Cool Moon Pics

It was almost a full moon when we were out sitting on the deck and since I love the moon so much I thought I would try to get some pics again.  There was a few with the tree leaves in them, even though the leaves look black.

And then there was some that look like the sky was black even though it wasn't.

And some that had a bluer sky with clouds moving across them.

I think they turned out quite well.

Calgary Stampede 2013

Every year I try to spend at least a day at the Calgary Stampede, I love the atmosphere, the food, the rodeo, just everything (well maybe not so many people, but that is what makes the Stampede what it is)  This year my sister was getting tickets from one of her customers from work, but the day before we were to get them someone had stolen them.  He felt bad and so gave her money for the boys to use to get in.  It was kinda disappointing cause they we including admission, rides, and rodeo.  But we went the Wednesday and went early so we got in free and they were having a pancake breakfast sponsored by my bank (how nice of them :) )  that we had and we bought the boys ride passes and we just didn't go on rides.

(we made them go on the swings and they closed thier eyes the whole way 

said it was too high, pretty wimpy I thought, lol)

(the sky ride, I think Jaret musta just spotted us)

We had fun anyways, but since it was kids day we stayed away from the agriculture part and the kids zone, my nephews are big enough they want real rides anyways.  I like to see the draft ponies, but its crazy over there on kids day.   I woulda liked to watch cutting but they moved in to another venue cause the Saddledome couldn't be fixed in time.

(always say I have a pile of ponies, and so here is one ;) )

(new show this year, Bell Aqua ranch, says some ride horses, we ride waves. 

 Was a neat fountain/water ski doo show)

The flooding a couple weeks before made it kinda hard for the stamped to be ready in time, they had just put new dirt down the infield and the track and it was all contaminated, so out it went and in new dirt went, 196 million tonnes of dirt, 148 trucks working 24 hours a day for a week to get it done, pretty amazing really, but they were not gonna quit for a flood when they had run consecutively for 100 years, including through both world wars and the depression.  Thier new saying was through Hell or High Water, they sold T-shirts all stampede and the money raised went to flood recovery for Calgary and Area.

Wedding in Kananaskis

A couple weeks ago we got to go to one of our Neighbors boys wedding.  The had it out in Kananskis at the lodge out there.  Sure was pretty.  We don't get out to the mountains much and I sure miss seeing them (and trees).  The backdrop was so pretty, mountains and trees with a creek as well.

It was a very nice wedding, with bagpipes and all, I wish I had bagpipes at my wedding, oh to only do it over again....well I actually don't really wanna it was a lot of work.

We watched the wedding and then headed back to our hotel and visited with everyone and had a drink or 2 and they had a shuttle bus to the reception.  Kinda a neat idea, it returned at 10 and 2 so you had a choice of staying not so late or late.  We of course stayed late, lol.  But it was lots of fun.

I wish I had brought my camera to the reception cause the building was sooo cool.  It had a huge firepit in the middle (probly 8 feet across)with a hole in the roof to let the smoke out, and the building was circular with long picnic type tables around the edges with short sides facing wall.  Lots of people could sit in a fairly small space.  And between the tables and firepit was a open spot so there was dancing too.  It was really neat.  Got a little cold in there, I kinda wished I brought jeans to change into but fun anyways.

A Gift and a Lesson

Wednesday in the mail I got a package.  I love getting packages, even more so when I don't know they are coming :)  Well to be honest I did know this one was coming but had no idea what it was or when it was coming.  So when I opened it was amazed at the amazing art work inside.  A whole pile of cards from Deb (Greymare) at Never Too Old blog.  I had won her foaling contest and she sent me cards her daughter had drawn.   They are so nice I never want to use them.  But we will have to see, will certainly be picky about who they would go to.

That afternoon I had a lesson so away me and Jessie go. I was pretty excited but nervous as well.  It had been a while again, Doug was in Vegas for a week or so and I was busy and I dunno no real reason.  But I finally went over.  It was the day after our fairly hard ride so she was kinda tired.  Kinda nice really.  We warmed up and then he asked if I wanted to work cows and so I said sure (although was surprised we didn't work the flag first) And we picked slow cows and she was pretty good.  A lot better than I figured she would be after that long.  She still needed help stopping and staying straight sometimes but all in all I was impressed.

I untacked her and went to talk to Doug and he asked if I was leaving her.  Well that was a surprise. I knew she was staying but I didn't expect it to be that day!  So I did.  He said don't come back for 3 weeks, and I said that was forever, so he said 2 weeks, lol.  I am pretty excited for her to get finished but kinda sad to have her gone.  Wish Jazz was back cause at least she would keep me busy.

