2012 Fair Entries

Every year I feel like I need to enter pictures in the Elko County Fair.  I don't know why because I never seem to have what the judges are looking for!  It is really hard to get a feel for what they like because they just scatter the pictures over a small room, so you can't really tell the pictures in your category that one.  It is fun though to walk through the Home Arts building and see what everyone has entered!

These are my entries for this year.

TR and the Cow Boss last Thanksgiving when we were cutting down our Christmas Tree.  I looked up and saw them walking down the road to us and I knew that this was THE PICTURE.  If I didn't take any other pictures that day, I had to get this one, and it had to be perfect.  I really like how it turned out.  The judges did too, they gave me a blue ribbon.

This is my first attempt at newborn photography.  Baby Gabriel belongs to one of my best friends.  This was her dad's saddle.  He past away nearly 7 years ago.  I really like this picture because of the sentimental aspect of Gabriel resting in his grandpa's saddle, and I like how clearly you can read Bill on the cantle.  Judges weren't impressed.

Here we have TR and QT getting ready to ride their sheep this summer at the Silver State Stampede.  The Cow Boss pulled QT off after 2 jumps, but TR rode by himself and ended up 3rd.  Talk about a huge confidence boost for him!  The judges gave me a white ribbon. 

This is TR's 3rd place ride.  I just like the expression on his face.  =)  The judges gave this picture a white ribbon also.

I like how clearly you can see the shadow of the horse and you know it is a bucking horse.  The Cow Boss says it would be better if there was a guy on the horse.  Maybe the judges agree with him?  No ribbon.

This picture is only good to me I guess.

Judges didn't like this one either.

I also entered a cinch this year.  I have every year for 5 years now.  I also enter the only cinch in the fair.  This year they introduced a new category for me because previously they didn't have a cinch category.  Last year I got a red ribbon on my cinch.  Can you imagine my disappointment when I've been tying cinches for nearly 7 years and I'm the only cinch entered in the fair, and I get a red ribbon?  I almost didn't enter a cinch this year.  But then I thought maybe I could use the free advertisement.  So I entered this cinch:

It was a custom order that didn't turn out as expected, which means it is available to you to purchase!  It is 100% Mohair, 34" long.  =)  Oh yeah, I should probably mention that it won a special award for best of Mohair/Horsehair cinches at the Elko County Fair!  =)

Pregging, School, You Name it!

Life is always fast and furious here in our house, and is getting busier now that we are back to school!  We decided to home school TR this year after his wreck.  I just wasn't comfortable sending him to school when we weren't sure how his jaw was going to be, if we needed surgery, and keeping him restricted when there are 20 other 5 year olds running a muck!  To be honest, I really didn't want him to start school yet anyway.  He is ready, mom is not.  Long story short, we are giving him an extra year to grow up and when he starts public school next year he will be more mature, a little bigger, and still with kids his own age.

I am back to school as well.  I'm teaching an Animal Science class 2 nights a week at Great Basin College again this semester.  I hated teaching high school and jr. high school, but love teaching on the college level.  My students are much easier to relate to, and are there because they want to be, not because they have to.  My friend Heidi talked me into taking a digital photography class with her this semester as well, so not only am I a teacher I am a student.  Lets face it, Heidi really didn't have to twist my arm too hard either, she just provided the extra motivation I needed to do it!

The Elko County Fair is also going this week.  (Who starts school before the fair anyway?!!), and my dear husband the Cow Boss decided yesterday would be a great day to preg 450 replacement heifers.  This is my week in a nutshell.  Class, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.  Pregging heifers Tuesday and feeding lunch to the pregging crew.  Wednesday the Branding Eliminations at the fair, (I'm not roping, just watching).  Thursday and Friday watching my brother show horses at the fair.  Friday night roping in the Coed Branding contest at the Fair, and then back in Saturday and Sunday to watch the fair, in Monday to pick up my home arts exhibits.  It's Wednesday and I'm already exhausted!

Pregging went good, we were done by 11:30.  I'm a lousy housewife, and avoid my house like the plague, so I had all of the food ready the night before so I could spend the morning at the chute.  I also love my crock pots (yes, I have 2!), and they get a lot of use.  I had Drip Beef in the crock pot, a potato salad and marinated tomatoes in the fridge, store bought rolls, and sugar cookie bars ready to be cut. 

Here are the recipes:

Drip Beef
1 beef roast
2 cans beef broth
1 jar pepperconinis
Salt and Pepper to taste

Put everything in the crock pot and cook on high 4-5 hours.

