Dakota's Journal

Adventures

Sharing my adventure with you today; a friend and I were returning from the cabin and as we came to a slight downhill in the road,

I noticed a bird lying on the side of the road. Just at a quick glance, I thought it was a grouse, it didn't look quite right, so I backed up

to get a better look and said "OMYGOD, Kathy, you have to get out to see this": a bull snake (a very large bull snake) was wrapped around a

Great Horned Owl. We were looking at that scene, and the snake started moving, so I grabbed the camera, and began taking pictures.

Suddenly the owls legs moved and the talons extended. What to do, we hurried up to "Chuck and Jonny"s, Chuck was outside and he

got in the pickup with us and back we went. We didn't have anything in the pickup, and Chuck found a large piece of corrugated tin to subdue the

snake, and it was on the fight, big time. We finally got it partially unwrapped, and the owl had gotten both talons around the snakes body, so I held the tin and Chuck, with his gloves on, managed to pull the owl free; it was quite dizzy , but could stand, and one eye looked to be almost

damaged, it fluttered away just a few feet and we herded the bull snake across the road and left it, we hadn't hurt it, either.

It was easy to read what had happened; the owl had swooped down and picked up the snake; the snake, said, no you don't, wrapped itself around

the owl and would have soon had it dead if we had not come along. Once before I had seen this with a red tailed hawk with a bull snake wrapped

around it, that time we freed the hawk and it flew away, it had not been down as long as the owl. I am not sure the owl will recover, though it has a

good chance.

As it is in our everyday life, there are always some surprises along the way.

In my life, very few days are routine, even though I am often alone for days at a time, and most days are not as adventurous as the fall days of hunting and happenings unexpected.

Right now my pet peeve is half-assed hunters; I do believe this has been the worst year I have ever remembered. Last weekend when S and I were out to the cabin, we drove over west to check out a buck we thought might be wounded; turned out that one was okay, but I looked across the grand canyon and in an open space laid a huge mule deer buck dead. We had seen two others limping, and my hunters had also seen one wounded. The next day my trapper friend and his friends got the antlers for me. My neighbor drove in on his 4-wheeler looking for his cattle and he said they had seen more wounded deer this year than ever before, too.

As many years as I hunted, I never lost a deer, and I just about know what happened; they shoot, and do not follow up and probably didn’t have a clue they hit it because they had not seen, or did not know, the reaction of a deer when it is hit. Mostly, I am betting they did not care. We have too many people out there hunting who have never learned the Sportsman’s Charter, and they are not willing to learn, they just want to shoot something. A sad state of affairs.

Current Mood: a bit P_O'ed
Current Music: The Owl and the Snake dance

The Coon And I

The Trapper man had set a trap out to the cabin for the fat skunk that seems to enjoy spending time under my building. I do not appreciate having such a close resident, so I asked D/D to catch it.

Yesterday was the first chance I had to get out to the cabin for a week, as weather wise , October has been a very strange one, most of the days were windy, cold and even a couple inches of rain, then some snow last week, the first of the winter.

I arrived at the cabin first and saw that the trap had been sprung, so I found the flashlight and tried to see what was inside. S came and between the two of us, we saw what we were pretty sure was raccoon hair, and it had undoubtedly died we concluded, so the next step was take the trap down toward the dam and unload it so at least something could use it. We did a couple things that needed doing, then loaded the trap and headed out, past the snake dens, none around, not surprising as cool and damp as it had been all month.

I drove beyond the dam ways, and slipped the rings up to open the door, S was standing so she could see in the trap and said; "It’s alive, close it!" So I released the rings; now, what to do? I wanted to let it loose without having an encounter, and if it was the one I had in the game camera a few days before, it was a prime raccoon, not hurting anything, so we racked our brains to figure out how to get it out, because I am not worth a damn to try to get away from anything; we propped the back up with a 2x4, tied a rope on each ring, and then, how to get the door open. If you have never tangled with a mad boar coon, you haven’t a clue how tough they can be, so I was very cautious. We finally sneakily propped open the gate with a gallon jug of water I had in the pickup, watched awhile, no coon came out, so we went to the cabin for lunch; when we returned, it was gone, thanks be to the gods.

