Near Red Lodge, MT....redux

I drive by this same spot today and snapped a pic with my phone to illustrate the difference the moody skies provided.

White knuckle drive

This may not look like a white knuckle drive....but it was. This was the road from Red Lodge back Eastward toward Billings yesterday. What made it white knuckle- for me, anyway- was the 7% downhill grade, the coming hairpin turn, and the fact that the road was as slick as snot!!  Made it back down without incident. Thank goodness there was no other traffic!!

Near Red Lodge, Montana

I'm exploring this southern part of Montana for a couple of days, and this is the first time I've been to Red Lodge. It's a beautiful town that reminds me somewhat of Telluride.  In this cell phone photo, both the sun and an emerging snow fall are battling over this scene. The road leading into the mountains here is someone's private road. Can you imagine that being your driveway??

Just your average weekend...

Cloud Peak...from the front deck

I'm not sure if I'll do this daily, but I'm somewhat sad to see the snow receding up into the Cloud Peak wilderness. This may not look wonderful from a cellphone camera (and zoomed), but Cloud Peak is the snow-covered dome just left of center.

Yeah, about that "imminent update"....

So, exactly 4 months ago I posted a short note that an update would be imminent.  I think that pretty well demonstrates how committed I am to this blog.  We've had some great history, and it's always just kind of there in the background, but I have been neglecting it.  Mostly because of facebook.  I forget that some folks follow just the blog, and I'm in the habit of micro-blogging every day....sometimes moreso.  That means sometimes it feels redundant to write out what I've been doing here.

What I think might be a better approach for me is to use this as a photoblog - maybe not so much written content, but a regular posting of snapshots.  This will be easy because I've got a pretty ok camera on my phone, and I take a good dozen or so shots a day.  The beauty is the Blogger app, which allows me to upload photos (along with commentary) directly from my phone.

For a basic run-down of what I've been up to over the last few months - I'll see if I can't recap that here.  First off, I've moved.  I'm still in Hyattville, but I'm now at a log cabin next to a creek and a beaver pond and  some cow pastures.  It's down a 2-mile long dirt road.  At first, I was worried that it would be too remote.  Since then, I've removed all the window coverings and really love being able to sit on the front porch in the morning in my PJs and not be concerned that anyone can see me.  I love seeing the beaver build his dam at dusk, and there is a mated pair of sandhill cranes that sing-up the sun every morning down by the creek.  Life really probably couldn't get any better, but it has.

Since December, I've been able to help out on a few ranches nearby - for sheep shearing, calving, and cattle moving - and some of this by horseback!!  The hardness of the water (I suspect) has really helped my nails - formerly as strong as wet newspring - not only grow, but strengthen. If you've ever seen my nails you know what a big deal this is.  I've been working with the state's economic development forum and small business administration - and have been enjoying some guest-lecturing spots with them as well.

My company is officially a company, too - Paintrock Consulting Services, LLC.  I know, I have a lot of LinkedIn updating to do.  While I've bought the domain name, I haven't built the website yet, either. Oh, and I finally went ahead and bought a Verizon network extender - so now I can use my cell phone at home (aka, "the cabin") - provided that the internet or electricity don't go out on me.

All right, I think that pretty much does it for updates for now.  I'll be sure to post some snapshots tomorrow.  Thanks to those (all 5) of you who still read this blog and prompt me from time to time to keep it alive!  I'm glad it's here, I'm just bad about giving it the attention it deserves.

Golden Hour

The close view is South from my deck...the long view looks East. Daisies, citrus mint, lemon balm, and found feathers make a great windowsill during the Golden Hour.

Update is Imminent!

Recently I have been doing a bit of exploring nearby towns in Wyoming, in a bid to determine where I want to live ultimately.  Currently, the home I am renting in Hyattville is perfect, but it is a home base from which I can hunt for more permanent housing.  So, I've returned from spending some time in the Big Horn mountains, driving through a snow storm, visiting a ski lodge, getting to know Sheridan and Buffalo better, and incidentally finishing all of my locally-sourced Christmas gifts and shipping.  Now that I am back in Hyattville, I've got a number of photos and other items to go through  - as soon as that's done there will be a more substantive post here.  Stay tuned!

