Ducks, Ducks, Geese!

I don't know if I've ever revealed this to you all, but I am absolutely smitten with wild ducks.  

It started when I was dating a game warden. He couldn't believe that I didn't know of any ducks except mallards, so one time when he took a trip to Arizona for a training, I decided to immerse myself in duck-dom to learn everything I possibly could by the time he returned.  

It worked!  

I didn't reveal my new found knowledge right away.  I wanted it to be a surprise.  One day, I saw his Ducks Unlimited magazine and said, "Nice widgeon!" or something like that.  He was shocked.  And thought it was a lucky guess.  He opened the magazine and would point to a picture....like you would with a six year old....and I'd name the duck.  Again...and again...even the scaups and the scoters, which are ocean ducks.

He laughed (because it was a good joke on him) and admitted that he was impressed.

But what he didn't know was that in the process of trying to impress him, I had really and truly fallen in love with the ducks.  

This morning I took my camera when I took the dogs for a tromp, and managed to sneak up on the ducks that were bobbing on our reservoir.  As I took the photos, I was surprised and delighted at the different species!  

But I'm rambling on....

Let me introduce you to the ducks I saw!

This is a very vain male pintail. He was constantly preening and cleaning while I was photographing.  I can see why he's so proud of himself, though, can't you? Pintails are elegant. 

Here's a very chilly male widgeon. And practical, too, because he wasn't messing around with raising his wings to clean...a fellow loses body heat!  Mr. Widgeon went wherever Mrs. Widgeon told him, so perhaps he just wasn't a morning duck...

And you must look in on the male green winged teal!  He was with his mate on the other side of the reservoir.  I don't know if the other ducks had teased them about being small or what, but they weren't associating with the others.  Teals are much smaller, more timid ducks, so that might have been the case.

See?!  I think he may have been showing off a little for the Mrs., but she wasn't paying much attention.  Probably trying to figure out where they'd nest that year and what to have for dinner...

Here the widgeons are, hanging out with Mrs. Pintail.  Do you see their pretty blueish silver bills?  And the classy stripe over the male's head?  He's every bit as respectable as Mr. Pintail, but not inclined to tend to ablutions while being photographed.  Smart bird!

Mr. and Mrs. Widgeon, going where she dictates...

And Mr. and Mrs. Teal, easing away from the bank of the pond.

I'm going to include a couple mallards, but from a distance.  They are not just common in appearance, but also rather rude ducks.  While these little ducks (above) were drifting around, peacefully and gently, the mallards were quarreling over on the north side of the reservoir.  There'd be a squawking and a splashing, and pretty soon they'd run someone off.  It was a tough neighborhood.
Here's a picture of some of the outcasts who had to relocate to the south end.  I love to watch ducks land!  Feet first, with big old splats on the water.  You can hear a mallard land for a hundred yards on a quiet day in the prairie.

She's all nonplussed, but you can see her wake...impressive!

I promised a goose, didn't I?
Well, we have a pair nesting on our straw stack, just south of the house!  I wanted to get a picture of them this morning, but didn't think the dogs would help my project.  Sure enough, Tessie ran too close to the stack and...

Anyone who's been around geese knows this is a bad look!

I saw the geese take off to teach her a lesson, but the whole mess was over the hill, so I couldn't see what was going on.  I could sure hear the geese cussing, though!  A minute later, I heard Tessie barking like crazy and back over the hill they came...with Tessie chasing the geese.  She's a bird dog and by golly if she didn't come up with two of the biggest birds she'd ever seen!  And wasn't I impressed?
So, I shot them.
(With my camera, of course!)

The mother goose (I think...who knows? they look exactly alike) settled back down on the stack, encouraging her mate to get the riff-raff out of the neighborhood.

All he did was fly in big circles, calling us names that I cannot repeat here because I'm a lady and it's a family blog.

There.
A blog post with no kids, no cows and no food!
I'll bet you didn't think I could do it, did you?

Little Things Mean a Lot...

I found this picture I took of Angus on the day of my crazy niece's wedding day a year ago.  The lines and light are so good that when I converted it to black and white, it looked timeless, as though it could have been taken in 1920, 1950...anytime.  

A few days ago I got a text out of the wild blue from my cousin Philip who lives in Oklahoma and whom I haven't seen for years. We've been in touch on Facebook, but it was still a surprise to get a little photo of a tricked out 4wheeler and a note that said, "Thinking of you today!".  

