The Scoop On The Gourd

Some of my Facebook friends are probably wondering what the post on Facebook was about the gourd that I painted. I was going to add "with chickens" at the end of the previous sentence... but that just seemed silly... sounded like I painted the gourd using chickens! Hee, hee!

Anyway... one of our local museums is having a fundraiser which involves people decorating gourds for a contest and auction. The museum is the North Platte Valley Museum in Gering, Nebraska. What? You've never been there? Well... I hadn't either until a friend of mine, Katie Bradshaw, was named the executive director and invited Dan the Man and I to a "Business After Hours" party at the museum last month. Wow-wee, were we in for surprise! What a great museum full of many, many interesting exhibits. There was way too much for us to look at so we will be planning a trip, actually it'll probably be several, to see all the neat stuff. I LOVE that kind of stuff and all the stories that go along with the artifacts. I think I should have been a pioneer... I always loved "Little House on the Prairie" and wished many a times that Laura Ingalls Wilder was my friend while I was growing up and I was on the prairie sharing in all her adventures.

So anyway, back to the contest. This is the info I received on the contest.

"The North Platte Valley Museum will be hosting a contest for area artists that will serve as a fundraiser for the Museum. This contest involves creating an original work of art from a birdhouse gourd, which have been donated by Gene Koenig. The gourds will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis. Gourds can be picked up beginning on Tuesday, August 16 at the NPVM. Hours of the Museum are Monday through Friday, 9am-4pm.

Artist can decorate their gourd and return it to the Museum by September 26th, where they will be a display through October 21. The community will be invited to vote on their favorite gourd. Votes cost $1 each, and people can vote on as many as they like, beginning on September 29. The winner will be announced on Sunday, October 23, at the kick off 50th Anniversary Celebration of the North Platte Valley Museum."

So, that is the scoop on the gourd. I decided to join in on the fun and pictures of my gourd are posted below. When I turned my gourd in on Monday I got to see some of the other ones that people had done. There are some really cool ones and if you want to see them you HAVE to go to the Museum and check them out for yourself. I know several of the artists and hope you do take a few minutes to run over and see them and cast your vote.

Remember you can vote as many times as you like! Let's raise some money for the Museum. And don't cop-out on me by saying you can't because you live out of town. What nonsense... I already took care of that. When I was dropping off my gourd with Katie at the Museum, I asked her if people from out of town could vote by sending a check made out the Museum and enclosing a little note saying that they were voting for a specific gourd (like mine!) and she said that would be wonderful. So family and friends from out of town... I am counting on you to send a little donation. Please and thank you!!!

Send your donation and vote to:

North Platte Valley Museum
P.O. Box 435
Gering, NE 69341

Be sure to include a note that you are voting for the gourd fundraiser! And if you want to vote for mine, you'll have to specify that you are voting on Kathi Manville's gourd. Although you could probably say the "Country Chicken Girl's" gourd and they would know it was me!


PS... I know I say this all the time, but if you want to see a larger view of the picture, simply click on it! Hit your browser's back button to return to the blog.

The Gourd BEFORE.

Top of the gourd with a painted vine with berries.

The Museum is located in Gering at 11th & J Street!

You can also "like" the museum on Facebook.
Search for "North Platte Valley Historical Association"




Oh...
and Sammi says...

The END.

Perhaps Mother WAS Right...

Do you remember your mother telling you things as a child that you thought were ridiculous. Things that she warned you not to do because it would result in some disastrous outcome?

I am talking about warnings like:

Don't run with scissors, you could fall and stab yourself.
Stop looking cross-eyed or your could permanently become cross-eyed.
If you drink coffee as a child it will stunt your growth.
We won't buy you a BB gun because you'll shot your eye out.

Well... perhaps mothers are right when they tell you not to pull off the tab from your soda can and put it IN your soda can while you are still drinking it... it COULD come back through the hole and you COULD swallow it.

Oh pleaseeeee... really mother? Don't you think I would notice that the tab had come out, into my mouth, BEFORE I swallow?