Now to regress a few days. The man from the hatchery, and his wife, came last Tuesday and I led them out to the acres where the fish are to have a new home in my dam water. We had a good time unloading walleyes and perch; he told me I needed minnows and I had already put them in awhile back. They came with me to the cabin and of course, liked the view. I stayed around doing little “put aways” and tidying up; as I was leaving I noticed a strange pile of spoor in the little windbreak of the back door. It was very black, and I thought, ohm god, some animal must be really sick, it is pooping blood. Well, yesterday between the cabin and the bunkhouse, another pile, this time normal little spoors, but again, black as coal, and when I thought that…it occurred to me; coal, charcoal, we had been grilling and emptying the charcoal out of the hearth when it caught rain water, the coons had found it, and I suppose with the grease and droppings off what we had grilled, it seemed edible. At least the mystery was solved. I could not imagine how anything could live leaving spoor like that. We had a good laugh over clearing up the mystery of black spoor.

Current Mood: curious

Little Events Make My Days

Sometimes it is the little things in life that make our lives worth living, most often, the big events that come, expectedly or unexpectly, and the ones that stand out in our memory. Too often I forget the good things, the good times, and dwell on the negative; so I am going to concentrate on the little things, and the funny ones…

One of my neighbors stopped in yesterday as I was changing the batteries in my indoor-

outdoor thermometer. She remarked what a nice day, and I replied, great, it was 80 degrees. She said really, where is your thermometer, it must be in the sun and I said, no, it is under the eaves of the shop. So last night, when I was sitting here at the computer, doing nothing constructive, a dawning light came to me; no wonder the thermometer read 80 inside and out, the gadget that tells it the outside temp was sitting about a foot away from the inside thermometer. I emailed her and explained, she replied that she believed me, so I must have been very convincing. Enough so I was outside with a short sleeved

t-shirt, and happy to be.

Our weather through most of October has been cooler and windier than normal, so I did not get my pumpkin ready for the contest Friday until that morning, and I just took magic markers and drew some features, stuck three gourds in the top and added some black braids. The judges came by yesterday afternoon with prizes for the most unique and creative pumpkin, but the one I like the most “the Bravest Black cat in town”. They said he sat near the pumpkin when they were judging, and he is a very popular cat to those who know him.

Bravest is the lone survivor of Mother of Pearl, and he grew into a very beautiful cat. Long, lean, and looks every bit like a black panther. He is friendly to nearly everyone who comes to the house, and he also has a way of telling them, “she hasn’t fed me today, so come with me to the entry” and he leads them there for a can of his favorite cat food.

One day recently, the front door flew open, Brave came in, with my next door neighbor right behind, she was laughing as he headed for the entry. She was out in front of the hotel, he saw her, went across the street, told her to come, he would start toward my house, look back to see if she was coming, and continue. It was worth a good laugh. He now cons just about everyone who sits at my table for coffee, even those people who do not particularly like cats are on to his antics.

So, those are the little things that matter more than the earth shaking events that seem to make the news these days.

A very beautiful email with photos of the Swiss Alps is now going around, I hope you have seen it and heard the beautiful voices in the background. It will be my music for this post in the Live Journal; happy November.

Current Mood: complacent
Current Music: "Time to Say Goodbye" Sarah Brightman and Andre Bocellio

Autumn Ventures

Late night after a good day.
The plans for the day were made last week and changed with the weather today. Instead of “doing windows”, I called friend L and said it is too cold to have all the windows open, so we better wait; so instead of windows, she said she would come and vacuum for me. That is always a big hooray because I run out of breath, or it does my back in; so it was really a productive day, and I am feeling good about it. Also, getting a kick out of how often I can make plans, as I like to say: "the best laid plans of mice and faye, usually end some other way".

So did the plans for the time at the cabin Saturday. We talked about meeting there, and I bought two 4x8 wooden panels to cover up the big white propane tank at the cabin. Good friend S. brought them down from RC and we unloaded them in the rain last week. She kept insisting she would come and help me load them, and I kept insisting I could do it, and if I couldn’t, I could get someone here to help, and besides, I added, I have a plan; to which she replied, yes, faye, you always do. So when I called and said I was ready to leave, she asked if I had the panels loaded, I said yes, did you load them by yourself? Yes..And I did, even though the brute strength I once had was not as it used to be. I haven’t told her, nor will I, that I was so damned sore Sunday morning I was not looking forward to moving out of bed.

So, I was at the cabin awhile before she came, and was working in the Bunkhouse, I heard what sounded like something knocking outside, so I thought she had come without me hearing her, and I walked out on the step and halfway between the bunkhouse and the cabin was a very large rattlesnake, which I dispensed as quickly as I could get shells in the .410. S came shortly after, and though we had made plans for several projects, we put them all on hold and went snake hunting. The marker we had left last fall had disappeared, but we knew the general vicinity, so were watching, or she was, it was on her side of the vehicle, and she spotted one by a hole. It got away down the hole and she missed one being too close with the shotgun, and there must have been half a dozen little ones of all sizes heading for the den. We drove around awhile, went back to the cabin, and had a glass of wine and cheese, waiting for the snakes to reappear as they usually do. When we went back, there were three less when we left, and more we saw heading for the den.

