Wednesday September 5 2007

Deer and Fawn at Round Hill

Charm got back from South Dakota today, I'm glad she is back. I know she's had a trying time there with her dear mom having surgery. Welcome back Charm.

Cat from the VA called early with a question (what is Joe's Mother's maiden name), and she said they had a terrible storm down there in Rock Springs last night, probably not long after we left town. Lots of strong winds and branches down. She said it was raining at the time. Cat is an interesting person, she really takes charge and organizes everything at the VA Clinic. She is a retired military officer.

It rained off and on in the night here with some wind beginning a few hours after we got home, but was just cloudy this morning. Then later about noon we got more rain for a while. I wish we would get some of that more heavy rain but it keeps missing us. We should get our turn one of these days. When I went to pinedaleonline I was surprised that there were all kinds of severe thunderstorm, wind and nickle sized hail warnings for today, including for us. But we never got anything much but some rain showers. This evening has cooled off quite a bit. Also there had been two more mud slides this time in the Snake River Canyon that closed the highway and trapped cars between the two slides. They got it cleared away and open again. Tonight is an 80% chance of severe thunderstorms, so we will see what happens with that prediction. Kemmerer had a tornado warning, the first time I've ever heard of that. There have been small sightings of tornados or roofs blowing off etc, but never heard a warning.

Well at some time this morning, Joe told me he had got the wrong size of pipe to fit the couplings and elbows he bought yesterday, and that we'd have take them back to Home Depot. I did very well not laying my head on the desk and sobbing. Just said "Oh". We must have spent an hour in Home Depot for him to find and pick the stuff out.

This morning Joe had me go out with him and measure the depth of the septic tank drain pipe in two different holes he had dug. There was three inches difference in the pipe in the two holes, i.e. its three inches higher about two feet away on the down/discharge side from the tank. That is why we're having such a problem. He said the frost had heaved it up and the water can't run out properly. (or the tank has settled or both). So when new pipe is put in it should be good again. It's been about 11 or 12 years since we put that tank in and it doesn't seem like that much time could have gone by.

Then I really tore into cleaning up the house and getting the huge stack of sacks from shopping put away. I thought I could do all that AND finish up my barn cleaning project - dusting and cleaning all the paintings again, but it was just to much to be done before company came. Also Renee our broker called and we enjoy visiting, so got caught up on all the news with her. Both her kids are in college now - hard to believe.

Today Lynda, Don and a friend of theirs from Kansas - Judy, came to look at the art show in the barn. She had called several days ago. They got here about 1:30. I made a cake to have something to offer them for refreshments but they declined and I stored it away. It should come in handy at some time. I sure enjoyed visiting with them this afternoon. They have been here before and they have a cabin right on Fremont Lake at Sylvan Bay and are here in the summers and back in Kansas in the winter. Very nice people. Judy likes photography and showed me her camera. I was properly envious.

Tonight Buckshot called Joe back and said he would come Monday morning with the backhoe and bring all the pipe and a load of gravel rocks that Joe would need to do the drain field. What a wonderful friend he is.

Smokey is getting quite friendly and realizing that gets her more canned food. No more sign of there being a skunk getting into the cat food. Her mother Rascal is around more lately. It had been so long since I'd seen her, that I wonder if she had been out on a long backpacking trip or something, and was nearly starved when she found her way back home. And that it was her that made such a mess at the food dishes. That's about the time I saw her again up in the eaves. Tigger is still missing though. I hope she can find her way back.

Tuesday September 4 2007

Bluff at Buckskin Crossing, Big Sandy River

Today was another of those times to just be endured and gotten through. Nothing bad, not much very enjoyable. We left for Joe's annual VA checkup at the VA clinic in Rock Springs about 7:30. Took the dirt road to Farson - well I do like this part of the day. They have put the Mag Cl on that road as far as the turnoff to the Lander Cutoff/Big Sandy Openings. So all along Big Sandy Flat and across the river at Buckskin Crossing it is like a new super highway - relatively - compared to what it used to be - washboardy dirt.

