June, in a Rather Large Nut Shell

After a long spring with little time off, real time off that is, June finally arrived and with it came a real break. Well, it was already packed with plans and work before we actually got to it, but it was still a break and much anticipated.

From June, I got:

• real tan lines for the first time in at least 3 years
• the loss of about 10 pounds, maybe more, just from activity. Oh the possibilities if I could just get out of the truck!
• A start on some actual muscles. It's possible that I might be able to saddle my own dern horse again if I were able to keep active for a while, or just pick up heavy boxes all the time!
• a renewal of confidence in my abilities to do some things I thought I couldn't or didn't know how to do
• and the list could go on and on, but I'm sure you'd rather see some pictures and hear other details. So here goes....

Our official break began on June 9th. That was our first full day at home, even though we still spent it in the truck. We had arrived at the ranch the night before, and woke to a dreary day that was chilly. It was June, but it was only in the low 40's that morning.

The first official duty of our "vacation" was to haul about 200 cow/calf pairs from my in-laws place down to summer range near Ekalaka. 

The first two loads went great, but between load two and three it started to drizzle rain, which lead to the last load of the day not going so great. We got to within a few yards...YARDS....of the corrals to unload the last load, but the road had gotten just slick enough from the little bit of moisture, that the truck just couldn't do it.

Thanks to that good ole eastern Montana gumbo, we were stuck! Thankfully a neighbor down there was able to come over with their tractor and pull us on up the last bit of the hill, where we were able to get some traction and finish the job.

The girls were happy to be back on their summer pastures and everyone paired back up real fast with their calves. So except for the little slip and slide incident, it all went smoothly and easily, which is always nice. It had stayed cool though, never going over 46 degrees all day and I made the mistake of saying on Facebook later that evening that I hoped it warmed up a little for the rest of our break. Remind me to be careful what I wish for.

A couple days kicked back and piddling around the ranch, and then it was off to Billings for the next phase of our break and the next big job on the agenda...

Carlie Jean, who I'm convinced has a trace of autism, if there is such a thing in the dog world, probably suffered the most during this phase. We turned her little world upside down. And add to that the time she had to stay locked in her kennel and then locked up in an empty bed room while we packed up the last bits and pieces...well the girl was nearly a basket case by the time we hit the road again. Thankfully she was able to settle down once she was in the car with us. Many MANY thanks to Malcolm's Dad who came over to Billings and stayed for 2 days to help us pack and load, abandoning all his responsibilities to his cattle and other needful things at the ranch. The job was overwhelming enough, but without his helping hands, it would have been worth sitting down and crying over.

On June 16th, we pulled up this drive with nearly all of our things in tow, home at last!

I say nearly all our things, because there were a few odds and ends that just wouldn't fit, and since we had to go back to tie up some loose ends anyway, we just left them there for the next trip.

After unloading the truck of all our junk, I proceeded to locate and unpack the bedroom and kitchen stuff and then called the job done. I figured those were the essentials and the rest could wait till another time. I was not going to spend my whole time off cooped up inside unpacking! And that's where the suntan lines came in. There were some more pairs that needed sorted out for moving down south, and then another day we sorted off another few older pairs that someone wanted to buy. Take that along with some colt training time, and I had myself a fine farmer's tan going! My legs are still as white as hotel sheets, but my arms and face have a tan I'm proud of! And I even remembered to use sunblock so I wouldn't get burnt to a crisp! 100spf and I still walked away with a nice tan! Yea me!

Spent time visiting friends and had a special birthday dinner in town to celebrate my birthday and that of a close family friend. And also made a trip into Miles City on Father's Day for groceries and a few essentials. Mother Hubbard's cubbard was BARE! But not after that trip.

The rest of the time off was mostly devoted to working with my horse, Sky, and finding any and every excuse to get outside, even if it was just to walk around the buildings and go back in to let the girls out.

The new view:

The east side of the house is a work in progress. There is a room being added on and then eventually a porch. One day the girls and I will sit on the porch (we do love our porch time) and sip iced tea (cool water for them), and watch the horses and cattle peacefully grazing out there.

The back of the house brushes up against the tree row. I had some concerns about this because I was thinking I'd be disappointed not to be able to look out the windows and see the Montana views. Turns out the tree row is a view in and of itself! I'm picturing my bird feeders scattered among the trees, maybe a bench, a few little shade gardens tucked in here and there. We'll see. But the trees and grasses and blue sky peaking through are beautiful all on their own. The trees are full of birds. Its their refuge on this great open grassland. Our bedroom and my future library/sewing room (which is currently full of boxes) look out onto this shady haven. I love the tree row!

