Memorial Day Monday

The day brought more cattle punching. It took two kids on ATV's 45 minutes to catch the horses. Then it went downhill from there. Part of the process was to separate pairs though-that made keeping them cattle calm a priority. There are seven pregnant or dry cows left in the upper pasture.

The llamas were undisturbed as were we. I had read a recipe about how to make pulled pork. Yesterday I slow-cooked a pork roast and "pulled it" last night. It turned out just like downtown. Baked beans, coleslaw, and potato salad, completed the Memorial Day feast. Last night I watched the PBS broadcast of the celebration in Washington. They don't change much from year to year. And of course there are some "just wars" and the batty wars. Pretty much everything from Vietnam to now has been pretty dubious. But, the honor of having served dutifully is not diminished by the reasons for war. I ran through the list of our family members: Revolutionary War, both sides of the Civil War, WWI, WWII, Korean, and peacetime service, both killed and survived. And it is also a day of remembrance for all the ancestors. A good lot, they were/are.

Skyped with Therese briefly. She called me-she was trying to ditch Jeanne. Rene is improving! He is able to form sentences now and has good appetite. She looked thin but jubilant. The course of things is not at all clear but she will take what she can get. Marc's biopsy of his prostate turned out negative. So good health reports all around.

Got a Skype call from Audrey and Matt. Bless Skype! So good to see the little girl. She was just home from a California trip and glad to see her dad and kitty and dog. The pretty pink cast comes off in two weeks.

I've been tweaking the wifi/aircard system and have gotten up to 600 Mbps which is pretty darned good. It makes Skype workable and I can even see some streaming video if the wind is just right. Google has an equivalent service that is integrated with Google Mail. I am going to try that out too.

Weekend Update!

Friday before a long weekend felt like it had to be used constructively and I was off to town for business, mail, and hardware store trips. It was a pretty productive day. The pressure gauge on the pump in the well house had frozen and spouted a modest but maddening stream when the well was on. So I had been manually turning it on and off. Thursday and Friday were warm, nay HOT, days, 85+, so getting sprayed was not a negative consideration. It went better than expected and hand-tightening the gauge was good enough so I will just slip it off when I vacate next. Continuous water at the taps now.

I was about to address a letter to Mother Nature being more specific about my weather desires. It went from too damn cold to too damn hot overnight. By Friday afternoon, I taking storm windows off and installing window fans. Then I checked the forecast. We are back to chill nights and cool days which are delightful in the afternoon. Good thing too because the hot days runoff filled the Little Wind River right up and we would have floods if it hadn't cooled off.

The bout with the flu etc., impressed on me that we seniors with "conditions" are somewhat more vulnerable. If you can't take your meds you tend to get screwed up in a hurry. Only this Sunday I feel like the headache might be leaving for good and my feet won't be squishy forever and my blood sugar and pressure will even out. I threatened myself with a visit to the doc if Tuesday rolls around and I am still feeling lousy.

Honey was getting short shrift on the attention and playtime so she was a doggy. She ventured on the highway for a road-killed pheasant then gave me the cold-shoulder all day after I took it away from her. Dog barf with feathers is disgusting. She chased something in the pasture- I am not sure what. We had a thief in the night: a raccoon got in the porch fridge and cleaned it out. The girl was seriously upset. She hunted it and has been on overdrive ever since-to the point of making it hard for me to sleep at night. I made a velcro lock for the fridge- just like the one in Florida. Unlike the RV park, if I catch the little bandit it will be toast. It knows where the cache is now.

The neighbors decided to work their cattle yesterday. I saw the horses unloading, and the trucks arriving, and the portable corrals set up and decided that the temptation was just too cruel for Honey so we would go elsewhere. Kristi was having a little rodeo in the pasture and the liability of my dog entering the fray did not appeal. They had about 50 cow-calf pairs they were tagging and banding.
I thought three hours would about do it. Memorial Day weekend at Wal-Mart was highly entertaining. I dawdled home along the bottom road taking pictures and was surprised to see they had barely made a dent. I had to keep an eye on the pup so I sat on the deck and observed. For some reason, they corralled the herd in one corner of the pasture. The corrals were a quarter of a mile away. Two, sometimes three, riders would separate a pair and try to walk them to the corral where the sheer concentration of vehicles and people made the cows highly suspicious. They would make a break for it. Then the chase was on and Camey would come racing out on a four wheeler and spook them good. Kristi had to take the littlest kids for a potty break or something. Her horse decided to work anyway and, riderless, joined the others. I watched until it got too dark, cold, and windy but I enjoyed the afternoon. The girl was good as gold-watched it all but never left my side.

