Evolution of a Beard.

THIS is what my husband used to look like...

Handsome, right?!
I have hope that someday, this shaved hottie will come back to me.

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It started as "just for fun!"

There was a short period of time I thought we were headed in the right direction. 
Very short.

Then winter came and I lost all hope.

Winter stayed.

It continued to get colder. 

 

It began to grow like weeds and at that point (I think) laziness took over.

 

Then lambing began and there was no time for him to leave the ranch, let alone make time for a haircut! 

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So, here we are almost 10 months later...

and my husband now has the nickname of 'Dude'. 

Dude - The Big Lebowski. Image from IMBD.com 

Just this week he decided it was time for some more fun and is now rocking a mullet. I don't think I can bring myself to post a picture of that. At least not yet.  

No one told me this is what ranchin' would do to him!  

::Edited to add - July 5th, 2011::
It just kept getting better...

With a little help from a friend...

I barely made the deadline to apply for a hunting license.

By barely, I mean 30 minutes before the clock struck midnight barely. My friend Kennie called and said, "Just calling to remind you today is the last day to apply for a license". Say WHAT?! I guess I figured I would be getting an email, phone call or I'd see it in the paper.

Apparently the DOW doesn't advertise things like that.

I have no idea what season I applied for but I do know I applied for an Elk tag because Kennie told me I did. :)

After I submitted the application J said, "Well, what will you shoot?" I replied, "My 22. The same gun I go prairie dog shooting with." He laughed. Apparently you need a bigger gun to kill an Elk.

Whatever.

Don't worry, I'm being honest with myself. The chances of getting picked in the draw are slim to none. If I do get lucky and actually get a license the chances of seeing an Elk are even more slim. Let's take this even further and say that even if I get a tag and see an Elk the likelihood of being able to actually pull the trigger.... you get the picture.

I figure if I do get lucky, but don't get see and catch shoot an Elk I'll get one heckuva workout hiking those mountains, it's a win-win!

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This post has been sitting as a DRAFT in my Blogger Dashboard for months. I don't know what I was waiting for to hit PUBLISH, but since writing the first half I've received the Draw Results.

Drumroll, please.

I was successful in the Big Game Limited License Draw Results! I have no idea what the hell that means, but I know I got an Elk tag! I also know it's a private land tag so this means I can sit in our "backyard" and wait for an Elk to come to me. Hopefully.

NO HIKING REQUIRED!

Ladies and gents, be sure to wear your hunter orange this season because this city girl is a-goin' huntin!

Still dreaming big...

You can read about my first steps before applying for an Elk tag by taking my Hunter Safety class  here and here. There is a gun wound involved. ;)

death happens.

The last few nights have been cold. I mean REALLY cold.

It got even colder than -11.

Unfortunately, ranches don't close due to the weather. Ranchers and farmers keep on working. The only thing that changes is how many layers of clothes they put on! The few Ewes that are on the ranch are pregnant. They aren't supposed to be pregnant but one anxious ram got in their pen and well, the rest is pretty obvious. They were brought back from the winter range (where most of our sheep are right now because the winters are milder there) to be watched in case they have trouble birthing. J checks on these Ewes every three hours throughout the night.

The dogs anxiously wait outside the barn door for the new additions.

Monday afternoon we had our first lamb! It was a girl. She is healthy and mama is doing good.

We had our first set of twins yesterday at about 1pm, both boys. She did well for her first year lambing, delivered both of them on her own and licked them clean just like she is supposed to.

One of the boys was considerably smaller than the other, wouldn't suck, and was very weak. J began bottle feeding him, but he would take that either.

J moved on to syringe feeding and that seemed to work. Throughout the night (every three hours to be exact) we went out and fed the twin via syringe. His last feeding at 3am was a good one, he was looking strong.

This morning we got up to feed again and sadly the little guy didn't make it. I've known death was bound to happen on the ranch it's quite obvious that it comes with the territory. Pop told me that from the very beginning, many times.  I knew I would have to deal with it eventually.

I will say that knowing it is bound to happen doesn't help when it actually does happens.

So there they are...my first tears shed on the ranch. RIP little guy.

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.

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.