Today's Harvest

A couple of pictures of our gardens gatherins for today. While we have had a rough year with the garden, we are starting to get some fixins. Today, I made chokecherry syrup a couple of which are shown here just for fun. Tess is excited to have this on ice cream with her Pops. Also pictured are some of the plums we picked today (many more in coffee cans spread around the house), the only acorn squash I think we are going to get, part of the tomatoes, brocolli and cauliflower and we even got 9 outta 9 on the eggs today. I made pickled beets a couple of weeks ago but I forgot to put them in the photo.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to make carrot pepper salsa as we still have lots of carrots and onions and maybe that will also cut down on my tomato and jalepeno numbers. If I'm real ambitious maybe I'll get some photos.

Trying the followers widget for awhile. I believe that if you become a follower, you will get the breaking news when there is a new post. You might even see a common friend or too. Its not hard.

Wings and Things

A few weeks ago, Ft. Laramie held a program about bats and other nocturnal animals. There are several different species of bats occupying some of the older buildings at the Fort, and the Wyoming Game and Fish, National Fish and Wildlife and National Park folks set up nets to catch and observe them up close. Most imporantly though, there was an educator from Riverside Zoo in Scottsbluff who brought a SCREETCH OWL!!! Tess was horribly excited to go to see the SCREETCH OWL! Here she is with a wing from a Great Horned Owl. She was excited to learn all of the owl facts.

We also went rafting the other day.

Raft navigator extrodinaire. We are able to put in at the power plant at Glendo, then raft down to our place and get out. With the water running this high and fast it takes about 1.5 - 2 hours.

Speaking of rafting, some of our Oklahoma counsins came for a visit and they went rafting. The best part of their visit though was the cheese. They are partners in a new goat cheese factory in OK. They left a variety pack of their cheese and it is excellent! Eric ate the smoked pepper jack almost immediately. There is nothing better than a egg-mcmuffin sandwich in the morning with a fresh egg, homemade bread and cheese made by your family -- perfect. If I've tempted you, you can check them out at http://www.pureprairiecreamery.com/ As for the fresh eggs, I have been selling out and may have to get more hens next year to keep up wth demand.

Sunset from our porch the other night.

Trig's big ride

Saturday we loaded up the pickup to move the cows from one summer pasture to another. Trig has been on several short rides before and has been practicing chasing cows out of the yard (although not in time to save our garden from an untimely heifer demise) but he finally got to go with the big boys! In the pickup with Alice.

as easy as one....

two (he is hiding behind a sagebrush in the center)

three!

Big reward of a swim in the tank at the end!