Back home on the range...

 From the Valley of the Sun to Home on the Range...

The weather was perfect, the golf was good, the company was lovely, warm, and inviting, and a good time was had by all.  Hubs took in a couple rounds of golf with J, and we watched our son play tournament college golf for two days.  We walked a mostly-green golf course under sunny skies, caught some rays, and took home sun tans. It was great!

 

Our son took 7th place in a field of 54 competitors and was just 4 strokes behind the first place golfer.  He was not thrilled with his rounds, but he is back to work practicing for up-coming tournaments.  For me, it was just good to watch him play and to give and get hugs.

We enjoyed good visits with our friends, conversing late into the evening and eating delicious foods and desserts made by my foodie-friend, K.  She also treated me to a fun thrift store outing along with lunch at a fine restaurant called Cowboy Ciao in Scottsdale.  We shared both signature dishes that are featured in the link -- Stetson Chopped Salad and Exotic Mushroom Pan Fry.  Unforgettable.  Stay tuned for recipe ideas that I have in my head, inspired by Cowboy Ciao.

We had perfect weather for driving home.  We flew down and drove back with our CarpenterSon's new-used Chevy truck from AZ to SD.  The truck drove like a dream, the road conditions were perfect, and it was an interesting first-time drive for us making our way through Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota and finally home to Montana.  I knew that New Mexico and Colorado had drought this past year and even before that, but I had no idea how bad it was.  There was no grass, I mean NO grass in the pastures where we drove.  I thought we had had a drought this past year (we did), but we look like lush paradise in comparison to NM and southern CO.  We saw very few cattle out there and those few we did see were being fed hay or were in feedlots.  

I almost forgot one more favorite eatery recommended by K -- the Range Cafe in Bernalillo, NM.  Can you see the cows sitting on the awning?  We enjoyed a delicious lunch here.  If you're ever driving through Albuquerque on your way north, be sure to stop by for some good eats!

 

Back home on the range, there was a set of twins that were born on February 7th.  This mother ewe actually started out with triplets, but the one was small and sickly and died shortly after birth.  Since Friday, we've had two more sets of twins.  The weather has changed from mild to cold and windy.  Today's high is 24* with winds gusting to 40 mph and occasional snow.  Needless to say, the ewes are locked in the  lot near the barn where they can go in and out and where we can keep a close watch on them.

It was a great little get-away for us, and we feel blessed and re-energized, but as always, there's no place like home and sleeping in your own comfy bed. 

From ice skates to golf skirts...

 The new ice skates arrived all pink and white as promised, and my lil Peach is just thrilled with them.  She is learning to balance and glide -- little by little, step by step.  It's been fun watching her.  I am gaining more strength and ability on my skates too, but I must admit that I fell twice yesterday.  The ice had a great crack and a punky spot where my skates caught and tripped me up.  No big deal, just a slight ankle bruise that will look terrific with my golf skirt.

 

Yep, I said golf skirt.  Hubs and I are flying out tomorrow to Arizona to watch our youngest son play in his first college golf tournament of the season.  It should be fun!  I love walking on golf courses.  When a girl goes from dry prairie to a lush golf course, it's such a treat.  The green grass, the flowers and beautiful landscapes make it a pleasure to chase a little white ball around.   I don't golf.  I have.  I can.  But I don't.  I get enough golf talking, golf walking and golf watching to satisfy any desire to golf, but I do like wearing the clothes that go along with golf.  I especially like skirts and T-shirts.  That's what I've got packed to wear on the course, but I can't go without jeans and boots to wear on the plane, to wear bumming around, and for driving home in the truck.  Our ThirdBorn bought a Chevy truck for his construction job, and we're driving it the 20 hours home.  It'll be fun to see country we've never been through before on wheels.  See ya in a week!

Golfing in the Heartland...

 We just got back from the NJCAA Golf Tournament in Newton, Kansas.  We thoroughly enjoyed the drive through farmland and crops, through grazing land and wind, and onto the Sand Creek Station golf club  where we were surrounded by amber waves of grain.  It was beautiful.

 

  

 The amber waves of grain.

 

This was a pretty birdie shot right up next to the pin!  

 

 Out of 120 players who qualified for the national tourney, our young man placed 30th.  There were very few low rounds posted, but it was totally understandable due to the strong, hot winds that blew each day.  It was totally exhausting and we were so ready to get off the course after every round.  It was a great course and a terrific experience though, and we were glad we were able to go.   

School events are over; now we are moving on to SUMMER!  The Golfer starts his job tomorrow at a local course 70 miles away.  He's going take an apartment in town so we'll probably only get to see him once a week.  The other college son is home and working for us on the ranch this year.  Yay!

 Speaking of summer, look who visited my backyard Columbine flowers today!  

I like butterflies.  We rarely see Swallowtails so this black & yellow beauty was a special gift.

He won! He won!

Our golfer-son went off to a junior college in AZ this past year --his first year of college and his first time EVER in school.   He has put in lots of hard work both in school (to make grades) and in golf.  This past week J. went with his team to their regional tournament and after four days of play, our boy WON the tourney! 

 

We are so proud of him!  We didn't get to go to the regional tourney, but we will be heading for the national junior college tournament in a couple of weeks.  First he has final exams and then.....

....his final golf tournament of the school year. 

(these photos taken last summer)

Garden news and a little golf....

