Permanent Visitors?

Sometimes I wonder when things come into our lives if they are a test or just a part of life-maybe both.  The other night I was woken up by barking outside of my window-my dogs were in the house so this was not normal.  I looked out my window and thanks to a full moon, I was able to clearly see 2 LARGE white dogs who were very happy to see me.  Now, it is 2 in the morning, my bed is warm and cozy but there are 2 very big dogs that I have never seen outside my window-what do I do?  Of course, I get up, put my boots, coat and hat on, grab a flashlight and head out to go say 'hi'-after all, I have lots of critters that could make wonderful snacks for such large dogs and I didn't want any of that!  They were very friendly and happy to see me so I thought that I would just show them the gate and send them on their way-I always have a hard time with this because I would hate to see them hurt but do I try to call the Sheriffs Office to have someone pick them up-I hate seeing them go to the pound too, or do i let them stay not knowing how they are going to behave with all of the other critters here?  Anyhow, one of them wouldn't follow me to the gate-he seemed set in staying so I thought I would put them in the kennel and deal with them come morning-this didn't agree with both of them either. So, after strict instructions that they were not to kill anything, I left them and went back to bed(I didn't sleep well knowing they were out there) but to my surprise they curled up and went to sleep right out the window and were happy to see me again come morning. 

The next morning, since they were still here, presented another 'problem'-my dogs. How is everyone gonna get along?  I decided that on opposite sides of the fence was the way to do introductions.  Thankfully, everyone had tails waggin and didn't seem to mind and so the gate was open and the 'visitors' came on in to the yard. Now what?  We find the owners!

I went and woke the girls up so they could come see them and hang out with them while I fed everybody else-by this time they all thought they were starving.  The girl's were immediately 'in love' with these dogs, which by the way are puppies-90+ pounds of puppy!!

It didn't take long to discover that these were truely gentle giants who loved all the affection they were getting and before long, names were thought of just in case the owners are not found.

 It was very obvious that these pups had never been in a house before as they took a little persuasion, pushing and pulling to get them in but they have now discovered that inside is a cool place to be.

                                                             Gentle giants!!                
                              



                                                       House dogs?  They seem to think so!!

So let me introduce you to Stuart and Grant. Yes, they've been named after Civil War officers.

This Year, Its a Girl Thing

October!!!  Hunting Season-one of my favorite fall activities and this year I was able to experience it with Jessie, but before I go on, let me go back to the events that lead up to this years hunting.

Jessie: Mom, I want to get my hunter's safety so I can go hunting.

Me: Ummm....okay(I'm shocked that she is asking me this and honestly think that she will change her mind)I'm thinkin', "Well, it would be good for her to go ahead and get it-good skills and things to know even if she never hunts.  She has such a tender heart that I dont' think that she could actually shoot a deer, she can't even watch the chickens get butchered."

Jessie: a couple weeks later, "Am I going to be doing hunter safety? I really want to hunt."

Me: "Yep, I'll get you signed up and go get your work book that you have to have done before the class."

So, I get her signed up, got her book and we went to work on getting it done-it was a group effort from all family members.  The book was a whole lot longer and more thorough then it was when I took it-not something to wait until the last minute to get it done. However, Jessie did very well with getting it done and before we knew it, it was time for the class.  The class was 8hrs long split over 2 evenings-it actually only lasted around 6hrs total-had lots of room for improvement is all I'm going to say.  What I am going to say is that Jessie past the test and received her Hunter's Safety card-she was stoked to say the least and so was I. The next part was to register her hunter's safety with NDOW and then start the application process for tags. We all applied for tags but only Jessie and myself were successful in drawing; we both got deer tags. Being that Jessie is a 'youth', she was able to apply for a 'junior or youth' tag that is only available for mule deer and if successful she can harvest either a buck or a doe; my tag was buck only.

Okay, so we find out that we are successful with tags in June but have to wait till October to hunt-no biggy, summer flew by!!

