If you don’t like the weather, wait 5 minutes and it will change!

Posted on February 10, 2015 by sheepgirl | Leave a comment

The weather has been all over the place –

Rain

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Really cold

Turning to record high temps, and blue skies

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Then jumping to Rip Snorting WIND!!

And back to rainy, and a bit gloomy.

But I'm not complaining. Those poor folks on the east coast; they have every right to complain with snow practically to their chins right now.

I took the poochies out to potty before bed last night. I like to stand on my front porch at night, look at the stars, and say my prayers while I wait for the dogs. It was such a warm, calm night. So quiet, and I could hear rain falling softly on my flower beds. Then I looked a little harder, and the street and sidewalks were not wet at all. I walked out into the yard, no rain at all. The sound I was hearing were worms (probably hundreds) crawling thru the leaves in the flower gardens! That, I can assure you, is not a common occurrence in Montana in February! This would explain the robin we saw when we went for a walk on Sunday. They are hardy little birds and will put up with some winter weather if they have some nice fat worms to feast on between snowstorms. Normally, tho, they don't show up here until late March.

She was hard to catch a picture of – I'm sure she was on a worm fetching mission.

It was was a perfect day for a walk.

There is an awesome walking trail across the river that is 2 miles round trip. This is a little resting spot for anyone who would like to set a spell and contemplate.

Students from the art department at Montana State University built this neat wind instrument. When the wind blows (as it always does in this neck of the woods) this pipe construction catches it and produces very soulful little songs.

There is this lovely old barn to look at as you meander along the trail.

All the bushes and trees are beginning to bud out.

Everybody was so happy to be out in the sunshine.

Our beautiful view as we headed back.

See what all that good fresh air does for a body………tuckers ya plum out!

TTFN,

Teresa 🙂

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This and That

Posted on January 17, 2015 by sheepgirl | Leave a comment

Not much going on, so this is going to be a scattered, random, pretty nonsensical post.

So, Declan has commenced losing her baby teeth. (YAY) It has been pretty hysterical! She lost her 2 front teeth first, and looked every bit a kindergartener. This was followed by the checkerboard look as the others in the frontline followed suit. Now she has a double row of the very sharp eye teeth. The new ones are coming in, and the baby ones remain tightly anchored. She will not sit still enough for me to take a picture of the full effect, but here is a very close likeness! (TeeHee 😉 )

She is growing by leaps and bounds, but is still pretty little! Since I take her to work with me, she gets to visit with a lot of folks. Most ask what breed she is, and I tell them her story, and that it's pretty much a mystery, but that I tend to think she is mostly Jack Russell terrier. Well, that opens the gate to the guessing game, and everyone has their very own opinion as to what they think she may be – I've been told she's everything from chihuahua to collie (?!?, she's only 8 pounds, don't think there's enough room in there for collie!), with everything in between…beagle, corgi, manchester, and on and on. If I was extremely wealthy I would order one of those doggy DNA kits to solve the mystery, but they are about $75! So I believe I will just start telling folks, with a very definitive air, that she is a genuine terrier mutsky.

I got a new phone for Christmas that has a camera. I didn't feel comfortable taking either of my “real” cameras to work for fear I would damage them. It is so darn pretty out there most days, I was just in mourning when something awesome would present itself (or my little beasty would do something adorable) and I was camera-less. I'm finding it's pretty hit-and-miss with this phone camera, but at least I can kinda capture the moment.

The heater was broken at work for about 3 weeks. It was COLD out there first thing in the morning til I could stoke up the space heater. Declan didn't fuss at all when we would go straight in and bundle her tight in her shop blankey.

After it warmed up some, she was ready to visit with folks as they came thru, or wrestle around with her toys. She is so good at work, no trouble at all. It is really nice to have her for company during slow spells.

There is absolutely no zoom on this phone camera. Which is a shame, because if you could see how the light is reflected off the Crazy Mountains bright and early in the morning – it is breathtaking! Magnify this by about 100 (which is how my eye sees it), and this is just a quarter of the 360 degree view I have all around me at work.

