YeeHaa!

The buckaroo prevailed!  All of the stars aligned and I was able to stay out of my horse's way long enough to pull off the win. 

What I love most about going to a show is, they tell you exactly where you are in your training.  Each time you leave, win or lose, there is a new "to do" list for the next month of riding. 

I will be spending some time working on my stops, MY STOPS.  Lou is fully capable of stopping well enough to fill your boots with sand, just not always with me on him.  Throwing him the reins and then having the faith he will do his job, has been a hard thing for me to do.   I wonder if they allow horses to attend those team-building, trust seminars.  You know, the ones where I fall back and he catches me before I hit the ground.  I'm sure he would, I just need to make myself ride like he will.

Can you ride or not?

These may be my favorite lines from the movie, All the Pretty Horses.  Lacey Rawlins, John Grady, and Jimmy Blevins had been drinking "cactus juice" all afternoon before they rode on down the trail.  The two older cowboys ride back to find that Jimmy has fallen off his horse.

Can you ride or not?

Hell, yeah, I can ride.

I was riding when I fell off.

I'm a regular buckaroo.

Certified damn bronc peeler. 

I can't help but smile every time I think about this scene.  Between Jimmy's drunken cowboy demeanor and his Texan accent, you can't help but laugh.

This weekend I'll be entering my first reined cowhorse show on Lou.  We're ready.  My only hangup in these shows have been my nerves.  I can run barrels just about anywhere without another thought but showing is a whole different thing for me.  It's the precision of the pattern work I guess.  I have controlled every stride only to find that my horse can't work very well with his head tucked back to his tail.

JD has been my saving grace by helping me to smile before I ride in the gate.  Its harder to be tense with a smile on your face.  So tomorrow, I'll be thinking about All the Pretty Horses and riding like a "regular buckaroo, certified damn bronc peeler".

If you haven't seen the movie, watch it.  It'll make you yearn to be a cowboy and NEVER want to be a cowboy, all in the stretch of a couple of hours.  Its a great flick.

Isn't it cold there?

Snow in July?!
July 4, 2009

We moved to Wyoming six years ago and since then I have been asked one question more than any other, "Isn't it cold there?".  Umm yeah...and that's the best part.

This is Wyoming and that's why its the best place on Earth to live!  Why?  Simple. Because not every namby pamby will move this way to take advantage of our beautiful scenery and plentiful jobs.  Not everyone can pull off Carhartt bibs and a stocking cap six months out of the year.  When we lived in Washington, I wouldn't have been caught dead in my longjohns in town.  The extra layer made my butt look fat.  Thirty below with a breeze gets you over that real quick.  I'll keep trying to tell myself the fading figure is just Under Armour.

Basically, I think its cold if you have to wear a coat.  Most places in this country require a coat at some point during the year but few offer bright sunshine to accompany screaming cold temperatures.  It might be thirty below but its a beautiful day to chip the ice off the water troughs.  I'll take that any day over Seattle's drizzle or even Sunny Okanogan's overcast skies.

I do, however, think there are varying degrees of cold.
Here they are:

1.  Under 25 degrees:  A sweatshirt isn't cutting it, put on a coat, and if you need a coat, you probably need a stocking cap and gloves.

2.  Under 10 degrees:  Time to pull out the bibs and change up the coat to down.

3.  Under 15 below:  Put the bogs away and pull out your running shoes, get your crap outside done FAST, before your nostrils permanently freeze together.  This, by the way, is JD's favorite temperature.  He gets a charge out of watching other people shiver.  I guess there are some benefits to being a hot head at work, that and getting to play with fire.

So, if you come to visit us in the winter months, and maybe even during the summer, throw in the above clothing, you'll probably be glad you did.

Last weekend we were at a cutting, waiting for JD's class to start.  We were all saying that a beer really sounded good as we were sitting at the picnic tables.  Only in Wyoming, in January, would people think a cold beer sounds great.  I think, if you can unzip your coat, its time for a cold one!

My first post!

After some coaxing from my mom and a couple of friends, I have decided to begin blogging about our life here in Wyoming.  I thought it would be a fun place to share recipes, gardening ideas, horse talk and get inspiration for all of life's day to day work.   I have a really fun life, am spoiled rotten around here and always seem to have endless hilarious stories from the kids, despite my attempt to keep things under control. 

This will serve as a great memory box/diary (not many folks are boring enough to post an online diary) for us to look back on as we grow as a family. 

I am really inspired by the blog of The Pioneer Woman and find we are somewhat similar, except that she can really cook, always looks cute and busy, and is a better writer than I am, but never mind that, I'll get better in each of those aspects eventually.  Thanks for coming along for the ride!