A Hunting We Will Go...

DH had a 3 day antelope hunt and he asked me to go with him on the 3rd day. Antelope habitat is open and vast and I could stay with the rig and drive it to where DH was if he was successful. He stalks and hunts and often covers 5-10 miles on an antelope hunt. I love watching them move across the pasture (I took this years ago)

We left well before daylight 

and drove over pastures, thick with grass. Home was behind us in those mountains to the south.

I drove about 2 mph while DH glassed

Once we spotted some, DH bailed out on foot

About 3 hours later he was successful

It would have been a long way back to the rig if I hadn't been along.

So grateful to be able to put meat in the freezer.

His 5 day elk hunt was the next weekend, but that was the same weekend he was judging the ranch rodeo so he was only able to hunt 2 days.

I made breakfast sandwiches the night before

 since we left at 3 a.m.

We hauled the Can-am and left the truck on a forest road in the Jicarillas. Lots of miles across pretty country

Lots of glassing

Almost took a shot

But they moved into some thick cover. DH went after them on foot, but wasn't able to get a clean shot. 

We drove back to the truck about 3, laid out a tarp, and enjoyed a picnic lunch (I had made buckaroo bundles)

We had a room with a view. Gotta love these New Mexico skies.

But neither of us could resist a siesta

The afternoon and evening were also unsuccessful, but we still considered it a wonderful day.

Wild animals. Wild country. And the best company.

We were still recuperating from the ranch rodeo and were exhausted by the time we loaded the Can-am back on the trailer and headed home. 

We'd gotten up at 2:30 a.m. and pulled back up to the house at 10 p.m. A long day for old folks.

We still have a chance for an elk in November as well as a deer hunt. Hopefully, we'll be rested up by then. We're in our 60's and don't bounce back as quickly as we did 40 years ago. 😂

Catching Up

I didn't intend to not post these past few weeks, but life has just been busy and I didn't think scrubbing windows was deemed a very blog worthy subject.

The Safari Club had their annual banquet which includes a silent auction and I spent 2 days making 4 trips into town to help organize, set up, and work. We had 400 tickets and sold out so the little Civic Center was packed for 2 nights. Friday night is a casual pizza night and Saturday night is a gussied up night for prime rib:

                            

I made an impromptu trip to see my mom for a week and left early on a Tuesday morning after working a long day at the sale barn on Monday and not getting home until after 9 pm. Then I was back home late on Sunday night and back for a long Monday sale the next day. Then yesterday we had a special Brangus sale and I've been trying desperately to surround myself with an anti-flu shield. Half of my co-workers had  the flu on Monday and the other half had it yesterday. DH sent me a text that simply said, "Disinfect thyself." LOL. He greeted me at the door with hand sanitizer, bleach, vitamin C tablets, and instructions to head straight to the shower. He had the tea kettle whistling when I climbed out. I don't know whether his gestures are due to the fact that I am loved or to the fact that he does not want to catch the flu. *Grin*

We spent one pretty day chasing quail

                                           

 and no, I did not shoot these. DH did, but we chased and cleaned them together and he wanted to take a picture of me to share with the kids

                            

We ran the steers through the chute one morning and poured them with an insecticide (Cylence):

                             

DH surprised me on my birthday with a stand that he made to hold bananas:

                                                

And a matching paper towel holder:

                                            

I love them both and I love that he makes things like this that are useful without me asking.

I've been reading and have made good progress on my 2016 Reading Challenge. I am currently reading Letters of a Woman Homesteader by Elinore Pruitt Stewart , which is not on that list. :)

Now don't gasp. I AM stitching on a binding so hopefully that gets me out of hot water with my quilting friends who have been shaking their fingers at me.

                             

And I think that catches y'all up on recent happenings. Maybe next week will find me turning on the sewing machine!

Sunny Sundays

Last sunny, warm-ish Sunday morning found us bouncing over ranch roads. We enjoyed a  good Sunday morning church service via our local talk radio station and the easy company of being together. DH was pulling his traps (We have an abundance of coyotes - thus DH was trapping for predator control), checking cattle, and we chased quail. We spent some time on Sardine mountain which I am renaming Rattlesnake mountain. DH was up here last spring and saw at least 50 Rattlesnakes on that one trip. He caught 15 and took them to our friend who is a taxidermist. I am thankful I was not with him on that trip although I did take the snakes to the taxidermist. I am absolutely terrified of Rattlesnakes so I told DH that taking them to town was a testament to how much I loved him. :)

The sun was just beginning to warm up the rocks, but it it was only 40 degrees so the snakes hadn't made their way to their sunning spots just yet although I was warned multiple times to watch each step. I tried not to think about the fact that there was a big, fat Rattlesnake coiled under pretty much every rock I stepped on. -Shiver-.

