Another Friday already?

Well, here we are again, a week has gone by and I haven't posted anything! Perhaps that because nothing much has been going on around here....

Except traveling, I guess I have driven quite a bit this week, and have been out of the office for four days - that might have contributed to my lack of updates in blogworld. On Monday I drove to Cheyenne for an early Tuesday morning meeting of the House Ag Committee in the Wyoming Capitol, where they were discussing a bill concerning the beef checkoff in Wyoming, among other topics. The meeting started at 7, and I arrived at the capitol building at 6:30 and was locked out in the dark and cold! Things got better from there, though, and I ended up with a little time, amidst my other tasks for the day, to visit Sierra Trading Post outlet and purchase a pair of Cruel Girl jeans for myself, and a really warm-looking shirt for Scott.

Then, I was in the office Wednesday, and left first thing Thursday to head to the northwest corner of the state, to Powell, where Northwest College is located. That's where I'm still at this afternoon, attending the Spring Roundup, which I've found very interesting and educational. Last night I also had dinner with good friends in Cody, and tonight I'm headed to Thermop to meet up with Bob and Scott at Jerry and Robin Lake's place to visit and spend the weekend.

Amidst all that, I haven't really had a chance to do much else this week except for make sure I'm on top of legislative things, make sure the apporpriate updates get put into articles as the bills move through the chambers, as well as the other normal news we always have going on that affect the state, like some bills before Congress demanding wolf delisting, and the recent deregulation of Roundup Ready alfalfa and the hoped-for deregulation of Roundup Ready sugarbeets.

I would have some photos to share but *ahem* Heather borrowed my card reader earlier this week and I forgot to get it back form her, so I have no way to get the photos from camera to computer. ;-)

And, on Monday I took Baby Seehusen's gift to Cheyenne with me, and it's all finished up, so soon I will get it sent to Iowa, and then I can post photos of that project.

And I did my taxes! Good news that I'm getting a refund this year, for the first time in several. It's really nice to not have to worry about paying the IRS.

I guess one image I could share with you is the cover of this week's paper, which I thought turned out really nice.

This week we featured that beef checkoff bill, a University of Wyoming study on whether or not it's possible to increase omega-3s in grassfed beef, the reappointment of the director of the Wyoming Department of Agriculture by our new Governor Matt Mead, and a review of the implications of Secretary of the Interior's "Wild Lands" executive order, and what that means for BLM lands in Wyoming.

The lead photo came from a correspondent in western Wyoming. The two draft horses are pulling what's known as a sheep wagon. Sheep wagons have been used for decades by sheepherders out on the range - the guys who look after and tend to the sheep while they're out grazing. They're one of those things that, even with all the modern technologies, some things just work better and more efficiently the old-fashioned way. They're essentially a little camper, with a bed, benches, a fold-down table, drawers, shelves and a small wood stove for heat. They're used more and more rarely, as sheep operations themselves are also becoming more rare, so it's unique to see them out on the job in the parts of Wyoming that still use them.