Wednesday September 19 2007

Red Boat

Square Top - Green River Lakes

This morning after breakfast Betty and I took the dogs for their last ATV ride together, out around the field and back home. Betty set up the timer on her camera and got some pictures of us all with the machine, since we didn't have much luck getting any photos while we were out tootling around. In a few days when she gets back home and emails them to me, I'll put one on the blog for you to see.

She left her little ingenious very flexible digital Gorilla Pod camera tripod for me as a hostess gift. Also gave me a beautiful hand crafted lap quilt that was Amigo's blankie. I may put it at the foot of the bed where Sparky sleeps and it will look a lot better than the odd sheet I have there now. However it's way too beautiful for a dog blankie.

Before Betty left, Maxine called and said she and Helena wanted to come over and would bring lunch tomorrow. Helena is doing a huge project of starting at the southern border of Sublette County and gathering the history of all the homesteads. She has started on our side of the county (east going south to north). Helena writes wonderful history interviews and columns of the past. I promised iris bulbs to Maxine, so will try to get some dug up before they get here.

THEN....Kay called from Riverton and got my messages about Betty and I coming over to pick up my art materials that Kay has kindly been keeping for me since WAA convention in May - remember I forgot a bunch of my stuff then. Betty and I thought we might drive over to Riverton and pick it up a few days ago, but Kay was up at a great art workshop in Dubois and just got home. She said Jerry is coming over from Hudson to paint plein air at Big Sandy Openings tomorrow, and he wondered if he could have a bed here for the night. And he can bring my stuff. I said of course, and that dinner is at 6. So now am rushing to get the beds changed etc. Kay said Jerry invited me to go with him on Friday to paint. I will see how I'm feeling energy-wise by then.

THEN.....Betty called on her cell phone and all I could hear was - I'm south of Big Piney and crackle crackle cow crackle fence crackle highway crackle can you blank. We tried but there just wasn't reception. I said did you hit the cow? and thought she said no, Thank goodness, but wasn't sure at all. In 20 minutes or so she called again and we could talk. The cow was caught and struggling in a fence gate and she wanted me to call somebody to get it out. She was afraid someone would have a wreck and get killed if it got onto the highway. But a young man came by and was able to open the gate and let the cow back in its pasture.

Tomorrow is sounding pretty busy with ladies for lunch, two meetings in Pinedale for the Art and Conference Center - one at noon and one at 7 pm, the TV receiver repairman, overnight guest. I was planning on taking a long nap. I cancelled the early meeting and not sure now I can make the evening one either. I'll let you know.....in the meantime I'll keep plugging along here.

By the way, first thing this morning the phone repairman called to say that they had our phone system working consistently now. He said lightning had hit the tower on Mt. Airy by Pinedale again, and they had to get some "cards"...?? But we should be all set for the phone working now. He mentioned something happening in Daniel at the same time as the lightning, and I don't know what that is about.

Joe is busily painting the wooden ceiling of the back porch.

The ranchers are beginning to bring the cattle in from the mountain pastures now. Richie's brought another little bunch in to the fields here next to us this morning. See Gina's blog, horseback41 in the sidebar on the right if you want to read about cowboying here at this time of year. She's got some good stuff.

Tuesday September 18 2007

Horses in Field by Betty

Evening Shadows Taken by Betty

Joe went to the dump this morning and had lunch in town. He got supplies for the project he has going now - painting all the outside woodwork. He got back about 1:30 or so. Today we stayed around the house, taking it easy mostly. It seemed quiet time was in order for us both. I made us a chicken vegetable soup for lunch that turned out nice. Betty and Amigo napped and I did a little painting and finished up a small landscape, then worked on a couple of frames and will take four new pieces out to the Barn Show.

We took the dogs for an ATV ride and the purpose was mainly to go down to the creek and see if there was water in the water gap for the horses or if it had dried up there too. On the way down Amigo chased a little buck antelope that had been sticking around the pasture lately. This was the first time he'd run off chasing. We ran him down, which wasn't too difficult as he lumbers more than runs, and disciplined him right away. I had been using a regular buggy whip to fend him off from being in front of the vehicle where he gets more often than is safe, with the command 'back, back". So when we caught up with him, I whapped him a couple of times with it telling him "NO CHASING". He was quite surprised, but it may have made an impression. When he looked and started that direction again, it brought another whap. All the yelling and commotion scared Raven to death and she jumped up onto the ATV and sat in Betty's lap and wouldn't get down. Sparky cringed on his belly saying "I didn't do it - I'm GOOD". Later when we turned toward that place Amigo didn't want to go there, but not sure if he connected "trouble" with the antelope or not. It might take another time of being corrected.

