Just Two of Several Pets

Thought I would introduce everyone to our pets, a couple at a time. I guess the reason for that is that I don't have pictures of them all yet, but I will work on that.

I am the main, small pet, care-giver. I feed, water, and worm them and try to keep tick collars on them. Just keeping a regular collar on them is a challenge. They will remind me if I forget to feed them.

This little pup is Sam. She is a one year old Border Collie McNabb cross. I have never met a more destructive animal. She has chewed hundreds of dollars of stuff ranging from shoes and hats to coolers and CD's. But when I get mad at her she just crouches and curls her body around my legs and "smiles." She know no bounds in the porch, everything is fair game, and she CAN reach everything! One day recently, I heard a clatter in the porch and ran to investigate.

She was up on the freezer eating cat food. She tore out of there, knocking over my EMT bag and Oxygen tank. That may have been the beginning of the end. I couldn't keep her out of the cat dish and one day I found her polishing off the whole bag. Now I have heard that cat food is not good for dogs and apparently that is right because soon after gorging herself, she became very very sick. As soon as the weather permitted, 20 below and Jay squawks mightily about going anywhere, we hauled her in. After a week at the vet, she looks worse. She has not one ounce of meat on her bones, and she is on an IV. I became an overnight vet tec. She is on three different pills and some sort of injection, plus drops for her eyes which are sunken and dry looking. The night we brought her home she jumped up on the kennel and was straining against her IV to reach more cat food. I got a leash and tied her very securely. Not one more nibble of cat food for her. The vet doesn't hold out much hope if it is the cat food causing the problems. Liver damage. She hasn't smiled since she has been sick but she really loves to have her ears scratched. I am mothering her along until God or Jay makes a decision.

Next is Reggie, Sam's porch mate, who's food has put Sam in turmoil. Reggie was dragged home by my daughter and exchange daughter(whom has since returned home). My daughter is gone most of the time too, so once again I am in charge of this critter. She is a little strange. She loves to "nurse." If I stand still long enough she will crawl on my shoulder and work her sharp claws in my shirt and find a little piece of cloth to chew on and go to town. When Jay takes his slippers
off in the morning to put his muck boots on, she loves to stuff her head in the slipper and scoot all over the porch. She is pretty sure that I am making a mistake, and that she should be permitted in the house. If the porch door is left open even for a few seconds she is slinking in as quiet as possible. Her and I have had quite a few battles over this. Not sure who is winning! Just two of the several pets we have. Maybe next I will introduce you to Rupert. Depends on how the photo session goes.

Feeling Good and Where does all The STUFF Come From!

Well, I am happy to report that my back is BETTER! I am so glad! It takes a lot of energy to be in pain. I walked on the treadmill a couple of days ago. It felt really good. I didn't get too carried away. Today I was back on the treadmill and ran about 15 of the 30 minutes. It felt good today too. Thanks to Susan and The Farmers Wife for your well wishes. Hopefully I am on the road to running again.

On another note, we have moved our daughter home from college, as she will be going to Costa Rica for her next semester. I swear she has more stuff coming home that she left with. Now we have to find a place to put it all. I need a storage shed! How is it that I have a shop, horse barn, sheep shed and two empty granaries and can't seem to find the appropriate place to put this stuff. Not sure if she can find her bed, I know it was there this morning, She may have to roll out a sleeping bag on the couch. I just wanna fire up the burn barrel and do a little purging. That wouldn't go over well. I think she would retaliate by burning my fabric stash.

Ouch My Back

Well since the last time I posted I have been laid up with a back problem that just won't let up. Went to the chiropractor for the first time ever. I think that was a huge mistake. I was so bad the next morning I barely got out of bed. I have been trying to figure out just what happened. I didn't fall, or spend time looking over my shoulder in a tractor. The only thing I can think of is the running. Well, I am getting better. Should start walking again in a day or two. But with this weather, I will have to do any walking or running on the treadmill. Well, I have done my share of whining! Yuck I hate it when I do that!

