Bring on the Camo & Orange

Wesley and I welcomed my cousin John Zientek & his Uncle JC to the ranch last Friday afternoon.  They drove from Texas to Montana to go hunting on the ranch!  They left last Thursday from Texas, and arrived Friday afternoon to our house.  Deer hunting season officially opened in Montana on October 20^th, and they were very anxious to get out there & start hunting!  Friday afternoon I showed them around the ranch, then Wesley & I took them into the town of Forsyth to show them around and they needed to get a few things from town anyway.

In the meantime, while they were doing that, Wesley and I went to the local furniture store to pick up our new living room furniture!  We had been eyeing this new living room furniture for a while now, and I saw last week that the store was closing.  So, we hurried on down there and put our names on that furniture, and we LOVE it!  We got a new leather couch & matching leather loveseat.  Its so comfortable & nice.  Its like a tan/brownish color…perfect in our home!  We are definitely enjoying it.

So far, the hunters haven’t gotten anything, but the week isn’t over yet!  Wesley saw some really nice bucks running around the ranch so hopefully they are able to take one of them home with them.  Then after our wedding Wesley and I plan to do a little hunting of our own.  Neither of us like deer meat/steaks, but we like deer jerky (is that weird??)!  So, we are going to have some of that made if we get a deer.  We are really hoping that John & JC get to take a Montana sized buck back to Texas with them…so lets keep our fingers crossed!

We are a little over 2 weeks away from our wedding here in Montana, and we are counting down the days!  After a minor major wedding dress mishap, and having to find another dress two weeks before our wedding (just yesterday in fact) we are ready to roll!!  Anyone that knows me well enough will know that this whole 'find a dress two weeks before the wedding' thing completely stressed me out & I was so relieved when I found the perfect dress yesterday!

Before we know it we will be heading back to Texas to see everyone there, and we can’t wait!  The weather here is pretty cold this week…highs are in the middle 30’s and lows in the low 20’s…pretty cold!  We don’t have any snow on the ground (as of yet), but I’m sure it won’t be long before we get another dusting of the white stuff!

I don’t have any new photos to share this time when posting, but before long I’ll have wedding pictures to share with everyone!  Have a great week!

I'm Lost

This past weekend came and went faster than I could blink my eyes.  Saturday morning started with Wesley and me getting our horses & going out to the part of the ranch that got burned in the fire to look for some cows (specifically a cow/calf pair) that were in there.  After about 2 ½ hours of searching we finally found them (the cows at least).  After we trailed them back a ways Wesley decided to go look for the missing pair that we still hadn’t found.  We’ve separated many times and I know the routine, so off I went trailing the cows in front of me & Wesley went the opposite direction.  Let me preface this story by saying “THANK GOD” we had our two-way radios that day.  We always meet at the water tank at the beginning of our pasture (hard to imagine if you haven’t seen it…but just pretend you have) and I knew that’s where I needed to take the bunch of cows I had.  I also had the dogs, Bart & Jiggs with me, and they do most all of the work when we are moving cows.  So off we went….

The cows, I guess, had other plans.  They were a lot wilder than we thought they would be, so of course they take off a** over tea kettle up & down the ridges in the pasture.  Fortunately the dogs were hot on their trail; unfortunately me & Reno were not.  About 10 minutes after trying to go as fast as we could go to catch up with them, I came to the realization that I lost them going over & down the ridges in that pasture.  Then the next thought came to mind…I’M LOST!  That’s right folks…I got lost on the ranch for the first time ever on Saturday.  So after a few tears were shed (yes, I cried…you would too if you knew that mountain lions & black bears roamed freely around you – even though its been over a year since either one has been spotted on our ranch), I collected my thoughts, and remembered everything Wesley had ever taught me in the event that I was lost on the ranch.  They are as follows:

1.       If ever lost, let the reins down & the horse will take you home.  They ALWAYS do.

2.       Do nothing the horse doesn’t want to do…its for your own protection (horses sense mountain lions & bears WAY before a human can)

3.       Follow cow trails if you can.  They will lead you to water and there’s a good chance the trail goes to a road that goes out.

I contemplated just exactly what to do first.  Do I continue to try to find the cows??  No, they left me in the dust.  Do I let the reins down?  Probably what I’m going to have to do.  Am I going to get eaten out here by a mountain lion and spend my last day looking down the mouth of a bear?  Yep…that’s exactly what’s going to happen (and no, that’s not overly dramatic)!  Then I remembered we had our radios.  HALLELUJAH!!  I have an out!  Well, radios only work when you have service to them.  You guessed it…I didn’t have any service to get my radio to communicate with Wesley’s radio.  So, I knew what I had to do…climb high to get service.  And no, none of this scared me.  The only thought that frightened me was the mountain lion/bear thoughts.  But I quickly put those aside & went into “Get the hell out of here” mode!