Opening day, Jessie and I go out and find some does right away but she wants to get a buck-she wants something on the wall.  So we pass the does and take off walking looking for a buck. After a couple hours with no bucks in sight we head back to the truck and now Jessie is thinking that maybe a doe is the way to go.  I told her that it was her choice, there is nothing wrong with harvesting a doe after all, my first deer was a doe but, this is her hunt and if she wants a buck, we'll try to find one.  As we get back to the truck, there are a bunch of doe's back where we saw the first ones earlier today. We watch them for a while hoping that if we look hard enough, long enough one of them will sprout antlers-that didn't happen and there was never a clear shot so we headed home for lunch.

I made a couple phone calls that afternoon to see if Jessie could hunt on a ranch that belongs to some friends-the manager said yes, so out we went that evening.  We walked in to the meadow and found a place to sit and watch. After about 20min, the deer started coming out of the willows, including a buck but they were on the far side-way to far away for a shot.  We tried to get closer but were unsuccessful that evening.

Day 2;  Jessie and I went out the next morning and she had decided that she was going to shoot the first doe or buck that gave her a shot to which I reminded her, that if really wanted a buck, we would find one and that she had all month-no hurry.  We went back to the first spot we had gone to the day before and didn't see anything so we took the long way back to the meadow by the ranch.  We parked the truck and took off walking. There was nothing obvious in the meadow when we first got here so we made out way to some trees to take a break and get a snack-that break was quickly shortened when the bulls that were in the trees too took off running into the meadow and into the willows which in turn scared up the same deer we had seen the night before.  We quickly grabbed our stuff and made our stalk.  The deer had gone back into the willows and the bulls had gone the other way. I knew that the deer would lay back down and that we would be sitting there for hours so I set Jessie up in a spot that she could see the whole meadow and I took off walking on the back side of the willows to see if I could get the deer out  into the meadow-this kind of worked for a second and then back in they went. As I came around out of the willows, I motioned to Jessie to move up to another spot and we would try again. She took a few steps and then motioned to me to wait, pointed to the hillside, crouched down, took aim and right before she shot, I found the deer with my binoculars and then BANG!!!

Jessie got her first deer with one shot at 100yds-dropped right in its tracks!!

I couldn't of been prouder- I was literally jumping up and down!!

I have to admit, I really didn't think she was going to be able to pull the trigger once she had one in her sights but boy did she prove me wrong and now she thinks she is ready to hunt antelope and elk-that' my 'little mini-me'!!   Not only did she do great hunting, she handled everything that goes with it like a pro-gutting, picking ticks off, dragging it a half a mile, etc.....it was a great day!!!

So now that the most important tag of the season had been filled, we took the next day off before I started to hunt for my deer. This year, we also had company hunting with us, our Uncle Bill. He had a tag for the same area as me and had been hunting but so far with no success.  My first day out, we did see a couple of small bucks but nothing that neither of us were willing to shoot or never gave me a shot however, like always, the time spent outdoors getting to see some amazing country is always worth the time spent whether I get my deer or not. 

In the mean time, in between hunting with Jessie and other things around the house we had been making some phone calls to see if we could hunt some private land on the river.  We were granted permission and so that evening we went out.  It was more of a scouting trip as we were not familiar with the area but we did see a really nice buck at about dark and figured that's where we would come back to the next morning. 

Morning came and out we went. Things were looking promising when all of a sudden we heard 3 gunshots, an ATV and some really noisy people.  Needless to say, our hunt was ruined by 4 kids on one ATV that tried to shoot the buck we saw the night before. After Bryan talked to the kids in a very professional but nice manner, they left(they were told to get permission as we were asked to 'run' anyone off that was down there without permission) we headed back to the truck and then home.  We decided that we would spend the rest of the day at home working on some projects and enjoying Bill's company since he was planning on leaving the next day. 

Well, if you know me even a little bit, you would know that I would jump at the first opportunity to go back out if it came and.......it did! Sara said that she would go with me for and evening hunt.  There wasn't really anything at the house for me to help with or that the guys couldn't handle so I got ready and when Sara got to the house, we loaded up and were gone.