When my sweet old Molly-dog died, my friend and sorta-brother Ivan didn't know what to say...he knew it was the most awful time and that there was no comfort....but he sent a picture of a flower every day for a couple weeks to my phone.  The equivilant of a bouquet, really, and it was such a kind thing to do.  

Once when the kids were little, we'd "had a day" in Miles City and finally dragged ourselves to McDonalds with Grandma Banana to have some chicken nuggets before pounding home; we must've looked just run over...I think Maggie was 4 and Angus was 2.  Anyway, we were sitting in a table as far away from other people as we could, waiting for our nuggets, when one of the girls who worked the counter brought over 4 ice cream cones.  I politely told her that they must be for someone else, because we didn't order them, and she smiled and said, "Someone bought them for you.  Enjoy!"   

My friend Elise sends me pictures of tacky mens knitting patterns.  They never fail to crack me up! (We decided to do a calendar, just for the two of us, so we can laugh all year long.)

Every month, I get a Bon Appetit magazine that's a gift subscription from my pal Sara...it's like a big hug, especially since I know she's reading the same magazine at the same time.  

And I can't tell you how wonderful it is to go through Reynold's grocery store and be greeted with big smiles and smashing deals on outdated milk products!  It's like they've been waiting all week, just to see me...

I could go on and on.

Most of you know that I fight a mighty battle with depression, daily...it's chemically driven, and sometimes medicine works, sometimes it fails.  And that's frustrating, but it is what it is, you know?  

I've found that what keeps me clawing forward, though, are all these little, dear gestures.  I wake up and look for them, the tiny little things that to me are so huge.  

And I've started making sure I do more to let people know I'm thinking of THEM.  Who knows when that will be the one thing in their day that validates them, that encourages them in the storm?  

One last thing:

For the last year or so, I've been sort of following this funny page called: The World Needs More Love Letters.  It's basically just the idea of someone who thought to leave anonymous, encouraging notes on park benches, tucked in library books, sticking out of railway lockers, taped to windshields of cars in the Walmart parking lot, etc. (Because if you EVER needed love and encouragement, it's when you come out of Walmart...I'm telling you!)  The website gives ideas on how to do it, but the best part is when people contact them about the "love letters" they've found.  So many times it's on a day that they were ready to give up, that they faced a cancer diagnosis, that they were feeling completely alone in the world. It has inspired me to do more of that, for people I know AND completely anonymously.   

If you're interested, click on the highlighted words, above. 

Coming up for air...

Guess what?

It's 8 a.m. and the temperature is 41 degrees!!!

Kids and I will be wearing flip-flops and shorts today, because that's what Montana people do when the temperature hits 40+ in the spring.  We may even eat ice cream bars this afternoon, to be able to bear the heat better.  

We've had a week, folks.

Sunday, the kids and I raced to Billings to swim at the Reef with B.J.'s kids and celebrate two cussin birthdays: Bailey and Hesston are both April Fool's Day babies!  It was hot and happily loud, which was perfect because outside the rain was coming down in torrents. We got to see Grammy Karen, Cowboy PopPops, Auntie Cari, cussins, new friends, eat pizza and cake, then drive right home in that rain all the way which turned to snow.  

Rain and snow and cold winds kill calves, you know.

So, the next day when the kids went to school, us grownups spent the morning gathering up chilled down babies from the pasture and warming them with the pickup heaters and hot boxes in the shop.  We didn't save all of them, sadly, but we saved more than we lost.  

Repeat the next day.

Repeat the next day.

Thursday was the Academic Fair in Jordan, which is Garfield County's version of a science fair, except that it's not limited to science projects.  For instance, I judged a family history project, a medieval weapons project, a history-of-dance project, a varmint snaring project, a tooth staining project....it was fascinating and fun!  (It's only fun for the judges. It's not fun for the teachers, especially those who teach 5 grades in the country schools. Academic Fair has turned more than one country school teacher into a twitching, alcoholic shadow of a person for three days after the event. Even as I type this, some readers are having flashbacks...) Maggie did a project on meteorology and Angus's project was on pinhole photography this year.  Maggie got a blue ribbon while Angus merely got a green participation ribbon, simply because ALL the first graders got a green participation ribbon.  The newspaper took a picture of him with his project, though, and we're hoping it will appear in next week's edition.  

Yesterday, Maggie had the stomach flu, so everything else stopped in this house.  

Hoping, hoping no one else gets the bug...

