States I've Visited

visited 16 states (32%)
Create your own visited map of The United States
Thank goodness for jet planes or I'd be stuck in the east forever!  Some day I'll travel to these other states.  Does it count if I just got another invite to stay in Colorado?  Yeah,  I didn't think so...

Ice Fog on the Farm

Most of these shots are from the 2nd week of January.  We had lots of heavy fog for several days.  It was a beautiful site to behold!  It wasn't as shimmery as ice on the branches, but it wasn't as damaging either.  The frozen fog left very artistic detail covering everything   ...even the deck boards.

 

Click on this close-up...
 

Doesn't the smoke from the wood burner make it look even colder?

 

  

  

  

  

 

Sweet Baby James was right...

"the birches seem dreamlike on account o' that frostin'... "

  

But don't worry...  I stayed toasty warm while enjoying this view from the edge of my bed:

Delaware, North Dakota and Rhode Island

A dear friend of mine recently wrote that there were no bloggers in Iowa.  I don't know about blog writers, but I know Iowa has blog readers.  I've been visited by Adair, Cedar Rapids,Sioux City, Waterloo, Council Bluffs, Redfield, and Bradgate, Iowa.


In a past post I wrote about my addiction to my tracking widget.  I really love seeing the cities around the world that visit my blog.  I started keeping track of which states have visited.  It didn't take long to add around forty states to my list...   Slowly the final states have been showing up one-at-a-time... except for three:  Delaware, North Dakota and Rhode Island.

It seems strange to me that my blog has been visited by Malaysia, Iran, Nigeria, and Bahrain, but not by Delaware.  I know there are lots of computers in Delaware.  They have to have them to keep track of all the credit card accounts.  Maybe Rhode Island is too small to have its own internet hub.  Is that possible?  That would explain it not showing up on my widget.  North Dakota?  I've never been there, but I want to visit it someday.  I imagine if I lived in a place like North Dakota, perhaps I wouldn't be spending my spare time reading blogs either.  I'd be out riding the range on Nekoda or Maggie.  Or maybe huddled by the campfire watching the sunset with Sadie.  (If you don't know Nekoda, Maggie and Sadie, click HERE)

If you are reading this, and know anyone in Delaware or Rhode Island, have them stop by my blog so I can feel some sense of achievement.  North Dakota has an excuse...

Record Breaker

Yep, you're reading it right... 

Eight and one-eighth inches around this bad boy!

We can't sell these because they don't fit in the cartons.

Adding a Boy to the Mix...

My grandgirls: Melody, Grace, Dani, Lexi

And introducing Brady.

The girls have decided that he's a keeper.

Snow Day with Horses

This picture makes me happy...

That's Buddy's rump with the white tail, and Nekoda is the spotted one in the background.  But see, there in the middle, sharing Buddy's hay?  Yep, Maggie Mae.  Normally, we have to give Maggie her hay far away from the other two or they run her off.  It's just horse hierarchy.  Besides, she gets her alfalfa in pelleted form now, so any hay she eats is a bonus.  It still makes me happy to see my herd bonding tighter.

This is Mr J leading Maggie to the side pasture...

I've already thrown out their hay or they'd be following me to the gate.  The red building is their run-in shelter.  Buddy and Nekoda stay in it when the weather dictates.  Maggie is stalled at night and in inclement weather.

This is me...

...under the wool hat with ear-flaps and the insulated pants.  Gotta pass those hugs around!

DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME!

I just love showing how safe my horses are.  When the hay isn't there, I can back Nekoda around the field by the tail!

Organic accessories?

Staying warm in my horse-hair scarf!

Maggie Mae

I have to tip-toe to peek over her!

The horses love running in the snow...

Nekoda loves running anytime, but seeing the snow fly up is extra fun!