Baby's Got Back

 

 

B A C K    S I D E S

 

Today's blog post is dedicated to back sides.  Weird? I know.

I was looking at my photos from the round-up I attended yesterday and realized I shot of lot of people's backsides.  Here's why.

I spotted these two cowboys leanin' up against the fence and I was wondering what they were thinking about. I mean ... really. They've probably seen a million cows in their lifetime. Do you suppose they're thinking, "gosh, I should be home mowing the lawn"? Perhaps not.

I like this backside shot but not for reasons you might normally think.  What?  What were you thinking?  I love this guy's paisley shirt.  OMGosh it was beautiful. I wonder if his mama knows he wore that shirt to do such dirty work? 

I adore the long sleeve, sturdy 100% cotton shirts most cowboys sport. So colorful and they look so professional, like they should be wearing them with their Wranglers on casual day a tthe office.  I wonder who picks them out for them? Likely some cute cowgirl fashionista, no doubt about it.

 

C O L O R

 

 

And then there's the backside of this very old border collie. I've seen him out here before and he's pretty much lost his stuff but he keeps a close eye on all the happenings.  There was very little running around like a lot of border collies do. I could hardly get him to even look at me.  It was all about the cows for him today. Faithful even in old age. Love that.

Oh, hey!!! See that purple shirt on the left?  Don't you just love it?

Branding really stinks.  Literally.  It smells really gross when the hair singes off the calf. I kept trying to get a position to snap pics where the wind wasn't blowing that awful smell in my face. I'm such a city girl.

I was impressed by how fast this operation was conducted. Talk about a well-oil machine!  They had probably 60 or 70 calves to brand, castrate and immunize. They dragged them out of the pen two at a time. The branding guy has an important job cuz the iron must be super extra hot, just like I order my lattes. That branding guy gotsta focus.  Oh, hey, do you love the red shirt??

I loved this little girl's braids. Come to find out, this little one was a pistol! I think this is her brother with her.  I visited with a couple of little squirts throughout the day. Love those country kids ... so friendly and not one cell phone or video game to be seen the entire day.  Just good old-fashioned, play-in-the-dirt and hold puppy dogs kinda day.

 

Well, that's about all the backsides I have to write about. It was such an awesome day, I hated for it to end.

 

Did you do something fun this weekend?  See any great backsides?

 

love, susan



A Different Kind of Week

It's been a different week around the homestead. My hubby had surgery on his thumb Monday which landed him in my lazygirl chair for most of the next five days. The doctor warned that the first 48 hours would be rough, and he wasn't wrong. It was hard to see him struggle to get comfortable but I put up the medication schedule on a dry erase board and placed his pills in a cup so he could simply pop 'em in his mouth and wash 'em down with OJ. Thank goodness I had the foresight to write down the schedule.

 

So I had a short conversation with a work friend and fellow blogger yesterday about blogging.  I admitted I had really slacked off on my posts and she wondered whether blogging would be crowded about by all the fast social media. I thought about the conversation last night and remembered why I started blogging to begin with.

 

I have a really bad memory.

 

Someday my hubby will ask me something about this surgery he had on Monday and I will have forgotten every blasted detail of it.  Except for maybe the hilarious pre-op nurse. She was terrific and definitely chose the right field for work. I love running into people who love their work.

 

That's why I blog.

 

Because I don't want to forget the funny little details of my life. And there are lots of them. Obviously I can't write about them all but when I'm in blogging mode, as I go throughout my day I'm always looking for the "gem" that I could write about. 

With my newest job, I've got lots of gems.  I guess it's time to get back to writing them down.

 

In the meantime, my hubby took a shower yesterday for the first time since Sunday and he was like a new man!

 

And, oh, I cannot resist posting this pic I snapped while at the surgery center. I'm sure he'll thank me later for plastering it all over the Internet. Haha!

 

love, susan



Sunday Super Spontaneous Road Trip to Spokane

We headed out this morning with the idea of just cruising up to Yakima and back. Moments later when we got to the stop light and made a quick decision to turn left instead of right, we were Spokane bound.  We haven't been up there for quite a while so it was a really nice Sunday drive.

 

We stopped for lunch in Sprague at the only little  place to eat in that little town. I was ready to chew my arm off and the hamburgers we ordered were pretty good. Twenty minutes down the road I was ready to crawl in the back seat to sleep til we got to Spokane. Instead, I simply poured another cup of coffee from the thermos.

 

It was not easy to find a free parking spot in Spokane but we did.  We walked a couple of blocks to get to the river walk. On the way, we stepped into city's transit center to take a potty break. Their transit center is two stories high and gorgeous inside.