I can remember sitting in my cubicle at my old job (where I had spent my entire adult life), stacks of papers and books all around me, feeling overwhelmed and sick with stress, and just thinking “if I could just sit and look out the window for a minute, I would feel so much better”. Thank you, Lord, I've gotten my wish! It is a grand thing for your mind and soul when you have a phenomenal job!

I've not gotten to the cabin yet this winter. Bruce tries to make it worth his while when he goes, so usually leaves Saturday morning and comes back Sunday evening. I work every Saturday, so our schedules are not in sync. But it has been dreadfully cold and windy this winter so far, so guess I can hold out on going and not be too terribly sad. His snowmachine is out of commission presently, so he is grounded til he can get it repaired. Since we had some weekend time together, we went to dinner at the Chinese restaurant last Saturday and did a bit of tourage on the gerbil wheel here in town.

This big boy came over to see what the dickens we were looking at.

A couple of old abandoned log homes down on the island. See the doe standing to the right at the 2nd cabin? I can't believe someone hasn't fixed these up. You just don't see abandoned homes in our area much, if ever. I was appalled when we vacationed in New England and saw so many awesome, historical homes boarded up, or in a derelict falling down state. It just made me heart-sick! I told Bruce if we could figure out how to transport them to Montana for cheap, we could plop them on a couple acres, fix them up, and sell them for bazillions of dollars! But that is a far fetch between New Hampshire and Montana.

Even when it's cold and blustery, you can still find something wonderful to do if you're up for it. See the fisherman mid-picture? He's not letting the weather slow him down any! We saw lot's of folks walking their dogs, kids sledding, even one couple cross country skiing right on the streets in town!

We stopped and fed the ducks at the park.

FLASH MOB! Boy, were they hungry! Lots of folks feed them, but it's just been so cold, they need lots of feed.

No skaters tho. It's been too darn windy. It makes the ice freeze like ~~^~~^~~^~~^~~ which is a much too rough surface to skate on.

More of these goofs in town. These guys were about a block from my house. They are totally urbanized and not scared a bit.

My favorite giant.

Late afternoon New Years Day out at my folk's farm. We had a fun potluck, and my Mom made a kettle of chili and some delish desserts.

That's about all the excitement I have for now! Bet it about knocked your socks off 🙂

TTFN,

Teresa

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So Blessed

Posted on January 6, 2015 by sheepgirl | Leave a comment

It seems everyone in my family had a wonderful Holiday. I know I sure did! And baby Declan loved the toys she got for her first Christmas – she had something fluffy dangling from her lips for about 3 days straight. She even took Santa outside to potty with her!

When I saw her out the window I made a mad dash for any camera I could get a hold of, found the iPad 1st, and tried to catch Glee and Declan both. It was so cute. Glee was following Declan really closely making sure she didn't leave her toy outside 🙂

After playing so hard, she had to try out her new red bed, even if it was still on the couch.

A quick nap, lots more playing (inside and out), then another snooze in front of the fire to toasty up before hitting the hay for the night.

I'm so lucky to have these 2 little bugs at my house – they are pure joy, and darn cheap entertainment to boot!

TTFN,

Teresa

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Growin’ Up, As Babies Will

Posted on December 10, 2014 by sheepgirl | Leave a comment

Declan is turning into a big girl.

I believe she may have just entered the “terrible 2's ” in doggie years.

She just can't seem to contain herself when it comes to tormenting my old cats.

I'm sure Angel is thinking “maybe if I just ignore it, it will go away”.

The darn pesky thing.

The funny thing is, I think Angel really does like that wild little puppy. She doesn't have claws in the front and when she is chillin' in the chair, Declan will bounce up and down in front of the chair and they play “box the puppy pest's ears”. And when they are both on the floor, Angel spends more time chasing the puppy than vice versa. Angel won't run from her. They both seem to think they're having a wonderful time. But my old mama cat, Asia, just spends most of her time downstairs rather than fiddle with the brat. My kitties are 16 and 15 years old, so a new wild and wooly baby beast in their house is a big adjustment.