For some reason, and probably because mice, rabbits, pack rats, critters like the shelter of the cabin, so the rattlers find it good hunting. Since I built there, I have had three and four a year. I am very careful and I know many times I forget to watch and be careful. Not a good thing to do.

It was a good day, deer and turkeys, red tail and dozens of crows. I still miss my magpie friends; they have completely disappeared in that area because of West Nile. I hope in time they return, the clowns of the canyon

Current Mood: calm
Current Music: Send In The Clowns

The Weather

Weather is now, and always has been a good subject, especially when we were on the ranch; it affected every segment of our life, all day, every day. Here in our little town we have a “weather woman” who keeps us informed as to coming conditions, what the radar is showing and how hot and cold it has been along with her predictions according to the mood, hers are not always accurate, nor are mine; I seem, for fun, to quote some of the old tales told to me by my Father, and also by my partner. His mother was a true believer in Ember Days, and I had almost forgotten about them until I read in the Almanac one day, I was reminded, and mentioned it to my neighbor. He is always looking for new words and we have kind of a game about it, like pogonip, palindrome, etc. then it was Ember Days, so I had to research it on Internet, and now I wish I would remember half of what it said so I could apply it when (and if) I plant something. G always went by the moon when it was branding time, a good thing, whether it meant anything, I do not know, but it certainly did not hurt, if some myth could make things better for the animals.

So, here we are, in the throes of a cold spell, with several inches of snow in the higher hills and a smattering on the prairie. I swear, every time I go to the cabin, the wind seems to blow. I can’t remember a day this fall that it hasn’t blown, and hard. Yesterday we had a good few hours there with the snow coming down lightly. The only creature stirring was a Red Tail Hawk just as we were leaving. It was nice, though, just being there is nice. The game camera captured the usual number of does and fawns, so far, no large bucks. A little pack rat, which I was quite certain, was there because of the mess he left in the ER when we were putting on a new door, two raccoons, the rear view of a fat skunk and a deer’s eye looking right into the camera. She must have been wondering what that strange thing was on the post.

(The “ER” is the little house that is not classified as an outhouse: it is only there for Emergencies if and when I turn the water off.)

Tomorrow, if all goes well, and the day is not too windy or cold, I hope to make another drive to the cabin and check out things, need to do a bit of shoring up yet and it is nearing the opening day of deer season, I always look forward to seeing my hunting friends. I limit it to two, and sometimes three, and try to keep it that way. There are many deer, and I know in places they are a nuisance; however, they were here before we were, I keep telling my neighbors when they complain about the deer eating their gardens, and I complain when they strip my trees.

Tomorrow is another day to look forward to and I will do just that….

Current Mood: content
Current Music: not singing, just whistling

My Trust Has Left Me

My Trust Has Left Me

My wonders are quite small; I contacted Live Journal recently and asked for a physical address so I could again be a paid account. Their reply was the Journal no longer accepts personal checks as of October 1, 2009; I also noted, as I was trying to get back into the pay part, that when I use my credit card, my yearly fee will be taken automatically every year; and I protest this kind of payment. I do not authorize anyone to go into my checking account automatically; don’t care who they are or what they are. This happened in another site the annual fee taken out and I realize one should be aware of the time period; however, and if and when my dues are “due” I want to be informed and have a choice as to whether I want to continue or drop out. Giving anyone access without restrictions is not something I will do.

That being said, I guess once in awhile I will just come by and check things out, I have never really been a very good “free-loader”, but that is what I am with the Live Journal now, because I am not giving out my card number and permit access to my banking without some sort of notification. So, here’s to freedom.

Current Mood: aggravated
Current Music: "Tis Autumn

Ramblings from Fayzee

There are so many questions, and as of right now, no distinct answers. If there was, is, or definitely IS a distinct line that can be drawn between right and wrong (not right and left!) and if that line is there and obvious, is it right, or wrong to defend wrong? Will you defend wrong simply to follow or will you try and sort out what is real, what is true and what is right?