Well, yesterday morning I was making phone calls to my chicken customers letting them know that their chickens for Batch #4 were going to be ready this weekend. I was sitting in the office/spare bedroom at the desk enjoying a soda while I was making my calls. Sometime during the course of the calls, I pried the tab off the can and mindlessly dropped it into the hole. Something I do, I don't know why. Such a random act of reckless abandonment.

So there I was talking to one of my customers when I took a drink of the pop while they were talking.

EGADS... what was that?

Was THAT the pop tab?

Did the POP TAB actually go into my MOUTH??

Customer: Blah, blah, blah... Don't you think?

Country Chicken Girl: Frantically thinking what to do with the pop tab that is in her mouth, tries to take a tiny swallow and catch the tab between her tongue and the roof of her mouth.

Meanwhile Customer is waiting for a reply.

The Country Chicken Girl panics and swallows a bigger amount of the pop than she had intended to and swallows the pop tab!

Yeppers, down the old hatch it went.

My mother's voice (in my head) says, "Now didn't I tell you that would happen? I don't know why you kids never listen to me."

Well, there was nothing I could do about it now. It was gone, but I could feel it about half way down my throat. I carried on with the conversation on the phone like nothing had happened. I couldn't let the customer know that I had to go because I just swallowed a pop tab. What would they have thought?

They would have thought... "Doesn't she know not to ever do that? You could swallow the tab if you drop it in the can."

I ended the conversation as soon as I could, hung up the phone and sat in my chair stunned.

Now what? Do I try to throw it up? Do I just let it pass on it's own? Do I tell Dan the Man who is in the next room?

As panic sets in, I decide to try to throw it up. I decide to let Dan the Man know what is going on in case something drastic happens and he needs to call an ambulance! Let me tell you... crazy thoughts run through your head when you have a semi-sharp piece of aluminum lodged in your throat!

Country Chicken Girl to Dan the Man: I just swallowed a pop tab.

Dan the Man: You WHAT?

Country Chicken Girl: I just swallowed a pop tab.

Dan the Man: How in the world did you do that?

Country Chicken Girl: I pried it off and dropped it into the can and while I was talking on the phone I accidentally swallowed it.

Dan the Man: You should NEVER put a pop tab in the can. Why didn't you just spit it out?

Country Chicken Girl: Because I was TALKING on the phone and I couldn't just say... excuse me, I have to go spit out a pop tab! Do you think I should throw it up?

Dan the Man: I don't know... I would.

So I go into the bathroom and grab a toothbrush and stick it in my throat to try to make myself throw up. I HATE to vomit. Absolutely HATE IT! First try, nothing. Second try, a little cough. Third try, a little gag and a cough. Fourth try, I am starting to panic that this is NOT going to work and I am going to have to go to the hospital and explain that I have swallowed a pop tab. But, after several tries, I am FINALLY successful! I had never been so happy to vomit before in my entire life! Out came the pop tab! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!

I go into the living room and let Dan the Man know that we won't be needing to go to the hospital after all!

Dan the Man: I can't believe you did that.

Country Chicken Girl: Me neither.

Moral of the story... Mother is always right!

Early Morning Confessions from Dan the Man

I know I shared this on Facebook, but I thought it was just too funny that I had to share it with the people who read my blog but are not on Facebook.

Yesterday morning as I was beginning to wake up and wipe the sleep from my eyes, Dan the Man mumbled, "I dreamt about processing chickens all night long."

Me: "What?"

Dan: "I dreamed about processing chickens all night long."

Me: "Are you serious?"

Dan: "yeah, I kept grabbing whatever cat was laying next to me in bed and was feeling their legs thinking this isn't a chicken, it has four legs."

Me: "Where you trying to put the cat in the killing cone?"

Dan: "I don't think so, but I would find myself sitting up in bed feeling the cats legs!"

Both of us: laughing out loud!

