An Elk Weekend

Over this last weekend we packed up our family of three, met up with family in Douglas, and headed south to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park for the weekend.

We had two goals: take photos of fall color and elk, and hear the bull elk bugle. While I didn't come away with any photos I'm in love with, I did get some, and haven't edited all of them, and we did hear quite a few elk bugle - the first time I'd heard them.

When we got to the park the first leg of our drive was up a gravel road to the summit, which was above treeline. I was impressed they had a visitors center clear up there. It was just below the visitors center that we found these elk, and let the record show that Scott took the photo at the top of this post. :-)

This rock chuck was also up there near the elk. Also a Scott photo.

Otherwise, the scenery was pretty, but nothing that can't be equally matched by Wyoming's mountains. I wasn't too impressed with Rocky Mountain National Park, as it's really not very big, and was packed full of tourists from the city. Granted, I'm sure Yellowstone is the same way, and that's why I haven't set foot in Wyoming's park since I moved here. It's much better to find your way into the backcountry wilderness than touring mountains on a highway and seeing them out of a vehicle window. There's a lot of national forest and wilderness areas around Rocky Mountain NP, and I'm sure they have a lot to offer.

But it was a nice trip. We spent the night in Grand Lake, south of the park, and drove back through to Estes Park Sunday afternoon, where the annual Elkfest was taking place. We were going to do some window shopping, but didn't, since we couldn't find a park place due to the 30,000 attendees that packed downtown.

More photos to come, if I find some decent ones in those I haven't sorted through yet.

All in a Day's Work

After spending yesterday in the Hyattville/Manderson area and getting five interviews for our upcoming special edition, today I am headed north to the Greybull/Shell area for several more.

Last night I went out in search of cell service, and on my way back in to the ranch where I'm staying I stopped to take some photos. This is rough, dry country around here, and broad daylight is really not flattering to it, so I was glad to get some photos in the pretty evening light. There's quite a bit of irrigation in the drainages, where mostly alfalfa hay and corn for silage are grown. Most irrigation is done by pivots.

I've been admiring the blue tin roof on this barn since I got here - it's along the road back to my cabin. Unfortunately, I had lost my sunshine to clouds by the time I got this far.

So more interviews today, and possibly a stop at the Big Horn County Fair in Basin. The fair is the reason some of my interviews didn't pan out - livestock is due to be brought in today, and many ranch families were preoccupied with all the last-minutes.

And back home tonight! It will be good to be home. There are two ways to get back to Casper over the Big Horn Mountains, and I haven't decided which one I'll take yet. There aren't many cattle in the lower country this time of year, as they're all grazing on mountain allotments, so I need to get a few photos up there to go along with my articles.

Peace and Quiet

Yep, I'm still just relaxing in my cabin... the above photo I took this morning in the early light of morning, while the whitetails were still playing the meadow. I don't think I've ever seen whitetails run and play and jump just because they can, but there was a group of about five of them who were certainly enjoying being deer this morning.

I had been invited to go have breakfast with the Robertsons at 6, but even though I was up, I wasn't really around, so just munched on some cereal I had brought along. Then fell back asleep, only to be awakened by the sound of a diesel engine, and breakfast on my front porch railing.

Mrs. Robertson has to be among the sweetest hostesses in Wyoming! This is what she had delivered. The bread was still warm from the oven! She came back shortly with a note, because she wasn't sure if I was up, so we chatted briefly. They're headed to Billings today to pick up a piece of equipment.

So now my next interview isn't until 10, and it's not far from here, so I'm going to get started transcribing my Robertson interview from last night. No time like the present! It would be a great relief to have these 10 or 12 special edition articles all finished up before the baby comes.

If you ever want a secluded getaway, there are many prime opportunities in Wyoming, and perhaps you should look up the Robertsons at Hyattville and come stay in their cabin. :-)

No Cell Service...

But I do have wireless internet!!