Gonna Live

The flu part is in the rear view mirror, the headache lingers but is leaving. Slow days but with good wishes from many quarters and my Everett medical advisor, I am improving. Sooz wrote about rehydrating suggesting vita water, etc. That jogged my memory about some Electrolyte packets I got in Florida. I am not sure what it is about them-I think excipients from the Great Salt Lake, but they have quick effect on my swelly calves and general well-being. Delores, working in the school, always has the pulse of what is going around and said lots of sinus infections and 24 hour flu. I think I just got lucky and got both at once.

I did get my wifi system set up to work with the aircard. The Internet connection has been slow. This seems a little better. I can get a little elevation on the aircard and better line-of-sight on the radio.

I called Thayne because one of his cows was just having fits-charging the gate and frantically running around. He came down and said the poor cow had lost her calf-it died. Harlan hauled it off yesterday. Thayne, bless his gentle soul, comes down twice a day to supervise the feeding of a blind, runtish, calf-a short-changed twin. Another cow lost her calf but will let this one suckle if she is in a stanchion. He is hoping for an adoption eventually. I really enjoy watching the cows. The little community is interesting. The cows are mostly nonchalant about their babies and the calves group and play, butting heads, running like the wind, kicking up their heels and just having that youthful joy in being alive. The weather has turned decent and I can sit outside for my vitamin D treatments.

Spewsday!

Yesterday's gut ache was probably a harbinger of today's massive headache-right side, and subsequent spewing until 4:00 p.m. I tried some meds early on but they did not stay down. I finally was able to get some down gradually. Miserable day.

Shortlisted

After weekend excitement, I started on my list. The excitement was Tye Eric went missing. Lenore Collins braved Honey's protests to come to my house, Kristy and Daryne were in my driveway and she was hysterical. Tye is a handsome and active little guy and you would not know anything was wrong unless you tried to converse with him or supervise him. He has some skills, like driving and riding motorcycles which are unusual for a seven year old but he was plagued by petit-mal seizures for the first six years of life and speech and verbal cognition are very poor. Thus he has almost no impulse control and very poor conversational skills. He was found. His folks have their hands full.

Jeanne, dear Jeanne, is obsessing about Therese and Rene. I managed to keep the Skype messaging down to 30 minutes today. "Ain't it Awful" is a game that goes nowhere. It always ends up about her.

Occasionally I declare a "crap day." Everything I have been dreading is done at once. First on the list was settling up for Buster's final expenses and collecting his ashes. A little plastic box. I was fine until I got to the van and Honey was on the console wagging and sniffing for Buster. She was so excited. I crashed. It was a grey rainy day and I got a gut ache. We went home. Tomorrow will be another crap day. Off to the Fort to pay the irrigation-I do that in person because they lost my check one year and it turned ugly.

Eventually there will be another dog in our lives-maybe. It will probably find us. Honey really needs a buddy but for right now I am so pleased with her growth. She is much more affectionate, enjoys a pat or a rub and a nightly before-sleep snuggle. She is pretty independent-in fact she was coyote guarding this morning but with the cold weather the door is closed a lot and I hear a little whimper, go to the door and she is already in the yard with a toy-wants some playtime. I oblige and she really is pretty creative. Loves to be chased, tug of war, keepaway, and takes a lot of breaks for reassuring pats. She makes me laugh. She has a sense of humor. Her receptive vocabulary is growing. She is sticking closer to home. If she does wander it is down in the pasture where it is fine.

There was a young coyote in the lower pasture this morning. Honey alerted and we watched for awhile. I almost felt sorry for it. The curious calves would scamper toward it and it would retreat. Honey made a foray. Some ravens were chasing it. It was having a crap day of its own.

