Oh Deer!

Our collection on 'wall hangings' continues to grow.  Jessie got her buck back from the taxidermist and it turned out beautiful!

   We gave her the option of a full shoulder mount or the European for this beautiful buck and European it was mounted on a piece of drift wood.

   Jessie drew another deer tag this year for youth and thinks she is going to try and get a bigger buck; I think she can do it as far as antler size goes but his body will be hard to beat!!

   " the Lord gives, and the Lord takes away; blessed be the name of the Lord."  Job 1:21

  This past year of hunting was a huge reminder for me that God is who makes our efforts a success; it is Him that actually provides the deer for the harvest.  We can train ourselves physically, practice our shooting, learn the patterns of the deer etc... but honestly in the end, He is what makes the hunt a success.  Some years the freezer doesn't get full and we can speculate so many reasons as to why that is; might be a time to be humbled and know that all good things come from God and remember to always be thankful no matter what-look for all the things that you have to be thankful for instead of getting 'narrow minded' on one 'blessing'-might be why tag soup ended up on the menu.

Chores, Not Really a Chore to Me

Yes, its morning and time for chores again.  While a lot of people look at 'chores' in a feet dragging, shoulder sagging, I don't want to kind of mood, I'm not that way........usually-the weather can have an affect on the 'I don't want to feeling' but for the most part, feeding the critters usually brings a smile to my face.

   The sunrise can be just as beautiful as the sunset-Bryan disagrees with me so its very rare for him to 'share' this morning enjoyment with me, not to mention, our chores revolve around mostly 'my' critters so its typically 'my' responsibility. Now with that said, the girl's do help quite a lot with the to-do's around here and Bryan will 'jump' in and help when 'needed' but lets face it, not everybody is a morning person and you can't 'make' someone like something that they don't like.
   For example, Chili here was sleeping, soaking up the morning sun and was awaken by the dogs-he doesn't like them in the least!!   They are not 'cute' to him and their nosey noses, and wet tongues are just completely irritating for a cat with a status as his-he rules the hay stack after all.

   Good Morning Chili!!  

 Also in the haystack curled up in a hole in between the bales is Felix who has about as much dis-taste for the dogs as Chili does and even more for Chili. Felix is ornery like that-you can see it in his eyes.  He likes to stalk and pounce on the other cats I think simply for the reaction.   He is quite the 'lovable' kitty though but only for a select few people; if your a man, you can forget it.

   Nina knows that this is her post in the mornings and she will guard it from the others until she has had her Senior feed; I'd say she has earned it.

   Waylon does his 'duty' every morning and 'checks' on the goats.  Those wild and unruly goats must be kept in line and he's sure he's just the dog to do it through the fence and all. The funny thing is, that when the fence isn't there, neither the dog or the goats are as brave at trying to get one another.

  "Oh, its just about my time to eat!"  The dogs have the routine down and know that after the goats are fed its their turn for food-all eyes watch for me to start heading towards the gate and then the race is on.

   One last pic of the horses happily munching their hay.

 Okay, time for the dogs. Like I said, they have the routine down and each of them know their spot to be and in what order they will get their food.

 Angel and Lee are fed right here on the concrete. Angel knows about how long it takes me to dish up the food so her and Hank run around the yard barking and chasing birds-well, Hank chases and barks at the birds and Angel chases and barks as Hank-I'm sure my neighbors love it.

 Waylon and Hank go to their assigned kennels and get on their doghouses and wait for me to bring them their food.  They do this as soon as the food is down for Angel and Lee.  Then, they start drooling and licking,and prancing and drooling and Hank even 'shiver's in excitement for his up coming meal and have I mentioned that they drool.

 Aaaahhhh......food, food, food!!  He eats like he hasn't ate in days-doesn't chew a thing!!

 Waylon's intense look might scare someone especially when the drool is streaming down......but honestly, he's a coward. Shhhh, don't tell him I said that.

 " I close my eyes and bow my head, thank you Lord, I'm about to be fed"

 Gulp, gulp, choke......He's the last one fed and usually the first to finish; doesn't chew a thing!!

    So, these are just a few reasons why I love doing chores.  God's hand is so evident in His creation.  I find chore time quite often, peaceful and refreshing-its my cup of coffee in the mornings and a cup of tea in the evenings.
    "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"   Lamentations 3:22-24
   "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for God's glory"
                   1 Cor. 10:31

March Nevada Bandits

 March brought with it some beautiful weather and some stormy weather.  Thankfully the Lord gave us a beautiful day for the second Nevada Bandit show.

  Being a camera person and also competing has limited the number of pics that I have taken so far-its hard to juggle a camera and ride but hopefully I will get some 'action' ones here soon!

   Decided to try and 'tame' the mane on Riata!  She rubbed about half of it out last year trying to get to 'tasty morsels' on the other side of the fence.  When it grew back in, it layed to the other side of her neck so I'm trying to get it back all to one side..........as of today, I've made a little progress.

 Nina patiently waiting.

