His 'n' Hers boots...

 

His 'n' Hers boots, clean and oiled

 

Hen & Chicks blooming

Ewes and lambs

 A few cows & calves

 Prickly pear cactus blooms

Buffalo grass

By popular request, the dirty boots are now cleaned and oiled.  They don't look beautiful, but they are clean(ish).  The oil makes our boot leather turn very dark which is not the most attractive, but it does saturate the leather and conditions it.  These are our work boots so they aren't meant to be "pretty" but rather, functional.

Have you ever seen Hen & Chicks blooming?  I don't think I ever have.  I wonder what will happen next?  Do you suppose it will send out seed?  Or will it just die?  I wonder.  There are some "chicks" below it so I'm sure they will establish themselves in the soil there.  I hope so.  I think I may take a few chicks and start them in a pot.  I love succulents.

Hubs and I went for a Sunday drive to check on the sheep.  The lambs that were born in February are nearly as tall as their mothers.  We found three longtails (late lambs born after we docked). We will likely wean them all in a couple weeks and then sell them in August.  They are so healthy and FAT.  Beautiful sheeps.  I love my sheeps.

We drove by a small bunch of cows and calves that are in the cull bunch.  They look good too.  All the cows are now out in their summer pastures, happily grazing on green grass and clover.  It's a huge clover year here.  I should have some bee hives, but I don't.

I took some pictures for you of the buffalo grass that is a native of our prairie.  It is not the dominate grass here, but in various areas on our ranch it grows with vigor.  It's a low-growing, tight sod.  I honestly wish I had it growing in my yard around the house.  I'd never have to mow!  It is possible to plug buffalo grass into yards.  It's sold by xeric plant catalogs like High Country Gardens, but I think it would take a ton of money and a century before it would be totally established in a yard.  Some things just work better naturally out on the prairie.  

Did you see the prickly pear cactus blooms?  I can't help but love them -- the blooms, that is.  Nasty, hurtful plant, growing in hard, dry ground, undesirable, and yet -- BEAUTIFUL.

We've had very cool days lately.  Low 70s for high temps.  It's nice.  It feels more like fall than mid-summer, but we know it's not going to last.  It'll turn hot once again in just a few days.  My tomato plants and cukes WANT heat.  Everything underground in the garden is doing great -- potatoes, carrots, onions.  And the cool season stuff -- peas and lettuce and kale -- are happy.  The rest is just so-so.  Oh, but wait!  The pumpkins are really vining like crazy.  We'll see if they produce.

Haying is in full swing.  We are going to have more hay than we thought.  Much in the hay fields has come back.  I spent part of Sunday afternoon raking hay.  I like to do that.  Now that our CarpenterSon is here working on the ranch, I do less of it, but I still like to make hay and take my turn at it now and then.

I hope your summer is going well.  I'm enjoying it.  I sometimes have to pinch myself when I see the green grass and flowers and birds.  It's hard to believe I'm in the same place that had feet of snow and sub-zero temps just a few short months ago.  But it is.  Enjoy each day!

Addendum:
I read up on the hen & chicks (sempervivum) and found that blooming is the beginning of their death.  What a beautiful way to say good bye.  Check it out here: Flowers on Hens & Chicks