Head on over to Tales from the Trail to take a ride with me and my family. You'll enjoy it!
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Anniversary Pig Hunt
Johanna woke up early Sunday morning with a gleam in her eye. "Eric, wake up," she said, "it's our one month anniversary and I want to kill a pig!" No matter that she had never killed anything before. (Well, one time she killed a baby turkey accidentally, she tells me, but she still feels guilty. She cried all day. )
Sunday they hiked up and down these steep hillsides, crawling through huckleberries, wading through streams and sliding down cliffs and dodging rock slides. Well, maybe not rock slides. All I know is that we heard a gun shot at about sunset. One lone shot and we wondered what happened. Later they showed up and we found out. Johanna on her first hunt, on her one month anniversary had accidentally fired the gun. There had been pigs in the vicinity and in preparation for the shot she had cocked the gun, got the pig in her sights, and then the pig ran into the trees (I think she should have worn deodorant)and she couldn't shoot in the trees. In her excitement she tried to decock the gun, but had troubles, so she just pulled the trigger. It worked. The gun became empty. But no pig died.
Monday had Johanna pulling Eric out of bed before dawn. She was on a mission. She was. They hunted all morning and then Eric the Married, talked Johanna the Carnivore Princess Warrior into giving the pigs a break. AKA, Eric needed a break.
That evening they were hot on the pig trail again. Johanna decided that the pigs would be in a sunny sheltered spot sunning themselves away from the wind. (Well, actually it was a collaboration, but let's give Johanna the credit.) Eric found a hollowed out pig bed and he laid in it and told Johanna it was still warm. She thought he joked. But he did not. The pigs were nearby and Eric the Guide led her to them. They had found a herd of about 15 pigs.
One was a mama with babies. She couldn't shoot that. The next was a big boar. So, she loaded the gun, cocked it, got it in her sights and then it trotted behind a stump. She was freaking out, so Eric gave her his complimentary hunting guide neck rub to calm her down. (The guys all love this.) The pig came out from hiding and turned its butt to her and was walking away from her. She waited. Then it turned and she took aim and shot it right through the noodle, AKA head, and it dropped in its tracks.
Congratulations Johanna!
Sunday they hiked up and down these steep hillsides, crawling through huckleberries, wading through streams and sliding down cliffs and dodging rock slides. Well, maybe not rock slides. All I know is that we heard a gun shot at about sunset. One lone shot and we wondered what happened. Later they showed up and we found out. Johanna on her first hunt, on her one month anniversary had accidentally fired the gun. There had been pigs in the vicinity and in preparation for the shot she had cocked the gun, got the pig in her sights, and then the pig ran into the trees (I think she should have worn deodorant)and she couldn't shoot in the trees. In her excitement she tried to decock the gun, but had troubles, so she just pulled the trigger. It worked. The gun became empty. But no pig died.
Monday had Johanna pulling Eric out of bed before dawn. She was on a mission. She was. They hunted all morning and then Eric the Married, talked Johanna the Carnivore Princess Warrior into giving the pigs a break. AKA, Eric needed a break.
That evening they were hot on the pig trail again. Johanna decided that the pigs would be in a sunny sheltered spot sunning themselves away from the wind. (Well, actually it was a collaboration, but let's give Johanna the credit.) Eric found a hollowed out pig bed and he laid in it and told Johanna it was still warm. She thought he joked. But he did not. The pigs were nearby and Eric the Guide led her to them. They had found a herd of about 15 pigs.
One was a mama with babies. She couldn't shoot that. The next was a big boar. So, she loaded the gun, cocked it, got it in her sights and then it trotted behind a stump. She was freaking out, so Eric gave her his complimentary hunting guide neck rub to calm her down. (The guys all love this.) The pig came out from hiding and turned its butt to her and was walking away from her. She waited. Then it turned and she took aim and shot it right through the noodle, AKA head, and it dropped in its tracks.
Congratulations Johanna!
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Too Funny and Too Lazy
Ok, this is funny. I just spent the last half hour uploading some photos for this blog. Only thing is I posted them on my other clandestine blog. The one know one knows about. Well, maybe my mother. Anyway. I am too lazy to move everything over, so I guess I will just come out of my closet and direct you all over there. Over here. To the post that is not where it is supposed to be. Too funny.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Happy Birthday Rylee!
Today she is 3.
She is such a sweetie. Not a single vice does she have. Unless you call opening gates and untying knots a vice. Or jumping fences to go play with her friends. We just think she is smart. We love her inquisitive personality, although sometimes she sticks her nose in places she shouldn't. But of course she is often egged on. Like here. 
My favorite thing about Rylee is the way she always seems happy to see me. She would rather just hang out than graze. I always lay on her and gaze at the world across her shiny red coat and her crazy blond mane.
She is now beginning to show some physical and emotional maturity and we look forward to begin her training in earnest. So far, she can stand tied, she trailers, she has been ponied all over the ranch with a saddle and unsaddled and last summer Eric the Bold worked with her for 1 week which culminated in her being ridden in the round pen. She did great. But she just wasn't mature enough for more. This year we hope to put in more time riding on her as well as taking her on a pack trip.