By far, the girls favorite side of the house is the front, which is where they discovered a great big wide open yard with soft grass. Not that prickly, dried up stuff we had in Billings! My mother-in-law and I have discussed the possibilities of a garden some day, and this is where it used to be and where it would go again. But after watching Ella and Carlie Jean running, it will be kind of sad to take this away from them.

The real views open up when you get outside the fenced yard and on the outskirts of the buildings. I could stand and look at it all day long!

And another aspect, one of many, about living at the ranch, is that my horses are literally just across the yard. I can look out the window and see them at almost any time. Granted, I sometimes have to use the binoculars, but they are sitting next to the kitchen window for just that kind of use!

In the middle of our time off, we took another trip to Billings to tie up those loose ends, but we didn't stay any longer than necessary. I have to say I was a little worried about missing my house and missing the convenience of living so close to everything, but it only took a few moments of being in our new home for the few doubts I had to dissolve into thin air. I was happy to wave goodbye to Billings as we pulled out on our return journey home. Granted, where as before everything was 15 minute away, and now the basics are at least 45 minutes down the road (we're 2 HOURS from a Walmart people), you can't convince me that the inconvenience of it isn't worth the gains! And there are so many gains!

We officially returned to work last Wednesday, June29. We loaded safflower seed in Cartwright, ND.

The seed was due in Minnesota the next morning. We had not really planned on such an adventure getting there! But because of the ongoing flooding issues with the Missouri River and other bodies of water, lots of roads were closed. We had to take a detour, and even our detour ended up having a detour. It was frustrating, and took much longer to get there than it should have. This was actually one of the OPEN roads! It was closed down to one lane so traffic had to take turns crossing. And as you can see, the one lane was under water, at least a foot deep! It was a little unnerving since I was driving, and I couldn't really see exactly where the edge of the road was, AND as I watched the oncoming traffic take their turns, the vehicles were noticeably tilted towards the edge, so it was obvious that the road was not level under all that water. But I made it across safe and sound, and afterwards it was kind of neat. Just not fun during the process.

One good thing about all that water we've gotten this spring is that everything is really green and there are tons of wildflowers. Its putting a damper on getting the hay in, but it still is really pretty to look at an electric green North Dakota!

We delivered in Minnesota and reloaded in Devil's Lake, ND on Thursday. This was a load of pea starch heading to Sacramento, CA, but it couldn't deliver till July 5th. So we headed back home for the layover, having to do battle with more road repairs along the way.

Home on Thursday evening, and it was raining when we got there. But the next day was beautiful, and warming up..a little too much! The last two days we were home, it was in the mid to high 90's. But I didn't let that keep me inside. Not a chance! I spent the last two days at home doing some bird watching trying to identify my new friends, exploring some of the boundaries and learning my way around on the 4-wheeler, and visiting with Sky of course. I also had some serious chats with Sky's mama, Dawn. I told her here we were with a second chance, and if she could just see her way clear to deliver that new baby sometime before Sunday afternoon, I'd appreciate being able to see it before I left.

But she didn't want to cooperate with me, and I guess if I'm honest, I wouldn't want that baby to come before its ready anyhow. But the vet looked at Dawn when she was out to take care of Sky (he had to give up the family jewels while I was home) and said she figured two more weeks. And that was over a week and a half ago. So any day now...I'm waiting for the call from my father-in-law, and I assure you I'll be letting you know all about it when it gets here.

The last evening at home, Lucy and I took a walk around the backside of the tree row, checking out birds and flowers and the sunset.

Lucy is...so many things. She's my Father-in-law's cow dog, and she has decided that I'm a cool new friend, especially since I like to prowl around the pastures like she does and also b/c I occasionally give her short rides on the 4-wheeler.

It was a beautiful evening with perfect weather for a walk and we enjoyed each other's company and the surroundings thoroughly.

We returned to work on Sunday afternoon, leaving the ranch around 5:00pm. I got to drive because I love driving in eastern Montana. And Malcolm went to bed because he was exhausted. But he missed out by doing that. We went through a helluva storm just west of Miles City and on past Forsyth. Not real heavy rain, but some nasty wind and lightening that lit up the world and stayed on the ground pulsing repeatedly before retreating to the clouds. It was awesome! And when I got to the other side of it, the sunset turned the sky and clouds bright orange and lit up the world with the most awesome rainbow I've ever seen. It looked like it had been colored in the sky with Crayola crayons, it was so vivid! I was sick that I'd left my little camera in my purse in the back, but I had to do something! So I scrambled and snatched up my cell phone, stuck it out the window, and snapped. The picture did NOT do it justice by any means, but it was still a pretty scene.

