Predators in My Life

Following some of the friends I've made online in Agriculture a post on a Hunting Blog reminds me that life on a ranch is not always a friendly place to be. Please be warned there are graphic images.

Wolves Kill Prized Quarter Horse

We are fortunate we don't have wolves in our area of Texas. But we do have coyotes and mountain lions or cougars. They are the same species just different terminology. We have two donkeys in the pasture with the cattle to help protect calves. The really sad part as the drought deepens here, the chance of coyotes hunting in packs increases as their prey decreases. Their most common prey is rabbit and other small mammals in our area.

Yet, coyotes are opportunistic hunters and your pet dog can become a meal. Puppies in an yard are their favorite because they can lure them away from a home. Coyotes have learned to be leery of humans. When one has an experience that coyotes will not always remain out of a human's way, you begin to reevaluate your status on the food chain. We are only at the top of the food chain because of our brain in relation to other animals.

Top of the Food Chain came in full view earlier this spring as I watch unfold before me the cruelty of my environment play out in front of me. To become part of a coyote hunting it's prey was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life. The prey, our beloved German Shorthair Pointer Belle. I'm just glad I was there to remind the coyote he should be leery of humans. At the same time my biggest regret was I never had a clear shot and when I did he was out of range. I could have been the one the coyote was after, to think differently is just plain stupid on any human's part.

Fashion: Hats!

I am often stunned by papers by various companies who supply all those wonderful goodies we use in scrapping. Graphic 45 routinely has provided that "I WANT, I WANT!" desire. Yet for at least 2 1/2 years I've refused to buy because I didn't know what to do with such beautiful vintage papers which is pure artwork!!! I finally said I'm getting some because they are perfect for the photos I have to scrap of family. This was for the Heritage Challenge at ACOT in March. You had to scrap a Heritage photo with hats. My grandmother was definitely a hat person. She wore them ALL of the time. She was most comfortable when out and about wearing a hat. The picture is difficult to see, but it is my grandmother and aunt arriving at the Onteora Club up in the Catskills in approximately 1932 from what my grandmother wrote on the back. And yes, Onteora Club still exists today. And of course both were wearing hats. This was a tough layout for me. I must have played with the elements for an hour before I was able to start adhering everything to the page. I loved the way it turned out, my grandmother would have loved this page. She then would have reminded me I need to wear something other then jeans, 'Ladies belong in dresses, Kim.' She's 100% right, but not when your working with your horses or cattle.

Amigo

I kind of laugh at this layout! This is a layout I totally dislike, not one thing to I like about it. In my opinion I used "ugly" paper to build on. Taken in the front of my Houston area home. My neighbor John was moving to a retirement community in Arizona. Pictures were needed of Amigo to allow for her to move with her best friend. Yes, I typed it right. Amigo is a she and not a he. I know, I know John gave her a male name. I asked John when we had been neighbors about a year. He replied, 'I know!' I smiled. These pictures were then emailed. Laurie is shown with her dog Angel. And one of our dogs Cis-quo was sitting next to me while I took the picture.

I received eight comments on this layout....as all of my work can be seen in ACOT's gallery. I still don't know why?????

2011 Houston Livestock Show & Star of Texas Livestock Show

Eight days on the road with cattle for two livestock shows back to back isn't just hard on the animals but the owners, too! Everyone is tired tired when you load for home. Being 50 something in age makes it really tough compared to years ago, but even our daughter Lynn was worn out! It's so much fun though to be around all your friends within the breed your showing. These shows allow us to talk cattle, share ideas on one's breed, and just plain have fun.

I've been home almost a week as I write this post. We did well in selling embryos and a Half-blood Lowline. We also had good shows with our animals. FJL General Beauregard won Senior Bull Calf Division Champion in both shows beating the reigning National Senior Bull Division Champion. We did not attend the National Show in Denver this year. I have not ordered his photo as of this date. A heifer we have out on lease to a junior to show her did a bang up job at HLSR and took the Reserve Grand Champion Heifer. Here is Sunset Vicky 913W (Bar J Tequila x SC Victoria S11 12J) winning photo. She was not shown at Star of Texas because Andrew was showing his Beef Master heifer at HLSR.

