Fever

I decided to stay home today, for two reasons... I was up until almost 5am....I know, don't ask. And, it's just gorgeous outside. I wanted to enjoy this sunny warm day while I had it.
The idea of sitting in my car an hour each way, walking around stores and crowds just didn't do it for me.

The runoff from snow has overflowed the creek so you can hear it rushing by. There's a slight breeze, which can be chilly, but makes the day even more springy-like. 65 degrees and few clouds...nice :)



I spent a large part of the morning doing things outside. The cats were very happy to be in the sun, and also very helpful. I picked up a lot of stuff in the yard that seems to disappear under the snow. I also located many of Brock's outside toys, that was kind of a bummer :(



I had to break up a bunch of hay today (fun), and so much nicer to do it in sun with dry ground. Me and my friend the pitchfork spent some time together. The horses were also very helpful. They don't seem to mind getting their noses stuck with the pitchfork either. Not too bright.



I did walk around the property some, but with the brown and wet and yuck, just not many pretty photos to be had right now. The pond, although melting, is still covered in ice, and there's just not much green yet.



Otis, as usual, follows me around while I do these things, rolling around and wanting attention. I decided, as you can see, to go for the up the nose shots on the animals. And yes, I laid on the ground for some of these. Wow..what I'll do for my friends ;)
Look at the great sky above him!



Tweet really didn't care what I was doing. He found himself a nice warm spot and took a nap.

I had a lot of stuff to talk about between 4 and 5am, but I couldn't decide whether I was writing to write, or if I was writing because I was delirious at that hour.
I decided blogging-while-delirious wasn't an option so decided against it.
I still might write about it later. But for now, I think I'll enjoy the rest of daylight while I have it :)

Blue

Look.
It's blue.
The sky is blue today.
Spaz is happy :)

Melting

Heat wave today, I think it's up to 50 degrees. It feels great, even though I wish sun were with it.
A lot of the snow is slowly melting away.
I walked around the property some this morning, checked on the thawing pond, making sure the dam was holding up. Our front yard is like a swamp at the moment, you practically need rubber boots to walk around.
It's weird to walk around a yard that's part swamp, part ice.
I did find some antlers lying around, but that was about the excitement of the walk.

Most of you remember the little fawn with the burnt leg, she was here this morning. Her leg is doing great and you can see where only white hair grew back in where the burn was.
It's cool to actually recognize the deer that hang out. A few of them followed me to the pond and back, I guess wanting some kind of treat. I threw out a few carrots, which the horses seemed to disagree with.
Oh and something new I learned.....deer love pumpkin. Smash up a pumpkin and throw it in your yard and the deer will engorge. Maybe I will grow pumpkins in the garden this year :)

I'm going to drive into the Big City tomorrow, I found a store I want to check out, full of pretty-shiny-girly things. I might actually even splurge and hit Starbucks while I'm there. Should I take my laptop in and blog from Starbucks? Talk on my phone and have my ipod in my ear? Oh..and take my photo for 365 all at the same time?

Yeah, I know.
I need caffeine.

Let's Have Cake :)

Feelin Lucky, Punk?

Each weekend that the hubs is home, it turns into guy-movie weekend. Since he isn't home much, I reluctantly go along with it. I can usually tune it out by playing here, or chatting with a friend. I don't dare turn on a chick flick..heh.

Now, I can handle some of them. I like The Bourne Identity & Supremecy, and I even liked The Rock the other night.
But..
If I have to sit through Die Hard, National Treasure, Cliffhanger, ANY John Wayne movie, Tombstone, The Unforgiven, Wyatt Earp, Lethal Weapon, Goodfellas, Terminator, Dirty Harry, Bullitt, The Untouchables or any of the numerous war movies, I'm going to implode.

Now.. I'm not saying I didn't like some of these movies the first FIVE times I saw them, but seriously.. it's gettin old.

I'm watching You've Got Mail right now just to push out all the testosterone I've endured this weekend.
Ok ok.. so I won't go into how many times I've seen some of my chick flicks, but that's different :P

Oh and the wildest thing. Last night I was watching The Towering Inferno and I dozed for a few minutes. When I woke up, it was an HOUR later! And, the movie was still about in the same spot as when I dozed.

Imagine that ;)

Send Gifts

Wow.. I totally forgot.

Today is 2 years blogging for me. Wild eh?

Hi There

Chillin'

Sigh...

