The Merriest Time of the Year

 

Cross-country skiing with Shep and Dash (they are paiently waiting while I take pics)

    December has brought huge dumps of Christmas snow to the mountain and hill country of Montana.  That is great for next summers' grass population.  

       It also brings a quietness and stillness to the beautiful but shortest of days.  Today is the shortest day of the year, so that brings hope as well, each day will be seconds longer than the last and then minutes and so on.  

        Of course, the snow also brings a white Christmas.  This brings all the musical sounds of the season to your heart.  So here's to you and yours to have a Miracle Christmas and a Healthy new year.

Autumn Thanks

A Thankful Time of Year

A time of year that reminds us all, how much we are    blessed, and how we should live each day ; thankful

My sincere Thanks to all family and friends for their support, praise, and love.

As one of my Kindergartners said, "God is a beautiful artist."

Orange is for October

Whoosh, Here comes the Windy Autumn Days

      The Autumn solstice has come.  A time to reflect.  A beautiful time to ride, walk, run, or journey through time, anywhere.  Horseback riding through cows and calves, watching their growth are happy times for me; shipping them off to the feed lots, not as much.  But ranching is a business to grow food for others, so loving them a bunch while they are here is what I love most to do.

/L2 or 28 is looking great

This is the time of year when orange and yellow shimmer in the lower, light rays of the sun.  The wind is a loud roar sometimes here in Livingston but that just brings you in to clean-up summer gear.  The changing of the seasons always brings a new set of outerwear, boots, and coats for every season.  If you carefully pack your gear away, in the quiet of the moment, you can hear the memories speak to you once more.  Cherish the memories 3 times my friend says, one when you prep and plan, then while the event happens, and again when you clean-up.  If we think of it like this, it sure makes clean-up a happy time.

Two fun Fall reads

Art By Bailey

Welcome September

 Welcome Autumn!


     It's September, we are still having summer weather but the minutes of light each day are diminishing.   So the horses are growing more hair for their winter coats and the leaves are turning golden.  We smile at these changes but deep down we are missing the simple pleasures of summer when school is out and picnics were in, (almost an everyday adventure.)

Yellow is such a cheerful color, so here are some fall, ranch pictures to cheer your day.
Time is precious so enjoy every minute.
      Here's a quick joke for a quick chuckle, (laughter is always good,):
There was a man who went to Heaven and Saint Peter was escorting him along the way.  They went through a long corridor with clocks all along the walls.
Saint Peter said, "everyone has a clock and when you sin the clock moves and makes a sound."
  The man saw a clock that was barely moving and that was Billy Graham's, then another one barely moving, that was Mother Theresa's, and out of curiosity, the man asked, "Can I see my clock?"
 Peter said, Yeah, we keep yours in the office and use it for a fan."

When Charlie was on the earth, he was always building or repairing bridges in the fall because that is when there was time to do it, but what's really important about this memory is the symbolism. God wants us to build or repair bridges every chance we can, so God Bless You in your efforts!

Water Works Wonders

      Water Works

painting the horses drinking at a stock tank,
reclaiming the pond, dogs swimming in irrigation canal, wheel line 

      As sunshine heats up for August; (dog days of summer) the ranch animals love water and work hard  for their drinks or dunks into the creeks, streams, rivers, and ponds.
    "Changing your water," is a term we use with irrigating.  It's when the wheel lines are reset about every 12 hours.  Fun when its not freezing cold in the mornings, and all the parts work well.   Flood irrigating is my favorite (the dogs fave as well), but not as efficient as the mechanical watering ways of modern ranching. Wheel line parts include:  pumps, birdies, screens, washers, etc., and then there's the pivots.

   Since, August is usually the dog days of summer, and it is the Time to celebrate the Saint of dogs, Saint Rocco, (said rosh a), I am going to take the dogs on a special picnic where they can swim and run and eat hot dogs,(my friends love hot dogs and bones of course); hope you do the same. Here are some good dog stories just in case you are not making your own.  Hunting Huns by Ben Williams and all his books are bird-lovers faves.
          August 16, have a Happy St Rocco Day!

{all paintings are available as prints or cards}

nonfiction, Love that Dog, extremely sad but makes one mindful,
Floss series for kids

                              Books for Saint Rocco:

Summer Silohettes

The Art of Decorating

Many blogs have a lot of inspiring presentations for decorating so I thought I would show a couple of the ones we have here at Country crossings…  God's blessings to all.

  We'll start by replastering a wall with crested-wheat grass and then painting over it with an eggshell white.

    Then any old buildings that we had to tear down, I saved a few pieces; windows and shutters for wall decor' and wood siding was planed for wainscot .

Grandmother's lace makes a wonderful wind dressing for a new tiled bathroom.

And …  Our neighbor made us beautiful blue and green (my favorite colors,) horse napkins.

Hope inspiration and creativity find you happiness in the art of decorating.

Barn Buddies

No matter how messed-up your day is…There's always someone waiting in the barn for you.

At the Barn…
 Here we have BLT, pictured as Bear, Tiger, and Lion,
Dollar & Nifty, Siempre & Buddy, then right corner, Dakota & Gunner.

there is a lot being said without any words.

I love being at the barn.  These two quarter horses want to go riding or want to eat more, what do you think?  The other two are scratching each others' back as the flies are out in July something fierce.     The picture I captured of this kind act is a picture of Dakota and Gunner at the ranch barn.  It's always fun at any barn!!  I am also including some great barn reading as well.  Happy barn visit to you.

A couple of needed Ranch reads, a cool series for youthful dreamers, 2 Life Expressions, & a couple of classic reads.

 

art works for inspiration

Country Red, White & Blue, (ranch Style)

Salute to Honor and send a  Sincere THANKS

From the horse barn to the old recycled outhouse, we are ready to salute and show our Americana spirit.

up the stairs to cats lair

Honor Stars for Charlie

Shade for All

Welcome

let's go inside… for tea

Happy Independence Day

old-fashioned mail

Whispers in the Wind

     Simple joys and tender cares can come from all directions when you need them.  Being THANKFUL is all it takes to start this trail of kindness rolling out.  Being thankful and seeing small details helps you find these smiles.

      Last evening, we had a wind and thunderstorm which gratefully took the temperature down thirty degrees.  I woke up thanking God for his gentle pruning.  Willow branches everywhere, but just big enough for me to pick up easily.  I would walk around picking up branches and stacking them in piles while marveling at frogs that seemed to be far away from their ponds, looking at grasses and trying to recall their names, thinking about places that need work, listening to the birds, visiting with the barn cats, watching dragon flies upon the ripples on the pond.
                                           God still gives gifts, even when we don't ask for them.
     Another simple joy in the country, is mail.  It's a gentle gift that let's you cross paths quietly in your thoughts.  I looked for a mailbox picture and didn't find one, so I quickly painted one(I'll work on it more later).    But in a modern day life, mail can come through your phone as well and I had special people give me messages that way as well.  Thank you friends.