Plum Tickled

Though it is still cool, the plum blossoms are profuse, the bees are buzzing, (I am glad to see those critters), and there is a promise of Spring/Summer in the air. Saturday I ran up to Guy and Janet's doling out Irish Liquorice and notes. Had a good visit with Guy. They had gone to Torrington to buy some heiferettes on Friday and they were delivered on Saturday morning. Hollis has been branding in every part of the state. I have been running up and down the road with some regularity. That needs to be cut back to "necessary."

Matt and Jason video Skyped last night. Jason got Matt outfitted for that and it was a treat. They are having a good time. Skype is great fun. I met the cat and said hi to the dog, Dmitri. Eve had a list of "honey-do's" which they were happy to do. Jason provides a little buffer for Matt. Eve is supportive of him but the woman is very intense and the possible divorce has her in high gear. The Skype call was a welcome surprise. Now I will be able to visit with Audrey, too.

The list I had on Friday is still operational-intact. Monday?

Rich visits

Rich called from Dubois and we agreed to meet at the Wind River Casino for lunch. Then he decided to take the scenic route through Ethete so I sat in the van cooling off the dog for quite awhile. I had to laugh-his adventuring is something I would do. I went into the casino to "swipe my card" and got $5.00 and half off the second meal for lunch. So I was primed. Rich looks great. That my much younger brother will turn 60 in a couple of months was a reality check. We had a great visit. Age and having children have mellowed us out. What our parents would have been upset about, elicits a "meh." Que sera, sera. Hilarity ensues. What we thought would happen and what happened in our lives bear no resemblance to one another. We had a great lunch for not much money with my "winnings."

I took him a bag of licorice. Janet's mom likes it and I found a place on the internet. I bought a big bag which I will parcel out. He called from Shoshone. He'd had to stop and put the licorice in the back of his car. It was not going to last until Casper otherwise. He makes me laugh.

I still have my list. Manana.

Rainy Day

Cuz Donna sent me this picture from a few years ago. Smooching my Buster. I will cherish it.

A major rainy day- not just here. Rich drove from Casper to Jackson today and he said it was raining all over. A good soak. It was not cold and I could see rain and plum blossoms out my window so I really enjoyed it. Honey was a typical kid. I had the door open so she could come and go. She spent most of the morning in the back porch and complained a lot.

There were seven items on my shopping list but I left Wal Mart $104.00 lighter. Some items were big ones,-dog food, but I also needed to stock some staples. Lots of canned goods. Nothing for dinner. Rich and I miscommunicated. He said we would go out for dinner when he stopped on the way back. I thought that was tonight. He evidently stays overnight when he goes to Jackson. I got worried, to say nothing of hungry and called him at 8:30. I think he was having a good time at the Cowboy Bar. I had some good leftovers though.

I have a list for tomorrow which will help balance out laidback today. I have been feeling well. Got straightened out.

Peaceable Kingdom

Thanks mostly to Thayne who has an affinity for wildlife, the patch allows coexistence. He can see no harm in the coyotes and in fact sees benefits. They hunt the rodents but the cows and calves are quite used to them. This year Honey is somewhat more tolerant of them. She barks and marks out her territory but if they confine themselves to the lower pasture they get off with a warning. That may have to do with not having backup in the form of Buster, too. I dreamt of Buster-we were in Florida and getting ready to go but I couldn't find him. I rode my bike all over looking for him-then I awoke and went uhhn.

I haven't felt well for a couple of days. Swelly legs, constant hunger, tired, heart pounding, allergy attacks, almost urinary incontinence, but a dose of minerals and stricter attention to my meds seems to have helped. I think the altitude may have something to do with it and the cold. But that is much better today and I cannot complain about the weather the past couple of days. Yesterday was gorgeous and warm.

A long Skype video call with Nicole and Andre. They are back in the Rialta, down in New York, getting the boat ready to put in the water for the summer. Rene seemed to be skating on his radiation therapy but this last weekend he became weak and was unable to go to the bathroom. Not good. Therese had meetings with the doctors Monday. She is getting help and support from Rene's brother and her children in the daily routines. Jeanne is hyper about things. In fact, my Florida chums have spilled over into my Wyoming time more than I am comfortable with-Tony makes long calls, Jeanne does Skype messaging a LOT.

Bonnie's book gift, A Good, Good Pig, was a delight and a boon to my soul at this time. Of course I have had pigs and appreciate them but the book is more about how animals enrich our lives, and teach us-and leave us.

