Congrats Babe!

Wesley has officially attended and obtained his certificate in Artificial Insemination and Range Reproduction Management!  CONGRATS BABE!!  Last Friday Wesley headed to Billings early in the morning to start his 4 day class to learn to A.I. cows & preg check them as well.  I left work at 3 that day & headed up to spend the weekend sewing while he was in class, then we spent our evenings together.  Friday evening we had to run some errand and I wanted to get some new clothes, so we headed to the mall and finished the evening by ordering Papa John’s pizza.  It was delicious.

Saturday we headed down to the hotel’s restaurant to have a nice breakfast together before Wesley headed off to class.  Once he was at class, I started my sewing!  I got lots of good stuff sewn this past weekend and am going to work on taking pictures of everything and getting them posted very soon.  Wesley had class time in the morning, followed by practice on live cows in the afternoon.  In between they got a break for lunch so I met him up at the sale barn (where the class was being held) so we could go to lunch together.  Once he was done with class that afternoon we headed out to do more shopping and run some more errands, then finished the evening with appetizers and drinks at Texas Roadhouse.  It was nice to sit & talk about our days, snack, and enjoy some good drinks & company. 

Sunday was more of the same, with the exception that the weather turned from beautiful to SNOW on Sunday.  It snowed off & on all day Sunday, but it wasn’t enough to really accumulate anywhere.  However, the moisture is still much appreciated!  Wesley got ALL of his cows A.I.’ed on Sunday (As he did every day, but you know I like to brag), so we went to celebrate with some Mexican food Sunday night!  Now when I say Mexican food know this – it is NOT anything like the Mexican food we have in the south.  In fact, it is pretty bad in comparison.  However, we had heard good things about this restaurant & figured we’d give it a try.  They did have homemade tortillas (a plus!) but the food was mediocre.  With that said, if I’m having a craving for Mexican food and we’re in Billings, it was good enough that we will be returning.  Just know that it is no Mariachi’s….

Monday morning I got up early so I could head back to work and Wesley could get to class.  I left Billings for the hour & a half drive around 6:00 AM and Wesley got up about 7:00 to head to his class.  Monday he received his certificate of completion for attending the A.I. school!  I’m so proud of him!  And his skills will come in handy in a couple weeks when we have to A.I. 375 heifers!  Good job Babe – so proud of you!

We’ve got a busy weekend coming up this weekend.  We have to bring in & sort our steers so they can be hauled to our ranch up in Northern Montana.  Then we are putting up a fence in our front yard so we can bring the horses over & let them graze.  I’m pretty excited about that.  I’ll get to see Reno every day and that’s just fine with me!  And we've been having beautiful weather here lately – highs this weekend are supposed to be in the mid to upper 70’s so we are definitely going to enjoy those temperatures!

One last note – I just couldn’t make a post without sharing some exciting news that my best friend & her husband shared with all of us this past weekend….they are having a baby GIRL!!!  I am beyond excited!!!  I’ve already made so many things for her this past weekend and can’t wait to spoil her with even more stuff.  Congrats Katy & Jason!  Can’t wait to meet my little niece in September!!!  :)

Have a great week & weekend!

Boston & West

While I am not one to take to my blog & comment on things that are going on politically or otherwise in America (mainly because nothing has sparked my interest so much that I feel like I need to get up on a soap box), the chain of recent events that have happened around our Nation are some things that I feel need recognition. 

First, the Boston Marathon tragedy – to the families who have lost loved ones our prayers go out to you.  To have someone commit such a senseless act against defenseless Americans is incomprehensible.  But, we have a very just and loving Lord and I know that end the end these two individuals will have to pay for their actions by a higher being.  Our thoughts are with the people who compete in the Marathon, those who live in and around Boston, and especially those affected by the bombings both directly & indirectly.  As the president so wisely stated, “Boston will run again”, because that’s the spirit of America.

Secondly – to something that hits a little closer to home – the massive fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas.  Growing up my Dad played softball for the Knights of Columbus league at our church & every year the big state tournament was held in Austin.  Who do you think our rival team was & the ones we always wanted to beat?  The team from the tiny town of West.  Those boys know how to play softball!  So not only do I know the town of West from living in Texas, but because they were a rival of my Dad’s team when I was growing up.  To see something so devastating happen to such a tiny town and close knit community is terrible.  I caught a glimpse of the local news on Tuesday night and when I saw Texas was on our news station up here I knew it was something that had to make pretty big headlines but at that time didn’t know what it was.  I learned Wednesday about the massive explosion.  The raw footage of the explosion is enough to take your breath away, and the images will bring you to tears.  But us Texans are tough people, and we have a spirit that is like none other.  Not only are we willing to help a neighbor in need that we’ve never met, we are strong willed, and together the entire state will help each other out until tough times pass.  To the people of West – we are praying for you also.  In a town of only 2,800 someone is going to know someone who has been severely injured by the blast, or worse.  We are thinking of all the firefighting personnel, the EMS, and volunteers who are all having to pick up the pieces of a torn apart town.  We continue to watch news coverage & pray for those affected by this terrible tragedy as well.