Doesn't like her haircut :(

My Visual DNA

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Danger, Cupcake Ahead

Ok, so you can't buy sweets just for photography without eating some.
I feel so blah.
Photography is a dangerous business I tell ya.
Thank goodness these were mini cupcakes.
I wonder if deer like cupcakes?

Today was a sunny day, so I did enjoy some time outside and taking a few photos here and there. With the sun out though, comes the slushy dirty snow and the muddy dirt roads. Everything is wet and muddy. You can't even tell what color the trucks are anymore and I won't even go into what my floors look like.
I forgot about that yucky melting period before spring.
Of course, I'm sure we'll still get more snow before that happens.

Ok, so I think I need some real food and a real beer.

You'll rarely hear me say this but...

I'm sweeted out.

**Oh..and I just ordered a remote for my camera. Oh yeah.. I'm excited :)

Spring Colors

I drove into the big city today.
We're actually getting some colors. Mainly green and brown, but hey, after 6 months of white it looks nice :)

I bought a bunch of candy and sweets today, all for photography's sake. Hubs thinks I'm strange. That's nothing new though :)

He decided to shave Taylor since she's kind of moppy looking lately, and halfway through the grooming the clippers broke. My dog is now half hairy, half bald. He won't let me take a photo. Heh.

That's my day so far.

I'm Thinkin'

I sit.

I stare.

I think.

And think and think and think.

What do I write here, what do I have to say?

I've been in a very grey area. I don't see anything of interest to share.

I hear it's the weather. It's grey. It's cold. It's snowy and rainy all at the same time. The house is dark and quiet.

I don't think this helps.

Spring won't be here for me as soon as it will for some. We can't plant until the last freeze, which is usually around Mothers Day.

I am ready for the new fawns.

I'm even ready for the bear.

I know you will remember that when I complain how they keep me up at night.

I head back to Seattle next month. We will be looking for a second place there.

I hope to divide my time between the two places.

And I'm SO looking foward to it.

Of Course

Down Home

Just off of the beaten path
A little dot on a state road map
That's where I was born & where I'll die
Things move at a slower pace
Nobody's in a rat race
And these days that's a special way to fly

I've been thinking more on the "small town" feel since I wrote that post. I remember it being quite the change from the DFW area.
I always think of the song "Down Home" by Alabama when I think of this life.
*Down home, where they know you by name and treat you like family.

It's a quiet town. No traffic lights, one stop sign. Everyone waves as you drive by each other, even if you don't know one another.
They all know your car. They all know your business.
*Down home, where a man's good word and a handshake are all you need.

We have a general store, a post office, a laundromat (and showers for those without running water) and a volunteer fire department. I actually know the deputy sheriff, as he has been here more than a few times, but I rarely actually see him drive through town.
*Folks know, if you're fallin on hard times, you can fall back on... those of us raised up, down home.

Some people do have a tab at the grocery store. When I've needed help here while alone, neighbors get together and help.
When my water pump died, neighbors went and filled up barrels of spring water for me and the horses.
The pump guy came out on a holiday to fix it, no pay required immediately.

You don't hear sirens. You don't hear car alarms. You hear the train sometimes, dogs bark, and the occasional gunshot.
There is no fast food. There are no restaurants. No delivery.
No newspaper. No ice cream shop or donuts.
No ones in a hurry. Everyone says hello. Everyone smiles :)

Of course as nice as all of this is, you start to miss some things.
I miss pizza delivery.
I miss coffee shops and donut shops.
It's weird to not have a local paper or the local news.
You can't run down to the store after 8pm when you have a craving.
You can't run to Target because you forgot to get a gift.
You can't stop and get dinner somewhere because you don't feel like cooking.
And.. you can't use your cell phone here.

But.. it's peaceful and it's beautiful.
And I'm know I'm lucky enough to say I get to enjoy it.
And soon, I'll be able to enjoy the best of both worlds.

*When I was a boy I couldn't wait to leave this place
But now I wanna see my children raised...

Down home.

Yum

Small Town Living

So I ventured into town today. Not the big city, but our little town here. I had to stop in at the post office, and then pick up a few things at the general store.
Of course I had a few people teasing me, since I rarely come down there.

They don't have a whole lot, but they have essentials.. you know, beer, soda.. bread.. stuff like that. They also have a feed store where I pick up corn and bird seed. Every now and then I pick up cat food there, but they rarely have big bags, and what they do have is usually expensive. You know, like buying your essentials at a 7-11 or something. (*wow... I haven't seen a 7-11 in years)

So.. I'm chatting with the girl that works there (family-run store) and just told her that I was trying to talk myself out of going into the big city and that's why I was looking for cat food there.
She then told me that weekly they run into the big city for supplies and would be glad to pick up cat food for me. I can just pick it up at the store. They also order Heineken Light and Diet coke in 12 packs just for me.