These are the kinds of anomalies that are common in Wyoming. :-)

The photo above is pretty dim, because I took it at 9 p.m., a few minutes ago, but it shows the hay meadow and the Big Horn Mountains off to the east of the cabin I'm staying in tonight.

Yes, not in Casper tonight!! Although it's been hard to get excited for the big task that is Fall Cattlemen's Edition, one of the perks of this trip is the gracious offer of Gene and Chris Robertson for me to stay in their guest cabin, which usually accommodates hunters, fishermen, lion hunters, etc. If I hadn't been able to stay here, I would have had to stay in Worland, which is quite a few miles to the south of all my interviews, I think at least 50, and that would have resulted in a lot of driving back and forth.

The cabin is a simple affair, with one bedroom and one bath downstairs along with an open kitchen/eating area. A long covered porch stretches along one side. Upstairs is an open loft, which has a double bed and a daybed with a trundle beneath it.

Think of Prince Edward Island's 'Wee House on the Water,' only about six times the size. :-) (Visit the link! They've added on, and the 'wee house' is still miniature, but not quite to the extent when we stayed in it with six people!!)

(Look! Another whole bedroom in the Wee House! Wouldn't that have been nice. :-) )

So, back to the Wyoming cabin. Here I am, a few miles east of Hyattville, Wyoming in Big Horn County - one of the few areas of Wyoming I had yet to visit, because there's really no reason to come here, and the people who live here like it that way. I have two full days of interviews scheduled in the county for tomorrow and the next day, before heading back to Casper, where I'll stay put until after the baby's born.

More photos of the county to come - hopefully I end up with some good ones! That always makes our designer Tracy's job easier. :-)

It's already Friday!

The thing about working at the Roundup is that weeks tend to pass very quickly. That can be good, in that time doesn't drag at all, but it can also be bad, because some weeks there aren't enough office hours to get everything accomplished.

This week was one of those where things were busy, and my 29th week of pregnancy is gone before I know it.

On Tuesday several members of the Roundup staff traveled to Buffalo, where we attended the 2011 Environmental Stewardship Tour on the Fieldgrove family ranch - that's one of their Red Angus cows in the photo above.

Each year the Wyoming Stock Growers Association and other partners select a Wyoming operation for the Leopold Conservation Award. The award is named after Aldo Leopold, one of the first to champion agricultural conservation, although many operations had been implementing "conservation" practices long before they were recognized as such.

Anyway, the Fieldgroves were this year's focus, and about 125 people went to their ranch for a tour that highlighted their conservation practices, which include managing a burned area for sagebrush reintroduction, dealing with water development left over from coalbed methane production and a goat herd used to control an awful leafy spurge infestation, which had existed ever since Ryan Fieldgrove's days growing up on the ranch.

The weather was gorgeous, the tour was intriguing, and a good time was had by all. :-)

Then, on Wednesday I was in the office, before heading down to the Wyoming High School Rodeo Finals in Douglas on Thursday.

There I just took some photos and interviewed some kids for an article in this week's paper. My interviewees were Wiley and Kellee King of Casper. Wiley is competing in saddle broncs and bull riding, while Kellee's events are barrel racing and goat tying.

So that's about all I've been up to... I've been getting more tired in the mornings and evenings, so I haven't got as much accomplished around the house as I would like, especially on new projects, but I have managed to maintain the regular everyday housework and some cooking. :-)

Thermopolis is famous

"If you live there, and you drive this regularly, you are so very blessed."

That's a quote from the most recent blog post on PW's blog in the homeschooling section.

I guess I'm one of those who the guest blogger counts 'very blessed,' because the photos she posted of their drive through the Wind River Canyon and then staying overnight in Thermop are very familiar.

It's interesting to read about places I frequent so often in the words of a tourist, because anymore I take the canyon for granted. The first time I drove through it I was impressed, but anymore my thoughts run along the lines of... 'ok, I'm at Shoshoni, but it'll still take 30 minutes at least to get to Thermop, because of the canyon.'