There were two bulls Larry really liked in the sale. One just went for more then Larry thought he was worth. Larry did purchase the other bull who is a maternal half brother to Vicky, MRG Black Jack. He is sired by the hottest sire in the country right now, Yarra Ranges Jackaroo. We look forward to continue showing this bull who won his class in each show.

Perfect Scrapbook Line

I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels a particular line of scrapbook papers hits the market and you think it was made for a photo you have to scrap. This was true of October Afternoon's Modern Homemaker released last fall. As soon as it hit ACOT's store I snapped the entire line up. My grandmother was Equipment Editor for American Home Magazine in the late '40's and up until she married Papa Red in 1958 and moved from New York City to just north of Wilmington, NC. In this photo she was obviously out having fun away from work in Atlantic City and her friend signed the photo.

She was attending the American Gas Assoc. Convention in 1950. I don't know who her friend was but I suspect it was a co-worker. Their fun along the boardwalk must have been really special as there was a push pin hole in the top of the photo. I can imagine it was pinned on something near her desk at work. And as you can tell from the papers and embellishments, Modern Woman was absolutely perfect for this photo for fun and the time period. Thank you October Afternoon! I also used this layout to enter the March 2011 ACOT Scraplift the GCT Challenge! The Guest Creative Team member is aceason. Make sure you check out her reveal using Best Creation's Travel Forever line at ACOT, it is wonderful.

2011 ACOT Winter Crop

I was so busy late Feb. & early March I just didn't have time to post what I was working on in my scrapping. I'm also catching up on posts of those creations now.

I joined ACOT's scrapping community a couple of years ago and I've been a devoted participant and customer since then. I have been so inspired by all of the Creative Team and loving community. A few months after I signed up I went back and saw an annoucement about the up coming NSD Crop in 2009 on the upcoming weekend. Needless to say my first online crop was kind of confusing to say the least. But I became hooked!!! I mean really hooked. I've not missed one since. Some I've gotten the present to be left alone for the weekend and then other times I've had to peek in and out with chores at the ranch. This crop was one of those with very little time! I completed two Fast Scraps and one Challenge. I also played a few games along the way.

The first one was to make a bookmark. And typical of me in a hurry to complete in an hour I didn't totally grasp the rules for the bookmark. I was suppose to personalize it. Whoops! But I think I will use it on one of my wedding album layouts!

The next Fast Scrap was to alter a can. I had the perfect coffee can for the job. Karenscraps gave me the idea to make a piggy bank for my husband to place his spare change in......and of course make it a piggy bank for me to buy more scrap goodies from you guessed it ACOT, LOL! I'm actually still not done with it! Gotta love using only scraps for these fun challenges!

I would have loved to have had time to work on more of the challenges for the crop as they were some of the best challenges ACOT Creative Team has put together for a crop. I was to draw inspiration from the posted collage for Challenge #2. A number of ladies drew their inspiration directly from the photo and did a blocked layout. I saw the birds on the tea cups, the ferris wheel and the clock. I had been working on heritage layouts and it brought me back in time to feeding the birds everyday with my grandmother. Funny how what grandmother's do tend to stay with someone. I love feeding birds at the ranch whether it is my chickens who bug me at feeding time and have a tendency to follow me around anyway or sitting on the porch and watching the finches and hummingbirds feeding on the feeders. In fact two nights ago we had sandwiches for dinner, a make your own night. James made his then stated matter of factly that a sandwich only tastes good when cut in triangles....LOL! My mother and his great-grandmother would do this for the kids when they were little. I would do it when they were sick and make butterflies with the triangles. And of course in this layout is James and Lynn's great-grandmother. I've known for years when I become a grandmother those beautiful butterfly sandwiches will grace my grandchildren's plate.

Years Together

I've loved loved the new lines since last summer from numerous companies. I wish I had double my scrap budget so I could buy all the lines I have fallen in love with. I kinda of shied away from Cosmo Cricket, Crate Paper and Pink Paisley the last couple of years. Their lines didn't fit me until Crate Paper Restoration came out. One of those have to have with all the family photos my mother handed me. I thought this line was perfect for scrapping this photo of my mother's fraternal grandparents taken I'm guessing in 1930's.

This was my layout into Heritage Challenge over at ACOT.