So of course I took her up on it :)
I wonder if I can just give her my grocery list?

As much as I'm longing to get out some and be in a city again, sometimes small town living has it's benefits.

Just Words

Found this image over at PostSecret, seemed fitting :)
I'm down to two a day (sorry, Terry) and doing pretty well except a small headache every now and then.
I've also been taking something to sleep. Some nights it works, some nights it has the complete opposite affect and I'm up till all hours.
Just weird.

I had an uneventful weekend and just really don't have much to say. I didn't jinx myself. Weather is the same. Animals are healthy.
Life is quiet.
This feels like it's turned into a photoblog with a few stories squeezed in though. I feel like I'm just throwing words out here so you know I'm alive and haven't been eaten by a wild animal.

Oh well, if pictures are really worth a thousand words, then I've had plenty to say :)

Cold Nose

Quiet

Not much excitement around here lately.
It's been a quiet weekend so far.
Of course I probably just jinxed myself.

Oh I did see something interesting last night. My cats have been using a ladder to get up into the top of the barn recently, which I thought was pretty wild.
Then, last night, I saw a raccoon do the same thing.

Raccoons and cats climbing ladders.

What's next?

Gathering

Were I called on to define, very briefly, the term 'Art', I should call it 'the reproduction of what the Senses perceive in Nature through the veil of the soul'. The mere imitation, however accurate, of what is in Nature, entitles no man to the sacred name 'Artist'.
~Edgar Allen Poe

8 Degrees

Still

In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.
~~Aristotle

Hey Boo-Boo

I'm hurt. Actually it's more than a boo-boo... but I just thought he was cute :)
I was feeding the horses yesterday morning, having to scoop up hay with a pitchfork since the deer have spread it out all over. One of the scooping moments I dug through the hay and hit the ground underneath it.
The handle of the fork went right into the palm of my hand.
Yeah... it hurt.

Now my hand is really hurt. I can type (thank goodness) but I can't turn the doorknob, hold a bottle or can, or turn it certain ways. I even dropped all the mail when trying to carry it in.

And of course, it's my right hand.

Yes, of course.

Dusk

Glimmer

It snowed a few more inches last night. I had a small window of sun to go out and take a few photos.



There's just something about a blue sky and the snow so bright.



The birds are actually sitting still today.



The fisheye lens is fun on a day like today too :) Do you see that up there? It's blue sky!



The deer are running around, it kind of looks like they're playing tag or hide and seek :)



Marble followed me all around while I was taking photos, so I assumed she wanted hers taken too :)

Snubbed~~Caption Me

Guess she doesn't like her photo taken.

Morning Visitor

No no no no

While out feeding the herd this morning, I found quite the mess. Things knocked over, bags and boxes pulled out of the garage, the usual sign of bear.

This isn't acceptible. I know occasionally they've been known to wake up early. Most likely not, but this is the first thing I thought of when I saw it. I'm SO not ready for bear yet.

Hopefully it was just a mountain lion.

Now isn't that a weird thing to say??

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

In a brief moment, where it actually wasn't snowing, the clouds moved away for awhile tonight. I could see stars.
After I fed the hoodlum horses for the night, and startled the ten or so deer in the barn, I just stopped and looked up at the stars.
We have beautiful stars here. With no outside lights or big city lights it looks like someone spilled glitter in the sky. It's eerily quiet tonight also, as if everthing stopped to admire it too.
It's about 25 degrees, very peaceful, and a brightly lit starry sky hangs above me.
The snow will be back tomorrow and for the next few days. As much as I like snow, I start to miss the stars and the sunshine.

There's really no point to this post I guess.

I just wanted to share the stars with you.

It's Time

THE Cadbury Egg :)

The Funny Farm

They did it again.
And, they seem to like bird seed.

I've decided it's not Leesa's Law anymore, but a conspiracy.
It's the animals.
They're out to get me.
They're laughing at me.
They're trying to drive me crazy.

And it's working ;)

Caption Me

*Red Breasted Nuthatch

This n' That

I had TV issues last night. Today it's internet issues.
It's been snowing, but nothing that should cause problems. Sigh.

