Hooves on the asphalt. {the final trail.}

The last trail started with a 5am wake-up call (that probably should have been 4:30am, but I needed as much sleep as I could get), shoveling yogurt in my mouth and braiding my hair with my eyes closed. Oh, and how can I forget? The morning also included a 23 degree reading of the outside temperature gauge. These things started my mental list of things I won't miss however, just weeks from this trail that has become the Things I Already Miss List. 

I fussed about which hat to wear, and asked Jesse if I'd be warm enough in just a few layers. Also, of course the last trail is the FIRST trail that I remember to put some extra toilet paper squares in my jean pockets and remembered the bag balm for my lips!

Our wonderfulfantasticsupportiveawesome friends, Lorelyn and Trav came through our front door with smiles of support and excitement right on time and ready to go! Yes, we know how blessed we are to have friends that sacrifice their weekend and wake up at 4:30am to chase sheep 12 miles on foot! I'm telling you...these people are awesome.

We met our sheepherders at camp. They are ready to go and sadly didn't get much sleep with such cold temperatures on the eve of an emotional trail. It took us about 45 minutes to load their sleeping gear, the dogs and other items in the truck and the first sheep hit the road at 7:07am. We were off!

The first few miles Lorelyn and I front flagged together. As usual, I waited for the call on the radio that I was needed in the back. I dread that call, but I also love this call. It reminds me that I am needed and play (or played, rather) an important part in it all. This is when I have to get into marathon/professional sheep trailer mode and channel my inner mountain goat because I will be climbing up and down the sides of mountains chasing sheep and pushing them along.

I flank to the back of the large herd and the sheep just keep coming. There were so many more this year because a local sheep herder's sheep mixed with our herd while they were on the mountain so we were trailing a lot more than usual. As my wooly little friends walk past me, I take a few minutes to just appreciate it all. I took special notice of the sun glistening on their backs, the unique bleating of each and every one of these four-legged animals, I listened to their breathing and my heart smiled at each of the little lambs who managed to stick right next to their moms this far in to the trail.

I took special notice of their hooves on the asphalt and how it sounds like a rainstorm on a metal roof. This will be the last time I ever do this. Ever. After I take it in, I start sheep talking and walking and try to forget the tears welling up in my eyes.

Just before the picture above was taken a sheeptrailing angel (also known as one of our really neatsupercool friends) came to our rescue and offered up some coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. I asked her a few days before this day if she would be interested in taking some pictures of us trailing since it's close to impossible for me to catch any decent ones while running along the trail. She happily agreed and later gave us hundreds of photos to sift through and look back at. We will cherish these photos forever. The coffee, tea, hot chocolate and the use of her bike to help move traffic through the sheep were just added bonuses. Nice to know that we had been doing it all wrong all these years! Shoulda invested in a bike with a bell. Worked like a charm. ;)
 

We have some darn awesome friends, I tell you. Awesome.

When I was going through all the photos we got of this trail I stopped at this one and decided it was my favorite of all. I am so proud of this man and am so glad he'll get to take it a little easier on his body now - ranching is no joke, folks. I'm especially excited for him to be able to sleep in every now and again.

We finally made it to the major intersection of the trail. This is when the rest of the family met up to help. I see my mother in law with the grand-kids, my sister in law at the West side of the light stopping cars and my father in law on the East stopping cars. I stop and hug my mother-in-law (the sweetest, most genuine woman alive) and get a little teary eyed. She enthusiastically reminded me, "It's a good day!" and while I tried really hard to fight the tears a part of me wished this sheep herding thing would have worked out a little differently for our family. I had to remind myself of all the things that lead us to the decision we made and move forward.

I hurry over to my niece and nephew, give them kisses and snap a picture...if they don't remember this day, I'll show them this picture. You were there on the last day of a beautiful family tradition.

Just a few moments later the sheep are crossing through the intersection that we all are anxious to get through safely.
Now, it's the homestretch....

We keep the doggies in the trailer and off the road for their safety. If they don't look happy in this picture, it's because they aren't..they want to be with their sheep.

It wasn't long before we were heading down our county road which is all of our favorite part of the trail. Have I mentioned that we live in such a beautiful area? ;)

Just a mile from the house I picked up my nephew and he helped me trail the sheep to the ranch. The 4 hour and 45 minute trail went by pretty fast although, my knees weren't saying that the next day.