Potato Salad
Potatoes
1/4 c. Mayonnaise
1/2 c. Plain Greek Yogurt
1 c. Grated Cheddar Cheese
1/2 c. Chopped Onions
8 slices Bacon Cooked and Crumbled
Salt and pepper to taste

Clean, chop and boil potatoes until tender.  I leave the skins on, and I used Red Potatoes.  While they are cooking, mix mayonnaise and yogurt together well.  Add cheese, onions, and salt and pepper.  Chill in the fridge.  Drain potatoes and let cool.  Mix with dressing and top with bacon.  Can be served hot or cold.  Since I made mine the night before, it was cold.

Marinated Tomatoes
6 Tomatoes cut into wedges
1 T. Parsley
2 T. Red Vinegar
2 T. Olive Oil
1/2 c. Cold water
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Mix everything together and let rest at least 1 hour before serving.

For the sugar cookie bars I just used my old faithful sugar cookie recipe, and instead of baking cookies, I just baked as a bar and frosted with butter cream frosting.  =)

I hope everyone has a great week and has a smooth transition into back to school!

Guest Blog by Sylvan Walden

My friend Sylvan is pretty amazing.  She's a stay at home supermom to her little girl Reata, ties beautiful cinches, manages she and her husband's ranch in Montana, and is one smart girl to boot!  She has been thinking of a way to explain grazing rights and fees to the public who think "The government subsidies those welfare ranchers with $1.35 grazing fees."  I know we are preaching this to the choir here, but I feel that it is worth sharing!

Grazing Rights on Federal Lands
by Sylvan Walden
I have come to realize that most of the people living in the U. S. don’t understand the ownership layers of the so called “public” lands (federal lands) and how that relates to grazing leases. So I will try to explain it in simple, non-legal terms.
Each parcel of land comes with several layers of ownership. These layers may be all owned by one person or owned by separate people. There is the person who actually owns the land surface (in this case, the federal government). Then there is the person or people who own the water rights (i.e. the right to use the water originating on that land), the mineral rights (i.e. the right to use the oil, gas, coal, etc. that originates underneath that land’s surface), and then there are the GRAZING RIGHTS (i.e. the right to use the herbaceous plant material growing on that land). The land and these various rights can be owned as one or bought and sold separately.
When federal lands have grazing permits, that means a private individual has paid fair market value for those grazing rights and they are PRIVATELY owned by that person even though they are on federal lands. The federal government does not own those grazing rights. The person who owns the grazing rights pays “grazing fees”, which are basically a property tax on the ownership of those grazing rights. This structure would be a lot like owning a house within the city limits compared to owning one outside the city limits. You pay city taxes and have to follow city zoning laws even though you own your own house and lot. If you lived outside the city (i.e. owned the land surface and the grazing rights) you wouldn’t have to pay those city taxes (grazing fees) or follow the city zoning laws (rules and regulations about how you use your permit).
Often you hear people claim that the “cheap” grazing fees are a government subsidy for the owners of grazing rights. You need to remember that they are more of a tax on a private property (similar to city taxes) and not actual fees for a grazing leases or rent of a pasture and grazing rights owned by someone else. To charge the going lease rate for grazing on a grazing right you own would be like having to pay the going rate for rent to live in a house you own.
You also need to remember that even though John Q. Public has the right to access and enjoy federal lands (as long as the federal government doesn’t object), that there is private ownership existing there also and that needs to be respected. This is a lot like how the rest of the city people utilize your front yard to walk down the street. You are fine with it and accept it as just part of living within the city limits, but if one of the people walking along your front yard insists on letting his dog water your prize hydrangea, you start to get a little crabby with that person. This explains why most grazing permit holders tend to get crabby when John Q. Public decides there should be horses, buffalo, etc. using the herbaceous material. The grazing permit holder actually owns the right to the use of that herbaceous material and has paid fair market value for it, paid taxes on it, and followed all the rules. How would you feel if the city police told you to get over your hydrangea bush, because the dog walker had every right to kill it, since you live in a city of people who like dogs?

While I am Thinking About it....

I love onions, onions and garlic.  I put them in almost everything  I cook.  Growing up, I would chop them up really small so my sister couldn't pick them out of her food (sorry C~)!  One of the best things about living in Northeastern Nevada is being able to eat a BilToki steak sandwich.  They are smothered in garlic and taste like heaven.

