Wild Horses Keep Dragging Me Away...

I promised more wild ones, and here they are!

Wild Wrangler jumps onto tractor to snatch up a bit of alfalfa...
(What, you don't think the wrangler is wild? Okay, you're right, he was domestic...)

Tuesday morning, while City Boy and Darling slept, I snuck out of the hotel and back to the corrals. It was feeding time, so the tractor and trailer were making their way from corral to corral, tossing off huge flakes of the greenest alfalfa for the horses. When the guys saw me out with my camera, they began tossing the hay along the fence line hoping the horses would come up a bit closer for me. Wasn't that sweet of them?

This weekend there's an adoption in Salem, Oregon. Wranglers were separating a group of horses that would be going. On the far left is a sorrel horse with a dark mask. He kinda reminds me of Quiet Storm; at least he's got the same shape to his face. I find the mask very interesting, and wonder if he'll shed out differently?

Wranglers moving horses through the corrals.

I've become quite fond of this little ghost horse through the photographs. Hasn't he got a sweet face? I almost think I'll have to email for some details on him. Being as how he's a ghost horse, City Boy will never notice when he's added to the pasture...right? And if he does, I can just tell him it's an over grown sheep...

Blue Eyed Ghost Horse

Okay, do you know how many pictures I took of this red roan? Neither do I, but it was a lot. He stuck pretty much to himself at this end of the corral, looking longingly over the fence at his neighbors. I suspect the neighbors may have been women. They were probably his harem before his manhood was abruptly stolen away.

The roan and Ghost alongside each other. You can see how much taller the roan is than the rest of the herd.

Morning breath

The horses were quite active, what with me sitting alongside their feed! They'd canter over to eat, then spot me crouched down on the other side of the panel. Snort, snort, and off they'd go!

Freedom!

This grulla is one of the horses used by the wranglers...or at least that's my guess. When we drove into the holding area, the gates were closed with a note that said 'close them behind you'. We soon found out why. This guy, plus a couple others, were free to come and go out of their holding corral. Isn't he beautiful?

Okay...have I bored you enough with wild horse photos? Perhaps you just need a break. We are back home, after all, and things are happening on the farm. I got an email from Margery, and another of her ewes has lambed, so Carrot is a pappa again. I've got pictures, of course, and they'll be up tomorrow. Plus...Darling got a new critter. Wait until you see it!

Have a terrific Saturday, everyone!

The Whitman Mission

Cranes nesting near the Whitman Mission in Walla Walla, Washington.

Home, sweet home! My back is happy to be in my own bed again. Those hotel beds, I swear, were made of concrete. Not comfy at all. The first night out, Darling thought I should be sleeping with her. Apparently, she didn't think the beds were that comfortable, either, as she ended up sleeping on top of me half the night. Playing pillow wasn't what I'd signed up for.

On our trip home, we stopped in Walla Walla where we visited the Whitman Mission. Such a tragic tale! The Whitman's honeymoon was spent travelling to the west. Narcissa was the first white woman to cross the country; becoming pregnant on the way and giving birth to the first white child in the Oregon Territory.

That child was Alice Clarissa, who wandered away from the dinner table down to the river one afternoon. There'd been several guests, and when the Whitman's realized she wasn't there, they frantically went in search of her, only to find two cups floating in the river where she'd gone for water. A Cayuse Indian found her down river and brought the body back to the Whitmans. The Cayuse had been quite enamored with the little girl, as she was born larger than their children and had blond curls. It was the only natural child that Narcissa and Marcus ever had, although they did adopt the Sager children later on.

The Missionary Board wanted to close the missions in the Oregon Territory, but Marcus made a formal protest and was able to keep them open. The Whitmans realized that the Cayuse were not willing to learn the gospel, but they also knew that the flood of emigrants would change the way of life they were leading. Marcus taught them how to plant and irrigate, and how to operate a grist mill so they could grind flour.

The new settlers brought disease. The Cayuse hold the medicine man responsible if he cannot cure them. They saw that Marcus was able to help the whites, but not their own people. They felt he was purposely trying to kill them, not realizing it was a natural immunity that the settlers had. Eventually, they killed the Whitmans and eleven other settlers.

On the day of the massacre, Narcissa pulled her dying husband into the mission, where she was shot. They drug her body outside and shot her eleven more times.

Layout of the mission, marking where both Whitman's died.

The Great Grave, where Narcissa and Marcus, plus eleven others, are buried.

This is a graveyard that was used by the settlers near the mission. Only two headstones remain; it is unknown how many bodies are buried here.

Sisters buried on the mission site in the settlers graveyard.

Whitman Memorial sits up above the Walla Walla Valley.

When the Cayuse burnt the mission to the ground, they left one structure. It was the grist mill. None of the structures are left today, but the foundations have been clearly marked. If you're ever near the Walla Walla, Washington area, I highly recommend visiting the memorial.

