May I Present to You...

...This morning's sunrise!



and yes...
I am in my pajamas!

Actually my fashion ensemble consisted of...
beautiful lilac colored sleepwear from Le' Target,
a soft and cuddly light mint green colored robe from Le' Target
and to complete the outfit...
a pair of Tony Lama cowboy boots from The Grande Murdocks.
The right pant leg tucked into the boots, the left pant leg on the outside.
That's the way they do it in Paris,
so I hear.


and no...
I do not care of the neighbors see me!



Did you see me Peggy???



Panorama Collage


So many pretty shots to chose from...
I'm having a hard time deciding which one to post.

So here,
I'm posting all of these.


pssst...
click on the photo for a full screen view.




That's Peggy's place there on the left with the lights.










My sister said she thought of me this morning
when she saw the sunrise.

Bet she didn't think that I was out there
in my jammies taking
this picture!


Actually I got one of the cows to snap this picture.


Just kidding...
cows can't take pictures.


I used the timer and a bale of hay for the tripod.



Ta da!




THE END.

A Little of This and a Little of That

The weather is finally resembling spring here in Western Nebraska. Yesterday was a perfect example of what I consider spring weather. The temperature was perfect, a little too cool for short sleeves, but long sleeves were sufficient and no jacket was required. The wind was more of a breeze and actually quite pleasant. Did I just say that??? I can't believe I combined "wind" and "pleasant" together in the same sentence!

Since I hadn't taken any pictures of a while I grabbed my camera and wandered around looking for photo ops.

This is what I can up with.

I know some of you have already seen most of these pictures since I posted them on Facebook last night, but not everyone is on Facebook so I'm posting them again. Remember, you can click on the picture for a full screen view, and I highly recommend that you do.

Actually, what prompted me to grab my camera was the sky.
I just love it when it is incredibly blue and the clouds have so much definition.
One of my friends asked it this was real last night on Facebook.
Made me think of Colossians 3:1-4, look it up!

I finally took the Christmas wreath down from the front window.
It was so pretty and I wasn't quite ready to part with it, so I
took off the red bow and hung it from this gate.

The egg layers were out and about also enjoying the weather
so I snapped a few pictures of them.

We have four different breeds of egg layers.
Looks like I got a picture of each one except for the Buff Orpingtons.
Sorry girls, I didn't purposely leave you out, I promise.

The is an Ameraucana.
They are the ones that lay the beautiful blueish/greenish eggs.
I love the details of their feathers.

Shhhh... this Barred Rock is catching a cat nap after lunch.

Red Star, not to be confused with a Rhode Island Red.
They are a cross between a Rhode Island Red and a White Rock.

BFF's resting and chatting under the sumac trees.


The daffodils are blooming.

Macro of the daffodil stamen in black and white.
I'm thinking this photo would look pretty in my bathroom.

Ahhh, the Nebraska sky...
so peaceful out here, the cattle were relaxing, the hens were relaxing,
the birds were chirping, the daffodils were blooming,
oh, did I mention that I burned some weeds in the back yard?
So the air smelt like burning weeds,
now that really smells like spring...
burning weeds.
Also smells like fall.
I actually kind of like that smell.

Is "smelt" a word?
I probably should use the word "smelled"
but I like to say smelt.

Smelt, smelt, smelt!

All that work sure made me tired.
So the Country Chicken Girl decided she needed a little relaxation...
shhh... don't tell Dan the Man,
he thought I was busy working outside!

It's easy to hide from sight in a tractor rim.

THE END

Welcomed Messengers

Spring is trying to arrive here in Western Nebraska and is doing a pretty fine job of it, I must admit. But I know you too well Mr. Western Nebraska and I know that there is a lingering snow storm yet on the horizon. As much as I would love to be positive about this Spring weather, I just can't help being a little pessimistic about it. Fooling myself into thinking that Spring was actually here would be a foolish action on my part. It would be news that is just too good to be true.

We ALWAYS have Spring blizzards, so I am not getting my hopes up too high that my beloved Spring has sprung.

These lovely little ladies have come out of hibernation to brighten the flower bed. Thank you ladies, you are beautiful! Remember you can click on the image for a full screen view, which I highly recommend.

Make sure you click on this one.
Incredible!
In my own opinion, of course...

and here it is in black and white.





I will enjoy these lovely Spring days now,
but I will not put away my Winter gear...

just yet.

I Love Hoar Frost!

What an enchanting morning here at the Open A Bar 2 Ranch! Mornings like this make me truly appreciate God's wondrous power. I am blown away at the beauty He creates for His people. But in order to see it, you have to be searching, looking, studying, waiting and expecting. If you were just out this morning not looking carefully for God's handiwork, you would have missed it. If you are going through life not looking for God's beauty to appear in your life, you are going to miss it.

Be sure to do yourself a favor and click on each individual picture to see a full screen view of it. Some you can enlarge even further by clicking once more on the picture. Hit your browsers back button to return to the blog. Enjoy!

Are you seeking God's beauty?

A Bird in the Hand is Better Than Two in the Bush

One of my cats, Squeakers, is the worlds best bird hunter. I hate to think about how many birds lose their lives prematurely because of this keen hunting machine. Squeaks is the smallest of all our cats and the most agile. She loves to share her "catches" with us and is constantly bringing LIVE birds into the house through the dog door. Upon entering the house she releases the birds and they fly around and she chases them until Dan the Man or myself finally catch them and release them back outdoors.

