still waiting

Hoping that the warm weather will take hold, it was another chilly windy day. Just cleaning things up and trying to get some rest. Waiting for a family visit later in the week.

Silly mules

It was breezy today and Too Tall & Salsa decided to start up a game with the neighboring horses over the fence. 

More off the workbench

Today was a nice warm day

Here are a couple more projects that were finished recently

A personalized rope bronc halter

And a memorial horsehair necklace and bracelet. The photos don't do these much justice, the purple crystals are tanzanite and very sparkly.

Just waiting

Another breezy day of spring cleaning. The chicks officially moved downstairs, one step closer to going outside when they finish growing their adult feathers.

Salsa and CJ tearing around in mad circles around out back, pausing and looking around to see if they have impressed anyone with their antics, then taking off again.

Watching the bull elk on the horizon, their antlers have already started growing back.

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springtime weather

It was another day of snow in the morning and green in the afternoon

There are always a bunch of horned larks poking around in the snow in the yard.

By the afternoon the snow is gone.

The herd coming in for dinner.

Happy Easter

I hope everybody had a good holiday...

...full of fun, food and good company

Snow for the Easter Bunny

A little dusting of snow this afternoon

Another day inside, we got some peeps cupcakes ready for brunch tomorrow

Chicken wrangler

When it is too windy to go out and play there are still things to do inside

Like tell the chicks stories

Toe biters

Fat little cochin

Springtime?

I saw this and I thought it was funny and then last night it snowed again, we were blanketed with a few inches this morning 

INSTALLING SPRING...
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 topsy turvey tomato

The snow all melted off by this afternoon. Good moisture for the grass but it made the footing a little slimy.  Tonight we're getting some rain and possibly some thunderstorms, rain is good!  

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and fresh off the workbench

I got a couple of things finished today

This padded rhinestone dog collar and braided leash

And a bosal hanger

On the workbench

A couple of pictures of what's on the workbench

I just need to finish stitching and ship these

Dutch Oven Spiced Roasted Chicken

We have had some great rain showers rolling through yesterday and today and the grass sure appreciates it. 

I modified this recipe just a bit from a Martha Stewart recipe. We had a little chicken in the fridge and it sounded good.

Ingredients: 

1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 whole chicken (3-4 lbs) giblets removed, rinsed, patted dry (legs tied)
coarse salt and ground pepper
3 carrots cut into 2" pieces
2 unpeeled oranges cut into wedges (our oranges were fresh off a family tree)
2 med sweet potatoes, peeled, halved and cut into wedges (I left this part out)

Directions: 


Heat oven to 450 degrees. Layer veggies and oranges and 1/2 cup water on the bottom of a small dutch oven. Season chicken with salt and pepper and rub with spice mix and place in dutch oven and roast for 30 minutes with lid. Uncover lid and cook for another 30 min until juices run clear and thermometer reads 165 degrees.

This came out nice and tender with a good flavor. 

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Birthday boy

Little CJ is two this year, where did the time go? He was born the first week of May. His daily games with Salsa the mule have progressed from bitey face to knee biter. 

Salsa is very patient and responds to the hock biting by sitting

 

Around and around they go like this

Salsa trying to drop down to knee biting level 

And CJ knows it is time to scoot

Oh deer

This is our local herd of mule deer. There are several local herds but this is a group that we see almost daily, often more than once a day.

They were doing their usual, standing around in the road, so I waited for them to wander out of the way. One of the does in this group is wearing a radio collar as part of a study being done by CSU.

Spring snow

It started snowing last night and has been snowing and blowing on and off all day. The snow is pretty heavy and wet. We welcome the moisture.

Rosie is perfectly happy to have a roll in the fluffy stuff. 

Some of the snow thawed and blew away, but our creek bed is drifted full of snow again.