Given the amount of traffice that PW gets on her site, maybe Thermopolis, and Wyoming in general, will have just a few more visitors this summer. Speaking from experience, familiarity aside, it's worth the visit!

Next up the blogger and her family will be in Cody, so I'm interested to see what she says. To her delight, the drive from Thermopolis to Cody will be even prettier than what she's already seen. :-)

I'm interested to see if they'll even be able to get into Yellowstone, though, much less get around in the park, because they're still getting large amounts of snow this month...

Of snow and horses

Racing chariots in Jackson, Wyoming.

Yes, I realize that, again, it's been almost a week already since I posted. With the way weeks fly by around here, it's going to be August and my due date before I know it.

Since my last post we made it to Jackson and attended two days of cutter racing. I also did interviews for three articles for the paper that all went well. I also remembered that it's a mistake for me to think I can shop in Jackson, which is full of tourist mementos and clothing for rich men's wives, and little in between. I did get a pretty burnt orange, gray and white saddle blanket from Flat Creek Saddle Shop when I finished my interview there. There was a really pretty textured silk scarf that I should have also bought. I might have to have them send it to me.

Melissa and two friends came over from Lander on Saturday to watch the races with us, and it snowed all day long but wasn't too cold and really didn't accumulate much in town. In fact, now I'm convinced it never stops snowing in Jackson, because it didn't the whole time we were there, even when the sun was trying to come out. No wonder people use it as a winter wonderland.

As always happens when we go on these trips, like Pocatello last year, I'm convinced I gained between five and 10 pounds from eating out so much. That biscuit sandwich I had at Bubba's BBQ for breakfast that one morning sure was good! We also had breakfast at The Bunnery, a tasty but pricey bakery north of the Town Square. There many pastries in their glass cabinet looked delicious, and I managed to escape with just a few bites from Scott's cinnamon roll.

We were all glad we decided to drive back Monday, instead of trying to come back over the pass Sunday night in the cold and snow. As it was, the roads were pretty snowpacked on the way home.

So since then, just been making up for the lost day this week and getting everything done for the paper. We've officially hit the time of year where we have too many ads to run in less pages, so this is our first week at 24 pages and I expect that to continue through the next four editions. It's really sucking up my editorial so far! This week's cover features my interviews with the Shriners and photos of the races, so I'm looking forward to seeing what Tracy's done with them in the layout.

Other than that - gotta get started on Baby Ehlers's baby gift this weekend! The time for her to arrive is coming right up. :-)

The heifers at home at Thermopolis

Last Friday evening, en route back to Casper from Powell, I met up with Scott and Bob at Jerry Lake's place on Owl Creek, near Thermopolis, to spend the night, visit, look at our replacement heifers and pick up a load of hay.

Saturday morning Scott and I headed out to the feedlot, where the girls are staying, and while we were there we fed the few pens of cattle that Jerry's keeping over the winter. The red heifer second from left is the one that Scott gave me last spring, and she looks small next to the girls from Iowa! She didn't look that small when we weaned last fall, but Scott says that's because her mother is also little. A little cow is just fine, as long as she produces.

Some bulls are staying in a pen across the alley, so Scott gave them their hay, too.

They're weren't really sure why I was getting so camera-happy with them.

Here Scott is giving the hay to our heifers. They will stay here until late spring, when they'll be moved back to the green grass on the Association before being bred this summer. It's best to keep replacement heifers - the females that will join the cowherd as producers - in a situation like this overwinter so they can keep growing and be in good shape come springtime. Being out on pasture would be enough to maintain their weight, but not necessarily gain and grow.

 

They weren't really sure why I was taking their picture, either.

After the calves were fed we went across the road to start Jerry's truck, which was already loaded, and put some straps on the hay before Bob and Scott headed back to the Association with it, and I headed back to Casper.