Is it an inborn trait or is it learned as we grow up, or is it “do as I say, not as I do”? So many of the puritanical ideas of my generation have gone, and good riddance. What we are now turning into seems to be a nanny state, like sheep, waiting to be told what to do, where to go, how to, when to, why to, because it is for “your own good”. You mustn’t smoke, you shouldn’t eat red meat, we demand high salaries, then condemn someone for the dollars they accumulate; another side tells you not to drive an SUV, get a hybrid, that will run fine on smooth highways, but try it on my grand canyon and see how far you get. You are told this bill is necessary to pass because it will help everyone, yet those who voted for the bill did not read it word for word, and it has become law. Is this right? Or wrong? Others say it is “not right to avoid paying your taxes”, but they didn’t pay theirs until they had to; is this right? Or wrong?

What does is say of our people when they loudly defend Polanski? When they have a good laugh when David Letterman tells the world about his exploits with some of the women who work for him?

Have we lost all sense of privacy? I, who am far too old to even be hearing these things,

and I do not care what others do as long as they do not harm children, or try to harm me. They can shock me, I am still capable of being shocked, but saying that, it still does not give me a right to tell another what they should do; nor is the business of another to tell me what I “should” or “shouldn’t do”. I do not want you to tell me your exploits*, nor do I want to tell you about mine (if I had some….and if I did, I wouldn’t tell you!).

*That could be a bit far fetched, I like to hear yours if you want to tell me, it might make for a good conversation

My life is composed of simplicity, as simple as it can be: my pursuits are mostly about the “nature of the beast”, the beast being the creatures that inhabit my grand canyon, the flying grandness of the Red Tail Hawk, the Golden Eagle, and catching the Great Horned Owl in flight and find a perch in the dead elm below the cabin for me to us the scope and binoculars to watch. The two yellow legs that posed for me on the brace posts recently, perfect camera shots.

Lately I have installed propane heat for the winter in the cabin, the gas man brought out a tank, and from a distance it looks like the great white whale, so I am planning on building a four foot security fence so it will not be so visible from the main road. There was electric heat and it was fine, but if or when there happened to be an outage, that would mean frozen pipes in no time, and as long as the propane tank has gas, it will be heating without electricity, and I feel much better about it now.

I have a few hundred walleyes ordered that should be coming soon for the new dam, my trapper friend brought two gallons of fathead minnows (and I didn’t know minnows had a first name). He called me from the bait store and said the minnows were forty dollars a gallon, and I said, bring two gallon. When he came, we headed out to the forties and the dam, he told me as long as he bought two gallon they sold them for thirty dollars a gallon.

He can buy fish for me any day if he can get bargains like that. I told him it was only because all the women think he is so cute. He agrees.

Last spring he brought me a few rainbow trout, actual count was 33, but one decided it didn’t want to make it, so there were thirty-two over the winter. I was afraid they might have starved without any food in the new dam; we tried our luck to catch some, but didn’t get a nibble. I did see one jump so I know at least one is still going, and I haven’t a clue if they eat minnows, but the man who is bringing the walleyes said I should have either minnows or some young bass, I am learning about fish.

My game camera has yet to capture a mountain lion at the cabin, there is a cottontail that manages to have its picture taken a few dozen times a week; a porcupine visited last week, and on an earlier film, a badger, so there are visitors besides all of the deer, one spike buck seems always able to wander into the view, so that is fun

Current Mood: content
Current Music: If I Loved You from Carousel

Not Indifferent

One of my friends had this quote on her post recently:

“To remain silent and indifferent is

the greatest sin of all”. Elie Wiesel

Shall we no longer remain silent? I cannot. To have an almost complete invasion into my life by the government is appalling to me; never, in all of my years, (and there are a lot of them) have we had to see the invasion that is taking place in our country. These last twenty years (or more) have added more and more to take away any rights we once had. It began with a tirade on smoking, and has succeeded in making smokers villains and the cause of more illnesses than they can find titles; then it was ATV’s, SUV’s, small trucks, recreation vehicles, seat belt laws, helmets on bicycles, motorcycles, little fish protected to the tune of millions and billions, and so many more I cannot list everything. If you think I am exaggerating, talk to some of the people who work in banks, construction, are buying a home, building a home or just plain trying to make a living. There are rules and laws for every damned possible thing you can name, and now they want to saddle us with cap and trade, health care, and have already saddled us with stimulus packages, TARP an out of control budget and crisis after crisis.