It was a bittersweet moment for all, but it is so exciting to close this wonderful chapter and begin a new one. 

It's been just over a month since this final trail and while there is no doubt in our minds we did the right thing, we are sure missing our furry friends that have enriched our lives over the past years. We will never forget them and I personally owe them so much for teaching me patience, love, loyalty and most of all to enjoy all of the beautiful things this world has to offer, especially God's creatures. 

This story isn't over folks, I feel like it's just the beginning.

Baa-ing Before Breakfast {and a Bloglovin request}

The past two weekends (at a time that is way too early to even mention) Jesse and I, our herders and two of our most awesome friends oh, and 2100 sheep headed up to the high country aka summer range.

In years past I've always walked and front flagged the trails heading to and from our summer range. When front flagging you can't see the chaos of the herd; you don't see everyone working their butt off trying to keep the sheep on the road.

When front flagging you enjoy the beauty around you, the birds chirping, the deer roaming - you get the picture. In case you don't...

If you can imagine the very opposite of such a peaceful state, that is what herding the back of the herd along the road feels like. Complete and utter stress and chaos.

Imagine herding 100 cats. Impossible, right? Exactly.

This year I had the great pleasure of pushing the back. Jesse pushes the front group, two people the middle group and about three people push in the back aka run like crazy chickens trying to get these ewes and lambs back on the road. No offense to chickens.

Even with all the bodies there are challenges. Challenges that include rolling ankles or having to channel your inner mountain goat and climb up the sides of hills to get sheep back on track. Or getting heat exhaustion (which happened to one of our helpers this trail). Or getting sheep dung flung onto your face. Um, that happened too. Or, my favorite is being the lucky herder that gets to chase that one lamb through an open field with nothing but hope he/she will go where you want it to, all the while having everyone watch, wait and hope as well. It's a little humiliating to have your sheep herding skills on display like that. After all, we have a "leave no sheep behind" policy.

Or...getting peed on by this little guy. Don't worry, it dried pretty quickly.

The first of these two trails is a hard one because not only is it 13 miles while gaining elevation it's the first long trail for the lambs. This means they are tired and haven't learned to stick by mama and follow the herd.

This picture below was a great portion of the trail because there was fencing along this stretch and the sheep were a bit easier to keep on track. Keep reading and you'll see what happens when there isn't good fencing.

This was right about when things went completely haywire! I mean...clothes even came off!

Lambs are mischievous little suckers. They frolic into every field, up every hill, every garden. It's no joke. This picture below is a great example of lambs misbehaving. The horses in this field actually charged at the lambs and helped us out a bit. The quality of this photo is horrible, but it was the best I could do while running. ;)

The sheep cheering squad was nice....this was around mile 5 of 13 on the first trail. First time in 20+ years we've had signs! I love my community. Two weekends later the sheep are now on our first permit of the summer, but this doesn't mean the work is done. Just this week J got a call from his friend that saw a small group of sheep running up the road. Again, mischievous little suckers. Needless to say there have been several trips up and will be many more to search for the group on the loose (click here to read about our ewe that walked herself all the way home!). Oh, and did I mention it's haying season as well? My husband works too damn hard. He deserves a vacation!

Happy First Day of Summer and please keep our beautiful state in your thoughts as we have many fires burning and a lot of firefighters risking their lives to save ours. 

And another important announcement in case you didn't know - Google Reader is going away July 1st, y'all.
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a total win for the hubby. a bday surprise.

Earlier this year y'all know my precious Jigs was bit by a very mean, horrible spider that I hope died soon after she bit my baby. It was a horrible ordeal that I NEVER want to relive again, but I will say she has healed beautifully! At that moment I knew things had to change and they have. Jigs sleeps on our bed every night and I check her bedding daily. I told Jesse that all I wanted for my birthday this month was my two front teeth. No, that's not it...I told him I wanted a raised bed for Jigs. At that moment I started to search online.

I would show J some beds and he would say, "I can totally make that." The rest of the conversation went something like this:

Me: Okay, then. Do it! That is what I want for my birthday.
Jesse: You want me to make Jigs a bed for YOUR birthday?! That's so unlike you.
Me: I'm turning a new leaf and yes, I want you to make her a raised bed for my birthday. It will be the best gift of all!

