Our Western Way of Life: June 2014

Here are forty new pictures for you to see what we've been up to. It's late and I'm ready for bed, so some of the pictures are out of order and please forgive any typos in advance :) Thanks.

Lately we've been busy...

playing with kittens.

and moving cows.

Enjoying picnics on the mountain. Maggie told us we should call our camp chairs "picnic chairs" instead because that's what we use them for.

Enjoying the blooms in our yard, even though they're hard to keep up with as far as weeding and watering goes.

Teaching Hadley to jump through hoops, literally. This dog has springs for legs!

Duke already knew how, but he can't jump as high. When Duke was a pup, he couldn't figure out how to jump into the truck, so I taught him how to jump through the hoop, increasing the height gradually until he could get into the truck. Now it's just for fun. The kids get a kick out of watching our own little circus :)

Maggie and Lane's favorite part of any day is when they get to go ride in the tractor with Jonathan. They're lucky kids.

Kittens are cute, until you're holding one and the dog scares it, which provokes it to bite your finger so hard that you have to shake it around to get it off. Then the next morning you wake up and your finger is infected and swollen up the size of a hot dog, even though you washed it out and disinfected it with rubbing alcohol right after if happened. Then the doctor has to prescribe you some heavy duty antibiotic to kill all the nasty germs that cats carry in their teeth. Not that I know from personal experience or anything ;)

Our horse, Dunny, is a mutt of a horse. We have always wondered what he is exactly and this year I thought for my Father's Day gift to Jonathan I'd solve the mystery once and for all by getting a DNA test done on him. It was fairly inexpensive and it just took mailing in some samples of mane hair. I have tried tracing his brand to his original owner, but that didn't work. I have tried pretty much everything to no avail, so this was a last ditch effort to get some answers. Our friends that we bought him from were told he's a kiger mustang when they bought him. He does look quite a bit like a kiger, but he has no freeze brand, so he isn't directly from a BLM managed herd. Dunny is cowy and athletic like a quarter horse, but built more like a haflinger. He has the endurance of an arabian, but has the head of a barb or andalusian. We both waited impatiently for the mail each day. We thought for sure he'd have some spanish influence in him, but frankly we're now more confused than before. The results are further down...

Maggie catching a fish at a fish hatchery. The kids had a blast!

The kittens honestly posed themselves like this. There's actually five kittens in there, the white one is the back is separate from the white one in the front, you just can't see his head. I'm really glad I've found new homes for all of them (except one, but only because she escaped as the new owners were putting her in their car).

Swathing with Jonathan.

Four wheeler picnic date with friends.

Summer craft with friends.

Another Father's Day gift for Jonathan. I've been collecting western fabric and Jonathan's old work jeans for a long time and finally decided I had enough for a denim quilt. I love how the back of the quilt has various stains to remind us how hard Jonathan works for us. You know, manure, grease, tattoo ink from calving, iodine, dirt, grass stains, and who knows what else. Plus, with the back already stained, I won't have to worry about getting dirt and grass stains on it when we use it for picnics.

The sewing machine I had been using for leather projects was having some problems, and wasn't totally made for what I needed it to do, so we decided to upgrade to an actual saddlery machine. I have enough orders right now that I needed a machine I could rely on and we found this one used in Evanston for a good price.

So I've been busy working away in my leather shop downstairs. This was a rifle case for my friend's husband.

I was also busy with girls' camp. We went to Bear Lake and stayed in a really nice cabin (which is not camping in my book, but it was still a lot of fun). The first night there was a mouse in the cabin and the girls were refusing to go to sleep until it was caught and exterminated. There were no mouse traps in the cabin and no one was very willing to get near it. I stepped in, since I've unfortunately had my fair share of experience with mice, and in the end it was a team effort to capture the critter with some buckets and brooms. The whole situation was rather funny. I wrote a little poem about it to remember the experience. I'm still laughing about how it all unfolded.

'Twas the first night of girls' camp and all through the house,

every girl was stirring because of this mouse.
There was jumping, screaming, screeching, and running.

So we planned to catch the poor critter; our plan was quite cunning.
We'd patiently wait until it came out from hiding.

We'd have just one chance, on which so much was riding.
Then what to our wondering eyes did appear?

The tiny nose, whiskers, and eyes, that had caused so much fear.
So out into the open the vermin was scared,

while various capturing tools were held ready by those who dared.
The frightened rodent darted to and fro,

never really knowing which way it should go.
Then suddenly in one flail sweep, the mouse was covered with a bucket--

the job was complete!
Now the girls could look their foe in the eyes,

which resulted in twenty, "Oh! Look how cute!" cries.
Along with some others like, "he's too precious to kill!"

So after all that, it was released on the hill.
I imagine as he scurried away from his near death fright,

he quietly squeaked, "happy girls' camp to all, and to all a good night!"

If riding in the tractor or swather is the kids' favorite thing to do, then watching it out the window is their second favorite.

Here's Dunny's test results: Eastern and Western European Warmblood, and Brazillian breeds. Not at all what we expected. The DNA testing can't pinpoint an exact breed, but it tests for markers/characteristics of different breed types. Now we keep joking that we have an expensive imported European warmblood.

I accidentally left some scissors out and Lane decided the stick horse needed to be clipped and roached. Oops :)

Our European warmblood sure has pretty eyes :)

This doe and her fawns are living in the field next to our house. It's been fun to watch the twin fawns playing.

We went to the Oakley Rodeo this year with Don and Heather. It was a lot of fun and the fireworks afterward were pretty intense!

I took the kids to get free slurpees from 7-11 on 7/11. We enjoyed to icey treat on such a hot day.

We went on another four-wheeler picnic date with friends up to Chinatown, which is basically a mini Grand Canyon in the middle of the mountain. The view never ceases to amaze me.

We were on top of the world.

The kids made this sand castle fort while they were being baby-sat at our friends' house while we were at China town. It was impressive.

This is the next project I've been working on. It's another gun case for my same friend, but this one is for her dad instead of her husband. I'm hoping to finish it tomorrow. She wanted me to replicate a picture of her dad with his horse. This is my first time doing something like that, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.