A wintertime trip to Jackson

Source: Daryl Hunter, Flickr

Well, after a scare that we had booked our rooms and all made our plans for the wrong weekend, it's been confirmed that our trip to Jackson in February on President's Day weekend is still a go, and that the cutter races are, indeed, that weekend and not Valentine's weekend.

"We" being Scott and myself, along with Bob and Becky and friends Rick and Shannon from Meeteetse. I don't remember exactly when the plan was hatched, but we've had our rooms booked at the Antler Inn in Jackson for quite some time.

I'm excited to go. My four-and-a-half years spent in Wyoming have led me to Jackson on several occasions, but always just passing through, or there on business, so I'm looking forward to going on a trip for "play." Although, I guess the managing editor is coming out in me, because I have three interviews in mind that I'll try to schedule for while we're there. Two will go in our upcoming Horse Edition, and the third will be a feature for the cover of our regular weekly.

The "cutter races" are actually no longer run with cutters, but rather with lightweight chariots pulled by a pair of racehorses over a quarter-mile, and they're a big deal in some circles in Wyoming, with races held around the state all winter long. I tried to find a great photo that sister Melissa took for an article in the Roundup about the races held in Riverton, but I'm not sure I even have it in my files. I'm looking forward to taking my camera and hopefully getting some dramatic race shots to share.

Also coming up in February is a potential Superbowl party, and also a snowshoeing/hot chocolate party on Feb. 13 to celebrate both my birthday and Valentine's Day. Looking forward to all three events!

Keeping the livestock comfortable

In addition to my previous post about how we care for our hogs in Iowa, while we were visiting for Christmas Scott and I also got out to help with other day-to-day winter farm tasks, which include giving more bedding/feed to the calves, now almost a year old. This is the group of calves from which we brought seven heifers back to Wyoming to add to our breeding herd.

The first step in bedding the calves, and also getting two more bales for the cowherd to eat, is to find the cornstalk bales under the snow. In this photo my brother Nathan has the snow bucket on the loader tractor to dig out the bales.

Iowa gets a lot of snow, and it stacks up everywhere. Unlike Wyoming, Iowa does not get mid-winter thaws to clear out some of the piles and mounds, which only melt in springtime, when they all melt at once and rivers flow down the driveways and ditches, the ground turns into a sponge filled to capacity and large ponds form in the fields.

After digging out the bales Nathan switched to the tines attachment on the loader tractor, which spears the bale and easily carries it into the lot where the calves live through the winter. They stay locked up for the winter months so they can be fed and cared for to ensure that they grow well and stay healthy. There's really no reason to leave them out in their pasture, as the ground is covered in snow and there's no shelter from the wind and driving snow. They're really much happier where they have a shed to block the wind, cornstalks for bedding and a daily feeding of corn.

Scott is also much happier when he's in a shelter and warm, with food, rather than standing out in the Iowa winter weather.

The bale is set down right under the roof, on its end, and the tractor then pushes it under the overhang. This lot the calves are in is a repurposed outdoor hog lot, where my family used to keep a portion of our hogs before the new confinement buildings were built. The larger, much taller part of the shed is used to house various farm equipment, grain wagons filled with corn for the calves, trucks, tractors, etc. The calves get this separate shed to themselves for their shelter.

Getting the bale clear inside the shed ensures that the most cornstalks will stay where they will be best used, both as feed and as bedding, and not wasted. The bales are composed of cornstalks - a popular way to get more value from leftover corn stover in Iowa. The stalks are baled up each fall following harvest, and along with the dry forage they also contain some of the ears of corn that were missed or dropped by the combine - a special treat for whatever calf finds them first. The indigestible, more tough parts of the cornstalks become the bedding.

These calves were very happy we were getting them more to eat. Talk about service!

Scott cuts the twine from the bale, something that's done to keep the strings from getting frozen into the ground over the winter, which could make a big mess when it's time to clean out the pen after the spring thaw.