 Golly it has been a busy summer -- just as it is for everyone.  We've spent lots of time in the hay field and still cutting.  The second cutting of alfalfa is going to be incredible, and we rarely get a second cutting.  From the garden front, I am seeing a little bit of production in the veggie garden.  It's been a slow start in my garden spot, but I'm glad for anything I can get.  Just now the snap peas are producing.  Normally, peas are a very early veggie and are long past by the end of July, but this year is different.  I also picked a handful of green beans and I'll save those for a couple days in hopes of a few more handfuls so I can cook up a mess of beans & bacon for us.  As you can see by the photo above, I've got a few carrot thinnings to enjoy.  I love the first, young, sweet carrots we get.  Is there anything like it?  (Besides the first peas, lettuce, tomatoes....and the list goes on.)

 Here's a sideways view of my garden spot.  On the back fence I have a squash and pumpkins and some meagerly little luffa goards that I doubt will come to fruition.  The tomatoes are just now setting blossoms and so my hopes for a big tomato crop are slim, but I won't quit until I must quit!  I'm asking God for a long summer, and I'm pouring on the Miracle Grow.

 

From the flower gardens there are lilies.  Lovely colors of white, yellow, and pink.  The Black-eyed Susans are in full force and so are the cone flowers and larkspur.  

 We had a full weekend with our youngest son as he was golfing in a USGA Amateur qualifier in SD.  He did quite well with 74, 67 and those scores were golfed in one day.  Eight hours of golf in a row, minus a half hour break for lunch.  Hubby calculated that we walked at least 10 miles.  The tough part of walking this tourney was the heat and humidity.  It was in the 90's and with humidity in the 70's and the biggest heat factor was that the golf course was surrounded by corn fields.  Yep.  Corn fields.  We were totally soaked after the first round and totally drenched after the second.  All in all, it was a good day, but J. did not win this tourney and only the winner could advance to the National Amateur Championship.  The winner was a Texas A&M student who shot 67, 67.  There was some impressive golf played that day!

I'm not really a golfer although my kids say I'm a "natural."  I'd rather look at the flowers, the trees, the birds and the butterflies.  Here's a pic I snapped while waiting for our group to tee off.  She's a Monarch and she likes to drink the nectar of the milkweed plant.  We have a few Monarchs at home, but I've never been able to snap a good picture of them yet.  I hope you like this one.

Now it's time to go clean up so I can take those carrots to my daughter and SIL.  I'm going for a grammy visit to see Miss Cupcake!  I can hardly believe she's 3 months old already!

Diverse Wyoming....

 

We took a 4 day road trip to Wyoming to participate in a golf tournament with our youngest son.  Driving across the state is a beautiful experience.  From the rocky Big Horn Mountains, through the sagebrush prairies and farmland to the gates of Yellowstone, it's a land of diversity.  The mountains were just waking up.  These flowers, the Arrow-leaved Balsamroot, were the first of the showy wildflowers on the mountains and were stunning to see.

 

Arrowleaved Balsamroot

 There was still quite a lot of snowpack on the peaks of the Big Horns, and the rivers and creeks were rushing down the mountains with great speed and capacity.  The day we left for home, it snowed on us as we drove over the summit and was sunny and bright down below in the foothills. Diversity.  Even in weather!

Click image to enlarge.

On the rocks near Cody Dam, we saw some fellas repelling the rocks near the Shoshone River.  It looked very scary and yet fun to me.  I wish I was brave, but I'm not.  The man on the left (in blue) was repelling for the first time while the man on the right (yellow helmet) seemed to be a well-seasoned rock repeller.

Not only does Wyoming have beautiful mountains and prairies, but it also has gorgeous wheat and alfalfa fields against dry, bare badlands.

I love barns -- old and new-- and this red one can't help but catch your eye as you roll along the highway.

I didn't take any pictures on the golf course, and it was a pretty course laid up against the Big Horns.  It, too,  was just waking up from its winter sleep.  I forgot to pack my camera in my pocket on both days.  Sheesh.  What a mom.  J. had a crummy first round (78) and a fabulous second round (68).  In golf, low scores are good, high scores are  bad.  Anyway, he placed 5th and we had the longest walks of the year so far.  Hubby said a single round of 18 holes on this course was approximately 5 miles of walking.  I walked 18 holes the first day and 36 holes the second, and I am not stiff and sore!  Yippee!  I walked all of it in my favorite shoes, Birkenstock sandals.  We had a good time, but as always, there's no place like home for REAL comfort.

2nd place isn't all bad....

The FifthBorn played in a qualifying tournament yesterday to try to earn a spot in the USGA Jr. Golf National Championship. In our area, there was one tournament with one available spot. You had to win to get that spot. My Boy gave it all he had and received 2nd place. The cool thing is that he's 15 years old and the winner is 18 years old and this same young man took 2nd place in last year's National Championship!


Not only that, but My Boy really played his heart out and had scores he was very proud of. They played 2 rounds of golf in one day. Par for this course is 72. His scores were 73 and 76. He was really happy with his play and totally enjoyed the competition. He's a true competitor in every sense of the word. (He gets that from his dad)


The other guys in the tournament had caddies to carry their bags and give them tips and advice throughout, but My Boy had none. His friend/coach couldn't make it so he had to go it alone. Dad was there, but the rule was: "No parents may caddie," so he was on his own -- carrying his own bag and making his own decisions about each hole. That's how he always plays so it really was nothing different for him. He thoroughly enjoyed the experience, the players, a new golf course, and the golf itself. He's got something to aim for next year!

I know what you're thinking.... "How does a ranch kid grow up to be a good golfer? Well, it's the sport that everyone at our house enjoys, and he simply grew up with the game. We have lots of open space for hitting tee shots and chipping so he practices that part a lot. The other thing is, he is a determined individual, so even though he's not on the golf course every day (he does have chores and ranch work ya know) he makes the most of his time on the course when he does play.

Let me just say, I am One Proud Mama!

FORE!!!!
That means, watch out in golf talk.... there always next year!

(these photos were not taken at the qualifier, but at another tourney this spring)