This was the year...

This was the year I took a trip to Seattle, Costa Rica and of course a few trips to California to see my family and friends. 

 

This was the year more healthy babies were born.

My good friend Aubs and Maris had beautiful baby boys and my handsome nephew Siley was born! 

This was the year that good friends came to visit me in Colorado!

 

This was the year our family of two grew by one furry dog,

hundreds of sheep...

some goats and horses...

and 11 working dogs!

This year started and ended like any other year; trips were taken, babies were born and memories were made. 2010 however, will hold a special place in my heart. This is the year my father-in-law was diagnosed with cancer, the year we quit our jobs and moved to the ranch. This is the year I became a Sheep Rancher's  Wife.

For 2011 I'm not going to make any New Year's Resolutions or make a 2011 To-Do list because if I've learned anything this year it is that plans don't always go as planned. I can make a list to do a million things but in an instant my priorities can and will change. Instead I am making a vow to enjoy the moments in 2011 and to simply roll with the punches.

I look forward to what 2011 has in store!

Signed,

A Rancher's Wife

just an update.

Welp, I quit the job I absolutely hated and started a new one! woo hoo! This one I think I will really enjoy.

The job switch allowed me to take a trip home to California for ten days. Ten days! I spent Christmas with my family which was such a wonderful gift.

J wasn't able to make the trip since the sheep needed to be moved to Aztec, NM (the winters are milder there). This is a trek they make every Christmas so we decided after this year we will try and spend Thanksgiving in CA and Christmas here, on the ranch.

Meanwhile back on the ranch things are covered with lots of snow and I have a snow day today! J is out plowing, the rams, goats and dogs are trying to stay warm while the ewes are in NM getting good feed and hopefully all pregnant! :) The ranch got two new Border Collie pups, but no names yet. Jiggy is doing well and playing hard, as always.

It was a great visit with the family and a wonderful holiday season but I sure am glad to be back just in time to ring in 2011 with my little, happy family.

Ready for some cuteness?!
Here are our two new pups!

Evening prayer.

You know those people that are afraid of their own shadow? Yeah, that's me. So you can imagine when J said he would like to go to a sheep industry conference and he'd be gone two nights how stoked I was.

That was a joke. 

I did o.k. running from my car door to the front door of our home. Let Jiggy inside and locked the door behind me. Phew! Is it always this dark out here in the country?!

I did o.k. after I threw the bedroom door open in an attempt to scare off anyone who may have been hiding underneath my bed. Nothing jumped out at me. Safe. 

I did o.k making dinner with my back against the wall so I can see if anyone was sneaking up behind me. Hah! That'll show any robber trying to sneak up on me! 

I did o.k. sitting on the couch not moving, in fear that my own quick movements would scare me. That's okay..I'm always this still. ;)

I did o.k. throwing back the sheets on the bed to check for spiders. This I do every night anyway. 

I kissed Jiggy on the nose and said goodnight to her like I do every night and crawled in bed. Cozy. Warm. Tired. One night down, one more to go. I did o.k. today.

I say my evening prayer and thank God for this beautiful, wonderful life. I thank him for all we have and the opportunities he's given us. I am so grateful and happy. Content. 

Just as I am drifting off I hear scratching. In the wall. We have mice. The first night I am alone. The first night of two! You have got to be kidding me. NOT o.k.

It was a test and I passed. I passed last night because I brought Jiggy in the room and she guarded me from those monstrous, murderous, dangerous mice. Yes, this is the same dog that runs from deer and she too is afraid of her own shadow, but I believe that she will protect me if I were in danger. 

Okay, maybe not so much, but it helped.

I tucked myself in the covers (burrito style) like I used to do when I was 5 years old and scared. I squeezed my eyes shut and went to bed. Or at least tried to besides it was too late to call over to my in-laws and ask if I can come over.

I will pass this test again tonight, I'll do o.k. even if it is because I will sleep just down the road at my in-laws.

Jigs, the guard dog.

Winter Wonderland

It snowed over the weekend and everything looks beautiful including our pups!

The dogs looked fenced up here, but don't worry your pretty little head, they aren't. The dogs stay in the large pens with the sheep but jump through the fences when they want out. I'll work on getting video of this. It's pretty impressive. 

Country Living 101: Country Plumbing

What the hell is a septic tank and aren't there city officials that take care of the underground plumbing when there is a problem? 

Oh, riiight. 

We aren't in the city and we have a septic system. ::sigh::

Over the holiday weekend the bathroom saw a little too much action. The septic tank clogged. For my friends in the city that don't know what a septic tank is, it is an underground holding tank for waste which is broken down by naturally occurring bacteria, destroying the pathogens aka 'crap'. Literally. 

J and our brother-in-law went out to try and "un-clog" the clog. I asked the stupid question, "Do you need any help?" What the heck was I thinking?! Out I go, to hold the flashlight as they stick a long hose up the pipe. Did I mention it's cold, dark and snowing? I walk out to the tank and not knowing what I was looking at, I thought...how is that mud not covered by snow? Well, it wasn't mud and I was looking at the inside of the septic tank. My brother-in-law opened the tank and was stepping over the opening of the tank jamming hose up the pipe. I just kept thinking to myself "please don't fall in, please don't fall in and if you do please do it when I'm back inside." Then I was thinking of a clever way to help get out of helping. I just couldn't stand to look. 

After about thirty minutes of 'helping' I went inside and kept envisioning one of the guys falling into the 'mud'. Three hours later it was decided that they will call a septic tank professional in the morning. 


$100 dollars later, turns out it was hair and toilet paper that clogged the system. 
So, what have I learned from this experience? Many things, but one is NEVER ask to help when the situation is an unfamiliar one or involves a toilet. 


By the way the septic tank "professional" says he clears $100,000 a year. After I thought about what he did all day, every day I had no problem believing it. He deserves every penny.

Gringo vs. Sage

Speed vs. Size.

Do you notice Jiggy wagging her tail at the back door? All she is worried about is getting inside.