Mardi Gras

So....I had my first Mardi Gras experience...I must admit...it is AWESOME!!


I want to live in Cajun-ville...

This is Dawn...my sister...so to speak....

and her sister ....Amy aka "Curtains"

oh...fun!!!!!!!

Dumb and Dummer!!!!!!!

We had fun!!

I Love Mardi Gras!!

TV and other stuff

Sorry I have neglected my blogging for a few days...I got swamped!

Last week on Wednesday I had to take all 6 of our working horses to the vet to have their "annuals" done. In the process of unloading the horses "Critter" got a bit excited and he and I had a battle of wills and my fingers on my left hand lost. So I am typing minus a few fingers. (They aren't gone just sore and swollen)

Then I had a full day in San Angelo on Wednesday buying all the supplies and groceries for the weekend full of hunters.

On Thursday I had to feed cattle and finish moving the herd I started earlier in the week. Then I got cleaned up and headed to the airport in Brady to pick up 6 guys who we entertained for the weekend.

I played the roll of guide and cook all weekend. That meant 3 18 hour days...I was pooped!

But the bright light in the weekend was getting to see my girl, Dawn, and that is what this post is really about.

Let me introduce Dawn:


Dawn is my partner in crime so to speak...

I met Dawn a little over a year ago and quickly realized I had met myself in another body...literally.

Dawn and I have dreams of a hunting/outdoor adventure television show. We have been gathering footage since last fall and are in the process of trying to get enough footage to put a pilot together. We have a few leads on a station that might be interested in picking up a new outdoor show.....so "fingers crossed."

Anyway... we have a few ideas for a name but as of right now our favorite is "Another hunting show...only prettier." Leave me a comment and let me know what you think!!

So long for now....more pictures later!

My Homemade Chili Recipe

I made homemade chili for supper tonight and I thought I would share my quick easy recipe with you.

In a skillet I browned 1 pound of ground axis meat and 1 pound of ground turkey breast. (You can use ground beef instead of the axis...I just had axis on hand and it is super lean and healthy!)

I added to the browning meat:

2 T. Cumin
3 t. Garlic Powder
2 t. Paprika
4 T. of Chili powder
1 t. Oregano
and salt and pepper to taste (which equals a lot in my book!)

Meanwhile I had my crock pot heating up. I poured the browned meat into the crock pot and added 1 small chopped onion, 1 beef bullion cube, 1 small can of tomato paste and 1 can of diced tomatoes (rotel can be used if you like it spicier...I have to feed it to my kids so we went with diced tomatoes.) Then I added 2 Cups of HOT water. Stir and leave it for at least 5 hours in the crock pot.



I served it over Frito's with shredded cheese over it for the kids. I like mine with sour cream on it and I eat it with brown rice. Yummy! Warms you from the inside out on a cold winter day!

Another day at work...

Well, first thing this morning (after dropping kids at school, of course) I had to fill up the feed wagon to do some feeding.


As I drive out on to the ranch my little weanling's are patiently waiting for me...haha look at them!


Those pesky horses are back...horses are opportunists and gluten's when it come to feed...



Then I had to go to a pasture and move 175 pairs to another pasture. We use rotational grazing...basically we "overstock" a pasture causing the cows to use the graze more evenly then when the graze is used up we move them on to the next pasture allowing the grazed one to have time to rejuvenate itself. Anyway...it was "moving day" today!




These bulls decided to stop for a little shoving match...this is how the bulls decided who gets to mate with the cow that is ready...typical, hu?


There are hazards to living with the prickly pear cactus...


There I am! In the mirror of the truck...


Now that I moved that group of cows (most of them anyway) I have to move their mineral troughs and fill them up!




Well, that was my morning...now to get some computer work done, supper on, kids picked up and I am off to my friend Jane's house to help her with her "open house" during the "Tour of Homes!" Have a great Monday!!

Meet My Staff

I thought I would introduce my "staff."

Meet Rubio...


Rubio means "blond" in Spanish...I trust this horse with my life (more often than I should.) He is my steady, reliable, partner and companion. If I need to gently move through some cows looking for sick calves or I need to run as fast as the wind chasing a rouge cow he is my man.



You see the brand on his jaw...

I have no idea what it means.

really...he came to me when he was about 9 years old and he already had that.



Rubio is all business. He is not a pet. He doesn't like to be "petted." That is just who he is. But isn't he pretty? Shh...don't tell him I said that...it would probably embarrass him!