Where are the people with common sense? Where are leaders who “Know”, not “think they know”. We are being led as if we are a ship of fools. Some are, and some aren’t. My theory is this: There are 20% on the left who will never change, no matter what the facts are: there are 20% on the right with the same mind-set, no change, no matter what. Then there are 10% sitting on the fence with their fingers in the air to test which way the wind is blowing, and I hope there are the 50% of us who are willing to listen and look and find the party with the ability to lead us out of this fiasco and back to less government and decisions made by the individuals, not some people who haven’t a clue what is happening and still tell us what we have to do….I am not confused….I am appalled….and frightened; this is my freedom of speech and if you disagree, that is your privilege, but I will no longer remain silent, nor have I ever been indifferent.

Current Mood: disappointed
Current Music: America The Beautiful

Country Living in Town

If we can call it a “town”; one service station, a bar and a sometime diner, motel, and thirty-six residences.

This time the story is about the animals that manage to find their way into our town. My neighbor saw a skunk coming toward my shop, it slipped through a place dug out and made itself a new place to explore. The call to the state trapper brought results, but not quite as quickly as we would have hoped. First of all, Chester, one of the cats snooped, and sprung the trap; it was the first time I ever heard him really holler, and he was hollering at me….help, I’m caught, so I let him out and he has not even looked at it again. No skunk for days, so trapper D filled the hole and set the trap outside. First of all, a raccoon, then another..

One night rather late I saw my motion light on so I went to check, and there was Skunk, finishing the cat food on the step. It was a broad stripe, so I told Dan and we re-set the trap. It took several nights, and two nights ago, skunk made a mistake and was in the trap. In between times, another raccoon was seen under the street light; so the trap is still set.

It is not a thing I like, having to catch the animals that invade our territory, it is we who have invaded theirs. In this era it is live and let live wherever it is safe, and with the diseases carried by predators, rabies being the worst, and we have many stray cats in town that have never been vaccinated so we need to protect ourselves as best we can.

During the winter we have dozens of does and fawns, some nice bucks coming in town and now we have a few squirrels, and we are enjoying their antics, most everything is give an chance around here, but we can’t take chances on skunks and raccoons and rabies, so I hope this will be the last of them for awhile at least. This year, so far, neighbors have encountered two rattlesnakes, so that is something we have to watch for and I often forget. I just hope they give me their warning if the are around where I am walking and watering.

Current Mood: nostalgic
Current Music: Sarah Brightman

Summer Days

Summer solstice and it is beginning to feel like summer; plus, I just returned from a quick drive to a nearby town and the traffic was reminiscent of the good old days of touristing in the 30’s (that is the 1930’s for those of you who are so young and happy to be!). America is on the move and we have some wonderful vacation spots in this area.

Yesterday friend and I went to the cabin and checked things out; we loaded the mower and some snacks and spent the afternoon, she mowing and I tried to restore order to the inside. I am (as I have been telling everyone) not worth a damn, so I just do what I can and take my time at everything, since I have no choice.

My trapper friend and I tried fishing a few days ago, and it was the wrong time of day; I am so anxious to stock my new dam with bass, and I haven’t taken time to fish. I tried to contact places to buy fish, and did manage to find out a bit about it; however, as far as it is across Iowa and to the western part of SD at three dollars a mile coming and going, not to mention the price of the fish, I declined and our Game, Fish and Parks recommends finding a dam with bass and stocking that way; easy for them to say and simple if they are biting…maybe some day soon I will find a good place and they will bite and find a new home. It is not so much I like to eat fish, it is just that I like to have them in the dam for my friends who like to fish, and I like to fish occasionally, it is not one of my passions. Somehow having a dam stocked with good fish seems to have always been a part of my life, so it will continue for awhile, as long as I am here.

The barn swallows were insistent on building a mud nest just above the door at the cabin and last week it was nearly done, but I knocked it down, and told my friend I wonder if we sprayed with Clorox spray if they would leave it alone, and this week, they hadn’t tried fixing it, and we see them flying around the cabin so they must have decided I meant business. They are very cute and sweet little birds, they are also very messy so they can find another place to raise their young.

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: Seasons of the Heart

Picnic in the rain

We were lucky to have our picnic in between showers, and an east wind that promised rain, which finally came about ten o’clock last night; just a small amount, but it did a lot of good; there is more moisture down about six inches than this area has seen in so many years, we can’t remember when, but it was starting to dry on top with the heavy growth.

It was quiet in the canyon, most of the does are busy taking care of their fawns, or getting ready to have them; we see very few this time of year, unless the bucks come by, we saw eight a couple weeks ago; they gang together like a gentleman’s club until fall. A red tail visited by air, as did a turkey vulture; a pair of barn swallows are checking out the cabin eaves again, so that will have to be discouraged.

