Just got back from the Artist Ride… cool weather, especially on Saturday, with a lot of wind, so it was different than the normal.. quite a few new artists… the river was up and muddy so we didn’t use it as hard as most years, but sounds like all the artists got great shots… Some guy had a drone and got some real cool looking stuff, but I don’t think they will get to use it for any art… a new consideration…Cindy went along and all of Hope and Chances family, even CJ… Dusty stopped in for a couple days and then headed back to Texas to get the rest of their stuff and get it hauled back to the ranch he is headed to west of here.. we all had a great time, but, of course, tired and going to take a few days to get over the effects! I blew a rear tire on my pickup when almost home and it wrecked the side of the box and dang neer put me in the ditch, not sure if it hurt the rim and sure was glad it did it in fairly flat ground and not down along the rivers and in the breaks… guess I will see if the insurance will cover it.. it even tore the door to the fuel tank off.. pretty new looking tires so not sure why it went, but there ain’t enough left to make a salt feeder.

Got up over 100 yesterday, C9indy said, it showed when she was coming home… not sure if it got that hot here, but I think close to it.. had a breeze, so that helped.. I didn’t get very far from the leathershop…. it has AC!

I went out this morning to look at pairs and set gates fort a move and fix some fence.. fixed a little and found a bunch of Musk thistle.. I had the spade with me, so I went to work on it.. then it got hot!@ Wow! I am out of shape! So I came in to cool off a bit and then take some water and go back and work on it a bit later on,, if it don’t get too hot..

Supposed to go announce a play day at a local arena.. it’s a fund raiser, so I said I’d do it, but warned them they needed someone there to tell me names.. I know most of the adults, but heck, I can’t even keep all MY grandkids straight on names, most of the time, let alone all the neighbor kids! Should be fun!

I’ve always admired Cary Schwarz leather carving.. it’s just really superb… so I got his DVD set and finally had enough courage to try some carving like his style.. this is my first attempt, on the yoke… quite a departure from what I normally do.. I am still not completely happy with my leaves, but they are getting better.. I didn’t post a photo of the back belt, but it is the first free hand floral carving I have ever done.. no pattern, just drew with the swivel knife and then used the tools to make it stand out.. it’s not great, but I was happy for a first effort…

Oh, the coyote hides? Yeah, who wouldn’t want a soft, fluffy, pretty pair of hides like this to keep your legs warm?

There was a young lady over the other day and saw these, before they were completely done and she said she wanted to pet my legs! Well, I guess that would be ok! 😀

Got as nice rain last night.. Chance and I were supposed to go down in the breaks and ship cattle, but figured with the rain out would be off as there are just gumbo trails getting out of there.. I called the guy this morning at 4:30 and he went and checked, came back and called about 5:30 and said to come on, it was pretty dry, so we hurried around ands got down there about 7… got some cattle sorted off, penned them, split the cows from the calves.. one guy had come in the way the trucks would come (there are two ways to get in there, the other is better for trucks) and said there was quite a mud hole the way he came in.. so the owner left us to sort and went to check, came back and said we’d have to wait, too muddy for trucks to come in… some the trip was a waste, had to throw them back together and turn them back out… we headed out and had a flat on Chances pickup.. he didn’t have his spare with him…. so we got some cell service, called Hope and she brought a wrench and a spare to us, we got it on and got out and made it back to Enning and ate a late lunch there.. I didn’t get much sleep last night so tried a nap but it didn’t take.. so I been working on leather.. went to the bronc match in Faith last night… Same horse that has won it the last 2 years did it again… Lunatic Fringe from Burch’s with a 90 point ride by Cole Elshire.. good show.. Casey rode along and we had a good visit, almost got washed off the road with wind and rain south of Faith… heard one neighbor got and inch and a half, we must have got around a half or so, maybe three quarters, but the mud puddles rate drying fast.. Cindy is tired of the traffic at the Rally.. she works ten days straight and she is sure looking forward to Sunday when it and she will be done.. she is going to quit in another week or so.. she has applied for a couple other, closer jobs but doesn’t seem to care if she gets them or not.. she is tired of driving, and for as long as she has done it I don’t blame her.. maybe I will have to find another job!