Where we were going, wasn't very far from the house and shortly after we got through the gate and down the road a bit I saw the un-mistakable white butt and very large antlers of a buck!  I stopped the truck, turned it off, grabbed my gun, quietly opened the door, slipped out, chambered a round and started sneaking around the truck all the while, Sara is quietly getting out to to see this deer that she hadn't seen yet.  As I made my way around the truck to the fence, I honestly didn't think he would still be there since we were only about 50yds away; surely he would of took off into the willows after the truck stopped even though he couldn't see it. I was wrong.  He was still there nibbling away completely oblivious to us being there.  After getting to a spot that gave me a clear shot, I waited for him to turn honestly thinking that he would just mosey back into the willows; by now Sara is there with me, watching and thinking the same thing-he needs to turn.  Then, he did just that and without hesitation, I pulled the trigger and after a 20ft run, he dropped!  I had just shot one of the biggest deer I had ever seen(there is an exception but that's another story).  I was stoked!! 

While he doesn't have much for points, he makes up in sheer mass and a good spread of 26inches.

Yes, we were not far from the truck and he actually ran a bit closer before he fell but did I mention that we were on opposite sides of the river?

 Yea, were had the river to get across.  Thankfully, cell service worked where we were at and we got a hold of Bryan and Bill to come help us. Sara and I could of got him home, but why waste the energy when you have willing and able men to come help?  He he he he he. 

We actually couldn't go straight to the truck because of the steep bank and fence so Bryan found a way to get the truck through a gate and then we took him through the river and willows(that was a chore!!) and then eventually to the truck. 

This hunting season has definitely been a 'girl thing' as far as harvesting the deer go but was made a great success by the help of many people to which we are extremely grateful.

Tri-County Fair

 Well, we made it to fair time and it was not a smooth trip.  Athena did the great 'explode' one day and we thought for sure she was gone and this was going to be the end, however, Jessie stuck to it and continued to work with her and it payed off.  Athena still wasn't sure about new people being around her, especially men-they always made her quite nervous.  Thankfully, we got some 'manly' help with her and 'desensitized' her to these 'scarey manly' figures before fair and it helped.

The week before fair, Jessie decided to do Athena's hair with a yellow rose-it was quite complimentary on a black heifer.

 At he fairgrounds in the barn after and 'explosive' unloading from the trailer.  The ride over had her pretty shook-up and we had to get one of those 'scarey manly' figures to help unload-it was all he could do to hold on-she was not impressed!

 Athena's company for the weekend.

Saturday morning of the fair-bath time early in the morning-brrrrrrr.  By now she was calming down quite well and lead for Jessie perfectly out to the wash-racks.

Ta-da!!!  All bathed and brushed!! Now to keep her clean the rest of the day.  The kids all stayed quite busy with keeping the areas around the cattle clean-they did a great job.

 The first class that she showed in was 'Showmanship'.  She did very well for her first show and Athena did great; she thought once about maybe pulling the 'great escape' but then seemed to relax and stick with Jessie. They really had quite a close bond that I thought was very unique and special.

Standin' her up for the judge-Athena did this very well.

Second class-yearling heifer.  She showed in this class with 3 other competitors; 2 of which were friends that she got Athena from.

Time to line up for the judge

She was even more relaxed this go around then the first and did great!

  All done for the day and without any 'explosive' behavior-it was a very successful weekend.

Sunday afternoon, Athena was very comfortable with her surroundings now.  It was a bitter-sweet moment though as we had decided to have Athena go back to the ranch instead of bringing her home.  The cost of keeping her was more then we were going to be able to do.  However, Jessie came home with a lot of new knowledge to consider for future times if cattle is something that she wants to pursue-the door isn't closed but is definitely not wide open right now.  Athena went home back to the ranch that she came from and can look forward to years there were Jessie can go visit.

Jessie's Calf

     Well, we gave in, not that we were all that reluctant but Jessie is now fully involved with 4-H in the livestock group i.e. cattle.  We picked up her heifer yesterday and another calf that's on loan for moral support. 