It is quite inconvenient having this SOB on me every day (that happens to be my oxygen bottle). No matter how hard I try to keep my patience, it doesn’t last very long, nor does my memory. I walk off and forget about it until I hit the end of my tether, the cashiers in the local grocery watch me very close and if I forget, raise their voices to remind me after dumping it on the floor a couple times. So at the cabin before the women came, I decided not to wait for help to unload two doors I brought out, it was fairly simple, I backed the pickup close to the bunkhouse and slide the first one out far enough so I could lift it the rest of the way and lean it against the bunkhouse. I had to let it drop a ways, and of course the tube to my ox was under it and it damned near pulled my ears off. I was lucky it wasn’t worse. The next one was easier and then it was go in the cabin, get my breathe back, and that is why it is so frustrating to me when I have always done things like that so easy, without losing my cool or my ears.

I did check the burning bush, and S took it a nice drink of water before we left. It is doing okay so far, so good. I still do not have my Calamity Jane, but I am sure it will be along soon. The nice little winery that is popular in this area right now their best seller is red ass rhubarb, so we tried it and gave it and thumbs up

Current Mood: confused
Current Music: Singin In The Rain

Burning Bushes

Tomorrow will be a few hours at the cabin for a picnic. S has a friend visiting from Finland whom I have never met. She was an exchange student a few years ago, was in NYC on business and took some days to come and visit S and her husband. I am looking forward to meeting her.

Before all of that, I need to go to the cemetery and leave flowers. I always try to leave some cedar boughs on G’s headstone, with a blue arrangement. For my parents, red roses for my father and yellow ones for my mother.

The disappointment at the cabin this year is no birds, hawks, owls, or whatever are using the big nest. The reason is quite obvious; with so many dry years in a row, the trees and bushes have died off by the hundreds. There were a few green leaves on the tree last year, and all of those near by were dead or dying. Now the whole row is dead, and the side draws that held so many plum and chokecherry trees are a mass of standing dead wood. When that Old Woman in the Sky makes her decisions, She follows through for a long as She pleases.

Last week S and I planted a burning bush in the hole that was once dug for other purposes, then we decided to use it as a burning pit, that did not work because it was so dry we were afraid to build a fire in it; so S suggested we put a burning bush in that place. I found one last year, it was doing so good here, leafing out, so we took it to the cabin and set it out, with a small enclosure; the next time we went out, it had been chewed on quite badly, so we closed it up even more, that did not work either. Even though I kept telling S it was dead, she said it will come back from the roots. Wanna bet? Yes, what will we bet? A bottle of Calamity Jane, our favorite wine from a fun winery in the Hills. As noted, we planted a burning bush last week, and I will be the recipient of a bottle of Calamity Jane, but of course I will share it with S.

This time when we planted, we doubled the wire and I wish we would have covered it with wire, too. We will know tomorrow if something has chewed on it again.

Current Mood: sleepy time
Current Music: Enya: Who Can Say Where Time Goes

Restoring Myselfe

A few hours at the cabin can refresh my soul. Yesterday was no different; just being there lends to a feeling that life is good, and wonderful.

The person who was with me yesterday is one of my neighbors; my young friend is doing some work and remodeling in her home and has her weekends filled with doing moving things, and M is a good companion. She has been seeing that I am okay every day since I came down with this (vicious) viral infection, she is such a wonderful woman and care taker, for me, and other elderly neighbors, and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate her. I wish I could tell her, but she does it out of the goodness of her heart, and she has a really big heart.

A strange thing happened as we were driving up to the cabin. The cattle were in the 40’s, moved in the day before, and as we were driving she said, look at that bird, it is disturbing the cattle, an suddenly, the herd began bellowing and running like crazy cows and calves. I couldn’t see a lot of it, but she was describing it to me, the bird was diving at the cattle, she said. We went on into the yard at the cabin and the bird came flying by quite low so we did get a good look at it. There were cattle in the neighboring pasture, it flew over to that herd, and suddenly they were all on the run bellowing and running just like the ones in my pasture. Never have I seen a performance like that over a bird. It is not unusual for a herd to do that if a coyote, or bobcat, or dog, is invading their territory, but a bird?

It was hard to identify it, I know I had never seen one like it before, and the only conclusion I could find is some kind of a tern. We do not have terns in this area, but it had most of the features of some kind of a tern. Spring is so late this year, that of course a lot of migratory birds could get off flight, and I know next to nothing about terns, so maybe I am in for learning a new bird.