By the time I got to Billings to fuel, the fireworks going on were man made. Not as impressive as God's fireworks earlier, but still pretty to look at.

We drove all night, stopped in Reno on the evening of the 4th to rest, and finished the trip into Sacramento early Tuesday morning. After that it was a load of fertilizer back to Idaho, and here we sit, north of Idaho Falls, waiting for a load, hoping one comes up soon!

June was good to us! We took more time off than planned but it was everything we needed and more! We both had a really hard time leaving home, and still would rather be there than out here trucking, but its good to know next time we go home, we'll be going home to the ranch, and not to a town where we don't have many friends, or any of our animals, or anything much to do. It feels so right to be living there, far more comfortable than Billings ever felt. And knowing I have so much to go home to and enjoy, actually is making being gone from home ok. I'm anticipating the summer adventures of the weeks to come on the road, and the homecoming that will be at the end of those weeks.

Back in the Saddle....so to speak

As of last Wednesday we've been officially back at work. But the second load couldn't deliver till today, so after just one day on the road, we returned home for a 2 1/2 day layover. We headed back out "for real this time" on Sunday, passing through Billings in time to see some fireworks, and then heading on out towards Sacramento. We delivered this morning and are presently working on reloading.


I have pictures and news to share from our extended "vacation" at home, but haven't quite worked myself up to blogging about it. Have to take the time first to catch up on paperwork and find the groove to trucking again. I promise you a good post by the end of the week, with all the details and some pretty Montana pictures!

 Until then....

Sunday Stills: Yellow

This past weeks Sunday Stills focus was to find and photograph the color yellow.

I caught Paris in a tender moment and decided to take the opportunity to practice. It is so hard to get good photographs of my girls, even when they are sleeping. They wiggle too much and nearly always blur part of the picture. And even when they are sleeping, the bouncing of the truck rolling down the road presents its own challenges.
As a puppy, Paris had many toys, but Ducky was always her favorite, and still is.

This week we had a half day layover at the house while en route to Minnesota. Since it was raining and I didn't have time to start a project at home, my neighbor and I teamed up and went out for an abbreviated "girl's shopping day." We had so much fun visiting, and saw so many pretty and unique items.

this pig bowl made us chuckle, along with the matching platter. Who thinks up these things?

a close up of the pattern on some pretty dishes

And this one was my favorite. These were wine glasses made with yellow tinted glass. I really liked the way this picture came out.

Thanks, Julie, for not being too embarrassed to walk around with the crazy camera lady. I'm sure I got some strange looks from other shoppers. You were a real trooper and I enjoyed our excursion very much!

To see more lovely and creative pictures of "yellow," visit this link. You can click on the name of any commenter and be taken to their blogs to see their take on the subject. The color weeks are always interesting because there always ends up being a real kaleidoscope of subjects that get photographed.

Monday to Wednesday to HOME!

We delivered our load of organic (reeking stinky) fertilizer Monday morning on a farm near the Columbia River. On the way we passed the John Day dam, where the gates were open and the water was flowing. 

And from there it was time to start working our way home. Time for another break, a long one this time. We grabbed the last load of sunflower seed from the shipper in Alicel, OR. There won't be anymore sunflower seed going to Minnesota till August.  :(

The road home took us across US12 again through the mountains of Idaho and along the Clearwater River. I do love that drive. Have I mentioned that before? (uh, yeah Sarah, like 100 times!)

However, I have to say, its ever so slightly creepy after dark, surrounded by trees, in the mist. It was patchy mist, and actually rather scenic as dusk fell, but also had the effect of hiding the curves and the edge of the road, so that there were a handful of times when I suddenly had the fear that I was going to be in the Clearwater River instead of along side it.

 Lolo Pass never looked so good, and after that I dropped down into Missoula and Malcolm took over.

We pulled into Billings at 6:00am, and knowing there wasn't time to get to Minnesota before the receiver closed for the day, we stopped at the house for the morning and afternoon. We found we were suddenly in desperate need of new steer tires, and just in time for the annual CVSA Road Check! So we went into town and had that problem fixed before DOT had a chance to put us out of service.