The dogs all did get to chase a rabbit a few days ago, which is allowed, since they haven't got much of a chance to ever catch one. And mine do know the difference. We let them all out of the car at the gate to run 1/2 a mile up to the house. Amigo was alongside and my two were quite a ways up ahead when they flushed a rabbit out and it ran straight down the road toward the car. Neither Betty or I had ever seen a jack rabbit running towards us and it was pretty comical. Amigo was oblivious for a while until the rabbit was nearly upon him, and it looked like it would be a head on collision, but the rabbit veered in a quick zig zag and Amigo ran after him back toward the gate. He was one tired pup when he gave up the chase.....because he went twice the distance by the time we got back to the house. The rabbit was great entertainment for all of us.

Other than that the day was ordinary, cloudy and cool. The phone seems to be back to "normal", and I caught up making phone calls, appointments for Joe and called the local Dish Network company. The receptionist said they couldn't fix our TV for seven days. I pleaded that we had already been without it for four days and couldn't call, but she wasn't sympathetic. And it seems like the couple that had the business when we bought the equipment had sold it back in August so these are new people. Then the repairman called back and asked the symptoms. He thinks it is receiver software failure and said he would be here about noon Thursday. Thank goodness it will be fixed because Joe is pretty bored without FoxNews and football.

In the afternoon we put "Joe's Favorite Chair" into the back of Betty's van. (See the photo on August 29.) She says there is a very good upholsterer in Mesquite and contacted him to see if he will recover Joe's old chair he loves so much. Yes!..... and it can be done in a few weeks after he gets it in his shop. I will have to go to Mesquite when it's finished to pick it up and bring it home. So that trip might be my vacation time away this year. I had given up hope that we would find an upholsterer around here because the man who used to do that kind of work here has retired, and the chair was likely doomed to the dump soon. After buying two other new recliners we haven't been able to find one he is comfortable in. So we are grateful to have this opportunity to get it fixed up for Joe. It will be reconstructed from the inside out.

This evening we had a spectacular light show with the sunset, lighting up the fields and hills. Betty practiced more with her camera, so I've used two of the pictures she took for today's shots. I grilled thinly sliced marinated pork on skewers for dinner with baked potatoes and corn.

Monday September 17 2007

One of the first things that happened this morning was that Joe got the old living room wood stove out of the barn where it's been stored for three years now. I know it's that long because I've been hanging the Art Show in the Barn with it in there, and its been a potential hazard for tripping over and someone getting hurt besides junking the place up and making it hard to see the paintings there. We've tried all this time to give it away because it is still good especially for a shop or something, and have had no takers. But tomorrow it's going to the dump. He used the front end loader on the tractor and nylon tow straps to lift it out of the barn and in to the pickup. We also put in the large picture window that had been in my studio before we put new windows in. It has been sitting in the front yard for about as long as the stove has been in the barn and Joe kept forgetting to put it in when he went to the dump. Thank goodness they are both "out of here".

Got a message from Sandy at the phone company that our whole phone system is down, and they are working on it. The dial tone has been off and on all day, so I didn't think it was a good idea to get on tech support for the TV and loose the call after likely sitting there on hold for who knows how long. Sandy said they were ordering parts for the system and it should be up and going tomorrow. The picture above shows our phone antenna really well. That is where the signal comes to and then goes into equipment that is in the shop that converts it essentially to being a regular phone. As time goes by, you are likely going to hear me talking about getting some new type of phone because what we have is becoming obsolete - what exactly is unknown at this point.

This antelope was just outside our front gate this morning when Betty and I left to go on a picnic. She also got good pictures of him, and also of a large herd that has been just behind our buildings in back. She was getting good practice with her new camera. I think this guy is an outcast from the big herd now that its breeding season. The head buck must have kicked him out, but he doesn't want to go too far.

Big Sandy River

For several days I've been trying to get ahold of a friend in Riverton who got the things I left after the WAA convention in May and kept them for me, and we would have gone over there today and picked them up for something to do. We could have gone to a few other places sightseeing that Betty hasn't been to. But even though I've sent her messages one way or another I haven't heard back, so maybe she's gone right now. I hope every thing's o.k. there.

So instead of another long day in the SUV, Betty and I packed our lunch, took lawn chairs and about 11 a.m. went down to the Big Sandy River with the dogs for a picnic. It was pleasantly cool, with a breeze. We stayed enjoying the day and the sound of the river and letting the dogs get in the water until about 2 p.m. before we came back. We have been going so steadily that I was fairly tired today and we did the easiest thing. I really enjoyed the river. There was a leftover casserole so made some blueberry muffins and dinner was easy.