This morning, I woke up to find (via Facebook) that Jamie Jo Baker was crowned Prom Queen last night! COHAGEN QUEEN!!!  I think I'll wear my tiara today in empathetic celebration...

Also, my sister-friend Sue and her family said a sad goodbye to their dog Gus yesterday.  When I was with them in Massachusetts in 2012, Gus was such a pal and slept on my bed a couple nights...I think he knew I was lonesome for Molly.  I loved that funny faced boy!  And I know how hard this was for the whole family. Wish we could wrinkle up the states between us so  I could hug them and bring them a casserole/cake to help fill up the empty.  

And we have one new kitten, here, named Trinket.

WHEW!

Now you're all caught up!

Here are some pictures from the week:

They're pals.

And it cracks me up that they have the same lips...

We're DYING for some baseball!

Our television is broken, so we can't watch it, and all the local college teams have been snowed out the last few weekends.

We don't feed them in an expedient manner, so they're forced to snitch as many loose cake pellets as their long tongues can ease out of the cake feeder.

I've been trying for years to get a picture of a bucking calf!

This little heifer was just full of the beans that morning and just HAD to bounce.

It always looks like a nest of calves.

Coming in to feed...

And that's the end of it.

He's "the man".

(I know. This is out of the blue for my readers, but I've been writing this particular post for a MONTH in my head and it has to spill out.  Forgive me, indulge me, unfollow me...whatever you must...but I really need to get it out of my brain so I can move on.)

This winter, I ended up in a situational road trip with someone I don't hang out with in "real life"; our circles just don't really cross and we seem to get along better that way, oddly enough.  We have a couple things in common besides our cool kids: sports, live on ranches, like our dogs and (I thought) love of music.

Here's where I learned a lot.

I am, it turns out, supremely and hopelessly out of step with the latest country music artists.
Particularly the male country music artists.
SPECIFICALLY the male country music artists that are "hot" and encourage us to "shake it" for them.

To me, they all sound the same.
They're all extolling the awesomeness of wearing cutoff jeans, drinking beer down by the creeeeek while dancing in the back of a truck, shaking it (I'm not sure what "it" is, exactly, but at age 42, I've decided it's better for everyone if nothing on me shakes...) and getting tans.  Bonus points if y'all have boots. Oh! and sometimes there's hay, but not always.  I think I heard one about falling in love in the back of a cop car, too.

Then there's the issue of hotness.
Apparently, Luke Bryan is hot.  And Jason Aldean is hot. And Eric Church is hot. (I don't remember the other names.)
Don't I watch the videos???
Um...
No.
No, I do not.  I sort of LISTEN to music, I don't watch it. The videos in my brain are always better than the ones produced in Nashville.
And even IF I happened to stumble upon them, I sincerely think I wouldn't think they were hot.
(This is also probably due to my advanced age-ed-ness. It seems I'm one of those ridiculous people that is attracted to personality, too.)

I tried to find common ground, musically.
Have you heard Aloe Blacc?
Nope.
Tim Montana and the Shrednecks?
WHO?
Caro Emerald?  Sara Bareilles?
Mumford and Sons?
We got close on Pat Green and Cross Canadian Ragweed.  I mean, at least there was name recognition.
That's big, right?

An attempt was made to school me on the hottiest of hots, Luke Bryan.
We had a solid hour of his songs, with explanations of the videos (which can be found on Youtube, by the way).  There was an interlude of slightly less hot male artists, so that I might be able to compare, then a return to his most royal hotness for replays and such.

I truly appreciate the zeal for artists and their work, and for the enthusiastic sharing. I've sent friends Zac Brown and Kid Rock songs that I thought they should hear, whether they wanted to or not.  I get passionate about things, too....just not Luke Bryan.

*sigh*

(PS:  I've been DYING to send this Aloe Blacc song to my Dad who will simultaneously be irritated and amused by it.  He'd like it better if he could see his grandson walking around the house singing, "I'm the man, I'm the man, I'm the man; yes, I am, yes, I am, yes, I am."  Angus ROCKS it.)

(Double click on the words Aloe Blacc song, above, to listen.)
(There's no video.  I have no idea if Aloe Blacc is hot.)
(Sorry!)



 

It's a boy!

Poor little guy, his right ear is frozen and he'll likely lose most of it with the tag, but...

he's alive! Not all calves born in this weather made it. 

And isn't Daisy lovely? Really. Even if you don't like cows, you have to admit she's gorgeous...