But Declan really is a good little baby, and tries her darnedest to listen and behave. It's just so hard when you have that much vim and vigor all bottled up in such a small package!

Everybody does get an occasional break. She's so busy growing she has to get in some battery re-charge shut eye.

Then it's re-coop time for everybody else. Wonder if this is the siamese version of the Vulcan mind meld…..two heads are better than one to devise a plan to defeat the enemy!

My good, sweet Glee has the patience of the Saints, and just plays and plays with the wild thing (and snoozes with her, and her boy).

We're all very lucky to have had this little bright spot land at our house and in our hearts! She's a good one!

TTFN,

Teresa

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A Cottage Bedroom

Posted on November 26, 2014 by sheepgirl | Leave a comment

My time management skills are sorely lacking. But I did manage to get my big little son's former bedroom put back together again. Because of that, my turkey collection has to suffer another full year of being boxed up before they can come out and play again. I have so many beautiful and unique turkeys it's a shame to not get them all out, but I put 5 full totes of Halloween stuff out this year, and by the time all of that got put away, then also had the bedroom re-do that had to get done before Thanksgiving, well something had to give!

Anyway, thought I'd share how the bedroom turned out. I am really happy with it. It feels very calm and feminine and old fashioned to me. Let's see what you think about it –

These are the before pics. This room is only 9 feet by 10 and really difficult to photograph.

I just went from the doorway into the room, then clockwise around the room. It was pretty beat up from my teenage fella living there. When he was little, he used to bedroom hop. With no siblings, he had 3 bedrooms to choose from, but spent his teenage years in this room.

This is the first time I can remember that I didn't make it harder on myself and complicate things by using multiple colors, wallpapering, trying strange paint techniques, etc. I just got two partially full cans of light colored paint out from under the stairs where we store lots of extra paint, and I mixed them together. The result was a nice off white, with casts of buttery creme, beige, and even a bit of a pinkish tint at times. Depending on the light throughout the day, it can take on any of the above tones. I did walls, ceiling, doors, and trim the same color. That made it pretty snappy to finish. We did prime the brown wall with 2 coats of Kilz before paint went on.

This room didn't cost me a dime to re-do. I just shopped my house and didn't have to go out to buy anything. I don't know if that's good or bad, to think you have enough stuff to completely re-do a room and not have to buy a thing, from paint to bedding! The crazy thing is, even if I did add up the initial cost, it would still be little to nothing. I buy paint inexpensively from WalMart and keep what's leftover to use later. Nearly everything in the room is rummage sale or hand-me-down. Let me show you…

The old metal bed, mattress, quilt, little juniper filled chickadee pillow, and old quilt bunny; all from rummage sales. Shelf came from a craft sale, unfinished, and I painted it. The old, old baby dresses hanging from the shelf pegs my Grandma found in a box in the garbage a few houses down from hers. A family moved their elderly relative out of her house and threw nearly everything in the poor lady's house away. So at least these sweet little dresses were rescued. Lamp and chair were my Great Grandmother's. My Mom and I re-upholstered the chair (with clearance fabric) about 10 years ago. Night stand found on Craig's List. Had the lace panels for years. The valance looking thing at the top of the lace is a linen table topper, hand embroidered by my Grandma's tiny little French/Norwegian aunt (she was about 4 feet 10 inches tall in shoes!), many, many years ago. In the frame above the bed is Bruce's Great Grandparent's marriage certificate. It is unusually large, and so beautiful!

I love the detail; the deer by the lake, the different flowers.

Just a few of my favorite poochies from my antique dogs collection. The majority of these were found at rummage sales or were gifts from folks.

All the antique lady pictures were also my Great Grandmother's.

I moved the gothic window from the living room and added some rope lights. I placed it on an oak 2 drawer chest I got for a song at an antique sale.The wooden shoe lamp was sent from Holland when my Mom's cousin lived overseas. She sent it to my Great Grandmother, and I remember it in her home from the time I was little.

A happy little couple. My little glass corgis were just the right size to be their companions 🙂 .

I put some dollhouse furniture my Mom had when she was little on my little mini hutch.