The good news was hearing the curlews call, and as we drove the 40’s, a burrowing owl was there. I am always so happy when spring comes and both those species show up. With so much good grass plowed up, the prairie birds have a time surviving, and I will always keep my prairie as long as it is under my control. One I am watching for is the lark bunting. Those birds once sat on fences, dozens at a time, the last few years I have only observed just a very few by fall, so I am hoping this year will be different now that moisture has returned to our area.

Current Mood: happy
Current Music: Birds Calls

Back to the Cabin

Hooray, hooray! Today we are going to the cabin. I have not been there for over a month

and it has stood through three rather hard blizzards in April. A week or so ago, friends hunted turkeys, both connecting with good toms, and I asked them to bring my game camera in as it had been there through all of the storms. There were thirteen hundred ninety eight pictures; have you ever looked at thirteen hundred ninety pictures of a white out? (Neither did I!). It took me awhile to figure out just how to take the ones I wanted to keep without unloading all of the pictures. After I got it right, it took a long time to delete that may photos. And we had it set to a few minutes apart. I am learning, and still would like very much to catch a wily mountain lion, if one should happen to be in the area.

Today we are just checking; I have fencing that must be done, and my neighbor probably has turned his cattle in on the 40’s. We need to finish changing the fence around the cabin before he can turn in the main pasture, so that is on the agenda this week. As is calling the plumber to have the water turned on for the summer and fall. The cabin needs a coat of stain on the logs, these winter storms were hard on it this winter.

So, even though I am not worth a (damn) I will call my favorite carpenter and he will get things done in due time.

One thing I have missed with all this viral infection that laid me low is the plan we had last fall to be at the rattlesnake dens when they came out; no such luck; too much snow and too late a spring, so we can have our adventures again come time to den in the fall.

The nest has to be investigated, too; last time we were out there, no sign of anything; however, the red tailed hawks were circling and calling, so we are hoping they have taken over. There was no great horned owl, as they usually nest very early.

Current Mood: complacent
Current Music: Any good music will do

Great Risk

The good days are returning, or at least the semblance of them; yesterday, and today, I have accomplished some (very slow) tasks around the house. My best part of the day was this morning when out of a cloudy sky came a most wonderful display for goose down feathers for nearly an hour. I love watching it snow like that; and of course it was gone in just minutes after it quit. We are having a very late spring here in our part of the Dakotas.

Several of the late arriving song birds are still to show up; they think it is a bit too chilly to stay around until we have good sunshine.

Then my friend from away called and we had a good conversation. He is having physical problems and it is a worrisome situation, but I told him we could make it through any thing that we needed to when he comes; perhaps between the two of us we can find one whole person. We both need some time together, and have decided when he comes, we will just drive until we are tired and find a place to rest.

It was also a day to search for a couple articles I had hoped to find again, no luck on that pursuit but I did find the following quote, and perhaps I have shared it with you in prior years, if so, here it is again; one of my favorites and I had forgotten about it until today.

My young friend and I were talking about this last night when she was here, and I remarked that sometimes loving someone was scary, and after we talked, we both know it is always risky to give of oneself completely, though it often happens sometimes it just wasn’t what we thought it would be. No matter, when one finds a love; man, woman; woman, woman; man,man, when it is love that is the important part. And even if it does not always work out as we might have dreamed it, one wouldn’t have missed the experience for the world.

So, here in lies my thought for this day….

Risking

To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.

To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.

To reach out for another is to risk involvement.

To expose your feelings is to risk exposing your true self.

To place your ideas, your dreams, before a crowd is to risk their loss.

To Love is to risk not being loved in return.

To live is to risk dying.

To hope is to risk despair.

To try is to risk failure.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Current Mood: recovering
Current Music: Enya; Only Time

Let It Go

Coping with the aging process is something I had not carely considered when I was young and vital, capable, full of promise to myselfe and to others, actually, I was pretty “full of myselfe” when I was young. I had a father who loved me beyond himself, I was not spoiled, but I knew I was special; he gave to me more love than one person probably deserves in a lifetime. I was your typical tom boy girl; climbing trees, riding horseback, playing softball, baseball, ice skating, gym, everything that seemed to come along, I tried or played it. Still did up until just a few months ago, and suddenly, I can no longer be that all around one to whom my Dad used to say “hop to it and get a red nose”. I did that a lot, it is still good for me to think it, and some things I truly believe I can still “hop to it and get a red nose”. That will be a few more days or weeks no doubt as I just retuned from a few days stay in the hospital, am doing better every day.

