Looking pleased with himself, but always goofy with one ear up-one ear down.
He doesn't howl, he doesn't bay, he has an annoying high pitched yip, yip, yip, that gets our attention.
She's b a c k...... every few months she wanders over, gets treed, then high-tails it out of here when we distract Cort and no one is looking.
She's large, she's cute, but we don't want her nesting here and raising a family again. Can't blame her for trying though, this is a nice place to live.
Several beautiful iron 'privacy fences' encircle family plots.
On a hill side, the trails meander up and down and all around.
Some markers are interesting indeed! I want to know this whole story. And what's up with the coins?
A few wooden markers remain, most so worn they can't be read. Someone recently had painted in the carved wording on this sad plank.
What a peaceful, gentle spot.
Tristan shows us the oldest grave he could find. 1850.
I plan to go back and spend more time wandering and reading.
Does anyone else enjoy visiting old cemeteries?
I had to stop to fuel up my truck, Tristan got in the bed of the truck to watch the sky and he was doing some wild dancing and singing, I caught this shot before he saw me and calmed himself!
No pictures of the Haunted House. The High School put it on and it was fun. Dark, spooky and lots of strobe lights, way beyond my photographic skills.
A good day and I blogged twice this month.
I don't really love 'everything' about October. The rains softened up our rock hard ground which apparently our gophers find very pleasing. Mounds of dirt and gopher holes are not my idea of desirable landscaping. However, the cats and Cort are entertained for hours at a time, which in turn entertains me, so not all is bad. They'll even catch one of those bad boys now and then.
With the rains and cooler temperatures we have things sprouting up all over the place. Daffodils are peaking up through the soil, Resurrection Lilies are just showing their green tips, and pictured above are some new plants coming up in a couple of our rock gardens. I am pretty certain aren't just weeds but what are they? Any help with plant identification is welcomed. Thanks in advance.
Several plants are still flowering. My roses continue to be sad and pathetic, refusing to be photographed.
We tried a new variety of squash this year, Patty Pans, and we think they are great. They are still blooming and producing and hiding little ants.
Amy planted a row of radishes a few weeks ago. They are thriving. I had planted some in the spring, they hated the California summer heat and did not grow. Amy also planted a few rows of lettuce at the same time but they have not sprouted. We had lots of lettuce from the garden all summer long and were hoping for a winter crop also. Oh well......
I planted two rows of carrots in the spring, they also hated the hot summer and seemed to just be barely surviving. I didn't give up on them and I have been rewarded with a spurt of carrot growth. A baby carrot! And it tasted wonderful.
This week's colorful bounty.
And then there's Halloween. I thoroughly enjoy decorating with scary creatures. One poor soul greats you coming in the gate, two if you count the dog.
A closer look, he's not one-legged, just angled that way. I would love to have a large stuffed buzzard or two to perch above him. Maybe next year. Perhaps if I tossed chicken livers up there, real buzzards would come pose for me?
Last week's rains seemed to clean the dust off of everything. Our sky really is this color. Can you just smell the scent of pine on this crisp, clear day? I can....
A little reminder of the BIG storm that we had last weeks. Tristan and I gathered this pile of limbs out of the front yard the day after the storm. We didn't lose any trees, just old dead branches.
I started on straightening out the tack room. The clutter on the floor isn't always there, I emptied shelves to straighten and reorganize, moved saddles and bridles around, swept away spider webs. Decided I needed to go get a ladder or stool to continue. Wandered over to the garden to check the sprinklers....
Then...... started on this pile of iris roots, tubors or bulbs, whatever they are called. We worked on the front fence last week. The property is (or was) lined with irises along the road. Jerry had to dig them all up. So here they are in this pile. I started cutting off the green tops and putting the roots in the can. Then stopped. Am I supposed to wait until the greens turn brown to cut them off? When do I replant irises? What kind of fertilizer do I need to supplement the soil with before replanting? When do I dig up and thin the dafodils? When to plant my tulip bulbs? Dropped my scissors and wandered back to the barn....
Back to the barn; forgot my stool for the tack room, decided I'd clean the stalls. Odd as it sounds, stall cleaning relaxes me. My thoughts drifted to Tristan, this morning he asked his Mom if he needed to change clothes if he cleaned the stalls before school. Her answer was, "yes, you can't go to school smelling like horse poop", so he didn't clean stalls. This is one of his regular chores which he does after school. After two stalls I put away my rake, didn't want him irritated that I did his work...
Well, it's almost noon. A drink and maybe an early lunch today. A bit of cold coffee left from this morning's fresh pot. This summer I have taken a liking to iced coffee. It's as equally refreshing as iced tea.
I crush a bunch of ice, blend in milk, add a splash of stout cold coffee.
Mmmmm mmmmm good. Today I'm thinking a splash of flavor would be good. Yes: but I have NO bananas, no berries, maybe a dash of vanilla?.........
Not bad!
Hhhmmmmm, not a cat; but very, very cute. The littlest (medium-size) grand daughter and I visited him/her at the Sacramento Zoo this summer.
Well..... this isn't a cat either, but I threw in this picture anyways. Any guesses? This tree reaches over our roof.
OK, I should change the title of this post. I realize that not everybody is fond of cats, but most everyone enjoys a family of deer out for a stroll in the neighborhood, so this picture is for everyone.
Not a cat.......
CATS: The original topic of this photo series.
This is Tristan's cat Lucy. I call her Looney Lucy. Fits her to a 'T'.
Annie likes Jerry the best, follows him everywhere, helping with chores and tasks.
Then there is Billy..... Billy, Billy, Billy.
Billy, bird watching.
I planted a little back yard orchard during the winter. My sister and nephew came to visit during winter break and saw my spindly little baby trees. She asked about my fruit trees yesterday. So since she asked....
I'll show..... The peaches were pretty, but the leaves were all holey from ants. The trees wore lovely blooms this spring. We had colorful cherry blossoms, abundant peach blossoms, a few nectarine blossoms but the apple trees only flowered a bit. I had high hopes for a taste of fresh fruit this summer.
I suppose I should post a picture allowing you to actually appreciate the size of our first peaches. Hhmmm, not so big I'll be the first to admit. But it was a proud moment when we determined that it was time to harvest.
Well, I guess I should also include a photo so that you can appreciate the size of tree that produced those four little mini peaches. Even the grand kids had no trouble reaching the branches to pick the fruit. And yes I said four, four fresh peaches and five here for dinner. What could we do? 
We have AN APPLE growing also!
Warming up in the round pen. This was the little one's first ride on my mare. The older granddaughter has been riding old Remington since the end of June and they are good buds. Tristan rides them all but he is on his favorite, Cheyenne. The kids were having a blast and kicking up quite the dust storm. 
I am not really sure why that 11 year old boy is pulling the mare's ear... maybe he is giving her an ear massage? He does pet the mule's ears quite a bit.
More of Tristan and Cheyenne.
The other eleven year old, a granddaughter, doesn't pull horse ears.