Jason will arrive in Medford to see his brother and mother today. I am glad. Matt has had Audrey for ten days, ending today. He sounds like he is on an even keel but Jason will be a boost.

I tried to see Delores and Don on Saturday but when I called they were waiting for roto-rooter. Not a good time for a visit, Don said. I had a phone conversation with Delores. She goes to W. Virginia on the 15th of June. Her divorced son has a new girlfriend in Minneapolis, and son Greg and Kinsy tied the knot in Las Vegas where they went for motocross races. They have been together for awhile and they seem a good match. Our mutual friends, Denis and Ida had to put their kitty to sleep. They drove to Fort Collins for a cremation and came back with ashes to place by the ashes of their dog. These darn animals do get into your heart. Bless them.

Dinner with the deer/dears

Janet's folks, Susie and Max invited several for dinner at their nice home in Sinks Canyon. Janet and Susie fixed some great Mexican grub, we had some sweet South Dakota wine. They invited a Mr McCaskie (sp?) who is even more senior than the rest of us. I like older people. I like young people too but they are in the process of writing their stories. Elders are closer to the end and their stories are more complete and very interesting. McCaskie had spent the day (thoughtfully) writing the who/when/ where on his old photographs. He was born not 12 miles from where I live but had ranged to Venezuela, Honduras, and Iraq in the oil bidness. Fascinating. The old boy is also really "with it." Susie and Max as well as Janet and Guy have deep roots here and have great memories and stories of lots of characters. You almost have to be from Wyoming to appreciate "characters and tales." Not much judgement in the tales but great interest in the ways people adapt to their circumstances. Guy seemed to have forgiven many of the mean things old Floyd did and they attended his funeral which I thought was great-hearted of them.

Janet got ahold of a memoir that explained "Johnny Behind the Rock." For a long time she knew the place and thought Johnny was a person. The book explained that the establishment along the highway had to build their biffy away from the well so put it behind a rock. Customers would inquire about a restroom and would be told "John is behind the rock."

The deer pictures were taken through Susie and Max's picture window. Max built their home and another one up the road.

Friend Bonnie sent me a book which I started and love. It is called the "Good Good Pig." It is a memoir. Bon was kind to include a note that said it was not a "message book." Characteristic humor. I am sensing already somebody is going to die and am dreading it but I identify with the narrator/author who possesses an unusual empathy/connection to animals.

All Right!

The weather has improved. With a jacket, I can enjoy my coffee on the deck. The snow geese are migrating northward as are the Canada honkers. They love this patch of ground as much as I do. Mourning doves are establishing territories-I think I will have two pairs this year. The cows are giving birth right and left and the calves are hysterical as they form little groups to run and play. The llamas gambol when they see the feed wagon and the cattle amble. Pheasants are mating. Honey is more settled in her maturity. She companionably leans against her outdoor dog bed and chews a bone or plays with her toys. She is ever watchful but does not feel compelled to micromanage.

Janet's mom extended a dinner invitation for this evening. It will be good to spend some time with good company.

The census taker came yesterday. The deadline is today and in rez fashion, they were in a lather. I was a "proxy" for the Delaunays whose gate is always locked. There were two other addresses that hold no occupants. She evidently was not working the other side of the street. I wonder about the accuracy of some of the data. I am pretty sure I gave the benefit of the doubt on Charlene's age.

Train Wreck

The picture above is of a locomotive my grandfather drove into a burst dam sandbar in June of 1932. The wreck included 17 boxcars that were reduced to kindling. Loss to the Santa Fe Railroad was $40,000.00 He was held blameless. Likewise, the two man crew of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe train could not avoid a huge boulder that the spring storms helped loosen from the wall of Wind River Canyon. They escaped with a soaking and I assume some bruises. The similarity ends there. I imagine they are burning up $40,000 an hour on this project.

A derailment service is in charge and it was like watching a ballet as the heavy equipment operators attacked the wreck and the clearing of the track. It was amazing what they could do with those machines. A web album is posted.