Bountiful Baskets, Indeed!

I don't think I've blogged about this before, but if I have and this is repetitive, let me know.  I recently joined a Co-Op called Bountiful Baskets.  It's a participatory, all-volunteer effort to source reasonably priced produce and breads every other week.  Because the money is pooled by the Co-Op, the prices are unbeatable.  You opt in whenever you want.

Today, I had my pickup for my $25 food share order.  You can order the food in shares, or baskets, that are a grab-bag of produce - good quality, and usually a mix of fruits and vegetables. You can also select an organic share, or add artisan breads to your order.  This time, I decided to order one food basket, and one order of artisan bread.  It was listed as English Muffins, two savory loaves, and a baguette.  Well, the English Muffin bread is in loaf form - that's new to me, and it seems much more bread by volume than buying the 6- or 8-pack of English muffins at the store!  

At any rate, the pickup for these orders is 8 am sharp at the Hyattville Community Center.  Nancy does a fantastic job of managing the orders, dividing up the produce, having it ready for pickup, and overall managing the program for the town. 

Now, I was prepared for this week's haul to be lightweight since it's just before Thanksgiving, and because the previous order was so good.  The orders are every other week, so for a single person like me, that gives me enough time - if I'm really dedicated - to get through the whole haul in two weeks' time.  Except I didn't.  I still have two zucchini, two acorn squash, and some lemons from the last order.  

Today, I decided to walk the two blocks or so to the Community Center.  I thought it silly to start and drive the vehicle two blocks to pick up a grocery order.  I took my dog (of course), my regular sized back-pack, and just in case, a trash bag (to carry the bread).  Unfortunately, I was the last one to arrive to pick up my order - although the prior person was just leaving, so I hope I didn't make anyone wait on me. 

Imagine my surprise when I saw an entire produce box waiting for me - in addition to the breads!  Nancy and the others who were there were pretty doubtful that I'd be able to carry everything in just my backpack and trash bag.  In the end, I was able to fit everything in the backpack and trashbag, but Nancy insisted on driving my "haul" back to the house, since she was also dropping off Jo Ann's order at the Cafe.  I gladly accepted the hauling help!  

At any rate, here is the unloaded haul on the dining room / work table.  Remember, the squash, zucchini, and lemons are from the prior order (two weeks ago), but everything else is fresh.  Could you buy this for $25 or less in a store?

This week's rundown:

5 artisan bread loaves

1 honeydew melon

1 pomelo

1 pineapple

1 bunch of Romaine lettuce

1 bunch Celery

3 bags of full sized carrots

4 Russet potatoes

12 navel oranges

9 green apples

3 vine tomatoes

6 bananas

This haul was deceptively heavy, and I consider myself challenged to consume all of it, but I'll give it my best.  At $25, if the worst case scenario happens and something goes bad before I can eat it, my losses are very minimal.  

One new tool I've discovered to help with ideas on what to do with the food is a website called AllRecipes - particularly their search panel.  In it, you can enter the ingredients that you have, and be provided with a list of recipe options for those items.  A thank-you shout out to Karen C for the tip on the website! 

Snow Woes

First off, let me stipulate - I'm not complaining!!  But if I were, it might sound something like this:

Lately, I've been reveling in the snow, but it's starting to melt now - and the problems that causes are twofold.

One is that the underside of my vehicle is covered in what I affectionately call "road snot" - the partially melted, then re-frozen drippings of driving. The ugly part of that is when they congeal all up under the wheel wells to the point of rubbing on the tires during driving. I've asked around and the options are to either not drive in the snow, get the vehicle "lifted" (which I seriously might do, so it's as high as the 4Runner was), or 'bang it out with a long stick' (which is what I currently do).

