I’ve run across quite a few of these posts recently and thought it was a neat idea…..especially since I’m challenged for content lately. So, here you go, some trivial things about me that you may or may not have known.
I live in jeans and boots. And dirty fingernails, too. Well, most of the time. It kind of goes along with the horses and cattle, I suppose. I’ve been told I clean up okay, but you’ll probably NEVER find me in a pair of panty hose. EVER.  I’m addicted to ice cream. The nuttier and crunchier, the better. I speak German. I lived in Germany with my Aunt & Uncle for a year when I was 15, and when I came home a year later, I even thought …
…Continue reading 15 Things You Might Not Know About Me
Saturday was branding day. Most of the branding has been done already, these calves were saved to invite some friends over to play….well work, too, but mostly play.
Brandings are the social events of the season in many cases, and when you get friends together to rope and brand, it’s usually a pretty fun time…..especially when the weather cooperates. We’re having a bit of a dry spell in this part of California, with no measurable rain since November 20th. While this is great for a branding, it’s not so great for the ranching and farming world, since water makes the world go ’round. So, while we were happy we didn’t have to drag calves through the mud, we’re still doing secret rain dances to encourage winter to finally come and make the hillsides green again to feed the cattle and …
…Continue reading Nothing Better Than a January Branding in the California Sunshine
Last weekend, I traveled to the San Jose (California) area to have an early Christmas celebration with my youngest daughter, my father, brothers and other extended family members. The family is growing…..as families do. My brother has an adopted son, a 16 month old son and a daughter on the way (yay for me, too, I’m finally going to have a niece!); my step-sister has an 20 month old boy and another baby on the way as well. Living 4+ hours away, I don’t get to see everyone as often as I want to, or should. My bad – that’s my New Year’s resolution, by the way…..to see family more often. (Pictured below, from left to right: my father, my nephew Nick (who returned from Afghanistan last May), daughter Taylor, …
…Continue reading My Daughter’s Gift to Me
I had a fantastic time in Las Vegas last week, checking out all the NFR (National Finals Rodeo) action, shopping with friends, a little nightlife and showing Handsome the sights around Las Vegas, since this was his first time there. (Please keep in mind as you’re looking at these photos, they were all taken with my iPhone 3G, so they’re not the greatest quality pics.)
 First of all, the week started off the right way, when I went to a local coffee house and listened to some cowboy music from Brenn Hill. He’s probably not mainstream to most of you, but cowboy music is different from traditional country western music. The lyrics are all about cowboying and the western way of life, sung by …
…Continue reading Viva Las Vegas!
California is a great state. Yes, political issues aside, I’m a born and bred Cali-girl, and proud of it. I’ve tried living in other states, but I always end up back here in California. You can’t beat the climate and the diversity of the terrain and the number of things to do in California. You can wake up overlooking the Pacific Ocean and in just a few hours time be having lunch in the grandeur of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
I’ve seen a good deal of the state over the decades, but I had never been to the coastal mountain areas and the Santa Ynez Valley. This area is rich in California heritage as it was among the areas that were settled early by the Spanish who built missions that still dot the California countryside today.
This particular area is …
…Continue reading I’m a Cali-Girl, Born and Bred
I have not been giving my blog the attention that it deserves.
For weeks now, I have had no motivation to write much of anything. Even though I’ve managed to get a few posts out there, it was a belabored effort, at best. My Alexa numbers are up and while I know I shouldn’t be basing my success on my Alexa number, it does provide insight for me into the traffic on my blog. The cycle goes like this: My blog posting and writing slows down, my traffic goes down, my Alexa number goes up. If I start writing more, the traffic magically increases and my Alexa number goes down, so I know that the traffic is increasing. Funny how that works.
But, life is challenging me at the moment, what can I say? I’ve even gone so far as …
…Continue reading I’m Ignoring My Blog
No matter the age, our babies are always our babies. And when your child is wheeled away from you on a hospital gurney, there is no greater tug on the heart strings. I’ve watched my oldest daughter go under general anesthesia 7 times now (even though I tell her the oral surgery doesn’t really count, she’s quite adamant that in her mind, it counts!). She’s had major abdominal surgery as a 10 year old, her left hip pinned at 11, her right hip pinned at 12,
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…Continue reading When Your Baby Goes Under the Knife
This morning I decided to head to a nearby town and check out a Ranch Horse Versatility show. I’ve often thought about showing in this discipline, but first I needed to go and see exactly what’s involved so I know what I need to work on. Looks like I’m gonna be busy!
I only stayed for the first half of the show and the classes I watched were ranch cutting, ranch trail, and ranch riding. Later in the afternoon the rest of the cattle classes were held.
Ranch cutting involves riding into a small herd of cattle and sorting out one. Each of the cattle are numbered, and as you ride into the cattle, you are given a number. Once you have that animal sorted out, your job is to prevent it from going back with the rest of the …
…Continue reading Ranch Horse Versatility
Honestly, I never thought I personally would see the day when the cattle would not go to the high country for the summer. It’s been happening for over one hundred years now and you can count the number of years they haven’t gone on one hand.
It’s the weather’s fault. With 4 times the normal snow pack and rain into early June, there is too much water and not enough feed in the mountains yet to justify bringing them up. And there is plenty of feed in the low lands this year, something which is normally not the case.
Usually the cattle make the trip in late May or early June, so by the first of July we’ve usually made several trips to the mountains already. The last weekend in June, because I was suffering from withdrawals and wanting to …
…Continue reading I’m Going Through Cattle Drive Withdrawals
 Cowboys can take a beating, it’s true. And while you won’t hear them complain very often, sometimes it’s all too evident that things are out of whack. After all, hitting the ground shoulder first at what is almost assuredly mach 10, after flying off a horse on the side of a hill will leave a bruise here and there, at the very least.
Now, most cowboys are the jack-of-all-trades type, which means they might be horseback one day, digging ditches the next, grading roads with the tractor the day after that, and finish out the week with fixing fences or – Heaven forbid – mechanicing (I realize this is not really a word in most parts of the country)!
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…Continue reading The Care & Feeding of a Half Century Old Cowboy
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