City Girl Gone Ranch Mama: Talk'n 'bout the Weather

Showing posts with label Talk'n 'bout the Weather. Show all posts

2/12/14

The Artist in Me - Stranded on The Mountain

I've heard that those who are artistic can be eccentric. Dramatic? A little crazy?

Living on the guest ranch in the off season is a very different experience. One day it's a busy little valley with people coming and going. The next day it's a ghost town. A cold ghost town. And just as the summer nights meant hours of sun, the winter brings the endless darkness. Sunsets at 4:30 anyone?

Then comes the wind. Howling like a lonely wolf lost from it's pack. Whipping through the roof and the trees and the canyon. We get winter storm warnings that state 90 mile an hour winds in the mountain passes. Uh, yeah, that's our mountain by the way!

Adventure Man would take the kids to the bus stop. During one wind storm the bus was having a hard time keeping the door open. When Adventure Man lunged to save a little girl from getting hit with the flapping door he let go of Bear. Bear was picked up and flew three feet before Adventure Man grabbed him again! Granted, Bears not too big, but still!

Then there where times when the wind would blow the snow in drifts into the road of our mountain pass and we'd be snowed in. Up here in the north, we don't have snow days. The schools don't cancel! But the two families who live up on the mountain? Well we had snow days! Sometimes for days and days!

What did I do with my time while sitting atop that beautiful, dark, cold mountain?

I started this blog, of course!

And what did my kids do while the wind blew and the power flickered?

Yeah, you get the idea...

All work and no play makes Kristen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Kristen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Kristen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Kristen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Kristen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Kristen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Kristen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Kristen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Kristen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Kristen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Kristen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Kristen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Kristen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Kristen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Kristen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Kristen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Kristen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Kristen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Kristen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Kristen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Kristen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Kristen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Kristen a dull girl.........

Photo credit to:
Top: Adventure Man
Bottom two: screen shot of movie The Shining
All edited by me on Snapseed

10/27/13

A Day Out

This weekend was the last of it. The last of fall. Sunday night a storm blew in. We all knew it was coming. It's not supposed to let up until Tuesday.

So Friday, Adventure Man and I took Bunny and the dog for one of the last hikes of the year. (I say "one" because Saturday he took the other three kids up on a hike too. By then Bunny had come down with the flu, so she and I stayed home.)

Here are some fun shots and views we enjoyed.

I really love it up here. There's a view around every corner!

I shared my chocolate with her. Funny kid won't eat m&ms but she loves my Dove dark chocolate squares. I have this way of making my kids like fancy stuff! Darn it!

It's fun going out with Adventure Man because he's such a great Dad!

Can these two be any cuter!? I mean really!

It's also fun hanging out with Advinture Man 'cause he likes to take pictures of me. Kind'a makes me feel special!

I'm planning on sharing this one again, once I've lost my little belly. I know it's not much. I've lost a lot of weight since Bunny was born. But I've got about 10 more pounds to go. Still, for having four kids (and a puppy), I'm feeling pretty good.

Speaking of the puppy, she found an old bone piece and a shady spot.

We were having fun. It was such a nice day!

Now on to snow boots and wool caps!

Happy Winter!

10/25/13

Autumn Wind, a Cool Free App and a Secret

The wind was blowing leaves all over town today. I took this with my phone and edited it with one of my new favorite apps, Snapseed.

It's so fun and free. And not like the "free" that you need to buy a whole lot of extras to get it to work right. The fun kind of free. Free free! Check it out!

So here's my secret. I've run out of photo space on this blog. I actually ran out a long time ago. Like a year ago! I went to update my header and it wouldn't work. It said I had used up 99.9% of my space. This is what happens when people, like me, start a blog without any computer knowledge.

So what have I done? I've used edit apps like Instagram to get my pics really small. I use mostly pictures taken with my phone. If not, I transfer them to my phone and they get really small. I don't even use the PC anymore.

I also started my other blog. But I don't post there very much. Yet. You can find the link in my pages up at the top. But it's not about the ranch so it's not a replacement.

I've thought about ending this blog and just moving on. But it's too much a part of me. I can't up and leave it. It's my story. At least for now.

I may just have to buy more space. But I'm trying not to. We'll see.

In the mean time, here's another Snapseed edit for your viewing enjoyment.

Happy weekend! I'll be taking care of kids with the flu.

10/17/13

See Ya!

The fall color doesn't last long. Last week I woke up to this...

And to this...

It's awfully pretty. The snow was gone by mid day. But then the wind kicked up and now most of the color is gone. But I've grown accustom to the spooky witches forest. As I've come to call it. Very fitting. That's a graveyard up there beyond the fence, ya know.

10/9/13

Northern Living

The north seemed to be having a party the other night. The colors were stunning. Made even better with the long exposure and mad camera skills of my Darling Adventure Man.