Hog Science 101

Because I haven't posted any photos from our Iowa Christmas trip except for the red chicken house, here are just a few of one of the mornings we were there.

My parents raise hogs in addition to growing corn, soybeans and alfalfa on their place in north central Iowa, so one morning while we were home, my dad, sister Melissa, Scott and I went to one of the hog sites to help load in a new batch of pigs. After the barns are emptied of the previous round of market-sized hogs, they're thoroughly washed with hot water and disinfected and left to dry before the new pigs come, to prevent any diseases from being transferred from one round to the next.

These pigs in the photo are 'feeder pig' size, about 40 pounds, and they will stay under my parents' care until they reach 240 pounds, or market weight, which will take about four months. It's important to keep them in clean, well-lit, ventilated, warm and dry barns so they stay as comfortable as possible while they're growing. I'm sure these pigs are grateful to have a nice warm home in their barn through the winter months instead of surviving out in the wind, cold and snow. In the summer, when it's so hot and humid in Iowa, and there's barely a breeze for relief, the barns are also engineered to keep the pigs as cool as possible, with ventilation systems designed to keep a constant breeze, fans to ventilate the manure pits underneath and keep the air clear, and some barns even include a sprinkler system to keep the pigs nice and cool on the hottest days.

In the photo above, we've opened up all the gates between the feeders and the wall to create a wide alley for the pigs to walk down before being counted into their pens. As each pen filled we'd pull the gate closed in front of the next 35 or so pigs to go in the next pen. On the right side of the photo below you can see the narrower center alley that's used for the day-to-day care of each pen of pigs.

If the pigs come in as weaners, straight off their mothers, my family also lays down those black mats you see suspended from the ceiling in this photo into each pen, and the 'brooder heaters' are let down, which you can also see hiked up to the ceiling in the photo, with the black gas lines going to them. In addition to the mats and extra heat to keep the baby pigs nice and warm, they're also hand-fed a special ration every day to make sure they stay healthy and get to going as quickly as possible.

No matter what kind of livestock is being raised, it's always in the best interest of the producer to take as good of care as he possibly can of his animals. That's why we also leave four empty 'sick pens' in each barn as we're filling them. As the pigs grow, some naturally fall behind, or pick up some sort of sickness, so they're pulled out of the pens of big, healthy pigs and put by themselves so they have a better chance of getting well. Without this individual attention in day-to-day management they would be jostled and picked on by the bigger pigs.

It was so bitterly cold the morning we loaded in those new pigs, and I know I was sure grateful for the modern technology that means those barns were toasty warm inside, both for the new pigs and my own personal comfort! At one point during the morning I had to leave to get a different pickup, and when I got back to the site one of the trucks was backed up unloading and one little guy had escaped. After being in the warm truck, you can imagine his shock at the cold, snow and ice. He just stood there while I picked him up and put him back in the warm barn with his fellow piggies.

Each barn has two feed bins with augers feeding a ground corn ration into the feeders down the length of the building. They're on an automatic sensor, so whenever the feeders start to run low the motor kicks on and fills the feeders back up. There are no hungry hogs where I come from.

So there's a little bit of a crash course on part of what it takes to raise hogs traditionally in Iowa. Because bacon is so good and in such high demand, as well as barbecue pork, sausage and pork loin, raising hogs in barns like these is the best, most efficient way to supply the world with pork, and at the lowest cost, while at the same time being the best, most comfortable and protective environment for the hogs.

Back in business

After that long but delightful Christmas absence from just about all things cell phone/laptop/internet, I am now back in Casper and back to work, expecting the proof of this week's paper any minute now.

Scott, sister Melissa and myself had a great and fairly uneventful trip to Iowa, which is a good thing, considering some of the terrible, stressful drives to and fro that have happened in the past. We arrived Dec. 23, so were able to celebrate Christmas Eve, Christmas and New Years Eve with both immediate and extended family.

