HI Ho ...A Ranching we will go...

I must admit.  I feel a bit like the Pioneer Woman when I was out on the Ranch this past weekend.  While I don't LIVE on a ranch ... I grew up on a moderately ranchy - mixed farm .. where cows were BY FAR my favorite thing about it! So --- I like to go back home every spring and fall - and pretend - for just a short little time ... that I am a rancher. 

Nothing more hilarious that Ree Drummonds vivid and witty accounts of ranchlife.  Go to the link above ... you'll get a kick out her - I promise.  Not a day goes by that I don't read about Ree's life ... and secretly wish I had a little (read: HUGE) ranch .. except for the 4 AM part ... oooo ... that is UGLY!

Back to the story at hand.  This weekend was working CALVES...down at the Wallace Ranch in Endiang ... that's right ... I said Endiang ...

Mother Nature was totally PMS'ing .... I mean ... she was pissed.  She was a full-blown emotional wreck .. blowing, crying, shivering, pouring, howling ... and that was just in the morning!

I have a  confession to make.  We don't have any horses.  We never have had any horses.  Well .. besides Ellie ... where I learned to ride ... she never went faster than a slow walk.   I sold her after a year.   Not fast enough.  And I didn't like the added chores.  HEy ... at least I'm honest.

So, I like to refer to ourselves as MODERN ranchers.  You know ... with the steel equipment.  The electric branding irons. The quads. The TIPPING table.  Nope - no wrestling for us!  Taking advantage of modern conveniences ... that's what I'l tell Ree Drummond when she asks anyways :)

This is the calf chute.  It Tips.  It Rocks. It's Yellow.

The "Uh Oh" Table.  You guessed.  How can I go a whole calf post without mentioning what acutally happens.  :(  Bye Bye Gonads.  This is where my Uncle Randy - a highly skilled castration machine - cuts out the manhood from almost all the little boy calves.  You'll thank him tonight when you're eating that juicy steak.  Thoes don't happen with Gonads.  I'll explain later.

I'll give you 10 bucks if you guess what this does.

This is Dean-o.  He is the new kid on the block ... in the family kind of sense.  Only because my momma - or a relative thereof ... did not give birth to him ..

He and my handsome husband were responsible for bringing the calves into the chute ... and loading it up ... and holding them there.  Holding them there.  Easier said than done.  They both have some pretty brag-worthy bruises to proves that holding calves in a chute - easier said than done.

This is where the magic happens.  OR at the very least - baby boy calves lose their manhood .... Let's get this show on the road!

Calves go in ....

Calves Get Tipped ...

And Snipped ....

And Recorded...

And then we break ... for sodas ...

Whle we break .... this little dude/dudette awaits her fate in the tipping chute ...

And a momma surveys the crowd ... making sure her little one is behaving!

And this little first time momma is traumatized by the whole damn thing .... and very skeptical of the girl with a camera ...

Alas ... we finish with good time ... and we aren't too worse for wear ... there is one tiny little problem left ....

How to dispose of the "gonads" ...

The boys ... they like to throw them at people in some kind of sick game of "Tag" ...

Or they hang them from "city folks" tailpipes ...

Or ... they eat them!!!

Note: No actual gonads were eaten in the taking of these photos!!

Check these "cowboys" out ... they have been frineds for years ... don't judge ... but doesn' the one on the left look a little off to you??  Ahhh .. who am I kidding ... I am related to one, married to another ... and living with the third ... so I am likely as "off" for loving all three of them!

And with that folks ... a hard days work ... capped off ... by you guessed it ... more sodas ...

And the boss-man surveys the work and says .... "job well done my boys ... job well done ...now how to get my paws on those gonads ..."

Just another spring on the Wallace Ranch ... the Wallace MODERN Ranch that is :) 

The New Kid on the Block ....

No Mel.  Its not the band.

I may or may not have a sister-in-lw who saw the New Kids on the Block in concert ... RECENTLY.  But I am not judging.

The New Kid ....

Aren't you beautiful ??  and I am so so in love!  I know - we only met last night. 

But your beautiful focussing system;

your HD video;

your insanely high ISO capabilities;

your super cool grip;

your new menu style;

you are perfect through and through!

Oh how I hope to capture so many love stories with you!  And the best part is ... my acutations (see yesterdays post!) are all reset - shutter happy again!

So besides myself and my beautiful new friend ... Can you guess what I took my first pictures of?

...

If you guessed ... the Weiners ... you are ..... Correct!  Look at my lovelies :)

Guess which one DOES NOT like the camera ....

Too bad little one ... momma's got a new toy - and you're the only models I could find at 6:30 this morning!!  Besides - I feed you - so smile :)

Got fastball tonight  -3rd game ... still no hits for me ... but check out this fielding stance ...

Let's all pray for a hit tonight ... seriously ... if I don't hit a fastball soon - I am gonna start to get a complex.... everyone cross their fingers ... of course - I shall update you tomorrow ... as my teammates can attest too - there won't be a dull moments when Shawna tries to pretend she has coordination and athletic skill

Toodles Internet!

When Good Days and Bad Days collide ...

You get Shawna. on Saturday.

I was re-commiting myself to taking more pictures ... of lots of things ... of our life ... you see Internet ... before I became a "photographer" (that still sounds kinda funny) We took lots of pictures - of us doing regular everyday things ... but now ... I have this tendancy to judge whether things are "worthy enough" of an actuation -

That is a fancy word I learned for clicking the shutter ... minor detail.  makes me feel smart.

and then more often than not - I don't snap the picture.  So my commitment was to take more pictures ... starting with what promised to be a hilarious venture with my Neighbors ... Broc and Avery.