I'll Make Him an Offer He Can't Refuse...

"Working Boys"
Congratulations, Rachelle!

Go ahead. Try to guess what came home with us in the trunk.

Nope.

Nope again.

As we're driving along the highway, somewhere between John Day and Pendleton, City Boy shouts out, "Hey! I just saw some fur! Should we go back? Could be there are neat bones, too." At this point in the trip I had a throbbing headache, so I pretended not to hear him. I didn't want to go backwards, I just wanted to head to the next hotel where I could unfold myself from the car and take a nice, long bath.

Darling, however, has a sense of adventure. Also, apparently, a need for bones. Before I could protest, the car had made a reverse there in the middle of the highway and we were headed back up the hill in search of fur, and possibly bones.

After about a mile, the fur came into view, and City Boy pulled over onto the shoulder. I opened my door and was greeted by a horse skull, complete with jaw hair and a partial ear. Can we say "Charming"? No, I didn't think so.

Okay, so my City Boy doesn't wear a cowboy hat, boots or spurs. He has no problem, however, putting the head of a dead horse into the trunk of our car to bring home. Whatever...as long as I don't wake up with it in my bed come morning!

A few more Drive By Shootings...

Lake Kachess, on Snoqualmie Pass (this is one that didn't show up the first day.)

Wild? Probably not. But that's what they'd look like!

Plenty of scenery like this along the way.

One of many abandoned homes along the way; this one near Fox, Oregon.

Tomorrow I'll have more photos and the story of the Whitman Mission for you. A very tragic story. The buildings are gone, but the story lives on.

Alice Clarissa Whitman died here, in what used to be a river bed.
She was just two years old, and the first white child born in the region.

View from the Whitman Memorial over the valley.

Wild Horse Corrals

Name this photo! It's Winsday!

Hooray! So glad the photo showed up for everyone yesterday. Hopefully today's will work, too.

Yesterday, as we drove into Burns, City Boy noticed a trend. All the men were wearing cowboy hats. They were also wearing cowboy boots. And, to Darling's utter delight, there were spurs on those cowboy's heels! The whole thing appeared to be unsettling to City Boy, especially when he spied one of them jingle jangle jingling his way into the quilt shop.

Of course, Darling and I found it all quite natural, and tried our best to explain to City Boy that we ought to just get him some boots and spurs for his visit so that he would fit in. However, he declined, saying there's no way we were ever dressing him up in boots and spurs. Guess there's just too much city left in my boy!

Cliffs in the Steens Mountain area near Burns.

Antelope above Frenchglen in the Steens Mountains.

We drove up a long, winding road yesterday, past the Narrows and Frenchglen, up to where the Steens Herd Management area is. While we never spotted any horses, we did see this herd of antelope, plus a small herd of deer.

Since I was up before everyone else this morning, I snuck out early and headed back to the corrals. Among the many pics I got, there was the red roan. Isn't he just lovely! I'm certain I heard City Boy say, "Okay, bring him home" in between his protests. Darling can back me up on that. Not that we can bring him home in the car. However, the BLM is holding an adoption close to home in June....

Red Roan gelding.

Geldings in a pen at the holding corrals.

That's it for tonight! We're spending the night in Pendleton, home of the Pendelton Roundup. Tomorrow we're going to drive up to see the Whitman Mission. From there? Who knows? And don't forget to leave your name for the photo!

Crazy!

Okay, I just had to give a photo one more try...

The weather in Burns has been crazy! It's crazy that the pictures aren't showing up! I think City Boy thinks I'm crazy, too...

I've no clue why those photos aren't coming up. Craziest part is, they were showing up on the lap top after I posted them last night. I even snuck a peek at the blog from the complimentary computer in the hotel lobby, and they were there, too. This afternoon when we checked into the hotel, the pics were still showing up for me. But tonight? Gone. I'm going to have to try reposting them once we get back.

The only upshot is that my camera battery is running low, and uploading the photos is draining it. Can you believe I forgot my battery charger? Yeah, I'm sure you can. And I did. Perhaps a bit later I can get Darling's photos up.

Crazy...the weather is crazy here. 70 degrees yesterday, snow flurries today. Lots of snow flurries! The temperature jumps between 34 and 54 within ten miles. And snow. SNOW! You know how I feel about snow. It's the four letter S word! I don't like it. Thankfully, it's not sticking to the ground, or we'd be stuck here in Burns. We may not like Burns if we have to spend more than a couple days here.

This morning we went to the Wild Horse Corrals. Oh...the pictures I've got for you! Darling and I want to bring one home with us. In the car. Just stuff it into the trunk. Or maybe tie him to the top. Sure, he may leave a few hoofprints. It may appear that a we'd had a very heavy tap dancer riding on the roof of the car. But hey, it's a trade off I'm willing to make. Which is why City Boy thinks I'm crazy.