One of the days mid-week the whole family traveled south to Ames, where Iowa State is and where I went to college. There we met up with one of my uncle's families for dinner and we attended a women's basketball game in Hilton Coliseum, and it was nice to be back and revisit campus, which I try to do on every trip home.

Scott and I also spent time with my dad the Tuesday that we were home to take all the calves to the vet, and brand all the heifers, seven of them, which came back to Wyoming with us as a half purchase/half wedding gift deal.

We also helped load in feeder pigs into one of the hog sites that my parents own and operate - Scott is slowly getting his initiation into what raising hogs is like. I helped my mom cook for our extended family's New Years Eve party at my parents house, and then I helped cook for our wedding reception held New Years Day, also at my parents' farmstead.

We ended up with just about 90 people coming to see us for our wedding party, and it was great to see people with whom I hadn't crossed paths in years, and I did my best to spend a few minutes visiting with everyone who came, although I know there are a few families that I missed. Scott didn't vapor-lock on me, and he held his own visiting with the many people who were curious to talk with him a little bit. For not being a crowd person, and not thriving on visiting with lots of new people, he survived quite well. But he was very glad to head home to Wyoming dark and early the next morning - 3 a.m.

So this week has been spent recuperating from all that. Thankfully the paper was easy to put together, as Heather and I had lots of overset left in our files from the holiday break papers.

And....... this week has also been spent recuperating from finding out that Scott and I are expecting a Mini Martinez! I'm nervous about handling a first newborn along with my demanding full-time job, but I think with proper preparation and ample planning we will be ok, both our family of three and the Roundup staff. If I didn't have to work full-time, and if the paper didn't take so much of my attention and energy, I would feel almost no pressure at all. I guess there's no time like the present! Scott and I have wanted to get started with a family sooner than later, and if all goes well and I can handle it, we'll have most of our baby births done around the time that he turns 40.

As far as baby names go, we had already settled a while ago on Levi Frank Martinez if it's a boy. The 'Frank' is chosen because it was his dad's first name, and it's my dad's middle name. The 'Levi' just because we both like it, and I'd like to go with a little bit of a ranchy theme on names and Levi fits. We're still kicking around girl names. We both like 'Sage,' and his mom's middle name is Lou and my mom's middle name is Louise, so the middle name will be either of those. Sage Louise Martinez? Unusual, but it would work. I'm open to other ideas, though. I also like Mae, but Scott doesn't for a first name, so maybe we will end up with two girls so I can use it eventually as a middle name. :-)

So anyway, that's just a little bit of what's been going on around Iowa and Wyoming since my last post two weeks ago.

The photo at the top of the post I took on an especially frosty day in Iowa. It had been cloudy and foggy for a couple days, and when we were out and about taking care of some farm work the sun came out and thankfully I'd had the chance to grab my big camera to take some pictures. The red building is the last original building standing on what we know as the Ruby Farm, where my great-granddad Ruby farmed and where my Grandma Hemken grew up. My grandma has really advocated for saving the structure, and last summer it was the proud recipient of new tin siding, and it sure is pretty in all the snow and frost.

Here are a few more views of it:

My grandma has also advocated for saving this really old, big tree over the chicken house.

 

The end is in sight

I'm sure Heather will agree with me when I say we've had a non-stop, never-ending list of things to do for the paper since about Aug. 1. Maybe it was even earlier than that?

I think I've been completely caught up with all my work maybe twice from that date until today. And today marks the third! Anymore it's a rare feeling of having everything checked of my list, both the Roundup list and my personal life list. And it's the Roundup list that's caught up right now.

Right now I'm waiting to do the final proof of our Jan. 1 paper, which will be all done and sent to press so nobody has to worry about it in the week between Christmas and New Year's.

In the photo above is Ryan Fieldgrove, second from right, with his three kids on their ranch. I interviewed him for our Winter Cattlemen's Edition, but it wasn't nearly so green and sunny when I was there in December!