After that, it was home to shower, and relax a little. Malcolm went to run some errands, and after a short visit with my neighbor at her kitchen table, she and I decided to go to the book store and a couple other fun stores together. It was so fun to go shopping together, and we talked so much I ended up with a little bit of a sore throat. This girl needs to get more chat time to keep her voice chords in shape!

One of our stops was Pier One, always a dangerous place to go, dangerous for your purse strings anyway. I was doing good till I spotted a really pretty bookmark with a bird charm on it. That was my only indulgence...at that store....but I spotted these nifty finds and thought of my sister with her adoration of tulips and obsession with watermelon (which I hear has become overwhelming with her recent pregnancy)!

 On the way back home, Julie (the neighbor) and I parked in the road to admire another neighbors new foal. The gentleman who owns this property is an amazingly nice guy who trains horses and does horse clinics. I love when he rides his trainees by the house and stops to visit. He specializes in Tennessee Walkers, which makes my heart smile. A little connection to my home state, right on my own street in Montana!

 The mare had one incredible tale and mane, not that you can tell in the pictures. And I don't know exactly what color you call that colt, but he's adorable and going to be one handsome fellow!

 

That evening we headed out again to finish our trek to Minnesota. We delivered this morning, and are now reloaded with sunflower "screenings" which are going to a feedlot near Beach, ND. And after that....

HOME!

As usual, its going to be an action packed, not very restful, trip home. I can't promise really frequent posts because of all that has to be done, but I do intend to keep you up to date as best I can, and to try to keep up with all of you!


An acquaintance of mine told me yesterday that whenever he tries to visit my blog, blogger asks him to take a survey and he can't get to my blog. Is anyone else experiencing this, or heard of this? I'm baffled, but definitely want to put a stop to it if possible because I don't want anyone to stop coming to my blog out of irritation.

Sunday Stills: Potluck

My mom, over at A Garden of Thoughts, was asking me about the weekly photography posts I used to do, and wanted to start participating. She also wanted me to pick it back up so we could do it together. I was thrilled!

I can't say what prompted my letting Sunday Stills fall to the wayside. I think it was round about the time I was in my blogging slump. But listening to Mom talk about it and seeing her post last week, I realized I kind of missed playing with the Sunday Stills crowd. And it will be fun to do it together with Mom. So I'm joining back in, if you all will have me back.  Sometimes a person just need a break to regain their inspiration and motivation I guess.

This weeks challenge was "Potluck" meaning you could bring anything to the table as long as it wasn't from your archives. My goal is to never use archives because the whole idea for me is to stretch my imagination and improve my photography skills.

I don't have anything really impressive or exciting this week. The non-specific challenges have always been more challenging for me, which seems backwards from how it should be, but that's just how it is. I spend most of the week trying to figure out what to photograph, and by last night, I still didn't have anything specific in mind and time was up.

So, I decided to post some pictures I took this week that proved to be a challenge for me. I was trying to photograph smoke from a forest fire near Flagstaff, AZ. I was frustrated because I was trying to capture the intensity of the smoke, the emotions I was feeling as I watched the column of smoke climb into the air and obscure the mountains nearby. But I just couldn't get the pictures to have the right feeling. Photographing smoke is not easy, as it turns out. I kept ending up with pictures that looked like clouds, which wasn't at all what I was going for. I wasn't satisfied with the outcome, but I'll post the best ones anyway.

When we first spotted the smoke, we were still quite a ways from Flagstaff.

Getting closer in towards Flagstafff, it was clear that this was a forest fire and not a range fire as I originally suspected.

Past Flagstaff and going back downhill, around a curve and suddenly we were in the smoke. In a picture it looks more like a cloudy day. What I wanted to capture was the brown/orange tint of the smoke in the sky, but it didn't come through "on film."

And a few moments later we were back under blue skies, leaving the smoke behind and heading on to California.

Carlie Jean wanted me to share this one, since its one of the best pictures I have gotten of her. It really portrays her "what are you looking at" attitude. She didn't really care about the smoke. She was just enjoying lounging in her man's arms with the sunshining in on her.

What am I looking at? Your face my dear! Its time for a shave! Past time!

That's all I have to bring to the table this week. A weak start for my re-entry into the world of Sunday Stills. We'll try for better next week. To see more, and better, Sunday Stills contributions, visit this link and click on any name in the comments section to view their pictures.

And for any of you Sunday Still-ers visiting here, do you have suggestions or tips on photographing smoke? Any camera settings or ideas on the topic?