It is easy to see why the homeless hang out in and nearby the bus station. The transit center is heated and well cared for. I told Gene there must a strict code enforced regarding begging because we were not approached at all ... very surprising with the number of street peeps. I always wonder if street people's peeps are out there looking for them. They are somebody's sons and daughter, brothers and sisters .... but seem to belong only to each other.

 

 

Heading towards the river walk, I noticed these cool runners made from steel or iron.  I don't remember seeing them before but perhaps we didn't walk down this far last time. Spokane is a very interesting city and I would love to go there sometime to spend the night and just take time to see everything.

 

 

It has been a good day ...

love, susan

Three is Not a Crowd

Meet "Remi"!  She started hanging at our house a little over a week ago and she is finding her place easily.  Don't ask me what flavor she is ... I was told she is terrier with a little bit of Great Dane but I'd add that perhaps she has a little Jack Russel in her genes and the attitude of a big dog. You should see her hop up on our laps. She may be part kangaroo.

 

"Remi" is about 1.5 years old and how she came to live with us is just another love story.  Our new pet/house sitter had to move and was looking to re-home her. She would bring her when she came to housesit and we discovered "Remi" got along with our dogs really well and especially our older "Missy", who has been pissed off at us ever since we invited "Abbie" the OCD border collie to live here.  "Remi" is our amends to "Missy".  Did you follow that?  Haha!  Note: if my pet sitter moves to a place where she can have her, she will go back with her. However that all works out is okay with us.

 

"Remi" loves to play and we've noticed even our staunchy, one-track-mind border collie is learning to let loose and have a little fun instead of always thinking about the next frisbee throwing session. "Remi" brings out the fun in all of us. What a joy!

 

Our new family member loves to cuddle and she quickly learned to find her place on the bed before the other dogs get on. She forms herself against one of us and never moves a muscle for 8+ hours.  Ah, who wouldn't love the life of a dog!

 

She's smart too!  I taught her to shake hands in two days. My favorite part of training a dog is watching their little wheels spin. It takes patience and I'm convinced there isn't a dog alive that can't be trained if you have the patience to keep trying. This week we're are going to work on "down/stay".

 

I love that she has found her spot in the middle. She may be smaller in stature but she is big in attitude and doesn't back down from these head-strong cattle dogs.

 

There is dog hair everywhere and lots of tails wagging, barking and big smiles. I am truly in dog heaven. Three may not be a crowd but it is certainly enough and unless we move to the country, we're all filled up here. 

 

Love that!!

 

love, susan

March to April

We have a really whirlwind life. I keep thinking someday it will slow down a bit but have the distinct feeling that if it ever does I'll be on my deathbed.

 

March whizzed by quickly but we managed to make it to the dog park twice. The first time was early March when we met my good friend Becky and her dog "Jake". It was pretty cold but the dogs had a blast. We hadn't been to the new park since it opened. It's hidden away and you have to know where you're going to get there. You travel through a really nice neighborhood and just when you are about to give up finding it, the road turns into a gravel parking lot. Most definitely worth finding.

 

The dog park is a great place for dogs to run and play while us peeps get to talk with new peeps. During the second trip to the park with a couple of work friends, I met an old man who adopted a beauty from the humane society and brings her to the park every single day. I kick myself for not taking my camera that day. I love those kinds of stories. They stick with me. I sat and talked dogs with him for awhile. A photo would be a forever reminder of that sweet conversation.  Oh well.  

 

We traveled to Portland and had Easter with the grand kids. We did a lot of laughing and I am continually amazed at what wonderful human beings they are. Sweet, loving, kind, funny and beautiful. We took a nice walk to a bird refuge and later their dad bbq'd an awesome dinner. I made it almost all the way through a whole movie ("Snowwhite and the Huntsman") without falling asleep. We had a beautiful brunch and lovely visit at their Grandma W's house before we traveled home. An awesome way to send March out.

 

Which brings me to April. Hubby is scheduled for surgery on his hand on the 15th. He has been complaining for almost a year about his thumb hurting and finally went to see an orthopedic doc who says there is no cartilage left in the joint. No motorcycling for us until late June due to recovery time. Guess we'll do a little gardening and maybe some dog training. We took in another dog, "Remi". My pet sitter was moving and we offered our home to "Remi" because she just fits in here.

 

******

Last night we met a friend over at our fave Thai restaurant for a late dinner and listened to an awesome band from Portland.

 

Loving life and all the sweet things in it ...

love, susan