I'm glad to have it all put together and off the to-do list!

So, in parting, I want to wish everyone the happiest Thanksgiving. I'm going to throw in a couple pics of turkeys from last year, just cuz I'm missing them so much!

TTFN,

Teresa 🙂

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PROGRESS

Posted on November 2, 2014 by sheepgirl | Leave a comment

Here are a few shots of the progress on the new foundation for the cabin.

These are the drilled holes, but pre-pour of the cement piers. There was a good deal of surveying, angle calculation, time, and effort just to get these dozen holes put in the ground. And the majority of this Bruce did all by himself. God bless his heart.

He had to frame everything up, and set the sonotubes and rebar cages (which he wired together himself). Nine of the twelve holes drilled that will hold the pier posts ended up taking on water from the underground springs on the property. That did not make Mr. Bruce happy at all. He had to rent a pump and make other modifications to make sure everything was ready for the concrete pour. It took him the better part of the week to have everything ready. He had the concrete delivery scheduled for 9 a.m. on Saturday. Then, here came the cement truck, approximately 2 and 1/2 hours late. Just enough time for the ground in the yard to thaw out and be good and soft. I had to work the day they poured, and I am glad I wasn't there to watch, because it was a very stressful, torturous day. The cement truck got stuck on the property because of the boggy ground and excess weight of the loaded truck. And it was stuck a goodly distance from where the cement needed to be poured. A very good hearted man, who just happened to be stopped and chatting with Bruce in passing, gave up his Saturday on the spur of the moment when he saw the terrible picture unfold with the truck, and knew what a horrible pinch Bruce was in. He helped him get that concrete from the truck to the foundation holes, which was no small feat. Another cabin neighbor had a bobcat (a small tractor like piece of equipment) he let them use, and they would fill the bucket then drive from the truck over to the holes and dump in the concrete a scoop at a time. Not good. Once the cement was unloaded from the truck, which was a long while later, they were able to get it unstuck, and the truck driver got out of the yard and back to the road. This is a very condensed version of what transpired. There were lots of other exciting things that happened in the process, but this would turn into a book if I elaborated.

I haven't been up since the pour. Bruce said the road in the yard to the cabin is a torn up mess, and the piers are not pretty by a long shot, but thank The Lord they are done. And he beat the snow to boot. Needless to say, he decided to skip going up there this weekend. He needed a break away from that turmoil for a bit. Now, we wait til next Spring, then starts the process of getting everything ready to lift the cabin from the present foundation and move it over about 35 feet to the new foundation. Oy Vey, I don't even want to think about that…too scary.

So, on a happier note, here are some pictures I took on the way up to give Bruce moral support during the earlier part of this ordeal. I was a worthless helper, but that stuff was way beyond my capabilities.

This was one of my travel partners. The princess Declan, in her little pink blankey.

Glee rode in the back seat so she could hang her nose out the window. This little gal just snoozed the whole way up.

There was an impressive storm rolling in as I drove up.

It rained a little, slushed a little, and patches of blue sky shone thru all the while. Made for a very pretty spectacle.

It was pretty nice for the few hours I was up at the cabin. Bruce said I left just in the knick of time as it rained cats and dogs shortly after I headed back to town.

The trees in the cabin yard were putting on a pretty show of colors. Most of the leaves in town have blown off already. The wind just doesn't stop in this little town.

Anyway, steady by jerks. We just need to keep the faith that all will go well with this little mountain house, and it will be so wonderful when everything is completed and sturdy and snug when we finish.

TTFN,

Teresa

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A Birthday Present for Mr. Bruce

Posted on October 20, 2014 by sheepgirl | Leave a comment

Here it's his birthday, and he is slaving away at the cabin (for reals – he's desperately trying to get the new foundation in place before it snows). It's an exceptionally beautiful day and I am very much enjoying his birthday present while he is away. I don't feel a bit guilty because every year, for any occasion I would merit getting a gift, I always ask for something that benefits all of us. Usually something for the house, and usually it entails labor. More than a couple of times I've heard “why can't you just ask for jewelry, like most normal women?” Well, this year, his “present” is not just for him. It's something we will all love and share, hopefully for many, many years to come.