I found an empty pen and put her in there and got in my truck to leave as I was driving away, she was looking all sad so I thought I should take a pic and as I stopped she was like Oh this feeder still had hay in it!` Guess she will be fine there, lol.

Map My Run/Ride

So I have this app where I can GPS track all my rides where I go and how far and how fast.  Its kinda cool.  I had originally downloaded the app for running to keep track of intervals and distance and speed, but thought I would use it for riding to just to see how far I have gone, but then the other day was looking through it has all kinds of activities, everything from horseback riding to badminton to housework.  Kinda cool so I set it to horseback riding and it even tells me how many calories I burned!  I love it.

http://www.mapmyrun.com/workout/329783777

This was today, the longest ride I have done so far while tracking and just checking how it will work out here.

It sure makes it more exciting to go out riding, I just wanna go a hundred times and track all my routes :)

But for tomorrow I am going for another lesson and so it will be on hold till the next day I guess.

Checkin Cows on Jessie

I went out and was planning on going south through the dam field and then west out to where the cows are.  I have never rode out that way so I didn't know where the gates are and when Neil asked all where I was going he warned me that it was a long way.  Didn't seem far in my mind, not thinking I never been there so what do I know!

 We left home and since I am trying to keep her in shape, I trot most of the way, I start out at a walk till we pass the hay corral and then we can trot anytime after that.  Its a lot of work to trot Jessie cause she is going along and if the grass looks thick or wet or anything she will slow down then speed up again when it looks good again.  Kinda hard to ride cause I really got to pay attention, she is getting better and will watch where holes are now (most of the time)

We got to the dam field (I dunno what Neil calls it but it has a pretty dam in it so its the dam field for me) and headed West and there was some pretty flowers out there, bluebells and yellow daisyish flowers.  I really should learn more of the wildflowers around here I guess.

Over to the gate and it was open!  Not good, but handy, lol although I did close it after we went through.  Then we were going around a slough and a duck jumps up from under Jessie, that was a surprise to me, but she didnt jump or anything, just kinda glanced over at it.  It was a duck sitting on a nest, so I thought I should get a pic of it too, pretty well hidden if the duck dint move I woulda never seen the nest.

Then out that way to the gate by the branding corrals, this was open, Neil said it didn't matter if the cows went south of their and they probly wouldn't cause they like the north grass better, and sure enough they were all north of that fence.  The branding corrals look so forlorn when there is nothing around.

Can see my house from pretty much anywhere, our house is in the middle of the place, and though it looks really far away I would guess no more than 2 miles from here.

Then we were in the field that adjoins our road, so we made our way to the cows and looked through them for a bit, they are unsure about what to do when they see a horse, they always think they should move but I just walked through them and only the old cows left.

Then to the gate by the Texas gate and I was too lazy to get back on by then so I just walked the last half mile home.  Not sure how far it was but it only took an hour.  Neil was surprised to see me back so soon, I guess he never thinks of me trotting the whole way.

Baby Hawk

Our tree at the end of the road has a nest in it that every year is taken by red tailed hawks, unless the geeses get there first, but I only remember that happening once.  We been trying to watch him grow up, usually there is a couple in there but this year looks like only one.

(June 22)

So cute and they grow so fast in a couple weeks he looked almost grown up

(July 2)

He hasn't left the nest yet but  he has been spotted sitting on the branch next to the nest, not sure if his mom and dad are trying to kick him out yet or not, getting hard to tell him/her from the adults.  We don't go by the corner much and don't want to disturb them too much so been trying not to go all the time and get pics, but if we do go by....

Getting Stuck

Neil was welding down in the creek and he had loaded his welder on Bob and needed the tractor down there as well cause it was pulling the generator to run the welder, so he asked me to give him a ride home to pick up his tractor.  So I followed him down the creek hills in his red truck.  He said there is a washout on the side of the trail so try to stay out of it by keeping left but not too far left cause there is a coulee there.  great just what I wanted, well it was all going good till a chunk of the trail I was on fell into the washout and pulled the whole truck over and into the hole.  Neil was quite a ways ahead of me so I had to wait till he came back to see what was going on, he picked me up and we headed back home to get his other tractor to try to pull him out.

I took Bob back down and he took the tractor and got the back end pulled out then as Neil was going back up the hill and down another hill I got thinking I shoulda took some pics, so we are half pulled out in all them.

He took so long I also got a bunch of pics of the other stuff down there and on the way home some of the cactus as well which was blooming, so not a wasted trip getting stuck, it just took like 3 times as long to get his stuff down there.