The streaks of light would shoot up like spotlights. And the fade to green then red was ever in motion. Truly a sight worth staying up for!

10/8/13

A Big Sky Sunset

I know I've said it before, but there's a reason we call it Big Sky Country.

Photo credit to Darling Adventure Man.

10/4/13

The Big Chill

We've been getting colder and colder weather. Waking up at 5 am to get my basketball player down to early morning practice isn't fun.

Realizing that I've got to scrape the ice off the car before we leave isn't fun either. Then finding that both rear tires are reading as low?

What the?

They just needed air, but that didn't mean we would make it to practice. Oh well. At least the sunrise is nice...

In the rear view window....

9/30/13

The First Snowfall of the Season

It rained a lot last week. When we woke on Friday morning we could see the effect it had on the mountain.

There isn't any snow at my house. Yet. It won't be long. The aspens in the grove by the house haven't even changed yet! Well, they are starting. They're that lime green that is the precursor to fall. The trees along the road by the river have been yellow for weeks though.

I took this a few weeks ago. It was the last hot day we've had. *sigh*

Yes, there is no denying it, winter is coming.

Plus, our last guests left today. By the end of the week our summer staff will be gone. We're having a party on Wednesday to say good bye.

4/24/13

U is for Up, or Under...

Which ever?

We went on a hike and had a great view of the ranch Under us.

We were Up hill from the ranch.

And as we claimed down, I was Up higher then them.

Yeah, I'm kind of reaching on this one !

But the pictures where stunning and I wanted to share.

Plus, the next day we had blizzard, from which we got over a foot of snow.

You gotta love Spring time in Montana.

4/22/13

S is for Sunsets (and Sunrises)

When we lived in western Montana we had a great view of all the sunsets.

And let me tell you, there was a lot of amazing sunsets!

Then we moved out here to central Montana and our house, and our valley looks east to the sunrises.

There is a reason Montana calls herself Big Sky Country!

My mother-in-law says we have enough sun pictures to make a calendar.

~~~~~~

Today I'm linking up with the I don't like Mondays! Blog hop.

Come join in the fun.

4/20/13

R is for Rainbows

Everyone knows that a summer storm can bring a rainbow.

Here in Big Sky Country we get a few storms. Up in the mountains we get even more.

But once we got a rainbow during an electrical storm, at sunset! I had never seen a rainbow in the dark!

a rainbow in a thunder storm

Now how can this be you ask? You need light to make a rainbow! Well this was what was behind me when I took the snapshot of the rainbow.

And just beyond the bow, was a full on downpour coming straight for us!

3/27/13

A Dirty Situation

Springtime at my house!

Yikes.

12/7/12

Old Man Winter

Old Man Winter has been a tease this year. He has played with Autumn's emotions. At first I think she liked it. He surprised her by coming early and covering up her color at her most brilliant moment. But she didn't mind. It was stunning, she thought. Then he left just a quickly, leaving her feeling vulnerable. He reassured her by coming again.

But then when Autumn was worn and tired and had nothing else to offer us he seemed to forget that it was his moment to come to her rescue. He was enjoying the game too much, or perhaps has already lost interest.

Really it is Mother Nature herself who is toying with them and us. Using them like pawns on a chess board. But for what? To remind us that nothing is predictable. Nothing is permanent. No one has control. She brought on Winter's wrath and then melted him away leaving only mud and dead grass. Naked trees and bare mountains.

He has come again, today. Just a little. And not as much in town as here on the Mountain. Part of me is glad and hopes he will stay. But part of me has been grateful for the warm weather and lack of snow. To not feel the bite of winter when I go out, or too have to deal with the mess of it all.

Summer was not long enough for me.

11/8/12

Snow Days

I'm grateful for snow days.

Well, today I wasn't feeling all that grateful for the snow. But it was 9:45 this morning when I headed into Little Town for my Littlest Littles music class and there was still no sign of a snowplow when I was headed back home by noon.

By 3:45 this afternoon I was worried about getting stuck in my driveway, not to mention the road. I ended up being early and I met the bus down the road. She got stuck once in our pullout and now she's scared of snow.

We are the last stop. I brought the other 2 kids who frequent our stop up to their waiting parents. We all discussed the possibility of Friday being a snow day.

Evidently the snow plow driver doesn't even work on Fridays. Things are looking good for an extra day this weekend.

The news says they expect up to 8 feet in some places. I wonder where those places are?

I'm also glad that Adventure Man got an earlier flight today. I don't think he would have made it home at all if he had stuck with the original flight that was to land in Big Town at 5 pm. He just walked in the door after being on a business trip to Seattle for three days.

11/7/12

A Morning's Glory

Yesterday's sunrise was pretty breathtaking. I thought I would share. I started taking shots on Instagram, but as it went on it just kept getting better and better. This is the view from my house.