Her name is Declan, she is 8 weeks and 2 days old. She weighs just over 4 pounds and is about 5 inches tall at the shoulder. Her name is Irish/Gaelic and means “Full of Goodness”! Oh, are we ever in love, and I mean all of us including Glee. She arrived at the shelter in Bozeman, from a shelter in northeastern Montana that rescues animals from the Indian Reservation. Apparently on the reservations, they don't believe in spaying and neutering, because I checked 3 separate shelters in Montana, and they all had received an abundance of puppies and dogs that had been taken in during a sweep rescue from the reservation. Many were feral, and they keep those dogs longer to try and restore their health and socialize them so they will be adoptable.

We lost our little Rootin' Tootin' Twister in July. He was 16 years and 5 months old. That is amazingly elderly for a Border Collie/Australian Shepherd. He started failing badly. A lady that ran the Animal Welfare League in Laurel many years ago told me something that has stuck with me all these years. She said “We must remember to choose quality over quantity in the time our pets have here on earth; that is our duty to them.” So we decided it was time, and did our duty because we loved him. He was a fine and awesome little fellow, and it was truly a gift that he spent his life with us.

I had been very tentatively checking out adoptable dogs in shelters across the state, not sure if it was the right time to add another member to our family, but looking none-the-less (what is wrong with me? I just can't seem to help myself). Every so often, I would peruse the shelter sites, and Friday morning I had a break at work and decided to take a look. This little baby just sprang off the screen and basically said “Here I am! What the heck are you waiting for?” It said she was a Pembroke Corgi (like Glee), Chihuahua cross. So, a bit smaller than Glee, which is good because we need smaller for more portable now that we have the cabin. That way we can bundle them up and sling/secure them to the front of us, and we can all ride (putt-putt) in to the cabin on the snow machines this winter. I've seen folks perch their dogs in front of them on snowmobiles, but I think, for safety sake, I will try to fashion something out of a sheet to keep them secure against us when we ride in.

I decided to call the shelter and see if they had more info about her, because there was some conflicting info in her file they sent home. It turns out they have no idea what breed she is, as they just scooped up as many dogs and puppies as they could when they did the sweep. Apparently, they did not see parents of any of the puppies they collected, or if they did, they didn't know which babies went with who. So the shelter staff just guessed at her heritage. I think she looks very much Jack Russell terrier, but does have the Corgi coloring. Who knows? I just hope and pray she doesn't get St. Bernard sized. That would be more than a little inconvenient, but we would still love her 🙂 !!

The way things fell into place, it seems it was just meant to be! I saw her on the shelter site Friday morning and contacted them immediately. There was another family that had sent in an application to adopt her, so I figured we were out. The shelter called Friday afternoon and said the other family had cancelled, that if we wanted to meet and possibly adopt her, we needed to get there that afternoon. They will not hold puppies because they want puppies placed and bonding with their new family ASAP, and they knew she would go fast. By a lucky twist of fate, Bruce was home, gathering equipment etc., to take to the cabin to start his foundation job. Bless his heart, he dropped everything and flew over to Bozeman to pick her up.

She has been such a good little baby. She cries for only a few minutes when I put her in her crate when we go to bed. She has slept all night long the 3 nights she has been here….knock on wood! I am so lucky that with the job I have now, she can go to work with me! I took her to work Saturday and she did so well. Glee has been so very patient with her, but it will be nice for her to have a break while Declan is at work with me. Puppies do tend to pester a bit!

There are so many animals out there that need families that love them, I am glad that we were able to shorten the list even by one! We will love and cherish her cuz we are of the clan of folks that are dedicated (probably beyond reason 🙂 ) to their furry kids!