~May God Bless Texas and God Bless the USA~

Moisture

We had a pretty good weekend this past weekend.  Saturday we went & rode thru our cows and tagged a couple babies, then headed home to start smoking a pork loin.  It started raining on us Saturday afternoon and continued thru the evening.  We were SO glad to see the moisture and welcomed it with open arms.  It continued to get colder & colder thru the weekend, and by sunday it went from raining to snow.  It snowed all day Sunday and thru the night Sunday night.  This morning we woke up to iced over roads, and more snow!  Don't get me wrong, we are VERY thankful for the moisture.  Any amount of moisture is better than what we had last year and we are very thankful that we're seeing more rain/snow this year. I braved the weather this morning to snap a few pictures for everyone to see what I'm talking about.  We have icicles coming off of our house that measure almost 2 feet long!!!  Now that's an icicle! 

 

 

I talked to my sister & brother in law yesterday on the phone and it was pretty tough to hear that Texas was having 80-degree weather while we were looking at this outside our windows!  But, at least its better than the no moisture we received last year.  Hopefully this is setting us up for a nice summer and great grass & hay crop this year.  Have a great Monday!



A Very Productive Weekend

The Davenport’s were quite productive people this past weekend & it all started Friday.  Well, technically, earlier in the week.  I got bored (about Tuesday evening) and decided to tape off & paint our master bathroom.  I figured it’d take me a day to tape everything, and a couple days to paint.  To my surprise, I finished taping the entire bathroom Tuesday evening, and since there was no better time than the present to start a painting project, I whipped out my brushes & got to painting.  Little by little thru the rest of the week I completed my painting project.  I was completely finished by Saturday night.  HOORAY!  At first we didn’t like the color because it had a sort of peach undertone to it, but with a second coat it “browned” out and we really like it!  The color is called Acapulco Sand and it’s a light tan color.  Next up – purchasing new bathroom rugs & a shower curtain.  I have a beautiful turquoise shower curtain in mind with turquoise bath mats & rug accents that I’m going to put in there.  Hopefully by the end of the year our bathroom will be completely redone!

Friday afternoon I left work around 3 (because we are slower than a turtle walking from here to Texas…and THAT’S slow) and Wesley and I headed up to Round Up, MT (about 2 – 2 ½ hours from the ranch) to pick up his saddle that needed to have work done on the tree.  We got back to Forsyth about 8:30 PM, ran to the grocery store, then went to grab a beer & quick bite to eat here in town. 

Saturday morning our day started early with us going to ride thru our cows to see if there were any babies that needed to be tagged.  Before we went to ride thru the cows we took one of the colts out to the pasture where all his friends were.  After a few laps around the neighboring pasture (because he decided he’d rather be there than with his friends) Wesley was finally able to get him back in the pasture where he belonged.  Then we went to feed the cows, bulls and steers.  Next we brought the 18 wheeler rig out from the pasture where the steers were and hooked it up to the cattle wagon so Wesley can haul cows to the stockyards next week.  Finally, we unsaddled our horses, and headed home to eat some dinner & start on our project.  What project you ask?  The one where we rip the entire front of Wesley’s man cave off & replace all the boards.  While Wesley did the destruction of the front of the building, I finished up painting the master bathroom.  Then I headed outside to help him with the construction of the new face of the building.  We measured, cut, screwed, and repeat until the building had a new look.  And it looks amazing!  We also built a door for the front of it, and installed that as well.  It looks great!  We were outside until about 9:00 PM that evening trying to finish up the building, but we are pretty proud of our work!  That afternoon while we were working Wesley was also smoking pork ribs for us to have for supper that evening.  After about 6-7 hours of smoking the ribs they were done about 10 PM and were so delicious!!  He did an amazing job with the rub, searing, and smoking the ribs.  We have big plans to try a brisket next!   

Sunday we got up & put a few finishing touches on our building, then went to feed everyone.  After we came back we cooked a pizza on the grill (the most delicious way I can think of to cook a pizza), then worked on cleaning our pantry out.  Wesley took everything out of our pantry, and organized, rearranged, and stacked our canned goods & foods so we have a nicely organized pantry.  It looks great too!  Sunday afternoon I wasn’t feeling the best so I stayed home while Wesley and his Dad went to the neighbors to do a little afternoon roping.  He got back about 6 that evening, and just in time for the rain to really start falling.  It started raining about 5:30 Sunday afternoon, and then turned to ice & snow thru the overnight hours.  We need the moisture badly so I am not complaining one bit!  But needless to say the roads were too icy for me to travel on yesterday & therefore I stayed home. 

We are going to try to get more things done around the house this weekend, with the next project consisiting of painting the outside of Wesley’s man cave, then installing a new patio for us in our back yard.  We’re supposed to get some more rain later this week or this weekend and we’re praying that it comes!

Have a great week! 

Our Easter

Happy Easter! 