Four months later, here we are in May and in the thick of shearing, lambing and irrigation season...there is NO way I'm getting my bed for Jigs. There has been no mention of it; he surely forgot.  I did what any girl would do at that point and jumped online and started to shop. Jigs was getting her bed.

I wasn't going to put one more thing on J - he's coming in at 9pm every night, eating dinner, showering (most nights) and jumping in bed. We barely talk during the month of April/May. I'll let him slide. He can make me that bench I wanted instead.

The night before my birthday I went to dinner with some friends and came home to this:



It isn't the cute bow or tutu that made my heart smile, my Jigs is always that cute. It was the card hanging around her neck. What does Jigs have to say? Finally!! She is communicating back to me!

"I has a surprise for you! Lets check my favorite spots 2 find it! -Jigs"

She is a good speller. She gets that from her mama.

So, I excitedly start playing her game and come to her last favorite spot and there it was...

A raised bed.

So, today I am borrowing my dear friend, Tara's "My Husband Rocks" post idea because on this day my hubby TOTALLY rocked it! Turns out he was working on the bed during his "lunch break" and for those of you that don't know...Ranchers don't get a lunch break. ;)

You know you are a rancher's wife when...

this conversation happens weekly.


                        me:     I'm going to jump in the shower.

                        hubby: O.K.

                        me:     Are you going to shower tonight?

                        hubby: No.   Didn't sweat today.

I can tell you that he did shower the day this photo was taken.
Thank God.

Post Vacation Blues

Mexico was fabulous and we had fantastic weather the entire time! We went to San Jose Del Cabo for 5 days and stayed at two different resorts.

J likes to change it up and experience as much as he can and I don't mind it as long as I don't have to do any planning! I haven’t told you this, but J loves to plan trips! I mean he absolutely loves it. He planned our 7 day honeymoon in the Riviera Maya all by himself and kept it a surprise from me until the moment I walked into each resort.

He is pretty awesome like that.

Anyway, once we arrived it didn’t take this sheep rancher long to loosen up! He had a glass of wine in his hands within hours (and before that a few beers)!

We relaxed, had lots of Cervezas, umbrella drinks, soaked up some sun (not like I need much, but it was fun) and made some awesome friends from Kentucky!

The only bummer was that we had a 4 and a half hour trip to and from the airport. This was not fun, especially on the way back. We landed at 9pm and didn’t get home until 2:30am. Yikes!

It didn’t take the country long to welcome us back home!

Upon our 2:30am arrival home our water was looking like this...

 

Yes, broken water pump. Kind of like what happened here, only worse because we couldn't shower before going to bed. I hate the feeling that recycled airplane air leaves on my skin.

Maybe if I click my heels three times I will return back to this?!

Oh well. Two days later we now have clean, clear water! Thank goodness.

Also, it might be a little quiet around here for a few days...I'm gearing up for my big one year blogiversary celebration! I'm quite excited about it and can't wait to share! 

(Not so) Wordless Wednesdays - ¡Hola, Mis Amigos!

We had a great vacation in Mexico and I can't wait to share more pictures with you!

I am exhausted and must get to bed so my write up will have to wait.

Here is one picture I promised...

My handsome husband is back!!

I almost forgot what he looked like without that furry beard and mullet!

So much better than this, right?!

I am definitely married to the hottest sheep rancher on the block county road.  ;)

June is a good month.

What a wonderful month this is going to be! Let me give you a few reasons why.

Summer is here!
The lambs are looking strong and healthy and our feed is nice and green.
Vegetables have been planted in my first garden. (With the help of my green thumb mother-in-law.)
We've booked our summer trip to Mexico. Yippee!
My mom is booking her tickets to visit me next month. Double Yippee!
My sister-in-law, her husband and my nephew will be here in a few weeks.
Morgan and his girlfriend are coming back for a visit this month. 
My best friend shared with me the most wonderful news a few days ago.
AND I am celebrating 2 years of marriage today ya'll!

I love that our wedding day remains to be the happiest day of our lives. J and I often talk about all the fun we had and how wonderful that day was.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from our wedding day.