It was a better day in terms of weather today. Much of the nearly 8 inches of snow we got is gone and it was almost balmy in the Wind River Canyon. The Native Americans used to winter there with good reason. It is protected and the hot springs in Thermopolis were ways to get warm. My spirits were good as we had our 100 mile field trip (roundtrip). The girl was patient so I decided to take her on some walkabouts and photo safaris on the way back. My first stop was the biffy at the state park campground. Emblazoned on the door was "Fee Must Be Paid to Use any Park Facility." I personally regard $4.00 to take a leak as exorbitant. I had no intention of paying. Comes the park attendant and pickup. So I make a big show of paying the damn fee-to pee. Having plunked it down I decided to take the dog on a good walk down by the river and snap some pictures. It may have been worth it to her but I am still irked.

Click the link for the annotated slideshow.

Wind River Canyon Train Wreck May 12, 2010

When the going gets tough, we go to town.

Snow, cold, and the power went out. There were several "bumps" before it gave up the ghost. Taking a page from tent campers, I loaded up the dog and headed for warmer places. The snow was dense and it was a chore clearing off the van. The roads looked good. The blue tractor and the hay wagon pulled in as I was about to leave so I visited with the Fegler men before I hit the road. With book in hand, I went to the Trailhead for a Denver Omelet. They must have changed cooks because everything was golden. I dawdled over a couple of cups of coffee. I was reluctant to leave the warmth. WalMart got a visit but no money. I called the power company and they couldn't tell me if the power was back on at my house but steam was rising from the highways so I knew some warmth was hitting the cabin and decided to chance it. The power was back on.

I tried to play with the dog but it is just too cold for me. Ended up reading and dozing, cooking dinner and here we are.

They say this is great for the land

Hopefully, the land is enjoying it. I am not. Cooped up with an antsy dog, a television that can't get a signal in a snowstorm, and an internet signal that is fading, is making me whine. I am not going to venture out. Feglers fed with the big tractor today. When that comes out, I stay in. Fortunately we are well-provisioned. What with the tornadoes on the plains (once again-I went through the very places 10 days ago that got blasted- I could not discern activity that Pat Robertson would say deserved God's wrath.) And with the big earthquakes around the world, it feels like mother earth is uneasy.

We are being snowballed as the snow accumulates and falls from the trees onto the roof. A snowplow just went by on the highway.

Warts are supposed to go away of their own accord. I have had one on my thumb for a long time. In fact it was starting to look like my thumb had a thumb. Some months ago I bought a kit to freeze it. Did no good at all. A websearch revealed interesting information. All warts are are a result of the human papilloma virus-the same one that results in cervical cancer, and other awful things. There are thirty strains of it. Mine was painful finally. A home remedy I chose was a cottonball soaked in vinegar, taped to the appendage. Now it is bigger and uglier but paler. Maybe this will work. It did not say how long you had to continue this treatment. It smarted a lot when I began but is tolerable now. Perhaps the thumb will drop off along with vile growth.

I think I have a book I have not read. Prelude to a spontaneous nap? Perhaps I should lay down in case that happens.

Yawn

Nicole and Andre sent these pictures of the drawing Therese worked on in Florida. They drove down to buy them lunch before Rene's treatment commences and went to the gallery where the picture is being exhibited. Therese's assignment was to do something on the theme "leaving the scene." She has never worked in black before, and the theme and feeling is almost prophetic of events. The only dash of color is the clown's discarded nose.

I think the bug that has hounded me is over. I soaked three pillows last night. A nap was in order on this rainy day. After a trip to town to provision up in the face of the "winter storm warning," I made the girl come in out of the rain and we slept. She is unfazed by the weather. Buster wanted to avoid getting wet-ever. Feglers moved the cows to the lower pasture because the upper one is getting muddy from the rain. Keeps them from having to get the tractor out to unstick the hay wagon too. So Honey can take a vacation.

Not difficult to please

The thermometer got up to 60, the sun was shining and the wind was calm. I got my sunshine and warmth fix today. It makes a huge difference. I hope it tides me over because 2 inches of snow is forecast tonight and tomorrow. Next weekend is supposed to be better.

If you click on the above heavily edited picture you can see Wily Coyote and a pheasant by the fence post. Honey had chased Wily to the bottom of the pasture but she is getting warier. She does her job and comes back to the house after making her point. She played with me and with her new toy. I think she is feeling better too.