Strange what life can hand you when you are trying so hard to conquer, not divide, just conquer; it did not work, I cannot convince this body it can do and be what it was just a few short months ago. So it is now adjust, adjust, adjust. It always seemed I did not want to go gracefully into that good night, but maybe I should change my mind and try being gracefull about it, after all, no one wants to be complaining and grouching all the time when I have had my day in the sun, it is time for the youngsters to take over and see what they do with all of the wonderful inventions that have come their way in the many

years I have been around. More than there is room in this space to enumberate.

So: I am going to take the advice of a magazine I just noted this little blurb; it suggested

‘let go of something’. I think I already told you I was letting go of a person who others have said I should have let go years before so I have already done that, the remarkable part of the blurb was if someone asked their situation (as the one you are in, or have been in) what would you tell them? And I would say, let go, it is going no where you want to be and you haven’t ten years to try and finish the cultivation. Or if I did, do I really want to? And I can answer my own question, very simply: no.

Current Mood: elated
Current Music: So Long For Awhile

Friends: Some stay: Some go

This post came to mind when I read one of my friend’s posts recently. And for what is “quite some time” and far longer than it should have been, I have tried very hard to keep a friend who is at a distance, told me when we first met she was not a person who kept in touch, though she declared it was our kindred spirit friendship and love at first sight (for both of us); then after a few years had gone by, she told a story about me, and of course, a good friend told it back to me, and I was devastated; it was several years ago, and because of my efforts to keep our friendship, got in touch and we have been together off and on since then. Always it was my effort and my contact the reason for any thing from her at all.

So: her job changed to her chagrin, she hated going back to the convent as she had been at one of prestigious universities and was quite prominent. During those several years, on vacation days, she spent time and lived with a friend in the convent city. They had to have been good friends because their vacations with others and always the same ones. When she was forced to move back to the convent city, we haven’t been in contact hardly at all; but a couple times when we had talked via phone, I asked her about her friend; she was hesitant about mentioning her; so next time I asked again, and she said, I don’t see her at all, I have to distance myself from her because she asks too many questions about what I am doing and it is none of her business. I know for a fact they were close friends; visiting each other and the holidays and vacations. What this tells me is what I really knew long ago; she uses people until they are no longer useful and drops them like a hot potato. And I even knew this, but I was fooling myselfe and now my eyes are open, and I almost feel I am free of a love that was never anything except fascination. There are many kinds of love, you all know that; ours was very spiritual, never physical, “we weren’t lovers like that, if we were it would still be all right”; but it was what I thought was good love; turned out, I was wrong and it is good to be able to say, “free at last and it feels good”. I wouldn’t have missed the experience for all the heartache that followed; we find out so much about ourselves when we face what, to me, is truth for myselfe and others.

Current Mood: relieved
Current Music: Judy Collins: Sisters of Mercy

Hurry to Grammardog's journal
Tonight I just happened to click on the video on her journal, and it made my night for happiness; I know you will love it, so hurry before it goes away...it is one of those wonderful feel good videos. And you can thank her; she is one of my friends and a good one.

Current Mood: happy
Current Music: Sound of Music

Apology

This has to be an apology for the previous entry; it has been pointed out to me that I am completely wrong about the "intrinsically disorder” that the statement was right and I had taken it wrong., so I do apologize and it has been deleted. Undoubtedly isn’t the first time I have misunderstood, though it is not easy to admit one is wrong, my confession is; it happens, so here it is; “I’m Sorry”. I thought nature knew what She was doing, but according a source, She doesn’t. Sorry, Mother!

Current Mood: deleted
Current Music: "I'm Sorry, So Sorry"

Intrinsic

April is here, and with it the third blizzard in three weeks. After several really nice winters we now have the old fashioned storms of yesteryear. I can sit snugly in my warm house and not have to worry about the cattle calving, or bundle up and go to the barn at 2:00AM to check on heifers. That being said, I still think of the ranchers who are out there right now doing their best to save as many calves and lambs as possible. These are the killer storms on the plains.

A blizzard is always a good time to read a book, or do some searching on internet. Tentatively planning a drive to the northern parts of Montana again, depending on a lot of things that can come along and change our minds. A few years ago a friend of a friend stopped by with a friend. I am no traveler, but marthy is and loves it, so I asked her to drive me to Grand Canyon; she did, and we had a great trip for two people who really did not, or do not, know each other; recently she emailed and asked me if I still wanted to go to Canada, so, if the third party decides she can’t go to the Pryor Mountains, marthy and I will make final plans.

Current Mood: confused
Current Music: South Dakota High to Rocky Mountain High

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