I say snide remarks out loud in my head but sometimes forget to keep my mouth closed.

I would love to have a salsa garden, but can't grow cilantro.  No matter how hard I try, it always ends up shriveled up, brown, and dead in my window box or garden.  It just dies.  I've tried inside, outside, lots of water, little water, I have no luck.  You can have all of the tomatoes and jalapenos in the world and it won't be salsa if you don't have cilantro.

I look mad when I am concentrating.  Even when I'm happy, if I stop to really think hard about something my brow wrinkles, I frown, and just look angry.  If I try to remember to smile so people don't think I am mad, I forget what I am concentrating on.  On a side note, I can't glare when I want to, I just end up looking goofy.

When I hear a song I like, I play it over and over and over again until I hate it.

If I'm reading a really good book, I have to read the entire book from start to finish all at once.  I can't stand to not know how it is going to end.  This isn't a big problem if I'm reading a book to the boys.  Huge problem if I am reading a grown up book and I need to be productive.  I've stayed up all night just to finish a book before.  This makes me apprehensive to start a new book.  Unfortunately I need to read like I need oxygen.

I never pick a bowl big enough for what I am making.  Then I end up with a huge mess because instead of getting a bigger bowl when I realize I need one, I just keep adding to the smaller one until I can't stir whatever it is I am making.  Then I try and stir it anyway, spilling half of it all over my counter.  If I would have just dirtied another bowl I wouldn't have to spend as much time cleaning up after myself.

=)

A Kick to the Face

TR riding the mechanical bull during the Silver State Stampede

This past Sunday, one of my biggest, scariest nightmares came true.  I think it is many a ranch wife/mom's biggest fear as well, having one of your babies, husband, or family member getting hurt, and you not being able to do anything to make things better.

The Cow Boss and I have gotten kind of lax on our rules here on the ranch.  We don't have any horses here we are worried about, and felt like as long as the boys weren't playing in the main road here at the house, they could have the run of the place.  We have a huge back yard here on the the ranch complete with perfect climbing trees, dogs to play with, and a couple water troughs to play in.  Now that the boys are bigger, we don't watch them every second.  I've felt like I can always hear where they are, and when they are quiet you know you need to check on them.  We have our own little "WoooWhoop!" that we call to each other when we are out of sight, and always answer each other back.

Sunday afternoon, a friend of mine came over with her little boys to pick some apples from one of our many apple trees.  She was in no big hurry and I was finishing up a batch of Monkey Butter to can.  The Cow Boss was waiting for a friend of ours to show up and get some hay so he was outside with 3 of the boys.  I didn't know that he had come back in the house when I heard QT screaming.  I met QT at the door and he had been stung by a wasp.  I took him into the living room to sit until he felt better and found the Cow Boss there.  I sat QT on the couch with him and I thought I better go check on the other 2 boys.  Before I even got out the door Jess met me saying TR was hurt.

I found TR sitting in a lawn chair with blood gushing out of his mouth.  His lip was split open, and when I asked him what happened, he told me he fell out of a tree.  It didn't surprise me that he fell out of a tree, he climbs like a little monkey, and we fall out of a tree at least once a week.  I have chalked it up to a being a boy thing.  So I gathered up TR and the Cow Boss and I headed to the ER for stitches in his lip.  On the drive to the ER, TR kept trying to fall asleep on us.  We kept asking him questions, and his answers kept changing.  He told us instead of falling out of a tree, he fell off a wagon.  He also told us his horse, dog, and brother were all named Marty, and when I told him that was wrong, he started to get mad and refused to answer any questions.  About the time we got to the ER my friend called to say QT and Jess were telling her that TR was hurt by the horse.

TR after waking up Monday morning.

Our stomachs dropped, hearts sank, and we were gripped with fear.  TR had been kicked in the face by a horse. Everyone has heard horror stories about little kids being kicked in the head by a horse, and few of them have happy endings.  Knowing he had been kicked, and his wrong answers, not to mention falling asleep in the 15 minutes it took to get to the ER, we were a wreck.

We spent 5 hours at Northeastern Nevada Regional Hospital, where they did several ct scans and x-rays, and we did a lot of waiting.  We didn't have the care we would have liked, but that is another story.  TR's accident happened around 3 in the afternoon, and finally about 5:30 (we still didn't know the results of any of his scans) they told us we would have to take him to Primary Children's in Salt Lake City.  The doctor finally told us that TR's jaw was broken and that he would need surgery, but no word on his head.  The Cow Boss and I began to make plans to drive to SLC, and the nurse came and informed us we would have to fly.  With TR's jaw swelling they were concerned about his airway.

