My NEW Love well maybe OUR New Love....

INTERNET TV with our Roku HD

When you live 60 miles north of nowhere, entertainment other than watching a prairie dog or an antelope, is quite scarce.  Well we did have satellite television but cannot get anything off the air at all.  That added up to an expensive bill every month - over $70.00 and then we felt like there was very little that suited our tastes.

You see we are old-fashioned and when you are married to a cowboy guy

Darling Hubby on Melody

if it ain't a western it ain't worth watchin!   Even a bad western is better than anything else in their opinion.

So we dropped down to the very basic satellite package ($29.99) and got a Roku.  Wow - what a wonderful little gadget if you have wifi (which believe it or not here out in the boonies we do!).  It was easy to set up and for only $8 a month you can watch some really great westerns on Netflix streaming.  (We had it by mail but dropped that and went to streaming).  

We also subscribed to Hulu Plus but both of us found their interface hard to use and we were not watching it so we just kept Netflix.  So far one of our favorites has been the series from AMC (which is on Netflix) called   Hell on Wheels  which is basically about a former Confederate Soldier, Bohannon, who is a foreman helping to build the Union Pacific across Nebraska.  It's a Great Show, and I recommend it to anyone who likes a good western. Course Longmire is a favorite especially since it's location is set 70 miles north of us but we have already watched all the 2013 episodes before we got the Roku.   That said the streaming usually runs one year behind or at least a couple of weeks but that doesn't bother us in the least.

I also discovered we can watch last night's local news from 60 miles away via streaming through Plex.  We've NEVER had a local news channel.  It's only about 10 minutes of streaming news but hey! AT least it's local.

Even Cowboys sometimes have to get 'modern'.

Course we still :entertain ourselves watching some of the perks to be found 60 Miles North Of Nowhere 

like the Elk (see them on the hillside behind our horses?) and other great Wyoming wildlife.

Wyoming's Wildflowers & News from Sixty Miles North of Nowhere

I took these earlier this spring on the little lot on the mountain but just now got them downloaded from my phone to share.

This is a common flower often seen in Wyoming - Yarrow.  The white has washed together so you really cannot see the flower except maybe in the upper left corner.

Not a particulary 'showy' flower and they don't seem to take over a meadow.  Just a few plants here and there.

Then we had a member of the balsamroot family but I am not sure which one.  Maybe hairy balsamroot?  They are a sunflower.

Then there was the delicate yellow Monkeyflower.  Seems like an odd name for such a pretty little flower doesn't it?

Then we had some sort of Columbine, you really cannot see the 'tails' in this photo.

And last and certainly not least, my favorite Wyoming flower -- Lupine.  Lupine blooms briefly but 'moves' up the mountain as the spring snows melt and the weather warms.  You can find whole meadows of lupine covering the entire meadow and the smell of lupine is to die for.  When I die, throw some lupine over me to smell in eternity and I'm good to go!

View to the east of our lot showing a bunch of lupine.

I guess I could call this next photo, how to dress up your outhouse naturally!  The lupine were all over behind it.

I took all these photos with a square of about 50 x 50 feet in five minutes.  Spring on the mountain!  It doesn't get much better than that in Wyoming.

And of course the humans did their favorite thing....

Built a fire in our firepit, ate, and RELAXED.

As pretty as Lupine is and as much as found in the mountains of Wyoming, what did they choose as Wyoming's state flower?  This---usually found wizened and barely clinging to life, found in the mountains and on the plains, basically statewide which may be why it was chosen.  The indian paintbrush --

and is rarely as colorful as this stock photo.  More than fifteen varieties of Indian paintbrushes can be found in the state.  This is the Wyoming Indian Paintbrush which is found statewide at all elevations.

Hopefully I got these flowers identified correctly from a lovely little book given to me by Chestine and Teri and which I have practically worn out.  It's called Wildflowers of Wyoming by Diantha and Jack States.  A very good identification book.   

Sad news here this morning.  I had eight guiena keets that hatched yesterday and this morning all are gone.  Something got them overnight, maybe the other guienas?   The Bull Snake?  A racoon?  I don't know.  But I do know I will try to build a bullet proof cage in the corner for her to set her next nest and then I can lock her in and everything else OUT.  She's never set in the coop before, always out in the prairie and none of those survived either.  Life is not easy if you are a guiena at Sixty Miles North of Nowhere apparently.

Other news -- I am going to be retired.  They are closing the office where I work and at my age, I really don't think anyone in their right mind would hire a grandma with a 60 mile commute.  In some ways I look forward to it and in others, especially the financial end of it, it makes me nervous.  But then I won't have all the car expenses and the take-in, convenience foods, etc.  I can also garden next year and do my canning which I love to do.  And Sewing......maybe I can actually REDUCE those mounds of fabrics.  I am only one shopping trip from having my sewing room featured on an episode of Hoarders..........   And of course, NANA can be on 24/7 call for babysitting those grandkiddos.  My FAVORITE thing to do. 

Last weekend we helped build this for them.

I herded the kiddos while everyone else 'constructed' and 'cuss-structed'!!   At one point they wanted a treat so I gave them each a chocolate covered ice cream cone their mother had for them.  Grandson #1 doesn't like ice cream (WHO ever heard of that) but loves chocolate.  So he ate all the chocolate off his ice cream and wanted another.  No I told him, you have to eat all of it at which he looked at me and said, "Nana you are silly!"  Yeah, I am, kid.  You got me figured out.