We had a wonderful Easter weekend, but a very busy one at that!  Friday afternoon I took off so we could run some errands in Miles City, and get groceries for our Easter dinner feast we were preparing on Sunday.  Saturday was a very busy day for Wesley & me.  We got up that morning & fed as usual, then rode to the pasture our heifers were calving in and sorted off some of the cow/calf pairs (7 pairs to be exact) and moved them to another pasture.  That took about an hour for us to do since we have to move slower since the babies are only a few days old & slower at traveling across the pasture (which, by the way, is the cutest thing ever)!  Then we came in for a quick bite to eat, and headed back out to ride the pasture that our older cows are in & tag the babies that need to have ear tags put in them.  We took the pickup & horse trailer out to this pasture since its faster to get there by pickup than riding the whole way, then took our horses out & rode.  Well back up to us loading our horses onto the trailer.  Wesley had just shod Reno (my horse) about a week ago and I was leading Reno to the trailer when I decided to stop & cinch him up.  I didn’t realize the trailer gate was swinging open toward him so he stepped back to avoid being hit.  Where did he step?  Right on my TOE!  Oh it hurt so bad!  I was barely able to walk to the pickup to get myself in so we could go ride.  Wesley kept telling me to take my boot off, but I was too afraid to see what my toe looked like.  He finally yanked my boot off convinced me to let him take my boot off & have a look at my toe.  It wasn’t broke because I could move it, but the (warning – a slightly graphic image will be talked about now – read at your risk) skin on the top of my big toe was ripped off, and I was bleeding.  GREAT!  Oh well, at least it wasn’t broke.  So, in true rancher’s wife fashion, I did not sit the ride out but instead continued on with my husband riding thru the cows & making sure no babies needed to be tagged.  My sweet husband was telling me all kinds of ways to try and alleviate my pain while riding; from putting pressure on it to not putting pressure at all.  After our ride we unsaddled the horses, and headed home to doctor my toe.  With a lot of peroxide, and Wesley’s tender touch, my toe was bandaged & on its way to healing.  It is pretty bruised still, but I can at least put pressure on it.  I can’t touch the top without it throbbing, and I’m pretty sure the bluish/purplish color will mean that I’ll probably lose my toenail on that toe, but hey, at least my toe isn’t broken, and its not swollen anymore!  Saturday evening Wesley & I colored Easter eggs (to decorate the table, and to have deviled eggs, and feel like kids again)!  We had some pretty fancy Easter eggs adorned with our names, the dogs names, our brand, his parents brand, and their dogs names!  We had a friendly competition of Easter egg coloring between my Granny, Papa & Mom and us and let’s just say that WE WON! 

Sunday morning we got up early so Wesley could feed before we headed off to church.  We celebrated our Easter services in Colstrip, then headed home to start cooking Easter lunch for ourselves & Wesley’s parents.  We had a delicious lunch ensemble we were going to make and it turned out just like we planned.  For appetizers we had a vegetable & relish tray, a cheese ball  & crackers, and deviled eggs.  The main course consisted of prime rib cooked rare (by the BBQ Pit Master himself – Wesley), homemade mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, a salad, dinner rolls, and lefsa (lefsa is a Norwegian dish made by taking potato tortillas and putting butter and brown sugar on the inside & rolling it up to enjoy.  I learned to make it from Jewel, and she learned from David’s Mother, Wesley’s grandma Davenport.  One day we hope to pass the recipe down to our children.  For now we use premade tortillas.  But I’m going to have Jewel teach me how to make the homemade Lefsa tortillas.  She knows how to make them from scratch).  For dessert I made two pies – an apple pie & a pecan pie serves a la mode, of course.  Wesley did an amazing job searing & smoking the prime rib.  We put a wonderful dry rub mix on the prime rib, and he seared it so it got a nice crisp outside, then slow smoked it.  It took about 2 hours and we had a beautifully prepared rare prime rib to serve!  We enjoyed laughter and conversation with Moo Moo & David on Easter Sunday afternoon.  That evening Wesley & I played some dominoes, then watched the conclusion of the tv mini-series The Bible. 

We are getting more & more babies around the ranch daily, and are pretty well on our way into full calving swing for this season.  Before you know it we will be branding, haying, and it will be fall in the blink of an eye.  I can’t believe it is already April!  Where has the time gone?

As for an update on my Popo – things are about the same.  He is slowly trying to regain his strength back, and is able to sit up in a chair for a couple hours a day before feeling too exhausted.  He was able to have his catheter removed so that was a step in the right direction.  A couple days ago he walked down the hall at the hospital and that was a big accomplishment!  He has another bone marrow test this Thursday to see how his cells are doing, and he should be starting his second round of chemotherapy this Friday.  We don’t know when he will be released from the hospital, but I’d assume not until he has all of his strength back.  He & my Meemaw seem to be getting by pretty well at the hospital.  I send them pictures of things happening around the ranch, and of the ranch papers we get up here to give them something besides junk gossip magazines to read at the hospital.  Plus it helps them pass the time.  We are praying for good results of the bone marrow test this Thursday. 

We hope everyone had a very Blessed and Happy Easter weekend!