A New Legend of The Fall (s)

Isn't this a cute couple? We had the privilege of having them stop in for a whirlwind tour of the ranch last weekend. Nick is Mark's cousin once removed and his lovely fiance Riah is one tough gal. The whole time she was here she kept a smile on her face and continued to humor us as we scuttled her from one event to another, even though she had a cold. We didn't think much of it until WE got the cold the day they left. That little cold has left us whooped, we really think it is a flu or human parvo or perhaps consumption, but I can tell you we have not been smiling. Well maybe a little! Mostly though we are really impressed with this lady's gumption.

One of the places we scuttled them too was the falls of course. This photo show Nick clambering up to the top to get some photos of the upper falls and pools. I was a little concerned when he ventured close to the slippery falls, but Riah said not to worry he was very outdoorsy and used to such activities. Here is a photo that Nick took from the top. Right before he fell.......
I missed seeing him fall, but my son tells me he started to slip, waved his hands around a little to try and catch his balance. Realizing he was going down, he quickly turned around in mid air and slid down the waterfall gracefully. He came out smiling so I guess all is well. Except his camera.

It was wonderful having them visit and we sure hope others in the family come to call as well. So often in life, you slowly get disconnected from extended family and it's always fun to get back together. We hadn't seen Nick since he was about 18, now he is 24 and a fire fighter and soon to be a married man as well.

On another note, the colt is giving his mama a run for her money! She doesn't want him to go near the rest of the herd, but he is quite the determined little fellow. She does approve of us humans though and she will herd him back to us time and again. He thinks we are pretty interesting and we love petting him, but I think he might be a rebel at heart, because whenever his mom goes to contently graze he makes a wild dash to the others!

Memorial Day Surprise

It's a Boy!

Woodcutter turns Pro

A month or so ago we posted about our trio of woodcutters, Roddick, Zac and Ryan. Well, one of them, Ryan has had his television debut with his band. They 'killed' it! These young men play their own songs which are very fresh and exciting and a whole lot of fun. Check them out: The Usual Vibe.

Signs of Summer

I sit languorously in our computer chair, my skin slightly crisped and tight, and with sounds of song birds drifting through our screen door. The air is warm and mellow, the memory of snow caps and coats seems to come from another time and place. Could summer be here? It feels like it. It smells like it. It sounds like it. But I will let you know. If there is one thing that changes around here, it is the weather! We did plant some of our summer garden yesterday; we still need to plant corn, melon, eggplant and hot peppers. Maybe manana... We rest now after an afternoon spent in the embracing sun and bracing cold water! Yin and Yang, dark and light. I was captivated today with light dancing across the water and on the green leaves of the trees at water's edge. I sat and pondered how incredible it is, magical and mystical. Without the darkness would the light shine as appealingly?

Mother's Day Ride

I love this photo of Mark bringing in Willie Bob for our ride. The man, horses and dog look so small next to all that beautiful country.

Riley and pregnant Molly love Eric's horse Shy-Anne, so they came along for the ride.
As did our good friends Brian,

and April.
A nice leisurely ride on a beautiful spring day... what could be nicer? Nothing for this mom.

Pour Passer le Temps...

Eric the Bold is back from finishing an eight week farrier course in Missouri. Here he is putting shoes on Tono while the cows wait for their turn. Tono has had sore feet due to bruising, so he was quite happy to oblige Eric and we are very happy to have Eric back and in action. After the 6.6 inches of rain fell it seemed like more little flowers burst forth in bloom. I love looking at all the flowers, but am especially amazed at the intricacies in some of the tiny ones like these. And the grass is growing.

I keep noticing this spring how closely some of colors look like fall.

The new grape leaves almost glow in the late afternoon sun.

I didn't really even notice the fuchsia in the this little orange beauty until I looked at the photo. It reminds me to look more closely at things instead of walking by.

Baby cherries against a cloudy sky. I spent two days this week shoveling manure out of the barn for the garden. This is the first spring that I have held off on planting our summer plants. Usually in April I jump the gun and plant, only to later have to replant after a frost. I'm learning. ....Unfortunately not how to correctly drive steel t-posts. We do our fencing with real swords around here.... Actually, there was another post in the ground close to where I was placing the new one and I didn't think how I was going to drive my elbow into its ragged top while I threw all my weight and energy into the driver. Ouch. That hurt. For any of you who know fences, hearing that we have two t-posts within a foot of each other will tell you what kind of shape our fence is in. Of course, the snake I stumbled upon on the far side of the fence probably helps keep the animals in. It sure made me move pretty fast. It was a big one. Eric here.... shh, it's a surprise-

Fencing. There's a word that makes grown men sigh. Over the centuries man has tried to make improvements such as the t -post driver instead of having your dumb friend hold the post while you (unless you're the friend) swing at it with a large rock on a stick. Then the pneumatic hammer came along and if you could already bench press a small tree these things are great! Just pick up a 120 lb. tube of power repeatedly, and let it do the work. Unfortunately the north coast is too steep of country for such wonderful tools. Usually we just pay rent to some gophers and squirrels and place the post in a portion of their hole. If not things get more difficult, at least for me. My mother however is very talented at the art of fencing, in fact she can apparently drive two posts at once! It's called the atomic t drop (t for Tammie, it's not just executed on t- posts), simultaneous use of a driver on one post and her calcified elbow to drive another. Here she is basking in all her wonderfulness at the end of the day. Happy mother's day mom!!!
Happy Mother's Day, all you mothers out there,
and if you would like to take a journey in a rickshaw with some young friends of mine, click here!

Don't Worry.... Be Happy

We came home from town earlier this week to this lovely message left by a friend who had been visiting. How sweet! It warmed our heart to have a prayer left for this land. Thanks Brian.

Do you see what is in the sky over Frank and Flower? Yes, clouds started rolling in a day or two later. And the crazy drying winds died down.
And now it rains. And rains. This photo was just taken out of one of our living room windows; note the rain drips on the glass. We have an inch and a half in our range gauge so far. Wonderful. We are thankful. And have decided to stop the culling process until further notice.

I sure wish I didn't worry so much. All that worry over the grass and now it looks like it will grow just fine. Of course, I don't just worry about cows and grass - that is just what I share here! But all worry is such a waste of time and yet even though I don't want to do it, I still do it. Even though I try to trust and be faithful, worry always rears its ugly head. I know I am not alone in this and I also know that today I worry less than I did a year ago, and that sometime in the future, when my hair is all grey, I will probably worry even less. Time has a way of teaching us things, if we but listen.

Jesus says we shouldn't worry. Read Matthew 5:25-34 for his complete statement on the issue.