It's hard to think of him as ending up in burgers, but I'm just so glad he's healthy and strong.

Not 10 minutes before tagging Cactus Jack, we picked up a dead calf that the coyotes and eagles had been eating on.  The mama came running over when the Farmer threw what was left of the calf in the back of the Honda, looking for her baby...even though he'd been dead for a couple days.  My heart just breaks for these cows; she was an older cow and did everything right, the weather killing her baby. Little Cactus Jack came very close to having the same ending...I'm so grateful to be able to show you these happy baby pictures!

The Maternity Ward

This is one of the heifers who is going to have her first calf this year.  We keep them in the lots close to the barn so they can be whisked away to a cozy pen with straw inside when they get far enough along to "have the toes out".  The morning I took these pictures, I was on call; the men were feeding and looking for chilled down calves out in the pasture with the older cows, so I had to lurk near the barn and watch one of the heifers who "had the toes out".  Sometimes the new mamas flop the babies out and don't know what to do...she won't get the amniotic bag off the calf's head, or the calf will land with its head under its body and the cow won't get it pushed around.  OR...and this is my worst fear...she won't make any progress in calving and we have to put chains on the calf's feet and "pull" him to get him out.  That's hard on everyone.

This is a calf that's a day or two old with HIS heifer mama.  This is such a cozy, maternal scene, but it was horribly cold for brand new calves that morning. It's not just the wet snow, but the bitter winds we get here that are dangerous. Last night, one of the old cows had her baby on a creek bank and it froze to death...no matter how good a mama she was, it was just too cold for a wet, brand-new calf. 

I can see the shiny eye on this baby, but perhaps you can't.  He wasn't as miserable as he looks here...his mama had fed him and went to water in the pen, so his little tummy was full of warm milk and there was protection from the wind in that upper lot.  Still...just a couple days old.

This is a direct picture of the sun that morning.  The snow blowing pretty much obscured the light, so it was grey-on-grey.  We're so weary of grey...

The rest of the girls with their heads in the hay feeders; they're quite focused on breakfast...can't be bothered with paparazzi...

The road, with snow blowing across...

sometimes this is the most lonesome place on earth!

I hope to have brighter, blue-sky sorts of calf pictures soon.

Day 14: Love

Above all, love each other deeply...

-I Peter 4:8a

Day 13: Wind

The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from or where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.

-John 3:8

Day 12: Spirit

A new heart also I will give you, and a new spirit will I put within you...

              -Ezekiel 36:26a

(This challenge is a little TOO challenging some days..."spirit"?....and the next one is "wind".)

ALSO...
"spirit" makes me want to lead a cheer:
"We've got spirit; yes, we do! We've got spirit; how 'bout YOU?!"
*pointing at the readers of the Chronicles*

Day 11: Born

Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.

-Job 14:1

(This is an old photo, too, but I didn't want to do another calf picture for "born".  These two had been left to watch Diego while I showered.  Apparently, someone had the brilliant idea of getting the baby powder and "baking".  They were so absorbed in their task that they didn't hear me come out, sneak back in the bedroom for the camera to record the whole naughty mess....)

Grownup Macaroni and Cheese

Or, as the rest of the world calls it...Alfredo.

My kids used to be mac and cheese lovers, but their tastes have refined a little and now they prefer noodles with homemade Alfredo sauce.  It's still creamy and cheesy but not so in-your-face, I think.  About a year ago, I found an Alfredo recipe that keeps us licking the pan long after the noodles are gone...and last night, it occurred to me that it's one I should put on the blog because it's probably one I'll want someday when I'm in, say, Florida or someplace, and at least if it's in the Chronicles I'll be able to locate it.

I didn't take a picture because we ate it like starving Italians.  Besides, it's just creamy white sauce on white noodles...how exciting is THAT in a photo?  The sauce, however, IS exciting.  And simple.  You'll be wrecked for Alfredo sauce anywhere else after this, I think.  (It's the ultimate comfort food...soft, creamy, starchy, garlicky, smooth. If you have a rough day, whip up some Alfredo and all will be better.)

Alfredo Sauce

1. In a sauce pan on low heat, melt 1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick) and add a good heaping teaspoon of crushed or minced garlic from a jar. (If you're the ambitious type and like to go to all the work of mashing your own garlic, use maybe a clove and a half.  What the heck, use 2!)  When the garlic starts smelling warm and sweetish....

2. add 1 cup of heavy whipping cream to the butter/garlic and slowly heat it for about 5 minutes....until it's really warm but not boiling because next you'll...