The other issue that the melting causes is with my dog. I'm going to have to curb her off-leash activity at the ranch. The other day at the ranch, she rolled around in a slushy mixture of snowmelt, mud, cowpiss, and manure (oh, and oats). Now, the stream is too cold for her to take a dip into for rinsing purposes, and she is an anti-bath dog. My solution has been to buy cans of dry shampoo, spray her down good, let it dry, brush that out, then rub her down 2 or 3 times with baby diaper wipes. She seems to love that - even leaning in to me - but I'm not keen on doing this all the time.

Interestingly, when I let her walk off leash around the house, she doesn't get dirty - somehow, even though where I walk is mud 2 inches thick, she is able to find remaining solid spots of snow and walk on those. So, it's really only at the ranch that I have to watch her. Which means I probably won't be taking her to the ranch much when it's muddy. 

Shortly, I'm off to lunch with two of my favorite locals - Bret, the handyman from the ranch, and Mr D - at the Hyattville Cafe N Bar.  

I can't believe it's mid-November...

Self-portrait phone shot from the ranch  

I've really been enjoying the snow and the crisp, cool weather! So has Djinni (pronounced Genie, my dog). Yesterday I fed the calves/cows/bull in the corral in the morning and then headed off the 32 miles to the county seat for Big Horn County.  Basin is a small town with a gas station and a grocery store, but it's also the home of all of the governmental offices for the county.  I finally got my Wyoming driver's license - so I am now an official Wyomingite!  I took the time to look at a few homes in Basin, and also in Greybull - the next town north by about 10 miles.  

I enjoyed lunch at the historic Greybull Hotel - and the woman working there showed me the speak-easy downstairs (where they still have dinner service), some of the old bricked up tunnels, and let me go explore the rooms upstairs in the hotel. It is really beautifully cared for! And the lunch was pretty good too. Afterward, I came back to the house, changed, picked up the dog, and headed out to feed the calves later in the afternoon.

By this time, the temp had warmed up to about 40 - the first time since the snows that it got above freezing. Here in rural Wyoming, where most roads are graded / gravel / dirt, things can get pretty messy.  At the ranch in particular, it was a true slush fest.  There was no place that I could park my vehicle and be assured of stepping out onto solid ground.   By that time, I was committed - I couldn't just keep the dog in the car and stand to hear her cry. So, I fed calves, cows, and one bull while Djinni had a wonderful time. At one point, she even rolled around in a mud-manure-slush area. Oh. My. God.

In warmer weather I would have directed her to the creek to self-bathe - she's pretty good about that. She had no interest in doing that yesterday, so I did the next best thing: I gave her a snow-bath. The snow was dry, yet clumpy, so I was able to grab a handful and squish it into a ball. I used the ball to scrub Djinni's fur (until the snow disintigrated) and then repeated. I was surprised that this did as good a job as it did, and that Djinni stood there and even leaned into me to help out! Once she was clean enough to ride in my car, we returned to the house where I did my 2-step winter cleaning process that is great for dogs in cold weather.

I have a can of "dry shampoo" - basically, an aerosol powderized cleanser that you spray on and let sit for a few minutes before brushing it out. I hate how it works on me, but love how it works on my shorter and less curly-haired dog. After setting, you just brush it out. This leaves her coat shiny and salon-fresh, but I don't think that's a natural scent on a dog and I don't think she likes the smell either. I follow that by wiping her down with unscented baby wipes - they're thick so they grab loose hair rather than spread it around, and they seem to eliminate 'dog' smell and neutralize cleaning smells.  She stands still and tall for me to do this, and just as with a water bath, is left refreshed and extremely playful!

Animal wise, lots of deer continue to graze nearby, but the new addition this week has been a couple hundred geese! They have bedded down in the pastures. I've never seen them bed down in non-waterside areas. 

Logically, this is where I would insert a photo, but there is a story behind that..... The other day I did some exploring on the other side of Ten Sleep, with Djinni, and we saw hawks, turkeys, an eagle, a fox, deer, elk, and mountain sheep! I was so glad that I had my nice fancy camera with me (Canon T1i) and I was snapping photo after photo. It's a digital camera, so eventually, I looked down at the LCD display to check my work, and I saw instead: "ERROR: No SD Card!". 

