Living In "Gato-ville"

Living in Gato-ville (Cat-ville) does have it's advantages. Thanks to our rescue kitties we never have a problem with mice in our barn. They are always quick to point out snakes that invade our yard. And on a cold winter day, there is always one of them available to keep my feet warm while I watch TV in the recliner.

Flower Power

They say April showers bring May flowers. Around "our place" that seems to be true. We plant annuals in clay pots and put the perennials in the ground. Do you think that there is ever such a thing as "too many" flowers? We apparently don't.

Travels Of Gypsyheart Lady

As I've previously mentioned, I used to travel all the time. Any place, any time, any where was an ideal time for a road trip. The above photo was taken in New Mexico at Shiprock. It stands tall and proud. You can see it for miles across the flat terrain. Shiprock is on tribal land and is not accessible by the public. I was on a 21 day backpacking expedition as part of a college geology class. We had to attain special permits to camp there. We slept under the stars near the base of this magnificent natural structure while coyotes howled all night. It was quite a hike to reach the point that the walls reach straight up to the sky. I was told that tribal people make the journey to Shiprock to touch the walls which are considered to be sacred. If you are ever driving through that area don't miss the opportunity to see a work of art by the Great Creator.

He's A Working Man

My Honey, he's a working man. He's a Fire Fighter in the big city. He drives 300 miles to work each week. That is three hundred miles one way. He works a 40 hour week. Sometimes he works an overtime shift. He is always in a big hurry to get back home. There is no place that he'd rather be than back at the ranch....working. He was born and raised as a City Boy and a Flatlander, although he was a Country Boy and a Mountain Man at heart. Even though he lived in a major metro area, he was a member of the rodeo club in high school. He was a bulldogger and a team roper. When he was a little boy, he went fishing with his grandfather. He always loved nature and being in the country.


Back in 1999, when we began our relationship, he made a trip with me to my Dad's farm. I grew up in the country and had been doing "country chores" since I was a kid. I was mowing the pasture with the tractor and bush-hog, when he suggested that he wanted to start doing his share of the chores. I remember my Dad giving him a lesson on what to do and how to do it. When Dad was finished and sent My Honey on his way to start bush-hogging, we were watching from the back deck. The conversation went something like this: Dad said "Well, do you think that he can do it?" I said "Geeeez, Dad, I certainly hope so, because if he can't learn to bush-hog the pasture then I can't keep him". That was followed by much laughter by both of us.

Eye Will C U Soon

I will see you soon...as I shouldn't be here at the library now. I'm in a rush to get everything ready for My Honey to come home. He's been stranded in the big city for seventeen days and for him that is considered cruel and unusual punishment. Although he's working, he has had some down time and could do some of the things that city people do. He'd however rather be at the barn cleaning out stalls. What a guy ! And I'm not being sarcastic. I truly mean it.

Between "all that mowing", "all that watering", "all that hoeing" (this word not being used in the sense of the modern connotation), getting another half dozen heirloom tomato plants into the ground as well as a number of other veggies, taking care of two lame equines on stall rest, being a feline midwife ( another story for another day, My Honey is always out of town when the blessed events occur around our place, lol.) and generally doing the chores for two I've held down the fort and kept the home fires burning. So for all these reasons and many more that I don't have time to go into, EYE WILL C U SOON.... A HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY HOLIDAY TO ALL !

****the eye photo courtesy of Sam Starr, one of our many rescue kitties****

Mister Bojangles..... Dance

Mister Bojangles had a birthday recently. He is a registered Missouri Fox Trotter. He was born on May 19, 1980, which means that this past Monday was his 28th birthday. For non-horse people, supposedly a horse year equals three human years. So, Mister Bojangles is now an eighty four year old gentleman who can still dance. With his typical Fox trotter gait, he looks like he's dancing as he moves along.


Mister Bojangles used to belong to my grandfather's nephew. We acquired Bo when he was nineteen years old, as my cousin wanted a younger horse for trail riding. At the time, my cousin was 84 years old.My cousin crossed over the rainbow bridge at the age of 91. We sent him yearly birthday photos of Bo though out his last years. Recently, my dad ran into Bo's original owner. He asked if we were willing to sell him back Mister Bojangles. No deal, Bo will remain with us for the rest of his days.


My dad warned me years ago that I should think about "peddling some of those OLD horses before they became so old that no one would buy them". He warned that my "silly" sentimentality would come back to haunt me. As usual, I didn't heed his warnings, as usual he was right. But on my part, I have no regrets. In our herd of ten equines, four of our horses are over age twenty. It does mean extra work and extra expense. We have had to have the senior's teeth floated and are always trying to help them keep up their weight.

For our seniors, we feed a heavy ration of a pelleted feed, mixed with fat supplements and water, which is stirred into a mush for them to be able to digest. Grazing on grass and eating hay will no long sustain them, only through our feeding program are they able to continue. So far we have been able to keep their weight up and keep them healthy and happy. I am aware that we will not be able to do this forever. The day will come when despite our best efforts that these seniors will not be able to thrive. We will continue to care for them until that day comes. When the time comes, they will each have their own special spot in the east pasture under the old oak tree, with a cross to mark their grave. Hopefully that day is still a long time away.

Believe it or now, Bo is not the herd elder around our place. That title is held by Ruby, our 30 year old Quarter Horse mare. In human years, that makes her the equivalent of a 90 year old woman.