TTFN,

Teresa

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One Thing Down, A Thousand More To Go

Posted on August 12, 2014 by sheepgirl | 2 Comments

August is fire season in Montana. This year is no exception. We've gotten smoke here even from fires as far away as Canada, and more recently, the Missoula area, which is about 230 miles from here. Everything takes on an orangish hue, it gets very hazy, and distant views are very limited. Sometimes it smells very smoky out, at other times you barely notice. Montana is plagued with a pine bore beetle infestation. That makes for lots of standing dead pine trees in our forests, which is certainly fire fodder. That's why I was so happy the forest service came in last winter to the area where our cabin is, and did some clearing to hopefully reduce fire risk.

There was a huge standing dead pine, and a few smaller ones, on our property at the cabin.

Definitely not an asset. Too much big wind, lightning, heavy snow, etc., around here, and it needed to come down – with help, not on it's own, as it could possibly squash our little outhouse, or worse, if left to it's own devices, fall to where the cabin will be placed on it's new location (that'd be great, wouldn't it, to just get the cabin moved over, then have a huge tree fall on the roof?) Time to get gone, tree.

This tree was particularly bad as the top branched out in 3 different directions, which makes them even more dangerous. A pine tree with a single trunk and a split, multi branched out top is called a “school marm” by loggers. It also already had a bad crack down the side of the trunk, which considerably weakens the stability.

Bruce knows a fellow who formerly logged for a living, and asked him if he could come knock it down since he had the experience. He said he'd be happy to, and would enjoy it since he doesn't often have the opportunity to do that since he's changed professions. Very lucky for us. It took him no more than a few minutes, and he had that giant dead tree laying on the ground in just the right direction.

Bruce earlier took down the few other smaller trees himself, but this huge one was just too dangerous and really needed someone with the proper expertise to take it down. (Thanks Brian!!)

We had gotten a firewood permit last month from the forest service, and my big little son and I had made one trip up and gotten about a cord plus that we loaded up and brought to the cabin. That is only about a third of what probably will be needed for the winter up there. We knew we'd have to make at least a few more forays out amongst the giant, man eating horse flies (they are horrible up there this time of year, and bite like the dickens) to get a couple more cords, but now with these dead trees felled right here on our own property, there should be more than plenty to last the winter and spring.

Lucky Bruce now gets to cut all the logs to length with the beautiful, new chain saw I asked for for my birthday last year! One of the best, most useful presents I've ever gotten, and comes complete with a fella to run it 🙂 .

There was a full moon when we stayed this last weekend.

We had a campfire and roasted marshmallows, and watched the big, bright moon rise over the mountains. Doesn't get much better than that.

The next morning, this doe was standing right outside the kitchen window as I made coffee.

You can see the wild raspberry bushes growing in front of and under the deck. Glee loves raspberries, so we picked all the ripe ones we could find and she ate them for a snack.

So, at least one more thing checked off the massive to-do list at Moose Springs. Gotta love that!

TTFN,

Teresa 🙂

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Happy Easter! ^..^

Posted on April 16, 2014 by sheepgirl | Leave a comment

Yippee! The sun is actually shining thru my kitchen window! Time to freshen things up, put away winter-y decor, and bring a little brightness into the house. It is so hard to get inspired when it's dreary and gloomy. Now the grass is visibly greener, lots of daffodil, tulip, and iris shoots are peeking out, and I feel like I, too, am “waking up” from a too long nap.

Thought I'd share just some random stuff around the house before I start to revamp a little. Nothing too exciting, just a few things that make me happy when I look at them –

Bruce's great grandpa made this bench (and a lot more) many, many years ago for a meeting hall in the small Czech community he and his family lived in. Recently, they tore down the old hall, and they invited Bruce to help himself to as many benches as he liked since it was his kin that built them. He took 1 for himself, 1 for his brother, and 1 for his cousin. Gosh, if only we'd known we would be getting the cabin he could have grabbed a few more, they are so cute and useful.

I have had a few dogs from my collection out and about. Think I'll trade them out for my little sheep that are presently tucked away.

Eastertime snuck up on me this year. Apparently I was in a bit of a haze, cuz I sure didn't get into the swing of bunny and egg decorating much.

Just put these little guys out and that will have to suffice this year! Besides, I've got the real deal to look at while I'm out raking and spiffing up the yard….