Last night I got my gifts wrapped and all of Scott's and my shirts ironed. Much remains in to prepare for the trip to Iowa, which will begin early tomorrow morning, but those were the two time consuming things. I just got back to the office from the house, where I cleaned out the fridge and cleared all my boxes and wrapping supplies from the spare room, where Melissa will stay tonight. She's on her way from Lander now, and I expect her in town within 30 minutes.
I also put the smaller gift packages into a big rubber tub, and started collecting things on the dining table that I need to remember to bring.

**** break for proofing paper *****

I hardly dare to say it, but I think at this moment I might be done with my Roundup work and free to go on vacation. It's this moment that's been the final goal at the end of the long string of typing, interviews, photos, folders, typos, edits, proofs, headlines, captions, meetings, reports, quotes, corrections....... and all the other things that combine to make up one complicated, detail-oriented, painstaking position as managing editor at a weekly livestock newspaper.

I'm outta here!!!

:-)

cody, wyoming

from buffalo and johnson county earlier this week i drove back to casper for the evening on wednesday and watched the country music awards with scott - i didn't last to the end, but he went to bed even earlier than i did. i did some work in the office thursday morning for an hour, and then left for cody, where i am now at the wyoming farm bureau annual meeting.

last night i had the pleasure of going to dinner with friends marvin and janie, who live just outside of town. we went to the irma, the historic hotel of buffalo bill's, which is our habitual landing spot while in cody. it's where most of the locals go to hang out, and it's a very comfortable place.

this morning we're in the midst of putting the paper out, with which i'm helping remotely, and i'm covering the various topics here until 3 this afternoon, after which i'll leave and hopefully make it back to casper by 6:30.

being out of office for four days in a week is a challenge, but we've got the paper almost done and it will soon be history. cattlemen's editions are sure a big project to add to our regular full-time work.

so that's all i've been up to this week - driving, interviewing, writing and editing. tomorrow i have free! scott will head up to the ranch in the morning, and i'll probably go up there tomorrow evening so i can be around to help two of the association members with their stuff on sunday. one will gather and trail his cows into the meadow, and the other, whose stuff we gathered last weekend, will ship his calves and take his cows to winter pasture.

oh, we got our first measurable snow this week. it's about time! not much accumulated, but we've turned the corner from autumn. i picked a great week to criss-cross the state on the highways, but it's actually turned out ok, as the temperatures are still warm enough that it doesn't stick to the roads.

scott and i have talked about our christmas tree, which is exciting. i'm looking forward to have a real one in the house. not that i haven't already said that 348675 times on my blog. :-) we talked about heading up to the association's mountain pasture the day after thanksgiving to see what we can find. although it wouldn't be perfectly groomed, i'd rather have that than one from a grocery store parking lot. unlike iowa, there aren't christmas tree farms in wyoming, at least in most parts of the state, and that's how my family always gets ours in iowa. my plan is still to decorate the house that weekend, which will be here before we know it.

next weekend is scott's 35th birthday party, and i'm planning pineapple chili, regular chili and white birthday cake with white frosting - his request. our guests will fill in the rest with their food contributions. i'll also figure out how to set up a table for cards, which he wanted. not sure yet if we'll use the main dining table, or if i'll move and adapt the craft/sewing table that i know have in the spare room.

that's all the random ramblings for now.... not sure if i'll get any house projects accomplished tomorrow, or just cleaning.

johnson county, wyoming

abandoned homestead in johnson county, wyoming

recently returned from my first round of interviews to johnson county for winter cattlemens. and today it finally started looking like winter up there! on my return trip i took the side highway instead of the interstate, and was rewarded with several opportunities for photos. up until that point, i had nothin.

curious cows covered in snow.

more snowy cows. they were very interested as to why i was walking around in the snow, in the ditch.

 i like how the tree is silhouetted in the background. johnson county used to be big sheep country.

i pulled over to take a photo of another tree to my right, but then looked to the left and these two were so much more photogenic.