So off Reno & I went.  We climbed the ridge in front of us, I radioed…nothing.  I realized we weren’t high enough.  So, I figured we’d give it one more shot on another ridge & if I didn’t get anything I was going to let go & let Reno do the walking – right to home.  So down we went…rode a little ways, and back up another ridge.  This one was tall…really tall.  I knew we would find service here.  BINGO – I was right!!!  I radioed to Wesley to find out where he was, and we figured out that he was quite a ways ahead of me.  Amazingly, he could understand what I was saying thru the tears & hysterics of my voice.  After calming me down (as any good man would do) he told me what I needed to do to get to him.  He started calling out to me to see if I heard him, and I did, so I started my descent down the ridge to follow his voice.  After losing signal again, I climbed another ridge (with Reno) so we could figure out what our plan was.  Finally, we decided that I was just going to stay put and Wesley was going to come to me.  He rode up to a high ridge as well so he could see me on my ridge, and then he made his descent down to come get me.  Upon seeing him I started crying, and he rode over to me so we were side by side, took me in his arms, and hugged & kissed me to comfort me & calm me down.  He told me how sorry he was that I got lost and that we were going to continue the rest of our trek together.  I Love that man so much!!!!!

Fast forward to Saturday evening…we had a get together at the ranch for all the firefighters & neighbors who helped us put out the fire on our ranch.  I helped Moo Moo cook and clean that afternoon before the party, and I have to say it was a success.  We had a lot of fun getting together with the neighbors & enjoying good food.

Sunday morning we got up & finished painting the rest of the house (the outside of the house).  It took us about an hour to complete it, and I am SO THANKFUL that project is over!  We have a few touch up spots, but that’s nothing compared to painting an entire house.  Sunday afternoon was spent in the house with good food and good football games on TV.  Wesley took to watching the games, and I took to crafting!  I made some coasters that I found on Pinterest (which turned out great!), then proceeded to do a little gift wrapping for some gifts I’m sending back to Texas with my cousin (more on that at in an upcoming post), made my burlap wreath, and did some wedding decorating stuff that I needed to get done.  I am pleased with how the burlap wreath turned out.  This is our “everyday” wreath that will hang on our door. 

I’m starting to really get the Christmas decorating fever!  After wrapping Christmas gifts this past weekend and the colder weather seeming like its here to stay, I can’t wait to scout out & cut our Christmas tree, decorate the house, listen to Christmas music, and enjoy a little lot of hot chocolate!  And, my Christmas tree inspirations on Pinterest aren’t helping with my appetite for decorating.  Wesley turned to me Sunday evening & said “Well, I guess a trip to Wal-Mart for new Christmas decorating stuff is in our future” (just another rason why my heart smiles so big, because of him).  Yes sir, it is! :)

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas (early)!

A Crafty Hand & Wedding Decorations

I took off work last Friday to work on wedding stuff for the Montana wedding reception that is coming up in a little over FOUR WEEKS!  I made a quick trip that morning to Miles City to try on my wedding dress!  It fits, and it looks good (from what everyone tells me), so I guess it’s a go!  When I got back to the house that afternoon I spent the majority of the day working on wedding decorations & compiling lists.

Saturday Wesley and I cleaned up around the house that morning, then hung out in the house that afternoon.  It was pretty cold outside so it was a good day to stay inside!  That afternoon as Wesley watched football I started compiling my shopping list for the wedding for us to get from Billings.  It ended up being 2 pages typed (yes, I’m that overly obsessed with my shopping lists that I type them out).   Saturday afternoon we went out to feed the calves and noticed that there were about 30 head in a pasture they weren’t supposed to be in.  So the wrangling began!!  We finally got them where they needed to be, and resumed feeding the little guys.

Sunday Wesley was in a round robin roping close to Miles City with a bunch of people we knew.  Clint, Sarah, and Jack were there also.  Sarah and I got to catch up on the latest happenings in our lives, and I got to fill her in with all the wedding details that have been going on up until that point.  Of course I got to love on little Jack while I was there as well, and I do love me some baby loving from him!  He was being so snuggly and sweet on Sunday (well, he’s always sweet but he’s at the age where he wants to explore his surroundings now).  So as I was holding him he would snuggle up close to my neck and lay his head down on my shoulder and just gently touch my face with his little hand…he melted my heart!  I got some good pictures of him with Wesley on our horse Champion as well.  It was adorable to see him up in the saddle with Wesley, and he LOVED it!  He’d ride around with his Dad in the saddle too…too cute.  I was so proud of Wesley on Sunday because he won the second round in heading at the round robin!  He did so well!!