Then we saw the fence and cattleguard this side of the river we'd been hearing about. Learned later that they are building a very large gravel pit there and will use the gravel to widen the road to Rock Springs - Highway 191. They are ready to start the project. I can't envision the route the gravel trucks will take to travel out of there. Either direction its a l-o-n-g way. There were a LOT of antelope out there this time. And saw a distant huge herd of sheep moving along really raising the dust. We only passed about other 3 trucks in 50 miles which would not have been the case out on the highway. The country still looked dry although we've been getting more rain lately. There was no water in any of the reservoirs. Even Big Sandy Reservoir looked like a puddle. Walked the dogs down near Farson so they would be o.k. to stay in the truck for a while. Stopped at Joe's favorite mini mart at Eden for coffee. Joe was supposed to be to the Clinic at 10:30, but he went in a little after 10. I waited in the car for him while he went in to his doctor appointment, and during the hour and a half that he was in there I gave myself a manicure that I hadn't seemed to be getting done at home, and took the dogs for another walk. Each time we go there the vacant lots get smaller and smaller and soon there won't be any open space to walk dogs. Development.

Joe got out at 11:30. We went over to the Outlaw Inn for lunch and had enough leftovers for Raven and Sparky. Saw Mary Arambel there and talked to her for a few minutes. She has been in Buffalo (WY) most of the summer and she and her brother and sister are going to France next week. She has only been to the ranch once this summer she said. Their place is south of us about 15 miles, and we passed it this morning. She has always had a house in Rock Springs.

Next we went to Penney's to shop for Joe's unmentionables. And then I was in Walmart for two and a half or three hours by the time I got out. Got it all in one basket, but after it was checked out, I had two baskets. The clerk showed me how to tie the two baskets together with the child safety straps and pull them - the back one just followed the front one like a train. I trudged across the parking lot to the SUV that we always park at the furthest end from the door like an oxen on a wagon train. Had brought the coolers and the clerk got me some dry ice for the trip home, so loaded all the cold things into the coolers. Joe had walked the dogs another couple of times. Next we went to Home Depot to get PVC drain pipe so Joe could finish his septic tank project. I took a quick look at their dishwashers and stoves, but was too tired to even think about buying anything that took serious decisions. It was about 5 p.m. by then. Got a cold drink at McDonald's. Kind of got a junk food fix today.

The traffic was terrible going home and eventually I got stuck behind a moving van towing a trailer going about 50 mph and couldn't pass. I wished I had taken the dirt road back home too, but Joe thinks we make better time on the highway. We do, but I'd rather have the less stressful way. I said I was too tired to make dinner so we tried to stop at the little cafe in Eden, Country Burgers, but it was closed on Tuesdays. So back to the mini mart and got a couple of sub sandwiches. They only had ham and no lettuce, but they were still pretty good even though we had wanted pastrami. All their other lunch meat was frozen. Joe didn't complain and ate his in the car. I saved mine for later since it would have been messy to eat a sub and drive. Got home about 7:30 and all the bags and coolers unloaded. All I put away was the stuff out of the coolers and the fresh veggies and left the rest for morning.

Joe called Pete (had gotten his number from Mary) and asked if he could come and get 3 or 4 loads of big rocks from his rock pile by the river and Pete said yes. Then he called Buckshot and asked if he would come with his backhoe and dig the trench for his new septic drain field, and he will come sometime next week. For one of the few times I can remember Joe said he couldn't dig the trench - and he means with a shovel. I'm glad he's asking for help.

Monday September 3 2007

First Touch of Fall

9x12 Oil

by Lynn Thomas

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HAPPY LABOR DAY!

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Didn't seem like a holiday here, in fact was just like every other day except the mail didn't come. Got hot for a while, thunderstormy for a while with no rain, and back to gorgeous evening. The big news is that I DID get the ironing done, knew you were waiting to hear the outcome of that.

Yesterday after Joe had let Bobbi out of the corral and I knew he wouldn't be tearing bales apart twice a day any more, I got the barn cleaned up. It took me all afternoon, and it was an awful mess. I feel like I can go ahead with the show now even though there's still a big stack of hay in there. All the frames still need to be cleaned and dusted again.

Tomorrow we'll go to Rock Springs. Joe has an annual VA checkup so he can remain on their prescription drug program. So the trip will also include power shopping at WalMart.

I've finished another pastel painting, and although it is simple, I like it. It is a landscape with cottonwoods and rabbitbrush. It was the one started with a tipi in it, and I just could never make it look right so took the tipi out. Here is a photo of it above along with another small oil painting done at Round Hill Ranch retreat.

Sunday September 2 2007

be sure to check back here in a few days -

I'll put in some photos and maybe

a little more story about the show.