Apparently, I had removed the memory card from the camera and inserted it into my computer - it's an easier way of copying images over than hooking up the USB cable. And, my card was still in the computer, back at the house. Which meant NONE of the great snapshots I just took were really captured. I think you could have heard my "Oh, No!" down in surrounding valleys!  I will have to make a return trip, and it's looking like this weekend might be a prime opportunity!

Also in animal news - I've observed the buck and 4-5 doe harem still hanging out in the side yard - apparently they enter where the fence meets a very old and....not quite straight cottonwood tree.  A portion of the fence is bent from prior cotton wood distress, and the deer can just step over the fence at that point. They bed down right on the other side of that tree, or further down the property in the brush closer to the stream. Two or three of them stand up when I take Djinni out at night - but they no longer run off. They stare, Djinni stares back, and I make a point to walk her in a different direction. At the end of our walk, we come by that side yard.  The thought on this is that the deer have had time to decide if they still want to be there or not with my dog and I roaming about nearby. Sometimes one or two will spring-bounce off when we arrive at the end of our walk, but the others stay put.

As for me, I'm enjoying exploring in the snow, but have been wandering looking at houses in the region. The next few listings of interest will likely be day-trips, so I'll want to plan out Kathman's food (so he doesn't eat it all at breakfast!). I've been virtually meeting other Wyoming consultants and entrepreneurs through the WY Business Development Council, and participating in some video conferences with them. I have put off incorporating until later in the year / end of year for tax purposes, but if I need to pull the trigger before then I can. I keep waiting for gloomy weather to knock some reading and research off of my list, but the weather hasn't been cooperating! Not that I'm complaining.  Happy Camper, indeed!

A little snow, some cows, good company = awesome Sunday!

So, the snow added a level of interestingness to this weekend's visit by the vet, Dr. Dan Miller, for the 90+ cows that were trailered down from the mountain last week.  Doc Miller had to deal with a rougue bull last week in Worland that just waltzed into a basement, and then became angry about being in there!! More details in this article and on YouTube, so I'm including that link here too. 

On Saturday, we ended up getting between 8 and 10 inches of snow. The temp when I left for the ranch this morning was 0.7!! My layers treated me well, though. Besides Mr D, Dr Miller, his helper Marilyn, and me,  Carl and Bret came to help as well. The calves were vaccinated and the cows were pregnancy tested.  Mr D separated out a few cows to go to auction later this week.  The calves are mostly still corralled, and the others were re-released into pasture down toward the lease place.

Of course, the fun at the ranch was followed by an afternoon of play outside with my dog!  And now for the pics.  Here is little calf 27.  She runs toward me - probably because I am one of the people who has fed her!

A good way to keep warm on a cold day:  head-butting! 

The snow was dry, diamond-like and crystallized. 

 

 Finally, my dog.  One thing that she just hates to do is to face the camera when I'm holding it.... 

 

Finally!! Snow

I couldn't believe my eyes when I read that the Weather Service had issued a severe weather alert for the tiny hamlet of Hyattville recently - advising of 50 degree temperature drops (from our recent warm run) as well as the chance for snow as a result of Winter Storm Brutus moving south from Canada.

Sure enough, the flurries started about mid-day Friday and have continued non-stop (albeit with varying strength) since then.  The accumulation here is 8 inches of snow so far, and it's that glorious, loose, crunchy, diamond-like powder!  Interestingly, the forecast called for 6 inches in the valleys and up to 12 inches closer to Cloud Peak, up on the Cloud Peak Byway.  WY DOT is warning of high winds, black ice, and falling rock on that route, so I'm not in a rush to check out the snow in higher elevations.  We're just at about 4400 feet elevation.

I was also surprised to see a plow truck go by on the paved road.  Hyattville is at the end of WY highway 31, and the plow made it all the way to the end of the road.  All of the actual little streets in town are gravel, and probably won't need clearing or plowing - in my experience in Ohio, I'd prefer a snow-covered gravel drive over concrete or asphalt any day for traction.

This is actually (paved) WY Highway 31, after the plow had gone over it twice!