Here we are, two years later living in J's hometown tending to hundreds of sheep and most importantly, we are happy.

Now, it's your turn. What is going to make June a wonderful month for you? 

it's a lovely day.

Seven years ago I was living my life - working, living on my own I thought I had it all. Then I met my husband.

That is when I started loving my life and everything about it. I learned what it meant to love with all my heart and to give for the sake of giving.

Since I met J things just keep getting better. Through my husband I have met some awesome people and created everlasting friendships. 

I've also learned how to keep my long distance relationships alive because even though I don't see you everyday I love you with all of my heart and soul.

How lucky are we to live this life surrounded by friendship and love?! Valentine's Day is yes, a Hallmark holiday, but also a day to celebrate love. Today and everyday I am celebrating the love that makes me complete, the love that makes my life so wonderful and beautiful and real. THIS is what life is about - not the car you drive, the house you live in or how much you have in the bank. It's about the stuff you can't REALLY see...the things that fill your heart with joy.

Today I thank my husband, my family and my friends. Thank you for all the love and support you continually show us. You make my heart whole. Each and every one of you.

*it's nearly impossible to post pictures of everyone that I hold close to my heart - but that is a fabulous problem to have. 

tell me something I don't know.

In honor of Valentine's Day I thought I would tell you a bit about my husband since you don't know too much about him.


J is a lover, a steadfast friend, a peace keeper and a damn hard worker. He loves me (that says lots!), he loves his family and is one of the most loyal people you will know.

He's pretty awesome and here are a few reasons why...

Not only does he put up with me on a daily basis he owns two businesses that are running quite successfully.
He sets goals and conquers them even if it takes a few attempts to get it right.
He is patient. Oh, so.very.patient.
He cooks dinner when I am not up to it.
He makes my breakfast every morning.
He starts my car in the morning and in these freezing cold temps - that is love.
He sees the good and beauty in everyone and everything.
His cup is always half full.
He gives 110% into everything he does.

People tell me I'm a lucky girl, but I already knew thaat. :)

30 years

My lovely husband,

Happy 30th birthday.

You have worked so hard this past year (especially the last few months) and deserved a birthday celebration to remember!

This past weekend was a great way to ring in not only the new year but the next decade of your life! Can you believe that twenty of your hometown friends came, some driving as many as 16 hours, just to celebrate your special day?! Goes to show how very special you are to everyone that knows you.

I look forward to celebrating many more birthdays together and on your 60th being able to look back and see how far we've come.

I love you so very much.

Happy Birthday.

At J's b-day dinner. He walked into a room full of his closest friends yelling "Surprise!"

J grew up with these boys. They hadn't skied together in years.

It's winter time.

Before we quit our jobs and moved here my husband was living his dream. Literally.

There were three things he just knew he wanted to do when he grew up.
1. Go to CU Boulder and major in Film. Done.
2. Work for Poor Boyz Productions and make "sick-ass" ski films. Done.
3. Work for Warren Miller Entertainment, one of the most highly respected winter-sport action film companies in the US. Done.

By the age of 27 he had accomplished his goals. Pretty bad ass if I don't say so myself. When his dad was diagnosed with cancer there wasn't a moment of hesitation, we knew we needed to leave our jobs and help out on the ranch.

If there was anyone who enjoyed his job more than he did it was me. I say that because I LOVED talking about what he did and how much he loved it. He grew up on the slopes and wanted to make a career out of it. I never had big dreams growing up so I guess you could say I lived vicariously lived through him. I loved telling people that he was off on a film shoot in Iceland, Utah, Washington, SW Colorado, Northern California, and so many other awesome places.

So, winter is upon us and this will be the last Warren Miller Film that will have his name all over the credits. He's going out with a bang though folks because his cameo in this year's film Wintervention is the best part of the entire movie if you ask me, but then again I'm a bit biased.

It's bittersweet for both of us, but obviously moreso for J. He told me that he already misses it and in the same sentence he also told me he is happy to be working for himself and knowing that his hard work is going right back into his own business.

Skiing is his favorite pastime and when he started filming on the slopes for work (which meant carrying heavy packs and tons of camera equipment, skiing to get a shot and not that awesome line) it became just that...work. I'm excited for him to get out and ski with his childhood friends again for fun this time and so is he.