I just haven't had a chance to do it yet.

ART SHOW IN THE BARN

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Lynn Thomas, Western Artist
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You Are Invited to View

a Special Showing of Paintings

The Paintings will hang from

July 15 through October 30

Studio at House on Muddy –

105 Richie Road
Boulder WY 82923
307-537-5678 -

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lmthomas@hughes.net

http://www.lynnthomasart.com/

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Saturday September 1 2007

Bobbi and Lynn - by Sally

A skunk or some other animal has been in the cat food and water. Wild animals make an awful filthy mess to be cleaned up. I will have to set a trap because it likely won't just go away now that it's found the free lunch counter. And if it keeps coming back there won't be enough cat food to last until the next shopping trip. If I bait the live trap with an apple or something like that maybe the cats won't go in and get caught.

Betty called twice today, and decided to put off her trip here for about a week, which will be fine. She will miss our Sublette County Artists Guild meeting. I know she would have enjoyed that. But we'll have other things to do while she's here.

Sheral also called this afternoon. She has a lot of her family over there now.

First thing this morning I took down the shower curtains and washed them with the towels and put them back up so they are fresh. I'll probably get a new plastic liner when we go to Rock Springs and I go to Walmart. I don't know where the day went today, but by late afternoon I still had all the things sitting here to be done that I had to do this morning. Ironing Joe some shirts and levis to go to town in has been on the list for two or three months now. He wore the last good shirt he had ironed when we went to town on Thursday. So that's the ultimatum that I HAVE to iron. I HATE IRONING MORE THAN ANYTHING! Actually I only iron once or twice a year. I brushed the dogs and clipped their toenails. There are dog toenails all over the studio floor, so I hope I get that cleaned up before anyone drops by. I got a flea off my head afterwards and I just HATE that. I feel like I'm crawling with them for a couple of hours afterwards. So far that was the only one. It could have come off Smokey when I picked her up too.

Joe let Bobbi out of the corral today and she took Nube and went right down to the furthest corner of the field and will probably stay there for the next month. She doesn't want to be put back in that corral again. The grass is dry enough she will probably be fine now.

I watered all my flower pots and shrubs today. Then worked on my new flower bed area getting the sod out of it. It was in the heat of the day and the sun really blazing down, so I got too hot. Came in and drank a couple of glasses of iced tea and sat a while to cool off. While I was doing that I did some on line shopping that I had been procrastinating. Then I still had to change the sheets that was supposed to be an early morning job, wash them, and empty the dish washer. We had a hamburger for dinner, just wanted to do something fast and easy. We had the same potato salad I had made for lunch because I burned up the french fries. I only turned my back on them for a moment while I sliced tomatoes and onions!! I wouldn't even feed them to the dogs, and they love french fries.

With this blog post I'm all caught up on the backed-up blogs! This is a good feeling of accomplishment.

Friday August 31 2007

Found Antelope Skull

The last day of August, and pretty much the beginning of fall here. Its been decidedly cooler. Leaves are coming off the trees. We've all been seeing clumps of yellow foilage around the country for several weeks now. Joe has finished up his wood pile.

Carol called and said she went home from the lodge yesterday, going as far as Lander the first day. She lives in Nebraska. She said she was just having too much trouble breathing at the high altitude. I know she really hated to go because she loves it up there so much. She was going to cook for hunting season, until about November. She had a nice trip to Germany this spring where a daughter and husband are stationed. They took her to Paris too. It was nice she got to do that.

We were supposed to have heavy rains yesterday which would have been nice, but got some thunder showers. Not enough to even water my flower pots. Joe went out and got the mail and went down to the river look at a big rock pile that our neighbor owns. If they are what he can use in the septic fix-up job, he will call them to see if he can have a pickup load or so. The county ran a big gravel separator there for a summer getting gravel for road maintenance south of there. But they can't put the biggest rocks on the road so that pile has just set there ever since. Once I went a got a truck load years back when the tractor fell through into an old cess pool I didn't know was there in the yard. I filled the hole up with some of those rocks.