Monday I was off work (because of the Columbus Day holiday) so Wesley and I got up early, I gathered my (typed) list, and we set out for the 2 hour drive to Billings so I could get the last minute things I needed for the wedding.  We were in Billings ALL DAY on Monday, and by the time we got home we were exhausted!  BUT, I did get everything I needed to complete table decorations, dinnerware, tablecloths, etc. so it was a successful trip.   

While I was in Hobby Lobby (for a little over 2 hours) I got my hot little hands on some of that deco mesh wreath making ribbon stuff that has been all over Pinterest and the latest craze among people.  I couldn’t resist trying my hand at just one extra crafty project to go along with all the other stuff I need to make.  I must say that my wreath turned out pretty darn good if I do say so myself!  I also made a burlap wreath and am making a glittery wooden letter “D” that I’m going to put in the middle of the burlap wreath for us to use as our "everyday" front door wreath décor.  I’ll be sure to share pictures of that one once it’s completed!  All these little projects are putting me in an awfully crafty mood lately…is that good or bad?  I’m not sure yet. 

Hope you have a fantastic rest of the week!

Is that...SNOW?

Yesterday we received our first snowfall of the fall/winter season here in Montana, and boy did it get cold quick!!  As it was falling I thought to myself "is that SNOW?  ALREADY?!"  I couldn't believe it...but it was!  Monday our high was about 78 degrees, and yesterday our high barely made it to 40 degrees…and that was at about 6:00 AM before the front moved through.  Of course the snow didn’t stick to the ground, but it sure did come down pretty hard on and off through most of the day yesterday!  It is still so weird for me to see snow, and I feel like a child all over again when I do see it…I want to go out in it and play and make a snow man!  Today the weather is sort of overcast here, and definitely cool.  The cool fall weather is here to stay now for sure.  Ready or not…winter’s on its way.  Not that it’s a bad thing, because this sort of weather is perfect for making stews, soups, and a big pot of chili!  So, I guess if its going to get cold we might as well eat all the good stuff we don’t necessarily enjoy at other times of the year!

The month of October is full of processing new calves we’ve purchased from other ranchers.  David (of course) gets in the bulk of the calves around the ranch,  but Wesley and I have our fair share of the little guys (actually…ours are all girls to be exact) coming our way in a couple weeks.  With the new cattle comes LOTS of work.  Wesley and David spent all day Tuesday processing about 260 head of calves (they’re about 6 months old).  By “processing” the calves I mean this – each calf is ran thru the chute, branded, given 3 shots, get Ivomec poured on their backs, and gets their current ear tags removed.  Its quite the process that’s for sure!  The last load of about 60 head came right at 5:00 PM on Tuesday, and it was a race against time for us to get them processed before the sun set.  BUT, with the 4 of us there to help each other out, we got them all done just in time.  And good thing too, with the snow the following day it would have been miserable for Wesley and David to have to work them by themselves!  We’re getting shipments in all throughout the month of October, and each time a new shipment comes in they must have all this done to them as well. 

On another note, with the Montana wedding just around the corner, and our Texas vacation not far off either, I’ve decided the best way to display what all we did this past year together was to make a Shutterfly book about it.  So far, the book looks fantastic if I do say so myself!  That website is amazing!  If you haven’t checked it out, you should definitely do so – www.shutterfly.com.  You can make all kinds of things with your own personalized pictures on them.   The calendars are a very nice gift for grandparents I’ve found.  Anyway, the book not only lets you display pictures, but you get to “tell a story” of sorts along the way so everyone knows kind of what goes on in the pictures and about favorite moments of the year & such.  I can’t wait to get it finished, printed, and take it to Texas with us to share with all our family & friends back there!!

And speaking of the Montana wedding, its only 5 weekends away from this one!  YIKES!!!  The good news is my dress came in and I can’t wait to go try it on!  Now if I can wrap up the decorations, get all my last minute running around in Billings done, and get things organized to take with us to the hall that Saturday I’ll be in good shape!

We aren’t sure of what exactly we are going to do this weekend, but I know it will involve Wesley roping…we just aren’t sure where yet!  We have a few different things to choose from and of course they are all on the same day!  So I told Wesley to pick whatever he thinks he’ll have the most fun at & we’ll go there.  Either way I know I’ll get some good pictures of him roping that I can add to our book!  J