This little guy was Squeakers catch of the day this morning. After I caught him and photographed him, he flew away unharmed. I'm sure he flew far, far away, hoping to never have to go though that ordeal again!

Click on the photo for a full screen view, the details are incredible, especially his feathers. And see the little twinkle in his eye, that's not post processed in by the way. Click on your browsers back button to return to the blog.

Holding the little guy in my hand made me think of the saying "A Bird in the Hand is Better Than Two in the Bush."

So I googled the phrase and found this at WiseGeek.com. Thought it was interesting and wanted to share it with you.

According to WiseGeek.com:

“A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush,” also sometimes given as, “A bird in the hand is better than two in the bush,” is a proverb saying that it is better to stick with something you already have, rather than pursuing something you may never get. This proverb is a very popular warning, widely used in many English-speaking countries.

The basic warning of “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush,” is that you must take care not to get too greedy in life. If you are holding a bird in the hand, you have your meal for the evening. You can take that one bird, and be well fed. If instead you let it go to pursue two birds you’ve spied in a bush, you may catch neither, and wind up hungry for the night. This proverb points out that by passing up a sure thing for a more promising possibility, you also run the risk of losing both the sure thing and the promising possibility.

Squeakers, the bird hunter

Autumn Begins

Yipee!! Today is the first official day of Autumn!


Things I love about Autumn
(in no particular order, just as they pop into my head):

Frost on the Pumpkins

Pumpkins.
They just make me happy. I love the color of them, the variety, their shapes, carving them, the smell of them... one of my favorite Bath & Body scents is "Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin" and now they have a new one that is equally as yummy, "Creamy Pumpkin."



Beautiful Japanese Maple Tree in Tokyo.
Took this picture when we were there in December of 2009.



Pumpkin Pie
Pumpkin Bread
Honey Wheat Pumpkin Muffins with raisins
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Pumpkin Cake with Caramel Pecan Cream Cheese Frosting



Hand-painted and Hand-stitched art by me.


The smell of fallen wet leaves.



Hand-painted by me.



The unmatched beauty of the changing Aspen trees in Colorado.

More of my art.

The end of irrigating! Whoo-hoo!!!




Another one of my paintings.



The end of chicken processing for the season,
it's not here yet,
but it will be soon!!!



Another painting of mine.



I have a reason to buy CANDY
even though we never get any trick-or-treaters out here in the boonies.
No Goonies for the Boonies...




Harvest Moon in August at Table Mountain Winery.



Harvest Moons


Harvest Moon in August at Table Mountain Winery.



Colorful Mums


Baby in the corn. Sooooooo cute!


Corn Mazes
need one to go to?
Ellis' Harvest Home near Lingle, WY



Country Chicken Girl working hard (at the napping tree.)


Snuggling on the couch with a comfy blanket
and watching one of my favorite musicals!

...or an afternoon nap down at the napping tree.




Felt and Stitchery art by me.



Hay Rides





Bon Fires



Bobbing for Apples



S'mores over campfires and hot dog roasts


Fall Cleaning
I know, I'm weird like that.



High School Football


Morrill High School Lions ~ 2009


Homecoming



Hand-painted and hand-stitched art by me.


and all this leads to Thanksgiving and Christmas!



The End

Eeek, A Spider or Two or Three!

I have been noticing tons of spiders around our place this year. I don't know if we are having a spider population explosion or if I am just that fascinated with them that I am noticing them, where as before I just didn't see them because I wasn't really looking for them. At any rate... here are a few I have seen just in the last couple of days.

Note: Click on the photo for a full screen view and then hit your browser's back button to return to the blog. Seriously folks, you have to see the full screen view of these photos! If you don't click on the photo I'm not going to post anymore, ever, that will be it, the end, finished, forever.




We've seen lots of these spiders out in the pasture along the fences.
We've also spotted several while we were out irrigating in the alfalfa fields.

I think they are beautiful!

This one's body (not including it's legs) is probably the size of my pinkie, say 1/2" X 1 1/4".


This one is busy wrapping a fly up in a straight jacket with it's extremely strong and sticky web stuff.


(I know... don't hate me because of my big vocabulary when it comes to describing spider stuff!)


She lives in the "preschool" chicken coop along with at least 7 of her sisters!


I hate going in there to turn on the lights when it is dark outside.


I'm paranoid I'm going to stick my hand in one of these spiders' webs
while groping around in the dark for the light switch!


These spiders must be nocturnal, because I don't see much of them during the day,
but I always see them at night and many times first thing in the morning
when I am doing my morning chores.


Did you read these previous posts?

Wow, That's a BIG Spider!

The Spider, an Update!

The Spider, Again!


I think this is the same spider from those posts.

I've been checking on her almost ever day and she never leaves this place where she seems to have made her home.

Interesting, huh?


I wonder what those big holes are for in her back.


Look at the stripes on her body.


And why are some spiders so hairy while others are not???

The End


Goodnight, sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite... or the SPIDERS!

The Hawk

The other morning I found this here feller lurking around the egg layers coop.


I don't know if he was thinking about trying to eat one of the egg layers or not. And yes, hawks do eat chickens. At least I have heard that they do.

Although we haven't lost any chickens to hawks,
that I know of.


Sure seems like there are a lot of hawks around here lately.


I'm not positive, but I think this might be a red-tailed hawk.


Did you know that there is no room for eye muscles in their small heads
so they must move their heads to look around.

The End