We never managed to find any horses out in the wild, but we gave it our best shot. What we did were antelope, deer, and a couple of dead cows. All of which I documented so that you could feel like you're really here with me!

Right now, I'm cold. More snow flurries tonight. City Boy says we're not going to rush out tomorrow morning, so I think I'll take a long, hot bath to warm up my poor, frozen little toes. Then, come morning, I'll try to get Darling's photos up for you. I think she got some great Drive By Shootings! Then I'll come back and try one more time to get photos up for you =)

Honey, I'm home!

This is it. I'm here. Home. I'm going to buy City Boy a cowboy hat, a pair of Ariat boots, and a shiny belt buckle that says something like 'Saddle Bronc Champion', with a cowboy riding a bucking horse on it (because we all know if the buckle says it, it must be true, right?) And I'm moving here. To Oregon. And we'll live here, in this romantic little get away, and raise sheep and a few moo cows. And we'll live happily ever after...and it will never snow. (Hey, it's my fantasy!)

My new house. Isn't it beautiful? City Boy, please buy it for me....for us...I love you!

Even Darling has given up Waterville in exchange for John Day and the surrounding vicinity. It's absolutely beautiful! The entire drive was lovely...everything but the restrooms at the top of the Snoqualmie Summit. That was less than lovely. There were two restrooms, each with just one toilet; and they were unisex. Unfortunately. City Boy saw the sign and asked if I had to go. Hey, sure! I polished off my bottle of water as he pulled off the highway.

I was instantly sorry I'd finished that water. There were two small buildings, each with one toilet. They were labeled for unisex use, and it was obvious which sex had been the last to use the only available toilet. Worse yet, the floor was all wet, and I prayed it was just recently melted snow.

It got worse. It was an outhouse. The building was permanent, but the toilet was a no flush beauty that allowed you to dwell on what you were exposing your underside to. And did I mention I could tell who'd used the toilet last? Because not only was the floor wet, but the seat was, too!

Thankfully, the rest of the trip was lovely! Here are a couple of Drive By Shootings from today!

One of the many breathtaking views travelling through the passes in Oregon.

Lovely lake, no clue what it's name is, on Snoqualmie Pass in Washington.

Snow is melting away from this restraunt on Snoqualmie Pass.

That's all for tonight! See y'all tomorrow, when I'll have pics of the wild horse corrals and the John Day fossil beds!

It Rained Today

I was going to go down to the neighbor's and work on my fencline today, but it rained. I don't work in rain. I barely work in sunshine, but most definitely not in rain.

Yesterday the sun was shining. I managed to get a few posts put into the ground and some more wire stretched. Below is a picture of the fence post pounder. I'm not sure if that's the actual name or not. My tongue always trips and falls over it...fence post pounder. Try saying it. Try saying it three times fast! Not easy. Hopefully there's an easier name. Something simple or pretty sounding. I wonder what it is in French? Of course, I don't speak French, so it probably wouldn't roll of my tongue any easier than fence post pounder.

The ground down at the neighbor's is a little wet, which is why you see that weedy, reedy grass in the photo. In fact, during ark season it's down right swampy! The frogs, however, find the boggy, slimy ground somewhat romantic, and everyone up and down the valley can hear their love calls all night long. All Night Long! You've not heard anything so loud as thousands of frogs singing "In the Mood" late into the night. People in the city wonder why we country folks are walking around looking like cast members of Night of the Living Dead. After all, things are so peaceful out in the country, right? Yeah, and roosters are charming little alarm clocks.

But I digress. Once we return from vacation, the sheep will enjoy getting out on that soon to be lush, green grass.

Speaking of vacations, I've found that my camera doesn't have a video feature. Something about the resolution being too high on the camera, and too low on a video...or something like that. Good news is that Darling's camera does have video! In fact, while playing around with it tonight, I see that she's got a short video of Taffy and Ohren shortly after lambing! Mind you, it was terribly windy so there's lots of rumbling noise.

Now, should I show you another one? I played a bit with the camera, trying to figure out how it worked, and shot a couple practice videos. Are you ready to see them? I'm not sure anyone is ready for this. I know I'm not ready for it. Which one to load? The creek? Or me? Well, whichever one doesn't end up here today will show up tomorrow, so be sure to come back to see it!

I'm so Excited!!!

Cool Beans! Thanks to all of you, that little counter clicked on past the 5000 visits mark last night! Yee Haw! And as promised, a drawing has been held with all those who's names showed up on my comments screen. Geek Boy did the honors...and Deb, you're the winner!

Mom, you're not bringing that camera into the store, are you?