  Athena, her heifer, is a bit on the wild side but is now settling down after yesterdays ordeal of being separated from her mommy, put in a trailer and hauled to town and then panicking coming out of the trailer, slipping out of her halter and running all over the place.  After some slow persuasion we were able to convince her to join her partner in a small pen which is where they will stay until she is more trusting and leading better. 
   Jessie has spent almost as much time out with her she has in the house and is making great progress!!  I am hoping in another day or so we will be able to move them to their more permanent location.

Firewood

WOW! I can't believe its been since February that I last posted! I knew it had been a while but I didn't think it had been that long.  No good excuses for the delay in postings.  Plain and simple I haven't made the time but lately it doesn't seem like I even have the time to turn around or hardly breathe. Anyhow, I am trying to work on that-not going to get into it on here though, but maybe taking the time to post will help me make the time-makes total sense!

  Wood cutting this year got an early start and an early finish thanks to the dry winter and spring. We were able to get it all done in April which is a first; the weather and work schedules usually drags it out into June and sometimes July.  However, there has been nothing else good about the dryness we are having(except maybe, there haven't been any mosquito's).  The land and those that use the land to survive have reached a very critical point-it all needs water to survive and there hasn't been hardly a drop.
  

   We went to a new place to cut wood this year. Its a bit further of a drive but well worth it! The scenery is beautiful and the cutting dead wood is so much easier to load and not nearly as dirty.

   Now, the work crew-Jessie. She's a loader

  Marisa-she's a loader too

   Bryan-the one running the saws. He occasionally loads the large stumps that I have decided that I'm to tired to try-I usually save them for last.

   Lunch time. Note: you never dress kids in nice clothes when going into the hills to get firewood-the clothes will not survive!!

 Despite the dry spring, there were a few wildflowers that managed to make their magnificent appearance.

New and Old

     For all of those that follow my posts or have the pleasure of knowing us, you should know by now that there is never a dull moment around here- never really a 'down' time.  It seems that there is something always happening with our 'place' or with someone at our place both the 2 legged kind and the 4; not all of 'things' are bad though although more often then not they do seem to be that way.
   This year, so far hasn't been an exception. Again, if you follow these posts or know us you will also know that 'new and furry' critters are a norm around here-this is usually a good thing as far as I'm concerned-Bryan would say otherwise but this is my blog so I will post what I think.  :)

    This is Amy.  She is our 'new', old dog.  She is 13yrs 'young' and has come to live with us; started out as a 'dog-sitting' deal and well, she's not leaving now.  She has adapted well into the daily and normal routine here like she's been here all along. Her herding instincts are still strong and her ability to express her frustrations when 'herding' our other 3 crazy dogs doesn't go well is strong too!!  She is actually quite vocal about it.  But, despite her age and some arthritis, she is my shadow at chore time- Hank is a bit jealous.

    This is right after getting groomed-she felt so good that she just had to roll around!!

       Okay, for all of you faithful followers you should also know that new critters around here are not the only things that happens.  Whats probably just as common as new critters(and this is a scary thought) are the amount of unplanned events that take place-this is getting very old. I'm not talking the little things like a burned out light bulb, a loose screw, etc.......I'm talking about the things that usually end up re-arranging a good part of the day or all the day and they usually seem to revolve around water or the lack there of-this year could be any different.

    Drain back faucets.  They work great when they work right, however, you don't usually know that they are not draining back right during the summer. No, you find this out when the temperature starts getting close to 0 or below and guess what, the water that didn't drain back has now frozen the entire faucet.  In this case, because the valves were not working right the water never shut completely off-unknown to the last person that used it-so of course it was really frozen!!!

  When you go out to feed in the morning and see this, you know that something in not right!!  Thankfully, we were able to fix it which in order to do that we had to dig, chisel ice and then dig, dig, dig, slowly apply heat with torch to melt ice but not split the faucet, then dig some more until we got to the drain back valve.  When we got to the bottom it was obvious that he reason the valve wasn't draining right was to do a lack of gravel around it-water doesn't drain in clay very well-so this was an easy and inexpensive fix!!!!  I was very happy to say the least!!!!

"Lord, our Lord!"