A Small Breakthrough

Ok, back to this running thing. It has just been there like a little thorn or something.....just kind of bugging me. Don't get me wrong. I am glad it is there. I have hung with this for about a year, fitness that is, and have been adding some running here and there. It comes and goes, or at least it did, now it is here more that there. For the last three months I have really been interested in truly adding in the running. I have had little breakthroughs along the way. Getting through 4 minutes without stopping, that was a big one. (remember that speed will just have to wait) I have a program on my ipod that is an interval training plan. It was hard. but then a little breakthrough....it started getting easier. It is hard to find a flat stretch around here, but I did. Then came the hills, well just a couple. But I wanted them because I would do short intervals going up. Then came a little breakthrough, 5 minutes, then 6 minutes......solid running well jogging or even just a trot! (Yes you got it....going down) lol I will take it any way I can get it. Well, I have had my biggest breakthrough yet. One mile, a little over, finally, finally, finally! I am really happy, but now I have to keep it up. It will be a while before that mile becomes easy.

I have a goal. I want to run part of the Blooms Day Road Race in Spokane. More than I did last year.

2009 Christmas Tree and Nativity

Here are some pictures of my tree this year. This is the first year in probably 16 or 17 years that I have bought a tree. It is a fir and it is so fresh and soft. Now if I water it I hope it stays that way. I wasn't too enthused with this project this year. But when I saw the trees cut by our community club I changed my mind. I need a topper yet. The Nativity I have had for a very long time, like my very first "married" Christmas gift from my mom. I have it in a wooden crate with an electric "candle" for the star. I will probably drag out more stuff as the month progresses. I just hate to put it all away. I think last year I was really dreading it and did some pretty drastic culling, because when I started looking for my Christmas boxes this year i only found 1. I think I need to go shopping for new stuff. Or else I need ideas for easy cool decorations I can make.

The End of Whining, I mean Hunting Season

The last day of hunting has passed. I can't begin to tell how glad I am. I am not sure when it starts exactly, but when my son starts sighting in his gun and scoping out deer habits, I know it is here and it will be a long fall. Thanksgiving is the light at the end of the tunnel. The end is near.

We are swamped with "Road Hunters". The county road goes right through us for only a short way, but it is 1.5 miles too long. We can see the road, in bits and pieces, from the house and I can tell you, it drives us crazy. A vehicle (usually big 4 doors with the occupants prematurely dressed in orange) drives in but it doesn't drive out, and one of us has to drive out to the road, which usually will send them on their way.

I have an endless stream of hunters knocking on the door (wearing orange) asking to hunt. When I tell them that it is all leased out, you should hear the whining. (Do they sleep in orange?)

One year "blue tongue" wiped out all the deer, and there was whining. The plague wiped out all the prairie dogs and there was more whining. Hunters driving in the mud and making 8" deep tracks that were there till spring and we were the ones doing the whining. Who ruined who's hunt and who took down a deer that would have been bigger and better next year.........Oh yes next year........when it starts all over again, along with their whining........and mine!

Finally the Running Part

It has been about a week since I have done any walking/running. Things just got crazy and I got lazy. I told a neighbor the other night at church I was getting after it the day after Thanksgiving. So that was what I did. But I did drag my feet. But by 2 pm I was out the door, running shoes on, ipod in hand and plenty of layers. Not sure why I can't seem to dress for this. I had too many layers on this time. At least with too many layers, I can leave a trail of clothing along my way and pick it up on my way back.

I did my usual 5 minute warm up and then did about 20 minutes of run one minute and walk one. then I did 6 minutes of running and 2 walking then I did 4 minutes of run one and walk one but i ran quite a bit faster ( and I use the word faster loosely) walked for 2 minutes ran for 2 and finished. I will be glad when i can just do this and not have to look at my watch all the time, but it is the watch that keeps me going and kind of competitive. I felt pretty good afterwards, no serious aches or pains. I can skip the advil today.

"Latest" Quilt project

I have been working on a quilt project for fall. I have just started quilting it. I think I am going to miss the fall season all together with this one. I am hoping at this point that I will be able to hang it next year.