Meet my other "staff" member...(I use this term very loosely)

Hoss:


Hoss is my 145 pound, 9 month old Great Dane. He wants to be a cow dog SO bad! But mother nature just had other plans for his life. He has actually helped me pen some cattle 2 times (my husband thinks it was simply a coincidence that he barked in the correct place) but either way he tries hard! He IS a pet! He wants nothing more than to be loved on. Nothing cheers me up like seeing his big, goofy, clumsy, shoe-string slobbered face running towards me.

I couldn't leave out Rubio's pasture mate, Tonto...



As you can see, Tonto is a rather large boy. He is Half Percheron (a breed of draft horses that are uses for pulling.) This is my husbands horse when he rides and helps in the cattle pens. Tonto is rather strong willed and can be a bit intimidating to some. Due to Tonto's large feet he figured out that he could walk across cattle guards then he taught Rubio to do so...so the they get to be pasture mates in a pasture that doesn't have cattle guards.

Snow on the Z-Bar!

Well, What a day for my first post of my new blog! Many friends and family ask about the work I do and I have been encouraged to blog about the "Modern Day Cowgirl" so here we go!

Today I had to feed the 153 calves we have been weaning along with all the other cows on the ranch. This morning when I woke up to take my kids to school this is the view I had:






So after an exciting trip to town to drop the kids at school I headed out to feed...here they come!!!



Some horses are living in the weaning pasture right now, too...so they had to pose for a picture!




This one is licking her mouth...she is HUNGRY!!




Notice the ice on her whiskers and you can see her breath...beautiful girl...don't you think!?


It was a beautiful morning on the ranch! I so enjoyed the frozen toes and fingers that took an hour to thaw out...but hey...it's just another day in the life of a modern cowgirl!

History is there for us to learn from it...right??

Well, This is my first posting on my new blog and I thought what a better way to start than to talk about an issue that is very near and dear to me! So here goes...



I don't understand how here in the United States of America...Land of the FREE...we can sometimes be so ignorant. You know I have always been a lover of history. I think my love for history came from a realization that history is kinda like a outline to show us what works and what doesn't. If you study history of ancient civilizations you will realize that many of the things our nation is going through today have already been experienced by other civilizations through-out history. So, when we see that certain things have BAD results OVER and OVER again....why do WE want to try them? Are we as a nation so arrogant to think that it won't happen to us?



For example...Gun Control. If you study history you will find that each time a government took the right to own guns and consequently protect one's self, family and property the outcome is catastrophic!

• In 1929, the Soviet Union established gun control. From 1929 to 1953, about 20 million dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.


• In 1911, Turkey established gun control. From 1915 to 1917, 1.5 million Armenians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.


• Germany established gun control in 1938 and from 1939 to 1945, a total of 13 million Jews and others who were unable to defend themselves were rounded up and exterminated.


• China established gun control in 1935. From 1948 to 1952, 20 million political dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated


• Guatemala established gun control in 1964. From 1964 to 1981, 100,000 Mayan Indians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.


• Uganda established gun control in 1970. From 1971 to 1979, 300,000 Christians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.


• Cambodia established gun control in 1956. From 1975 to 1977, one million educated' people, unable to defend them selves, were rounded up and exterminated.


• Defenseless people rounded up and exterminated in the 20Th Century because of gun control: 56 million.


• It has now been 12 months since gun owners in Australia were forced by new law to surrender 640,381 personal firearms to be destroyed by their own government, a program costing Australia taxpayers more than $500 million dollars. The first year results are now in: List of 3 items: Australia-wide, homicides are up 3.2 percent Australia-wide, assaults are up 8.6 percent Australia-wide, armed robberies are up 44 percent (yes, 44 percent)!


• During WWII the Japanese decided not to invade America because they knew most Americans were ARMED!

These are just a few examples...the list could go on. America is headed down a dangerous and slippery path.

To quote Larry the Cable Guy..."Blaming a guns for crimes is like blaming your pencil for a misspelled word."

We need more personal responsibility in this country. If a person commits a violent crime with a gun...it's not the guns fault, don't punish the honest Americans...punish the criminal! Criminals are criminal because they don't follow the law. So, as we have seen in many other countries, when governments impose gun laws on it's citizens criminals aren't affected. They don't care about the law...they will steal guns or buy them illegally.

Be mindful and inform yourself about what is going on in our country. As a citizen, take some responsibility. Don't sit back and think that other people will handle these issues.

Remember...history WILL repeat itself if we refuse to learn from it!!!