Making a loop...

 I needed to check on an ol friend and her family. So this morning, with a caregiver to stay with mom, I loaded up Dad and took him with me on a little ol 200 mi loop.

When we pulled into LG's place she was just finishing feeding the horses.

 She has been feeding hay all summer, as irrigation water is too expensive.  It is very dry there, they didn't get nearly as much rain as we did from this last storm.  The permanent pastures have all dried up, and their well is barely keeping the houses and horses in water.  They are trying to get through the environmental permits to put in a new stock well. What a damn nightmare that has been.

The critters, LG, T, & Pops where all glad to see us, and visit for a spell.

 

the girls working the back door

  

LG carries a pretty darn big load and does it well. (her hubby T is a quad due to a horseback fall some years back.)  For all the problems, or possibly because of them, she and her faith are strong.

the back bathroom

I like going there, simply because it all reminds me of a life I once lived...

Boots, Dogs, & Cake...

I got a pic from my granddaughters in WA. The girls had just come in from cleaning barn stalls...

Here are pics of the muck boots (one with Scotty puppy, Fergus) after I finished painting them and just before I shipped them North.

I'm amazed they are still using them after all this time.

and just because...

a pic of Gus (Fergus) after his ears came up...

What a character Gus was. He traveled a lot of miles with me, never got car sick, always good company, and never once complained about my driving sorta fast.  Gus and I had such a great time making life "interesting" for Max and the Cowman.

All righty, "The Cake" recipe from Donna: http://emailfromtheembassy.blogspot.com/
She didn't give the name of it (that's my doing) but did say I could share the recipe:

"Donna's World Renown Yummy Chocolate Cake Recipe with Love from Russia"

"It's the easiest recipe in the world -
grease/flour a bundt pan and heat the oven to 350.  Mix together: 1 box devils food cake mix, 1 small instant pudding, 1 cup sour cream, 1/2 cup warm water, 1/2 cup oil and 4 eggs.  Mix on high in the blender for 3 minutes.  Toss in a bag of chocolate chips. Pour in the bundt and cook for an hour. Top w powdered sugar once it's cool - and it really is best served cold."
Go try it, hope you love it as much as I do!

Bits n Pieces...

My daughter, Marymine's birthday is today.  She is an amazing woman in so many ways! 

I miss living close enough to see her everyday, there is always lots going on at her place. Between kids, dogs, critters, family, and friends there is never a dull moment. And she is a fantastic cook! (I know...that gene skipped a generation.)

Marymine and her crew

We had two inches of rain a couple days ago, which started the feed. Yep, shoots are up...in the field, and there is sign that the fawn is back.

Ideal weather for planting the Aptos Blues I bought earlier in the summer.  They are going to fill some holes in the wind breaks.  

Been trying to prune back the landscape jungle that the folks had planted when they built.  It was way over planted, and the gardener has just been shearing it back in places. Consequently it has entirely lost it's design form, if there was one.  Getting it back to a more esthetically pleasing design is a challenge. If it were up to me alone, the sound of a chain saw would fill the air. Reducing the multitude of garden figure chachkies is helping.  But it has to be done slowly, as not to upset the elders...sigh.

Willie has finally gotten his new doggles...and is ready to hit the road to new adventures.

"Punch it Granny!"

     

Pray'n... update

Dad is 91 today... and is now on the river with C fish'n for salmon.  (I didn't get to go this time due to a repairman coming to the house, damn it.)  C and I loaded up Ol Ugly and away they went. Thank goodness C got back from DC in time to take Dad. 

Happy Birthday, Catch a big one Dad!

UPDATE:

Dad and his fav Twinkie snack

They got back in one piece, but no fish.  Dad enjoys C so much that he seemed okay with that.  After dad had headed inside for his chair, C and I put the cover back on ol Ugly and had a little pow wow about Dad's fishing.  Result, I've gotten Dad a guided fishing boat trip for next week, and hopefully that will end his dry spell. 
Thank you all for the great birthday wishes for Dad, I will be sure to pass them on to him!

Well Spit...

 I seem to collect rocks and feathers... does that mean I'm flighty but grounded?

Spent yesterday on the river chasing salmon with Dad and (his friend) D. I get very leery about the chances of a successful outing when the only trailers at the ramp are gov guys. I won't get into the prelaunch: dead battery, the travel to D's house to get another, the fact that D's place needs to be dozed...

  Drove ol Ugly up and down all the hot spots. The river is really low, which means you have to go really really fast to plane over the gravel bars. Yee Haw!

recent catch on SacRiverGuide.com boat

  

Dad was frustrated that he was not even getting a bump, with salmon jumping all around us, D didn't seem to care.  Though D wasn't real happy to have to get in the river with me, to help lift the motor out of the water to unplug the weeds from the intake, twice. 

Dad is really pushing it lately! Dad, D, and I were talking about shotguns and bird hunting while waiting for a damn salmon to jump into ol Ugly, when Dad says to D, "If you'll take Brig pheasant hunting down at the range, I'll pay for all the birds."  Which embarrassed the heck out of me, and I think D as well...

D stuttered... "aaah sure, I aaah can take her, I guess!"   Really, what could the poor man say, he's in Dad's boat, in the middle of the river, with me at the helm.  Dad is getting way too into his scheming, I have no interest in D, and I suspect D feels the same about me.  He knows Trouble when he sees it.

My granddaughter, Lauren, played HS volleyball up here yesterday evening. So I got to see her and Marymine. Yeah!  Lauren, calls'm as she sees'm, is a really good player, and a hoot to boot.

part of the WINNING team, Lauren on the R