Thursday, December 31, 2015

Day #365

I pray that 2016 is an extraordinarily wonderful year for each one of you!



"Morning starts at midnight." ~Joel Osteen 

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

A Tight Fit

Peaches ate too much and almost had a Winnie-the-Pooh-stuck-in-Rabbit's-hole moment. Peaches calmly wriggled herself out, but since she and the other heifers are gaining 2.5 pounds a day, their burrowing days are numbered. 




"The biggest seller is cookbooks  and the second is diet books -- how not to eat what you just learned how to cook." ~Andy Rooney

Sunday, December 27, 2015

The Christmas Queen

Since there weren't any cute little kids running around the family Christmas tree this year, most of our photos featured cute little Olive, my sister's Westie. 

Olive is small of stature but not of self-importance, and she knows how to leverage her adorability for maximum results. 






"You don't need higher self-esteem. You need greater self-grace." ~Ann Voskamp 




Thursday, December 24, 2015

Merry Anyway

Minnie didn't mind the hat until she heard the bells jingle. Goats don't jingle, she said. It's not right. 

I paid my model in oats and pretzels, but I doubt she'll ever don a jingle hat again. 



"For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry with goodness." ~Psalm 107:9 NKJV 

Monday, December 21, 2015

A Franch Noel

Well, we don't grow row crops, so it's not really a farm. Although we raise cattle and hay, it's not nearly as large as most Wyoming ranches. A friend suggested that we call it a franch. I like it. 









"...He will give: beauty for ashes, joy instead of mourning, praise instead of heaviness." ~Isaiah 61:3 TLB










Saturday, December 19, 2015

Polar Panther

Indoors, she's my sweet little Mercy. Outdoors, she's Mercy Monster the Fearless-Peerless-Princess-Panther. (Someone with that much personality per pound can't get by with one or two adjectives.)


When asked why she doesn't spend more time outside in the winter, Mercy replied, Snow in the jungle? It's just wrong. I've never heard of an arctic panther.



"There is, incidentally, no way of talking about cats that enables one to come off as a sane person." ~Dan Greenberg









Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Bright Spots

If you ask me, this worn and torn world of ours could sure use a few more spots. 








"The message of Christmas is that this world's a mess and we can never save ourselves from ourselves and we need a Messiah." ~Ann Voskamp, The Greatest Gift







Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Behind the Scenes

Some neighbor birds nested in a privet only a few yards from the house. How many times did I pass within inches of the structure, totally oblivious to all the setting, hatching, feeding, and fledging drama within?



"God is always doing 10,000 things in our lives, and we may be aware of three of them." ~John Piper 

Saturday, December 12, 2015

Upwardly Mobile

Of all the barnyard folk, Moey was the last person I expected to see in a tree, even a bent over one. Moey's proportions and better-safe-than-sorry policies usually keep her earthbound. She was so proud. 




"Let your dreams be bigger than your fears." ~Christine Caine


Wednesday, December 9, 2015

A Gluten-, GMO-, and Selfie-free Post

I need to update my profile picture (I think it's six years old) but am camera avoidant. Nevertheless, while doing yesterday evening's chores, I thought I'd take a selfie with my best barnyard pal, Blueberry. I'd spent most of the day cleaning and shoveling gravel, but I hoped that December's periwinkle-and-tangerine light waves would be merciful. 

Nope. All they did was highlight my need for soap, makeup, makeover, and airbrush. Fortunately, the critters were more photogenic!

Gabby, sunrise 

Blueberry and company, sundown

Sugar, dusk


"Our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful." ~2 Corinthians 4:6, The Message 



Sunday, December 6, 2015

Gravy

Let the record show:


All cowdogs...


...do NOT get to ride in the front seat...


...and sleep on the furniture. 

~~~~~

"God's saving kindness has appeared for the benefit of all people." ~Titus 2:11 GWT 



Thursday, December 3, 2015

Friendly Faces

In case your day has been full of distracted glances, harried looks, impatient frowns, and cold glares, I give you these friendly faces--and wish you many more!





"Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing." ~Mother Teresa 


Sunday, November 29, 2015

Snowflaking

snowflaking --n. heaven meeting ho-hum
              ~The Hayseed Dictionary 








"Truly God is good." ~Psalm 73:1 KJV







Friday, November 27, 2015

A Sweet Life

Despite the cold, the wild turkeys had a better Turkey Day than did their domestic cousins. Our neighborhood hens even had sugar beets for dessert. 





"Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the Titanic who waved off the dessert cart." ~Erma Bombeck



Thursday, November 26, 2015

Thank Happy



"It is impossible to give thanks and simultaneously feel fear." ~Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts

Monday, November 23, 2015

Drum Roll Please

After considerable practice, Sugar has perfected the art of the afternoon nap.



"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion." ~Dalai Lama

Friday, November 20, 2015

Geometrically Speaking

The heffies relish their delicious, satisfying breakfast of nutrient-packed alfalfa-grass hay, but it's no square meal. 




"The only one who can truly satisfy the human heart is the One who made it." ~Lois Evans







Tuesday, November 17, 2015

BLF

Sugar takes very good care of her BLF (best little friend). Sugar likes most people, but she shows Little Miss more affection, and is much more careful with her, than anyone else. 



"I know for sure that love saves me and it is here to save us all." ~Maya Angelou 



Monday, November 16, 2015

La Amistad

To some, horsemanship is pastime or sport; to others, it's more science, society, or theology. But the happiest horsepeople--and horses--are the ones who experience it as friendship. 




"My father prayed because he had a good Friend with whom to share the day." ~Corrie ten Boom



Friday, November 13, 2015

Cowdog on Vacation

While Bodie has been enjoying a few weeks of college, climbing, and culture with his human brother, Zach, in Laramie...


...the cows have grown sassy, the rabbits lazy, and the mule deer nearly fearless. 




"Life is too short, the world is too big, and God's love is too great to live ordinary." ~Christine Caine