Cuz Ann sent me some letters I had written to her mother and to her. As always, with Ann, there might be a little malice in every boon. One of the letters was one I had written to her after she jumped me about my mother's condition in her last days. I laid it out there. The letter was a reminder that those last months were a trial. Mom's intent was to get off the damn planet and we were trying to pull the other direction. It was not a particularly nice memento to arrive so close to Mother's Day. At this remove, those months are barely remembered and the other 80 years are remembered (mostly) fondly. I was lucky to have her.

Therese and Rene Skyped today to me and Jeanne and Nicole and Andre drove to Montreal to take them to lunch. Rene starts chemo and radiation tomorrow. They both looked good. I will hold that memory too as I am sure the next six weeks are going to be very tough.

Facebook

I have to admit I signed up for Facebook awhile ago and didn't really see the point. And I really don't get the games like Farmville and Mafia. Who gives a darn if you baked an imaginary cake? Now that I have my friends group populated with folks I know well, I am starting to see it is interesting. My niece moved into a new house in Denver yesterday, Rich posted some encouraging words to Matt, Jason went fishing today and caught the prize below. I see some other fish being filleted in the background.

As for me, I complained about the 26 degree morning on Facebook. It did get up to 50 degrees today and I appreciated that. I was able to be outside a little more. Tomorrow will be even better and then it goes in the dumper again. Sheesh! Honey found a coyote right up close to the house this morning and gave chase. Other than that she was kind of mopey-strange: I handfeed her some little morsel and she politely takes it and buries it. She started to bury a new toy I bought her today before I rescued it. We miss our little buddy. He used to rat her out when she started to wander too far. Now I have to watch like a hawk. That means going out in the cold.

Honey has never been as motivated by food as most dogs but she does like adventures. When I went to town we took a walk in City Park. WalMart for dog food and a visit to Harry and Irene Fegler's garage sale were the ostensible reasons for the trip. Irene had her 80th birthday while I was in Florida so I took her a box of chocolates.

I called Matt for an attitude check. He is suffering but philosphical. He gets Audrey back tomorrow night. He and Cheryl have separate travel plans late May and early June so I will coordinate with that AND when he has Audrey for my visit.

I sent the Branding Pix link to Rene and Therese and got back a query from Quebec: "What is branding?" Rene has still not started his radiation treatments-the doctors SAID they wanted him to build strength. They took a quick trip to Ottawa for the Tulip Festival and enjoyed it. He is in good enough physical condition that they are going to give him 16 consecutive days of radiation. I am glad they are having this time together because I am sure he is going to go downhill. I hope for an improvement after that.

The old body was protesting yesterday-achy and feverish. I upped my antibiotics and took Aleve and felt better today. Probably stress related. I know my attitude is ebbing these days. "This too shall pass," was the Mason bromide. I can hear my mother and grandmother now. And they were right.

Crap Weather!

I have been home a week and the weather has been hostile the whole time. Snow night before last , snow yesterday, snow last night. More to come. My thermometer says 48 degrees but there is still ice and snow in the shadows. The only time I feel warm is under the covers with a heating pad. Trips to town with the heater on are nice too. But it is taking a toll on me. Warm climes in the winter time are healthier for me. Jason's doctor is now including vitamin D screening in his blood panels. We simply don't make enough or get enough especially in the northern areas. That and magnesium are two supplements everyone ought to consider.

Interesting reactions to the Branding pictures. It is a brutal process. Why brand? Many times cattle go on the open range with other rancher's cattle. A permanent, visible mark is necessary to get them back and if the market price is right a cow can be worth $700- $1000.00 which makes them subject to rustling even in modern times. No brand is an invitation to put one on. Castration? Without it you get what is called a "hamburger bull." The meat is so tough that it is only fit for hamburger which does not bring much on the market. And the next time you look at a $6.00 a pound steak remember that the rancher got somewhere between 70 cents and $1.10 for that pound if the market is decent.

Branding

Staying busy helps cope with a loss. Blessedly, Janet invited me to take pictures of their branding. Honey had to stay in the van and barked incessantly but her mind was occupied too. She met some other working dogs-with real jobs. I met some new faces too. Hollis is seeing Cyndy whom I know. Cyndy's sister Sara came too. They did most of the roping and riding until a shift change was declared. These women are phenomenal: Pretty, wholesome, and so capable. I told Hollis they make me feel inadequate. He said that is why he likes to hang with them-if he gets in trouble he has backup. The horses and horsemanship, male and female is excellent. There has to be a unity between horse and rider to rope off a horse, get a heel, drag to the head rack, and stand with the right amount of tension to keep the calves immobilized and not pull their heads off. No room for error.