    
  "Lord, our Lord, how magnificent is Your name throughout the earth!"
               Psalm 8:1





 "I raise my eyes toward the mountains.  Where does my help come from?  My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth."
                                Psalm 121:1-2

  " He causes grass to grow for the livestock and provides crops for man to cultivate, producing food from the earth," 

          Psalm 104: 14

   "When you look to the heavens and see the sun, moon and stars-all the array of heaven-do not be lead astray to bow down and worship them. The Lord your God has provided them for all people everywhere under heaven."
                       Deut. 4:19

   "He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows when to set."
       Psalm 104:19

  "Hallelujah!  Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise Him in the heights. Praise Him, all you angels; praise Him, all His hosts. praise Him, sun and moon; praise Him, all you shining stars. Praise Him, highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for He commanded, and they were created. He set them in position forever and ever; he gave them an order that will never pass away."     Psalm 148:1-6


          

 Psalm 23

 The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack.

He lets me lie down in green pastures; He leads

me beside quite waters. He renews my life;

He leads me along the right paths for His name

sake. Even when I go through the darkest valley,

I fear no danger, for You are with me; Your rod

and Your staff-they comfort me.

                                                                                                                    

                                                                               

                                                                                         

   

  "Consider the ravens: they don't sow or reap; they don't have a storeroom or a barn; yet God feeds them. Aren't you worth more then the birds?" 
             Luke 12:24

    

  "Consider how the wildflowers grow: they don't labor or spin thread. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these!  If that's how God clothes the grass, which is in the field today and is thrown into the furnace tomorrow, how much more will He do for you-you of little faith?
                             
     " May You be praised, Lord God of our father Isreal, from eternity to eternity,  Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the splendor and the majesty, for everything in the heavens and on earth belongs to You.  Yours, Lord, is the kingdom, and You are exalted as head over all. Riches and honor some from You, and You are the ruler of everything. In Your hand are power and might, and it is in Your to make great and to give strength to all. Now therefore, our God, we give you thanks and praise Your glorious name."   1 Chron. 29:10-13

 





      "  He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness; by His wounding you have been healed."
               1 Pet.2: 24

 


  " God, You are my God; I eagerly   seek You. I thirst for You; my body faints for You in a land that is dry, desolate, and without water. So I gaze on You in the sanctuary to see Your strength and Your glory."
                      Psalm 63:1-2

      


  " May the name of God be praised forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him. He changes the times and the seasons; he removes kings and establishes kings, He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals the deep and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with Him. I offer thanks and praise to You, God of my fathers, because You have given me wisdom and power."
                         Dan. 2:20-23

                                                                                                                                                                                     

   

  ".....for every animal of the forest in Mine, the cattle on a thousand hills.  I know every bird of the mountains, and the creatures of the fields are Mine."
                                Psalm 50:10-11

    " Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come. Now everything is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of  reconciliation: that is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed the message of reconciliation to us."
                                  2 Cor. 5: 17-19

  " Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. All of you, take My yoke and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for yourselves. For My yoke is easy and My burden light."
           Matt.11: 28-30

   " Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; play the lyre to our God' who covers the sky with clouds, prepares rain for the earth, and causes the grass to grow on the hills.  He provides the animals with their food, and the young ravens, what they cry for.  He is not impressed by the strength of a horse; he does not value the power of a man. The Lord values those who fear Him, those who put their hope in His faithful love. "
                                Psalm 147:7-11

 

      " He sends His command throughout the whole earth; His word runs swiftly. He spreads snow life wool; He scatters frost like ashes; He throws His hailstones like crumbs. Who can withstand His cold? He sends His word and melts them; He unleashes His winds, and the waters flow,"
                               Psalm 147: 15-18

 "Because of the Lord's faithful love we do not perish, for His mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness! I say; the Lord is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in Him."
           Lam. 3:23

  

  

 "From the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what He has made. As a result, people are without excuse."    Rom.1:20

  

  

 "This is the message of faith that we proclaim; if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in you heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."  Rom.10:9

"For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. to Him be the glory forever. Amen"

Rom11:36