golden staircase

I had an art professor once tell me, "ronnie never be afraid to climb the golden staircase." Last I heard of him he had a heart attack. True.

life

Just a quick note to say how much I love life on the ranch. There's lots of work to do and I'm completely exhausted by the end of each and every day.I'm up at 5.30am every day and can't wait to get going. Life is full of real things to do.Concrete tasks and satisfying rewards unlike the art world that's full of possibilities that may or may not happen and more times than not...don't! I'm happy to take a break from all those disappointments until once again I throw myself to the lions.Right now hearing the sound of horses whinnying as we drive up with their meals three times a day is all I need. It will be interesting to see if I still feel this way in a couple of months when the snow begins to fly!

'ave a banana!

'ave a banana! 48 cents a lb here in Laramie; Something like $14.00 a kg in Australia. These are mighty big ones what's more.

geriatrics

Here are two of the three oldies I'm trying to fatten up before winter. Embassy, Mernie's white arab above has actually gained a little weight I think. He was skin and bones.Tiny, the Belgium is an enormous but oh so gentle giant with a bung knee. Gotta love 'em.

flies

Here is Rod sucking up flies with the shop vac. Now that's gotta make an Aussie feel right at home. I've never seen so many flies in Laramie.These flies are much better behaved than Aussie flies however. They seldom get in your face unlike the aussie breed that all compete for that juicy little spot in the corner of your eye.See Mernie with a bloody useless can of fly spray. Now wouldn't you think a superpower like the USA would have come up with a fly spray that actually kills flies! While it asphyxiates us, it manages to simple annoy the flies. After Rod had finished his fly round up, they sprayed this stuff down the nozzle to kill the flies incase they might find their way up the hose and out again.Hmmm! Guess what. The next morning the room was full of, you guessed it, FLIES!

where the deer and the antelope play

Well, the deer are probably in the high country but we wake up to antelope right outside our window each morning.

willy the jeep

This is my new vehicle. Willy. He runs great but has no brakes. Minor detail. Mernie just runs him into the haystack to stop it. Sort of funny sight. I think I want real brakes!

the view

This is the sort of thing I see from our bedroom balcony everyday. Mernie has his job back at the power company reading meters so I am not looking for a job outside of the ranch. There is plenty enough to keep me busy right here and soon I will back in my studio which is only partially set up at this stage.Life is good!
Click on this image to truely appreciate it.

Hummer

Don't get too many hummingbirds out here on the ranch. They generally hang around where there are flowers. However while out in the paddock doned in my bright red ball cap I was dive bombed by one.Must have been passing through and misstook me for a sugar stop. So I set up a humming bird feed and now we have two.They are so cute. Only about the size of an index finger. They are almost impossible to catch on camera in flight. I'll keep trying.So far I have lots of shots of nothing!

Our indoor arena

He's such a clever boy! I'm been a horse whisperer and he looks like he's actually listening. Here we are in our indoor arena. What a luxury!

'56 Chevy

Mernie's 56 chevy at sunset. While we were away some kids on the ranch shot holes in the windshield with bb guns. Grrrrr!!

high speed internet

Mernie still has his cold but he is smiling 'coz now we have high speed internet. Today he also found out he has his job back with the power company.

Poor Mernie

Funny cigar ya got there Mernie. Well actually its a thermometer. Poor Mernie has a really bad cold.Poor Mernie!

MY cowboy feeding in the wind

Click on the image of Mern with the horses. I think its really nifty as you can see the hay dotted in the air around him. What its like 'feeding in the wind'.

a real sweetie

He's a little young and green so Mernie went and bought a new helmet (brain bucket as he calls it) for me. Check out the colour. Check out the background. big country Wyomin'!So far this horse is a real sweetie.

Flambeau

Meet the newest horse in my life. This is Flambeau. I've been asked to work with him as he is a little too much for the owner. So far he is great. No dramas. And does he look like endurance material or what!!

Mernie at work on the ranch

Had to get a dumpster the size of a small house, (the kind they use at construction sites,) to cart away the garbage around the ranch. The basement has filled up about a quarter of it. Admittably, a lot of it was here before we left. Here is Mernie with his mini bulldozer just having a ball.

Inside the house its starting to look civilized. Boy was it a mess.A if playing the game of "name that goo" was enough but I even found dirty plates with forks still on them hiding nder the couches.Yuk!

back on the ranch

'Riding the range', view from our bedroom window and the hay waiter."Your order sir."

callington belly dancers

Just backing up a bit. This is the belly dancing class I belonged to in Callington.Erica our teacher is the one with the yellow veil. A great dance teacher and fun gal. I'm going to miss these crazy beauties and the fun we had.When I get on top of things here I'll be joining the Laramie belly dancers. Look out for that blog.

Been away from the ranch for 3 1/2 years and there's about 3 1/2 years worth of cleaning and repairs to do here. We have been working solidly since we got home and it will be a way of life for a while, but its great being home. The house was so filthy a wonderful friend of ours, Jan, came in with some helpers and did some serious cleaning so at least we could live here. We are truly blessed to have such great people in our lives regardless of the hemisphere.
I took some pictures of the panorama around our house the other morning but they barely do it justice. Here they are any how.Welcome back computer technology. (That's a wild antelope in the background of the picture on the right.)