It is a 50 minute flight from Elko to SLC, and then about 25 minutes from the airport to Primary Children's.  We arrived there at 9 local time.  The ambulance drivers and Paramedics from Elko were wonderful.  At the airport they wheeled Trent and I over to check out the air tanker stationed there before loading us on the plane.  Once on board one of the paramedics told me "Don't worry mom, kids are usually asleep within 5 minutes.  It will be an easy flight."  Not my cowboy.  He has wanted to fly on a plane for years and wasn't about to miss a second of it.  His little nose was glued to the window from take off to landing.  I tried to point out our house as we flew over, but it was getting dark and hard to see.

I can't tell you how wonderful the doctors at Primary Children's Hospital are.  From the moment we walked in the door someone was with Trent or popping in to check on us.  Several different doctors examined him, his scans, and bent over backwards to make him comfortable.  Due to swelling and his age they hoped that his jaw would heal well enough on his own and we could avoid surgery.  We were finally able to get his lip cleaned and stitched up.  They put us in a room about 3 that morning.  A full 12 hours since his accident.

I have so much awe and pride in my little man.  I know he was hurting, but he never cried or complained once.  Everytime I as about to break down, he would squeaze my hand and smile at me the best he could.  He is so amazing, here I am I'm supposed to be consoling him and making him feel better and instead he is taking care of me.

TR sleeping in Wednesday morning.

The next morning they brought him a room service menu and spent the morning making him comfortable.  By the time to doctor came in he had drank 2 glasses of chocolate milk, a smoothie, ate some yogurt and pudding.  He told the doctor "I sure like this place, it's really nice!"  But, he had every ones undivided attention, got to watch anything he wanted on TV, and cute nurses to fawn over him.  The doctor discharged us that afternoon.  In his wranglers and cowboy boots, my little cowboy walked himself out of the hospital.

Back at the ranch, the first thing TR did was go and let his dogs out of the kennel, and then go to check on "Dot," the horse that kicked him.  He went to her corral and she met him at the fence.  I asked if he wanted to pet her, and he nodded yes.  I lifted him up so he could reach, and my heart melted when I watched him put his little hand on her face.  He knows that it wasn't her fault he got hurt, and he wasn't afraid of her either.

We had a long talk that night about what had happened, and while I don't think we will ever know for sure what took place, we kind of have an idea about what happened.  TR was in the corral with Dot, and he knew he wasn't supposed to be there.  He was petting her when something spooked her.  Whether it was QT getting stung and screaming or what, we will never know.  As she ran past TR she cow kicked him, catching him on the jaw.

All I know for sure is that TR took a kick to the face and was able to walk away from it.  Every time I look at him and his bruised, swollen jaw I smile and thank the powers that be that he is here with us today.  We are so fortunate that he wasn't hurt more.  I am so thankful to my friends and family, and complete strangers who have taken the time of offer up prayers on our behave and those who left us messages via facebook, texts, emails, and phone calls.  You will never know how much we appreciate your thoughts and messages.  You've all helped us get through a dark time in our lives and we appreciate each of you!

TR today, 7 days after getting kicked.

Fire

Photo by Jessie Vipham

Is is the ranch house on the 101 Ranch just outside of Mountain City, Nevada.  This was my great grandma Rosella's home.  My dad spent many days here playing and working for his grandparents.  When the ranch sold in the early 70's, one of my best friends as a little girl and her family lived here.  I can't count the number of nights I spent here, or hours I played here with my friends.  The ranch sold again when I first started teaching in Owyhee, and then again just a couple of years ago.  Now the 101 Ranch is owned by the Duck Valley Indian Reservation.  As you can see, the Brown's Gulch fire has burned completely around the house right up to the highway, which runs across the right side of the picture.  The only structure lost was a small chicken coop that was to the upper left of the house.

My brilliant cousin Jessie is working on her PhD in Texas, but came home for a visit this past week, just in time for the big fire(s).  I'm so glad she was home because she has been our lifeline these last couple of days, keeping us informed on facebook with posts and pictures so that we know where the fire is and what is going on.





Photo by Jessie Vipham

This is the sign entering Mountain City.  Beyond this sign is a lot of black on both sides of the highway, going on for quite a ways.  I am so happy fire fighters were able to save my home town, with no loss of structures, life, or any injuries!

Have a Great Day!