Got a dusting of snow last night and it’s only supposed to get to 16 today.

I drove Cindy in yesterday morning. She always enjoys that. She gets so tired of the 60 mile drive, one way, every day she works. And then again home.

We have friends visiting the Hills for the Stock Show in Rapid City, so we made plans to meet in Deadwood after Ciondy got off work. I dropped Cindy off about 5:40 and then I went on down to Rapid and had along breakfast and read the Sunday paper. Drove over to the events center and watched the Ranch Horse competition and seen some people I knew and met some new people. Had a guy wearing a hat tell me he voted for Obama. Now that was a first. He was serious too. Said he was from Minnesota. No wonder they voted that dink in for their Congressman when they think like he does. He wanted “change”. Hope he enjoys his change, tho’ it didn’t sound like it!

Then I drove over to the Civic Center and walked around and looked at all the vendors booths. Found lots of stuff I didn’t need. Met some more people I knew and visitied a bit. Left there and headed for Sturgis. Had to wait just a few minutes for Cindy to get off work. We got to Deadwood, hooked up with our friends and had a nice afternoon, visiting and gambling. I even won a little, tho’ Cindy lost enough to offset it! We had a good supper and headed home. Cold and snowy when we got here. Went to bed and couldn’t sleep so sat here at the computer too late into the night.

And I am off to the Stockshow again tomorrow and the next day. Going to meet up with some people I have met over the internet on Tuesday and the Bronc match is Wednesday evening. Seems like a lot of running but the winter Stockshow only comes once a year and I don’t go to the one in the Summer.I sure hate to miss a Bronc riding. Nothing but saddle broncs. No can chasers, no team ropers, no bull riders, no nothing, but bronc riders. And good ones too.

It’s making up for all the hard winds and we are just getting gentle breezes. I can live with that. If I was relying on a windmill, maybe not so much, but I’m not. Got up around 2o or so and supposed to get up to 30 before the week is out.

Drove up the creek with the loader yesterday and dug wood out of the snow so Chance and Hope could cut it up. Man they burn a lot of wood! Don’t tell anyone, but Gus got to ride on the tractor with me. This one is a IH 756 with  no cab and an old Dual loader so there is a big pipe the sets up above the fuel tank, just in front of the steering wheel. Perfect place for a kid to scootch under and hang on. Of course I kept real close eye on him. I’d sure hate to drop him off the edge. Pretty tall, not to mention big tires. He loves it and usually throws a fit when you make him get off of the “ractor”. Guess he’d set long enough yesterday ‘cuz it was  no problem. We hauled a couple bales home from up there and then broke some of these bales loose from the icy clutches left over from the December blizzard. They are almost like digging them out of a glacier! Now I can feed with the team easy, to drag them out.

The team is just getting better by the day. It’s true, “the more you use them them better you’ll like them. The better you like them the more you will use them”.

Going in with Cindy tomorrow and kill time until she gets off work then going to meet up with friends who live east of here, in Deadwood.

Down at Rapid.

I got crazy awhile back and mentioned to a lady on a chat board that I wanted to try a Bearded Collie some time. She has some and crosses them with Border Collies. They have a little more grit and grip to them. Just what the doctor ordered. But now the other shoe falls as there is one in Rapid as I write this and I have to go pick him up today.

A puppy.

What the hell was I thinkin’????????

This time of the year?

Chew, poop and piddle……………..

Ah it should be fun!

No, really.

I mean that.

Sure I do………………..

By the way, Thank you all for all the comments yesaterday.

You know, if I had just done away with her…………..

I’d be out of prison now!

😉

Thirty one years ago today, at 10 am, I was standing at the front of the church in Sturgis, watching as my future wife was being escorted up the aisle by her father. And probably most of the people setting there watching this spectacle thought it wouldn’t last!

We had to get married in January.  February March and April we were getting ready to or were calving. May we were too busy going to brandings and getting ready to hay . Summer we were haying. In the fall we were shipping calves and that is also hunting season. December would have gotten in the way of Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Yup, January was the only proper time.

At least normal for this country in January. Cold and some lite breezes. Wind finally died down last night. Going to be highs in the teens and twenties it looks like until Saturday and Sunday. They are calling for 36 on Sunday. It will feel like a heat wave.

Read somewhere on here this morning that there may be as many as 500 poles down in western SD. When talking to our rep on the Electric company the other day I asked about underground wiring. $40,000 a mile to put it in versus $17,000 a mile for over head. Maybe we just all need our own wind chargers and the company to keep them working for us! You’d think they’d figure out a cheaper way to run electricity, but I don’t have the foggiest clue as to how they would.

I sure might look into a small wind charger just to keep the house and water going during storms like this. But it’s probably not  efficient or cost effective yet or we’d all have one.

There is talk of them putting in big wind chargers in this area. And then ship the electricity out. I suppose they’d put in them great big double pole lines. Seems like it would make for expensive electricity. But probably no more expensive than generators. I would hate to pay the fuel bill to keep one of them going, tho’ I have a buddy on a ranch in Arizona and that is how they get all their electricity.

A member of a church, who previously had been
attending services regularly, stopped going.
After a few weeks, the preacher decided to visit him.

It was a chilly evening.
The preacher found the man at home alone, sitting
before a blazing fire.
Guessing the reason for his preacher’s visit,
the man welcomed him, led
him to a comfortable chair near the fireplace and
waited.
The preacher made himself at
home but said nothing.  In the grave silence, he
contemplated the dance of the
flames around the burning logs.  After some minutes, the
preacher took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a
brightly burning ember and placed it to one side
of the hearth all alone, then he sat  back in his chair, still silent.

The host watched all this in quiet contemplation. As
the one lone ember’s flame flickered and diminished, there was a
momentary glow and then it’s fire was no more.

Soon it was cold and dead.

Not a word had been spoken since the initial
greeting.  The preacher glanced at his watch
and realized it was time to leave.  He
slowly stood up, picked up the cold, dead
ember and placed it back in the middle of the
fire.  Immediately it began to glow, once more with
the light and warmth of the burning coals around it.

As the preacher reached the door to leave, his host said with a
tear running down his cheek, “Thank you so much for your visit and
especially for the fiery sermon.  I shall be back in church next
Sunday.”

Left here yesterday about 12:30. Had the generator going and Chance watching things. I’d fed good and then later in the day he fed for today, real good. Did the show and got out of there about 9:30 and headed for Sturgis. I picked up Cindy as the forecast for today didn’t sound good. As it turned out, we’ve just had a lot of cold wind, but not much for snow. Maybe it is blowing hard enough that it is blowing it towards Nebraska and Iowa and just didn’t have time for any flakes to hit her! Gusting up over 50 mph they claim. Supposed to stay like this until tomorrow evening. Chance left the tractor idling in the shed so I hooked it up and we have the generator going. I sure wish they’d get the power back on. This is tiresome and expensive electricity. We sure are spoiled!

Wind is supposed to pick up towards morning and just keep building until sometime Sunday evening. That’s not so bad, but we are also supposed to get snow with it. Doesn’t look like we will get as much as they had predicted originally, but still, even a little can blow around.

I am suposed to go toHot Springs tomorrow for a gig tomorrow night. If it doesn’t get to tuff, I will go but just turn around and head home afterwards. So it will be a late night.

Sure is icy out there. Hoarfrost the last couple days and lost electricity this morning about 5:30. Came back about 9 then went off again for a spell and then back on. People north of us have been fighting it for several days.

Ahhh, winter

On this date in 1981, Fr Tyler was born.

Happy Birthday son.