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!

Farmer's Market

I am so wishing right now I would have had the time to plant a garden this year; but it was not to be! I should start working on it for next year and maybe I can get my act together for next year. I could set up the shed to start seedlings this winter. We have such a short growing season, you really can't harvest seeds straight into the ground. Nothing would ever ripen before the first frost! Anyway, we were taking our 4-wheeler up to a fellow firefighter's house to use his welder and fix it up when we found a local farmer's market. I LOVE farmer's markets. There is something so wonderfully magical and romantic about them! Local grown honey, various vendors and of course, the magical and beautiful produce! Unfortunately all the cash I had on me was $8. I still made out and came home excited for lunch and dinner. Look at my loot!

I've never seen Mexican zucchini before!

I had to cut into the canteloupe and tomato for lunch. I just coudn't help myself. I really wanted to bite into it on the way home but decided I'd rather not wear it! I made some chicken salad and had some tomatoes and canteloupe. Slap your pappy! It was so good!

                                       

Makes me really wish I had a garden! My favorite thing about growing up and working on my grandparents' farm was eating green beans right off the vine and strawberries until you got sick. We always started the harvesting days by throwing a watermelon in the creek to chill while we worked in the hot Georgia sun. And the payoff was better than you can ever imagine. And the watermelon spitting contests! Oh! The good days and the memories of childhood! I sure don't miss those acres and acres of workking the fields...especially having to snap peas for hours on the hot porch later, but I do miss all those fresh yummies!

Geocaching

We've been out enjoying our summer weather. Yesterday, we did a community service project for 4-H and cleaned up some overgrown horse trails. It made me think more about geocaching. We've even hit a few geocaches lately, gotten in a few hikes and soaked up a few rays along the way. We've been geocaching for years but haven't done as much of it as we would like. Plus, being in a new area, we have a brand new canvas to cover. Ever done any geocaching? Curious to know more? Here's the scoop...

Geocaching is the world-wide hunt for hidden treasure. It begins with a GPS, a computer, and a love of exploring. Then you go online to http://www.geocaching.com/ and sign up for a free account and then find the caches closest to you. You can purchase an annual membership for cheap and get access to more caches but it isn't necessary. There are different icons and descriptions that appear that you can use the legend to understand. Basically, a "1" means it is easy peasy, you should be able to drive right up to it, and a child can do it. A "5" means you better be in shape, make plans and tell someone where you're going, and don't take little Johnny. Some are urban, some rural. We have a huge trail system less than a mile from here with hundred for the finding. Some, called macros, are large and contain little, trade-able treasures that the kiddos will dig. Others, called micros, are anything smaller than a business card. I have seen some the size of a nickel. I've also seen some disquised as tree branches or pinecombs. Talk about hidden treasure! There are rules, too, like where and how you can hide a cache. For example, you can't place caches in national parks or state parks or bury it. Anyway, once you find your caches online, you can either download them to your GPS or manually enter it. We've started using the free applications and GPS on our Droid phones and made geocaching a little more, well, mobile. Take a glance at the descriptions and you're ready to set off. It's a great excuse to get out and explore our beautiful world! I'll leave you with a few pictures of MacGyver, Ike and Izzy and the loyal stead, Tank, on our last geocache/hike. I took some cool pictures of flowers, too, but I'll put that in another blog! I just saw that there happens to be 13,000 geocaches within 100 miles and over 1,000 within 10 miles. We better get movin'!

This is close to where the geocache was hidden in a camouflaged plastic container:

Traffic

This past week was full of traffic out at our place. The "monkey village", monk retreat center, just south of us finally got electricity run up to their lodge and cabins. The electric company put up a new pole just outside one of our living room windows. I wanted them to move it four feet but they didn't want to spend the $10,000. What? Don't they know it blocks our mountain views? They were very nice guys, though. They let my kiddos go out everyday and watch them trench and set the pole. It was quite the highlight of their week. (We obviously don't get out much)!!!

A couple days later, a guy delivered a truck load of gravel so we could "fix" our road. I use the term "fix" lightly. There really is no hope for it. The very next day it rained so hard it created ruts the size of China in the places we didn't have problems. So much for that! Anyway, MacGyver went out to meet the delivery guy and show them where to dump it. I looked out the window (the same one that now has a huge pole in the middle of it) and saw a tire rolling down the road. Imagine the surprise! I had to laugh. And then they couldn't find it. It has truly become a jungle back here. The kids and MacGyver walked around and looked for it after coming back to call the guys' company to come rescue him. It's nice to know it isn't always our responsibility to save these people! Ike found it down in the creek so MacGyver hooked it up to the winch on the front of the four-wheeler and drug it back up the hill. I made Mac go take a pictures for me. I just had to! There's always a story to be told and it is even better with pictures! I guess I should have gone out and taken some pictures because I missed all the action shots. This is all I ended up with but it was worth the laugh! Evidently, he found one of those rocks in our road and smacked it hard enough to blow the tire and dent the rim. You would think being a delivery driver in the Rocky Mountains, these guys would be more experienced driving on the rocky roads! I was looking at our dirt the other day and realized it looks an awful lot like road base it is so rocky!

It's only Tuesday?

What a crazy week we have ahead of us. I'm tired and it is only Tuesday! Saturday was a BBQ, Sunday was church and another BBQ. Monday was VBS and Boy Scouts. Today was VBS and 4H. Wednesday is VBS and a workday on the property. Thursday VBS and 4H shooting. Friday is VBS and a BBQ. Saturday is an Eagle Scout project.  Sunday is Father's Day. Oh my!  I need a nap!

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!

Our latest addition

And then it happened! Our little filly came. Sable was just moved  to her own corral Thursday afternoon and that next morning, our new baby had come! She was born about 5:00 Friday morning. That was too close! She is solid black, absolutely adorable, friendly and so curious. She is doing great!

She is already learning how to kick!

Sable is getting big

So, I started this post two days ago but didn't know how to get the pictures out of my phone so I put it on hold until I could figure it all out. Unfortunately, it is already old news. Here is the whole story:

Sable is getting huge! She is due any day now. She waddles when she walks and has quite a time laying down and getting back up. I have lots of empathy for her. I just learned that a mare has a "foal heat" which allows her to go into heat a week after the foal is born. It allows them to have a baby every year since their gestation period is 11 months and 11 days. Isn't that crazy long? Anyway, she is due and day now. I took pictures of her to show you how big she had gotten:

And the sweet Amar (the baby daddy)

And our one year-old colt, Sharif, who is being halter trained:

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!