I really didn't describe the Battle in the previous post very well. It's not so much a contest as it is a way to just see new blogs, venture out a bit, introduce your favorite blogs to other people. Kind of a neat idea I think :)
I guess then, the most popular will be highlighted at the end.

Not a whole lot exciting to share from this part of the world.
It's snowing.. still.
The deer are still sleeping in the barn. I don't know if any of you have seen this before, but they make little nests. They dig in the hay and make a nest and lie in the middle. Hmm...I should take a photo, eh?
The birds are all over, especially woodpeckers. I've been taking photos, but it seems they all start to look alike after awhile. The photos, I mean.

I had another photo chosen to be on a greeting card :) I don't have all the details just yet, but it will be a Christmas card for the upcoming season. Yay me :)

Oh..P.S. it's this photo

I'd Like To Thank.....

all the little people....

Wow.. I'm a nominee over at Leesa's in the Battle of The Blogs :) Head on over and see what the Battle is all about.

Nominations are over, but if you want to vote for little ol' Me, I think she's posting the nominees today.

Of course you can vote for anyone you want.
It's okay.
I won't be hurt or anything.

No really.
I'll be fine.

/sniff,sniff

Just Wrong

This is what I have on my screen instead of the Oscars.
That's just wrong.
Sounds like most of Northwest Montana has the same thing.
Bah.

Guess I'll watch Iron Chef :)

Chicks

Chestnut Backed Chickadee


Black Capped Chickadee

*click em' to big em'

Stargazer Lily

By plucking her petals, You do not gather the beauty of the flower.
~Rabindrath Tagore

By The Way. . . .

I don't eat ketchup on biscuits.

Three Words Meme

The rules are simple.
Answer each question in three words.
No more, no less.

1. Where is your cell phone? On the table
2. Boyfriend/girlfriend? Not right now
3. Hair? Red blonde gray
4. Your mother? Who really knows
5. Your father? Never met him
6. Your favorite item(s)? Camera, laptop, Ipod
7. Your dream last night? Involved a friend
8. Your favorite drink? Green bottle beer
9. Your dream guy/girl? In my dreams
10. The room you are in? One with couch
11. Your fear? House on fire
12. What do you want to be in 10 years? Healthy Happy Loved
13. Who did you hang out with last night? Cats and dog
14. What are you not? Selfish, greedy, tall
15. Are you in love? With many things
16. One of your wish list items? A Bose stereo
17. What time is it? Eleven Fifty Seven
18. The last thing you did? Grabbed a beer
19. What are you wearing? Sweats socks lipbalm
20. Your favorite book? One with pictures
21. The last thing you ate? Pickles and cheese
22. Your life? It's usually interesting
23. Your mood? A little sad
24. Your friends? Silly Kind Nuts
25. What are you thinking about right now? I'm getting cold
26. Your car? Dodge Mega Cab
27. What are you doing at this moment? Filling this out
28. Your summer? Only three months
29. Your relationship status? Married with pets
30. What is on your TV screen? The Princess Bride
31. When is the last time you laughed? Sometime this morning
32. Last time you cried? When stone arrived
33. School? I hope again

Stellar Jay

Scavenger Hunt : Soft

I was having an unusual day. Most things just weren't going right and I was just in a mood. Bad mood, Sad mood, you name it.

Then I received this from my blog friends. A Memorial stone for Brock.

This turned me soft. I immediately forgot why I was down. This is beautiful and it touched me so.

I even sat it in the soft snow because Brock loved the snow.

Thanks so much. You touched and softened my heart today.

The Law

You all knew it would happen right?

Yes, they broke the fence. I found three horses in my front yard this morning, just hangin out. Waiting for breakfast.
Luckily, since they were hungry, they followed me back into the hay barn at least.

I blocked them in with my truck :)

Ta-Da

Here it is :)

Unfortunately it didn't get out on time, so it will go out next Valentines Day.

Six Weird Things

I was tagged by Memphis Steve to list 6 weird things about me, but one has to be a fake. You have to guess which is the lie.
The only problem here, is I think some of you know me well enough to figure it out. I guess we'll see :)

1. I can't use cruise control when driving. I feel out of control.
2. I've never seen Old Yeller.
3. I love fruit, but hate all fruit juices.
4. I like to put ketchup on biscuits.
5. I've had surgery on my nose recently.
6. When I was a kid I wouldn't eat watermelon because I was afraid the seeds would wind up in my stomach and a watermelon would grow in there and I would explode.