Welcome to my Rose Garden

No one ever promised me a rose garden. So when we got "our place", My Honey and I decided to make our own rose garden. Over the past two seasons, we have planted over thirty rose bushes. We are just getting started. Enjoy our recent blooms !!!!!

Good Men: An Endangered Species ????

Good men may very well be an endangered species but they are not extinct, not yet anyhow. On Sunday, May 18, 2008 "My Honey" will turn 55 years old.

Back when he was born in 1953, the world was a different place. He was born in an era when family roles were more defined. Men had their place and women has theirs. However, he believes in equal rights for all people. He does not live his life by the typical double standard. Born and raised in a major metropolitan area, with a loving family, he learned from a early age to take responsibility. His mission in life has been to take care of his family and through his profession, to take care of his community. He has been a professional Fire Fighter for the past twenty-eight years. He has protected lives and property for more than a quarter of a century now. Other than being a Fire Fighter, he has played many roles in his life. He has been a son, brother, and a father. He has dedicated his life to others. Now he's my husband and I refer to him as my Most Unexpected Blessing. We met at a kid's birthday party ten years ago. He said that the sound of my voice made him turn his head. For that moment, I count my lucky stars.
My honey is an extraordinary man. He is a man of honor, bravery and compassion. He lives a life of dedication and devotion. Recently we found a letter that I'd written to him about three months into our relationship. I'd listed over fifty of his good qualities which endeared him to me. Nine years later, re-reading that list it occurred to me that every quality I'd listed was still true about him. Over the years, I've found out that those fifty qualities were just a few of the things that make him a truly good man. Back then I thought that he was TOO good to be true. He's changed my life in ways that I could never have predicted. He has taught me to believe in forever. In the above photo, when he was a baby, he was held up to the sky for all of the world to see. Now he stands on his own two feet, always ready to reach out his hand to help anyone in need. I'm proud to be living my life together with this noble man. I know that many people say that good men are an endangered species but they are not extinct by any means. He is the living proof of that fact. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU MY HONEY !!!!

Better Late Than Never....

It may be tad bit late to write about Mother's Day but better late than never. First of all, let me say that I hope that this past Sunday was a wonderful day for everyone. I am so glad that it is over. I'm sure that there are many others that feel the same way that I do. This was the second year that I didn't have to buy a Mother's Day card. I didn't have to make a trip to visit. I didn't have to pick up the telephone to call. For those of us whose mom's are no longer living, Mother's Day is a bittersweet experience. I know that I am not alone in this. There are probably millions of us that cringe upon hearing the word Mother's Day. In my family alone, we have had a loss of several mothers in the past few years. I was one of the lucky ones. I had my mom for 46 years. My husband has his mom for 52 years. My cousin lost her mom at age 42. Other's were less fortunate. My thirty year old step daughter lost her mom when she was 28 years old and one of my nieces had just barely turned 20 years old when her mother passed away. None of us were prepared for such a tragedy. It is something that you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy. There is no cure for this ailment. It is something that we have to learn to live with. For the entire month of May, I dreaded Mother's Day. But now it is over and I'll have the entire year to get ready for next May.

This year was an improvement over last year which was the first Mother's Day without my mom. This year my cousins and I celebrated Mother's Day together, which was a first for us. We had my mom's chicken & dumplings and my grandmother's lemon cake. My mom's only niece and I are cultivating a cousinly relationship as well as our newly found friendship. We haven't spent time together since we were small children I'm getting to know my mom's great nieces who are teenagers now and are delightful young ladies. I know that my mom is very pleased that we are becoming friends now. It is a shame that only the tragedy of my mom's unexpected death was able to bring us cousins together. But as she would say BETTER LATE THAN NEVER. This rose is for you Maw !!! I chose the most unique rose in our rose garden to dedicate to you since you were always unique and beautiful. You live on in the hearts of all of us who are left behind. We will make you proud.....

For those whose mothers are still among the living, enjoy the time you have together. No one has a guarantee for another tomorrow.

Snow Photos

Snow photos taken March 7, 2008

The llama family
Zora (South African Boer Goat)
Ruby doesn't like snow !!!!

Rolls of old barbed wire
Power lines hangin low
Cheyenne (Lakota's daughter)
Cedar trees on the fence line
Yucca plant in the snow
Front fence of the blind horse habitat
Lakota Woman (blind wild mustang)

The road to the top of our mountain ridge

Unexpected March Snowfall

This photo is of one of our peach trees with snow on the peach blossoms. This unexpected snowfall on March 7, 2008 caught us off guard. I do not remember having snow so late in the season. Our fruit trees were already blooming out and were somewhat damaged but hopefully we will have some fruit to harvest later this year. Because of this crazy weather we are behind schedule with our gardening. In case I haven't mentioned it, we are ORGANIC gardeners and refuse to use chemicals. We are experimenting with homemade, natural insect repellents. I have had success making fire ants move out of the garden beds with a mixture of non-toxic soap, garlic and ground cayenne pepper.

This past week, the weather has cooperated with our plans for a change. Finally, we have the garden up and going. So far we have planted tomatoes, chile peppers, onions, garlic, potatoes, corn, eggplant, lettuce, a wide variety of other salad greens, zucchini, yellow squash, cilantro and strawberries. We are also growing sage, arugula, oregano, lavender, thyme and chives. We still have much more planting to do but with storms moving in to our area again, it will have to wait, again.