Today

Yes, I am trying to win most original blog post title.

I got tired of the blocks in the background. So now I am featuring radishes and garden produce. It is hopeful as I look out at 1-2 inches of slush and snow.

Gilbert wearing his newspaperboy cap backwards. 

The Tonka truck was the place to party for the Polly Pockets

Orianna had a 2 hour delay, which means my day was delayed by 2 hours. Not that it had to be, but I am still juvenile and think that 2 hour delays also apply to me. So I finished my book and was generally lazy until Orianna's bus got here at 9:30. And since then, I have been terribly busy checking facebook, replying to emails, buying airline tickets, and buying a kids song album from Amazon. Getting all my secretarial duties out of the way for the week. Ha.

The interesting bits of the above are as follows--I got 108 classic kids songs for $1.99. About 3 hours of songs. That is the minorly interesting part. The truly interesting part is that I got Justin a ticket to Colorado for this weekend. I feel so jet set buying tickets at the last minute. There has been no death in the family or anything desperate. Just the fact that the ranch Justin's Dad runs has decided to do an old-fashioned branding. This involves a LOT of horse riding, roping every single calf and stretching it out on the ground and keeping the irons hot in the fire. Usually, they run the whole herd through the corrals, pen the calves individually, vaccinate, ear tag, ear tattoo and then brand with an electric brander thing. That isn't technical and I probably missed some steps. Still, the calf is off, bawling for momma within minutes. Old-fashioned will be a lot more labor intensive and Justin will LOVE it.

Plus, this poor cowboy has been penned up in NY for almost 2 years without any riding or roping, so he is just itching to get out there and get to it. 

One of the views from the ranch. Rough. 

This was a one off branding that had to be done for a late calf when we were out there in July of 2010. It is a mix of old-fashioned and modern. 

The roping arena

Justin hates this picture because he overthrew. But the light is so awesome. What is a little rope slip here and there compared to reddish brown horses in the evening sunlight against the Rockies? 

Now, I really must pretend to be a good housekeeper and do the dishes, the laundry, and finish up some sewing projects. And try not to be jealous of my husband leaving our slush for beautiful Colorado. 

"Colorado, Rocky Mountain high-eye--I've seen it rainin' fire in the sky, shadows from the starlight, softer than a babies sigh, Colorado, Rocky Mountain high-eye..." 

Okay, I just googled the lyrics, and it is "softer than a lullabye" but I like "babies sigh" and I have always thought that is what it said. So too bad, John Denver.