Thursday, May 31, 2012

Trash Can Kittens

What is it with the cats around this place? They are obsessed with my mom's trash can. 


So much so, that Orange Kitty (name has a lack of creativity, yes, but she was a completely feral cat that we have worked on taming) decided she wanted to give birth to her first litter of kittens in it.


Three of four survived. We ended up relocating them to a much safer environment near the trash can. Would you believe Orange Kitty had TWO orange kittens? Also, one blackish looking baby.

I may need some help in naming these kittens since obviously I lack creativity!!

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

X-Rays

Jaders. Looking all confused at the vet a couple of weeks ago.


Xrays. :(


New shoes.


I've started lunging Jade to get her started back up slowly to her exercise routine. She's had a little over two weeks off. I guess we will find out what happens. She has been tearing up the pasture as of lately, so I hoping she can tear up the barrels soon, at least for a little while. :)

Cheers

Cheers.


To good friends. Friends I haven't seen in too long.


And friends that are bridesmaids. Cheers!

Monday, May 28, 2012

Keep on Dreamin'

Hi y'all,

The rambling' cowgirl has been, well, been a rambling woman the past couple weeks! Sorry for the lack of posts, but my momma and I had a wonderful 6 days in Colorado where we figured out a lot of details for the wedding comin up pretty soon!

So what have I been up to since being back home? Well for one, I haven't let go of Texas. He ain't allowed to let me go anywhere ever again without him!!! Sheesh!

I've been busy working in attempt to make up for all of the hours lost while in Colorado. This leads me to my third thing..

I've been a little mopey over a recent discovery.

I took my princess pony to the vet before I left to Colorado for a routine dental checkup and yearly shots. I also decided to ask about my growing concern regarding her feet. To make a long story short, I've noticed jade over the past several months to be in mild discomfort, but I became very concerned within the last week before her vet appointment.

As it turns out, I was right to be concerned. I had a new shoer the last couple months and my suspicions were confirmed. Poor shoeing led her to have a decrease in good hoof growth. Her hoof walls had become extremely cracked, practically overnight. Among other things, she seemed to favor her right front foot. I had finally narrowed down where i thought she had some swelling.

Well, I should have really been a vet. I pretty much pinpointed the problem which was confirmed by some X-rays.

Jade, the horse every little girl dreams of having, has arthritis. At age 5.

It's not known how long she's had arthritis, but the pain became very apparent after a bad shoer. The vet couldn't have put it any other way - id be better off investing the money I. Was about to spend on jade into another barrel prospect.

What the vet doesn't realize - jade was my prospect. This was not what I had in mind for her future. I bought her knowing if she was injured a few years down the road, I could breed her and get some hellacious babies. But, 'retiring' her at 5? Unreal.

Anyways, I've decided to fork what little money I do have into trying some treatments to see if she will seem more comfortable. After corrective shoes, an injection, an anti-inflammatory, her swelling has disappeared and her gait is looking better. She was still just barely off when I took her back to the vet last week, so I'm hoping with an injection she will be sound.

I have high hopes for this mare. We will probably never be one of the top girls, even here at out tough local races. All I ask for at this point, is the opportunity to ride her, barrel race for fun, and see what happens. I'd love to be able to pay for the top medicine on the market to pay for her, but that's not an option for me.

In the meantime, we could use some positive vibes over this direction. I'm a little tore up about my girl, but I know she's got a lot of heart and may be more stubborn than me. We may just have a chance.

'Keep on dreaming, even if it breaks your heart.' - Eli Young Band

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Early In the Morning

Howdy from the road that will take me to my old stomping grounds in Colorado. Mom and I are up early this morning, fighting allergies, semis, and sleep. We are headed on a week long vacation to nail down some wedding plans! While I'm very much lOoking forward to a week in my favorite state with some of my favorite people, I'm wishing my best friend was by my side. To my man Texas, less than three months and we will be on the concrete road together!!

Friday, May 11, 2012

Not Quite the Same

While Dos seems to think he fits in with the cows because he is also black and white....

he's not quite the same.

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Dumpsta Divin'

We gots a dumpsta divin' kitty on our hands here.


Pretty Princess

This girl puts up with so much lovin' from me... AND Texas. She gets it from both sides.


What a lucky girl. :)

Traffic Jam

Most out of staters have this impression that California is full of beaches, celebrities, bumper to bumper traffic jams...

Well, that may be true if you live in the very southern part of this state, it could not be more of a myth around these parts: The California Central Valley.

Poverty stricken and with no "bright lights" around these parts, we have very few celebrities.

We definitely don't have beaches. We do have cows, orchards, crops, and lots of flies.

We also don't get many bumper to bumper traffic jams, unless you dare to drive to the big city of San Francisco, which is still quite the journey from our little valley towns.

The only traffic we tend to run into around these parts are....


Trains. Lots and lots of trains. They got plenty of places to be, apparently. It seems Texas and I cannot make a single trip to the grocery store without getting stopped by a long train. Or in this example, I was on my way back from sending cows to auction.


We also have an abundance of farm machinery that tend to put a damper in the day of the city folk around these parts. Sometimes taking up a lane and a half, they can be difficult to pass safely. 