She is such a sweetie. Not a single vice does she have. Unless you call opening gates and untying knots a vice. Or jumping fences to go play with her friends. We just think she is smart. We love her inquisitive personality, although sometimes she sticks her nose in places she shouldn't. But of course she is often egged on. Like here. 
My favorite thing about Rylee is the way she always seems happy to see me. She would rather just hang out than graze. I always lay on her and gaze at the world across her shiny red coat and her crazy blond mane.
She is now beginning to show some physical and emotional maturity and we look forward to begin her training in earnest. So far, she can stand tied, she trailers, she has been ponied all over the ranch with a saddle and unsaddled and last summer Eric the Bold worked with her for 1 week which culminated in her being ridden in the round pen. She did great. But she just wasn't mature enough for more. This year we hope to put in more time riding on her as well as taking her on a pack trip.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Yesterday's Post / March Snow
It all began earlier in the week when the newlywed's went for a horse ride with us. We rode the creeks crossing trail and we got a little wet. But had a good time./ Check out Tales of the Trail on March 31st for a guest blog by moi with a pictorial of the ride. Or just check it out right now for some fantastic riding stories. We love this site.
And upon returning to the barn we realized that all of our tack was really in the need of a spring cleaning. So, we hauled everything into the dining room because the dining room has wonderful windows that let in the beautiful light and is right next to the kitchen for refreshments and the sink made it easy to fill and to empty out our buckets. There were many dirty soapy buckets of water to dump, I might add. We all worked until it got dark. The only shine then was from the neatsfoot oil that somehow ended up all over the floor, but all the saddles and bridles did eventually get cleaned, oiled and repaired. 
This is the saddle I ride in. It doesn't look like much, but I love it. Eric's friend Tate gave it to us when we first began gentling the mustang. It is reportedly the first saddle he ever won at a roping. That makes it special. That and the fact it fits me to a t. Or is it tee? Or tea? Hmmmm, anyone no where that saying came from? 
Well, apparently cleaning tack is sort of like washing your car. Because last night...(really 2 nights ago now) we heard whining at the front door and opened it to find this. Snow!
Which led to this. Our dogs are not spoiled. No they aren't.
And then in the morning we all arose to see such a sight.
The spoiled cows began congregating so we put out some big bales for them to eat. These are some of the animals in the front herd, I call them the Ireland cows. (don't ask)
And these are some of the west ridge herd. Babies and mamas and bulls all lined up and sharing. Wish the horses would do that! Or my kids for that matter. Ha ha. They do share. They learned how in kindergarten. Did you?
By sunset all the snow was gone and the day was done. You gotta love a day that starts out white and ends up green. Winter in one day.
It is pretty darn sweet here in the pacific northwest. But you have to love rain. We get a lot of rain. Up to 100 inches each year on our ranch. We haven't kept track this year though. Anybody in our neighborhood know how many inches we are up to? It seems like a light rain year to us.
And upon returning to the barn we realized that all of our tack was really in the need of a spring cleaning. So, we hauled everything into the dining room because the dining room has wonderful windows that let in the beautiful light and is right next to the kitchen for refreshments and the sink made it easy to fill and to empty out our buckets. There were many dirty soapy buckets of water to dump, I might add. We all worked until it got dark. The only shine then was from the neatsfoot oil that somehow ended up all over the floor, but all the saddles and bridles did eventually get cleaned, oiled and repaired. 
This is the saddle I ride in. It doesn't look like much, but I love it. Eric's friend Tate gave it to us when we first began gentling the mustang. It is reportedly the first saddle he ever won at a roping. That makes it special. That and the fact it fits me to a t. Or is it tee? Or tea? Hmmmm, anyone no where that saying came from? 
Well, apparently cleaning tack is sort of like washing your car. Because last night...(really 2 nights ago now) we heard whining at the front door and opened it to find this. Snow!
Which led to this. Our dogs are not spoiled. No they aren't.
And then in the morning we all arose to see such a sight.
The spoiled cows began congregating so we put out some big bales for them to eat. These are some of the animals in the front herd, I call them the Ireland cows. (don't ask)
And these are some of the west ridge herd. Babies and mamas and bulls all lined up and sharing. Wish the horses would do that! Or my kids for that matter. Ha ha. They do share. They learned how in kindergarten. Did you?
By sunset all the snow was gone and the day was done. You gotta love a day that starts out white and ends up green. Winter in one day. 
It is pretty darn sweet here in the pacific northwest. But you have to love rain. We get a lot of rain. Up to 100 inches each year on our ranch. We haven't kept track this year though. Anybody in our neighborhood know how many inches we are up to? It seems like a light rain year to us. Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Hot Tubbing
Soft, warm water surrounding, candle light flickering, water rushing by in the creek beside the deck. Stars just starting to appear in the velvety blue sky. Black clouds hugging the hills like a fleece rug wrapped around shoulders.Listening to the BBC and posting a blog. Pretty sweet night here home on the ranch.
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