Saturday i met up with Paul Larson and Ken Cook, my cohorts in Cowboy Culture and we did a gig at the grand opening of the Day’s of 75 Museum, then on to Hill city and did a gig that night at Chute Roosters. Had good audiences both times and had a wonderful time. I got home about midnight and up at 6:30 to prepare music for 8 am Mass. Not a lot of people there as they were having a large gathering over at Plainview at 10:30 am so I imagine many went that direction.

Tate, Lige and Aricat came out Saturday afternoon, so they were there with me at Mass. we came home and I watched some grand boys while Tate and Chance went to look at a local carpentry job. Later we went up the creek and picked out a large ash tree that had fallen over but was still growing and cut it up in manageable sections to try and get it milled… they are wanting some ash wood for some jobs they have planned and I need some to rebuild the runners on my bob sled, hopefully we can get this cut up into some good planks…

Cindy and I ran into town today to do some odds and ends and t go see her fathers grave at the National Cemetery…we ran into dean and Katy so we ate lunch with them and suckered them into hauling some long conduit pipe I got so we wouldn’t have it sticking out the back of my pickup… but….I didn’t get enough so we had to go get a couple more chunks and hauled it all over the Hills any way….we drove up to where the boys are working on some buildings near Hill City, drove over to Rochford and around in circles and eventually wound up in Sturgis…ate a bite and saw we were getting some weather at home. Cindy called Hope and she said it really rained and had some hail but it doesn’t look like it hurt much… we had a short hard rain this morning and the bucket sez’ we got at least 1.5 inches. Hurrah!!! God is good!

Came in today… if it keeps raining more will be coming, but we got enough for now.

There is an old hawks nest a pair of Great horned Owls took over this year. there were two owlets in it before, but when I took pictures today, I only saw one for sure, tho’ it’s hard to see up in there….

I took Gus and Sam on the field trip today, we hiked up Bear Butte and then went and bowled afterwards…checked cows when we got home and snapped a few pictures… I will need someone to roll me out of bed in the morning I am afraid and I have to get around some fence in the morning as cattle will be coming in…it’s hell to be old and fat and out of shape…. 🙂

Started Saturday night and been cloudy, misty and rainy ever since… so far I think we are pushing 3 inches, tho’ with no rain gauge and just using a bucket or a pan and my finger or a measuring stick, it’s hard to tell… I gave up on rain gauges as all my neighbors told me mine was always lying, I either got more or less than them and guess what, theirs were always right and mine always wrong, so why bother?

I am just very thankful for the rain, now the pasture cattle can come…be here end of the week…

Went to a branding on Saturday and a guy i met on the internet showed up yesterday a little after noon and left today about noon. Lee, who makes fantastic doodles. I think I have his site where his art work on my blog roll on the side. Nice guy and gave me a few pointers on drawing out my leather carving patterns that I think will really help…

Gus graduated from kindergarten today. He was proud. Heck, I didn’t even go to kindergarten so he’s done more than me already and only 6 years old.

Bad weather in Oklahoma today, can’t find any news much about it other than a tornado or two devastated a big chunk of a town or city.. so sad….

This evening while driving around and looking at cows, Gramma and I found a roaming prairie dog….the hunt was on! With no gun (why? I don’t know!) I tried to drive over him but he was too quick…so I tried siccing dogs on him but all they saw was cows to chase, so while hollering at one dog to come back and the other to lie down, all the while running a foot and chasing the p dog, I thought of my belt knife. I threw and nicked him. He had stopped and was trying to blend into the grass but sadly for him, there is very little tall grass this year! Ha! So I kept chasing and calling dogs with an occasional knife throw… I got him pretty solid and finally he stopped to put up a fight… he lost, I won… Ha!

Now, for all you furry animal fans who think I am cruel I have several points to make out…

A. I am a predator just like anything else who would have tried to kill him
B. If you think it is wrong to kill a fuzzy little animal that can over populate in the wink of an eye and make lots of problems, don’t you ever set another mouse trap, have a cat or dog who will catch mice or ever put out or use mouse or rat poison ever again..
C. I got a great cardio workout in the chase and I think that is probably more important than one stinkin’ p dog..
D. I did not rise up to the top of the food chain to allow a p dog and his buddies to over populate my land that I bought and paid for, pay taxes on and raise food to feed you and the rest of the world, on…
E. If you like fuzzy little creatures so much, I suggest you go buy some land and turn it over to the fuzzy little animals, but if you let p dogs get over run on it don’t be surprised if your neighbors all take you to court and sue you for wanton disregard for their land when your p dogs travel to their land and set up house keeping…

Last branding for a few days today, good crew, good day and great food! Supposed to be a chance of rain thru’ at least Tuesday, according to my weather chart…we sure need it!

My friend Raymond got here Saturday evening and we’ve been going to brandings every day since. He is an artist so was shooting photos for future art work… he left from the branding today before we were finished as he needed to get home and had about 550 miles to drive…still getting some calves…Cindy and I checked this  afternoon and there was a new one who was across the fence so we opened the gate and got his mama to go into the pasture with him…I cleaned on corrals this evening and caught a fresh horse for the branding tomorrow… we have a shot at rain starting Thursday morning going all; the way into next week so if you can spare some prayers, we’d appreciate it…

I hauled a saddle i made to Hill City today and swapped it for a wagon.. the wagon is a lighter made one with springs under the box and springs on the drivers seat, sets wayyyyy up in the air. It has bows for the box and seating on each side a steps to get in the back, a pretty cool people hauler. we got it unloaded for the borrowed flatbed and hooked up the team and all of Chance and Hope and kids and me and Gramma went for a drive up west…Brake work pretty good and it pulls easy. I like it! Picture will be posted when I get some…

Went to one yesterday and another today…yesterday was a rope and drag them out by the hind feet one and today’s was a chicken catching, where the calves are sorted off a few in a small corral and husky young lads grab them and throw them down… I think this is where the term “calf wrasslers” came from… and these young fellers today tho’ maybe not having some of the skills of older more practiced hands had, dang sure had enthusiasm! 🙂 Good young fellers and by the end they mostly was dropping and holding them like pro’s… One of the last calves a leg got loose for a second ads I was cutting and I nicked my index finger on my left hand so I may not be playing guitar for a few days…all part of the game and it will be fine in a day or two…

Got my farming done this evening…. here’s some photo’s Cindy snapped

Sue, tell Bob to look at these and pick one out for a belt…

Nice today, not bad windy and not too hot or too cold…we moved the drop bunch up in the northwest part of Harry’s…there is green grass up there, real hard to drive cows across who have been eating hay and foraging for a few green spears of grass where they have been…