On the Brink of Winter

Sugar's people have been trying to get in as many rides as they can before the snow flies. In Wyoming, snow is more likely to fly in the wind than fall gently to the ground. 

Neighboring towns and mountains have already had snow. To date, we've seen only a few stray snowflakes bouncing and spiraling horizontally, struggling against the gale to make landfall. (The sun came out later that day; the light rays reached us but the radiant heat blew away, probably to Nebraska.) 

Please comment below: I'd love to hear where you're from and what your winters are like! 

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"When the storms of life come, if they come to me personally, to my family or to the world, I want to be strong enough to stand and be a strength to somebody else, be shelter for somebody else." ~Anne Graham Lotz

The Golden Girls

I think October's buttery sunbeams flatter nearly everyone, even goats. Ariel, Mindy, and Calico look expecially lovely when framed by honey-colored cottonwood leaves.

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"Ah, Hope! what would life be, stripped of thy encouraging smiles, that teach us to look beyond the dark clouds of today, for the golden beams that are to gild the morrow." ~Susanna Moodie

"Evermore Joy Ye"

Ellie's deliriously happy around little kids. "She's so excited," one mom said, "she's practically wriggling herself inside out." 

Maybe it's because she's a bit tired of her fuddy-duddy parents. All day long, poor Ellie hears, No, you can't chew that! and, Let go of that! and, No chasing cats! and, Come on, Ellie. Time to go outside and go to the potty. 

But kids, like puppies, are all about the fun. 

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"Evermore joy ye." ~1 Thessalonians 5:16 (Wycliffe Translation)

575 Lbs Later

My, how the time has flown and the calves have grown! I can hardly believe that it's already time for the steer calves to go to market. Talk about a bittersweet day! On the one hand, it's such a sad goodbye; on the other, the money they bring is our long-awaited, sorely-needed paycheck.  

Sigh. 

Anyway, I hope you enjoy these then-and-now photos of some of the boys. 

Big Jake

Bronson

Walter

Hub

Little Ikey

Simon

Tex

Dillon

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"Whoso is wise...will diligently consider the mercy and loving-kindness of the Lord." ~Psalm 107:43

Blush and Glow

Sandwiched between summer's swelter and winter's bitter, Indian summer in the Bighorn Basin is all kinds of delightful--and it's just begun.

Mosquitoes and wildfire smoke are nowhere to be seen. Flies that aggravate the stock are almost gone. Golden sunshine and crispy coolness add zip to work and walks. Honking geese, flashing mountain bluebirds, and swarming starlings punctuate the sky. Snow gleams on the mountains. Pumpkins permeate stores and steps in town.  Potato soup, made with creamy goat milk and just-dug carrots, onions, and russets simmers in the slow cooker. Best of all, the edges of the countryside have begun to blush and glow!  
    

Our little apricot tree always puts on a big show.

Miss Ellie loves our walks, even on a drizzly day.

 Quaking aspen shimmer in our front yard.

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"Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can." ~Danny Kaye