Blizzard, Kansas Style ~ 2011

I took a snow day today.  A rare day spent enjoying the cozy comforts of home, catching up on everything that seems neglected for the last two months.

I tried to get some outdoor photos, but need I stress how cold a wind chill of 14 below is??!!  Even bundled up with insulating underclothes and double gloves, I just couldn't take it for long.

Paint horse gave me his opinion of our "blizzard" ... or perhaps he was expressing his dislike of the photo session??

The girls love to play when it's cold and snowy...

 ...funny how stop-action photos make them look so ferocious!

 Tori poses while Trixie feints to the right

The sun was beginning to slide down in the western sky... or should I say "haze", as the sun itself was virtually non-existent today?

snow drifts are everywhere...  the wind blows incessantly

Here's a short video clip of Trixie and Tori playing outside... short, because I was freezing!!! You can hear the wind blowing, and trust me, it freezes right to your bones in seconds.  Especially when you walk out onto the front porch in your slippers and no coat.  *grin*

Ringo makes two very brief cameo appearances....

In a Word

pastoral

alone

simplicity

golden

home

The Time to Help Someone in Need

Life has a way of constantly reminding us that we have much to be thankful for, and that there is always someone more deserving of help than we ourselves could ever be... in that line of thought, I want to introduce my readers to Micki Kohler.

I have never met Micki ....she is the sister of a very, very good Ohio friend of mine. Micki is a horse lover, like myself and many of my readers, and just over a week ago, she was involved in a horrible, tragic accident.

Please take a minute to watch this very short (1:36) news video... your heart will swell as you learn a little bit more about Micki, and find out just how big HER heart is... my eyes well up with tears every single time I watch this video.

Now, what my heart is compelling me to do, right now, is to help Micki and her family, to the utmost of my ability. You see, I found out from Lisa, Micki's sister, that Micki's husband lost his job recently and they lost their insurance coverage on March 31st. And if you watched the video, you found out that she's the mom of 3 adoptive kids from Poland. Since Micki was riding a horse that someone had recently given her and not one of the therapeutic horses at the center, she's not eligible for worker's compensation coverage in this instance.

As my readers, you know I've been jobless for the past year or so... but I'm a firm believer in the small = big philosophy... that just means all those small donations ADD UP to something big.   I'm putting a "Donate" button in my sidebar so that anyone who wants to contribute a small amount to help Micki, can do so.  I'm starting it off with a $20 donation, and I'm pleading with my readers to donate whatever you can, even if it's only $5.00.  All too well do I know how difficult this economy has made our everyday lives.  Just remember.... every donation adds up to something BIG, not just in dollars, but in a heartfelt outpouring of care, compassion and support for Micki and her family. 

Vail Meadows (in Oregon, Ohio) is sponsoring a benefit auction for Micki on May 15... they are in need of silent auction items, so this is another way you can help. Go to Vail Meadows website and click on "Micki Kohler Benefit Saturday May 15" at the bottom of the web page, to find out more about the benefit.

So I'm appealing to you... pass it on. Let your blog readers know. Tweet it or Facebook it as loud as you can and as often as you can.

And from the bottom of my heart, I thank you. Every single one of you.

The First Day of Spring Brings... Snow??!!

Yesterday, sunny and 67 degrees. Today, SNOW, and lots of it! So much for the first day of spring... it would appear to be winter's last hurrah, eh?  I think I can't complain too much, as winter seemed to hit other parts of the U.S. this season, and not so much here in Kansas.  I will play blog catch-up with a cup of hazelnut coffee on our belated snow day.

 Paint horse is waiting patiently for his grain and hay

Hard to see unless you click on the photo above to enlarge it, but Stormy was tossing her head around as hubby got closer with the grain.  She gets pretty darn excited at feed time.

Another pic to enlarge... you can just see Barack's eyes as he hides from the snow under a piece of wood.  Both Barack and his mom, Fluff, spent the night on our enclosed back porch.  This has never happened before, but since we had 40 mph winds last night, I think they were quite cozy indoors.  Being the outside cats that they are however, Barack fled to the outdoors this morning, in spite of all the blowing snow!

Ringo reluctantly helps us with morning chores

Quite the snowy day, huh?

Enjoy your Saturday, wherever you may be and whatever your weather might bring you...  it's all good when it's Saturday, isn't it?  I have two apples in the fridge... perhaps I will make some apple dumplings this afternoon!

Perhaps next weekend will finally be the "get-out-and-dig-the-new-garden" day!

A side note:  Thanks for all your votes in the baby name poll.  The poll is closed now, but it looks like Molly was the clear-cut winner!  Yay!!