Branding Day at Sixty Miles North of Nowhere

The two MIC ready to go (most important cowboys!)

#1 MIC rode her pony over to the corrals.  Pony is MIP (most important pony).  Mom is the MIH (most important handler).  Then we have #2 MIC demanding attention from MIH.

First we separate the calves from their mommas.  See the cow in the Middle here?  She wasn't leaving her baby.  Un-huh.  No way.  They finally had to rope her.  Grandson told me that cow was 'stuck' when his daddy roped her. Yep she was but we got her un-stuck.

Some participants in this ritual were none too happy about the brief separation.

Vaccinating each calf.

Branding each calf with our brand -- see the smoke?  Hot iron right out of the fire.  Does it hurt? Sure it does but only briefly.

MIC #1 practiced her riding.  Grandpa couldn't find the NEW pony blanket Grandma bought her.  C'mon Grandpa!!! The horse blanket is TOOO big.

Our brand on #2 son's saddle.

When you get bored you can always throw rocks, sticks or whatever you can find into the pond.

Ratchet & Melody were not sure what the MIC's where up to with that rock throwing!!

For the finale, you can STOMP in Grandpa's 'broken' water tank, now his cow feeder, which makes  a GREAT NOISE!

And that was the weekend at Sixty Miles North of Nowhere.  It was sure fun.

Drought, Dust, and Climate Change

The recent drought, as in prolonged drought really since 2004, has me thinking....is dry and not enough water the new 'normal' for Sixty Miles North of Nowhere?

Perhaps.  We thought we would have to sell our cows this year but we just had a stretch of thunderstorms and now everything is green again!

But what if it hadn't rained?  What if we depended on those cows to feed a family like they did back in the dust bowl days?  How awful that must have been for them; scanning a sky for moisture they needed to feed their family, put in a crop, graze cattle.  Looking for rain that never came.

I interviewed a lady who lived through those days in the Red Canyon area near Lander, Wyoming.  She told me she got so desperate she shot prairie dogs to just feed her children.  Can you imagine!!  But she and her kids all survived.

And who can forget the depression era photo, Migrant Mother, by Dorothea Lange...

Taken in a California Migrant Camp for the Resettlement Administration.  To read more click HERE

If you have ever looked into the eyes of desperation, this has to be it.

I recently read where this lady, Florence Thompson, survived the dust bowl as did all her children and they stayed in California.  I'm glad at least this photo has a happy ending.   

I am not sure climate change will have a happy ending.  Maybe I'm glad I probably won't be here to see it, although my grandchildren surely will be.  AND that worries me.

How to Properly Eat a Lime

Brought to you by the Lovely Miss T - #1 Granddaughter

First take a good BITE!

Whoo EEE! It's so sour!

Savor the Flavor!

Yikes, what a Bite!

Miss T -  Toughest Lime Eater in the West

Girls are just so uncool.  Not like us Dudes in the sunglasses - Mr. B,  Da Little Brother

Hope your Memorial Day was Sunny and Fun.  And for that we can thank our wonderful soldiers who protect our freedom to enjoy BBQ's and everything life in the US has to offer.

We Would Like to Take This Opportunity

To Thank BOB; our resident cowdog and homestead Manager for bravely fighting one Pepee LePew (Skunk) the other night in Line of Duty and.....

Enthusastically Greeting the Residents of the Homestead 60 Miles North of Nowhere upon their arrival home, whereupon their eyes began to water it so bad.

Bob Helping Hubby yesterday

Visitors to ye olde Homestead may find it prudent to remain upwind of BOB for the next few days.  

Back from the Hiatus!

My old computer strangled to death on it's own guts -- you know Microsoft Windows Poisoning!  So no posting for a while.  A new laptop later I'm online again.  It has Windows 8 which I'm not fond of but at least it works.

I gave my Kindle temporarily to No. 1 Son and DIL thinking it would 'free' me up to do some sewing and it sure did!

Here's some of the projects I've gotten done......

Aprons for Grandson and Granddaughter -- and I made matching aprons for Mom & Dad too.  

Had to order the material off the internet; apparently cherries are popular for sewing.

Fleece bathrobes - my first serger project.  I was happy with how they turned out and will definitely make more of these.

Minnie Mouse Sundress.  The Fabric was $25 a Yard for simple cotton!! Wow they must know grandmothers are suckers for cute fabric.  

Lil cowpokes need little cowboy shirts - toddler size 3 with a bandana that has velcro to hold it.  I used the same sewing pattern I used to use for his daddy.  Glad I saved it.

Now I am working on doll clothes and a really cute short set for Granddaughter's birthday.

Only one cow left to calve and we are done with the herdlet calving.  All black heifer calves so far!! WOW.  That's never happened before.  Going to be hard to determine who goes to the sale barn and who we eat next year.  Might have to go buy a couple of steers.  I don't like to eat the girls.

Grass is starting to come up.  I missed five days of work in April because the cars looked like this (and I ain't complaining -- it REALLY helped out the grass).

This is what happens to your car when you choose your parking space poorly the night before a major spring storm.  A Porch Horse (poor choice).

However the Female in the house observed where there was a 'pocket' created by the winds and parked her car more wisely!

I think I will have to turn on the spam filters on this blog.  I am getting 10 - 12 spam postings a day (which do not go through the filter but DO go to my email.)  I hate those capcuta or whatever they are called things so I have resisted.  They seem to be increasing by the week so probably some robo commenting thing has found me.  Don't click on the links if they go through!!!