Today the article and photos for the Art Show in the Barn have been posted on http://www.pinedaleonline.com/news/2007/09/ArtShowintheBarnthro.htm About a quarter of the paintings are shown. It's under PINEDALE LOCAL I was pleased with the way it turned out. It will be there for a month, and then it will be archived and anyone can search the archives to see it in the future.

Sunday September 16 2007

Irish Canyon Road - a Smooth Part

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Scene on the Way Up

Looking Toward East Fork Which Irish Creek Flows Into

- Willows Are Concealing The Creek in the Foreground

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Sagebrush Meadow - Fall Colors

Raven Says "C'mon Amigo"
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Irish Creek

Amigo Wading

Betty Walking on Irish Canyon Road

This shows our house from the Irish Canyon Road

This morning after breakfast and other regular chores and puttering I got the charged up battery back into the ATV and the seats put back on. Then Betty and I took the dogs four-wheeling around the pasture. Amigo is learning not to get too near or in front of the ATV. Lunch was french dip sandwiches with cottage cheese and pears. I wish we had thought to make it a picnic.

By about 2 p.m. we took a drive up into Irish Canyon with all the dogs. Betty hadn't been there before although this area is close to the house. The Dog Man was home and waved at him. He has maybe three times more dogs than the last time I went by. He raises sled dogs. It's really looking more like a junk yard there all the time. We drove to the end of the open areas and parked and hiked probably about a mile and a half (total) as the road gets even rougher in this section. We went as far as the Irish Creek crossing where the dogs enjoyed wading and swimming. We felt like wading in the water was new to Amigo and he thoroughly enjoyed the experience. He went back and forth in the pond area for quite some time. It seemed there were campers in every spot possible, and probably they are mostly hunters. I have never seen that many people, or anywhere near that many, up in Irish Canyon. Usually there is maybe one other vehicle. It was a beautiful fall afternoon, although quite hazy from smoke from the distant forest fires.

On the way down we spotted some flat rocks along the road and picked them up for a small area under the hose bib where Raven always wants to dig a very large hole. Rocking it solid will probably solve that, at least in that one place.

We also stopped before descending the last steep hill and called our friend Nancy in Oregon on the cell phone, but Bud said she was stirring pie filling so it wouldn't burn, and she couldn't come to the phone. Remember Nancy and Betty were here together in May after I got sick. We tried anyway.

Back at home by 4:30, we grilled some chicken for dinner. Later we downloaded photos from both our cameras and showed Betty more about the Elements photo program.

We're all pretty worn out, and the dogs all crashed early. Phone still dead.....TV still on the fritz. No response to my email to DishNetwork customer support for the TV. Maybe they are trying to call on the phone?? MAYBE its just the customer support for paying your bill.....Or MAYBE they make it really hard for you to contact them. I don't know.

Saturday September 15 2007

Tell me if you blame me for feeling hexed by technology. This morning first thing I was going to use the phone. It's dead again. Probably was dead last night. I emailed Sandy to let her know, but here it is the weekend.

After breakfast (biscuits, scrambled eggs and sausage) and doing dishes, Betty and I were going to take the dogs on another ATV run. I have never done this before and don't know how or why it happened now, but I left the key partway on and the battery was dead. So took it out and Joe is recharging it for me. Next thing Joe had been watching Fox News and tried to change to ESPN to watch football and the TV went haywire. It's a long story, but I usually have to get the TV back when he pushes the wrong buttons, but this time it wouldn't go back. When he tried to watch the TV in the studio the same thing happened there. If you switch channels it goes to cable and snowy blank screen. He gave up and went out to paint all his wood trim on the buildings. And I gave up on it too. Could not get it to straighten out by trying everything I know, which is limited for sure.

So we walked with the dogs instead of 4-wheeling. We also spent some time showing Betty how to work with her photos in the Elements program, because she just got a beautiful new Canon digital camera. Had lunch, and then called Sheral on the cell phone and went over there for a little while to return one of her plates and visit with them. Had not seen them for some time, so was glad to catch up there. They are trying to repair a floor on one of their houses, and putting drain pipe and gravel next to the foundation where water has been coming in on the floor in the spring. Its a pretty big job.

After dinner I wrote the TV problem down and emailed to DishNetwork (no phone) trying to find out from their support how we might fix the TV. Frustrating day.