A Blog Resource Worth Sharing

Recently I was prowling around in the blog world, trying to kill some time while waiting to load, and I stumbled across

 The Blog Guidebook.

Have you ever been to this blogger resource? Its great! Not only do they have tips for blogging success, but all sorts of other resources, not to mention give aways. In fact right now they are in the middle of 30 Days of Giveaways and there is some really neat stuff getting passed out!

If you are looking for blogs on a particular subject, they have a blog listing that's categorized by topic, and you can have YOUR blog listed on it for free! (or get extra special treatment for a little extra charge) If your doing a give away on your blog, they will feature it on their giveaway page. The excitement just goes on and on. I bookmarked them, liked them on Facebook, and intend to do more exploring as time allows. In the mean time, I just thought I'd share the wealth! Its a resource worth sharing!

Arkansas Traveler

On Wednesday morning, I had the pleasure of driving through Arkansas' Ozark Mountains on a two lane highway. It's a road we've taken only once or twice, cutting south from Springfield, MO down to the interstate west of Little Rock, and I didn't remember much about it. Its kind of nice when that happens, because its like driving a road for the first time.

I love early morning drives, when the sun is just making its appearance and the world is waking to a new day. There is something about this time of day that lifts my spirits and makes my heart smile. I turn the radio off and just soak up the morning and time with God in His beautiful world.

Arkansas is one of those states that kind of falls to the wayside in our minds. Its neighbors, Louisiana, Missouri, Tennessee...they are all famous for something and bring certain images to our minds when we hear their names. But what is Arkansas known for? What do you think of when you hear its name? These were some of the things I was pondering while I drove south towards our destination.

Well I was bothered that my mind came up with nothing significant about Arkansas other than that the state provided a president I was not very fond of. And I figured I needed to have something more positive in my mind about the state since it was so lovely. So I had to look some things up to see what I could find out about Arkansas.

Here are some things I learned:

• About 50% of the rice grown in the United States is grown in eastern Arkansas
• Wal-Mart was established and is headquartered in Arkansas (I knew this but had forgotten)
• Arkansas leads the nation in production of bauxite (providing over 80% of this ore) which is used in the production of aluminum
• the state leads in production of bromine, accounting for about half of the WORLD's output
• Arkansas is home to the only diamond mine open to the public in the world
• Hot Springs, AR is home to natural hot springs that have attracted people for over 200 years for healing and relaxation. Drawing rich and poor alike, the area is nick named "The American Spa," and is now a national park

I think I should start looking up things about the states I travel in. Even states like Arkansas that aren't exactly famous in our minds have lots to share with us, if we just pay attention.

This morning we are in California almost to our delivery sight. We brought another load of that smelly Texas feather meal out here for the organic fertilizer place. Its been so unpleasant to smell it every time we step out of the truck, especially after several weeks of hauling onions and grain. The onions really weren't that strong in odor and even so, I would tolerate that a lot better than this feather meal. But it pays, so we haul.

I've been completing my morning routine, while Malcolm drives. Feed the dogs, catch up on my farm in Farmville (there, I made it publicly official...I'm an addict), check for new blog posts to read...and this morning I discovered that Mom had posted some much anticipated news.

A few weeks ago, Mom began a series of blog posts that were inspired by a question another blogger asked her on another post. Mom had been sharing some of her gardening and mentioned her Lemon Balm and someone asked her about the uses of Lemon Balm. Mom got curious and started researching. What she's learned and shared has been really interesting. I've been inspired and I also want the book she featured in her first post because I'm really interested in herbs. But the most exciting part for me was the home made bug repellent recipe she shared in her first Lemon Balm post.

Mom and I are both bug magnets, to the point that its hard to enjoy being outside sometimes. Not that we let that stop us, but we're usually covered in welts and scabs from being bitten. And I HATE bug spray, the smell, the greasy feeling, and the coating myself in chemicals. Ick! So I usually suffer the bites instead of spraying myself down. But now! After two weeks of "steeping," Mom was able to put her Lemon Balm bug spray to the test...and it WORKED! For details on the results, you can read her third Lemon Balm post. This is a significant discovery for us both! I am really excited about the potential of having an herbal, home grown, home made bug spray...that works! Now I just have to find out if Lemon Balm can grow in Montana. But if it does, and if it's as hardy as it is in Tennessee, then I'll be set! Too bad I didn't have some in the ground already, because with all our rain this year, the mosquitoes are going to be horrible! I might have to have her ship me some of her bug spray until I can get my own batch going.