   Waylon came along for the day and so did Hank but he is almost impossible to get a picture of because when you have the camera out, he won't sit still-he wants to catch the 'flash'-he's crazy like that!  Waylon on the other hand, will gladly sit for a picture even when the sun is in his eyes.  He's happy to have ALL the attention and being that he is getting lots of it this day and he got to go on a truck ride and even has his pillow with him in the truck that he got to ride in, he's one happy dog!!

 Turn you head sideways...............Nina sporting her headstall that they won last year!

 Break time at the trailer.

  I think she is thinking what I was thinking..............getting up early makes for a long day.

   Are we done yet?  Why am I going around poles and barrels instead of chasing cattle? There are cattle in the pens back there didn't you notice?

  All in all, it turned out to be once again another great day of racing and visiting with friends!!  Next show is this coming weekend-hopefully I will have some action shots  ;)

Paper, Pies, a Hat and Marisa

This post is a glimpse into the many activities that go on all at the same time quite frequently at our house-this is a normal thing by the way......imagine that  :)

  Marisa has decided to get into scrapbooking!!   Thankfully she is patient because it took me longer then it should of to order some pics for her so she could get started.  Scrapbooking is something that I've done for quite a while(not as frequent as I used too) but it is a great way to save memories!!

  So, while she is getting started on her first page I am getting started on my first pumpkin pie!  I love pumpkin pie but why has it taken me this long to make my first one.....could be that I'm the only one that would eat it.......hmmmm, that makes no sense though; that would mean more for me!! I may have the change this un-common occurrence to a more common one.   Who said pumpkin pie should wait for fall anyways?  I also was going to make an apple pie-Bryan's favorite.

   First, the pie crust-this might the girl's favorite part of pie's.  They love putting sugar and cinnamon on the 'scraps' and baking them.......me too!!

   The pumpkin pie in the making..........

   Marisa stylin' in her sun hat after cleaning up the scrapbooking stuff to make room for pie crusts to be rolled out.

      I just love this hat.......on her.  I don't think I could pull off the cuteness that she brings with it.

Getting closer to having the pies done........

Ta-da!!  A perfect pie crust!  Now the disappointing part......I forgot to take any more pics but let me assure you the pie's turned out great and they tasted even better.  Maybe its better that I didn't take anymore pics, I saved you from really knowing what you missed out on  ;)

Sleepless Nights Remedy

Yeah for warmer weather!!  I think we all get 'itchin' for warmer weather to get here for many reasons but if your a kid, the main reason is so that you can play outside........wait, that might apply to adults too!!

  But, if you got 'outside' toys for Christmas and its been to cold or icy to use them, the warm weather can't get here fast enough!

    And when you have friends and cousins that can come join in on the fun, there's no better way to spend the afternoon.  Us parents think so too; what parent doesn't like having their kids outside playing?

 Especially the young ones that still need to take naps!?

 A good couple hours in the outdoors does wonders when nap time comes around........they're out as soon as their head hits the pillow!

   Its great for the 'older' young kids too come bed time........they're out for the night as soon as they get snuggled in. Come to think of it, its great for us adults too...............at least for me........I'm out as soon as I hit the pillow.  Yep, a little time outside is a good remedy for sleepless nights!!

What Really Starts It?

As I sit here and type this it is currently cloudy, breezy and cool outside from a recent storm system we have passing through.  It rained last night and there is more rain/snow in the forecast for the next day or so.  We had upper 60 degrees weather the last couple days which seemed to really 'motivate' a lot of people into the 'spring' mode; garden plans for the year, fertilizer needing to be put on the lawns, trimming up some tree branches and many other projects that have been waiting for a nice sunny day.  Spring has a way of bringing not only the new leaves and flowers out of trees and the new life that is born in the way of many critters but it brings people out too-they get motivated.  

   So, have you ever stopped to really think about what truly causes the trees to start budding out......

 and the grasses to start coming forth and seeds to spout?

   Scientifically speaking, we would say its the warmer, longer days and moisture that starts a chain reaction of the cells within the plants to start the process of growing, making food and seeds again(short paraphrase) etc....and to a point this is true......

 but really, what starts all of that?   How do the plants 'know' its time to wake up.....

or the horses bodies to start shedding all of that winter coat, the birds to start nesting and migrating back from there winter 'vacation' etc....?  As for me, there is really only one answer-God, He made it that way and I believe that He is constantly working in all the details of life-even the ones we seem to think are so little and are just 'expected' to happen because well, that what happens in the spring.  His creation though, speaks daily, loud and clear of His existence-we just need to stop long enough to look at it....

 and maybe pet it.........smell it.......sneeze........

 or play with it and in Hanks case, laugh as he tries to catch flying bugs or shadows or chase off the birds that are in the trees.......

and also give thanks for the many uses that we have been blessed with from His creation.  We get all of our physical needs met from the things that He has created.  Clothes, food, our homes, etc......We should never take these things for granted-its all a gift that can never be replicated by man-we're a creation too and use whats already been made to 'make' other things.

So, as your out getting busy with 'spring' projects, don't forget to give thanks for God's hand in the daily 'little ' things of 'spring' and maybe slow and stop and smell the tulips, daffodils and  crocuses.