Coexisting {Peacefully} With Mud

This is what my feet have looked like
when I've fed the horses this week.

Special, ain't it?

It's a good thing I bought Muck brand boots a few months ago for the hubster and I. They're awesome boots, the absolute best for these kind of muddy conditions around the ranch! These are the "Jobber" Muck boots (below) and what I'm wearing in the photo above, although it's hard to tell with all the mud schmoozing around my feet. I REALLY LOVE MY MUCK BOOTS!!

These are the "Chore" Muck boots (below) that I bought for hubby... he loves his boots too, and really appreciates them during these muddy days!
I really feel bad for the horses... their paddock areas are just an absolute mess right now. They all have access to pasture area, which is not as muddy as their paddocks, but of course they rarely go out to the pastures since there's nothing but brown grass out there right now.

Paint horse, ever inquisitive about my camera!

Poor ole Murphy, always being sassed by Paint - we rope him off separately these days to ensure he gets all his Purina Equine Senior feed. Goodness knows that fat ole Paint doesn't need it!

Miss Stormy's legs, hoof-deep in mud

The sheer ugliness of our roads is
mirrored by our truck's appearance.

Thank gawd we have a redneck car wash on the side of our road. Never heard of that? Look closely at the photo above, and you can see the tire tracks where hubby zoomed the truck as far to the left of the road as he could, and as fast as he could, to wash some of the mud off the truck. Yeppers, men and 4-wheel drive trucks and muddy roads -- it's a testosterone laden combination!

Quite frankly, the mud has beat me. Yes, this city gal has reluctantly given in to the mud ~ what else could I do? I sadly clean it, day after day, from our laundry room aka mud room.

Now I know why they are called "mud rooms".

But would I ever reconsider living in the country, and move back to the city?!

NEVER!!

I will plant my feet firmly on this country soil {mud}, and try to coexist peacefully with this time of year that I call the "season of mud". It may have beat me in a realistic, physical kind of way, but it will never rob me of all the myriad pleasures of country living.

And of course, my Muck boots will keep the mud
from sucking me into it's squishy depths.

Frosty Morn

a classic sunrise glows on the horizon this morning

wee bit o'mist over the pond

Ringo looks for wildlife

ice crackles in the ravines

horses on watch

Cattle Drive!

We left the house at 6 a.m. Saturday morning, horses and saddles loaded, to help a friend drive his cattle off pasture. It was a fun day, for the humans and horses alike!

Beautiful country - I only wish I had gotten more photos!!

Yes, me on horseback behind the cattle, hence the blurry photo.

This is what many of my photos looked like...
camera + horse = lousy pictures!

Hubby returning from search for renegade cow and calf...
they made a clean escape!

My ride on the right, hubby's on the left.
Yep, they worked hard - enlarge to see their sweatiness.

Our host.

His house.

The front porch.

The front door - isn't it beautiful?

My photos don't do their house justice. I've always loved stone houses, and this one was stunningly gorgeous. To the right of this front door was a side porch with a grill and refrigerator built into the stonework... further to the right was a stone fireplace with a flagstone patio, wicker furniture and an arbor over it, and to the right of that, a built-in pool. Can you just imagine evenings around that fireplace with a glass of wine in hand. I wish I would have gotten a photo of it.

Oh yeah, I could definitely live in this house!!

Flagstone and lush plants. Gorgeous!

Part of the stone garage.

The well-decorated roof.

The barn - I love the old stonework.

Getting ready to sort some cattle.

Our host, doing more sorting...

...for vaccinations, and preg checks.

Pastureland in front of house by driveway.

A few photogenic kids...

... and of course, the necessary ranch dog.
This is Ruben, a 6 month old Aussie.

The only thing I regret about our day - no pictures of me on Murphy!!! Hubby agreed we need to be sure to get pics of me in the future.

This was my first ride away from home on Murphy - I mistakenly thought since he's an older horse (25) that it would be an easy ride. Wrong! Murphy, being the old cow horse he is, was hard to hold back. His ears were cocked and he was excited to be back at his old job. He wanted to herd those cattle and nip at them! Plus the terrain was very rugged and hilly. Lots of rock ledges and very rocky fields to navigate - quite a jolting ride for this novice. But all in all, I think Murphy and I did pretty good - I enjoyed the challenge. I definitely need more practice on him. I need to learn how to remind him that I'M the boss, not him! He fought me every step of the way yesterday.

By the time we got home at 4:00, I was a little bit sore. But not near as bad as I thought I'd be. I was more tired than anything, and I think I crashed out by 6:00.

Midlife can be hell sometimes.