Saturday afternoon, I hauled out all the supplies; rakes, shovels, hoses, seeds, gloves, watering cans, wheel barrow, hoe and most of all - Broc and Avery!  We were all ready to PLANT MY GARDEN! I ran into the house to get my camera - this event was being documented!  I ran outside - took one picture - and received this nasty message on my screen.

Err 99 - camera can not take picture.

What!??  This must be a mistake. 

Click.

Err 99.

Click.  Err 99.  Change Battery.  Click. Err 99.  Change Lens. Click. Err 99. Change CF Card. Click. Err 99. SERIOUSLY!  not a good time Canon.

I have loved you for so long Canon.  You have never let me down.  Until Today.  I am mad.

Don't let it ruin your day Shawna.  Okay.  I go outside - and we proceed to plant.

It was indeed - awesome. 

We got muddy; We got wet; we got the garden planted.  Complete with a toothy grin from my little man Broc - "I am a gardner right?  This is what gardneers do all day - right?" Right Broc.  All day they plant three rows of peas, one row of  red onions; half a row of carrots and two squash plants. and they have three waterfights in the middle.  and they do it barefoot. yep.  This is what gardeners do all day Broc.

Avery got bored about mid-first row - and took the weiners for a walk - then played with them in the shade for the remainder of planting time.  According to Broc - not a gardener. 

Then we spent the rest of the afternoon sitting on the grass; playing walkie-talkie on the telephone; until I had to go home and get ready for the big trip to Hanna.

Bad Day.  Camera broke.  Lots of Jobs coming up. 

Good Day.  Broc and Avery.  My Garden.  Sunshine.  My dream house.

yep.  Good Day.

And new camera for Shawna on Monday Eve.  Thinking about the new Canon 7D.  with video. 

and no photos today ... :(

Spring ... and other Benson Life Happenings ...

Happy Spring ... FINALLY!

Everyone in the house is so happy to be welcoming Spring this week!  Its beautiful outside - and for the first time this year - we have been able to partake in some "spring" activities!

Last weekend, however, was a different story!  It was cold as hell in Linda Hall this weekend - where the Benson's decided tp play our first Ball Tourney of the year! 

I was pumped!

We donned our ball gear - and played some CHILLY games of ball - I mean - teeth chattering, can't use our good bats, huddling for warmth kind of chilly ... the kind where, if it had not been the FIRST time out, or the fact that I needed intense practice - I would have packed 'er up and headed home!

We ended up losing the B Final - not bad for the first time out ...

But the real story lies in what happened OUTSIDE the ball fields .... in the Hall - to be exact!  Linda Hall folks put on an EPIC dance .. featuring music from my favorite band ... TRADESMEN! Aside from the fact that we all needed to copious amount of booze to keep us warm ... we were the life of the party ... after a race around the dance floor, a couple of rowdy games of Social-bles, a pant-trading episode and a few games of Paper - Rock - Scissors thrown in for good measure ... Pretty much the best time ... ever.  We danced, and laughed, and drank, and PRS'd until 4:30 AM!  Good thing we parked by the dugouts ... even though we were less than 4 feet away from where we had to play the next morning ... we still managed to be LATE!  Yep - that could only happen to the steamin' beavs :)

Well - since I don't have any pictures this time around ( camera bettery issue ??!!) I am going to end this post with a lsit of things that are happeneing in and around the Benson's as of late ... all the updated on - in due time friends :)

1. Dean-o moved back in.  He brought Rock Band.  Evenings are now dedicated to learning and mastering the "Beatles" which - I must say ... we are beyond fantastic at!!

2. Dee-Jay was sick last week - but her one leap bound from the kennel to the back door  and her constant attempt to keep Dean off the phone with his girlfriend (DJ was so there first!)- signifies a full recovery - Yeah Dee-Jay! Woody - he is the same stud muffin he always has been ... cute as ever!  We are attempting to install a underground "shock fence" in the near future - stay tuned for that episode ....

3. Darren is playing slo-pitch - 3 nights a week ... two of these night co-oincide with Shawna's newest sporting venture ... LADIES FASTBALL!  it totally rocks - and I can't wait to show you pictures of our awesome adventures!

4. Our yard and house rock.  I wake up everyday - thankful for being in our Dream House in Erskine ... but the yard work is intense - two hours of lawn-mowing on Dean's behalf last night -- and that didn't include the sweeping !!  Garden is going in on Saturday .... Yeah for Fresh Veggies!

Okay - that is about it for now ....

FAIL!

Yep - I did it.  totally. completely. utterly.

I failed.  I feel awful.  I feel like a complete fraud.  I feel like nothing I say now will hold any water ... but I thought I would say it anyway. I failed.

I thought I could do it.  I thought I could take a picture everyday for an entire year.  Darren told me it was a stupid goal.  I'd never acheive it.  He was right.  (on a sidenote ... has anyone every completed one of these 365 projects??)

So.  I am abandoning the concept.  Ly life has changed so much since that happened.  Many more important things to talk about than my pictures ... don't be discouraged, I'll still write about my pictures ... but it's not the focus anymore ....

I shall explain later ... I have so much to talk about - its gonna take a few days to air it all out ... but it will be worth it ... stick with me ... if my word still means anything to you ...

Shawna