Another interesting facet is that now I have a vehicle with 4 wheel drive.  Really it's front wheel drive all the time, and when it senses slippage or traction loss on any of the other wheels, it automatically shifts power to the appropriate wheel / drive train.  I was anxious this morning to go for a drive to get used to the feel of this vehicle (a Toyota RAV4).  I have to say, it was quite a pleasant departure from my 4Runner.  I still miss and love my 4Runner incredibly - but she was 2 wheel drive.   Specifically, rear wheel drive, and that is absolutely no good in snow or icy conditions.  Hell, even on gravel she'd lose traction.

At any rate, I went to a big open area off of the BLM road on the south side of town and really opened her up.  I wanted to check acceleration, braking feel, braking speed, and braking distance.  I also wanted to check out traction control using the various settings the vehicle allows me.  In short, let's just say that from a bird's eye view, it might have looked as though some teenager were out doing donuts in their first car in their first snowfall...it was fun and exhilarating   I have more confidence in the handling of the vehicle, but I am aware of the old saying:  the worst side effect of having 4 wheel drive (for many) is overconfidence in the ability of their vehicles.  I plan to avoid representing that cliche.

I'm glad I did the driving exercises today - that leaves me prepared for my early morning trip tomorrow.  For the 97 cows that were trailered down from the mountain last weekend, the Vet is coming tomorrow morning to perform pregnancy tests and vaccinations.  Mr. D has arranged for a "bunch" of home-made cinnamon rolls from the Cafe, and I'll bring those along with an old style percolator coffee pot and supplies.  The high temperature for tomorrow is supposed to be 24, but that might not happen until 3 pm or so.  In the meantime, Mr. D and a few volunteers are rounding up the cows to move them into the corrals tonight, so they'll be there and ready for the Vet visit in the morning.  I know what to expect this time around, having helped on the last batch of cows, but this round is almost twice as many - and I'll be wearing a few layers to boot!  Now if I can figure out a way to keep the cinnamon rolls and coffee manure free, that'd be awesome.  I think I'll try to build a barrel fire as well - pending time.  

Anyway, now that you've read through all of this, here are a few photos.  Enjoy!!!

This is one blissed-out dog!!!

Fabulous Fall Days

I almost feel guilty about how much I've been enjoying the outdoors over the last month or so.  I mean, put into perspective, the east coast is being ravaged again with the winter storm follow-up to frankenstorm Sandy, and just north of us in Montana, they're preparing for blizzard conditions.  But here in pleasant Hyattville?  It's just beautiful.

Because the weather has been so unseasonably nice and warm, I have been taking every advantage to be outside and enjoy it.  When the sun is out, even if the high is only in the mid-to upper 50s like it is today, that can still be warm enough for t-shirt weather.  In fact, it is warm enough for the south-facing glass storm door trim - which is dark colored - to be almost too warm to touch!

So, this week we have enjoyed temps in the 60s, with a slight downward trend into the 50s for today.  That is all gearing up for the 'cool front' heading our way - namely, remnants of the blizzard-inducing storm named Brutus by NOAA.  In fact, for local Hyattville weather affecionados, the weather service has issued a severe weather warning to advise us that tomorrow we may see a 50 degree drop in temperatures (so bringing us down to the teens or 20s for a high) along with a 60% chance of snow.  So, winter effectively begins tomorrow, it seems!

Why am I droning on about the weather?  Well, it makes for fantastic environmental interesting-ness here in WY.  Just take the sunsets.  They have been breathtaking!  I think part of that stems from the fact that here, you can see the whole horizon, so the impact is that much more noticeable.

Animals

I have to admit, my animals are loving it, too!  Djinni has really behaved well off-leash.  However, in the late afternoon or evening walks, I have decided to put her back on-leash.  The reason?  Deer.  Big ones.  And lots of them!!

I took this photo of a young buck in mid-October - ironically, on the first day of hunting season.  I'm not sure if hunting season is over or not - I'm waiting on a reply from the Wyoming Fish and Game folks - but it would appear this little guy survived, and added two hang-along does to his mini-entourage.  The photo below, taken from my wobbly handed phone, isn't that great - but it shows the buck in an open area across the gravel road from the house here.  