Been doctoring on some.. seems like there is a new case or two every time we checked… so we went amongst them today.. doctored 4 or five… second bull we’ve doctored, we may have to go get another one cuz I am sure these two ain’t doing much and the antibiotic kills the new sperm production, Hope was told… found the last cow had calved, late calver and he’s a painted up rascal! Tate is getting the walls up on the house,. creeps a little higher, all the time.. I took the big fork lift and went over and drug moss out of the dam in a couple spots yesterday, so when the kids fish they won’t get so tangled, hopefully… when I come back i stacked some rock, going to have to haul some more in, it looks like.. went to cut some weeds the other day and looked where i cut them last year and they are thicker than ever, so i quit.. not sure what to do with this gum weed, wait until it runs it’s courser, I guess. Nothing will eat it and from what I read, if they did it would probably poison them anyway… it is something that is natural to the area and seems to be worst in the old hay fields… Faith Stockshow this week, plan on going up to the bronc match on Wednesday… maybe go watch the rodeo on Saturday evening as that is when they are having some ranch bronc riding… went to a gig Friday night and got behind a combine crew for a ways on the black top road, headers hung way over, both sides… man, they can knock a lot of wheat down!

Hot and now it’s cooled off, had a big wind come thru’ and some rain last night, supposed to be a tornado, but didn’t see any around here… went and helped brand some cal;yes down in the breaks a couple different days.. lost Molly last week, she jumped into the pickup and no one noticed her.. got too hot…. sad deal… got a gig Friday night down at Hill City.. the Hills are buzzing with all the rally doings…about all to write about.. I got some leather work done today.

Not a lot to write… been checking and moving cows, working on leather, hauling out salt, doctoring for a few foot rots in cows and calves… we went and got the bulls today and turned them out…

It’s getting pretty warmish out there.. 90’s the last couple days, supposed to cool off a bit later into the week and maybe some showers…

Coming home from Church this morning, I got to thinking about praying and God answering our prayers.. seems sometimes we pray so long and hard for things that don’t happen as we want or as soon as we want.. but I imagine it’s hard for God.. how do you answer the prayer of a man who wants/needs a rian when his next door neighbor wants/needs it to be dry to harvest grain or a hay crop… which one do you choose.. I imagine he has to go back and forth and answer one, one time and the other the next time.. so sometimes you get the rain and sometimes you get the sunshine and if your not getting what you think you want/need, it might be because others around you need/want something different.. God in all his wisdom will make it good.. just give him time.. gives me hope for this country and world..

Chance and Gus and Sam helped and we moved the late claviers down south.. Chance took Sam and headed home and Gus and I went to open a couple gates so they could work their selves into the next pasture.. we checked their tank on the way back and it was broken and leaking.. I ran down quick to fix it and found I couldn’t.. so went home, we saddled back up and moved the whole bunch into the next pasture.. found a calf who was acting funny, decided it was over eating or blackleg or something, so when we got them moved Chance and I ran quick to CRS and got some anti box for the calf and some parts we needed, hurried home and jumped in Little Red and roves down, found the calf, got him caught and administered the anti box to him.. went and doctored another calf that was lame and a cow that was… this evening Lori came over and worked on carving leather and i worked on the skirts of a saddle.. she keeps coming, I may get these saddles done yet! She ate supper with us, we did some more and she left about 9. I am supposed to go help a neighbor in the morning ship his lambs.. I will take Molly and I bet she will have fun!

We worked the late claviers yesterday and then Hope and Chance had a lot of friends over and shot off their fire works.. we had a couple and their children stop in and stay the night. Cindy worked with them when they were all younger, at Wall Drug. It’s always pleasure to spend time with the Thorps.. I worked on finishing up the fence along the new tree patch. got it whipped this afternoon.. also moved the panels around that we’d set up for the branding.. we let the kids do the sorting and helped them and also they roped and some of them wrestled too.. good job, well done.. got some rain on Sunday evening.. maybe an inch.. sure was good.. still real green and grass growing.. Cindy and I had Gus and Sam today as their folks went to town with visiting friends..