Flag Dates; Honor Country and Service

Memorial Day

     Thank you Abraham Lincoln for beginning this tradition, we truly must remember the sacrifice of the Civil War and all the men to whom country is second only to God.  Many thanks to all the men and women and their families for their service.

Charlie's loyalty, always raised for his brothers

red, white, & blue stars for CP 

 Flag Dates for 2015 (days to remember to raise up our stars and stripes to honor veterans ):

May 8   VE day (1945) & Truman Day
May16    Armed Forces Day
May 25   Memorial Day
June 6   D-Day (1944)
June 14  Flag day to honor veterans
July 4th  Independence Day
July 27  National Korean war & Veterans Armistice Day
August 15   VJ Day (1945)
September 7  Labor Day
September 11  Patriot Day
September 18  US Air Force birthday (1947) & POW/MIA recognition day
October 12  Columbus day & US Navy  Birthday
November 11 Veterans Day
December 7  Remembrance of Pearl Harbor Day

Dakota Love, Like Father like son, Charlie,Nik, & Ike

It's all about giving back, paying it forward, extending a kindness, whatever the phrase of the day is, I love giving and sharing.

               So when you sit down to eat, please remember and say a prayer for our devoted soldiers and their families.  Thank you.  Happy Memorial Day to you and yours.

the table is set...

Hummers

    Blessing Before Dawn

        I have been watching several little amazing creatures.  Listening is almost better than watching them; they sound like mini-miniature helicopters, their wings flap about 55 times a second.  Their heart beats 21 times in that same second.  They weigh about a tenth of an ounce and pollinate 1000 flowers a day.  What's really amazing is that during migration they can fly 500 miles nonstop.  Yet because of their sound they acquired their name:  Hummingbirds. The past few rainy days have really made all the colors of the birds brighten, the western bluebirds are a striking sky-blue as well.
      Chad Pierson was the first to introduce these little miracles to me as he was fascinated by them and had "the hog of all hummingbirds on his porch," or so he thought.  I have several drinking feeders for them and have arranged them to hang by windows I am frequently at, the sugar water is 25% sugar (boil 4 cups water to 1 cup sugar, from friend, PK).  They also eat insects.  All in all, they eat their weight in food every day and spend the rest of the time sitting and watching which requires a lot of patience.   Happy Bird-watching.

sipping amongst the greenery

A view from the backdoor

Green hummer

western bluebirds in the grass

A Mother's day on the Ranch

Happy Mother's Day 

         Mother's try hard to keep us grounded by teaching us manners,(enforcers of politeness and culture as well as taking care of home treasures), they show us greener pastures (making sure we don't stray for the wrong reasons), and encourage us to unfold our wings and fly.  It makes you think of angels.  Many of us our mothers to our family, friends and animals, Thank God and thank you.

I hope it is a wonderful day for the cow-mothers on the ranch too.

Prayer changes Things

          Today is the National Day of Prayer which originated first with Jesus, but in the United States by Abraham Lincoln in 1862.  He believed we had become so self-sufficient for ourselves, that we had forgotten God, the higher power of wisdom.  So he declared we needed a day of humility and prayer, thus the National Day of Prayer.  
       I spent most of the day, thanking Jesus for mercifully showing me all the recent mistakes I had made in the past week.  Charlie had a plaque, that is now on the door of my office, engraved are the words:  'Prayer Changes things' .  I am thankful to view this each day and especially today.  A senate chaplain, Barry Black said Make prayer become like breathing which paraphrases the bible verse:  "...pray without ceasing…".  This is my goal.  Here's hoping we can make ourselves better through prayer.  

2Timothy 22  The Lord be with your spirit.  Grace be with you.

Touching back with 'The Longest Ride'

Our Longest Ride

     'The Longest Ride' a book by Nicholas Sparks came out just after Charlie went to Heaven, and I loved reading it.  Everything from the big FORD pick-up to holding hands and reading his lovely letters, was included in this movie.   Charlie was an Ag and English major from MSU, so his cards and letters were poetry in the making.   Call me "old school" as Luke, or Scott Eastwood(gorgeous) says in the movie, it was fun to see an old-fashioned romance.  It was a 1940s love story  paralleling with a modern-day love story including a ranch and art dream.   For the first time, I loved the movie more than the book, as the relationships flowed together better in the movie than separated by chapters.   Brit Robertson, as Sophia(a beautiful young lady) has a relationship with Ira that you can see grow, better in movie than in the book.   A wonderful 'chick flick for sure, with great cinematography on the bull-riding and the country settings as well as real 1940 flashbacks.  Alan Alda as Ira says, love is complicated, not always happily- ever -after;  love requires sacrifice,…but it's worth it.  My review would say, There is a God and thank you for the signs you send me.

2 hands up for TIME

       After the movie, I proceeded to find all the cards/ letters Charlie wrote to me and then wrote down a few of my thoughts.  With tear-filled eyes, I remembered all the good times we had together.  "I love you babe."  "I love you more!"  fills my ears.

riding Along the Missouri Breaks

      We use to say our longest rides were at the PN ranch, where the dogs would have to travel at least, 50 miles to our 25 mile horse-back rides.  Those were our cowboy days.  Long, tall Charlie astride his horse so calm and still in his size-twelve, Bowman cowboy boots with spurs, wrangler jeans, button-down shirt, card-hart jacket, scarf and silver cowboy hat sitting astride a big tall gray horse, like a perfect silhouette upon the largest landform, called the Missouri Breaks.

    Now, I know he is having his longest trails up in the sky, "Uphill and into the wind," he'd say.

Welcome spring, Cross for Easter

Welcome spring, Happy Easter.  Thank you, Jesus for conquering death and renewing our will to live and love. Our church brought back a sixth century custom of Flowering the cross today, it was fun and everyone participated.  Mary Piper gave me the idea and Bob Fleming constructed the cross.  A two-year old, blonde-curly-haired little one wanted to keep her flower all through the service. I think she took it home with her, always wonderful, spontaneous happenings occur.

Snowflakes fell and turned back into water droplets by the time the service ended.  What a blessing for the dry land.  As I drove into church, a misty fog lay low over the power poles and made them appear as crosses in a row.  Made me think of Flanders field after WW1, so thank you to our soldiers, in the past and now.  Then, as the church began to fill up, so did the cross, a lovely renewed tradition to share Jesus' resurrection.

   

Lines in our lives: farming furrows

Farming furrows again…
    Although I am not a farmer, I love the furrows those great John Deere tractors make in springtime.  Dash and I are farmers from the window, fantasizing about riding in the big green tractor.  I know others do this too, just by listening to country songs.  Makes me think of Kenny Chesney's song;  'She thinks my tractor's sexy'
   We are enjoying the furrows in our life with a sense of peace.  Thank you Lord for the land, the work, and the beauty.

#3 in front of pump pasture & Absaroke mtns