I have not ever bought a kit before. This is a first. Someone else picked the colors and the patterns, and all I did was pick the kit. But I was taken with the simple colors and folksy pattern, and I really liked that it was "fall" and didn't have an ounce of orange anywhere. I spent quit a bit of time reading the teeny tiny instructions. I had to use a sticky note to keep track of my place. A couple of times I ran out of certain fabric pieces and had to piece scraps together to make it work. It wasn't that the pattern was hard, but the trouble is with my husband popping in ALL the time needing help. That is what has slowed me up. Otherwise I could have cranked this baby out in a week.

Now I am working on the quilting. I spent some time deciding how to quilt it. I searched through books and magazines, and putting several ideas together, I have come up with my own design. I have a few must haves when it comes to the quilting. I don't want to have to mark the quilt at all but I will mark a reference point or two to help me keep my bearings. And i want as many continuous lines as possible. For this quilt, I didn't want to follow the blocks, i wanted an all over design. It was hard for me to take that first step and quilt right over a preprinted panel. But now i an liking it. So now i am just waiting for a couple large blocks of time to pop up......oops I think i just used up one typing this. lol

Cowboying on 2/4 wheels

So, yesterday Jay came in and announced that we would shuffle cows around. OK. Then he said thatI might need a lunch, so I stuffed a couple of cheese sticks and lowfat granola bars in my pocket. Would later wish that I had packed a little water but who thinks about that when it is chilly. Then he said we would be taking the 4wheeler and motorcycle, faster that way. So I went back and got my Muck Boots, 2 coats, insulated gloves, cap with flaps, and a head scarf. This was gonna be work. Moving cows on horseback is one thing, the horse watches where she puts her feet. A 4wheeler doesn't. therefore i have to drive look for cows and watch where i am going. I should have popped an aleve right then and there, but I didn't. (would regret that later too)

The first part of the day wasn't bad. I hauled my ride out on the back of the pickup. Jay rode his. haha. We moved the first bunch with the pickup, a bale of hay and Jay on the bike. He had a dog helping and things went smoothly. Then we gathered up my 4wheeler and set off for the farthest part of the ranch. That always makes me a bit nervous. Flat tires, motor problems...The walk home is a bit daunting. About 8-9 miles. But on this day all went fine. I spent a lot of time waiting on Jay as a motorcycle goes many places a 4wheeler can't or is it me that can't! Anyway, the gather went well, we picked up a missing bull, and most of the heifers, and pointed them west. Then he informed me that we would just take them on home. Half way there i went back, loaded my 4wheeler in the pickup, and went home leaving Jay to bring them on in. Since i knew Jay would be hungry, i didn't pack a "lunch" for him, I started supper. He rolled in about 1.5 hours later, and said, "It's times like these that it would be nice to live near town so we could run in and eat!" I thinking, that is exactly what YOU did!

Oh yeah, i have added a photo. I am going to have to do this again soon and often so i can remember how i did it. Anyway this me on Rio. We are letting the cows and calves mother up before moving them on through.

I am beginning to wonder if this old ranch wife is smart enough to blog in any kind of respectable fashion. can't add a picture, is doesn't like the url i added, can't find any friends. ugh...I maybe need a break and try again later.

It is a beautiful day here in Montana. sun is shining and it is a crisp 35 degrees. Husband is doing a little farming and i have been left here at the house to hold down the fort. Sounds like a good time to quilt. I am sewing down the binding on a cute hexagon quilt in muted pinks and blues. not my favorite colors. Planning the quilting on another quilt.

Will walk this afternoon. I ran and walked yesterday. If i feel ok i will add a little running. Knees can be a little bothersome on some days.

BLM guys should be here shortly. I need to show them how to cross the river and point them in the general direction to a small piece of BLM we have, they have a GPS they can get them selves the rest of the way.

first blog for this ranch wife

Hi, i just as well introduce myself. I am a ranch wife from eastern montana. I love quilting and have started an exercise program, my own, in an effort to run. it is very slow going. I have two kids that are pretty much grown. A friend suggested doing a blog, so i thought i would give it a try. so that is enough for the first day. Bye for now