In addition to overseeing tagging and actually vaccinating all the calves, Janet had a hearty branding lunch on the stove. The operation is setup and coordinated by Guy with help from Hollis. A big undertaking and we had a cool but windless day to do it.You will meet others in the web album:

Wyoming Branding Givens 2010

My little brother frets over me and Valerie is in Hawaii helping her daughter recuperate from a rib removal so I got four calls. Yesterday was mom's birthday and we had some nice memories to share. Loss is a part of life. You just have to be so grateful for what you had. Nicole and Andre Skyped from Quebec. Andre carried the computer all over the condo showing me their house and Nicole's marvelous paintings. She really is quite talented. They had heard about Buster from Jeanne. People have been so very kind with calls and messages. I feel like I am getting my equilibrium back.

Now if the weather would turn nice-we had snow last night, that would bring a lifting of spirits all around.

Reality Bites

My beautiful red-headed boy is gone and there is a hole in our lives. Yesterday was very hard. The vet said an operation was necessary. His bloat was either fluid or a mass. X-rays showed his little heart was very enlarged but the blood tests were pretty normal. He didn't survive the anaesthetic. Buster made it home and had a few days in the old haunts where he was born and grew up. He had a nice liver breakfast yesterday. He was a great little dog-my bed snuggler, my worry-wart, always sweet and ready for a rub or a brush. He was the one who was at my feet. He is alive in every memory around this place.

I was almost home when I thought about Honey. She had waited patiently in the van while all this transpired. I turned around and we went back for a "viewing." She sniffed him thoroughly. She seemed to understand and when we got home she went for a liedown. I did too. We were both crying in our sleep. She has been sticking pretty close to me. She has been kind of demanding about playtime-her companion is gone. Buster's life was pretty good to the end-just smaller and smaller-more sleep, less play.

As someone at the park pointed out, the major cause of death is birth. We know at the get-go that we will likely survive our dogs. They enrich our lives so much they are worth the heartbreak when they go. But the heartbreak is real. My eyes are still leaking a little. But Buster has a piece of my heart forever and soon there will be a second box of ashes to go traveling with Goodie and me and Honey until....

Reality Sets In

Florida always seems like a vacation. Home is reality. Lots to do. I may run out to Oregon but first Buster needs Vet attention which will happen today. He is bloated but otherwise seems active and eats well, has an interest in life. Honey is busy being sheriff and tending to her cows. Cheryl has left the family home for a "trial separation" in Oregon. My granddaughter Audrey fell off some park equipment and broke her arm in two places. She has pins and rods and a pink cast. Poor little muffin. My Dodge van started and ran like a champ which was nice because my beloved turnpike cruiser Ford van got me home and its battery died and wouldn't even take a charge. I do heavily use my car batteries with lots of plug ins. I buy NAPA 75 month batteries. I already got a free one and the second one lasted long enough to only get me a substantial pro-rated discount for the one I installed yesterday. Need to get an oil change. I got one in Florida at Pep-Boys when I got the tires balanced but 2500 miles is 2500 miles.

I have visited with several neighbors and gotten caught up on life here in the valley. Everybody has their trials and seem to cope. Tain't easy for anybody. On the day I got home,they buried a neighbor-Floyd. He had been struggling with his health but had lived many years most of them being a royal pain in the ass to nearly everybody. But his life and times were not easy either. An interesting story too long for a blog.

The locale change has had some effects. Allergy and headaches and the altitude change is noticeable this year but I think I am acclimating. I have been able to layer up and sit on my deck and watch the cattle with their new babies. The weather has everybody behind. Seeds aren't going to sprout when it is in the 30's nearly every night. I am wearing a jacket from rising to retiring.

It appears I was lucky in my timing and routing coming home. The floods, tornadoes and heavy rains in the southeast have all been in country I go through normally and even on this trip. A two day delay would have put me smack dab in the middle of it all.

Picaresque: the Sequel

Having maxxed out the photo allowance in Picaresque, my blog, I must start anew if there are to be more pictures. This link will take you back to the original Picaresque.
http://elante.blogspot.com/