However, it seems this buck has really taken to bedding down at night - with his two does - in the grazing yard next to the house, here!  So, for a few nights, Djinni has awakened me at 2 or 3 am to go outside.  She is a slow dog to wake up  - so I have just opened the door to let her out to do her business.  The other night, though, this buck and his two does were just standing in the side yard looking at us - it was a beautiful moment.  Djinni has seen deer before, but not that close or that stationary.  After a frozen moment of staring, Djinni's dog instincts kicked in and she hauled off running for the deer.  For her, this meant circumventing the little barbed-wire fence between the back yard and the side yard, where the deer were.  

For the deer, however, this just meant two graceful hops and they were bounding deep into the pastures to the east of the house.  Djinni has done this twice, and the deer still bed down in the side yard.  So, as an offer of reconciliation, I left a few old apples out there for them last night, and put Djinni on-leash for our evening walks.  

And now, my beautiful cat, Kathman(du). He has really enjoyed acquainting himself with the lay of the land, and has been getting more exercise as a result - including indulging in the cat mint patch next to the house.  He doesn't mind the camera as much anymore - so I'll take that as a sign of him mellowing out a little!

I'm such a bad blogger! So here are some photos to tide you over...

Lessons learned in cowboy country:

• When heading to the ranch, even if just for a quick errand, wear your boots.  Inevitably, you'll be there longer than expected and have an encounter with at least two types of poop.
• If your dog is part hound, it's ok to let her "roll" in the interesting scents that she encounters.  She is familiarizing herself with new odors - and mine, anyway, seems to only do this for new odors, not every scent that she encounters.
• When fishing, you have to commit to the removal of the fish.  Letting one wriggle off the line leaves a hooked and injured fish in the ecosystem.

So, what have YOU been up to lately?  Thanks to Tiffany for the nudge to update the blog!!

The weather here in Hyattville has just been beautiful.  It's still atypically warm for Oct / November, and believe it or not, they're still in the process of bailing hay at the ranch.  This is good for the cows there, because hay is in short supply this season.  The ranch hand who was scheduled to start over a week ago has been delayed, but as luck would have it,  a local from Shell, WY has stepped up to help out, and he's doing a bang-up job.  His name is Bret, and he's a gunsmith by trade, with lots of mechanical and ranching experience to boot.                  

Mr. G's brother, Mr. D, leases the ranch next door so between the two, there is quite a bit of pasture land for cows.  This works well for the 97 other cows that were trailered down "from the mountain" near Ten Sleep.  Bret and I helped Mr. D herd the cows down to the additional pastures at the lease place.  Later this week, those cows will be pregnancy tested and vaccinated.  In the meantime, with the good weather holding out, I've been doing some exploring, a little hiking, some fishing, and communing with horses. 

Hyattville is nestled right up next to BLM (Bureau of Land Management) lands, or public spaces, and the Bighorn National Forest, surrounding the Big Horn mountain range.  A good rule of thumb is to think of BLM lands as dry, wide-open spaces.  The most interesting aspect is the rapid change in ecology and geology, where the dry high-desert abuts to National Forest, which is more treed and green.    The Red Gulch Byway is a graded gravel road that spans about 35 miles just north of town, and it traverses some fascinating geological features along the way.  Once upon a time I drove this stretch in a rental car during a rainstorm - a big no-no.  Much of the subsoil is bentonite, also known as kitty litter. When wet, it becomes clay-like and slippery, which is how I introduced the rental car's passenger side to a big boulder.  At any rate, the road has been recently graded, so gone are the ruts that were filled with a foot of dust.  While slow, the driving is much easier on that road now.  The byway also includes a dinosaur tracksite, where (with some patience, in my opinion) you can see small dino footprints in long-ago calcified mud.  For your viewing enjoyment, here are a few phone snapshots of the Red Gulch Byway:

This is Turk (the paint) and Fancy (the sorrel) down at the ranch.  Note in the background the tops of some of the snow-covered peaks of Bighorn National Forest. 

Finally, this is one of my fishing spots (also the dog bathing spot).  It is right behind the house here in town!