Other than that - this is such a pretty spot:

                                         

And the first ladybug of the year was warming herself on the rocks:

                         

Every time DH bent down, I wondered if he'd found a snake:

                               

Nope, Just a porcupine in one trap, released the little fella, and grinned as we watched him toddle on his merry way. He wasn't hurt.

                         

And thankfully, no snakes were spotted on this trip. I was afraid to look too hard, but DH said looking hard was exactly what I ought to be doing:

                         

We spotted lots of deer on the horizon. They were just dots and this is a terrible picture. Wish I had my good camera with me.

                         

Antelope were out grazing:

                         

Cattle were dipping their toes into the shoreline:

                        

.Quail season is over on the 15th and DH wanted to add a few more to our freezer.

                         

For those of you who don't know, those little rascals are FAST! It's pretty bad when you are outrun by a bird with 2" legs. LOL  I was plumb give out. DH is fast and stealthy. Me. Not so much. :)

Here are a couple of quail from the house covey. We never shoot the ones around the house and they often find their way into the chicken coop. I took this shot when we had all that snow. They're pretty little things:

We came home about 2 and I threw some salmon in the oven and made a salad. When mornings start at 4 a.m. and includes chasing quail, I'm starting to fade by 2, but I rallied and made it until 7.  To say that I slept like a log would be an understatement, but it makes me wonder how I'm going to make it when the sun doesn't set until 9:30 this summer.

Ringing in the New Year

Wishing all of my friends a wonderful Blessed New Year! I'm beginning the New Year with apologies for neglecting my blog. :) We had overnight company from the 22nd through the 4th and then I worked all day on the 5th. I didn't have one minute to spend on the computer with the exception of placing orders for my mom and making alternate flight plans for her so I've got a lot of catching up to do with y'all. My mom was slated to fly out on the 30th, but her flight was cancelled. They told everyone to not leave the airport so she sat there for 6 hours until they finally confirmed that all flights were cancelled. Only 3 flights go out each day. Flights were also cancelled on the 31st...and the 1st...and the 2nd. We made 3 trips to town with boarding passes only to find each flight cancelled. I signed up for notifications but never received any and calling our tiny airport only resulted in no one picking up. We tried to get her out through Lubbock and booked a flight. Just as we headed out for the 2 1/2 hr drive, it too was cancelled. Unload luggage again. Next up: let's try Amarillo. Its just over 3 hours away. Booked a flight for her, but it meant leaving right that second so we  reloaded and headed north. A pretty good snow storm was headed our way, but I just prayed that we would be able to squeeze through the narrow window. The closer we got to Amarillo, the more I realized we probably weren't going to make it so I called the airline and walked mom through the booking process and had her one a flight that left 45 minutes later. Finally! She was on her way home!

Halfway home I collided with the storm. Freezing sleet and a hard snow accompanied me home on 100 miles of icy snow packed roads at a snail's pace. Thankfully the good Lord got me home safely.

                      

We ended up with 6" here at the ranch.

                     
                                             
Having both kids home made this Mama incredibly happy! We picked up our boy on the 23rd. Alas, his luggage did not come with him so a frustrating 2 days ensued until he and his luggage were finally reunited.

 My BIL and his girlfriend arrived a few days later, while my mom and in-laws were still here, so that meant more juggling of sleeping arrangements. Beds were stripped and sheets were washed and more food was cooked and 9 people shared our one and only bathroom. My in-laws were here twice and 3 sets of friends joined us for meals at various times so many happy hours were spent in the kitchen:

                         

When we weren't all gathered around the table for meals, a game of Texas Hold 'em or Cribbage or 42 was in progress:

                      

Quail hunting is another favorite tradition:

                                  

The kids and DH also added a duck hunting adventure into their schedule. Apparently one floated out into the dirt tank and our boy waded out into 3' frigid water in order to retrieve it.

Smoked duck for supper!

                             

Tiny duck drumsticks!

The last of our company pulled out on Sunday afternoon. I was already a tad weepy since DH had taken our boy to the airport early that morning. I wanted so badly to tag along, but the 2 of them hadn't had one minute alone together so I stayed behind. Many a tear was shed. We only get to see him once or twice a year and although this Mama is thankful for every moment, she is also selfish and wants more time with her chiddlers.

It was a wonderful Christmas, but I am absolutely DONE. My decorations and tree are still up although they are coming down today. Everyone wanted to know why I was so quiet at work yesterday. I was just plumb tuckered out.  I have once again reached my social saturation point and I am going to have to recharge before I take even one more step. I don't even have the strength to flip the switch on my sewing machine, although my washing machine will be working non-stop for a few days.

May 2015 overflow with blessings for you and your loved ones.