3. whisk in to the warm cream/butter/garlic mixture about 1 1/2 cups of grated parmesan cheese.  (If you don't have fresh, one of those bags or containers of pre-grated will work just fine. That's what I use and it just requires a little more whisking, that's all.) Stir constantly over low heat (preferably still with your whisk) until the parmesan has melted and smoothed into the cream.  I usually add a little fresh grated pepper here, but you do what you want.

Pour over noodles of any shape or size, stir to cover every little inch of them, serve immediately.  We had ours with rigatoni noodles last night and the big opening caught and held more sauce than regular noodles, so each bite was full of creamy love.  

You'll want to have some crusty bread to clean up any sauce left in your bowl.

Then, when nobody is looking, lick what you can from what's left after the bread treatment. 

That's it.  You're a rock star! 

Day 10: Give

Freely you received, freely give.

Matthew 10:8b

Maggie and I were going through some old pictures the other day when we found some of when Angus got a roll of paper towels and shredded them in the kitchen.  He had SO MUCH FUN that we couldn't be mad, and besides, what did it really hurt?

He wanted to share the fun with Maggie (who was probably watching Veggie Tales) and it reminded me of this verse.

Here are more of that "incident"...

"But, did you follow the recipe?"

My family is very adventurous with food.  One time, we convinced Maggie that halibut was really giant squid meat, and she gamely ate it!  I like trying new recipes, new ingredients, and for the most part everyone is pretty willing to give it a shot....

"It smells good, Mom, but...did you follow the recipe?", they suspiciously inquire before digging in.

If I say "yes", they groan and proceed with caution.

We've discovered in the last few years that when I earnestly try to follow a recipe to the letter, the end product is pretty awful.  If I cook instinctively and use my own judgement, it's usually quite good.  

As usual, this is backward from the rest of the world.  

I know it. 

It really becomes evident if I try to make something like Hamburger Helper.  

I've had Hamburger Helper dishes at my mother-in-law's house and they seemed really good!  (Incidentally, she's one of those who follows recipes and directions very well, to the "t".)  Every time I try to make it here, though, it's horrible.  Like...make you feel like throwing up sort of horrible.  Like....the dog doesn't want anything to do with the leftovers horrible. (And there ARE a lot of leftovers, believe me.)  I try it about once every 6 months, thinking that maybe it was the box I chose or something...after all, any dang fool can make Hamburger Helper, right?

This last round, the Farmer finally told me I was not to buy it again.

EVER.

Just make your own from scratch and forget about the box. 

I mean it. 

Don't buy it again...EVER!!!!

Last night, I made these grilled chicken sandwiches with caramelized onions, bacon, cheddar cheese and a barbecue mayonnaise sauce on a toasted bun.  Oooo!

But Maggie cagily asked before biting in, "You didn't follow a recipe, did you?"

Nope.

A happy sigh around the table and the meal commenced...

(Yes, this is closely related to the "I can't make jello" post...)

(How unAmerican is it that I can't make jello OR Hamburger Helper?!?!)

Spring Tromp

This is EXACTLY how Tessie looks the whole time we go for runs or tromps...pure joy and energy, radiating from her little body! And she never stops moving....

This is pretty much top speed for Twilla...

She likes going for walks.  WALKS.  Let's not break a sweat, though. 

All that bouncing and panting is undignified, and quite unnecessary, really.

They saw geese!

Even Twilla-bee got a little excited....

These are NOT the geese they saw, but a bigger bunch flying low and north bound. 

I love their funny honks, but the ones I REALLY love are the cranes when they go over.  Cranes are a lot less organized.  They're sort of the right brain migratory birds...they swirl and catch updrafts of wind, looking like a mess of confused avians. Geese, of course, are very orderly and straightforward.  They probably alphabetize their eggs.  And cranes have a chirry-purry sound that makes me smile...it's hard to describe, but when cranes are flying overhead, they sound happy, not urgent like the geese.  Geese sound like they mean business.  And they probably do. 

This is Figaro.  He's pretending to be a wild lion, hunting on the Serengeti.

He's mad, because our tromp disrupted his stalk, so now he's just going to follow us and yell loudly for us to slow down and pet him.

Cats are such whiners when things don't go their way.

Still...

Seriously happy.

She was like this ALL DAY!

We all felt that way, though, because the sun was out and so were we. 

Today is all grey and misty and cold....typical March in Cohagen.