Friday September 14 2007

Tie Hack History Site - Where Railroad Ties Came From


Desert Dog....."SCARY, MOM!!! "

Green River Lake

Amigo and Sparky - Finally Friends

Green River at the Outlet

End of a Perfect Day

Up early and preparing to take a day sightseeing on the Upper Green. Waffles, sausage and eggs for breakfast. Did dishes and vacuumed. Told Joe we'd be back tonight and loaded up Betty and I, and Sparky, Raven and Amigo. We were out of here by about 10 a.m. Stopped in Pinedale for gas. Next door was Callaghan Cabinets where they sell some appliances, so I inquired about what brands they carry. Right there they have very high end brands Viking and Wolf, and she gave me the card of a place in Jackson which carries a bunch of brands and will come and install them, take the old stuff away and do any maintenance. Their store is in Jackson. Took Betty into our newly remodeled bank to show her the artwork they had there, which is quite impressive, all Western paintings.

We made it up to The Place right about noon where we planned to have some lunch. Fortunately they were open or we would have been out of luck for food any where else. Drove along the Green River, stopping to read historical signs and do a lot of photography along the way. I had hoped the fall colors would have changed more, but they had begun. We stopped to take a picture and identify some ducks, and Betty said "What's THAT!!" There was a quite large bull moose and I did manage to get half a dozen pictures of him. Betty was clicking, but she didn't get any picture of him taken. I told her she had buck fever. HA! We were also lucky to see some swans on the river both coming and going. On up to the Green River Lakes. We were fortunate they had graded the road about a week before, as I had been hearing how rough it has been. I couldn't tell it had been worked that recently, so imagined that either my car rode really well or everyone else was a bunch of sissies.

We walked the dogs several times along the way, and had a good time at the lake. Raven and Sparky went right in swimming. It probably was the biggest water that Raven had ever seen in her life. Amigo was wandering along and all of a sudden seemed to become aware of the water ....and the waves. He was a hoot, telling us water had never done that before. So we got a good laugh about him making a new discovery. By the time we left he seemed comfortable with the big water coming after him. Back down the way we came. We stopped at The Place again for ice tea to go and went back into town. It had begun to be stormy coming down from the mountains, and got windy with showers.

We stopped in the library to see an exhibit of aerial photographs of the Upper Green and Wind Rivers, and they had taken it down early so we were disappointed. But there was another exhibit - the theme of the show is Between Fences, and the presentation of “Fence Posts”, a community art exhibit each one decorated by a different person, Several people I know had decorated fence posts in creative ways to show how communities can raise or eliminate barriers (I think). I was looking for Charm's but she told me later she hadn't delivered hers yet. Then to Falers for groceries and home. Joe had fixed himself some leftovers. We unloaded and put away the groceries and Betty and I heated up chicken enchiladas in the microwave with a salad. Then downloaded my photos - 89 today - and looked at them on "slide show". At home we had a beautiful double rainbow (twice) and nice lighting as the sun set. About 8 the thunder and lightning started again and we heard rain on the studio roof. I hope we get some nice moisture out of it.

The article came out in the Sublette Examiner newspaper for the art show in the barn, and it was nice, but no pictures with it. I guess she didn't get them soon enough and it was too close to the deadline.

Thursday September 13 2007

Joe Cleaning the Corral

Betty got here about 2:30 p.m. yesterday. We didn't go to the tea, so I will plan on it for next year. We have been visiting and didn't do much today. Last night I sent Dawn 26 photos for the article that she will put onto pinedaleonline about the art show. She wanted 50, but 26 took me until about 2 or 3 a.m. so I've been really worn out today.

This morning we thought about going in to town to shop for appliances, but in the end it wouldn't have done any good. I found out all I needed to with a phone call. We googled stoves and dishwashers last night and some this morning and got a pretty good idea of features of the main brands and what to get. I may have decided on getting Maytag for both. And called the man in charge of the appliances at Falers and he said he could get Maytag even though they don't carry that brand. They will come in about 2 weeks after I order them. I'll probably have Falers get them, and will have to call a person to install them if Joe doesn't want to do it. He may want to install them himself in that case.

This afternoon we took all the dogs for a slow ATV ride/run around the field. Amigo hadn't done this before, unless he did it in his previous life. He had a ball. Betty rode on the seat behind me. Amigo is a big Rottweiler and she has always been concerned that he and Sparky would fight. I never thought they would, and they have been good as gold, so Amigo is getting more and more privileges for being off his leash or long line. He has ignored nearby antelope and the horses. Afterwards we sat in lawn chairs for a while, until it got cool. Tomorrow we may take an easy sightseeing drive and will be looking for yellow aspens.

Joe began to clean out the corral today and will use the manure to put out on the field for fertilizer. So I got a couple of pictures of him working on that chore. I made really easy baked breaded pork chops for dinner. We all had some of Aubrey's blackberry wine a little bit ago, excellent, and are ready to call it a night.