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.

Love on Father's Day

Happy Father's Day        

         When you think about the word, Father, what comes to mind?
Green golf courses in sunshine, Patriotic flags waving for brave Soldiers, dogs, a man's best friend, Cowboys, camping, fishing, 'Daddy's little girl,' and the song, "God is great, beer is good, & people are crazy" by Billy Currington.
          I was very blessed to have a wonderful earthly father.  He was the strong, tall, silent type who would never have to argue over anything and say he was sorry even when he was right.  I am forever grateful for my Dad, JBF.
         I was also blessed with a wonderful husband, who I thought was a wonderful father as well.  He was a great provider and once wrote a letter to his second son saying, "I love you more than life itself," as he lay in the hospital bed surviving pancreatic cancer.  I know because I was his typist at the time.  I am forever grateful of this gift as well.
          I don't think there can ever be enough Father's Days.  They conjure up all the lessons worth learning   if you had a wonderful father or if you know God.  We probably always remember three things from Corinthians,: and  in our darkest hours we can use these three to help us up:  find and follow Faith, Hope for heaven, and Love from and for 'Our Father'. Please visit the u-tube site below.
              God is the greatest Father of all and I found this on a blog called STONEGABLE,.  It is so beautiful, called, a Father's Love letter,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Edl-2HUZYSQ Father's Love letter.

 
         Here are a few pictures of how it is this Father's Day in the west, for some ranch father's and grandfathers.

Nickie Swandal, Grandpa Marty, Wilsall rodeo

Mya& Mike(dad)

Mya Dailey

Nik Pierson

Kennedy Gibson, new boots

my H2o painting of Jessie Medearis

Just a thought, God written backwards is dog.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Edl-2HUZYSQ  please watch

my watercolor dog silohette

Montana is Green...

Montana is green … at least in June.

        Usually our snowy winters bring us very green, lush pastures in spring.  This winter was very mild but  God made up for it with some great spring rains.  You never know what Montana weather will bring, just wait a day and it will be different, yesterday was 90 and very sunny, today, much cooler, 63 and partly sunny.
       There is a bumper sticker that says Ranchers, the first environmentalists, because they are conservationists in general.  My motto is moderation.  We water in the early morning, about 5AM and late in the evening.  We use to flood irrigate but new advances make it much more efficient and keep the creeks and streams from flooding over.  They really do innovate, it's fun to see.
       Montana is so beautiful in June, look in any direction and you see green.  God's country, another bumper sticker is the truth.  The days are the longest, so everywhere you look it's green.  Even when spraying weeds or cutting hay, I watch for young, new life everywhere.  This is a baby fawn amongst the weeds, mom or the doe isn't far away.  God's beauty is endless and given to us forever.

      Have a wonderful, green summer and God Bless.