I see that pinedaleonline.com has an interesting story with 21 pictures about the BLM gathering 500 horses off the desert south of us. They will be put up for adoption. The pictures look like they are nice looking horses and in good shape. There are supposed to be twice as many as there should be on the range, and that isn't good at all in such a drought year, they might starve to death this winter. Cat Urbigkit took the pictures. She has wildlife pictures in the paper every week and is a wonderful author.

http://www.pinedaleonline.com/news/2007/08/Wildhorseroundup.html

Sandra said that she went up to Irish Canyon, probably staying in her trailer, and heard a wolf howling. My dogs have sure been barking at night, more of a ruckus than they usually do just at coyotes, especially Raven has a fit about what she is hearing. Sparky is the one, he sings a beautiful song, and you can tell how hard he tries to make it sound wonderful. I'm not sure I've heard anything but coyotes, and plenty of those. But I get the dogs in right away when they start to bark out there in the dark.

I paid the bills on line for the first time since I got the computer back. Before this I did it twice on another computer. I ordered printer ink online too by clicking the HP online shopping and that worked well. I'm out of color ink.

Was thinking today that I probably am not the chosen one for the governor's portrait project, as I haven't heard a thing yet and and they said they would choose the artist in late August. I wonder who it is that got it.

Remember the garden wagon I was thinking of buying back before the computer woes? I ordered it Monday and the UPS lady brought it Wednesday. She picked that huge bulky heavy box up and carried it clear across the yard. I thought.....WOAH!! I tried to do that to get it in the garage, but decided to go get the dolly. Well.....I did used to be able to do that kind of thing, but not now. She must have one huge set of muscles carrying all those packages every day. No need for her to go to the gym after work.

Thursday August 30 2007

A walk in the Park and swim in Pine Creek

Today we both had haircuts. Mine at 10 and Joe's at 11, so left about 9-ish and drove to Pinedale. I still had a sack of warm winter gloves and hats to take to the second hand store so did that first. Then Joe dropped me off at the beauty shop. Everyone in Under Wraps, where I had been going for years now, closed up shop and moved to a new large beauty shop and spa, Kattle Kates down on the west end of town. It's all decorated in a western theme. I thought it looks kind of ticky tacky. The old Under Wraps is going to be a business office now. A whole bunch of people work in the new place. Kaidy was still getting moved in, and had 3 ladies, including me, there waiting for haircuts. She is keeping really busy. Kaidy styled my hair just a little different, more "wedgie" so I might have a little more style, but it looks a lot like it always has. I saw Kathryn, a "shirt tail" relative of Joe's by marriage. I really like her and her husband Floyd and we had a short visit. I didn't get in for my appointment until 10:20, so Joe was out there waiting before I was finished, and although he had nearly 15 minutes to drive 1/2 a mile down the street to his "beauty shop" he was telling me he was going to be late.

While he was getting his "do" I took the car to the automatic car wash, and it's so dirty it didn't get clean (it hasn't gotten all the film off for quite a few washes lately. I'm going to have to use some rubbing compound to get it clean. I can just do it in sections so it won't be such as hard job. For the first time had to wait behind four other cars to get in. So Joe was done and standing outside when I got back to pick him up.

We had lunch at the Chinese restaurant. Next took the dogs to the park nature path and let them swim in the creek. They got the lunch leftovers. Then drove out to take my artwork to the framing shop. I had 5 or six small ones that need to be custom framed because they are odd sizes. Also I asked Ruth if Gary would mind cleaning up and repairing 7 clunker/junker frames to see if they were anything worth using, and if not I would throw them out. We will see what he can do with them. I'm tired of them taking up space on my shelves if they should be trashed. They are putting a new sun room on their place that will connect to the garage.

After that was the grocery store. Joe walked the dogs again out in the grassy field behind Falers and then had coffee and doughnuts in the deli until I finished. Next I wanted to check out getting a new stove and dishwasher at Pinedale Lumber to replace my old broken ones, but Joe was ready to go home. I found out later with a phone call that the only local option is to order them from Falers - Pinedale Lumber where we originally got ours isn't selling appliances right now until they can build a new showroom. So maybe while Betty is here we can go in and order the new appliances. OOPS! You didn't know Betty is coming yet did you? She and Amigo will be here on the 6th. Plans have been in the works for some time now.

We had BLT sandwiches for dinner so that was easy after a long day. This evening I purged out my wyoming.com email account and forwarded the keeper messages to hughes.net email, but somehow they never arrived at my computer. The only good thing about that is I don't need to do anything about them. People (are you one?) keep using wyoming.com even though I've told them I have a new address ever since last October. I seldom look at wyoming.com and use it for shopping etc.