This ain't your stereotypical California traffic jam, that is for sure.

Supervising


Tuesday, May 8, 2012

We're All Friends



We're all friends here. :)

We Be Cookin'



Mmmm Mmm, tasty. We are kind of obsessed with anything Pioneer Woman comes up. So far, we have checked off:

Chicken Fried Steak

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Twice Baked Potatoes

Sloppy Joe's

Potatoes Au Gratin

Curried Chicken Pasta Salad

Whiskey Glazed Carrots

Whiskey Pepper Sauce (for steaks)

Egg in the Hole

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Beans and Cornbread

Carnitas Pizza

Homestyle Ranch Potatoes

And probably several more that I am forgetting. Some of these sound super obvious, but every time I read a Pioneer Woman recipe, she puts a twist on it that is to die for.

I don't know when I became such a little chef, but it sure is fun to see what Texas and I can concoct in the kitchen together!

Silage

Silage season around these parts.


Monday, May 7, 2012

Hey Booty-ful

Oh hey.


Hey booty-ful.

Kisses

Kisses on the porch. 


'Tis the Season

'Tis the season...


.. for roadside cherries! Picked up these juicy bad boys on a trip up to the foothills this weekend. 

Mmmm Mmm!

First Crop

Exciting news. We have our first crop of the season!!


Yes, it's true. Texas and I were able to keep something alive. Woo!


We enjoyed our first strawberry yesterday. I tell ya, eating half of a strawberry has never been more delicious, satisfying, fulfilling. Mmmm. I am still full from that scrumptious, home grown bite.

A Little One

There's a new little one on the farm as of yesterday.


Hey little girl.

A Day On The Trail

Some pictures from our trail ride last weekend up in the foothills. The trail head is about a 35 minute drive for us to get to from our house. The trail was pretty rocky, but it was very enjoyable. Perfect weather, perfect day, perfect trail companions. :)









Friday, May 4, 2012

A Video Journey


Jade is coming along. I took her to a race again last night to get her time, and she gets faster and smoother every time.

I was inspired to have a short video journey of Jade and her barrel racing. I'm not going to go into great lengths here, but here are a few videos of our journey.

This first one is the day I tried her out, almost a year ago, when she was just turning 4 years old. She could barely pick up her left lead, and the girl who had her was letting her drop her shoulder into the barrels which made for a little bit of a rough turn.


This next video was taken a little over a month ago. It was the first time I took Jade somewhere to lope through the barrels away from home. Considering all the distractions, she didn't do half bad.


Finally, this is a video from last night. This is Jade's 4th outing loping through the barrels away from home. We have lots of improvements to make in our turns and approach, plus I let her go at her own pace - I didn't even push her.


This last one she clocked a 20.4 second run. Nothing special compared to the typical 17 seconds the top girls run at rodeos. Considering I am just letting her go at her own pace, and still trying to get her turns super smooth, I am happy.

Miranda

Last week, Texas, my momma, and I got to attend a Miranda Lambert concert with Jerrod Niemann and Chris Young.


ML is my absolute favorite singer. Ever.


She's got such sass. And an awesome voice to boot.


We had a special guest appearance by her hubby, Blake Shelton. Love love love him as well.


Have I mentioned those two are the wedding inspiration for ours?



We also got to have a Pistol Annies concert too - they surprised us too. The Pistol Annies are Miranda's girl group, and they are three hilarious, country, kick-arse gals.


Something To Think About

I've been reading posts every now and then from this blog titled, Purpose Fairy. I found it through Facebook posts a few weeks back, and I loved how the posts made me think. If you have some spare time, and want to think about what direction your life is going and how certain things affect it, I suggest spending some time at Purpose Fairy.

This certain post was written a few days ago entitled "3 Things You Can Say to Someone That Does Not Like You". Now, while I was not necessarily drawn in by the title, I did find some meaning in the post once I got there. The following quote is one I am holding near and dear to my heart for much of the foreseeable future.

“I do my thing and you do your thing. I am not in this world to live up to your expectations, and you are not in this world to live up to mine. You are you, and I am I, and if by chance we find each other, it’s beautiful. If not, it can’t be helped.” Fritz Perls

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

A Before and After

OK folks. Here it is.


The official transformation.


Of our old redneck, white trash, jungle-esque ranch casa.


It was bad.


Really, really bad.

GET READY FOLKS.


Our side yard looks ten times better. Pulled out a couple trees/large overgrown bushes and dug out mounds and mounds of dirt to uncover the hidden brick pavers.


Aren't those planters beautiful?? It's a Texas creation. :) He handcrafted these babies out of your standard wooden pallet.


Here is our front yard!! Please note the old horse trough that no longer is able to hold water - but it holds plants great!


We have a couple wine barrels cut in half (my mom got these bad boys cut down the road for us for a local feed store) filled with flowery goodness.


Doesn't our wooden bench look so much happier? 

One last before and after picture.

BEFORE:


AFTER:


We are happy ranchers these days. :)





This Is My First Trail Ride

Hi. My name's Jade. This is my first trail ride.