Good thing we only have approximately 800 more to process for the season. We should be done by October 5th or so! Thank goodness we don't raise chickens all year round.

Dan the Man has had some pretty wild "action-packed" dreams in the past from chasing wolves while growling at them to setting irrigation tubes off the side of the bed! Hee, hee!

Dan the Man with his co-pilot for the day.

We Are So Tired of Laboring BBQ at the Open A Bar 2 Ranch

Dan the Man and the Country Chicken Girl are so tired of laboring that they have decided to take a day off and have a BBQ on Sunday, September 4th at 6 pm. Please accept this post as our invitation.

We will furnish the hamburgers (Open A Bar 2 Ranch all-natural beef, of course), smoked chicken (once again, Open A Bar 2 Ranch pastured poultry) and something to drink. You bring a side dish, dessert or whatever else you would like to eat. You also might want to bring some lawn chairs if you have them.

If we are really having a good time enjoying each others company, perhaps we'll have a bonfire and roast some marshmallows and make smores!

PLEASE RSVP by Saturday night so we know how many hamburgers to grill.

PS, if you are a dear friend, please don't wait for me to call you and invite you. I don't have time since we are taking time off. This is it... this is the only invitation you will received. Don't wait for one to show up on your doorstep upon a silver platter. It ain't going to happen. That is all.

Hope to see you there.

(Not so) Fine Print: Please do not plan on coming if you are some wack-o we really don't know or are an escaped prison convict. Sorry to set such stipulations, but in today's world, you never know!


Dan the Man and I had a good time with the picture for the BBQ! Here are some of the other shots.

One of my friends on Facebook suggested that I blow this
one up real big and hang it in our living room.

hmmm, I might just do that!

Or what a perfect Christmas gift for our children.
They can each have one to hang in their homes,
well, Skyler isn't moved out yet, but it would look nice in his bedroom
and I would let him take it when he leaves.

Another friend commented that she loved the fact
that Dan the Man was willing to go along with my antics
and pose for this picture.
I told her Dan the Man normally doesn't want to have anything
to do with my crazy ideas, but for some reason he didn't
complain or hesitate about this picture.
He must be getting "soft" in his old age.



The end.

Bee Flies and Dragonflies, Oh My!

Two things that we have had swarming around this summer are Bee Flies and Dragonflies. I am fortunate enough to have a friend who is an Entomologist, Dr. Jeff Bradshaw, aka known as the Bugman by his adoring wife, Katie Bradshaw of SCB Citizen. When ever I have an insect question, all I have to do is post a question on Facebook and Bugman comes to my rescue with his knowledge! And free of charge!

So anyway...

We've had tons of these little bee flies around here and Bugman so kindly provided me with this information: "They are Bombiliidae. Also know as a bee fly. As larvae they feed on grasshopper eggs. You have a lot of bee flies because you have a lot of grasshoppers."

Aren't they cute?

Oh, and do yourself a favor and click on each picture to view a full screen shot of the photo. Hit your browsers back button to return to the blog.









And Bugman also filled me in about the dragonflies. See his blog post. Click here. According to Dr. Bugman,

The last couple years, there has been more rain than the 10-year average in the panhandle of Nebraska. Due to an increase in habitat and food, dragonflies have done well. In fact, they have done so well that some people are actually concerned about their large numbers. However, what some people do not realize is that dragonflies are predacious. Fortunately, they feed on pest insects that also benefit from all of the rain that we have had, such as, mosquitoes and biting flies. They scoop them out of the air with the long setae that coat their legs. So, you see, it's a natural phenomenon and could be considered a balanced ecosystem process that benefits us greatly through the reduction of disease vectors -- dragonflies provide ecosystem services.

Who knew?? Dr. Bugman knew, that's who!

Love the sparkles on the wings!

The End.

