek bed for a mile on a little used trail. We only saw 2 people as we started the trail and they were coming down. And then it dumped us out onto a well-used hiking/biking/horse-back trail and we suddenly didn't know if we should go left or right. I have a Verizon Droid phone with no less than 6 apps such as compass, Geobeagle, Googleearth, Altimeter, etc. You would think a person would be able to figure it out with at least a compass. Unfortunately, the best I could do was know that I needed to head west back to the Jeep. And then we got to this spot that overlooked downtown Denver...

And then we stopped a biker to ask him where the trail comes out. I have a pretty good idea that it would end up about 5 miles south of where we were parked and we would have to follow the road 5 miles up the curvy mountain road. We took a vote and decided to just turn around and head back the way we came. I've always contended that my knees hurt worse going downhill than up. We all agreed. But we made it back safe and sound 3 hours later a little muddier, scratched up, and sorer than we started. All in all, a wonderful day!