I hope Dorky Dad is okay. He passed out after reading the little bit about castrating Ohren. Poor guy. Well, he'll be happy to read, as will many of you, that Ohren escaped that little ordeal yesterday. Darling is wrestling over which lamb would be the best option for her. While we all agree that Ohren is absolutely adorable, a ewe lamb will also be sweet, plus give her lambs to sell later on. So she's got quite the decision ahead.

In the meantime, Ohren's got all his body parts still in tact. In fact, he had quite the exciting day! Darling decided she wanted to bring him with us when we drove into the city. Naturally, that would entail explaining why our dog went baa, and then excusing ourselves after he burped in their faces. But Ohren was on good behavior, and no onlookers were harmed during the filming of this blog.

No, Darling...I would never bring the camera into the store...

Okay, I've got to tell you something. I'm so excited! I mean, pee my pants excited! Why? Because come Sunday morning, I'll be on vacation! And unlike those other blog keepers out there, I'm not going to leave my readers stranded at home with nothing to read. No, I'm bringing the laptop and YOU along with me! Where are we going? To the Wild Horse Corrals in Burns, Oregon! I'll bet you're peeing your pants in anticipation already, aren't you?!

Hmmm...maybe I ought to learn to make shadows...

Geek Boy will be staying home here on the farm. He's not terribly interested in a horsey vacation. Nor is City Boy, for that matter, but he's being a good sport about the whole thing. I need to learn a new skill before we go. I've got to figure out how the video feature works on this camera. Currently, I can't even find that feature, although I'm certain it has one. You may be seeing goofy videos over the next few days, for which I apologize in advance. But, hey...that could be fun too, eh?

Work, work, work, all day long..

Crank it up
Back it up

Bring it on home...

I must say, that was the most delicious sleep I think I've had in a long time. I really didn't want to climb out of bed this morning; the blankets were wrapped all around me and I was so toasty warm! But out into the chilly bedroom air I went, because of course the critters wanted breakfast.

When I got back into the house I began pondering my first day back to work. Soap? Lotion? Hoof trimming? Then it struck me...who starts a work week on a Thursday??? Certainly not me! So, being on good terms wit the boss, I called in and said I wouldn't be working today, on account of the sun was shining and I really just didn't feel like it. Being that I'm an understanding and sympathetic employer, I gave myself the rest of the week off.

Now, on to the stupid thing I did. Yes, stupid. Drove all the way up to Rockport to see the eagles last week. Got there and, dingbat that I am, didn't realize I had the wrong lens on my camera. Okay, I need camera help. I mean, it should have been obvious as the lens says right on it what it is, but I never pay attention to that sort of stuff. I came home last week and told City Boy, "City Boy, I need a telephoto lens so I can get really close up pictures." And City Boy replied, "What about the one I already bought you...where is it?" And I looked at him, and at my camera, and said, "Right here!"

That's when I got the same kinda look I got when he told me the possum wasn't playing.

So today, since my boss kindly gave me the day off, I grabbed Darling (who groaned)(loudly) and off we went. We only saw one bald eagle on our trip upriver today, but somehow managed to take tons of other silly shots. Here are mine...

Baby bald eagle wasn't as happy to see me as I was him!
(Perhaps that's because he was a she? I've no clue!)

Cross on top of the Wayside Chapel near Marblemount.

I just love the old roadside diners and cafes along the way!

This photo needs a caption!
Not sure how it ended up in the drink...perhaps it washed down in the floods from last fall?

Taken just outside of Hamilton, the picnic table is just to the left of this photo.

Just above Rockport along the Skagit River.

Sigh...my vacation is over...

I take January as my own personal little vacation. Not that I go anywhere or do anything that's extremely worthy of a month off. I still do the chores and think about cleaning the toilet (some day.) But I tend to put off anything that can be put off for an entire month...and while most people wouldn't consider the toilet one of those things, I've done my best!

The truth is, spring is lambing season, summer is the farmer's market, fall I'm busy spinning and coming to a desperate realization that I've not got enough product for the coming holiday season. And December? Well, it's just downright crazy. So when January rolls around, I hibernate. I take long naps right smack dab in the middle of the day. I take long, hot, luxuruious bubble baths and doze off in the evening. Then I sit and eat ice cream straight from the half gallon sized container...straight from the container, I tell you, which is something I never allow anyone else to do...

But in 25 minutes it will be February 1...and time to buckle down and get to work. No more putting off trimming the little sheepie feet (Taffy has just got to get done before she's too big to flip over.) No more looking at empty shelves where lotions or soaps should be sitting. No more ignoring the bags of wool that need washing, carding, and spinning...

No...in 25...wait, 23 minutes it will be a work day.

Unless I go to bed right now...then perhaps I can get just a few more hours sleep before that four letter W word slips back into my vocabulary.