Cows at Summer Camp

It's kind of quiet around here now that most of our cow herd has been moved to their summer pasture. We don't have enough grass here at our ranch to pasture all of our cattle for the entire summer, so we lease some ground down by the North Platte River south of Mitchell from some friends of ours. The area is part of the Bay State Ranch. I have tried to so some research on the ranch, as it is one of the earlier ranches established along the North Platte River, but alas, my time is limited and the chickens are calling to be fed, so that history bit will have to be another time.

Anyway, I thought I would continue with my "pictures from this summer" and post these. I took these one day (July 28th) when we were down there checking on the cattle. They seemed happy and are enjoying their time away at "summer camp." Too bad they don't need a camp counselor down there or else I would volunteer for the job. Would be kind-of fun to be a summer camp cowboy, er... cowgirl that is! You know some cattle outfits do indeed have cowboys that go to remote locations with the cattle and stay with them all summer long. Their only duty is to make sure the herd is safe, is where they are suppose to be and to make sure the fences are all in order.

These remote locations are referred to as cow camps. Some cowboys rough-it in a tent, while others have actual little cabins to stay in. When I live in Winter Park, CO, I knew of one such cowboy who spent his summers at cow camp. I was always very envious of that job. Would probably get a little lonely, but what a nice vacation!

Anyway... on to the pictures.

IMPORTANT: For your full enjoyment of the pictures, please click on them to see a full screen view of the photo, then click on your browser's "back" button to return to the blog.

Cows gathering at one of the waterholes with
Scotts Bluff National Monument in the background.

View of SBMN in the background with grass in the foreground.
Unfortunately, the cows do not like this type of grass, it is abundant
out there. I love the color of it and the wispy-ness of the seed heads.
Does anyone know what kind of grass this is?

Mom and baby.
Well, actually this is not this mother cow's baby.
You can tell from the ear tag number.
The top number on the tag is the calf's mother's number,
so in this case, her (purple tag = girl, blue tag = boy) mother is #756
and the mother cow behind her is #735.

Stinkin' cute!
Love how when they are young, they have those dark circles around
their eyes and noses. As they grow older, they will turn mostly black.

Scotts Bluff National Monument.
Landmark along the the Oregon Trail and Mormon Trail.
People who move away from here, miss this
beautiful bluff once they are gone!

Black and White of the Monument.

The pastures are abundant with birds.
This one is an Avocet.
Found out that bit of information when I posted this picture
on Facebook and asked if anyone knew what kind of bird it was.
I had an answer within a couple of hours!

Notice his unique upturned bill?



Click here for more information on the Avocet.

Oh, and of course the pasture is teeming with dragonflies!

Awww, so precious, at least in my own humble opinion.

For more information on Scotts Bluff National Monument, click here.

THE end.

Western Nebraska Storms and Sky

In my last post I told you that I would post some pictures from this summer that I have not previously shared. When trying to decide which ones to post, I realized that there were just too many to jam all in one post, so I've decided to split them up into several small posts.

This first one features a few pictures of various storm clouds that I caught with my camera. One thing that I absolutely LOVE about Western Nebraska is the sky. Montana is know as the Big Sky Country, but I think that Nebraska has a BIGGER sky! How could you ever tire of gazing upon beauty like this on a daily occurrence?



This first group of photos were taken on a stretch of barren highway between our ranch and LaGrange, Wyoming. We travel this road whenever we go to Cheyenne. Part of the pictures were taken on Stegall Road and part on HWY 85 east of LaGrange, for those of you how are not familiar with the area, you can Google it!

Oh and please click on each picture to see a full screen view of the photo. They are so much more enjoyable if you do!

Big storm cell.

Love these bluffs that are along Stegall Road.
Wish I could find a map that told me more about them.
I believe that these bluffs are considered part of the Wildcat Hills.

Love the faint rainbow color thing in this picture!


Oh and by the way...
all three of these pictures were taken with me holding the
camera out the pickup window going 65 mph.
Not bad, heh?

I remember this evening back in June.
The clouds in the west were so incredibly pink and orange.
Photo taken at 8:23 pm.

Love this picture!
Jet streams intersecting.



Panoramic view of sunrise.





Well, that's it.